Continuing on the topic of sales conversion, Mike Morgan addressed several issues related to ad copy.
What’s the deal with sales pages, anyway?
Too many online marketers believe that products sell themselves and that sales pages are inconvenient at best. Just put up any old page and paying customers will start pouring in, right?
Mike Morgan addressed some misconceptions about sales pages, including the idea that it is an isolated part of a marketing campaign. The sales page is part of the entire sales process, a process that may or may not include:
- Relevant pre-sale research
- Face-to-face, verbal and / or electronic communication with prospects
- Sales information expert
There is a fine line between slipping and what Morgan calls “falling in love with the tyranny of the familiar.” Blindly following trends because they worked for others does not guarantee your success. In fact, it will probably fail because the conditions and circumstances of the other’s campaign can no longer be duplicated and are no longer relevant.
Are prospects really willing to read your sales newsletter?
Assuming you haven’t previously sold to your prospects, a winning sales newsletter is what stands between you and a steady stream of income. So why would anyone make the effort to read your copy? Mike and others suggest the following:
- Your sales newsletter serves as a first (primary) impression of you.
- People genuinely interested in your offering use the sales text to evaluate your product or service.
- Potential customers will read most, if not all, of your sales page if the offer is relevant, and the sales copy doesn’t put them to sleep.
- Selling from seller to seller (M2M) is big business, especially in the various internet marketing niches. Sharp competitors looking to improve their own skills will “hit” it and apply it to their own situations. Also, they will buy your product if they can learn from it and improve their own offerings …
The three master keys to sales conversion.
- Non-copy items that most influence conversion:
- An (irresistible) offer (product, service)
- List of motivated subscribers; chosen target market
- The ‘hook’, that is, a curiosity that attracts attention and that usually requires investigation to discover it.
- Shortcuts to the winning copy. Swiping, that is, “ethical theft”, is the most powerful advertising technique. Build your copywriting DNA. Eventually, the copy material internalizes within you.
- The “dirty little secret”: Evidence! Writing a sales letter is not the end of the process, it is only the beginning! You need to try, because even the best copy gets out of date over time. “Refresh” your ads from time to time.
Practical tactics to consider for your next campaign.
- Consider writing your sales newsletter before you have the actual offer in place. In fact, it can improve the final product.
- Inject personality into your sales newsletter where appropriate.
- Create a pre-notification list to attract an “affiliate army” to your offer. Give them the information and tools they need to become effective ambassadors on your behalf.
- Get into the customer mindset (“Walk a mile in their shoes”). Ask yourself, “How does this product solve my potential customer’s problem?”
- Incorporate bonuses, but test their placement on your sales page – is it better before or after revealing the price? For example, after revealing the price of your main offer, type “… and to sweeten the offer”, then enter your bonuses.
Conclution.
Do you want to know a secret? Mike Morgan revealed to his eager listeners that there is no magic sales copy formula. Rather, making money online requires a marketing mindset that views each step of a campaign’s sales funnel from the perspective of a potential customer. Then you need to test things out, evaluate the preliminary results, and then adjust until you achieve your goals.
Morgan aspires not only to be the best copywriter, but also a sales consultant and confidant of his clients, evaluating various scenarios before selecting the best approach. The end result is a great ability to discuss high-level campaigns with the best marketers in the world. It’s a skill and philosophy that sets you, a sales conversion specialist, apart from the rest of the pack.
————————————————– ————————————————–