Flashing banners and elaborate graphics are not necessary to attract a potential customer to a website. In fact, those might even drive some away. It is the sales copy that convinces a reader to buy something. Following are sixteen ways to enhance a sales page and make it much more likely to generate conversions.
1. Research keywords. There are a number of tools on the internet that will help you find keywords related to your product. Plant these words in the site’s sales page, including any meta tags, so that web surfers will be more likely to find them via search engine.
2. Create a slogan. A catchy slogan that emphasizes the good things a product can do for a customer will go a long way toward capturing attention and making the product that much easier to remember.
3. Draw in the customers with a headline. The headline should show what the product can do for the customer. Leave the details for the rest of the copy.
4. Make an appeal to emotion. There is something lost in sales copy, as opposed to face-to-face sales, since there is no personal interaction. Make up for that by appealing to the emotion of the reader – they should feel the product is necessary for someone in their situation.
5. Make it personal. Since the copywriter cannot incorporate the name of every reader into the copy, do the next best thing. Refer directly to the reader by using such words as “you” instead of “we” or “our.”
6. Avoid using all capital letters. Instead, use bold letters or different colors to emphasize.
7. Write a captivating introduction. This is the part that fills in bits of what the headline missed and sets up the rest of the copy. It should still be slim on details, but leave enough so that a reader will want to go on to read the rest.
8. Use sub-headlines. These will support the introduction, perhaps illuminating on each point brought up in the first paragraph.
9. Use testimonials. Solicit comments from satisfied customers and post them on the site. These can be especially effective, because it is a customer, and not the company, extolling on the benefits of the product.
10. Use graphics.The purpose of graphics is to support the written word. Some products are helped by the use of before and after photographs, for instance.
11. Make ordering easy. There should be several ways for a customer to order your product. The order button should just be at the top of the page. Make it easily accessible at a number of points. Try to include a number of methods of payment to attract the greatest number of customers.
12. Give them something for free. Add some bonuses with their purchase.
13. Make it urgent. Most visitors who leave a site thinking to buy later never actually do so. Make the offer for a limited time or only offer a limited amount. Be truthful about these deals – someone will always find out otherwise.
14. Provide a guarantee.
15. Leave adequate contact information. Visitors who are unclear on any aspect of the product should be able to get answers directly from you.
16. Check for errors in grammar, spelling, and formatting!
Joe Praveen Sequeira is an award winning, best-selling author, speaker, educator and professional Internet Marketing Consultant focused on helping businesses of all sizes, increase their online sales, boost web site traffic and strengthen their overall brand through established online marketing strategies. He has overseen hundreds of Internet marketing campaigns for fortune 500 companies and is the Founder & CEO of The eMarketing Pro, a thriving Internet marketing and eBusiness consulting firm.
