Make Your Sales Pages Shine: The Top Sales Page Copywriting Tips
Are you wracking your brain trying to craft the most perfect sales page that will not only draw your audience in but hold their attention and convince them to trust you with their money?
Look no further. In this article, we’re covering everything you need to do when it comes to writing sales copy.
Did you know that the average consumer reads between 20–28% of text? That’s a tough statistic to ingest, especially since sales copy takes so much time and effort to write.
This means that your copy has to break the statistic and be good enough to convince your readers that it’s worth their time to continue reading.
But don’t worry–even if you don’t have any sales writing experience, these 18 tips will turn you into a copywriting machine.
Put your persuasive writing pants on; we’re getting started!
14 High Converting Sales Page Tips
There are a few must-have components when creating a sales page that converts. Copy is one of them. Read on to find out how to draft copy that will drive your customers wild.
1. Perfect Your Headline
The sad fact is that 80% of people will never read your copy. They’ll simply stop at the headline.
We know, it’s upsetting to hear but this is why we work so hard to make our sales copy stand out so that your ideal audience will want to keep reading.
You need to spend a lot of time and effort creating one that will capture your audience’s attention and entice them to read more.
A good tip is to write 25–30 variations of your headline, narrow down your favourites, and ask other people (ideally in the industry) their opinion.
You can also test these winning headlines to your audience through publishing content. The most engaging posts or most opened emails are your winners.
2. Persuade, Don’t Sell
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “People don’t like to be sold, but they love to buy.”
There’s a difference between selling and being persuasive. The definition of selling is getting someone to do something for your benefit whereas, in persuasion, you’re getting someone to do something for their benefit.
Read on for specific tips on how to be persuasive and not pushy.
3. Target Emotion
Keep in mind that people buy from their emotions. Selling is emotional. (Think back to all the Budweiser commercials you’ve ever seen during the SuperBowl.)
Find out what your audience’s biggest pain points, fears, and inconvenience are, then leverage that when writing your sales copy.
If you’re selling a weight loss program, sell to their fear of being the largest woman in the group or their hatred of clothing shopping or photos.
4. Empathise with Their Pain
As you target their emotions, empathise with their pain. This works best if you’ve been in the situation yourself or have someone close to you who’s been there.
“Empathy creates an emotional connection, which elevates the sales conversation” -Colleen Stanley, President and CSO, Salesleadership Inc.
Consumers buy products from people and companies that understand them. If you can’t understand and feel their pain, you’ll have a hard time selling them a product that’s supposed to relieve that pain.
5. Tell Stories
The best way to use emotion and empathy in your copy is to tell a story.
People want to buy from people who are like them, who’ve been in their shoes.
It’s in your best interest to share relatable stories so that they can make an emotional connection with you.
These stories also add personalization to your copy, boosting your relatability.
6. Break Down False Beliefs
Naturally, when selling something, people are going to have their objections. Here are some examples of false beliefs a consumer might have:
“This can’t work for me, I’ve already tried everything.”
“The price is too high.”
“I’m not experienced enough.”
This is natural. Your job as the copywriter is to understand their predisposed beliefs and gently break them down in your copy. Here are some examples of combatting those negative objections:
“This industry has never used this innovative technology before”
“You’ll save thousands on doctor appointments and medicine”
“Here are 3 testimonials from a high school dropout who did it…”
Find out what your audience may object to and word your copy so that it reassures them.
7. Emphasise the Results, Not the Product
More importantly than explaining what your product is, is how it will change their life.
Going back to our weight loss example, sell the fact that they’ll be proud to go to their high school reunion or take group photos. Remind them of how fun clothes shopping can be when you look good in everything or how they won’t lose your breath keeping up with their kids.
8. Break It Up
Even if you’re the best copywriter in the world, your audience’s eyes are going to glaze over when they see pages and pages of text.
Protect your customer’s attention span and break up your copy with subheaders, graphics, infographics, product images, and even an image of yourself.
This tends to create a feeling of connection with your customers by showing them that behind this product is a real person, not a sales-y scammer.
When in doubt, use the ‘blank paper test’. The idea is that if you removed all of your copy and graphics from the pages leaving only the headers, could you understand what you were selling?
9. Harness the Power of Testimonials
Social proof is huge when it comes to sales. If you don’t believe us then ask us why you’re not rocking bellbottoms or velvet tracksuits. As consumers, we want to see that other people took the same risk and had a positive experience.
When high ticket items added testimonials to their sales pages, they saw impact saw a whopping 380% increase in sales.
Testimonials also boost your credibility, which brings us to our next point…
10. Insert Credibility
Inserting your credibility into your copy is another way to convince your audience that not only do you have a great product but that you know what you’re doing.
If you’re running a weight loss program you may want to note that you’re a nutritionist, experienced personal trainer, or doctor. You can also list the clients or companies you’ve worked with to build up your credibility. “These companies trusted me to bring them results so you can too.”
11. Invoke Scarcity and Urgency
You want to avoid the “let me think about it” people who can’t make a fast decision and eventually pass on a good deal.
To do this, create a sense of urgency in your product. Here are some examples:
- Only 3 spots left and last year there was a 26-person waiting list.
- Limited time until “so and so” date
- Marketing promotion, you’ll never see this deal again
- Until supplies left
- I only have room to take on 6 more clients
This will urge people to take action and make a decision but abusing urgency, especially fake urgency is bad practice.
12. Remove the Risk
To get your potential customer over the final hurdle, offer them a risk-free guarantee or a money back policy for a certain amount of time. It removes any anxiety they might have on spending money or trusting you and your product.
This allows them to try out your product no matter what. And if they don’t like it or didn’t see results, they can get a refund, no questions asked. No risk involved.
For most people, that’s all they wanted to hear and now they’re ready to buy.
13. Seal the Deal with Clear Call to Action (CTA)
At this point you want to do one thing: get them to buy. Don’t mess this part up by having a hard to find or confusing CTA button.
Make it big and clear. It should look clickable and be clear that clicking this button will satisfy their need.
Here are some examples for writing copy for your button:
- Buy Now
- Send Me My Book
- Sign Me Up
- Book Now
- Get Started
- Add to Bag
- Schedule My Call
- Send Me My Book
- Let’s Talk
- Join In
- Try it for FREE
You can get creative with the text as long as it’s clear about the action.
14. Exit Intent Technology
Ever wonder how just when you’re about to leave a site, a cleverly timed pop-up jumps out at you?
We call this an exit intent pop-up and it’s extremely successful in 1) getting attention and 2) giving your product a second look.
This can be a chance to opt-in and get something free but usually, on a copy page, it’s a discount offer on the product they’re walking away from.
Perfect Your Sales Page
Now you’ve learned all about writing the perfect sales page copy, but do you know who can help you perfect it?
Here at Optimise and Grow Online, we specialise in content marketing, marketing consulting, SEO, blogging, and online business development. To see how we can help you reach goals in your business, book your free discovery call today!
Strategic Optimisation + Growth consultant for lean start-ups and change-making entrepreneurs enabling them to grow their business in a sustainable and profitable way. My super-powers are business optimisation, CX, SEO, and leveraging data insights for business growth. #fuelledbycoffee
Originally published at optimiseandgrowonline.com.au on March 24, 2019.
