My tutee whips out a thick wad of foolscap paper and lays it on the table.
It’s completely white. Looks new. And has this muscle robot with no legs on every sheet.
I recognise it. It’s MuscleMath, a math tuition centre teaching the same subject I do. After almost 4 years of being together, this girl is blatantly showing me that she plans to replace me.
So I ask “Nice foolscap paper. Where did you get it from?”
“They’re giving out at the school. For free.”
Then she shows me another foolscap pad, thicker than the previous one. This one has “Zenith” in font size 240 plastered on the front.
“Zenith also gives these out for free. They even offer free crash courses for Economics.”
I think it’s brilliant. Because first, I’m still going to be her tutor. Second, the cost of a foolscap pad is cheaper than a click on Facebook. Third, it’s laser targeted.
I quickly look through them to see how they’re going to track their success.
Nothing 🙁
On the website, there are certificates. Reviews. Videos. Testimonials, testimonials, testimonials.
Social proof is strong.
But there’s another problem — there’s no CTA. I looked everywhere. On the navigation bar, within the testimonials, under the foolscap. CTA is nowhere to be found.
Looking beyond the cluttered website, there are 3 quick things MuscleMath could do:
1/ Add a CTA on the foolscap
The foolscap is good branding. But it’s also a good opportunity to capture leads. Don’t waste it!
Getting them to do a free trial is a big ask at this point.
The better way is to offer another freebie (one-page formulas, concise notes, anything to impress the student) in exchange for a contact.
It could be an email address or a phone number. Some way to push them towards a free trial.
2/ Add a clear CTA on the website
Let it be the first thing people see when they land. People need directions especially when it’s their first time on the website.
This CTA could be a button that is visible, with contrasting colours from the grey background.
This CTA should also be the main action they want users to take. In this case, it’s to sign up for a free trial, which will bring them to the signup form.
3/ Add parameters in the URL
There’s a question on the signup form asking users where they’ve heard about them.
Since they’re also running Facebook and Google ads, MuscleMath could get additional information by passing the parameters into hidden fields on the form.
This can help them understand the ROI of their Marketing efforts, and double down on the ones that work best.
I think this foolscap thing is a great idea. It’s targeted, cheaper than ads, and gives my tutee a lifetime of free foolscap papers.
But a lot more can be done to ensure greater success 🙂