Don’t you wish you knew how to write a sales page that converts — every time?
A sales page that truly represents all the value you’ve worked so hard to include in your online offer?
Your sales page has a big job to do.
It shares your offer 24/7, standing in for a sales force or a personal sales conversation.
The best sales pages?
They contain all the conversion ingredients that a live sales conversation contains.
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Your sales page is there at the pivotal moment of decision
Your sales page copy and images need to inform and excite your prospects. Your sales page needs to meet your prospects’ objections. It needs to answer their questions so they feel 100% comfortable buying from your business.
If you’re used to creating content marketing and writing emails, writing a sales page can feel awkward.
For one thing, when you write a sales page you’re focused on persuasion. This can take you straight out of your comfort zone.
Also, we’re not creating sales pages frequently like we are for content marketing or social media posts.
If you wrote sales pages every day, writing a sales page would feel downright natural.
How to write a sales page that converts? Put this 5-step recipe in front of you
This sales page recipe will guarantee that you include all the essential conversion ingredients. Even if you’re not used to writing sales pages, your page will:
- Engage with your prospects starting at the headline
- Make readers think about their challenges and why they want to solve them
- Convince visitors that they’ve found a smart, trustworthy solution
Table of Contents:
- Gather your sales page ingredients
- Prepare your sales page work area
- How to write a sales page that converts — copy and images
- Add sales page ingredients as needed
- Serve up your sales page and test the response
Step 1: Gather your sales page ingredients
If you’ve done any kind of cooking or baking, you know that the process moves more quickly and smoothly when you assemble what you need in one place before you start cooking.
And since we’re cooking, here’s a video with seven hot tips to show you how to write a sales page — whether you’re a beginner or an expert!
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Here’s what you need to write a high-converting sales page:
- A detailed description of why people search for your solution. What are the current challenges/issues they want to solve … as they would describe them in their own words?
- A detailed description of what they experience when they use your product or service. Use their own words if possible.
- Common objections people would have about purchasing your offer.What stops them? Think of internal objections (this will never work for me, my situation is too difficult to fix, etc.) and external objections (this will take too much time, I can’t afford it, etc.).
- What makes your offer different? Describe your unique approach. How do you stand out from your competition? This can be something as simple as “you get my personalized attention” or as complex as “you get access to our proprietary formulas.”
- 5-7 of your best testimonials. Plus, any awards you’ve won, organizations you belong to, certifications you hold. These build trust and authority.
- A concise description of your offer. How does it work? What exactly can they expect? Include timeframes, lists of content like “X modules, X lessons, X hours of coaching time, X workbooks” etc.
- A call to action with pricing/packages descriptions. Ask your visitor to make a decision and present them package options. Explain what they get at each level.
- Your guarantee terms. Offer a guarantee if possible. Make it memorable by giving it a name and pairing it with an image.
Step 2: Prepare your sales page work area
Writing a sales page feels different than writing a blog post or an informational email. That’s because sales pages focus on conversion.
Sales pages are designed to move people from feeling interested to taking decisive action.
Let’s start by answering some questions about sales page structure.
How long should my sales page be?
Your offer price point will determine your sales page length. Think about it: you don’t have to think too hard about spending $20. You might have to think a little harder about spending $200. And you may need lots of information before you plunk down $2,000 or $20,000.
The more your offer costs, the more information you need to share.
How should I design my sales page for conversions?
Use a landing page format. This means there should be no external navigation — no menu bar, no footer, and no sidebar. All attention should go to the copy and images on your sales page — nothing else.
Center your headlines. Use centered headlines (called “crossheads”) to break up the content on the page and add white space.
Use visual hierarchy. Make your page easy to navigate by placing a large, bold headline at the top, then using smaller-sized headlines and subheads to break up the copy on the rest of the page.
Include bulleted lists. Keep bulleted lists “symmetrical” which means you start them with the same part of speech: verbs work great.
How can I add images to my sales page?
Include offer images to make your product or service feel tangible. If you’re selling a product, create a single “hero image” that depicts everything that’s included in a single image. If you’re selling a service, look for images that show people who look like happy customers.
Use additional images to add visual interest to the page. Aim to include at least one image in each screen scroll.
Add a guarantee image: If you’re able to, include a generous guarantee to help make it easier for people to say yes. This is especially important for higher-priced offers. A visual representation — like a badge or symbol — can help make your guarantee memorable.
Want to see how to write a sales page that converts in graphic form? This handy graphic shows you how to design your sales page, and you can watch the video above for a step-by-step explanation of how everything goes together.
Use this graphic as your sales page design example so you can lay out your sales page ingredients in the right order.
Remember — a sales page should have no navigation menu and no footer links. We want all eyes to be on your offer!
Step 3: How to write a sales page that converts — copy and images
Here’s what your sales page needs to feature:
Headline: A “you-focused” main headline that features the strongest benefit your offer delivers.
Examples:
- Get the Flexibility and Strength You Had in Your Thirties in Just 15 Minutes a Day
- Create a Simple Website That Brings a Steady Stream of Customers to Your Craft Business
Notice that these headlines:
- Start with a strong verb
- Focus on a primary benefit
- Are “you-focused” and written directly to the reader
Paint the current pain: Use the top section to show you understand the pain, challenges, and frustrations your prospect is experiencing right now.
Describe a better future: Copywriters sometimes call this “futurecasting.” Paint a picture of what life could be like for your reader once their pain is taken away and their challenges are resolved.
Present your solution: In this section, you’ll name your offer. Use your “hero shot” (product image) or images of happy customers here.
Explain your solution: As you explain what your offer delivers, be sure to talk about both benefits and features.
- Features describe the specifications of your offer. How many hours, pages, lessons, etc. does your offer deliver?
- Benefits describe the results your offer delivers.
You can share benefits and features in separate bulleted lists, or combine them together using this structure:
[FEATURE] so you can [BENEFIT].
Example: “A 5-page checklist so you can ensure your sales page with convert prospects to customers.”
Want to know more about writing headlines? Watch the video below.
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Share testimonials: Use customer testimonials which include a headshot, name, and two to three key sentences that describe the benefits your customers experience after using your product or service.
Ask them to take action and show pricing options: Consider offering a single payment and a multiple-payment option, especially if your offer price is high enough that your ideal customer won’t have the single payment price on hand.
Provide a guarantee: You don’t need to guarantee books or other low priced products. But for higher-priced products, offering a guarantee helps prospects to feel more confident about handing over their credit card.
Related: Use These 3 Magic Words So You Can Instantly Write Sales Copy That Builds Your Revenue
Step 4: Add sales page ingredients as needed
Wondering how to write a sales page that converts for a high-end product?
It’s easy. Use the same ingredients I spelled out above, just repeat them to make the page longer.
Here are the ingredients for a sales page that’s suitable for a lower-priced product or service:
- Headline
- Paint the current pain
- Describe a better future
- Present your solution
- Explain your solution with features and benefits
- Share testimonials
- Show pricing options
- Provide a guarantee
Here are the ingredients for a sales page that’s suitable for a higher-priced product or service:
- Headline
- Paint the current pain
- Describe a better future
- Present your solution
- Explain your solution with features and benefits
- Share testimonials
- Ask them to take action and show pricing options
- Provide a guarantee
- Add more features and benefits
- Share more testimonials
- Ask for a decision and show pricing options again
- Provide guarantee again
- Add more features and benefits
- Share more testimonials
- Ask for a purchase and show pricing options again
- Provide guarantee again
Here’s a dilemma …
How to write a sales page that converts for a low-priced vs. how to write a sales page for a high-end offer.
The main difference between sales pages for inexpensive and expensive products is length.
When you’re writing a sales page for an expensive product or service, repeat the last four sections above more than once with new information each time.
Want a little assistance with writing your content? Check out Writesonic (affiliate link). It’s an AI writer that’s been trained on top-performing SEO content. It’s one of the business writing tools I use.
Notice the lists above? Numbered lists make a step-by-step process easier.
Bulleted lists serve an equally important purpose. They stop readers from scrolling and break up big chunks of text.
In fact, starting your sales page with a bulleted list just might be the smartest thing to do.
Watch this video to learn all about the magic of bulleted lists.
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Step 5: Serve up your sales page and test the response
Wondering how to write a sales page once and for all?
The sales page you create this year probably won’t work five years from now.
Sales page styles change. Your offer may change. You’ll have newer, better testimonials. You might raise your price.
That’s why it’s smart to think of your sales page as “today’s version,” and not the “forever version.” As time goes on, your needs will change and so will your sales page.
The good news?
Once you have this basic sales page conversion recipe in place, updating your page will be easy.
Instead of wondering how to write a sales page from scratch, you’ll simply be updating small sections — and that’s a lot easier than starting from scratch!
Pro tip: When you need a sales page vs a landing page
Some people use “landing page” and “sales page” interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing.
On most landing pages, you’re asking people to make a commitment that doesn’t involve an exchange of money.
Sales pages take people through your sales process, with the ingredients I described earlier in this post.
Sales pages are longer than landing pages because there’s more of a risk for your prospects — you’re asking for them to part with their money.
Want to learn more about landing pages vs sales pages? Watch the video above!
Get your step-by-step guide to writing and designing a high-converting sales page
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on November 13, 2019 and has been updated to reflect today’s best practices for writing sales pages.
