When it comes to creating an outstanding sales page, you want the writing that appears on the page to pull the visitor in and immerse them into whatever the page is selling.
This could be your products, your services, or the mission of your company.
Excellent copywriting will reduce any risk that a potential customer may feel towards you, it will answer any questions up front, it will call us to act, and it will highlight the benefits of what you are selling.
Unfortunately, one of the most overlooked items of sales pages is the copywriting as most website developers or owners will tinker with the color, spend hours on their videos, and put up crisp and clear photographs, all without creating engaging text.
In this article, we will highlight eight tips that you can use to make your sales page go from decent to outstanding.
1. Be Clear and Concise: you want your writing to be clear and concise but you don’t want to “dumb” it down as this can have a negative impact on how you make your visitor feel about themselves. Instead, make sure to keep close to the point and do not over-explain or run off topic. Your goal here is to deliver the core concepts of your piece in such a way that it is understandable, easy to follow, and uses descriptive language that plays on your audience’s senses. Avoid run-on sentences where possible.
2. Research: you cannot just place any type of written content on your sales pages, rather, you have to be able to talk about what you have knowledge of. Writing that is not backed by research, expertise, and authenticity will be very clear to the reader. Make sure that you have a full and masterful understanding of your topic, your competitors, and your offering, first. Displaying your own knowledge of the subject matter is often one of the key factors that will determine whether or not a reader continues reading. If they continue reading, you are more likely to make a sale.
3. Eye-Catching Subject Lines: having a brilliant body paragraph does nothing for you if your subject line is bland, uninspiring, and easy to gloss over. Make sure that your headlines are eye-catching, intriguing, and play off as “hooks”, as this will grab the reader’s attention. There are many ways that you can accomplish this, but a few include starting with a simple question that highlights your audience’s problem, choosing to go with a list-style subject line that is quick to understand or create a comparison line between your product and your competitors’.
4. Find the Problem, Solve the Problem: if a reader decides on buying anything, the reasoning behind it will be to solve some sort of problem. It will be your job to identify what this problem might be and then subsequently solve it with your product or service. More often than not, the problem will have something to do with your reader’s fears, like a pest infestation or out of control debt, and thus offering a solution will require you to gain an in-depth understanding of your audience.
5. Speak Your Audience’s Language: in many cases, it is safer to use general terms to appeal to your audience rather than niche-branded terms unless your sales page is targeting a very specific audience that would have prior knowledge about your sales topic. By doing this, you help your audience relate to you and what you’re talking about which, in turn, encourages them to purchase from you.
6. Talk Like it’s a Conversation: it’s much more enjoyable to have a conversation than it is to listen to a sales pitch, as conversations are more relatable, they make your reader feel special, and they do not isolate the reader with technical jargon. When you act like you are talking to your best friend, you have a higher chance of converting leads.
7. Avoid Sounding Passive: keeping to the present tense, making solid statements and talking with confidence, are all methods you can use to avoid sounding passive. When your copywriting uses passive voice, it assigns less responsibility to the action, meaning it has less power. You want to sound powerful.
8. Don’t Beat Around the Bush: asking for the sale might seem too pushy but is, in fact, a necessary measure to take. Readers respond to transparency more than anything, so if what you want is for them to click a link, fill out a form or even just think a particular thought, make that want known. This is where you need to use call-to-action buttons, forms, and pop-ups that are aesthetically pleasing to look at and that enhance what you’ve just said.
Copywriting is not just for sales pages. The same principles can apply to your social media posts and emails, too. After all, copywriting is more than just what you say… it’s what you convey.
If you want to master how to write effective copy, and 10 other crucial skillsets to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to What’s Working Now, join the EZMetrics Mastermind to gain access our digital marketing library that will help you generate an unlimited supply of your perfect customers.