http://www.jonrognerud.com/5-great-tips-to-write-a-good-sales-web-page/ January 14, 2011

6 Great Tips To Write A Good Sales Web Page

When you see something that is very obvious or easy to you — you tend to not

dig any further. But, if somebody just turns your head slightly, and points out a different

view or angle, your eyes and ears light up in amazement. You ask: how come I couldn’t

see THAT before? That’s exactly what happens when I explain to clients the process for

writing and structuring their web page for sales conversions.

Furthermore, if you ask a 100 people how much they like, or what they like about a

particular website design, a certain graphic, video or text on a web page layout, you’ll

get close to 100 different answers. Nobody seems to agree. (Tip: if you actually want to

find out what people think, try PickFU.com)

However, when it gets down to how to architect a web page copy for sales and

conversion, there is a common ground all top online copywriters agree on. Users do too

– even if they don’t know why – but, they tend to respond favorably.

The formula is simple. But what can you do for near perfection in web sales

copy?

There are many different types of web pages. Some are more informational in type, others

have a clear commercial intent (shopping-cart), and others again ask you to take several

steps, fill out your information in a form to download software, or a free report, etc.

#1 – Purpose

Therefore, it’s wise to ask yourself what the purpose is of the page. What is the outcome?

And, it needs to be clear. Having 3-4 different options on the same page is not smart. Pick

one, a most-desired-action, and write and design to support that outcome.

#2 – Audience

Who are you writing for? If you were sitting across the table from the perfect prospect,

what would he/she look like? I mean this in terms of age (range), income, sex, where they

live, what demographics, techno-graphics and psycho-graphics they belong to. Don’t try to

be all things to all people. You can write different pages for a wider audience as you grow.

Segmentation is key.

#3 - Needs Fulfillment

We talked about the purpose of the page, but you need to also make sure you understand

where they come from. You can get a lot of this information from your web analytics. You’ll

also know this from your online marketing campaigns — from email, from paid search

(PPC), organic search (SEO) and perhaps partnership banners. There needs to be a level of

consistency of copy on the page and the incoming visitor. Therefore, it’s important to

create relevant content so you can easily match it up with their “request”. We call this the

$ense of information.

#4 – Copy Length

Every business is different, every market is different. However, there is no particular rule

that says you need long copy versus short. How long is a piece of string? But, the copy will

match the “need” from above, and you should try to serve that request quickly. The best

way to deal with this challenge, is to test it. You can use an A/B test script and balance two

pages against each other, and find out which one converts best. The Web Optimizer from

Google is free, and is simple enough to use.

#5 – Action!

Tell the visitor what to do when they get to your page. Make it simple. Don’t assume you

know the best path. Test it, and validate from within your analytics and the lead

stream/counts into your CRM. For example, if you are in the business of selling financial

advice, use a “submit” button that says: “Get The FREE Money Tips Report Now”. Use

action-oriented language, and tell them what to do.

In summary, if you can define and learn more about your prospects, they will become

customers much faster, because you’ll have a web page with content that “speaks directly”

to them.

What do you think?