Developers Aren't Marketers
When it comes to building a sales page, product developers aren't marketers. And there's nothing wrong with that. But there's no developer I've ever met who hasn't wanted the cheat codes. Isn't there a simple list or guide of what goes on your sales page that we could read / follow?
So today I'm going to try to hit all the key elements to make sure there aren't any you've mistakenly missed. My point isn't to give you a formula. It's simply to list out a bunch of page elements that you should consider. The decision is still yours.
Page Elements for Your Sales Page
Of course your sales page needs a heading and sub-heading. But I'm positive you have that already. So let's get into the rest of the items that I recommend you think about.
General Pain / Frustration
On a sales page that is expected to convert multiple kinds of folks, you don't want to skip the general pain / frustration declaration. Sometimes, if we jump into the specific problems too quickly, we lose the audience because they don't connect with the specifics. So make sure you are connecting by hitting the broader and more core problem that all your customers feel and that your product solves.
Specific Problem(s)
That said, if you only stick to the high level general pains, you'll never close a deal. So make sure you're not skipping the opportunity to connect with people on specific problems.
If you create backup software like BlogVault, you don't just want to talk about the work of backing up a site. You want to get into the specific challenges that customers face.
They do this across different features (differential restores, migrations, etc.).
Solution Description
This one is one of the things I see skipped a lot. Product folks are so close to the product that they never actually write the summary of their solution. They go right into features or how it works. Don't skip this. Learn to tell your product's story in 15 seconds. And in 2 minutes. Use both of these on your sales page.
How It Works
Your product and its features aren't the same thing as how it works. When you tell folks about the magic behind your product, the secret sauce (if you will), you're able to tell a specific kind of story. Often I call this the “You don't have to do this manually anymore” story.
Offer Description
Your product is your product. Brilliant, I know. But your offer isn't the same. It's the product for a price, paid over a period, delivered in a specific way. So make sure you're able to explain your offer. And you'll see in the next component that you have another shot at this element in another way when you're making multiple options for your offer.
Offer Options
If you have multiple options for your offers, normally presented in a grid, work to make your grid easy to understand. If you have too many toggles, buttons, and options to help someone get a price – work to refine your grid. You want offers that are easy to understand.
The Person / Company Behind The Offer
I know you likely have more than a sales page on your site. You likely have an about page. But the problem is that people don't always go to your about page to read about you or your company. So make sure you have a spot for a little bit about you. It engenders trust – and that's critical to conversions on any sales page.
Testimonials
I know you have these. You must. But I don't want you to think I didn't remember them. So make sure you add testimonials on your site. You might want to check out video ones, which I've told you about before.
FAQs That Are Actual FAQs
I hate reading Frequently Asked Questions that are questions no one has ever asked. If you put, “Can I pay you even more money?” in your FAQs, we know you're just shoving marketing language in the wrong place on your sales page. Don't do it.
Instead, look for real questions that people have asked. Particularly the ones that help you know whether a customer is a good fit or not, and write them out. It will help the right kind of customer self-select in, and the wrong customers move on.
Objections / Responses
A similar section to FAQs, the common objections can be framed as questions with answers. The goal isn't to clear up questions (like the FAQs) but instead is there to help you turn someone around with further information. It means you dig into where there's common misconceptions or friction in your offer and you look to eliminate it.
Calls To Action
Again, like testimonials, I know you have these on your sales page. The question is whether you have enough of them. Only one? You need more. Make sure you have one each time you think you've given your reader enough reasons to take action.
Were There Any That You've Missed?
So, how did you do? Is your sales page all good? Do you have all of these items on it? If so, you're awesome. Missing some? Consider adding them in. And you can always hit me up on Clarity to talk more about your sales pages.