It’s a common misconception that if you have an existing sales page, you don’t need to worry about marketing it. You’ve already done the hard work of writing a compelling ad and creating a landing page with a strong offer, so why bother doing anything else?
The truth is that there are lots of ways to increase your sales from your existing pages–and they’re not all as time-consuming or expensive as you might think!
In this post, I’m going to walk through some simple tweaks that will help get more people buying from your website without costing too much time or money.
Tip #1 Know Your Target Market. And Know Their Needs
This is the number one thing that will make or break your sales page – knowing who you are talking to and what they need from your product or service.
You can’t just be selling to everyone – you need to know who your target market is and exactly what they want.
If you are selling weight-loss products, then describing them as “a delicious treat” is going to be way more effective than saying they can help people lose 50 pounds in two days with “no effort”.
Always keep your target market top of mind when creating or updating your sales page. It will make all the difference!
Tip #2 Time of Day/Week is Important To Increase Sales
Adjust your analytics to figure out when you have the most visitors – both for the day and for the week as a whole. Keep an eye on cycles and plan postings designed to bring people to your sales page at the peak times of those traffic surges.
This would include things like email, social media postings, and blog posts that have a call to action of driving them to your sales page.
Once you’ve got a handle on when you’ll get more visitors, you can plan your content accordingly.
At the very least, ensure that your primary sales page is prominently placed on one of these peak days!
It might sound obvious, but putting it in a prominent position will help more people find them and buy from you.
If they don’t see it at all then they won’t even know about your offer, let alone be able to buy it.
Tip #3 Set Goals in Google Analytics For Online Sales
If you want to find out how much money your sales pages are making, then set up goals in Google Analytics.
This will keep track of what different traffic sources have contributed so that you can see which ones work best for sales conversions.
You’ll also be able to compare the number of people who click on an ad and visit your page with those who click on it and actually make a purchase.
You can find out what percentage of your sales come from each traffic source, as well as how many visitors you’re getting per day – all of which is valuable information for the future!
Setting up these conversions will help give you an insight into where to put more effort in order to get better results and let’s not forget, it’s FREE.
Tip #4 Use Color and Shape to Reinforce Mood
Your sales page’s mood is just as important as the actual text and elements. It speaks to your ideal visitor’s subconscious, and if you get the mood right, you’ve caught that visitor’s interest.
Vibrant colors speak of energy, fun, and action. Dark colors talk to younger edgier visitors, and soft, pale, and muted colors appeal to people who are sophisticated or people who love gentle things.
So, in addition to your own branding, pay attention to color to reinforce the mood, as well as make key elements stand out.
Tip #5 Remember to Use Subheads and Bullets to Lead Them Inside
Nobody likes a big, long chunk of run-on text. Create “white space” and make your sales text easier to read – especially when skimming. But don’t stop there: Add subheads and bullets at intervals in the body of your sales text.
Use them to summarize what you’re going to talk about in the next paragraph or section. Make sure you zero in on the most critical paragraph points and benefits!
This way, you’re giving visitors exactly what they want at the exact moment that they need it.
You might also use subheads or bullets to break up long paragraphs of text so people can more easily read your information and absorb it too!
By using these techniques, your ideal customer will be able to get through the key points faster – and your conversions will see an increase!
Tip #6 Make Sure Your Headlines, Sub-heads, and Graphics Hit the High Point
You should be able to dart a glance at your sales page or scroll really quickly and immediately get the [accurate] gist of what it is all about.
The same thing goes with your sub-heads and graphics as well. If you write things like, “This is the best product on the market!”
And then follow up with something that doesn’t support this statement at all (or even worse, contradicts it), you’re going to confuse people and they’ll leave your site wondering why they’re wasting their time.
Even though you don’t want to get too wordy or long-winded with your subheads, you do still want them to hit the high point of what it is that makes your product special. Otherwise, people will feel like nothing about this offer speaks to them and be less likely (or completely unwilling) to whip out the wallet.
This is your chance to show someone why they should buy from you, so make sure it is done well!
Tip #7 Increase the Impact of Sales Page Videos
If you’re wondering whether it’s time to create a video sales page for your target audience, consider if your audience is made up of visual learners because there are lots of reasons why this could be a good idea.
Video sales pages have been proven to make more money than text-based ones. You can also use them as lead generators for those not quite ready to buy.
You should also look at how you can use video to explain your product or service better than words because it’s much easier for people to understand through visual mediums.
This is why stock photos are so popular – they give the reader a mental picture that their mind then fills in with whatever emotions and other memories go along with those pictures.
Tip #8 Be Sure to Include Bounce Rate in Your Tracking
Many people say they never bother noting the bounce rate (when people leave your site almost immediately).
They don’t realize that a high number of bounces may carry the following unmistakable messages.
- There was a disconnect between the post or landing page that enticed people to your sales page, and they left because they were disappointed or angry that your offer wasn’t as represented.
- Your offer was confusing or messy, and visitors gave up on it.
- Your offer wasn’t compelling enough that it caused people to leave immediately for a better one.
- There was a problem with the technology your site is using, and people left.
- Your CTA didn’t match up to expectations, so they abandoned it quickly.
You can prevent leaving money on the table by tracking bounce rates carefully – even if that means you have to look at your stats every day for a while.
If your bounce rate seems unusually high, do your best to find out where the disconnect is happening!
Pro Tip: To learn more about reducing bounce rate and increasing pageviews, check out this article by @WPBeginner.
Tip #9 Reduce Friction in the Checkout Process and Include Maximum Payment Methods
Your sales page should make it clear to potential customers how they can purchase your products or services.
If there are multiple payment methods that you use, be sure to include them all on the shopping cart section of your site so that nothing is left up in the air for consumers who might want an alternative way of paying.
This is an easy way to boost sales and customers, especially if you have a more expensive product/service.
Tip #10 Don’t Promise What You Can’t Give!
When making a promise to your sales page visitor, make sure that you don’t promise something you cannot possibly deliver.
You can’t guarantee they’ll drop 10 pounds in 7 days, nor can you promise someone will make a million dollars in a month following your system. Keep it realistic.
If you promise that they’ll lose weight in a week, just give them some information on how they can get their body healthy and lose weight (not focused on a certain number of pounds).
And remember: if you can under-promise, but still deliver results and over-deliver from what they expected, you’ll build a lifelong customer that won’t feel disappointed and will end up increasing your sales, even more, when you are ready to sell them that next product!
Tip #11 Establish a Consistent Message in all Your Campaigns and Sales Pages
In order to keep the customer from getting confused about your message, stay consistent across all your marketing channels, including social media posts, emails, website sales pages, brochures, and more.
Consumers will be most motivated to buy when they feel like they know how you are engaging with them via marketing and what you are selling is in alignment.
Tip #12 Review Your Landing Page’s Load Time
Check your site’s loading time. If it’s taking more than five seconds to load, you’re probably losing online sales.
That number might be different depending on the size of your site and how much content is on each page.
Test your site with Google PageSpeed Insights for Mobile for suggestions to improve SEO and decrease load time.
Tip #13 Keep the Page Simple and Clutter-Free. And Make Sure it is Mobile-Friendly!
A messy page gives off a bad impression of you, so keep things as neat and clean as possible without getting too sterile or boring looking on the other end.
The idea is for people who have never heard of you to be able to get the gist of what your page is all about.
If it is too hard for them to find this information or they are distracted by so many things that they can’t focus on finding out who you are and why they should buy from you, then not only will people leave your page but some percentage of these visitors might never come back!
The same thing goes for your page being mobile-friendly. If it loads slowly, has too many pop-up ads, or is difficult to navigate on a phone because the text and graphics are so small that you can’t read them – then not only will people leave your page but some percentage of these visitors might never come back.
Tip #14 Consider Using an Opt-in Pop-Up Offer
You could also try adding an opt-in offer that will pop up when the visitor is starting to exit the page.
This technique is often used for lead generation, but it can also be used to help get more sales from your existing visitors, too.
Maybe they aren’t quite ready to buy, but there is no reason you need to let them leave empty-handed. Offer them something for free in exchange for their email.
This way you are building a database of your prospective clients and they are able to start to get to know you more.
We all know that nurturing a new possible customer is NEVER a bad thing.
Tip #15 Split Test Your Sales Page For Conversions
If you’re trying to get more leads from an existing sales landing page, you’ll want to test calls-to-action (CTA) against each other and/or different page layouts.
Try testing things like “learn more” versus “get started now” or whether you should include a video on your page at all (if you decide to test it, make sure the videos are high quality).
But I suggest only testing one thing at a time, otherwise, it’s super hard to figure out which change affected your sales.
Another thing to consider when writing sales copy is talking about benefits instead of features.
You don’t want customers thinking about how your product works, you want them to think about how it will improve their lives (and the less effort required to use it, the better!)
Remember that when running tests on images/videos for a sales page or even in general across all of your website’s pages, don’t forget to A/B test both options.
You might find that one version performs better than the other for certain customers and worse for others.
And lastly, one sales page, one offer.
Tip #16 Ask For Feedback If You Can’t Figure Out Why Your Sales Are Lagging
If you’re not sure why your sales are lagging, then ask for feedback from your customers or potential customers.
This way, you’ll be able to figure out what might be going wrong and be better equipped to make adjustments going forward.
Also understanding why they bought and others haven’t will help you determine if the sales page is lacking something and what you can try to improve results.
Tip #17 Use a Plagiarism Checker Tool
Running your sales text through a plagiarism checker will alert you to where you may have unconsciously parroted another competitor’s words, or used overdone, tired clichés.
It will also make sure that your sales page is original, and is going to increase the likelihood of getting more sales. You’ll also spend less time rewriting content and more time making money.
Tip #18 Include a Money-Back Guarantee
The money-back guarantee distinguishes your brand in an overcrowded market.
Making a purchase may be daunting at times, particularly if the goods or service doesn’t meet expectations or doesn’t function as expected.
We’ve seen that people are more likely to buy if they know that they can return it if they are not satisfied. You want your customers to be happy, not mad about the product.
Secondly, some people will believe you more if you offer a money-back guarantee because you would not do it otherwise.
Also, there is no risk on the company’s behalf. A money-back guarantee really has benefits for both the customer and the company.
Tip #19 Be Sure to Provide an FAQ Section
FAQ sections are usually found at the bottom of sales pages.
Frequently asked questions help to reassure consumers, and can cut down on your customer service time!
Typically, they would include things like how the product/service is delivered, what happens next, is shipping free, etc.
They’re also good for customers who want to know more before buying and it’s a great way to get feedback from them.
So add these to your sales pages and see how they can increase engagement with your buyers.
Tip #20 Don’t Try to Sell without a Testimonial
Testimonials are perhaps the most valuable proof you have on your sales page. Don’t leave them out!
If you haven’t done so, find as many people as you can who can give an excellent, but honest review of your services or product.
Then sprinkle them throughout your sales page. This will help increase your sales and provide proof to your prospective buyers of what you are offering.
Tip #21 Increase Vistors By Optimizing Social Media and Email
If you’re not already doing this, start by getting your social media profiles set up. Be sure to keep them updated with the latest about your company, products, and services.
Use hashtags for keywords related to your industry, region, or product.
Next, be sure to make use of all the ways email can be used as a marketing tool.
You can target specific groups based on their demographic information or send out mass emails to everyone on an opt-in list.
Your outbound marketing efforts will like back to your sales page where visitors can find more information about all of your company’s offerings.
Bonus Tip #22 Write Your Messages in Customers’ Language
If you’re not sure what to say, just think of yourself as the customer and write your message in their language.
Begin with “I want…” or “I need…”, then give the reasons why they need your product or service or how it can help solve whatever issue they are experiencing.
This approach will help you uncover their challenges and needs.
Customers are also much more likely to buy from you if they feel like you know them.
Talk about their interests, show how your product or service could make them better at something they love, offer incentives like bonuses or discounts, answer customer questions publicly on social media channels, be transparent about pricing and policies–just do whatever it takes (ethically) to show customers that you know them.
Bonus Tip #23 Create a Contact Us Page For Your Sales Page
Typically, your sales page will be just that. A place to promote your product or service and a way for them to buy.
Keeping it simple is still the way to go. But you will also run into the situation where someone has more questions than your copy or FAQs answer, so make it easy for them to reach out.
Another reason it’s a good idea for your sales page is that people might want to ask questions or change their orders.
It also gives you the opportunity to give them more information about your product so they can make a more informed decision while they are interested.
Treat your sales pages as living, breathing entities. Don’t put them up and forget them. Update them. Test all links every now and then. And keep on top of your tracking data.
Because it’s true: It’s the fine details and tiny tweaks that usually make the most significant difference in conversions.
