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Lately I’ve been struck by a strange feeling I like to call non-buyer’s regret.
I define the term like this: regret about all the quality products and services a bad landing page has dissuaded me from buying, and a little sadness for the thousands of entrepreneurs whose good ideas have been killed by a landing page that turns visitors off rather than on.
If you’re trying to sell a product or service through your website (or if you’re open to the possibility in future), here’s an opportunity to get inside the mind of your average prospect and learn the thirteen things that make good landing pages go bad.
1. It can be measured in feet.
(Leave that for mountains and people).
Most written requests that come with a fourteen page preamble are unreasonable requests. If you need 5,000 words to explain why your product is worth buying, that’s an early indicator to potential clients that it probably isn’t.
Here’s another mistake copywriters make: assuming anyone has the time or will to spend an hour and forty minutes reading about your product or service. I can’t think of any reason why a landing page should exceed more than 1,000 words per product/service you’re selling.
If that’s not enough space to say everything you want, link to a FAQ at the end and stick all the remaining information there. People love FAQs a lot more than they love most landing pages. The process will also force you to be picky about what you include and what you don’t.
2. It Has Extra Special Sentences Where Every Word Begins With a Capital Letter.
If You’re Not Enjoying Reading This, You’re Not Alone.
Unless used within a title (note: not a subtitle), this method communicates only one thing: “Hey, you’re reading a sales page and I’m trying really hard to get you to buy something that you may not actually need.” It’s also painful to read, which probably means most visitors to your landing page will skip it.
3. The text is centered.
When did copywriters decide that centering large chunks of text would be appealing? Centered body text looks unprofessional, it’s bad readability, and it’s straight out of 1998. (McSweeney’s is the only exception.)
4. It includes minimal information about the product or service being sold.
Most landing pages repeat the same core message over and over again:
- Why people should buy this product/service
That element is important, but without other information, it doesn’t hold water. Here is the trio you should be aiming for:
- What the product/service actually is (in detail)
- How it can help your target market get what it wants
- Why people should buy it
5. Its headings are in primary colors when the surrounding design is not.
Nothing screams sales page like garish headings in primary colors, especially if those same colors don’t appear anywhere else in your design. I’m also puzzled by the average web copywriter’s fondness for the color red. “My number one want is to make new visitors feel comfortable and trusting… and I’ve got an idea on how to do that. I’ll make all my headings the color of blood.”
6. The writer’s rule of thumb is 1 paragraph per 500 words.
Massive blocks of text are intimidating. They’ll also prevent scanners from being able to get an accurate summary of what you’re offering, strongly damaging your chances that they’ll go back and deep read.
7. It tries too hard.
Thirty-six testimonials, forty-five exclamation marks and fifteen sub-headings later, a face-to-face salesperson delivering the same lines would be panting and red in the face. If you’ve ever been dissuaded from a purchase by a pushy sales-person, a desperate sales page is the non-human equivalent.
If you’re anything like me, it’s those super-helpful sales people who’re willing to recommend a product cheaper than the one you were thinking of, will alert you to the potential pitfalls of a product and seem most unbiased that will have you shelling out more money than you ever planned on spending.
Is your landing page helpful or pushy?
8. The font size of your sales page is 2x bigger than the font size used throughout the rest of the site.
A sales page should never look like it’s been enclosed in H2 tags. Big, gaudy, overly formatted and over-emphasized text is only going to make your sales efforts look desperate and cheesy. Your base text should be the same size as the text you use throughout your website or blog. Starting small also gives you somewhere to go when you want to use occasional sub-headings for emphasis.
9. It uses “quotation marks” for emphasis.
For most people, quotation marks around words in a sentence usually indicate terms with “questionable meaning”. You really don’t want the following in your copy:
“Honest and Hard Working”
10. Exclamation marks travel in packs.
Double or triple exclamation marks scream all hype and no substance. Single exclamation marks can be effective when used sparingly, but multiples of two and three will make your landing page look spammy.
11. It uses unattributed testimonials.
I could claim that Mark from Vancouver has said “Anywired is the best blog ever. Three times as good as Lifehacker and Zen Habits combined, in fact.” Mark doesn’t have a website, business or a photo, so there’s no way to check if he’s a real person. Without some proof of his existence, visitors may suspect that the testimonial is fake (despite his opinion being so widely held).
I’d suggest that you only include testimonials with links to the blog, website or business website of the owner, with a photo. If you can’t provide these things, I’d suggest adding more detail about who the person is and why they’re talking about your product.
12. The copy seems full of hype.
Does your landing page sell your product or just hype it? They are two very different things. While hype around a product coming from someone without a vested interest can be a very effective persuader (for example, hype from a friend), hype from someone with a vested interest in what they’re hard-selling will make visitors much more wary. It’s important to communicate the benefits of your product, but avoid hype-laden language.
13. It looks like every other landing page.
It seems as if one particular style was established for most web landing pages in 1995 and a lot of copywriters are determined to stick to it.
One of the things that has allowed web users to develop ad-blindness is that advertising generally looks the same. If your sales page looks like every other sales page out there, the first impression it creates won’t be: “Oh, here’s some good information about the product to help me make a decision”. Instead, it says: “I’m going to try to sell you something now — so get ready.” The effect will make it more difficult for your landing page to persuade, even if your product is truly worth buying.
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52 Comments, Comment or Ping
Boring Market
Great information! I can think of at least five blogs/websites that do all of the above. It kind of reminds me of the 90’s and how everyone used those tactics on there websites to sell their dot-com business. This post seriously made me laugh out loud, and few posts do that for me! Thanks!
Feb 14th, 2008
Mike Reeves-McMillan
I totally agree. I think of those as “infomercial web pages” - cheap, repetitive, long-winded and full of hype. One other feature I’ve noticed about them: they often don’t tell you the price until you’ve scrolled down about 15 screens. To me, this inevitably signals, “We’re embarrassed about our price because our product actually isn’t worth this much.”
Not as bad as the many, many, many websites for products and services that refuse to tell you the price at all, though, and require you to contact a possibly-pushy salesperson to find out that you can’t afford something.
Feb 14th, 2008
James Chartrand - Men with Pens
I almost want to ask you to marry me. This was the best piece I’ve read in a long time, and it addresses my absolute pet peeve, the sales letter.
God, I HATE sales letters! And I have to write them for a living, and every time I suggest to a client that really, they should try to aim for the target market of people who actually have brains, because those are the ones shelling out the dollars… every single time, the client refuses.
“No, I want the traditional style. The one that *works*. You know. With the big headline. And can you put the keywords in bold? Do you think we should put red there? Yes. Red right there. Maybe some blue, too. Oh, and can you write some fake testimonials for me?”
NO! Dammit, NO!
*sigh* Thank you for clearly stating out loud that these types of sales letters really do no one any favors.
Feb 14th, 2008
Jon Phillips
haha I hate them too, every time I come across a new one (that looks exactly like the last one) I just stop and think ‘why the hell do they do this?’, I guess some people have a thing for red/blue headings..
So James, I’m looking for someone to write a sales letter for my design business, can you help me out? Oh and yes I want red and blue, and keywords in bold! If you can write me a couple of fake testimonials I’ll find fake pictures of fake clients
Skellie, thanks for writing this post, really made my day!
Feb 14th, 2008
Shama Hyder
Hi Skellie,
Great post! I agree with most of these. In terms of testimonials, sometimes clients don’t want anyone to know that they have received help with their business.
However most legit businesses will be able to let you talk to their past clients.
Feb 14th, 2008
James Chartrand - Men with Pens
Absolutely, Jon. *big, big smile* It’d be my pleasure to help you out with your needs, and since I really enjoy writing crappy sales copy, I’ll do an excellent job. *big, BIG smile* Now about that deposit…
Feb 14th, 2008
Black Zedd
Finally, I found someone who confirms those landing pages are downright ugly! With so many of those these days, it’s so hard to break the clutter..
Excellent post! Now we shall have a LOT better LP, without those ‘primary colors’…
Feb 14th, 2008
Chad | ProFreelancing
Great article, even though I don’t full agree with the first one…
1) Length - While short opt-in pages are extremely useful, long sales letters do sell…it’s proven. Why else would people use them? I have split tested a number of short sales letters compared to lengthier ones and guess what? The 80% of the time the longer sales letter had a better conversion rate.
2, 3, 4) I agree
5) I agree…but the conversion doctor, Eric Graham, doesn’t. In a webinar in which he disclosed thousands of split-testing results he stated that Red outsells other colors - hence the use of it in many headlines.
6) I agree
7) I agree…but have a comment nonetheless. I love to see testimonials on a website. While limiting them is great, I also like sales letters that include a link for further testimonials.
9) haha…”pet peeve” of mine as well.
10) What??? That’s not annoying!!! (just kidding!!!)
11) “I agree with this point” -Roger, New York
12, 13) Agreed…and nothing clever either.
Feb 14th, 2008
Chad | ProFreelancing
who knew that 8 and ) made a 8)?
Feb 14th, 2008
Martin
The long sales letter has it’s history in direct marketiing - over the years every aspect of direct marketing sales has been tested and retested and in that format, it’s the long sales letter that gets the most sales… but I agree with you here, many people seem to think that translates directly to web copy too, but you only have to stop and think about how many of these sales letters you actually stop and read online - have you ever made it to the end of just one?
I think the main difference is that in a print catalogue etc. a long sales letter stands out, draws you in, you’re more relaxed, more time to read it properly… none of that holds up online, not even close.
Most other direct marketing tactics work fine online though, and I think that’s probably why so many people put their faith in all of it… track down a book called ‘Scientific Advertising’ - it was written in the 1920’s and there are free copies online since it is out of copyright, but is an excellent read (google it, you’ll love it). Most of the info there holds true today, on the web… this is where the basics of good advertising started - things like getting the best results using black text on white backgrounds (seems so obvious, but how many websites do you see that have lighter coloured writing on dark backgrounds).
I don’t agree with your point about not using red text though… red is the colour of action, there’s a reason why some of the biggest brands in the world are predominately red (Coke, McDonalds, Vodafone etc.), red is a very powerful colour to use if you are trying to get people to take action (that’s not saying it works in every situation though).
Feb 14th, 2008
100% Batangueno
thanks.i’ll keep this in mind.
Feb 14th, 2008
Irene Duma
I asked why too, and they said because these sales letters work. Supposedly they have been tested for the Internet, and we know that’s easy to do on the Internet, and supposedly these long ones sell more.
There’s a formula to them that a lot of Internet marketers teach.
I hate them. I am turned off by them, and especially now that I see the formula, I don’t trust them. Not the hype, hyperbole, nor the testimonials.
It’s like snake oil barking to me at the freak show.
Feb 14th, 2008
Tammy Lenski
This is hysterical, Skellie…and right on the mark. Those pages are a total turn-off to me.
As I was exiting one the other day, a second or two after landing on it, a pop-up asked me why I was leaving without buying. I wish I’d had your article to give them!
You probably know this: There are some marketing services out there — with big-ish reputations in some circles — that sell packages to create these pages easily. I suspect it’s why so many people use them. The people really making out well are the “marketing guru” guys who sell the software.
Feb 14th, 2008
Joanna Young
Skellie, I can’t stand them either, and know I’d never bring myself to use those techniques to promote any of my businesses or services.
There is a but though… are we absolutely sure that they don’t work? I mean, with *evidence* that people will click away and go elsewhere? And by people, I don’t just mean ‘people like us’… whatever that might be
Joanna
Feb 14th, 2008
CatherineL
Skellie - I hate those old fashioned sales pages. And so many people still use them - usually the ones that claim to be expert marketers. But marketing is changing and they haven’t moved with the times.
Like Joanna - I wonder if it’s just because we’re sick of seeing them? Maybe they still work on some people?
Feb 14th, 2008
Netvalar
Now here is a post that all them damn squeeze page abusers need to read. I am sorry if I have to scroll down more then once to get useful, relevant, or verifiable information it is only worth closing and that is all.
I have noticed that as time goes by and squeeze pages get more popular they also get less useful. The best ones I have seen and actually did anything with. Are the ones that give short descriptions in the beginning explaining if not everything then at least all I need to know. Then they have the testimonials to which I skip and the free mail subscription and that is all I want.
Once they prove to me after I subscribe that it is worth while then I might buy what they are selling.
Now I here just talk about squeeze pages but there are so many similar things online that I come across and they all need to read this post of yours.
Feb 14th, 2008
Stine
Myself, I go “Oh, one of THOSE…”, and skip it!
It probably still works on some people though - wouldn’t more effort be put into not writing in blood red otherwise??
Feb 14th, 2008
Anthony Lawrence
I have three landing pages that need improvement - not for the kinds of things you talk about here, but they just don’t do the job I want them to do and need work. I’ve been hemming and hawing about these for months - your post reminds me once again that I need to give these attention.
Feb 14th, 2008
Tay - Super Blogging
I’ve seen some landing pages that do EVERY single thing you mention NOT to do. Personally, I’m getting sick of primary colors and tripled exclamation marks myself. It reminds me too much of the 1990’s. Come on people, we’ve advanced a little more than that, haven’t we? It’s 2008, not 1998!
Great article Skellie.
Feb 15th, 2008
Sangesh
I was literally laughing at each and every points you had mentioned. I have seen mistakes like these in many website. I have seen many of these points of mistakes by top ranked website and big players in the market too. Can’t believe they too do these types to mistakes.
Thanks Skellie for your article.
Feb 15th, 2008
Daily Tech Impressions
Good read Thank you, worthy of repeat visits!
Feb 16th, 2008
Ruchir Chawdhry
“1. It can be measured in feet.”
But aren’t most landing pages several miles long? And they do sell…
Feb 16th, 2008
Sucker
These long, atrocious landing pages play a critical role in internet marketing culture! It just wouldn’t be the same without them.
Feb 19th, 2008
Dave Navarro
I have very mixed opinions about this post …
On the one hand, I totally agree with Skellie in that I detest when these tactics are used. They seem cheap and used-car salesmany to me. They make me feel like I need a shower and a shot of penicillin before I feel batter about seeing them.
On the other hand … I can’t argue with the fact that they WORK. Whenever I have promoted my products and services with these tactics the pages have converted at least 3x to 5x better than more “sophisticated” pages.
I suppose this brings up a few points …
#1 - Most of the time, you are not your customer. What is appealing/unappealing to you will not necessarily do the same job for your prospects.
#2 - It all depends on your audience. Today’s bloggers are likely to be more apt to like cleaner pages, but some people don’t get turned off as much.
#3 - It all comes down to what your objectives are. Is it to have a pretty and clean web 2.0 page, or is it to communicate your benefits to a customer in whatever way causes the most conversions?
I think there’s a weird dynamic caused by too many bull**** sleazy marketers using these tactics. Unfounded hype is evil, but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. These landing page tactics may turn you off … but they continue to click with a lot of people.
I’m not a fan of these landing page strategies … but I can’t deny that they continue to work. It all comes down to different audiences responding to different tactics.
I don’t use these features on my blogging audience because they aren’t as effective, but for my non-blogging lists they are extremely effective at converting visitors into customers … even though I think they are ugly. I’ve even bought products off of pages that used every one of these strategies and been very satisfied with them (tacky pages don’t mean the product will always suck).
It’s a big world out there, and there are strategies that work for each segment.
Keep the great content coming Skellie. Subscribing now …
Feb 19th, 2008
Brian Clark
Here’s a better headline Skellie:
13 Sure Signs Your Landing Page is a Turn-Off *to Bloggers.*
You’re preaching to the choir here, but that doesn’t mean all of your points are valid in all situations. The only way to know what works is to split-test different options. Personal preferences do not count as authoritative advice.
Feb 19th, 2008
Mari-Lyn
Great Article!
I am guilty of using Red - (this is my company colours) and I really dislike long letters as well, by the time I have gotten half way down I am usally confused on what they want me to do or what they are selling.
It’s true some strategies work better than other ones for certain markets.
Recently, I visited a site and asked some questions, I was told, that the guy doesn’t answer questions. His website is supposed to do all the talking and selling??
Thanks for writing this, great ideas to think about the next time I write again.
Feb 19th, 2008
Yaro
I have to agree with Dave Navarro on this one.
I know before I used a long sales page I hated them. Then I went and tested them and they performed better so I will continue to use them.
The problem - and I expect it’s the case for everyone who comments and agrees with this article, is that most of the sales pages you visit are not for products that target you or you see so many of them that you are totally overexposed (Skellie sounds like you are).
For many people with a pressing problem who go online to search for an answer they will find a sales page, scan it, read the sections that jump out at them as clearly understanding their problem, and then convert to buyers.
It’s important you study the art of copywriting too. Long landing pages are designed to be read using the headlines only - just for the scanners. Marketers understand that most people will not read the page from start to finish, they will scan and then review chunks that appeal. You have to get everything in there to make sure you cover every point.
You might think using some neat navigation, perhaps having each heading clickable to expand for more information would help to shorten and clean up the page, but that would likely cause a decrease in conversion because you are forcing the reader to take an action to read more. It’s very hard to get people to click anything, which is why on sales pages the only thing that should be clicked is the “buy now” button.
One thing that is changing is the inclusion of video. I think in the future you will find that video will start to replace and/or augment the long sales page, which may reduce the size of them if the video performs better.
Feb 19th, 2008
Skellie
@ Brian Clark: I was hoping a trained copywriter would stop by, so thank you.
I disagree about adding the ‘blogger’ caveat. I think that’s too broad. This was actually intended as an opinion piece with pet peeves of mine and suggested fixes — how I would do things, in other words. The above sorts of landing pages don’t work on me at all, but that doesn’t mean they don’t work.
I agree that I should have made it clearer that this is a personal rather than objective piece. I’m not a trained copywriter and I haven’t done formal testing, so I can only speak about what works for me.
@ Dave & Yaro: I don’t disagree, and thank you both for stopping by. This is really more a piece on my own pet peeves and how I would do things, but I should have emphasized that more. I guess I was just feeling a bit grumpy about landing pages that turn me off on the day ;).
Feb 19th, 2008
Dave Navarro
@Skellie -
Oh, how I hate they typical sales pages …
… but they get the mortgage paid.
That said, I’m trying very hard to take the fundamental concepts that are the reason conversion increases and make them more palatable to the human eye (and stomach).
But, at the end of the day, I’d rather have a few people think a page looks tacky and many, many more who help me pay the mortgage.
@Yaro -
Glad I’m not the only one who can’t stand the way things work (… but they do work!)
Feb 19th, 2008
Brian Clark
>>This was actually intended as an opinion piece with pet peeves of mine and suggested fixes..
OK, sorry. You write with such an authoritative voice that I didn’t see this presented as opinion, even though those of us who know differently knew better. I’m worried about some of your audience that *doesn’t* know any better.
Maybe “13 Sure Signs Your Landing Page is a Turn-Off to Skellie” instead?
Feb 20th, 2008
James Chartrand
@ Brian - But the question is, does a long-copy sales letter page have to be a tacky-ass piece of work to read? I think you yourself say in your Teaching Sells course that crappy sales letters don’t have to be that way.
@ Dave and Yarro - Yes, they work, they outperform and they outsell. More’s the pity for me
Feb 20th, 2008
Anthony Lawrence
I think Mencken’s famous quote is appropriate here:
“Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.”
And Barnum’s similar “No one went broke underestimating public taste.”
Feb 20th, 2008
Cindy Szponder
I have a love/hate relationship with long copy. Sometimes, depending on what’s being sold, I want the extra information, the extra testimonials, the centered text to guide my eye–anything that helps me get over the buyer’s hesitation I’m feeling towards buying something from a complete stranger.
When I don’t need or want the extras, I merely skip them and whiz to the purchase key. But, while I’m whizzing to the bottom of the page, sometimes those things you pointed out catch my eye and help me feel even more convinced that I’m a “wise purchaser.” Then I continue whizzing straight to the purchase button.
Probably the main reason long copy works in the long run is that it helps foster a sense of trust, it provides the information that analytical types want before making a purchase, it provides the emotion and gut reaction that emotional types need in order to feel good about ordering, and it hopefully answers any questions the potential buyer has before making the buying decision.
So there you have it–long copy is the perfect 24/7 salesman there to hopefully meet the needs of whoever comes along. Not too bad for a “salesman” that can’t interact with the buyer.
Feb 20th, 2008
Brian Clark
>>Brian - But the question is, does a long-copy sales letter page have to be a tacky-ass piece of work to read?
No, it doesn’t, And that’s what I’ve dedicated part of my life to.
But that doesn’t mean the tacky ones don’t work. It all comes down to knowing your audience and then testing to make sure you’re on the right path.
Feb 22nd, 2008
James Chartrand
@ Brian - Hm. You’re a valiant soul. I could’ve thought of at least 5 other things I’d rather dedicate my life to than tacky-ass sales copy
I think that some of the convo that came up from all this is right on: We forget that there are people who just hop online seeking immediate save-me miracles - and sales letters snag them. Many of us are jaded to the techniques and tricks used, which means we forget to place ourselves in the skin of that person who is desperately trying to find a quick answer to solve the problem.
Ah well. We tried!
Feb 22nd, 2008
Skellie
I guess one point we all agree on is: different sales letters for different audiences. Tacky sales letters might work wonders on people who don’t have a lot of experience with the internet, but on someone who sees them all the time and knows how these things work, they’re a turn-off.
Writing landing pages for the tech savvy and the web-jaded — people who don’t want to feel like they’re being sold to — is another matter entirely. The small-business copywriting I’ve done has been for this niche, and if I ever decide to leap more seriously into copywriting, this is where I’ll specialize. I think it’s a fascinating area.
Feb 22nd, 2008
Skellie
Here’s an example of some work I’ve done which the client was really happy with. The target audience are managers of high-end PPC campaigns:
http://www.clickqualityconsultant.com/index.php/consultancy/
The client also asked me to create the banner above the ‘Popular Posts’.
I’ve also written a hire me page for a network security consultant, but the client disappeared off the face of the planet after I sent the work to him. He didn’t respond to emails, never updated his blog again and hasn’t inserted the new hire me page, which he paid for, so I can’t show it to you (I don’t care — I just hope he isn’t dead!). But again, I approached it with the same philosophy: let the usefulness of the service speak for itself.
I try, but I still have no idea if I’m any good at it or not, which is one of the reasons why copywriting is just something I do occasionally.
Feb 23rd, 2008
James Chartrand
Huh, very cool of you to put up a link, Skellie - I’m crawling the page with curiosity as I write this.
And I’ll trade you a link, too. Here’s one of mine: Lone CEO
*wince*
I think this fits nicely into the T-A group and it doesn’t follow format because *someone* (not me) didn’t like the uber-perfect all-steps-correct style. But that’s another problem: getting the client to believe that *yes*, you do know how to do your job.
Feb 23rd, 2008
Jaden
This is a fantastic oh-so-helpful article! Thank you so much Skellie.
Martin stated perfectly some important points that were on my mind.
Red sells. It is powerful. It says STOP here, look no further, I have what you need. It has proven itself throughout time. People love blood, makes ‘em feel alive. A deep red is sexy. Other colors feel wishy-washy and even pathetic. Yellow = Hi, I am really nice but get nothing done. Blue = so sad or my head’s in the clouds. Black = so morbid. Orange = too weird. Pastels = weak. Gray = yawn. Green = freaky, puking, earth.
Have I sold you on red yet?
As for long letters, I regrettably have to agree with you. Unfortunately, I think they are successful tools of the past. They used to work on a more classically educated audience. Times are changing rapidly. The younger generations do not have the reading / writing skills or patience for lengthy texts. Today’s people want everything in 3 seconds or less.
Your topic generated a great conversation.
Cheers!
Feb 23rd, 2008
Jaden
P.S. For the record, I used to hate red with a passion.
The puking color makes me happy.
Selling and marketing are sneaky beasts.
Feb 23rd, 2008
Dave Navarro
For all those who vote against long sales letters -
Is this simply an opinion, or is it based on hard data from your own promotions?
Because I have to say from personal experience that my longer sales letters consistently outperform short ones. Consistently.
And again, I don’t like to look at regular sales letters … but they work, all the way to the bank.
(I know that’s not a popular viewpoint, but it’s what I got).
Thanks for posting this, Skellie - the conversation has been great to follow.
Feb 24th, 2008
Jaden
Dave,
I have heard from the highest paid marketing professionals that long letters are more successful, but that is in regards to postal mail. They say, you have one chance, so say what you need to say, make your pitch in full detail.
What about on the Internet?
All I have heard is that Internet surfers give a page a few seconds, and if what they are seeking doesn’t catch their eye immediately, they are gone. If it is going to be long, I’d say it just needs to be broken up tastefully with headings and such.
Feb 24th, 2008
Dave Navarro
Jaden -
People *anywhere* have an attention span of a few seconds. Breaking things up with (compelling) headings that continue to address objections and draw people in is the way to go.
(Most of) The same principles of direct-mail apply to internet sales letters as well.
Given that, I really recommend that you take whatever any “professionals” say with a grain of salt … and test for yourself. Don’t believe someone just because say something authoritatively, with your audience.
Including me. Don’t believe what I just said simply because I said it. Test it for yourself. That’s all that matters.
Feb 24th, 2008
Jaden
Dave,
You make orange sexy (and the rest of the gang has made gray engaging and powerful), so I have to believe you.
Who knew discussing writing/selling could be so exciting?
Thanks again Skellie for this provoking piece and everyone for great insights!
Always a work in progress,
J
Feb 24th, 2008
gulliver
>it’s the long sales letter that gets the most sales…
Agreed. And the buyers are often brain-dead morons with whom no self-respecting person would want to willingly associate.
There again, no self-respecting person should willingly pump out crap pitches.
Sure, we all need and want to make money - and that should be done intelligently and decently.
Mar 8th, 2008
Dave "Whoa, There, Cowboy" Navarro
@Gulliver
Those are some harsh, angry words (not to mention way too generalized). It’s interesting how you can make such broad assumptions about the buying market. But I guess you wouldn’t want to hear from me, since I’ve bought great products from crappy sales pages before. Hey, just because the box looks bad doesn’t mean there can’t be good stuff inside.
All kidding aside (except I’m not kidding when I say lighten up, you’ll give yourself an ulcer), I agree 100% that no self-respecting person should willingly pump out crap pitches.
But to make the link between long sales letters & crap? That’s a hasty generalization.
My advice to you is to take your focus off of the sales page and move it more towards respecting others, and not just yourself. That way your comments will reflect the intelligence and decency that you desire.
My $0.03 cents (hey, the dollar’s down these days)
Mar 8th, 2008
Dave Navarro
Jaden -
Thanks! You’re the second person to call that look “sexy”.
I dig your blog, to. Love the header image …
Mar 8th, 2008
gulliver
Dave - in reply to your response…
As the sticker says, ‘I don’t have an attitude problem - you have a perception problem’… and ‘harsh, angry, generalization” etc are your views, not mine - so hold your advice as it’s neither asked-for nor required.
Truth often has a harsh ring to it, and if you don’t like/agree with my words that’s ok - but in the presumption of ‘advising me’ you’ll lose my respect.
Mar 9th, 2008
Ian Denny
I agree. But also disagree.
Why I agee? You’re right. Most of the tricks “exclude” the educated surfer who has een the tricks too often to be ever duped again. However, that assumes that every classic pitch with the opposite of your suggestions is making false claims.
I have the debious pleasure of being “duped” into following many of the rules. And I don’t follow them for the people who Google or happen across my site. They are clever enough to click away.
I am following these rules (I am an amaeur) to engage with others - mainly existing clients and people I target who are not as versed in the online world which me and you frequent.
That’s where arguably, the “tricks” pay off better than the mundane text a surfer will be able to ignore.
And by the way, I am so unsure on this, I am prepared to be completelt corrected! I hate it when people don’t debate constructively and try alternate views.
Apr 8th, 2008
Mark from QuoteMyAuto
Hey there Skellie - Great post, I think that most of our landing pages are alright, but, if you get a chance, we could always use a second opinion.
We have been rehabbing the site recently - Would be interested if you or anybody else my take a look at QuoteMyAuto.com and its main pages.
May 30th, 2008
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