When To Throw Out Your Sales Page Template

Maybe you love having a sales page template to follow. Totally plug and play, mad-libs style:
 

[Insert prospect pain points here]

[Insert benefits here]

[Tell them what they get here]

[Insert price here]

That’s all good, and for some, that’s going to be all you need to be on your merry way writing sales pages that convert.

Writing formulas often miss the human element.

Maybe you followed the instructions carefully, thinking, “I’m going to write my offer so well that it sells this time!”

Only to end up with crickets during your launch.

Let me top up your glass. More Cabernet? Good, because that’s all I’ve got.

Let's sip and chat about your sales page. In reality, though, I'm freaking out because I love to geek out about this stuff.

Here are some ways to go beyond a sales template or formula and how to trust your gut.

Templates are awesome when:

• You’re writing something for the first time and have no idea where to start

• They’ve been time-tested and proven over and over again for what you’re selling

• You’re a great writer and just need some guidelines

• You have a bunch of words on the page and you just don’t know where to put them

Templates suck when:

• You don’t know what to write

• There are (seemingly) no words to describe what you do

• You don’t know what you want your prospect to do

• You don’t know your audience

• No one wants what you’re selling

For many of these, even the best of sales pages isn’t going to sell your thing.

Are you picking up what I’m picking down?

You see, the thing with templates is that they only take you so far.

The copy on your sales page needs to:

• Mean something to your prospects

• Describe in their words how you’re going to solve their problem

• Be chock full of the actual words they use to describe their problem and what they want

• Build trust so that they know you’re the one who holds the key to their (proverbial) happiness

• Get them to take action

Your sales page is a sudoku, crossword, and game of hangman puzzle that I love to figure out.

You can learn to love writing sales pages, too—you just need practice.
 

Practice these 7 things when writing your next sales page:

1. Communicating clear value
   Use clients’ exact words to make it obvious why they need what you’re giving them.
   To use their words start a client word bank — every time you chat with a prospect, client, or someone who needs your magic, write down the words they use.

2. Telling a before and after story
   Everyone loves a dazzling before-and-after. Remind them what their life looks like today and tell them what it will look like when you remove their problem.

3. WTF is in it for me?
   Tell them what they get out of working with you or buying your thing. What specifically do they get? How does that make their problem feel now? What other parts of their life are dreamy now? Do they get to dance naked in the kitchen because they’ll be so confident and comfortable in their skin? Tell them that. Also, tell me what you’re selling because I want some of that!

4. Showing off your street cred
   Tell your reader how your thing gets results. Use facts, stats, and testimonials with real faces. Make sure the About page on your website tells your story and shows your best side.

5. Telling them what they get
   This is where you’ll talk about your features—6 lessons, 4 phone calls, 1 infusion of magic, and a parrot in a pear tree.

6. Making it stupidly easy for people to buy from you
   Your prospect is convinced—yay! Now if they could just figure out how to give you their money. They scroll up, then down, looking for a way to <BUY RIGHT FREAKING NOW> but they can’t find it. Make it painfully obvious what steps they need to take to get started. If you feel like you’re too obvious, you’re probably doing it right.

7. Tell them how much
   Make the price obvious, and avoid trying to “hide” it. I see some sales pages that are so obnoxiously long that I sometimes get sick of looking for it and just do a search on the web page. Just take me to the price already!
   
    

Long form sales page, short and punch you in the mouth sales page, or scrolling for days—regardless of what you fancy, your sales page needs to include these items.

The more you practice writing your offers, and tweaking as you get feedback and sales over and over is the only way to figure out what works for your people.

The best part? It doesn’t need to feel icky, salesy, awkward or fussy.

Want some writing prompts to help you write your sales page? Get those here.
 

Remember your blog is a sales tool too! Here are some authentic ways to sell with your blog — while keeping your soul intact.