4 Reasons Why Your Sales Page Isn’t Converting (And How to Increase Your Sales)

Have you ever written a sales page, sent it out into the world and then just sat there waiting … and waiting … for sales to come through but none do? 

Well, I promise you aren’t the only one who has been left wondering why their sales page isn’t converting after they've written it! 

That’s why I wanted to break down the 4 things you can look at to audit your sales pages to make sure they are as top-notch as your offerings and ya know, actually do what they're supposed to and make sales!! 

YOUR HEADLINES

Now, this may sound obvious but check that your headlines are enticing people in and aren’t just any old headlines! 

We are a society of skim readers with small attention spans and since headlines are often the biggest and easiest things to read on a sales page, they need to be grabbing your reader's attention! If not, you’ve lost them before you’ve even started.

So make sure your headlines entice the reader and aren’t going to be the same as a headline they’ve seen ten times over. (Copywriter tip: this is often where I spend most of my time on my client’s sales pages)

Next, you need to be making sure that the copy above the fold is good enough!

I know I just dropped some copywriter jargon there so let me explain. Put simply, above the fold is the header section of your page plus a little bit more. It’s what the reader sees without having to scroll. And it’s very important.

Because after that enticing headline that you’ve just written, it’s the next thing your reader's attention will be drawn to, so it needs to tell them what’s in it for them and what they’re going to get by reading your sales page! 

THE COPY

There are two big factors that could easily scare people away from your sales page when it comes to your copy (aka, the words you write on the sales page).

Number 1: Your copy isn’t focused enough. 

Naturally, when you create an offer, it’s bound to help more than one specific type or person and solve more than one pain point or specific problem. 

BUT when it comes to writing a sales page, you need to hone in on the biggest problem it solves and write it directly aimed at one particular group of people. 

Because if you’re writing the page for several different groups of people and to solve various pain points, it’s only going to be partially resonating with each group of people. So more than likely, they’ll leave the page. 

However, if you get specific and focus on one core problem, then when someone reads your page, they’ll feel heard and understood, making them much more likely to buy! 

Remember: if you’re trying to speak to everyone, you’ll end up speaking to no one! 

Number 2: Your explanations are too vague or are super jargony. 

Like I mentioned before, you need to be specific when you write. This includes your explanations of your processes, the offer itself, and the benefits! No one wants to read a load of halfhearted waffling!

Similarly, ditch all the complicated jargon that only you (or other professionals in your industry) would understand. This can be a big turn-off for readers. They need to understand what they’re reading and feel comfortable to be able to buy. 

You can educate them in other copy (ie. social posts or blogs), but your sales page should be jargon-free. 

MARKETING TRIGGERS

There are a lot of common marketing triggers that are generally accepted and used in today's world. But, just because that’s the way people have previously gotten sales, doesn’t mean it’s the only way! 

In fact, recently, there has been a shift from those traditional bro-marketing tactics (that rely on triggering a sale out of people) to movement marketing tactics. Which are all about putting your why at the centre of what you do and coming from a place of genuine intention. You can read more about the differences in my other blog: Traditional marketing vs movement marketing: what’s the difference?

One of the biggest traditional marketing tactics I see is false scarcity. 

Before I talk about using scarcity tactics, I do want to say that if it’s legit ( i.e you’re selling a program that has a start date so people need to sign up before then, or you’re genuinely only taking on 10 clients) then it’s completely fine to use scarcity marketing. 

However, if you are creating false scarcity tactics to try and pressure sales, you run the risk of scaring people away. Not only is this unethical, but it can trigger deeper traumatic memories in certain groups of people which means you aren’t creating a safe space for people to engage in. 

Naturally, this can turn people away from your page. 

Another marketing trigger (that we’ve all wised up to now) is using inflated ‘values’ versus the actual cost of the product. You know what I mean… the “Value of $25,000 but we’re offering it at $5,000”. Or smacking some arbitrary value on a part of the program that you haven’t sold (and aren’t planning) to sell separately. 

In some circumstances, I’m sure the value is more than the cost, so you can use this tactic if it suits you, but it’s more of an ethical question for you and your brand. Especially if you are increasing the ‘value’ price, just to make the actual price look better. 

YOUR DESIGN

As a copywriter, it might shock you to hear me say that design is just as important as your copy when it comes to sales pages. But it’s true! You can have an incredible copy, but if it’s hard to read, disorganized and chaotic- it’s not going to work well for you (the same applies in reverse- you could have a stunning, well-thought-out design but without well-written, strategy led copy, it’s also not going to work). 

Basically, design and copy pair together like a cupcake and frosting… you can’t have one without the other (I mean you could, but it wouldn’t be the best! And technically in my book a cupcake without frosting is just a muffin - no disrespect to the muffin, but it ain’t a cupcake!).

So there are three main design flaws I see the most on sales pages.

Firstly, you have way too much text, all blocked together and it’s very hard to read. Remember those poor attention spans I mentioned earlier? Yeah, they come into play here as well! 

You need to make it skimmable and easy to digest. Otherwise, you won’t keep your reader's attention long enough for them to read it all. 

Next, you aren't using inclusive images. If the reader doesn’t see themselves in your sales page, they aren’t going to feel truly seen or like they are considered. So be mindful of the images you choose to add to your page. 

And last but definitely not least, your page isn’t mobile optimized! This is a big one because more and more people are actually viewing sales and web pages from their phones. 

So although you might be writing and publishing it on your computer, that doesn’t mean that's how people are reading it! So make sure the design works on a mobile screen too! 

So there you have it; the 4 areas you need to audit if your sales pages aren't converting! 

And if you want to learn more about how to optimize your sales page, I have a few other blogs that might come in handy that you can read here, here and here! (right-click and select open in a new tab to grab them all now and read them later with your next cup of coffee).

I also have my  Sales Page Sanity Saver that might come in handy if you haven’t written your sales page yet and have no idea where to start. So check that out if you want to make writing a sales page a whole load easier for yourself!

SALES PAGE SANITY SAVER

originally published at www.kristenwestcott.com/blog