10 Words, 5 Graphic Elements & 1 Huge Tip For Boosting Sales Page Conversion

Category Copywriting | Comments Off

Sales pages are one of the most finicky, most difficult, and most important pages you’ll ever create, and getting it right is absolutely crucial. Otherwise, you can send obscene amounts of traffic to the page and funnel them perfectly from various sources, but you’ll never make any more because you can’t convert them. Thankfully, I’ve come up with a list of words, graphics, and tips that will not only make landing page creation easier, but far more profitable!

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10 Words That Inspire Trust and Compel Visitors To Follow Your Call to Action

Sales copy has a number of different jobs to do. It needs to:

• Inform
• Inspire trust
• Push and pull the reader’s emotions
• Answer questions
• Show benefits
• Indentify with the target audience
• Convince them to spend money

That’s a lot to accomplish with mere words! In fact, I liken sales copy to painting a masterpiece; while it’s the entire picture that matters in the end, it’s the individual colors and elements that make all the difference between a Picasso and a playschool chocolate pudding doodle. When it boils right down to it, the exact words you choose to use will ultimately determine the power of the copy.

Here are ten magic words that can significantly boost profits for almost anything:

1. Free — Who doesn’t like free?

2. Guarantee(d) — No risk, which means ‘nothing to lose, everything to gain’, at least if you do it right!

3. Results — This is the whole point of buying from you or signing up, isn’t it?

4. Fast — Customers want a solution, but they don’t want to wait and who can blame them?

5. Easy — Buyers don’t want to work hard. They want you to do this part for them. Makes sense.

6. Save — Even the world’s millionaires want to save money/hassle/etc.

7. Money (specific amounts are even better…Numbers. They’re helpful too!) — We all love money!

8. Now — Like ‘fast’, no one wants to wait, but this works for you too by convincing them not to wait.

9. You — It is all about the reader after all!

10. Discover — This word plays on a reader’s instinct. Customers want to know, they HAVE to know. Now.

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5 Must Have Graphic Elements For Landing Pages

If a site is going to appear trustworthy and make money, it absolutely has to look the part. And just like copy, it’s the basic elements that often make the most difference. So, here are 5 elements you want to make sure your sales pages have:

1. Action Button — Whether it’s a ‘buy now’ button, a send button on a contact form, or a button that takes the visitor to a destination page, your sales page has to have some sort of an action button. But, this can’t just be any old button. It has to be instantly identifiable as the page’s destination, people have to know what will happen when they click it, and while this might sound stupid, it has to actually work! (You’d be amazed if I told you how many times someone sends me a link to a sales page with a buy button that takes me back to the home page! Just. Don’t. Do. It.)

2. Seals — I don’t mean the ones who balance beach balls on their noses and slap flippers. I mean graphic seals. Verisign by Visa, certification (from real companies/organizations!), awards (again…real ones only people), Better Business Bureau, and other reputable seals put the customer at ease. In short, they make you look trustworthy and show the customer you know what you’re talking about.

3. Picture of the Product (Hero Shot) — Comparing sales pages with and without a picture of the product is a lot like comparing a 1-900 number to a webcam dating site. Sure, she might sound pretty, but are you really getting what you pay for? Customers want to see exactly what it is they’re paying for.

Hold on, you say, what about services? Well, you might not be able to take a picture of the service, but you should be able to include an image of the results. If you clean cars for a living, for instance, a picture of a sparkly, fancy vehicle is just the thing. If you’re a lawyer, show pictures of you in court, happy clients, and even money (you handing it to someone, not taking it. Just thought I’d clarify that).

4. Font and Formatting is Everything — The font needs to be easy to read, but you also need to cater to visitors who skim pages rather than reading them. This requires a careful use of bold/italics/underline, bulleted lists, color, and even font size. When you’re done, the visitor should be able to get an understanding of your product or service just by reading these stylized portions of the text.

5. Space — Just because the space is available doesn’t mean you need to use it. Include only the elements you see as necessary on the page and forget the rest. It also helps if you make the most important graphic the most prominent on the page.

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Drum Roll… One Big Tip for Landing Pages

Take the time to test everything and analyze the results.

But, don’t just go all gung-ho on the thing. Test as many things you would like, but only test a couple of elements at a time. Otherwise, you’ll notice improvements or failures, but have no idea exactly what caused it.

And most importantly, write down and keep track of exactly what you tested, when, and what the outcome is. If you track things properly, you’ll be able to tell exactly what effects the tests have on the sales funnels as well. Lastly, don’t underestimate the small things. Even something as simple as changing the color of the text by a few shades can have a huge effect.

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How To Improve Trust and Credibility With Copy

Category Copywriting | 2 comments »

No matter how good your copy and site design is, no two visitors will ever think the same thing or have the same experience. Every element, color, and letter will prompt different ideas, thoughts, and actions. ‘Well, how the hell do you maximize your conversions then?’ you’re likely wondering. Simple, my friends, simple.

By communicating and identifying with visitors in some way, they’ll naturally want to follow your call to action. You need to talk to each visitor just as you would a dear friend who’s going through a crisis; by listening, validating, and understanding them on a level that others normally don’t. Then, you want to guide them and help make the connection between you and their desires and needs.

In fact, beer and fast food commercials use this technique all the time. Here’s a good example:

Aside from the fact it’s absolutely hilarious, you’ll notice the beer at the end of the commercial is described as ‘fresh’, ’smooth’, and ‘real’. Also, when they show the beer, it looks as if it has just come out of the cooler because it has water and little ice crystals sliding down the side of the bottle. It LOOKS delicious, refreshing, and makes you want a beer, even if it is 7am!

This is the power of suggestion at work my friends! Commercials that feature a gorgeous broad making ga-ga eyes at a beer guzzling guy use the same type of technique. Same with makeup commercials that consist of a beautiful woman surrounded by muscle-bound hunks. If you buy their product, you’ll look sexy get what you want, and everything will end perfectly.

Using Suggestion In Your Copy and Site Design

The first thing you need to do is get inside your visitor’s head. What is the main thing they looking for? Peace? Relief? Satisfaction? Everyone might have a different concept of what exactly that is, but it should still fulfill most of your visitors in a specific way.

If you have a site that sells chocolate, the last thing you want to do is remind visitors about their diet, sugar levels, or costs/bills. You want to create a site that reminds them of the smooth, silky, and sinfully sweet heaven they’ll be taken to the instant the chocolate touches their taste buds. Why? Because when they search for ‘chocolate’ and land on your site, that’s exactly what they’re looking for.

But how do you know what your target audience is looking for? Simply ask ‘is what?’ after each main thought until you find the ultimate answer. So, for example:

Chocolate…is what? Junk food>> Savory Treat>> Delicacy/Luxury>> Indulgence>> Satisfaction/Captivation/Bliss

(If I were selling tulips, it’d look something like: Tulips>> Sign of Spring>> Flower>> Plant>> Fresh>> Pretty>> Natural Beauty >> Simplicity)

If you’re aiming at middle aged moms, paint a picture of a woman who has worked hard all week. She cuddles in on the couch with a good book and a deliciously expensive glass of red wine. There’s soft music in the background, candles glowing, no kids interrupting, and nothing to worry about.

But, if you’re marketing a chocolate bar that’s going to fill a hungry stomach until mealtime, use a mom in the middle of household chaos. She takes a quick coffee break, bites into the chocolate bar, and the noise disappears, instantly transporting her somewhere else.

This trick works for taglines, headlines, the main concept for the site, and other short quips that are often really difficult to determine. In the case of the Tulips, I’d be looking to do something with simple, natural beauty.

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Identifying With Visitors Builds Trust

If you think back to the exact time an acquaintance became a friend, when did it happen? I’d be willing to bet that a majority of the time it happened when you realized that other person really understood you and could honestly relate to your situation. When you get right down to it, you’ll discover that all the people you trust the most ‘get you’ in one way or another. So, if you want to inspire trust on your website, showing site visitors that you ‘get’ them is one of the most important steps you can make.

Want to know a few other ways your copy can enhance your site’s credibility?

• While you may choose to customize each conversion path for a specific visitor, be careful not to contradict yourself. Each ’story’ should complement the rest of the site’s content!
• Negative things such as acknowledging one of the company’s shortcomings isn’t as horrible as it seems. Not only does it make you sound human, but admitting to mistakes helps you become more trustworthy because you didn’t try to bury it in a closet somewhere.
• On the same note, connecting directly with customers is a fantastic idea. However, be aware that eventually you’re either going to get negative feedback (see the previous bullet point) or you’re going to get a question you can’t answer. Don’t try to hide it. Instead, admit you don’t know the answer and offer to find out.

How does your website help build trust and credibility?

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5 Writing Tools No Internet Marketer Should Be Without

Category Tools and Resources | 9 comments »

Writing compelling content is difficult at the best of times. You have to use a target audience’s hot buttons, emotions, and deepest needs to convince them to buy. But, unless you’ve got a real knack for this type of thing, it just isn’t as easy as it sounds. Thankfully, there’s a few tools that can make it a whole lot easier.

Fair Warning: ‘easier’ does NOT mean these tools create ‘foolproof’ copy! (A hammer only works when you miss your finger!)

Linked In, Facebook &/or Social Search

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Once you’ve identified the target audience, you need to learn from them, and who better to learn from than one of them? These Social Networks and searches make it easy to find someone in the perfect target market, learn a bit more about them, gather ideas, and see what the product or service’s competition is up to. You’ll even find it easier to write or sell because you can pretend you’re selling to one of them.

Evernote

One of the best ways to learn how to write better copy is to practice writing and reading someone else’s sales copy. So, when I find a good piece of copy, I clip it and put it into Evernote. Then, I can write them out and get to learn how to improve the results of my copy. These bits can also act as a guide while providing you with ideas for handling certain situations. Lastly, it’s also a good place to keep information about the various products, services, and their competitors as well as examples of good titles and ideas.

ReadPlease

Finding mistakes is tough enough, but things such as awkwardly worded phrases can be almost impossible to find unless someone else reads the copy to you. That’s exactly what ReadPlease does. It’s robotic sounding, but you’d be amazed at how many mistakes you can catch with it.

Whiteboard

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Whether you choose an online whiteboard, or the more freeing real-life version, writers need a spot to track site structure, concepts, facts, and develop ideas. And with the freedom of a whiteboard, there are no limitations. Trust me, after using one to structure a piece of copy, you’ll wonder how you ever wrote something without it. (It’s also good for jotting down quick notes, but so is Sticky Notes, if you’re interested.)

WYSIWYG, Keyword Analyzer & Email

Off all the tools listed here, I rely on these three the most. The online WYSIWYG makes it pretty easy to code up your text and leaves it nice and clean. The keyword analysis tool is one of the select few online you can use to calculate keyword density simply by copy and pasting.

Your email program can also be extremely helpful. Now, I know you’re going ‘duh’, but it’s actually a great code cleaner. You see, MS Office has a habit of loading text full of useless code that seems almost impossible to get rid of. To fix this problem, email the file to yourself. Then, preview the file in the email program, select the text, copy, and paste it wherever you need it. You’ll find it keeps the HTML without all the junk. (This tip came from someone several months ago, but I can’t remember who. If that’s you, I’d love to link to the post!)

Oh! One last thing! I’m testing out a Firefox addon called ‘After the Deadline’, which is a spelling, grammar, and style checker. You might like it!

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Is Your Social Media Strategy Like Your Favorite Jeans?

Category Marketing concepts | 7 comments »

A favorite pair of jeans is easy to identify. It’s the pair we frantically dig for Saturday morning and we’ll wear them all weekend, even if they get a ketchup or coffee stain. They’re a must have when we want to relax and watch movies…well, we might also hunt down a bag of Cheetos…oh and possibly a tub of mint chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream…

Where was I? Oh yeah, we love our favorite jeans, but they’ve got holes in them and they don’t exactly show off our best features, if you know what I mean. Interestingly, I’ve found a lot of businesses do the same thing with their Social Media strategy, and this isn’t always a good thing.

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Getting Comfortable

When you start using Social Media for your business (PDF), it’s uncomfortable. Things don’t always go where they’re supposed to and the entire thing feels strange. But, after you’ve used it for awhile, you start to get comfortable and things just seem to work. It feels natural.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with this (that awkward tweeting, blog commenting, and updating can’t exactly give your business a professional mage), but don’t get stuck in the rut either. I’m a firm believer in the concept that if you’re bored with it, your client base likely is too. Don’t be afraid to do things a little differently and let loose once in awhile (within reason, of course!).

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Not Testing and Tracking Different Options

Chances are, you and your best friend aren’t going to like the same jeans, so don’t be afraid to try a few different pairs, colors, or styles. The same can be said for Social Media concepts. Here’s what I mean:

It’s not hard to throw some buttons on a blog or website to your social profiles, but there’s a lot more to using Social Media than that. First, the public can be very fickle.

Imagine you have two sites in the same industry, selling the same things, and using similar templates and content. You’ll likely find the two audiences behave in very different ways and have different needs. It could be the feel of the site, how it was shared, who links to it, and an unlimited number of other factors.

The important thing is to take the time to test things thoroughly instead of relying on ‘well, so-and-so said it worked on his site’. Also, don’t change lots of things at once. Change one or two things and let it go for a good length of time, otherwise you’ll notice an improvement or loss and not know what caused it! Lastly, without a basic understanding of testing, you’ll find yourself unable to truly benefit from the information you’ve collected.

Oh… please, please, please, for the love of the Internet gods, PLEASE:

• use a decent analytics program
  
• keep track of what you’ve tested, when, and the results of each. When something goes wrong, you’ll figure out why.
  

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Focusing On One For Far Too Long

Most people figure out how to add social features to their website or send out links to whatever it is they’re selling. They’ll even build up a pretty good following on Facebook, StumbleUpon, Delicious, and other sites.

And just like their wardrobe, most businesses find themselves favoring one site or format over another. As a result, they end up missing out on other valuable opportunities.

A good number of businesses completely forget to complete the connection. In other words, they never think to move people from one Social Network to another or from their Social Networks to their main site. (Most users don’t just voluntarily seek you out on other sites unless you’ve made a solid personal connection with them.) And let’s face it, this is how you’re going to get the biggest bang for your buck!

Twitter works well for this. When you tweet a link to your latest blog post, for example, people who follow you will move from Twitter to your website because they have something to gain. It’s the promise of something that lures them from one place to the other. So, knowing that, why in the heck do you not do the same elsewhere and for other networks?

Use contests, games, content, and other strategy components to get people to engage and connect with you as much as you can. In most instances, it’s simply a matter of showing the value of connecting with you elsewhere (Mentioning a collection of additional tips and how tos on YouTube to blog subscribers, for example). Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean make things difficult for them! You should incorporate links, buttons, and whatever else works to make the jump from one site to another as easy as possible.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject, don’t always request things from the same network of people. Eventually, they’re going to get tired of doing this, buying that before this sale runs out, or jumping into the next exciting contest. Mix things up and try to find a good balance between the needs of your business and your followers.

Is your Social Media strategy like your favorite pair of jeans? Are you happy with the direction it’s going? Or have you gotten too comfortable with it in its current state?

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