When we sit down to write a sales page, we instantly run into a problem.
We know that the client is usually looking to solve one problem, but which problem should we choose? How do we know if the client is simply going to ignore the headline and not look at the rest of the sales page?
Should we stuff our headline with three separate problems or is that a really bad decision on our part?
The answer is that the headline and the first problem aren't as crucial as most copywriters would have you believe. Follow these precise headline steps, and you'll notice your sales page will come together in a less stressful and more specific manner.
Right click below to save this episode.
Re-release: The Eternal Sales Page Dilemma – How To Choose Precise Headlines To Get Clients Interested In Your Sales Page
Original: The Eternal Sales Page Dilemma – How To Choose Precise Headlines To Get Clients Interested In Your Sales Page
What do you use Blu-Tack for?
If you've ever run into Blu-Tack, you'll notice that it solves many problems. You can use it to stick a frame to the wall, get lint off clothes, hold objects in place and so on. There are probably hundreds of ways to use Blu-Tack, and the question that arises is: What problem does Blu-Tack solve?
Whenever we look at any product or service, we run into the same issue. Almost everything you sell solves many problems. An iPad may be used to draw, write, and even record a podcast. A book, like The Brain Audit, can be used to understand how clients think, but maybe just helpful in creating your uniqueness.
How do you determine which problem is the most important of all?
More importantly, what if clients don't have that specific problem and just ignore the sales page? The reality is that no one knows why a client may buy a product or service. Like the Blu-Tack dilemma, there may be a lot of reasons why they choose to read your sales page.
And what can you and I do anyway? We can't stuff three problems into a single headline. We can't say something like, “Need Blu-Tack for sticking frames to a wall, getting lint off clothes or holding objects in place?”
Therefore whenever we write a headline, we're making our best possible guess. And while guessing seems like a ridiculous way to go about writing a sales page, there is a bit of a scientific method behind it. Usually, whenever we're selling a product or service, the problem is quite generic.
The problem is usually generic.
E.g. I want to stop smoking
E.g. I wish to write better articles
E.g. I am not sleeping well.
Almost all problems start generic in nature.
Recently we were faced with the issue of writing a sales page for a storytelling course. Those who'd signed up for the waiting list were asked what they wanted to achieve with a storytelling course. And these are just five from the list we received.
- How do I create compelling stories that can be used in a written or spoken format?
- How do I come up with loads of interesting personal stories?
- How do I avoid my stories from becoming just a rambling mess?
- How do I tell both short and longer stories with equal skill?
- How do I figure out how to slow down a story or speed it up?
If you were to send out a questionnaire, you too would get at least a dozen or even fifty varying responses. How would you choose?
We go about it step by step.
Step 1: What is the recurring problem?
Step 2: What is the specific we can add to that problem?
Hence, in the case of the storytelling course, the way we'd go about it is:
Step 1: The recurring problem is “I want to tell great stories”
Step 2: The specific is “I don't want the audience to go to sleep”.
Is that the best choice we could make when it came to the headline?
The reality is that if it's generic enough, it will get the attention of two sets of clients. The first set is those who specifically feel their stories are boring and want to fix the problem. However—and this is interesting—it will also get the attention of the client who already tells entertaining stories.
People who are struggling to tell interesting stories want to learn, but those who are already pros at it also want to learn that little extra bit that lifts their storytelling to another level.
In any case, the whole purpose of the headline is to get the client to start reading.
While most of us agonise over the headline, the paragraph that follows is just as important. In the case of the storytelling course, it went like this:
We are all capable of telling stories—and telling good stories too—but how do you when your story is compelling or just boring?
When a five-year-old comes home from school, she likely has an interesting story to tell. We, too, are reasonably good storytellers. Get out a bottle of wine, some delicious food, and we have stories of our last trip abroad, of a pet, or just a business story that got our attention. However, these delightful moments of lucid storytelling seem to scuttle away the moment we're called on to tell a story that will help us in our business. When we manage to string a story together, it often feels dead, too technical or downright boring.
Once a client has read that part, they skim through the page.
They rarely base their purchase on the headline or even the first paragraph. Therefore our agony of getting the headline right is probably not needed. If you were writing an ad to be seen in a newspaper or magazine, you have loads of competition. You are competing with all the other ads, the editorial, etc.
However, in this case, the client is on a single page. They are on your site and not going anywhere in a hurry. Your job is to get that generic point across and then add on a specific, and they will start to skim.
If you've done your work well, they will read:
- The second problem—and the second paragraph that explains the problem.
- The features and benefits (about six of them that you've fleshed out in detail).
- The bullet points (which may number anywhere from 15-60).
They will decide based more on their skimming than on your headline.
The headline is often the part we struggle with the most, yet it's just a single problem from a list of concerns. When you structure a sales page correctly, what you get instead, is the entire sales page sequence working in your favour.
The client's skimming, starting and stopping is what will get them to do the next action. In our case, at Psychotactics, we get them to get on a waiting list.
When a client reads a sales page for the first time, they are not ready to buy
Unless it's an emergency, clients tend to take time to make up their minds. Hence, we would need to follow up several times. This is when you potentially get the chance to send out “headline after headline” through e-mail or any other system of follow up that you have. Remember those five points we had earlier?
- How do I create compelling stories that can be used in a written or spoken format?
- How do I come up with loads of interesting personal stories?
- How do I avoid my stories from becoming just a rambling mess?
- How do I tell both short and longer stories with equal skill?
- How do I figure out how to slow down a story or speed it up?
Well, every one of those could become a problem in your follow up sequence.
Every time you send that follow up, the client is reminded about your product or service. If there's a fixed deadline, they'll act based on the deadline, but if there's no deadline, they'll buy when they're ready. In any case, you don't have to worry about having the perfect headline on your sales page—not now, not ever.
If this method sounds all crazy, well, yes, it is
A copywriter will tell you that you should test your headlines. That one headline can do 20% or 500% better than another headline. And there's no doubt that it can. The reality is that those copywriters are likely to be selling products in high volume and can do quite extensive testing.
Our reality looks a lot different. We don't want to sell two gazillion products. We'd be more than happy to sell those 20 seats on a course or 35 copies of a book. We have a specific, modest goal in mind. We don't get started because we're so worried about testing and getting things right that we don't start at all.
- We don't finish our sales page.
- We don't have a follow-up system in place.
- We have features, benefits and bullets to write. And we should be getting down to working on those, instead.
The goal is to get the client to skim and take the next action. That next action isn't to buy the product but to get on a list. That's when you can use a stream of headlines that will eventually allow them to make a buying decision.
Leave a Reply