A great sales page can be a huge asset when it comes to selling digital products like
online courses, digital downloads, or memberships.
If you build it the right way, your sales page will do exactly what its title suggests,
sell and convert customers.
In this video we’re going to share 7 top strategies to help you build a sales page
that converts and gets more people to hit that purchase button.
Let’s get into it.
Hello creators!
I’m Ben Toalson from Podia, where we empower creators like you to make a living doing what
you love.
How you build your sales page can make all the difference when it comes to getting people
to buy.
It doesn’t matter how many people you can get to visit your sales page if you don’t
do an effective job of actually selling.
Ahead we’re going to go over 7 proven strategies for moving people down the sales funnel and
turning them into paying customers.
Strategy number 1: Don’t be a Shakespeare
One of the biggest mistakes creators make when writing copy for their sales page is
trying too hard to sound professional or witty.
Even if many of your customers can keep up with your formidable vocabulary, most people
prefer to read at a level that is more plain and straightforward.
Think about it.
They’re already using mental energy trying to decide whether or not to purchase your
product, you don’t want to make them work harder by being sesquipedalian, building many-splendored,
polysyllabic words into unavailing towers that ultimately collapse under the weight
of their own futility.
Statistically, sales pages that read at a 6th-8th grade reading level or below have
higher conversion rates.
So put away your ten-dollar words and just write using natural language that an 11 year
old could keep up with.
Now if you want to make your copy even more powerful, don’t use your words at all and
I’m not talking about plagiarizing.
Use your customer’s words.
Let me explain what that means.
Your target audience has likely shared their thoughts and feelings about the problem your
product solves in forums, reviews, or maybe even in replies to your own content.
When people read sales copy that uses language they’ve used to describe their problem,
they’re instantly more likely to respond.
How do you find these words?
Look in online forums like reddit.com where the problem your product solves is discussed.
Find reviews for products that are similar to yours and look for customers sharing their
frustrations or ways they wish the product was better.
Conduct a social media survey or even better, use your email newsletter and ask your audience
to share their stories and struggles related to the problem.
Using what you find in your sales copy will create the sense that you understand your
customer’s experience and is a powerful way to deepen trust.
People buy from people they trust.
Once you have these powerful words, how do you use them in a way that will actually be
effective?
That brings us to strategy number 2: Use the P.A.S. formula.
P.A.S. stands for problem, agitate and solution and the way this formula works is you identify
the problem, agitate the pain, and the present the solution.
I’m going to break each of these down and provide some examples of how you might use
your customer’s words in this formula.
First, identify the problem.
In this part of the formula, you are going to describe the problem your product solves.
For example, let’s say your product is an online course about how to get a book publishing
deal.
In your research, maybe you’ve seen people say things like, “I want to publish a book
but I just don’t know where to start,” or “I have a manuscript, but I’m not sure
who I should send it to.”
The “P” in your formula could read something like this:
You’ve written a book (HURRAY!) and now you want to get it published but you just
don’t know where to start.
or
Have you written a book and now you’re not sure who to send your manuscript to?
Second, agitate the pain.
This sounds a bit cruel on the surface, but really you’re taking an opportunity to show
that you understand the pain people are feeling because of the problem.
Using our book publishing course example, maybe people have shared things like, “I
just feel so confused and frustrated.”
or “I’m afraid if I send it to the wrong person, it will just be ignored or rejected.”
The “A” in your formula could read something like this:
If you’re feeling confused and frustrated, you’re not alone.
or
Maybe you’re afraid your manuscript will end up on some person’s desk who will reject
it, or even worse, ignore it.
Finally, present your solution.
Even here you can still use your customer’s words to help present your solution.
Maybe they’ve said “I wish someone could simplify the whole process and explain it
in a way that makes sense,” or “I just need some clear direction for who to send
my book to.”
The “S” in your formula could read something like this:
With the “Beginners guide to publishing course” we’ll simplify the whole process
and explain it a way that makes sense, so you can get started on your publishing journey.
or
The Beginner’s Guide to Publishing course will provide clear direction for who you can
send your book to, and provide insights into every other part of the publishing process.
So let’s take one of these examples and put the formula together…
You’ve written a book (HURRAY!) and now you want to get it published but you just
don’t know where to start.
If you’re feeling confused and frustrated, you’re not alone.
With the “Beginners guide to publishing course” we’ll simplify the whole process
and explain it a way that makes sense, so you can get started on your publishing journey.
Strategy number 3: Provide social proof
Social proof is something that signals to potential buyers that people are excited about
or had a great experience with a product.
One of the best ways you can provide social proof on your sales page is by including testimonials.
But how do you get them?
If you’re selling a digital product, you’re likely collecting your customer’s email
address and have a way to follow up with them.
After they’ve had a few weeks to use the product, send them a follow up email inviting
them to provide their feedback.
It can be especially effective if you provide some kind of incentive like a free add-on
to the product, discounts toward future purchases, or even some kind of gift.
And don’t worry if you don’t have anything extra to offer.
Just asking will get you feedback.
But what if you don’t have any testimonials because no one has bought your product yet?
I’m glad you asked.
Gathering testimonials before your product launches is actually a great strategy because
you can actually use your product as the incentive.
Select a handful of people to give your product in exchange for their honest testimonial.
This approach will get you valuable content for your sales page and can also be an opportunity
to gather feedback about your product so you can gather feedback before it launches.
Written testimonials are great, but if you can, try to get your customers to record a
video of their testimonial.
With video, the potential customer gets to see non-verbal communication, like facial
expressions, body language, and tone, that trigger a stronger emotional response than
text alone can achieve.
Strategy number 4: Introduce yourself
People buy from people they know, like, and trust.
A creator bio is an opportunity to increase the level of affinity someone has for you
and your brand, and can move people further down the sales funnel.
Check out this video if you want a comprehensive look at how to write the perfect bio, but
here, I’ll share some quick tips.
- Introduce yourself and let them know how and why you're qualified to solve their problem.
You want to keep this section brief, but it’s important for your customer to know that you’re
confident your product can help them.
- Share a personal story about how you are personally connected to the product.
This is an opportunity to talk about why you decided to make the product in the first place
and how you hope your product will make things different or better for your customer.
- Tell them something interesting or unique about yourself.
Making a personal connection with people and showing them that you’re a real human being
can go a long way towards building affinity.
- Include your picture.
It’s always a good idea to let people see there’s a real person behind the product.
It may seem like it’s not important to include a bio because people are there for your product,
right?
But don’t underestimate the power of making a personal connection to help your customer
feel more confident in making a purchase.
Strategy number 5: Overcome objections
Most people will come to your sales page with some number of reasons they might be hesitant
to buy.
It doesn’t matter how great a job you do of talking about your product.
If you don’t address the things that might be holding people back, you risk losing those
customers.
To overcome objections you have to first do a good job of articulating the objection so
the customer is convinced you understand their hesitation.
Then provide a compelling reason they can move past this hesitation and make a purchase.
There are three different ways to address objections on your sales page, and we recommend
using all three.
1.
Build the objections into your sales copy.
When writing your sales copy, you can include language that addresses some of the most common
objections along with your solutions.
If you’re aware of a really strong objection or obstacle, make a section that addresses
that specifically.
2.
Address common objections and questions in an FAQ section.
Including questions like “How long does it take to go through the online course?”
or “Is there a money-back guarantee.”
can go a long way toward setting your customer’s mind at ease.
3.
Use live chat to answer questions in real time.
At Podia, all of our users have access to Messaging, a live chat feature that works
right on your sales page.
This is a great tool to have in case your customers have questions that aren’t answered
in your sales copy or FAQ
Strategy number 6: Reduce risk for your customer
If your sales copy has done a great job convincing your potential customer that your product
is right for them, there’s still another important hurdle you have to help them get
over and that’s risk.
Any time we buy something, we take on the risk that the product won’t solve our problem
or satisfy our needs and that we’ll essentially lose the money we’ve spent.
If you’re willing to take on some of the risk, your customer will feel more confident
and willing to make a purchase.
This is called risk reversal and there are three common approaches sellers use:
Offer some kind of money-back guarantee.
Whether it’s 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, or lifetime, this approach reduces the financial
risk to the customer for whatever window you set for the guarantee.
Offer part of your product for free.
If you have an online course, for example, you could offer the first lesson or some of
the related course materials for free.
This approach allows your customer to experience the effectiveness of your product and hopefully
leaves them wanting more.
Offer a free trial period.
This approach reduces risk by giving your customer a window of access to your product
without having to make a financial commitment right away.
You can use any one of these or offer all three.
This is a great strategy for moving those customers through the final stage of the sales
funnel.
Strategy number 7: Stay connected
There are always going to be visitors who are not quite far enough down the sales funnel
to make a purchase, but that doesn’t mean they won’t eventually buy from you, especially
if you stay connected with them.
One of the best ways to do this is to include an email list sign up on your sales page.
Not only does this allow you to build a relationship with them over time, but as we talk about
in this video, an email list is still one of the most powerful marketing tools out there.
Be sure to offer some kind of lead magnet and set expectations for how often they’ll
receive messages from you and what kind of content to expect.
This is a great way to keep a steady pipeline of customers coming back to your page.
If you’re selling an online course and you want some guidance when it comes to writing
your sales copy, check out our Sales copy generator at Podia.com/sales-copy-generator.
Click the button that says “generate your sales page copy” and you’ll be taken to
a form where you can answer a handful of questions about your course.
Once you’re finished, we’ll send you a pdf copy of your sales page, or you can also
download it directly from the preview.
Hopefully these strategies will turn your sales page into a conversion machine.
Do you have a sales page for your product?
Link it up in the comments below so we can learn from one another.
And of course if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
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Thank you for watching and I’ll see you next time.