Writing copy for your business comes with many questions. One of the most common one is not knowing if you should write a long or short sales page.
You might be wondering if your readers will have time to read a long sales page, or if they’ll be more likely to buy from you if you keep things brief.
This is one of the most common objections I get from business owners when I teach sales copy:
“I don’t feel like writing a long ass sales page”
“Who’s gonna read that much copy?
“I don’t think people are actually reading that much online these days”
“I heard people have the attention span of a goldfish”
“I don’t think my target audience is into scrolling through so much copy”
So, in this blog post I’ll help you understand more about the role of each type of sales page and how each fits into your content marketing.
First, a definition:
The terms “sales page” and “landing page” are not the same.
A sales page is a landing page but not every landing page is a sales page.
Three things your sales pages should do
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Qualify
The purpose of any sales page is to qualify people for the next step. That’s usually placing an order. But here’s the thing: your page should qualify the right people – NOT everyone.
This little thing makes a world of difference for any business or professional who is struggling to write copy that sells.
Niching down to specific buyer personas can feel very scary to a lot of people and there’s more than one business owner who is going to object to that, but this is really the secret of writing sales copy:
Know everything there is to know about your ideal customers before you write anything.
Then get your reader’s attention by talking about their specific problem. Show them who are your other customers and how they can relate to their results. Present your offer’s benefits in words that point out a realistic but very specific transformation.
The more time you spend on discovering who is your ideal customer the easier it is going to be to improve conversion rates.
2. Move the reader through awareness stages
Most people are skimmers. They’ll read the headline, maybe the first sentence of the paragraph, and then move on if it doesn’t interest them.
If you want to sell your product or service, you need to grab your prospect’s attention right away. You only have a few seconds to make an impression before they move on to something else.
That’s where buyer journeys come in.
Buyer journey representation via Hubspot
Knowing where your audience is in their buyer journey is going to make or break your sales copy. It’s also going to make it so much easier to understand things like pain points, desires, objections and how you should tackle that on your sales pages.
3. Have a conversation with your reader
When it comes to selling products or services online, nothing is more important for a business than an effective sales page.
A well-written sales page is all about engaging the reader and drawing them into a conversation about the offer at hand.
Whether it’s answering their questions and addressing their concerns, or highlighting the unique benefits of your product or service, effective sales copy invites the reader to actively engage with the offer.
In many ways, a great sales page acts as a bridge between you and your potential buyer, allowing you to interact directly with them and show them the value of your offer.
It moves the selling process online, bringing it out of door-to-door or one-on-one interactions and putting it right on your website for anyone to see.
And by setting clear expectations and focusing on answering individual needs and objections, an effective sales page helps ensure that potential customers are fully informed before making a buying decision.
So, you’re not sure if you should write a long or short sales page.
A lot of business owners struggle with this decision, because it can be tough to know which one will work better if you’re a beginner or you’re not an experienced copywriter.
The answer to this question is it depends on your market and what you’re selling.
In some cases, a longer sales page will work better because you have more space to tackle objections.
In other cases, a shorter sales page will be more effective because it’s easier for people to scan quickly and understand what you’re offering.
So, here’s how to decide which type of sales page to write.
When to write long landing pages for your offers
Potential customers won’t buy from your business if they don’t trust you. And trust needs more than just a video and some bullet points.
This is where a long form sales page comes in.
With more space to tackle objections, you can prove to your prospects that you’re trustworthy and worth their time and money.
And with more space you can make use of testimonials, badges, case studies, and other forms of social proof to build the necessary trust to turn prospects into customers.
So, here are a few situations when you can write long form copy for your sales pages:
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When you have an expensive offer
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When your audience doesn’t trust you
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When you have a cold audience
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When you have people who haven’t engaged with your content in a long time
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When you have readers from external sources like partnerships or lead magnet exchanges
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When it’s the first step in a sales funnel
When to write short landing pages for your offers
Short sales pages can be very effective for certain audiences, especially those who have already bought from you or who are highly engaged prospects.
The reason is that when people are familiar with you and your work, they don’t need a lot of convincing.
They already know and trust you, so a short sales page can be all they need to make a purchase.
On the other hand, if you’re trying to sell to someone who doesn’t know you, a short sales page is unlikely to be enough.
You’ll need to provide more information about who you are and what you do before they’ll be ready to buy.
In general, short sales pages work best for people who are already familiar with you and your work.
If you’re trying to reach new customers, you’ll likely need to provide more information.
Even if it’s a short sales page you should still have these elements:
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video
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compelling headlines
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your unique selling proposition
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a clear call to action
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important points that explain the problems your offer solves
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product benefits as bullet points
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examples or at least a true story from a customer
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everything written using customer language
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a money back guarantee
Want to learn more about writing sales copy for your business?
Here’s what else you could read right now:
If you have more questions or a very specific thing you’d like to ask about your sales copy or email marketing leave it in the comments.
Copywriting, Marketing CRO Strategies
Copywriting, Marketing CRO Strategies
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Copywriting, Marketing CRO Strategies