Despite beliefs about short attention spans, long-form sales pages consistently perform better. They provide multiple opportunities to grab a skimmer's attention and build a persuasive argument. This principle is understood and used by the world's most successful sellers, from scrappy marketers to Apple.
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Many visitors will see your product page and then leave to buy on a marketplace like Amazon. The primary goal of your "above the fold" section should be to create a strong emotional connection and sell the "why," ensuring your brand message resonates even if the conversion happens elsewhere.
Buyers are motivated either by moving toward a desired outcome (possibility) or away from a problem (pain). Marketers often unconsciously favor one style based on their own personality. Crafting copy that addresses both motivations allows you to resonate with a broader, more diverse audience.
Counterintuitively, a low-priced "tiny offer" requires a comprehensive, long-form sales page when targeting cold audiences. With no pre-existing trust, the page must do all the work of building credibility, telling a story, and overcoming risk with testimonials and guarantees, just like a high-ticket product.
The old rule of keeping landing pages short and focused on a single call-to-action is outdated. For some campaigns, the primary goal is to educate the visitor. In these cases, longer-form content can be more effective, with conversion being a secondary goal.
Great copy guides a customer down a 'slippery slope' from attention to action (AIDA). The key is to describe their problem so intimately that they feel you uniquely understand them and must therefore have the solution, creating an irresistible pull towards your product.
Data from 57 million conversions shows that landing pages written at a 5th-7th grade level have a 56% higher conversion rate than those at an 8th-9th grade level. This quantifies the severe financial penalty for even slightly complex marketing copy, making radical simplicity a CRO imperative.
The amount of time a prospect spends with your content is the key predictor of how much money they will ultimately spend. Structure all marketing to maximize this engagement time, as it directly builds purchase intent and trust.
Prospects have minimal attention spans. To capture their interest, marketing copy in emails or social posts must be 75 words or less and contained in a single paragraph. Reserve longer, more detailed content (100-150 words) for your existing customer base, as they are already invested and more willing to read.
Stories are more than just engaging content; they are the most powerful form of proof. A story acts as a 'dramatic demonstration' of your point, showing rather than telling. Since customers buy based on proof, not promises, storytelling is a non-confrontational way to build credibility and drive sales.
One of five timeless marketing principles is that humans are wired to avoid pain more than they are to seek gain. Marketing that speaks to a customer's secret worries—a missed goal, a clunky process, or looking stupid—will grab attention more effectively than messages focused purely on benefits.
