Have you ever spent good time writing your sales copy, got impressed when you read the final draft, gave it a beautiful home on your website/funnel…only for it to bomb when you sent traffic to it?
Or have you outsourced your sales copy to a “copywriter”, and even when it looked good and powerful to you, your dream customers say otherwise – they didn’t bring out their wallet?
Well, these are complaints I’ve heard severally.
On the other hand, we also see business owners posting (with screenshots) that they got X (above-industry average) percent conversion on their sales page or webinar sales, or they were able to generate 4x or 10x return on their ad spend because of a well-converting sales page.
And I’m sure as a business owner, you’d love to get these awesome results too!
You’d love to be able to confidently invest in sending traffic to your sales page, knowing that you’ll get good profits.
And that is why you put your best into your copy, both on the sales page and in your ads. But you still only end up losing more money instead of making money.
So what could be the problem?
I had the opportunity of reviewing a client’s sales page earlier this week, and, to be sincere, from afar it looked great.
But numbers don’t lie; after over 130 opt-ins, all of whom were redirected to her sales page, she had only made one sale.
I took a deeper look at the copy and I was able to point out over 17 areas of improvement.
Yes, 17+ things she either did wrong or didn’t do at all.
Some of these mistakes were obvious, some weren’t.
There were however a lot of common mistakes on the page – mistakes most business owners, and even copywriters, make when writing copy (either for a sales page or a video or a webinar presentation).
I’d like to share some of them with you, so you can use this knowledge to improve your copy and start getting those juicy results you desire.
4 copy practices that can affect your conversions
1. Persuasive structure
One major thing ingrained on my mind back when I was learning copywriting professionally in 2013 is that your copy must follow a persuasive structure.
There are, of course, several structures you can follow, but you just must know that: Persuasion has a structure, and you must follow that logical structure to be able to inspire action.
For example, putting your price first in your copy, especially to cold audience, is you setting that copy up for failure.
You might have the most persuasive sales elements in the world to create your copy, but if it doesn’t follow a logical persuasive sequence, you won’t get good conversion.
A simple, basic structure you can always follow is the classic AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.
2. Social proof
Social proof is one of the biggest principles of persuasion – a “weapon of influence”, as Cialdini calls it.
I know most people don’t want to sound cheesy in their sales copy, but hey, you have to toot your horn sometimes. And it’s better when someone else does it for you (testimonials, endorsements, etc.) because, you know, it becomes twice as loud.
Another problem is: many people don’t have testimonials yet – or they didn’t collect them…you can definitely use other credibility pointers like awards, certifications, results, screenshots, etc. Or even borrow social proof: quotes, stats, facts, etc.
Whatever you do, just prove that you’re legit and you can provide results.
3. Deeper benefits
This is one area most business owners and copywriters get the weakest. You probably already know that there’s a difference between features and benefits and the latter is more powerful.
Next level is knowing that there are also emotional benefits – tied to fears, desires, anxiety and other emotions.
But there still are deeper benefits that can only be unearthed when you know your audience so deeply that you go beyond emotional benefits – when you tie your benefits to why your prospect does what they do.
For example:
- Benefit could be making more money.
- Emotional benefit could be being able to afford a better lifestyle for their family.
- A deeper benefit could be being adored by their partner as a good co-parent.
All you have to do to continue digging the deeper version of every benefit is to add the classic phrase “so what” after each refined/deeper version.
Unfortunately, what most sales copy carry is the basic and generic benefit. Use deeper benefits more and watch your prospect go: “wow, this dude/gal gets me!” And then they reward you with their wallets.
4. *Strong* call-to-action
This looks like a no-brainer…until you read many people’s sales letters or watch their presentations.
Most people chicken out at this simple stage. My client finished her powerful video with: “click the button below…and…you’ll be glad you did.”
Really?! Glad?
While it’s better than not using any CTA at all, you need to be clear on what happens after they click the button.
Saying your CTA has to be strong doesn’t mean it should be hardcore or aggressive. By strong I mean persuasive.
“Click the button below and ABC will happen!” That’s a simple format you can follow. Just make “ABC” a benefit to make it more persuasive.
Fix it!
While there are a gazillion things you can do rightly to make your sales page convert, here are some common ones you should pay attention to when writing your next copy.
Also go through your existing copy and ensure you’re not leaving money on the table by not going strong on these 4 elements/concepts/principles discussed in this post.
This is the only way your copy can stop bleeding and you can start getting the kind of sales and profits that will make your business grow.
5th Pillar
Copy is one of the essential pillars of business growth. This is where you wrap your message around sales tactics, to influence the people you’re called to serve. And this is why you can’t afford to mess this up.
If you need copy that will help you to successfully sell as much of your product or service as you desire and make all the profits you desire, then definitely reach out to me.
This is one of the things I help you with in my Septuplar Sales System Coaching Program – a 6-week one-on-one coaching for driven entrepreneurs who need more profitable sales for business growth.
Simply send me an email (me@oludami.com) and let’s get started by discussing if you’re a good fit for the program.
Cheers,
Oludami
Why Your Sales Page Isn’t Converting, Even When It Looks/Sounds Good
