Does hiding the price or putting it right at the end really work better?

[Cathy Shelver]

I am sure it has been tested or it would not be used, but I, like many other first try and find the price before I carry on reading any sales page.

Would it not be better to just put the price at the top and then write the sales copy ....

Again like I said testing must have proven that this is the best conversion method can someone please give me insight as to why this is? because for me its annoying as heck

[Loren Woirhaye]

Depends on your approach and the personality of your pitch.

For some super-hypey, "get in now before the gates close" type
offers, concealing the price may work well.

If you're going for a more grounded, soft-sell approach, being
open about the price is a natural way to do it.

Almost everybody who lands on a salesletter reads the headline
then immediately scrolls down to check the price. If the price
is within the range of what they'd be willing to invest, they'll
read more. Forcing people to click your buy button to see the
price doesn't strike me as very smart, but I'm sure in some
situations it's an effective selling tactic.

[BrianMcLeod]

I don't try to hide the price, but I'm not shy
about doing my best not to make it easy to
find where it makes sense to do so, either.

If I can hook a skimmer with a punchy subhead
while they're scanning for the $ sign, I have a
much better shot at making my case for the sale.

If I satisfy their curiosity while they're still in
the INTEREST stage of AIDA, they are not primed
as well to buy as when I've had a chance to put
the price in context with the value and create
DESIRE for the product ahead of the decision
for ACTION.

Brian

[Paul McQuillan]

I can't stand it when I need to hit a buy now button to get the price.

I have no problem with digging for it as in Brian's example... then again,
he can write good copy.

[Hans Klein]

Originally Posted by BrianMcLeod

If I satisfy their curiosity while they're still in
the INTEREST stage of AIDA, they are not primed
as well to buy as when I've had a chance to put
the price in context with the value and create
DESIRE for the product ahead of the decision
for ACTION.

Brian

This is well put.

When you as the prospect go and look for the price... you may have a pre-set number you are willing to accept and preconceived notions of what you're getting for your money based on first impressions.

However, as the seller, I don't want you to make-up your mind based on this information. I want you to understand the value in what I am offering and why it is worth the price I am charging. Even better, I want you to have already decided to buy (or close to it) by the time I reveal the price.

This is why it's not to your advantage to bring up the price before the prospect is ready.

With this said, I think there is a line you can cross when you surprise the prospect with your price and your copy does not flow into it. An example might be when you use a salesletter and don't reveal the price until the prospect reaches the shopping cart page.

[MontelloMarketing]

I don't try to hide the price, but I'm not shy
about doing my best not to make it easy to
find where it makes sense to do so, either.

If I can hook a skimmer with a punchy subhead
while they're scanning for the $ sign, I have a
much better shot at making my case for the sale.

If I satisfy their curiosity while they're still in
the INTEREST stage of AIDA, they are not primed
as well to buy as when I've had a chance to put
the price in context with the value and create
DESIRE for the product ahead of the decision
for ACTION.

This is exactly right... You don't hide the price. Like I'd never leave the price for the shopping cart page or anything like that...

But I also won't ever hang a lantern on the price. Bigger bolder font... a color change, etc.

And... I do all I can to force the reader to "discover" the price on my terms... when I want her to... where I want her to... at the point when I've gotten her softened up enough to hear it.

If you're letting your reader skim and aren't proactive about holding their hand as they read your letter, then you're leaving far too much money on the table.

[ewenmack]

Cathy,

What every marketer should be aiming for in his/her sales message is to make themselves different to others...in an appealing way.

I'll get to your question of where is the best place to put the price in a minute.

You want to reset the readers buying criteria because often they have a inaccurate knowledge on the subject.

You can do this in a very inpartial way by telling the reader of the different options they have and telling of the good and not so good points.

You can in fact recommend another option which would suit a person in a certain situation.

You then talk where your product or service fits into the big picture and tell of its minor flaws and then turn it around to be an advantage to many people.

At this point you are discussing price point comparisons. This gives you an opportunity to compare yours to a higher priced option and how the high priced option doesn't have what yours has.

Yours now has an advantage over the high price option and now you can say "you won't have to pay that price...not even close".

Now you give the reason why it is at a lower price point.

An example could be "because my system is so easy to follow, so easy to put in place and with 22 videos, you can watch over my shoulder as I take you through every imaginable step it takes to build this 'Job Killer System'...

... "So as you can see, you won't be needing ongoing training which means there is no more nasty monthly credit card payments...no more upsell hell...no more paying for e-books, teleseminars, webinars, mentorships, travelling to seminars...

...AND that is the reason we can let this go out the door at a lower price, we don't have to have the support system in place like those other complicated methods do".

Now you go in with a 'movie picture' of what life will be like now.

And finally the price is a pittance for their new life.

But even before this product/service comparison stage...

...there is a shock and awe stage

...need to give them pudding before the meat

...give them a yank back

...get him thinking, "hey, he's talking to me"

Yes there is a sequence to lead the reader to the price.

You want to be in control of the selling situation

You want to be able to make your best case for what you are offering.

You want to be able to do the above before price is mentioned.

Hope this clears things up for you.

All the best,
Ewen

Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver

I am sure it has been tested or it would not be used, but I, like many other first try and find the price before I carry on reading any sales page.

Would it not be better to just put the price at the top and then write the sales copy ....

Again like I said testing must have proven that this is the best conversion method can someone please give me insight as to why this is? because for me its annoying as heck

[Cathy Shelver]

Thanks Guys, I guess thats why you copywriters make the big bucks. I really can see now how just starting at the price would be in effective. Brian that is quite genius as the person is looking for the price you get them scanning the page more chance to hook em.

I guess I read alot of copy more as a student than a buyer except in the WSO forum but I more often look at testimonials before the copy does it's magic.

[ewenmack]

Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver

Brian that is quite genius as the person is looking for the price you get them scanning the page more chance to hook em.

Cathy, not taking anything from Brian for mentioning the hooks to draw in scanners...

...but that is standard stuff for a copywriter.

Just isn't mentioned and passed on to the outside world.

Maybe many of us forget to pass it on?

All the best,
Ewen

[Cathy Shelver]

Ewen you are right it is standard stuff and I believe you guys actually do a great job of passing all these gems on..... It us wanna be marketers that will rather buy the next $ 100 000.00 in 3 day ebook than really study copywriting. (too much hard work)

And then when we don't make any money we wonder why nobody bought our product so we look for another system.

I make a point of reading something about Copy at least once a week but I should concentrate on it even more.

Originally Posted by ewenmack

Cathy, not taking anything from Brian for mentioning the hooks to draw in scanners...

...but that is standard stuff for a copywriter.

Just isn't mentioned and passed on to the outside world.

Maybe many of us forget to pass it on?

All the best,
Ewen

[ewenmack]

Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver

Ewen you are right it is standard stuff and I believe you guys actually do a great job of passing all these gems on..... It us wanna be marketers that will rather buy the next $ 100 000.00 in 3 day ebook than really study copywriting. (too much hard work)

And then when we don't make any money we wonder why nobody bought our product so we look for another system.

I make a point of reading something about Copy at least once a week but I should concentrate on it even more.

Cathy I smilled when I read your point abount buying the next BaZILLION $ ebook.

Would it help if the gems you find here were put in a step by step plan that you can follow in sequence?

From there you can build a reasonable sales message of your own.

Would be interested in your thoughts as to what would help you the most.

All the best,
Ewen

[Jo_Shua]

I hate to contradict everyone here. Especially when you got top copywriters like Brian and Vin, but it is possible to lead with your price as an opening... if done right. I would not suggest you, Cathy, to start with this method. In fact, it could be sales suicide if done incorrectly.

Jason Fladlien just released a new product a few days ago which opens with the price of the product: Double Your Productivity For Life In Just 48 Hours

Jason is essentially challenging you to test his product for 48 hours, and gives the impression that he is putting his money where his mouth is -- the product will do what he says it will or else.

Is this the best approach? Who knows. I am sure he has made a decent amount of sales, but could he have made more IF the price was toward the bottom and he warmed the prospect up first? Maybe.

Perhaps he is just testing this model.

But, at the same time Jason is known (to his list and those not on it) for quality material which gets results.

His launch emails and follow-up emails which were sent in regards to this product really peaked interest in the idea that you could double your productivity for a lifetime in as little as 48 hours for as little as $4.95, but he was not shy in telling you that there was a catch and you would have to visit the sales letter to find it out.

That was obvious. And, one would assume the catch would be after 48 hours you would be charged more... but what price?

He told everyone at the beginning of the sales letter what to expect to be billed after 3 days if you did not cancel.

Gutsy. But, it worked. He immediately answered a question which were in his prospects' mind... those prospects from the emails at least.

Still, I would suggest to warm the prospect up and influence their desire for the product before you throw out a price (and Jason still did this... through his email to his list).

So, in all honesty, Jason still used age old marketing techniques... He just relied on his emails to generate that initial interest before he sent the prospect to the sales letter. The email acted as a forward to his sales letter -- an extension.

Either way, he still lead his actual sales letter with a price.

So, Cathy, you can find successful examples of sales letters leading with a price, but I would not recommend you try it out until you become proficient in the sales process. Jason is a HIGHLY experienced and well accomplished copywriter. He tests EVERYTHING, and does some outrageous stuff with his copy -- that works.

This is one reason he is one of my favorite copywriters... up there with some of the greats as far as I'm concerned.

[Paul Hancox]

Hi Cathy

To me, the thing about whether to be upfront with the price or not is how likely your target market is going to respond to the price, if that's all they knew.

If you're selling a $7 product and your market views that as cheap, I'd probably be upfront about the price.

On the other hand, for a $997+ product, you'd probably need to establish the VALUE in the minds of prospects, before they would consider paying that kind of money.

$7 is an impulse buy for many... $997 not so much

The reason many sales letters leave their price until near the end is because they want to establish VALUE FOR MONEY first.

After all, that's what should really matter... right?

But truth is, $7 or $997 means NOTHING until you know the value you're getting in return. $7 might be expensive for a course that teaches you nothing, but $997 could be great value if you make twice that back after a couple of weeks.

[Hans Klein]

I think Joshua brings up a good example.

Sometimes it makes sense to be upfront about your offer if it's especially compelling or a part of what's unique about you (your USP.). An example of this might be basing an entire headline based on your especially strong guarantee. Or, if you have a $1 risk-free offer for something of high-perceived value, then it may make sense to play this up earlier rather than later. It also might be a firesale or limited in some way and so it makes sense to put the offer up much higher.

[Raydal]

The rule of thumb is that if your price is the selling point for your
offer (like WalMart) then you can place the price even in the
headline. That's what 99cent stores do--it's in their name.

If the price is on the expensive side then you want to hide
the price beneath a ton of benefits so by the time they
uncover the price you would have built enough value
to justify your asking price.

And that's why you'll see those expensive home gym
sets always ask you to send for a brochure rather than
tell you the price in the TV ad--the 30 seconds is not
long enough enough to build enough value to match their
asking price.

-Ray Edwards

[RickDuris]

I am in agreement with everyone.

However--there does seem to be a bit of a trend forming on ClickBank over the last few months in the Internet Marketing category for putting the price with a Belcher button next to the video. Also along with a number (supposed) copies that will ever be sold.

Whether this has been tested or marketers are just "following the leader" I can't say for certain. For instance: Blogging Espionage

Again, he's not the only one.

- Rick Duris