what is a sales page anyway?

Sales pages come in all different shapes and sizes. Short form, long form, and everything in between, but at its core, a sales page is simply a one-page site used to sell an online product or program like an e-Course, mastermind group, retreat, etc.

Your sales page should be designed with one specific goal in mind — turning visitors into buyers! – with style and lots of personality of course!

Your sales page is all about getting your potential customer to take action. Every word, sentence, and headline should have a specific purpose — to lead your potential customer to your order page.

Your sales page is where you highlight all of the benefits your course has to offer. It tells your potential customer exactly what your course will do for them and who they will become as a result of taking your course.

The biggest mistake online entrepreneurs and course creators make is focusing too much on the features of the course and not enough on the transformation that will be taking place.

PEOPLE BUY TRANSFORMATIONS!!

(read that again⇧)

Your sales page is not here to sell your course. It’s here to sell the bigger, better version of what life could be like for your potential buyer once they learn the lessons you teach inside of your course.

Inside of the WomanpreneuHER Community, we talk about putting ourselves in the hearts and minds of our customers. You have to be able to answer the questions your target audience is asking, particularly the question “Why should I care?”

When it comes to selling effectively, you should be able to clearly articulate how you plan to take your potential student from point A (where they are now) to point Z (where they want to be or who they want to be after they take your course).

So just think about it – If you were in your audience and could benefit from your own course, what would compel you to hit the buy now button? What would make you want the product really bad? What would make you share the product with others? What would make you spend your last dollar for this course?

Your goal is to paint a picture of the experience they will have as they take your course and what to expect afterward. How will they be transformed and what they will be able to achieve as this new person!

THAT IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE BUYING!

Like I said earlier, sales pages come in all different shapes and sizes but there are essential components every sales page needs.

I want to give you a guideline of sorts of how to structure your course sales page so when it comes time to put yours together you know the flow and what needs to be on the page to design the most effective sales page possible.

So just FYI – this is just a guide – you can play around with it, rearrange some of the sections – make it a little shorter, make it a little longer, customize it and make it your own so don’t feel like you are stuck with the structure. 

We talk in-depth about each one of these components inside of WomanpreneuHER University but here is the basic framework:

Part 01. Your course logo or tagline: You always want to add a course logo and a tagline if you have one so that people can instantly identify and connect your brand with the course.

Part 02. Your Headline: It’s quite common these days to see a main headline and subheadline. (It’s not an absolute requirement, so you’ll need to decide what works best for you and your course). 

Start with something that immediately draws people in and that VERY clearly speaks to your target audience and the pain they feel. Your goal is to pique interest and to get people to keep reading.

Part 03. Your introduction & the outline of the problem your course will solve: Here’s where you spell out the problem you’ve identified and get the reader to nod in agreement as you discuss the various issues or challenges your target audience faces.   

Part 04. Presenting the solution – introducing the course: Here is where you introduce your solution to the problem highlighted. 

Part 05. Bullets & Benefits: Now it’s time to go over the features and benefits of your course – and where you can begin to get more detailed about your offer. Your list of benefits will answer the “What’s In It For Me?” question that all buyers would want to know before being convinced to take action. 

Part 06. Testimonials: Testimonials validate what you’ve said on your sales page. By now your reader will be almost convinced that your course can help them with their problems and challenges. If others have offered feedback or have said nice things about your course, ask them if you can include them on your sales page or take screenshots of social media praise. 

Part 07. Your offer: This is your call to action. Where you ask for the sale. Hopefully, your reader will be chomping at the bit to get their hands on your course… They are itching to know how much they’ll need to invest to grab the product that will end their frustration and begin solving their problems.

Part 08. Your Bonuses: Sweeten up the pot with value-packed and “IRRESISTIBLE” bonuses that turn your courses into “I just can’t pass this up” best sellers. List any bonuses or one-time-offers you want to add or create.

Part 09. Your guarantee: You’ll find that the vast majority of websites selling online give some sort of guarantee. To be honest, sometimes I’ll add a guarantee, sometimes I don’t. While you want your potential customers to have confidence, you don’t want people to take advantage of you either. If you do decide to offer a guarantee, the bigger and bolder the guarantee  — the more confidence the reader will have. If you do decide to offer a guarantee, try to make sure the guarantee is noticeable and as clearly written as possible, leaving no room for confusion. 

Part 10. Add to cart button: this may be obvious but Include your “Add to Cart” button. I recommend that you create a few different CTA buttons that you can use in your sales copy, email pitches, and product presentation videos. Need help coming up with CTAs that Converts? Check out The Viral Content Startup Kit here!

Part 11. Summing it all up & a final call to action: Here we want to add a recap of what has been covered. Basically, we’re aiming to give a summary list of the reasons why the reader should buy now, the benefits they will receive, the problems they will no longer have, the transformation that takes place, etc. This is also a great place to add your FAQs, eliminating any final objections before your final call to action.

Now you may be looking at your sales pages and saying,”Okay, I have some work to do!” But before you dive headfirst into crafting your next sales page, there are some things I want to warn you about.

I’ve been coaching entrepreneurs for over 10 years. I’ve made lots of money and I’ve made lots of mistakes. One of those mistakes – like not knowing how to craft high-converting sales pages – has cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars!  And I’ve recognized and fixed my own sales page shortcomings, I’ve been able to coach tens of thousands of people to sell more with their sales pages.

So, I’m going to share some advice on some common mistakes coaches and online entrepreneurs make with their sales pages because you will want to fix (or avoid) these mistakes ASAP.

If you are sending people to a…

• Work With Me Page…
• About Me page on your website that lists all of your services…
• A blog post with a CTA button…
• Amazon product page…
• your affiliate or biz opp sign up page or
• straight to a shopping cart page…

STOP.DOING.IT! 

You are bleeding HUGE amounts of sales. Do not send people to another website to close the deal. It’s like asking your best friend to go get the boy’s number for you!

Nobody can represent your products and services like YOU, so make sure you are doing everything you can do to use your own voice, your own personality, your own stories, and your own selling style to close the deal.

Your goal is to always, always, SELL them on your sales page first. Your sales page is the best chance you have to clearly communicate why they need what you are selling, without distractions. Once you’ve shared your message, then, and only then, should you link them to where they need to buy (if it is off-site).

Just because someone lands on your website does not mean your product is right for them!

That’ right…

You CANNOT assume people will “understand” who your product helps unless you tell them!

The whole entire point of creating a sales page is to convert your dream customers and if you are not clear on:

1. who your product helps
2. why it helps them and
3. who they will become once they get your help…

You are not doing your job!

Your product IS NOT for EVERYONE and it is really important for YOU, the coach, to define who your ideal client is, who they are not and who you do and don’t work with.

For example, if you take a look at my Viral Content Startup Kit, I have a section that answers the question, “how do I know if the viral content startup kit is right for me?”:

We touched on this in the previous mistake but if I am going to invest my money in your product or service, you need to tell me what I get and how what I’m getting is going to help me!!

Remember I said people buy TRANSFORMATIONS, right?

When someone lands on your sales page the first thing they are going to ask is “What’s in it for me?” Then they’re probably going to ask

• What are the benefits?
• What will I feel like AFTER I use your product?
• How will I be transformed?
• What does this HELP with?
• Will this actually work?

So be ready to have some answers!!

The better you are at coming up with the answers, the better your potential customers will be at coming up with the cash to buy your products or service.

Your vibe attracts your tribe and if I have to choose between two coaches that promise the same result, I’m going with the one who I feel “gets me” the most.

Not everyone is going to be your cup of tea and that is okay, but when you are clear about who you are, what makes you unique, and what you represent as a brand, you can attract people who are more “Like you” and if you like yourself (which I hope you do) you won’t mind working with people with common interests, values and goals! In fact it will be a more enjoyable experience for everyone, right?

Which brings me to this…

Don’t be afraid to show your personality.

Don’t be afraid to use language you would use when speaking to a friend.

Don’t be afraid to use visuals that resonate with your target audience.

Don’t be afraid to be YOU!

Your sales page is a representation of who you are as a coach. If you are not bubbly and sparkling don’t be bubbly and sparking because you think that is what “sells.”

What sells is YOU being authentic.

What sells is YOU being true to your community.

What sells is YOU being YOU!

Show people the person behind the brand. Literally!

While you want our personality to shine through in your sales copy and design you also want people to know who they have the pleasure of working with. That means they need to see your beautiful FACE!

People want to know they can trust you. And even more, they want to be able to like the person they are buying from. And a huge part of getting to know someone is seeing someone!

I’ll be the first to tell you that I’ve skipped out on more than a few sales pages because:

1. I did not get a good vibe from  the person on the page
2. I didn’t get a vibe at all because I couldn’t see them

This becomes more important the higher the investment but whenever possible please show your smiling face on your sales pages.

Whether you’re showing up in a profile pic or in a short product overview video, don’t give people an excuse not to bail on you because they can’t see who they are giving their $$$ to.

I want to know that what you sell actually works on someone other than yourself! Testimonials, social proof, thrid-party validation helps affirm that we are doing the right thing.

We want to know that other people have already used your product, loves your product, been transformed by your product and wouldn’t mind reocmmending your product to someone else.

TRANSFORMATIONS SELL and TESTIMONIALS TELL!

And when you see coaches who have sales pages that are overflowing with reviews, have endless rows of comments or testimonials that pack the page, this is why…

Testimonials alone can basically sell your product for you.

Even if you are a new coach or are just launching a product and don’t have a ton of feedback yet, just ONE testimonial can be powerful enough to push someone toward a buying decision.

Testimonials give you credibility and the more cred you have the more money you make. It’s just the name of the game!

I’ve literally had people tell me they bought a product because so many other people were raving about it! That’s why testimonials and social proof are a part of my 5C Viral Content Formula, because when you can consistently show your audience how many people you’ve already helped, the testimonials do the selling for you!

Don’t downplay the power of a good testimonial. It can change your life!

I’m not the type who likes to scroll through a super long sales page either (I see you!) but I do need your sales page to be long enough to convince me to buy!

Research and testing show longer form sales pages convert much better than short form. #facts

Sometimes people just need time to consume and digest the words on your sales page and the longer you are able to keep them on it the more time they have to talk themselves into making a buying decision.

So, I’ll keep this one really simple…

If you want to make more money, make your sale pages longer.

How important are visuals when selling your products and services?

So important that I created an entire product, called The Digital Product Startup Kit, that helps online coaches and course creators make products that LOOK SO GOOD they practically sell themselves…

People buy with their eyes first and now more than ever first impressions matter. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling a $7 ebook or a $25,000 mastermind, people want to see pretty pictures because they complete the story.

That means you need product mockups.

That means you need branded illustrations.

That means you need well-lit videos.

That means you need professional-looking photos.

Visuals help us process and understand what we are reading on a page and when you can pull together compelling copy and pretty pictures, you have a high converting sales page the making.

If you need to revamp your sales pages with some awesome visuals, you can use tools like Canva, hire a graphic designer on Fiverr or just go ahead and grab yourself The Digital Product Startup Kit!

So let’s start here.

I need you to have more than ONE…

more than TWO…

more than THREE…

Buy Now Buttons on your sales page. (and I need to be able to see them!)

It baffles me how often I land on a page, make a decision to buy, then have to send smoke signals to have someone help me find the buy now button.

Make it a easy as possible for your customers to purchase from you.

That means BIG Button > tiny Buttons

That means colored hyperlinks > hidden links

That means bold CTAs like Grab the Viral Content Startup Kit Now! > Generic CTAs like Sign up or Add to cart.

If someone lands on your site and cannot see a Buy Now Button, Houston we have a problem!

So just to make sure you are not confused Here’s an example of a Big. Obvious. Clear and Compelling call to action button!

I can remember when I was young I would always try to outsmart my mom with complexity and she would tell me, stop being cute!

Sales Pages that are Complicated, Convoluted, Complex, and Too Cute are a NO NO!

You are in the business of simplifying people’s lives and if the people reading your sales pages are more confused toward the bottom of your page than they were at the top, you did not do a good job of communicating your marketing message.

A 5th grader should be able to read your sales page, know exactly who it is for, what you are offering and how to buy it.

Sales pages and the products you sell using them should be easy to explain and there should be a flow that makes it simple for your audience to consume your marketing message in a way that gives them a full understanding of what it is you are selling and how it helps solve their problem.

If words can’t clearly communicate what your product does, try adding a demo or explainer video to your sales page so they can see your product at work.

People have been selling stuff since the beginning of time and there is a reason why most sales pages are structured using the specific components I outlined above.  Don’t let your “creativity” get you in trouble. Stick to what works, stick to what has been tried and tested a billion times over, and stick to what converts. That is what will make you money!

Show me the bonuses!!!

The bonuses you offer are the cherry on top of the sundae and for many, it will be just the treat they were waiting for. Many times your bonuses will be what pushes people who are on the fence, over the top!

Please understand that the product itself is not what makes your offer IRRESISTIBLE, it’s the freebies that are baked in that really make people say ooohh, I just can’t pass this up!

I like to add 3-4 amazing bonuses that can stand as products on their own but help my customers accelerate the results I promise them in the main product. From workbooks to trackers, to video tutorials and masterclasses, don’t be afraid to offer your customers something that will make it easier for them to say YES!

Remember: Your sales copy is the one place where you must convince your future students that buying your course or program is the right choice for them. Your sales page is the place where future students make a buying decision — they decide right then and there “am I going to invest in this or wait for something better to come along.”

If they abandon your sales page without having made a decision the chance of them returning to make a buying decision is slim to none.

So, your sales copy has to be amazing…

Your sales page has to be actionable…

Your sales page has to be able to erase any doubt that this product is the right product!

Here’s what to do:

1. Use the steps and advice above to create or audit your own sales page
2. If you get stuck when crafting your sales pages, or find that your sale pages are not covering look at other high-converting sales pages for inspiration.
3. Look at the sales pages of the courses or programs you’ve purchased or have wanted to purchase. What did they look like? How did they format their copy? What graphics or visuals were used to support the copy and the solution your student will walk away with.
4. Make adjustments, little by little so you can easily pinpoint what is working and what is not!
5. Be patient. becoming a master sales page creator doesn’t happen overnight. It takes lots and lots of practice. But keep at it and I promise you’ll get it!

Hopefully, I’ve made it abundantly clear that your Sales pages are the biggest keys to your online success. So, it’s worth the time and energy to make it better. Stop leaving money on the table. Fix your sales pages now – you will be rewarded and when I say reward, I mean with cold hard cash!!! $$$$$$$$$.

Learn more about building a successful and sold-out online coaching and digital product creation business? Make sure you join my Facebook Group – WomanpreneuHER: Helping Women Entrepreneurs + Online Coaches Hit $100K for training, tips and tools to grow your online coaching or course creation business to $100K!