Copywriting Myths That Are Costing You Clicks
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Last week on a mastermind call, I was hit with a question that sent me down a rabbit hole: "I heard round buttons get more clicks than square ones. Is that true?" She'd read that rounded buttons convert 25% better, and she wanted to know if she should start rounding all of her buttons because of it.
If you've ever changed something in your copy because you heard it "converts better," you already know how this feels. There's a myth for every part of your funnel, and most of us don't have the time to dig through the data ourselves. So I did it for you.
And I found a bunch more myths to break down, too! Soooo let’s dig in!
Do Round Buttons Convert Better?
Button shape matters less than you'd think. Yes, it can improve your click-throughs to have rounded buttons, more important are contrast and clarity.
Contrast: your button needs to stand out from its background, on both light and dark screen settings
Clarity: the button copy should tell people exactly where it's taking them, like "Take Me To Checkout" instead of something clever and vague
A tool like Successible (built by Erin at MableyQ) can help you check whether your buttons are accessible and visible enough to click.
One more tip: keep your button copy about one font size larger than the body text next to it, so it stands out as the next step.
Should I Put Emojis in Email Subject Lines?
Every audience is different, so take these tips with a grain of salt. But here’s what the data dug up for me:
Two emojis in a subject line tend to outperform one or zero, according to Flodesk's State of Email report (linked below)
Shorter subject lines win about 80% of the time in A/B tests
The word "free" can trigger spam filters and hurt deliverability
Vague urgency words like "ASAP" tend to slow down opens, while specific deadlines like "closes tonight" perform better
Numbers in subject lines are supposed to boost opens by around 5%, but every A/B test my audience has sent me shows the version without a number performing better
I think it’s important to note that small businesses are very different from large enterprises: employees open emails differently than end users or self-employed folks do. Spam filters are different. Buyer behavior and clicking behavior changes based on the reason why someone is visiting their inbox.
Also, note that if you sell to teachers, government employees, or anyone on a heavily filtered email server, skip the emojis. These often flag for highly regulated systems, but are fine to send to gmail accounts, small businesses, etc.
Should Sales Page Headlines be Optimized?
Sales pages get a different kind of attention than emails. By the time someone clicks over, they already know your solution exists, or in marketing terms, they are ‘solution aware’. That means your headlines can (and should) get more specific.
The data says emotional, transformation-focused headlines outperform factual ones. Instead of "Introducing My Super Offer," try something like "Become A Faster Runner." Specific, emotional headlines keep readers on the page 50% longer than generic, template-style ones.
"Introducing my offer" isn't doing anything for your SEO, because people search for solutions, not your product name.
How To Test This On Your Own Audience
Every business has a different audience, and what works for a company with a million-person list won't always work for yours. Most ESPs (Email Service Providers) will have data and analytics for you to review, and you can also A/B test subject lines and email content in most ESPs as well.
Tools I recommend:
Your email service provider's built-in analytics (Kit, ActiveCampaign, Flodesk, and MailerLite all have them)
Google Analytics, for who's landing on your site and where they're coming from
Microsoft Clarity, for heat maps that show exactly how people move through your page
The Bottom Line
None of these myths are universal rules. Test emojis, subject line length, and headline tone against your own list before you rewrite your whole funnel over a stat you read online. If you find something interesting while testing, I want to hear about it. Send me a message on Instagram or drop me an email.
Listen to the full episode of Copy And for the complete breakdown, including the exact data sources behind every myth in this post.
Helpful Resources:
Forgotten Launch Emails checklist (use code PODCAST to get it for $1!)
Connect with me:
Watch episodes with subtitles on my YouTube
See my services → sales pages, emails, websites, and more.
Get on my calendar → if you’d like me to write your sales copy for you!
Opt-In Copy Bot → Write high-converting opt-in pages in minutes
Nomad Copy Agency writes copy that CONVERTS for service-based businesses. Inquire about done-for-you services here.
