Sales
Letters, and What They're Not Telling You
I
remember the first time I ever laid eyes on an online sales
letter. Fascinated yet repulsed, I quickly skimmed past all
the verbal spew to the bottom, where I expected to find the
punchline and a price point. Instead, I was told to, CLICK
HERE TO BUY!
I
didn't click the link. Back then, I new nothing of online
shopping carts and figured that if I clicked I'd be somehow
ensnared into an obligation, or worse, maybe someone would
record my IP address and find endless ways to harass me. Today,
I not only tolerate long-winded sales letters, but I create
them... both for myself and an ever-growing list of copywriting
and marketing clients.
Now
you may wonder how a skeptic went from anti- to pro-sales
letter. It happened once I fully converted to the internet
marketer mindset. It happened when I realized that I could
put 11+ years of copywriting experience to good use, selling
info products that could help others learn what I know.
So,
the question remains: can this web copywriting
and marketing maven teach you all the tricks she knows
in just one article? Well... probably not ALL of it. But I
can give you a good start by doing my best cannonball dive
into your brain, plucking out the questions you're most likely
to have, and answering them. Here goes.
1.
How do you know if you need a sales letter?
If
you're selling information that can be electronically transmitted,
you need a sales letter. Maybe you're selling a comprehensive
guide that's available in downloadable pdf format. Perhaps
it's a teleclass and you're looking to fill X number of seats
before a certain date. It could be an audio-recording that
purchasers can download in mp3 format. Or, maybe you'd like
to set up lessons that arrive automatically by email.
2.
Why a sales letter? Can't you just link directly to the Order
Checkout page?
You
should avoid discussing the specific details of your product
any other place than your sales page. There's a more practical
reason for this than you'd ever guess. It's because of the
exponential nature of web content.
Let's
say you're selling a 10-page booklet for $29.00, and you advertise
it on 10 web articles, your blog, your web site, your ezine,
your private network, and the blogs, ezines and networks of
your buddies. Content seekers come by and find your offer
interesting, so they copy the details to their article directories,
blogs, and so forth.
What
happens when you want to change the offer? Maybe you revised
the book and now it's 15 pages instead of 10. Or, suppose
you want to offer it for $17.97 for a limited time. Meanwhile,
the power of linking and RSS is pushing your content further
and further out there to new and unexpected eyes.
Uh-oh,
you've got a lot of people to email and beg to update that
info, plus a ton of content to edit yourself! Based on the
above scenario, it makes sense to contain all the pertinent
details of your info product on ONE page - the sales page.
You will always pass that ONE link on. The file path will
never change (if it does - you run the risk of stopping traffic
to your product!). If you should want to update the details,
you only have to do it once. Hence, the need for a sales page.
3. Do I really need salesy copy? Can't I just brief them
on the product details instead?
Millions
of marketers spend thousands of dollars per year perfecting
their persuasive copywriting skills. They do it because persuasion
sells. You have unlimited space on your product page to say
whatever you like. May as well put that to good use with an
energetic pitch for your product. Suppose the product was
in your hand right now, and a potential buyer approached.
Would you just hold out the item and flash a sign with the
price listed on it? Or might you want to say something that
might help them make a purchasing decision? You know what
the answer is.
4. Why so long?
I've
seen many sales letters that never seem to end. They've got
everything on there- the seller's personal story, the aggressive
product pitch, a barrage of benefits, documented case studies
from real life users, a stream of testimonials... and even
a couple of stories about their dog thrown in for good measure.
(Okay - I'm kidding about the dog.)
If
you don't feel comfortable publishing a really long sales
letter, don't do it. Each person is unique and your marketing
should ultimately reflect YOU while emphasizing the advantages
of the product you created. It's worth pointing out though,
that the dreaded long sales letter works as a slow conversion
machine.
No,
people may not be hanging on to every word of your copy. But
after stumbling over your sales page in their travels a couple
of times, that page starts to become recognizable. The familiar,
safe sight of your product, including a somewhat overbearing
but nevertheless necessary supporting argument, does its job
to convert the sale.
The
parts of your copy that will JUMP OUT at people as they gaze
at your work are the BOLDED HEADLINES, the bulleted
advantage copy, and the smiling faces on the testimonials.
(I'm giving away coveted marketing secrets here, so I hope
you're taking notes.)
5.
Why can't I link back to other pages of my site from my sales
page?
The
sales page stands alone. It's a sales tool that, when executed
properly, should lead your readers to click the BUY NOW link,
and nothing more. Your sales page should never contain a navigation
bar that leads back to your Web site. It should not feature
clickable links to your friends' Web sites (although it is
common 'netiquette to list their (unclickable) URLS along
with their testimonials.
Ideally,
any pages that link TO your sales page should allow the sales
letter to open up in a new window. They call this a "blank
target." While you can't always control the way that other
people link, you can control the links from your own web content
to your sales page. You want people to be able to continue
surfing your Web site in one window, while viewing your sales
letter in another. That way, if they opt to X out the sales
letter, you have the chance of them meandering back to your
site to continue reading at their leisure.
6.
How many testimonials should I include?
Between
five and ten powerful testimonials will prove the point that
people are buying your product and gaining satisfaction from
using it. However, some marketers list as many as 20 or 30
testimonials. When it gets to be that much, you're singing
to the tune of, "I'm one of the most popular marketers on
the 'net. Look how many people have lined up to buy my product
and are loving it!"
Many
new marketers will jump at the chance to have their photo
and Web site link featured on a "bigger" marketer's testimonial
page, because they know it will bring added exposure to their
own Web sites and help grow their business. So, include as
many testimonials as you feel comfortable with, depending
on what you want to achieve.
7.
Is there a "formula" for what works?
The
"formula" that worked five years ago may not work today, and
the formula that works on one demographic of customer may
have the opposite effect on another. It's your job to find
the formula that works best on YOUR target audience. Most
sales letters are loosely based on a standard format, but
nobody is holding a gun to your head to duplicate that model.
In fact... out here in the world of free enterprise, people
get extra brownie points for thinking out of the box and causing
a new sensation.
If
you're interested in using a sales page to sell your information
product and need hard-hitting copy written by a seasoned expert,
contact Dina [at] Wordfeeder.com today.
Copyright
2006 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.
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