One of the best touchdown pages are concise and embrace simply sufficient copy to make the sale – and never a phrase extra.
That’s to not say that, “shorter is best.” Lengthy touchdown pages undoubtedly have their place.
For instance, possibly prospects have by no means heard of you and have to be educated about your resolution. Possibly they’re not even solely conscious of their very own ache. Or possibly your supply is especially complicated or tremendous costly.
In these circumstances, a long-form gross sales web page could possibly be precisely what you want to inform your story and set the stage for conversion.
So how have you learnt whether or not you have to be testing a longer-form gross sales web page? And how will you ensure that you’re not falling sufferer to a number of the greatest long-form gross sales web page pitfalls?
Maintain studying to get the thin (and – spoiler alert – to obtain a free gross sales web page template).
Half I: When your touchdown web page wants long-form copy to make the sale
Earlier than we bounce into the place long-form gross sales pages can go fallacious, let’s go over some indicators that you have to be testing an extended gross sales web page.
Your product/service prices a fairly penny
When persons are requested to half with bigger sums of cash, they’re extra more likely to scrutinize a suggestion.
The next price ticket results in an elevated sense of dedication and anxiety – and it’s your job to incorporate as a lot copy as you want to soothe your prospect’s fears.
They need to know the place their cash goes and in the event that they’ll be getting sufficient worth for a way a lot they’re shelling out. Take the house you want to be crystal-clear about the advantages of your supply and precisely what they’ll get.
Your product/service has loads of transferring components
How straightforward is it to clarify how your services or products works? The extra options to your product or items to your supply, the extra copy you’ll must go together with it.
Michael Aagaard of Content Verve confirmed this correlation between value/complexity of an providing and the size of a touchdown web page.
Within the above instance, he discovered that the shorter touchdown web page transformed higher. Why? The gymnasium membership is comparatively cheap, the providing is easy, and the perceived degree of threat is low. An A/B check revealed that giving folks extra info isn’t mandatory.
Nevertheless, when he examined an extended model of a touchdown web page for an insulation firm the place the supply was extra complicated and with a a lot greater price ticket, the shorter model misplaced.
The supply represents a bigger funding and instantly considerations the prospect’s residence and luxury. The considered making the fallacious selection about an insulation firm is one which causes nervousness – which in flip requires extra clarification in regards to the supply.
As Michael put it, “It’s a fancy supply that would end in a big funding in insulation. So there’s a excessive degree of dedication and perceived threat concerned.”
Your prospects aren’t but conscious of the answer to their downside
Your prospects could not but concentrate on your supply and the way it’ll repair their downside – in reality, they may not even be solely conscious of their downside.
Relying in your prospect’s degree of consciousness, they’ll want various levels of knowledge to get them to hit that purchase button.
Joanna Wiebe at CopyHackers does a unbelievable job of explaining simply that along with her put up How Long Should Your Pages Be?:
Your web page must be so long as is important to make the argument that may handle the prospect of their state of consciousness. Should you don’t understand how conscious they’re, you want to discover out to be able to form your argument…
Principally, the much less conscious persons are of their ache and {that a} resolution exists to alleviate it, the extra copy is required to make them really feel snug with the supply.
In case your prospect has low consciousness, then you want to paint a vivid image of the ache they’re experiencing earlier than you even point out your supply.
When you’ve painted that image, then you definitely’re in an important place to coach them about your resolution by exhibiting how their life could possibly be higher with it.
Half II: Avoiding long-form gross sales web page pitfalls
Now that you just’ve received a greater thought of when it’s mandatory to check a longer-form gross sales web page, it’s time to have a look at a number of simply fixable errors that may make your pages actually shine (and convert).
Drawback: You’re letting design overpower the message
Let’s simply get one factor straight. I do imagine you possibly can have attractive design in your long-form gross sales pages. You don’t must go the ugly or plain Jane path to get conversions.
However if cool graphics and eye-popping images are getting in the way in which of rapidly attending to the message, there’s an issue.
Check out this gross sales web page for a design and copywriting course:
There’s method an excessive amount of occurring above the fold. Between the a number of font colours, handwritten notes up prime and a number of huge blocks of textual content, its straightforward to go on cognitive overload. The place ought to my eye go?
This design forces the reader to suppose method more durable than they need to must.
Repair: Make your design assist your message
Your precedence when designing your long-form gross sales web page needs to be to offer prospects the data they should decide. Any design parts you add to the web page they need to serve the one aim of the web page.
Check out this screenshot from slightly below the fold on the identical web page:
The weather are now not competing for consideration – the design, typography and formatting improve the message with out making it take a backseat.
And a very powerful issues are emphasised.
Drawback: Your story isn’t compelling your guests
Should you’re promoting a $2,000 teaching course and also you’re not a family identify, merely explaining your supply and offering a number of profit bullet factors isn’t going to chop it.
In case your prospects want loads of info to be able to convert, your touchdown web page copy had higher inform a compelling story.
You have to instantly hook prospects in by keying into their ache and reflecting it again to them with the promise of an answer as they transfer down the web page.
Repair: Take your prospects by the hand and stroll them by means of your why
Particularly on long-form gross sales pages, storytelling is without doubt one of the greatest ways for persuading your viewers.
Each single piece of copy ought to maintain the eyes transferring down the web page and construct on the narrative you’re weaving.
For instance, the circulation of your argument on the web page could also be:
- Establishing the issue
- Explaining why you’re uniquely certified to grasp (and remedy) that downside
- Explaining how your course will repair the issue
- Giving the advantages consumers will achieve from the course
- Anticipating any objections your prospects may need
- Telling your consumers what sort of outcomes they are going to see after taking the course
- Laying out precisely what they are going to get (classes, tutorials, and so forth.) after buy
The screenshot under exhibits a sub-headline and textual content from Tara Gentile’s Quiet Energy Technique gross sales web page. Right here she begins the method of organising the issue that many entrepreneurs have: not realizing the way to develop their companies or discover the assist they want.
Should you transfer down the web page, you’ll see the place every sub-head picks up the thread of her argument as to why her teaching is good for her prospects. She does all this whereas ensuring to handle their most urgent considerations with FAQs and testimonials peppered all through.
In your gross sales web page, clarify the why of your business. Present that you just care and perceive earlier than you ask prospects to whip out their wallets.
Drawback: You don’t adequately convey the worth of your providing
It is a biggie. Time and time once more, I learn survey responses from current shopper prospects saying they nearly didn’t buy from the touchdown web page as a result of they weren’t satisfied of the worth.
Most of the time, the query of worth revolves round value. However time can play a task as nicely. Everybody’s time is value one thing – and your guests will weigh the period of time mandatory to finish your course or stand up to hurry utilizing your new product with all the opposite commitments on their plates.
Of their minds, they are going to be asking themselves questions like:
Will I actually have sufficient time to finish the course?
Will this simply be one other factor I purchase and by no means use?
Will I achieve sufficient expertise to boost my charges and pay for the course?
So how will you handle these considerations earlier than they even come up?
Repair: Reframe the price by breaking it down right into a extra manageable sum or evaluating it to one thing tangible
Some of the efficient methods to convey worth is to frame the expense when it comes to one thing else the particular person can relate to of their on a regular basis life, or to easily break it down into smaller bite-sized items.
Take a look at this gross sales web page that I wrote for Girls Gone Strong:
We addressed the time and value dedication situation by turning it on its head.
The primary two bullet factors speak about what worth earlier teaching purchasers received out of this system. The third breaks down the price by the day. Spending $12 a day out of the blue looks like a no brainer for every thing you get.
Is your gross sales web page prepared for primetime?
Check out your gross sales web page and take a while to:
- Decide if going long-form is the correct name. Relying on the particulars of your supply and the way conscious your prospects are of their downside and the answer, holding it concise could also be precisely what the physician ordered.
- See in case your web page is affected by any of the widespread errors cited above. Whether it is, take the time to transform your design or copy.
- A/B check an extended model towards a shorter model. Irrespective of how a lot we’d all love for there to be tried and true greatest practices, there merely aren’t any. You’ve received to check for your self.
It might seem to be loads of work. But when it’ll allow you to carry in additional conversions, it’s undoubtedly value it.