5 Tips to Audit and Optimize Your Sales Pages for Conversions
After auditing 50+ sales pages, here’s what I found….
I kinda have a thing for sales pages.
Being able to be that missing set of (conversion) eyes has been helpful to so many entrepreneurs – give or take 50! – over the last year. It’s amazing some of the flood gates have opened after they receive a little direction, too.
I figured it was time that I start passing along some of the most common mistakes I often see, in order to help you out, too.
So if you have a live sales page at the moment, or planning to pull one together in the future – take a peek at some of these tips to help optimize your page!
1. Remove ALL outside links.
ALL of them! Listen – when you have outside links on your page, it’s an invite for your reader to click them and LEAVE your sales page. But after all the time and money you spent trying to funnel them TO that page – why do we want them to leave so quickly? (hint: we don’t!) (double hint: it’s very unlikely for them to return, once we send them down a rabbit hole!)
Remember, when people squirrel away, it costs you time and money to get them back. So make sure your sales page doesn’t have any distraction to things like:
✖️ Navigation bar at the top or bottom
✖️ Gallery link to testimonials
✖️ Instagram or other social media accounts
The one and only link that you ever want your reader to click is the “buy now” button, so don’t give them any other reason to click off your page 🙂
2. Never assume that your reader arrives on your page with their problem top of mind.
It’s the opposite actually: people try to suppress their problems and put them on the backburner. That’s why you need to spend the first ⅓ of your sales page meticulously detailing out their struggle so they can feel that problem in the moment.
Because when you better communicate the problem to them, they are more likely to believe you have the answer. ← this sounds simple, but it’s critical.
Here’s an example – let’s say I’m a fertility coach. If my sales page jumps right into the course details and the price, it’s not super impactful. BUT, if I paint the picture of how I understand that you and your husband have been trying for the last two years, and how much it pains you to buy bday gifts for your friends’ kids, and not your own… that tells my reader that I get what they’re going through. They’re MUCH more likely to hear me out when they know I fully understand their struggles.
3. Benefits + Features – ya need them both!
These are both very important elements of your sales page, and it gets confusing when the two of them are thrown together in a big ol’ mixing pot on your page. So instead, make one section super clear what the transformation (benefit) is, and then the next section equally clear of what the nitty-gritty’s are (modules, weekly coaching, worksheets, FB group, etc.).
Ultimately, your program’s benefits/transformation are what connect with your readers and sell your course. However, both the benefits and the features need an ENTIRE section to themself.
4. Don’t overlook the journey that your reader has already gone through.
More often than not, this isn’t the first time your reader has tried to solve their problem (aka the thing you help them with!) They’ve likely already tried other courses, or they’ve attempted to learn and solve it themselves. So don’t disregard or discredit these attempts! Doing so fails to establish a connection, and they don’t think you truly get what they’re going through.
5. Use mock-ups to help show the value.
When you have a course or a program, you likely have several modules, training videos, and multiple handouts through. But just writing out those downloads and PDF’s line by line isn’t super impactful… Instead, use the power of visuals – a well organized mock up – to depict the value so your reader can see first-hand all the goodness that your course entails. Use a new branded mock-up for each module, too!
Your sales page is the very last piece of information your prospect sees prior to making their decision… so I’d argue that there isn’t a more important piece to your funnel puzzle than this one.
Want some inspo to write your next best page?
Grab Sales Page Swipe Town for immediate access to high-converting, full-length sales pages (all of which I’ve personally vetted…or wrote!)
