8 ms·

The secret of Groupon’s success is … good writing & Email?

54 points by Cmccann7 16y ago

niccolop 16y ago
David Ogilvy's book, Confessions of an Ad Man; makes this point even more clearly: Good copy can lead to successful businesses.
- heinel 16y ago
  Yap. Especially in the case of Groupon, many of their articles read like poetry--very daring imagery and voice. They are doing as much service to the people who subscribe to their emails as to the brands who have the honor to get the Groupon face-lift. It is a very refreshing model compared to most other startups where as far as I can see, paid no attention to copywriting.
  - oysteins 16y ago
    It is not just the copy, it is the whole direct selling layout. They know the tricks and the methods. Benefits, big buttons, ask for the order etc. Good job.
  - 2arrs2ells 16y ago
    Woot would be another example of a startup with great copy. I buy something like 0.5-1% of all Woots that I see - but I keep checking them because at least 20% of the descriptions make me "lol".
    - heinel 16y ago
      Yeah, and another one I like (that's probably not new by now) is ThinkGeek. The beauty of this is probably how drastically different they all are :)
wying17 16y ago
their success is probably more because business owners are willing to provide a massive discount to get the Groupon exposure, $120 million funding and an enormous subscription base. their copywriting is quite lame.
- il 16y ago
  I don't think you know much about copywriting if you say that. I've studied their landing pages and emails. Groupon has fantastic clear,benefit-driven copy and landing page design, and they split test everything fanatically. That's the real secret to their success- constant iteration and improvement. They're one of the few American companies to truly master kaizen, and the results are easy to see.
  - rlander 16y ago
    "Groupon has fantastic clear , benefit-driven copy and landing page design , and they split test everything fanatically ." Care to provide us with references or examples?
KleinmanB 16y ago
Consistent, short, engaging; writing and video are the most undervalued part of any consumer facing company. Good copy reinforces a "brand personality" which leads to a feeling of connection. Whenever I consult I always tell companies, a company cant and never will be considered a "friend" by any consumer. A company wont help you move places, go drinknig with you, or give you personal advice. The goal companies should aim for is to make a company/brand feel like a "familiar acquaintance." If people feel a companies brand personality is consistent and they are comfortable with the company existing some place in the web of their life to be called upon in a limited number of scenarios they are doing the most you can do. See: Virgin, GroupOn, Google
bretthellman 16y ago
"Groupon’s approach was shaped by its constraints..." It's all about the constraints. "Constraints shape and focus problems, and provide clear challenges to overcome as well as inspiration. Creativity, in fact, thrives best when constrained" Points for whoever can name the author of the quote.
- fbailey 16y ago
  uh the Lady...but I think there are historic layers behind this quote
kgermino 16y ago
I receive and usually read the Groupon emails even though I'm yet to actually buy anything, but I think that the emails are significant because they make it easy to share Groupon deals with friends. As I said I haven't actually bought anything but fairly often people ask me if I know about "that coupon thing" many of these conversations end with me forwarding a deal email or two, or just adding their email address to Groupon's mailing list (with their permission of course).
patio11 16y ago
Aggressively targeting women who have money and enjoy spending money instead of young men who don't have money and enjoy stealing the product isn't hurting their financial performance, either.
- buro9 16y ago
  Except when my girl uses it to try and get a discount on some health session things locally and no coupon ever materialises and the money is seemingly impossible to get a refund on. You cannot imagine the bad press she's telling all of her friends. There's not much I can imagine being more powerful than one of the key people in a little social group starting with "You wouldn't believe how bad this company is, I think it's just a scam.". Anecdotal it clearly is, but once you have the opportunity to sell the same time and energy that is put into copy should be put into customer service. Especially when your company can be affected by third parties not pulling their weight.
  - awakeasleep 16y ago
    Doesn't Groupon have a no-questions-asked refund policy?
    - buro9 16y ago
      It does... but she seems unable to gain access to her account. She's getting email updates, but can't login. Password reminder emails aren't coming through so she can't reset. It just says her email isn't recognised even though she made a purchase. She's only got the one email so it's not like she's confused about which email she used. She's emailed Groupon a few times and tried to contact the supplier of the classes she purchased... no response from either. So she's now just venting at anyone who will listen, which is me a lot of the time but more effectively her friends.
      - buro9 16y ago
        I've just had her login using Facebook Connect to see if that was what she had done originally, but apparently not. I'm just encouraging her to give the bank a call and do a chargeback. She clearly was charged, clearly hasn't received any coupon or class, hasn't received responses to customer services, cannot login and is being treated like her account doesn't exist. A chargeback seems to be the only option. Though now I've tried to talk her through all possible scenarios I totally get why she's really pissed at Groupon.
vlad 16y ago
In my limited experience with the site, Groupon appears to use fake images of discounts coupled with the region's name in their web ads and web site in order to entice new users, not letting the users know that no discounts for the advertised area actually exist until after they sign up. If this is an old practice, this may factor into their "secret of success", as well.
- 2arrs2ells 16y ago
  It's the "AdultFriendFinder" advertising model!
systemtrigger 16y ago
Groupon's editorial manual describes in detail their approach to copywriting: https://docs.google.com/View?id=dmv9rbh_11gtqx983t https://docs.google.com/View?id=dmv9rbh_11gtqx983t I just started working on a groupon clone. Dev site: dealhill.com. If you're working on one too, feel free to email me. It would be cool to share knowledge and discuss strategy.
- Revisor 16y ago
  Upvoted for the link to the manual, not for the copycat site. ;)
  - systemtrigger 16y ago
    Ignored for explaining your vote, not for the cheap attack. ;)
- ig1 16y ago
  Is this an American thing - I don't notice humour being used by groupon in the UK ?
  - systemtrigger 16y ago
    The UK site is run by Citydeal. Groupon bought Citydeal in May.
zaidf 16y ago
The BIGGEST secret to groupon's success is....being able to convince store owners to give REAL, REAL good coupons! That is the OVERWHELMING value of groupon--which is why I question their longterm strategy. Store owners will at some point figure out that they can give the same type of super-awesome coupon online and get similar value as groupon provides only in this case they don't need to give 50-60% of the revenue to groupon. Groupon is basically made possible due to the spread of crappy coupons in the past decade. When coupons originated, all coupons rocked. I remember as a kid in India, when a coupon appeared in a paper, it was rare and the paper would sell out. Literally sell out! All because it had a coupon. And by definition, a coupon meant real savings--not 10 cents off your dinner.
bmr 16y ago
Nobody likes a grammar Nazi, but second paragraph, last sentence. Perhaps they should have learned from Groupon? :)
samd 16y ago
I buy a couple Groupons per month, but I've never read their emails entirely. The secret to their success with me is cheap prices for fun activities that I would have otherwise never done.
GBond 16y ago
I know that laws of suppply/demands are at play here but it is strange that Groupon would attribute their success to good copy yet pay writers only a merger salary of $35k. source: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0830/entrepreneurs-groupon-facebook-twitter-next-web-phenom_2.html http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0830/entrepreneurs-groupon...
Mc_Big_G 16y ago
I heard a rumor that, internally, they think the secret to their success is their referral program.

54 points by Cmccann7 16y ago

David Ogilvy's book, Confessions of an Ad Man; makes this point even more clearly: Good copy can lead to successful businesses.

heinel 16y ago
Yap. Especially in the case of Groupon, many of their articles read like poetry--very daring imagery and voice. They are doing as much service to the people who subscribe to their emails as to the brands who have the honor to get the Groupon face-lift. It is a very refreshing model compared to most other startups where as far as I can see, paid no attention to copywriting.
- oysteins 16y ago
  It is not just the copy, it is the whole direct selling layout. They know the tricks and the methods. Benefits, big buttons, ask for the order etc. Good job.
- 2arrs2ells 16y ago
  Woot would be another example of a startup with great copy. I buy something like 0.5-1% of all Woots that I see - but I keep checking them because at least 20% of the descriptions make me "lol".
  - heinel 16y ago
    Yeah, and another one I like (that's probably not new by now) is ThinkGeek. The beauty of this is probably how drastically different they all are :)

wying17 16y ago

their success is probably more because business owners are willing to provide a massive discount to get the Groupon exposure, $120 million funding and an enormous subscription base. their copywriting is quite lame.

il 16y ago
I don't think you know much about copywriting if you say that. I've studied their landing pages and emails. Groupon has fantastic clear,benefit-driven copy and landing page design, and they split test everything fanatically. That's the real secret to their success- constant iteration and improvement. They're one of the few American companies to truly master kaizen, and the results are easy to see.
- rlander 16y ago
  "Groupon has fantastic clear , benefit-driven copy and landing page design , and they split test everything fanatically ." Care to provide us with references or examples?

KleinmanB 16y ago

Consistent, short, engaging; writing and video are the most undervalued part of any consumer facing company. Good copy reinforces a "brand personality" which leads to a feeling of connection. Whenever I consult I always tell companies, a company cant and never will be considered a "friend" by any consumer. A company wont help you move places, go drinknig with you, or give you personal advice. The goal companies should aim for is to make a company/brand feel like a "familiar acquaintance." If people feel a companies brand personality is consistent and they are comfortable with the company existing some place in the web of their life to be called upon in a limited number of scenarios they are doing the most you can do. See: Virgin, GroupOn, Google

bretthellman 16y ago

"Groupon’s approach was shaped by its constraints..." It's all about the constraints. "Constraints shape and focus problems, and provide clear challenges to overcome as well as inspiration. Creativity, in fact, thrives best when constrained" Points for whoever can name the author of the quote.

fbailey 16y ago
uh the Lady...but I think there are historic layers behind this quote

kgermino 16y ago

I receive and usually read the Groupon emails even though I'm yet to actually buy anything, but I think that the emails are significant because they make it easy to share Groupon deals with friends. As I said I haven't actually bought anything but fairly often people ask me if I know about "that coupon thing" many of these conversations end with me forwarding a deal email or two, or just adding their email address to Groupon's mailing list (with their permission of course).

patio11 16y ago

Aggressively targeting women who have money and enjoy spending money instead of young men who don't have money and enjoy stealing the product isn't hurting their financial performance, either.

buro9 16y ago
Except when my girl uses it to try and get a discount on some health session things locally and no coupon ever materialises and the money is seemingly impossible to get a refund on. You cannot imagine the bad press she's telling all of her friends. There's not much I can imagine being more powerful than one of the key people in a little social group starting with "You wouldn't believe how bad this company is, I think it's just a scam.". Anecdotal it clearly is, but once you have the opportunity to sell the same time and energy that is put into copy should be put into customer service. Especially when your company can be affected by third parties not pulling their weight.
- awakeasleep 16y ago
  Doesn't Groupon have a no-questions-asked refund policy?
  - buro9 16y ago
    It does... but she seems unable to gain access to her account. She's getting email updates, but can't login. Password reminder emails aren't coming through so she can't reset. It just says her email isn't recognised even though she made a purchase. She's only got the one email so it's not like she's confused about which email she used. She's emailed Groupon a few times and tried to contact the supplier of the classes she purchased... no response from either. So she's now just venting at anyone who will listen, which is me a lot of the time but more effectively her friends.
    - buro9 16y ago
      I've just had her login using Facebook Connect to see if that was what she had done originally, but apparently not. I'm just encouraging her to give the bank a call and do a chargeback. She clearly was charged, clearly hasn't received any coupon or class, hasn't received responses to customer services, cannot login and is being treated like her account doesn't exist. A chargeback seems to be the only option. Though now I've tried to talk her through all possible scenarios I totally get why she's really pissed at Groupon.

vlad 16y ago

In my limited experience with the site, Groupon appears to use fake images of discounts coupled with the region's name in their web ads and web site in order to entice new users, not letting the users know that no discounts for the advertised area actually exist until after they sign up. If this is an old practice, this may factor into their "secret of success", as well.

2arrs2ells 16y ago
It's the "AdultFriendFinder" advertising model!

systemtrigger 16y ago

Groupon's editorial manual describes in detail their approach to copywriting: https://docs.google.com/View?id=dmv9rbh_11gtqx983t https://docs.google.com/View?id=dmv9rbh_11gtqx983t I just started working on a groupon clone. Dev site: dealhill.com. If you're working on one too, feel free to email me. It would be cool to share knowledge and discuss strategy.

Revisor 16y ago
Upvoted for the link to the manual, not for the copycat site. ;)
- systemtrigger 16y ago
  Ignored for explaining your vote, not for the cheap attack. ;)
ig1 16y ago
Is this an American thing - I don't notice humour being used by groupon in the UK ?
- systemtrigger 16y ago
  The UK site is run by Citydeal. Groupon bought Citydeal in May.

zaidf 16y ago

The BIGGEST secret to groupon's success is....being able to convince store owners to give REAL, REAL good coupons! That is the OVERWHELMING value of groupon--which is why I question their longterm strategy. Store owners will at some point figure out that they can give the same type of super-awesome coupon online and get similar value as groupon provides only in this case they don't need to give 50-60% of the revenue to groupon. Groupon is basically made possible due to the spread of crappy coupons in the past decade. When coupons originated, all coupons rocked. I remember as a kid in India, when a coupon appeared in a paper, it was rare and the paper would sell out. Literally sell out! All because it had a coupon. And by definition, a coupon meant real savings--not 10 cents off your dinner.

bmr 16y ago

Nobody likes a grammar Nazi, but second paragraph, last sentence. Perhaps they should have learned from Groupon? :)

samd 16y ago

I buy a couple Groupons per month, but I've never read their emails entirely. The secret to their success with me is cheap prices for fun activities that I would have otherwise never done.

GBond 16y ago

I know that laws of suppply/demands are at play here but it is strange that Groupon would attribute their success to good copy yet pay writers only a merger salary of $35k. source: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0830/entrepreneurs-groupon-facebook-twitter-next-web-phenom_2.html http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0830/entrepreneurs-groupon...

Mc_Big_G 16y ago

I heard a rumor that, internally, they think the secret to their success is their referral program.