When searching for a product on the web, I often come upon those 5 foot long web pages that go on and on trying to sell a product. As soon as I see these type of sites, I smell scam and I hit the back button immediately. Since so many web marketers use these type of pages they must work and make money. Who buys from the Long Rambling Sales pages? Do they target a specific kind of buyer? They sure don't target me...
I do the same as you. While I'm sure they make money I do not think these sites are optimal for sales. I have experimented with many page designs and styles over the year and I've always done better with the google approach. Black text, blue links, white pages, short and to the point.
They are persuasive, there's no doubt about that. Especially so to those who have only seen one of them, say, by chance. Rather than us frequent Internet users who come across them on at least a weekly basis.
They definitely convert well if they are well written and are capable of getting the reader on that slippery slope towards the 'buy now' button. It happens in a few stages but if the copy is good enough, written in the right phrases, uses the right words and the testimonials are inspiring enough....its amazing what you can convince the reader to buy. Almost anything can be sold, its about setting the scene for the sale.
Yes they are great spider bait to bring qualified traffic. I usually buy the product after speaking to someone trustworthy that endorses it. Then I go to the sales page and scan the headings, find vids, watch them and buy. I think videos can take the place of the 20 mile long content and conversions would increase but you will likely lose the se traffic for lack of spiderable content. H
I agree with jswenson - I think that as a webmaster, my browsing habits are different to a 'normal' person browsing the web. Having said that, I believe that those LONG pages are designed like that - and they appeal to the TARGET audience. The problem is that when you come across one of those pages, it's sometimes difficult to see a good offering from a bad one!
Part of the reason they target that market with those pages, though, is because they have even less ability, than say, us, to spot a good offer from a bad one... Therefore, they are more easily convinced it's a good one, as that's what everything they are reading is telling them, regardless of the true quality of the product. How do you think people sell pocket lint on ebay? Some strange catchy thing to say in some form of a sales page. For us marketing inclined individuals, one can scan through such pages and quickly grab the main details and evaluate the offer without getting sucked into the sales hype. That's what I do. I'm always on the lookout for new marketing methods, new products and what the other pro's are up to in order to get their sales. I would go crazy if I actually sat through all those long winded sales pitches and flashy video demonstrations.... However, I find it very usefull to follow through the website, scan the details, pay attention to their marketing quirks and methods. Then you can inquire around and find out if that person / company / product is doing and know whether the methods work or not. Market research like this is essential in a serious website / e-business in order to succeed, imo.
"5 foot long web pages" lol Those sites don't make as much as you think, whether it is well written or not, because it's estimated that over 50% of the people are not going to read all of that. I have asked, I don't know how many people if they would read such sites, like DoubleYourDating.com, and I got the same percentage of people, guys, who wouldn't: Over 50%. It was at around 75%. It is just too damn long. I don't know, maybe they don't care if they are losing over 50% to 75% of their readers, and they are just content with the X amount of dollars they bring in from those few who do buy. Who knows.
They work pretty good for me and my partner. The addition of videos also helps them stop and take a closer look.
Here is what I think... the one mile long one page sales letter is going to die very soon. Those who continue to use that method will continue to lose customers to people who design their sites well and provide quality content on the sales copy that customers actually give a damn about. The future sales page will probably be broken into a 2 to 3 page site. All containig separate link in the web page. Not all on the one page deal. It will still contain a lot of text to drive SE traffic. It will also include multiple videos bringing traffic from sources like Google Video and YouTube. The videos will replace the hyped up highlighted text. The marketer will be able to use enthusiasm to replace that. Customers will process the information they need a lot quicker. They will no longer look at a page a mile long and get discoraged and say I'm not reading that, or just scroll down to the price, and say I'm not paying that. They will get excited from the enthusiasm from the marketer and real selling on the internet will begin. If you come off as a "car/insurance salesman" then you will probably not do well because you won't have the customers trust. If you come off as sincere and down to earth but aggressive enough to make a sale with confidence in your tone, you will do very well. Also the text testimonials will be a thing of the past. Users will demand video testimonials. They will be evauluated on sincerity and if they come off as just some other guru scratching another guru's back, then the sales will suffer. If the testimonials are believable it has the potential to create double digit increase in sales. That is just a few of my ideas what is about to happen. The key to success in any business is to make sure you are on the up and up on the latest techniques.
My testing has proven to be very text book. The cheaper price the shorter the sale letter required... but if you're selling a high priced item (especially a digital product) the longer it needs to be. That said, I've been more profitable selling hundreds of $7 items instead of dozens of $67 items.
I think that is true for both ends of the spectrum of pricing. The low end products create a lot of quick profit. The higher end products like $200 - $1500 or more, take longer to make sales, but also can be just as profitable as the $7 book. For instance 10 people pay you $1500 then that is $15000. If you get 1000 people to pay you $7 that is $7000. Both ends are very profitable. The key is to use the funnel. Start low and keep building up. You will make a lot of sales on the low end and the number of sales on each level will drop, but the profit will generally be about the same.
I'm about finished with my ebook. I'm going to give one of those pages a try and tweak on it for awhile.
If they didn't work - people would not be using them. Direct Marketers know what they're doing and they do Split Testing with Long and Short sales letters... Michel Fortin doesn't make Millions on creating these Sales Letters for nothing! ;-) But... JUST BECAUSE they work for some people does NOT mean they will work for everyone and every product. Always do Split Testing, no matter what. Those who say it doesn't work -- they may be trying Sales Letters for products that do not need a Sales Letter. Others may be using simple landing pages that could see a big sales increase. You'll never know unless you do split testing!
I'm not saying they don't work. I am saying they will become less and less effective over time, in comparison to those who may have a similar product marketed with Web 2.0 Technologies.
I'm all for testing, but when you have most people not even reading the pages, I don't care who wrote it, that should be an obvious clue on creating short but powerful-selling pages, along with nice-looking pics, and fast downloading videos. But, yes, test it. That's the only way one is going to find out on his or her own.
I have had short sales pages convert pretty well. As for the longer ones, I wrote my first one yesterday... I'll let you know how it goes.
I think these long pages are targeted to people who want to earn money doing nothing. They believe that something they buy for $87 will help them. And that long text tell them what they want to read. I see them as some kind of zombies, saying "money, money" The creators of such pages sell their "product" to say 100 people, get their money then just change the domain and the name of the "product" and sell to another 100 people. So they earn practically for nothing
I hope nobody throws e-stones at me, but I HATE long sales pages and the unbelievable headlines that usually accompany them. Everytime I see one of those teeny tiny slider bars on the right I usually click right out. Those long pages with the screaming headlines give me the same feeling I get when I see a car dealership commercial on TV. Talk to me like a mature human being, tell me what you have to offer...I simply don't understand WHO that sort of advertising appeals to. I may never be as successful as I could be because I will not use the accepted standard that most sales pages use. Just my 2 cents. Honey