Gary Bencivenga, widely considered the world’s greatest living copywriter, had a simple answer when asked what makes great copy truly work:
Proof.
Proof consists of the elements that prove your offer’s “promise” — what it claims to do for your customers.
Without proof, your promise/claims are just words on paper (or a screen). Customers don’t buy on words alone.
They buy belief.
(Which is why Bencivenga also warned never to make your claim bigger than your proof. Bigger claim = more proof.)
So today, you’ll learn 4 broad categories of proof, and a few different types of each, that can increase conversions without altering your sales argument.
Behavioral Proof
Show the product working.
Behavioral proof reduces skepticism by letting customers see outcomes instead of imagining them.
Demonstration
When customers can visualize themselves using and succeeding with a product, they’re far more likely to buy it.
A demonstration makes that much easier. It’s no longer imagination when they can see the product working in front of them.
Examples of demonstration include:
- Product use clips
- Walkthroughs
- Side-by-side comparisons
- Tutorial videos
- A live demo/screen recording (software, especially)
Strong copy + product demonstration = incredible persuasive power.
NOTE: Use someone who fits your customer avatar.
For instance, I was shopping for a barbell pad to bring to the gym for barbell hip thrusts.
All the Amazon listings included photos or videos of women using them.
That’s because women do this exercise much more than men. They buy more barbell pads than men.
User-Generated Content (UGC)
UGC is content customers make using/featuring your product.
Video clips, user photos, tagger social media posts…
These carry extra trust because they’re unpolished content pieces fellow existing customers make instead of a polished, “marketing-y” piece from you.
It tells prospects “other people use this,” combining elements of social proof and demonstration.
Such a combination reduces skepticism by avoiding that “engineered” feeling.
UGC is also often shareable. Easy to get the word out there across social and other platforms.
Some examples across all sorts of products:
- Meat subscription: Meals cooked by a customer with your brand’s chicken, maybe with a shot of the whole family enjoying.
- Gym equipment: A photo of a customer’s home gym with your brand’s squat rack. Or a customer doing weighted pullups with your brand’s weight belt.
- Home decor: A customer takes a photo of their living room with your brand’s curtains.
- Software: A customer showing step-by-step how they do X task way faster and more easily with your software product.
Before/After
Before/after sharpens the contrast between problem and solution.
It works best when the change is measurable, whether visually (e.g., appearance) or data-driven (e.g., time saved).
This proof tactic is most famously used in niches related to physical health/beauty. Weight loss, skincare, the whole 9 yards.
But that’s not the only place it can happen.
Here are some niches where Before/After works well:
- Services: Before/after on revenue your client generates (or how much they spend on X expense).
- Home decor: Shots of a room before and after your products are used.
- Software: Before/after on how much time a particular task takes.
- Gardening: Before/after on how plentiful/good the fruits or veggies you’re growing are.
- Health: Before/after pain or inflammation after using a supplement or cream.
Social Proof
Show that others trust this.
Social proof reduces skepticism and perceived risk by showing real people have already said “yes” and benefit from the product.
Testimonials/Case Studies
Testimonials offer “borrowed credibility” because customers tell other customers why you’re worth buying from.
The best testimonials are specific and information-rich. They mention:
- The problem
- The original hesitation with the brand/product (and perhaps what overcame it)
- The turning point
- The result
- What life is like now
That way, you can use the full testimonial or chop them up where necessary into specific bits for use in:
- Emails (including in subject lines)
- Landing pages
- Product pages
- Email opt-ins
- Sales pages
- Social media
- Package inserts
And more.
Here’s an example of a testimonial for my own business:
(Big name, I know)
Comes straight from my homepage in a testimonial slider.
Case studies are deeper because they walk through the whole journey.
They’re more complete pieces of writing that feature the client/customer’s story alongside the brand’s explanation.
Thus, they let you dive deeper into how your solution fixes problems and why customers should choose you over objections/hesitations.
These make good marketing materials if you sell higher-ticket offers, like services or software.
When prospects see their own doubts reflected — and resolved — resistance drops.
Testimonials can be used in basically ALL of your marketing materials.
Volume Metrics
If testimonials are the “personal and zoomed in” form of social proof, volume metrics are the “safety-conveying and zoomed out” version.
There is safety in numbers. They reduce perceived risk by implying validation at scale.
People assume that if somewhere were bad, many others wouldn’t buy it.
Things like:
- “Over 50,000 orders shipped”
- “Trusted by 12,000 subscribers”
- “4.8 stars from 2,341 reviews”
Each tells customers that many others have used and benefited from what you sell.
This form of proof is simple, fast to implement, and often underused. As long as you have the legitimate volume data to impress, wield it in places like:
- Email footers
- Home pages
- Product pages
Supplement brand Just Thrive offers an effective and unique example:
This demonstrates:
- They have a charitable initiative (big plus, customers feel good)
- Lots of customers trust their products (a big charitable number implies lots of sales to get there)
Community Size
Community signals momentum. Your community size combines the personal aspects of testimonials/case studies with the safety-conveying aspects of volume.
It tells prospects that they are not alone on the same journey.
That others want to nerd out on the same topics and trust your brand as a hub for that.
The “community” can be:
- Your email list
- A private member group
- Your subscribers on any given platform
- An active comments section
A live tally, if possible, makes it feel more tangible.
For example, seeing a Facebook group with “X members” is concrete. The prospect knows how many people are in there.
Authority Proof
Show this is backed by something bigger than opinion.
Authority proof anchors your claim in expertise, research, data, and competence instead of mere marketing language.
Science
Lay the data on the table, and you remove the debate.
Scientific studies, laboratory testing, controlled trials, and quantifiable results anchor your claims in objective evidence.
This works especially well in supplements, skincare, performance, and SaaS, where data is HUGE.
For instance, I worked with a wellness device company that maintained a page with the science behind the product (it sold 4 variations of one product).
It explained things at a high level, then linked to numerous studies.
Now, customers don’t often read all the studies.
“Science” itself, like other forms of proof, is an emotional appeal.
You’re creating a sense of “I can trust this” and “they know what they’re talking about” in customers.
That doesn’t mean you lie or use bad studies. Nor do you need to overwhelm the reader with an entire dissertation.
But it does mean you understand what science really does in this context…
How it helps validate the customer’s buying decision, and what particular pains/objections/hesitations each piece of science addresses.
Credentials
Who built the product? Who backs the brand?
Experience, titles, certificates, degrees, years in the industry — these matter in the customer’s mind.
Doesn’t have to be the founder’s credentials, either.
For instance, look at this page from Green Valley Naturals, a supplement brand:
Seven doctors, spanning specialties and types, evaluate ingredients and formulas.
Green Valley can leverage this page and mention their “expert medical team” on product pages, the home page, in emails, etc.
BIG boost to credibility.
Specificity & Transparency
Vague claims create doubt because anyone can make such a claim.
Specific details build belief because they have to be true (otherwise, you’re lying about something concrete).
They’re also more visual.
For example, “high-quality materials” falls flat.
“Made from 100% full-grain leather sourced from American tanneries” hits way harder.
Another example is “fast shipping.” Boring. How about “Ships within 24 hours from our Texas warehouse” instead?
The latter for each feels more honest and communicates valuable information.
Speaking of honesty, transparency deepens trust further.
Being open about:
- Sourcing
- The manufacturing/creation process
- Testing
- Who the product is and is not for
Shows you’re not hiding anything and are even willing to turn away ill-suited customers.
Heart & Soil offers excellent transparency proof:
Notice some key elements:
- A “learn more” button where customers can read about this specific certification
- “Quality and purity information can be provided upon request” so you can literally ask for this stuff
- Specific claims about testing and what it has been found free from
One More: Risk Reversals
Even with strong proof, there’s one last barrier:
“What if it doesn’t work for me?”
Risk reversal is a technique in which you bear the customer’s risk on their behalf, solving this problem.
If they don’t like it, you “suffer” the cost while they get out with minimal disruption and headache.
However, these also serve as proof by conveying confidence.
You’re so confident in your product, you’re risking financial harm if it doesn’t work for the customer.
The most well-known example is the moneyback guarantee.
Something like “Don’t like it? Reach out within 60 days for a full refund, no questions asked.”
The guarantee is but one example. And risk reversals require some strategic thinking to minimize risk reversal redemption.
For more, check out my past newsletter on risk reversal.
Proof IS Persuasion
You can use all the persuasive writing techniques you want…
But sometimes, proof is what pushes customers over the edge.
Demonstrate the product. Show that other real people use and enjoy it. Anchor claims in data/science and lean on expert credibility. Remove customer risk.
Implement the right proof points, stack them correctly, and your existing copy works harder.
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