On day 4 of this New Year, we’re discussing a powerful customer conversion tool.
What do sales mean to you? Are they not the pulse of your company, the very lifeblood of your livelihood? After all, without marketing that converts to sales, your business might as well be declared dead on arrival. For this reason, we are spotlighting the importance of creating an awesome sales page for your business website as our fourth New Year’s Success Tip.
The Value of a Copywriter When in Need of a Great Sales Page
Before diving into the how to portion of our discussion, let’s get one thing straight. There is one major don’t when it comes to creating a successful sales page, the kind that converts and actively generates business: don’t write it yourself.
Now, hold up just one minute; a copywriter? Are you wondering if I’m for real right now? You’re probably thinking that you learned how to write in grade school and have only improved your skills since. Writing is a fundamental of business communication; it’s a basic skill practically every person on the planet possesses. Why on earth should you pay for someone to do something you know how to do?
You’ve no doubt hired at least one of the following since launching your business: a designer, a web designer, or a marketing professional. You probably envisioned your logo design, but you needed a designer to take care of the details. You might have known exactly how you wanted your website to look, but you needed a web designer to execute the behind-the-scenes Meta tagging and website programming that made your site more than just another pretty face. You’re the President of your company, and you know exactly how to best market your product or service. But you needed a marketing professional to oversee the nitty-gritty work and stay current on industry and marketing trends. Believe it or not, a copywriter is just as important as a designer, web designer, and marketing professional.
Michael Irvin, a marketing and graphic design expert, had this to say in one of his Biznik articles, “It’s a rare business owner who can write effective ad copy or web content let alone the myriad of pieces of copy that a good marketing plan requires.” It’s even harder for some business owners to understand how hiring a good copywriter makes them money.
Why Copywriters Are Experts
It is an unfortunate fact that far too many businesses fail to see copywriters as industry experts. Quality copywriters—the really good writers—opt for journalism degrees over business degrees. Writing comes much more naturally to them than any other type of person on the planet. What might take you days to write, takes them mere hours, which is just one reason why copywriters make you money—they save you precious time.
Quality copywriters are experts who know how to craft effective copy. They intimately understand how to wield words to motive potential customers. More importantly, in today’s technology driven age, they are experts on creating quality website content.
The Importance of Strong Website Content
In November of 2013, we discussed how low-quality copywriting can kill your website. One of the key points highlighted is the dramatic changes Google has introduced for ranking websites. Repetitive information, irrelevant content, misused keywords, keyword heavy content, poorly chosen links, and thin content used to mean nothing. But now each of these “minor copywriting details” can wipe your website right off the search engine map.
Copywriters, like designers, understand every detail of their field from microscopic to gigantic. They stay current on the ever-changing online scene, and this makes them invaluable when creating your website’s sales page. Not only will their word wielding expertise speak to and motivate potential customers, but their understanding of trending technology will save you time and make you money as your search engine rank rises.
In case you’re still on the fence about hiring a professional, let’s look at the consequences of poorly written copy:
- Say good-bye to credibility. A copywriter doesn’t just craft opinion. They understand the importance of checking the facts, presenting supportive references, and educating your customer base. Educated customers are more likely to buy, and much more likely to be satisfied.
- Forget trust. In order for people to even give you lead information, they must first trust you. Poorly written copy can break trust before it’s even built. Copywriters understand how to build trust through well-written and well-formatted copy. They write not just to sell your company, but also to reach out and connect with your customer base, building a relationship on well-founded trust.
- Loyalty? What loyalty? Potential customers often see the quality of your web content as a reflection of your business standards, ethics, and values. The better the content, the stronger your credibility. The stronger your credibility, the more likely a customer is to trust you. Once you’ve established a trusting relationship with your customer base, customer loyalty follows. If you skimp on the copy, you can kiss this entire process and any hope of customer loyalty good-bye.
The point to take away, the one you’ve likely formulated in your head by now, is that hiring a great copywriter is a necessity. If you let just anyone write your sales page, NO ONE will convert. You will fail to generate maximum sales potential, and the pulse of your business will eventually die. Need some tips for picking a quality copywriter? You’re in luck; we discussed just this topic in 5 Keys to Choosing Your Content Writer before You Start Interviewing.
Creating an Awesome Sales Page
Your website sales page is your primary means of converting sales. You built your website because you wanted to sell something. If you have a single product, you probably kept it simple. You have a single page website spotlighting your product, explaining the benefits, offering relevant reasons to buy and providing a means of purchase. If you offer multiple products or multi-tiered services, your website is no doubt boasting meatier content and multiple pages.
Before embarking on the sales page of your website, first decide whether a single sales page will meet your needs. Will a single sales page grow cluttered, slowing the customer down, or will it give them a quick means to taking precise action?
Sales Page Length is Important
Neil Patel wrote a fascinating article for QuickSprout.com, in which he conducted an experiment about how content length affects ranking and conversion. He introduced two homepages to the web, one at 1,292 words and the other at only 488 words. The first homepage with over 1,000 words converted 7.6 percent better than the 488-word version. The leaders generated from the longer page were better quality and contributed to higher conversion. What’s the conclusion? Larger content length makes Google happier (your ranking increases) and your conversion rate increases.
On an average, your sales page should be in the 2,000 plus word length. Google prefers sites rich with content. At the same time, Google prefers sites with quality content.
9 Essential Tips for Generating Ranking and Conversion
According to WebCredible, the key to a successful sales page—the kind that increases your ranking and conversions—lies in “a basic formula to writing good copy.” It’s important to ensure your sales page includes the following essential elements:
- Use well-written headlines. This is a three-fold element. First, you’ll need a pre-headline, which sets up the main headline. The goal is to capture your reader’s attention. Second, you’ll need the main headline to standout. It should be in the largest font on the page and spotlight the biggest benefit of your product or service. Third, you’ll need a post-headline, which should build on and clarify the main headline. Headlines draw readers in. Almost 90% of your audience will skim the page before deciding whether or not it’s worth their time to read. Stellar headlines will either pique their interest or send them away.
- Create a compelling introduction. The opening sentences of your sales page have a sole purpose: snatch the reader’s interest and hook them so effectively that they dare not tear their eyes away from your content. A skilled copywriter will know exactly how to accomplish this.
- Establish credibility. We keep talking about credibility, don’t we? That’s because credibility is especially important online. It must be established from the beginning or your potential customer could consider your business a scam and disappear forever. Copywriters are skilled at pointing out what makes you highly credible. Some information you can highlight to build credibility includes providing testimonials, using statistics, presenting specific numbers versus approximations, relevant expertise and credentials, product test results, favorable published reviews and displaying your contact information with an address so the customer knows you’re real.
- Bullet out the benefits. Potential customers want to know the benefits of purchasing your product or service over the other guy’s. You can do this in a crisp fashion that stands out to the eye by using a bulleted list. Such lists are easy for the eyes to scan, and sometimes a customer will scan them over before reading the content, which means their interest in the benefits has drawn them in and they’re more likely to buy. Remember: benefits are not features. A single benefit can sell a customer. Be sure your list is not repetitious.
- Present the features, specifications, and/or specifics. A list of feature or specifications tends to apply to a product more than a service. If you’re selling a service, list out the specific services or packages you offer. Unlike the benefits list, this section of your sales page is designed to tell the customer exactly what they’re getting, the product or service details.
- Include a bonus. Depending on your company needs, including a bonus on your sales page is optional. If you can include something of value in additional to the primary product/service your advertising, you’ll attract even more potential consumers. A bonus doesn’t have to be another product. It can be something as simple and useful as a tutorial, quick start guide or a free sample. Whatever you choose to use, be sure it has a specific value.
- Build-up and display your value. This is where you add in the monetary value of the bonus to the monetary value of the product or service. You goal is to clearly show the reader why the price is a great deal. You can further convince them of the value of your offer by comparing similar products or services that provide less and/or cost more. Use value build-up as an opportunity to create a sense of urgency, motivating the reader to take action now.
- Ensure a pleasant purchasing experience. The first rule to placing an order is to ask for it. Utilize an “Order Now” or a “Request a Quote Now” link. Make the ordering experience easy. Instructions should be crystal clear in the form of step-by-step directions. Don’t forget to provide purchasing options so the customer has options such as the ability to order with a credit card, a PayPal account, a personal or business check, or by phone. It’s rare for a customer to opt for a check or phone order, but offer it anyway if possible.
- Craft a conclusion. Never think of purchasing as the conclusion to your sales page, as this can lead the customer to thinking you’re only after their money. Instead, craft at least one final paragraph. Use it as an opportunity to repeat and summarize the important points on your sales page, and make one final request for the order or business.
Your Sales Page
Creating a fresh sales page or improving an existing one can feel like an overwhelming process. Unless you’re an expert copywriter, comfortable with even the most microscopic of copy details and able to quickly turnout a quality piece of sizeable content chalked full of audience and Google appeal, your most valuable investment of 2014 will be hiring a professional copywriter to tackle your website sales page.
