You can have the greatest product in the world, but if you can’t communicate the value of it, nobody’s gonna buy. In this episode, I’m going to walk you through my process for writing high converting sales copy.

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Big Ideas

Why am I rewriting the sales page? [1:22]

Since 2016, we’ve been having our annual TRIBE Experience promotion, where we take business owners through the process of launching and growing a highly successful membership. I was recently rewriting the sales page for our fifth annual promotion that is starting on April 22. This sales page has been very well received and converted really well for us, so you may be wondering, why would I even want to rewrite it?

The reality is that so much has changed in the landscape of the membership industry. More importantly, so many things have changed as it relates to our customers and people in our TRIBE community. When I was looking at all of our marketing materials, the one thing that felt outdated was our sales page, because it didn’t tell the whole story of what has happened during the last few years. I’m not rewriting every single word of copy, because there’s so much copy that is still relevant and is going to convert. But I want to walk you through these three main things that I am taking into consideration when rewriting the sales page.

Sell results, not things [4:11]

The first thing to consider when you’re thinking about a sales page, is to get real clear on the transformation and why somebody would buy from you. That has to be the through line in the entire sales page. Remember, people aren’t buying stuff, they’re buying a result, a transformation. If you’re not clear about what that transformation is, then your messaging is going to get lost.

So I always start here, what’s the transformation? I ask myself, how will someone’s life be better or different, as a result of buying this product, or this membership, or this service? And in that, you have to show people what’s possible for them. You have to believe in them and in the result that’s possible for them more than they may believe in it themselves. You’ve got to be able to describe that transformation clearly and succinctly, so that people understand the benefit of what you’re offering.

Refine your headline and subheadlines [6:18]

Number two, I shift my energy and focus on the headline and subheadlines. I don’t just look at it like individual headlines and subheadlines, I look at it very much like a table of contents. When you’re looking at a book at the bookstore and thinking about buying it, the first thing you do is read the title of the book. That’s the headline of your sales page. Second thing you do is you may flip to the back and read the summary. And that’s your opening paragraph. Then, you probably go to the table of contents and peruse through it.

The same is true when somebody is scanning through your sales letter. They’re not going to read every single word from top to bottom. The first time they land on that page, they’re most likely going to start with the main headline, which is why you want to spend a huge amount of time focusing on it. From that point forward, I like to outline my subheadlines so that it tells a story in and of itself. So if the only thing that somebody did was scan through the page and look at the headline and subheadlines, they would get the essence of what I’m offering and the benefit to them accordingly.

Add your proof elements [8:48]

The third element I love to get creative with are the proof elements. What do I mean by proof? Think about yourself very much like a lawyer who is trying to create a case as to why somebody should invest with you. If you were a lawyer looking to make a case, what do you need? You need evidence and proof to showcase why the argument you’re putting forward or the presentation you’re putting forward should be something that somebody should take action on.

When I think about proof, I’m thinking about testimonials. You want to include testimonials all throughout your sales page. But not just testimonials where you put quotes and somebody’s picture next to it, the actual screenshots of where people have shared the results they’ve gotten or the progress they’ve made. All throughout the year, when people are sharing this in your community, you want to be capturing and saving it. This is something that we do religiously in our company. Because later down the road, you’re going to forget the people who have said the kind things or who have gotten results, and it’s going to get lost. But if you capture it in the moment, and the time comes to writing your sales page or creating any marketing elements, you’ve got those assets readily available to you.

Tell your story with visuals [10:48]

I also love telling stories that are very visual. One of the big changes we’re going to make this year is to start including more graphs and charts. I had a big aha moment this year when I was talking with our TRIBE alumni. Not only have their memberships grown during the first year, but those who have been in our TRIBE community for two, three, four, and even five years, have experienced significant compounding growth. So it goes to prove and show that a membership isn’t a one time hit. Memberships continue to add value, time and time again, month after month, year after year. And I want to show visually the kind of growth that people in our TRIBE community are experiencing after one year, two years, three years, four years, or five years.

There are many people in our community who have gone from not having an online audience, to launching a membership with a handful of people, to growing to hundreds or thousands of people, to having a multi million dollar a year membership. It’s inspiring, and it shows what’s possible. I want to show that visually so that when somebody is scanning through that page, they can get an understanding of how valuable that recurring revenue can be in a business, and how it compounds over time.

Support your statements with evidence [12:46]

Finally, I always love to add more evidence. When you’re saying something, it’s one thing for you to say it, but it’s another thing if what you’re saying is backed up by proof of what’s happening in the marketplace. I love looking for supportive evidence. Things like headlines from major media companies, where it’s backing up the very thing that I am saying.

As an example, we know for a fact that people are spending more time online and investing to learn online than ever before. Is there some evidence that I could collect and use that supports that? Or what if I was showing the shift in recurring revenue that’s occurring? For the very first time, The New York Times generated more revenue this year from their online subscriptions than they did from their print subscriptions. And that is another element that supports what I am saying. That business is shifting to the membership economy.

Memorable Quotes

“Remember, people aren’t buying stuff, they’re buying a result, a transformation.” – Stu McLaren

Resources

Membershipidea.com

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