Jan
28
The One Thing You Have To Know About Sales Pages
I just released some paper productivity planners, and the reason I’m telling you this is not because I want you to run over and buy them – though that would be cool – but instead because I’m going through the very thing that I’m going to be telling you today.
Few people actually like writing sales pages, and it doesn’t matter whether they write long sales pages or short sales pages – there are plenty of things we’d rather be doing. When you think about it, though, it’s easy to see why we hate it: writing your sales page causes a lot of overwhelm and Stuck because you know that the success of your sales is riding on that one page.
All of your hard work is resting on that page.
Your mortgage might be resting on that page.
Your credibility is resting on that page.
All of your Resistance and creative doubt is manifested in that sales page.
If you’re a creative, compassionate entrepreneur, your heart is on that page. You want to help people and you want them to get your Stuff, and people not buying it can feel like a complete rejection of who you are.
So, yeah, it sucks. Going into a process with all of that built into it is gut-wrenching, and it’s no wonder that so many people bail out on selling because they know they’ll have to write a sales page. It’s not just you.
Since it’s such a onerous process, many of us try to get through the process as quickly as possible. We write the sales page and have a few people look at it really late in the process because we really don’t want the feedback. We want it to be done already.
Moving Beyond Crappy Sales Pages
Here’s what you have to understand: the people who actually sell their stuff write their sales pages multiple times.
Let that sink in for a second.
Your first draft of a sales page is rarely good enough. It’s a start, but you’ll have to do it again.
You probably won’t focus on the benefits of your product, and you definitely won’t place your benefits up front.
You probably won’t be talking to the people who need your Stuff.
You probably won’t be clear about what comes with it.
You probably won’t walk people through the buying process.
You know what? That’s okay. It’s not just you. The sales page I had up for the product I just released didn’t do anything of these things, either, and I know better.
You Can’t Press Rewind, But You Don’t Have To Press Pause
Let’s get real here: your sales page is just a web page that can be rewritten just like anything else. Yes, it would have been better for it to be right the first time, but you can fix it now. And, if you’re serious about getting your Stuff out in the world, you should fix it now.
And three months from now, you should fix it again. Three months after that, you should fix it again.
Do you see a trend here?
Add that killer testimonial. Change that word that snagged people. Answer the objection that caused someone to return your product. Talk about why the product excites you.
Once you accept that your sales page will never be perfect and that there are always things you can do to make it more effective, maybe you can let go of all the overwhelm, Stuck, and anxiety and actually get your gift out in the world. Sure, when you release your next product, you’ll probably fall down all over again – but it’s a hell of a lot easier to get up as you do it more.
Our sales pages are as much of a continual work in progress as we are. Whether you accept this and do something about it or fight it doesn’t matter; it’s the way things are.
About the Author: Charlie Gilkey writes about meaningful action, creativity, and entrepreneurship at Productive Flourishing. Follow him on Twitter to get bite-sized slices of mojo.
It’s amazing how different it looks from the time you write it then 1 day later, and especially a few months later.
I also starting using the free heatmap script called clickheat. That helps.
Thanks for the heads up on clickheat, Nick! Will have to check it out, although I’m loathe to get stat-crazy. That’s one of my vices I have to watch out for.
So in addition to being the most kick ass get-er-done dude I know, now you’re psychic?
Because you must have been in my head while you were writing this.
Because I’ve been losing my shit over sales pages a lot lately.
Wait.
It’s not just me?
Everyone has this problem?
I need to let that one sink in.
*please hold while I soak up your smartness*
This couldn’t have come at a better time.
Seriously.
And that rewind/pause thing?
Exactly what I needed to hear.
You nailed it.Again.
Big thanks.
It’s not just you, Fabeku … sales pages have to be THE hardest thing I write (apart from, maybe, About pages). Oddly, I can look at other people’s sales pages and tell ‘em what to change … but mine?
I *know* I lost money on the last product because I didn’t do the sales page properly in the first place. In the end, I took the rough layout/format from one of Dave Navarro’s (shhhh, don’t tell ;-)) and I put in testimonials from some of the lovely reviews I’d had.
When I sit down and write a sales page in a few days, Charlie, I’ll be reading this again… thank you!
You’re welcome, too, Ms. Hale. And you’re definitely right about the about pages.
Definitely not just you, Sound Ninja. I’m glad it helped.
Charlie, you turned your software on again, didn’t you? This is what I’m facing at the moment in my need-to-finish list. Sales pages. Thanks for the reminder to write, re-write, and write again. I usually try to do one take and call it quits.
I have found it helpful to email or link the fist draft to a trusted observer to critique and edit. Usually not family (sorry Dad).
Thanks for the great post.
That’s a great technique – and it’s even better when they get and enjoy your thing. (Hmm, there’s some fodder here…)
I must be weird, because I actually LOVE writing sales pages.
Also? Split-testing. You are throwing money away if you’re not doing it.
Your weirdness is both manifest and well-documented, Michael. And we love you for it.
You’re dead on about split-testing, too.
Ditto what @Michael Martine said.
Crete the most perfect sales page in the world. And then make a second version. Try a different headline. Try short versus long. Try different calls to action. And then test the crap out of those puppies.
Google has a fantastic (free!) split-test tool called Website Optimizer. You need two live versions of your page, and lil’ bit o’ Javascriptin’ and you’re good to go. (The tool also does multi-variate testing, which is really the bomb, but you have to get at least 4,000 visitors to your site to be able to run this kind of test.)
Well, this makes me feel better. I’ve been writing and rewriting my sales page for weeks. Just need to get the darn thing out there and THEN rewrite it.
Glad to know I’m not the only one who struggles with this. (And I usually enjoy writing!)
By the way, I had no idea what the heck a “premium planner” was. I clicked on your link and the first sentence or two still didn’t really pull me in. Maybe I’m not the right audience, but I thought this might be good feedback anyway. (I use a cheap notebook to plan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-yer_cy3-Q )
-Erica
I’m glad this helped, Erica, and I’m glad you gave the feedback about not knowing what the premium planners were. I’ve fixed it, but notice the blind spot? ;p
Big agreement on this one. I usually spend about a month on a sales page. If I know I have a new one coming up I’ll start at LEAST a month early so I can let it percolate in my brain. Also I’ve found that it’s an activity that I just cannot force. I have to be in that special writing mojo mood for it to work. So I have to give myself enough time to have enough of those moods before it needs to go live!
And I continue to see them as a work in process as Charlie said.
Ali and Charlie, I’m glad to hear it’s not just me.
I mean, it sucks that other people struggle with this. But I thought I was an extra large hot mess when it came to this stuff.
This post has been running through my head all day. In the best possible way.
Charlie, this is so awesome, thank you. :)
I have some existing pages that I rip off, er, model, and that helps me hugely. It gives me a starting point, something to edit rather than a blank page to fill.
But I think it’s very easy for all of us to forget that it’s about the tweaking, it’s not about being some Master Copywriter who gets it perfect the first time. (The real masters, the guys in the direct mail world who do that for gigantic dollars, take many months to write their stuff — and they still often fail.)
Sonia, I’m so glad you say that (about direct mail guys taking many months and still failing). I get really hard on myself about my writing. I’m still working on it, but always feel it’s my big weak area.
Thank you for this! I think a lot of this advice can apply to writing Etsy listings. You also have me pondering if I should update my site’s Where to Shop page.
Even though I write copy in one form or another for clients every day, I have a very difficult time writing copy for myself. I’m just too close to my own products and services.
I’ve found 3 things that help:
1. following a template or structure
2. imagining that I’m just talking to my Ideal Customer over a cup of tea
3. stepping away for a day or two and coming back to edit with fresh eyes
I hope these ideas help somebody else as well.
Great blog. I was just thinking today I need to start my sales page. Guess there’s no time like the present to dive in and get it rolling. Now if only I was writing a sales page about sales pages…
My goal is to one day have people buy stuff without sales pages just because they think I’m awesome.
Ok, not really. But, I totally agree with you. I am trying to get into the habit of also revising my web site pages every once in awhile too because they are like little sales pages too. It’s amazing how many things are glaringly obvious when you go back later.
Charlie
The thing that helps me most from this post is that it’s ok to go back and re-edit a page.
My lizard brain goes, ‘Well, if you have to go back and edit it, you must have done the wrong thing in the first place, and *everyone* has seen it now, so…’
Hyuh.
Everyone saw it. The whole internet.
Thanks for the clear-cut wisdom.
@Heidi – Thanks for the mention of Website Optimizer – split testing – that’s, like, real marketing. Wow. Gonna check it out.
OMG, the “everyone” thing. Totally. I get that all the time.
The best thing to fix that, in my tragic experience, is to launch a product with as much fanfare as humanly possible. Then wait about 6 weeks, and take it off the shelves, to an equal amount of fanfare.
Then count the number of people who email you saying they have never heard of the product at all.
Kind of puts the “everybody’s already read it” thing in perspective.
Oh boy. Getting ready to launch a new product, I’m fretting over the sales page. This actually eased my mind a tad.
Also the fake ones break really easily and look