Apply an elevator pitch and CTA above the fold on a webpage

I'm sure you've all heard things like it can take anywhere between 3 to 8 seconds for someone to decide if your webpage is worth reading before going somewhere else. I want to help my clients be able to convert users into customers but with potentially only 8 seconds to wow someone this can be very hard.

I understand without knowing your target audience and the true benefits your products or services can offer them then your kind of pissing in the wind if you believe you can convert people.

So my question is; Can anyone offer some advice or known resources where I can begin to understand and control the power of combining elevator pitches, calls to action, etc. alongside images and other visual graphics all above the fold.

Basically some tips and tricks on how to use these tools together to convert people into customers.

Thank you for your time and hopefully all makes sense

 

Hi Samuel
Great question - here is a 'side tip' ... you have not had any responses in 5 days which is amazing. I think your subject line should have been a/the question. As it stands it may look like you're giving info/tips on something most readers are not clear it relates to them.

OK as to your actual question here are a few rapid fire items which you can google or check out YouTube for more info:

• You need great "sales copy" (i.e. scientifically structured and emotionally punctuated), even for a VSL (video sales letter).
  
• The first thing you learn for the copy itself is the 'heading', THAT more than anything else grabs your audience in those crucial first seconds. This is true of video VSL even more. That's because before the video has time to load and run, you need to hook the reader into staying for a few seconds.
• The next thing is "deck copy" ... the small paragraph which comes after the heading ... and most people think of it as "subheading" but copy writers don't. Again the deck copy must be expertly written to convince the reader to scroll down or continue to watch the video by adding more in to the heading or by teasing the user about what (benefit) is about to follow.
• ... you need to learn more about copy writing and the role and place of images etc
• Now, how do you know if it is your poor copy or poor traffic (ill-suited to your offer) that is responsible for your "bounce rate"! Three important actions help answer that: ...
• First, examine your traffic sources ... are all traffic and content that persuade the visitor to click thru to your site focused on your topic, from sites/pages that are from your topic? ... how do you know where the traffic is coming from? ... see next ...
  
• Second, install web analytics on your site. You may have heard of Google Analytics. There is something better and also free too: Open Web Analytics. It does everything Google Analytics does but also critically shows you the "mouse movements" of your site visitors. You can see exactly where they go, what they click on, where they jump off etc in neat videos per individual visitor!
  
  You will see where they are getting confused when they keep hovering re-reading or coming back to. A great sales letter, neatly and cleanly, guides the visitor down the page. Every time you see visitors confused and moving around, you do a "split test" to find a better way of presenting the info and remoing the 'confusion' until most visitors read down to the offer or whatever action you want them to take.
  
  OWA, like all other analytical tools, will also show you which pages the users clicked from thru to your site as well as other valuable information.
  
  
• Third, install an "exit popover" such as Marketizator.com
  This pops up when your visitor is about to exit your page. Ask the visitor why they are leaving without doing anything. Be polite, ask for help "to improve your site/offer". Once you see a few repeat objections/reasons emerge make it easier by offering a choice of those repeat reasons & also "other - please state your reaosn here [ ................................... ]"
  
  Notes:
  1- Fix the main objections but keep the popover until no more (relevant) objections are offered.
  2- Offer some gift that they can immediately download if they help you out. This will of course increase your feedback rate

A successful online marketer called 'John Reese' said in an article: "... crap can make your rich ..." meaning even a very poorly presented offer or product can make you rich if you do enough split testing and analysis as described above.

I think it was John Reese who also said "95% of the money is in testing". In other words, anyone who attempts a sales page or process and doesn't test & tweak, misses out on 95% of his total income.

The late great Cory Rudle used to sell 5 copies of his used automobile handbook every weekend and maybe 10 per week. One week he asked his buyer why they bought his book. The answer was mostly: they were about to buy a car and they liked the chapter on "how to buy a new car at just $50 above the dealer's own buying price".

The following Friday, before going off to race his car (which is how he sadly died years alter in a race crash), he changed the handbook title to? ... you guessed it: "how to buy a new car at just $50 above the dealer's own buying price". He then listed all the other 21 chapters as extra bonuses.

Cory went off to the races that Friday and came back on the Monday & his site had sold 22 copies ... nearly 400% more than all previous weekends!

You may want to look up a site called MakretingExperiments.com ... look around to find their podcasts about this kind of testing ... amazing stuff.

I hope this helps

 

Hello Samo, Just want to start by saying thank you ever so much for your reply and yes I see where your coming from with how I approached my question. Thanks to people like yourself, this is clearly a good place to help me achieve the skills I need to develop and create an effective message.

I've already started researching some of the things mentioned above and I didn't even think about podcasts. It takes me 45 minuets to drive to work each way so what a perfect opportunity. Thank you for the clearly written reply and I believe it's time to get studying and hopefully get back to you with plenty more questions if you don't mind? Thanks

 

My pleasure Samuel - I wish you success and lots of fun on your journey to that success.

Sure, post your questions and hopefully others will contribute too. And if I don't join in and you want my pennies worth, use the "start conversation" to get my attention and I will come to whatever thread you wish.

I leave you with one thought: Stay away from suggestions/replies like "use social media", "post videos". etc. Focus on building a (lasting) business that both pays you increasing money (or pleasure) and in itself becomes a growing asset.

Have fun

 

Hey, that's a million dollar question, and it is a good one. Well there is no one advise that can fix this for every website, it is entirely dependent on the type of product or website you are going for. But some pointers:
1. Focus on the copy, make sure you have an engaging copy, for instance using bridging phrases properly to engage visitors in reading.
2. Do not undermine the power of split tests, heat maps and analytics tools. They give you the ability to see how the visitors roam and that helps a lot.
3. There is an amazing article on Conversion Org about the US presidential campaign websites and their conversion methods, read that.
4. Do not over do your sales points, do not fill the page with red and orange buttons thinking that can make them click. Call to actions should be placed strategically.
5. The first two headlines are extremely important, make sure you tst them and test them and test them.
6. Placing a call to action right above the fold has proven to do nothing in particular, because visitor is not yet familiar with who you are and that means no purchasing intention, so the more you have doesn't mean the more you get.

I hope these help a bit
Good luck

 

Hi Mehdi.b

Just noticed I hadn't replied back to you, massively rude of me; I do apologise!!

I'm loving your reply as its dead easy to understand

All the points are really fab but mainly point one and six because I've been reading about how your website needs to encourage people to scroll down by displaying content so it overlaps the fold clearly showing theirs more further down and also how copyrighting is all about getting you to read the next line, so point six is a really nice one to hear; thank you!