Photo by Team TGM
When it comes to marketing, sometimes the smallest changes bring the biggest results. I learned this lesson the hard way when I was working on one of our campaigns at The Growth Miner. We were running a landing page designed to capture leads for our free digital marketing checklist. The page was performing decently—but not amazing. And then, something unexpected happened.
We changed just one word in the headline.
The result? Conversions shot up by nearly 27% overnight.
Here’s the full story.
Table of Content:
The Original Headline
The original headline on our landing page was:
“Get Our Free Digital Marketing Checklist Today”
It looked fine, sounded clear, and did exactly what it was supposed to do: tell the visitor what they were getting. For weeks, we ran the page with this headline and saw an average conversion rate of 11.3%.
Not bad, but not great either.
The Problem
When we reviewed user behavior through heatmaps and scroll tracking, we noticed something interesting:
- Many visitors were landing on the page but not scrolling much.
- Some were reading the headline, pausing, and then leaving.
It felt like the headline wasn’t doing enough to spark curiosity or urgency.
That’s when we decided to test a small change.
The New Headline
Instead of “Get Our Free Digital Marketing Checklist Today,” we changed it to:
“Steal Our Proven Digital Marketing Checklist (Free Download)”
Yes, just one word—“Steal”—made all the difference.
Why?
- It created curiosity (“Why steal? What’s so valuable here?”).
- It added a sense of exclusivity (“This is something insiders use”).
- It tapped into the psychology of loss aversion (people don’t want to miss out on something others are grabbing).
The Results
We ran an A/B test for two weeks:
- Version A (Old Headline) → 11.3% conversion rate
- Version B (New Headline) → 14.4% conversion rate
That’s a 27% increase in conversions, just by changing one word.
The best part? We didn’t touch the design, the copy, or the form. Everything else stayed the same.
What We Learned
- Words matter more than design.
Many times we obsess over buttons, colors, or layouts, but it’s often the copy that truly moves people. - Power words trigger emotions.
Words like steal, proven, exclusive, secret, and insider can create urgency and curiosity that drive clicks and sign-ups. - Always test, never assume.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure “steal” would work. I worried it might sound shady. But that’s the beauty of A/B testing—sometimes the results surprise you.
Key Takeaway
Sometimes you don’t need a redesign, a new funnel, or a complete overhaul.
Sometimes all it takes is one word.
If you’re struggling with conversions, don’t ignore the micro details—like headlines, button text, or even form labels. Test them. Measure them. And you might just find a game-changing result hidden in plain sight.
Related Reads from The Growth Miner:
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Yes, even a single word in a headline can change how people perceive your offer. Words trigger emotions, curiosity, and urgency—leading to higher engagement.
