Where should the price be introduced?

[m30jake]

At the start, middle or end?

Thanks!

[travlinguy]

It depends on many factors, none of which you've provided. The best place to introduce the price is after you've wowed your readers with the great benefits they'll get from your offer. But again, it depends.

[Raydal]

Originally Posted by m30jake

At the start, middle or end?

Thanks!

Is it a very low price--a smashing bargain like WalMart?

Place it in the headline.

Is the price expensive and intimidating to even the rich?

Don't reveal it until they send for your "Special Report".

Is the price in the mid-range for your market?

Place it just after the list of benefits and then again
after the bonuses.

-Ray Edwards

[Paul Hancox]

I'll second what Ray said.

For higher priced products, the reason you don't want to reveal your price too
early, is because (a) you don't want them to stop reading too early because
they think they "can't afford it", and (b) you want to have the opportunity to
demonstrate it is GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY.

If they've already left because you revealed the price too early and they think they
"can't afford it", you've lost that chance to demonstrate ANYTHING ELSE to them.

It's all about CONTEXT.

Set the context first. Show them the massive value they can get from the product.

Then show them that the price you're asking is small by comparison.

[Stephen Dean]

It also depends on awareness. If the prospect is aware of yours or similar products and knows how much they'd expect to pay, then a low price up front can be a great attention getter. And then the copy can go on to explain why the price is so low.

On the other hand, if the prospect isn't aware of your products (or similar ones) and didn't even realize they were about to read a sales pitch... you better build up some value first.

Cheers,
Stephen Dean

[briancassingena]

Originally Posted by Raydal

Is it a very low price--a smashing bargain like WalMart?

Place it in the headline.

...

-Ray Edwards

It's an important point to consider in your copywriting strategy, however I always lean towards revealing it at the end of the marketing piece - whether that's at the end of the sales letter, or at the end of the 'free report' - like most other members here.

However with low priced items, you won't have as much copy to "hide" the price until later, whatever level it is, so you may have it pretty much wherever you want.

Personally, I'd only place a price in a headline if it was not only the ONLY major benefit of a product, but it has to also be a HUGE plus over all other products that it's an obvious choice for a headline. Say, for example, you're selling a new car for $2,000? It's a tough one, as few really low-priced offers warrant hiring a copywriter anyway.

[peejaydee]

As someone who is a content writer, but not necessarily a copywriter, I can only give a reader/prospective customer perspective.
If the page has no immediately obvious price displayed I will:
a) look for the price on the page without reading beyond the first para
b) decide whether to read the page at all based on the price and my reaction to the potential value for money based on what I saw in the first para and the headlines
c) move to another website immediately if there's no price on the page.

I would say I'm a fairly normal guy, so there must be a fair percentage of people who will also operate this way. A page with no price has something to hide and 9 times out of 10 it will be because the price is high and the VFM isn't there - hence my approach. The copy then just comes across as so much BS to justify the high price.

I think what I'm saying is, get the price in early and play fair with potential customers. Three feet of screen text before you see a price is just annoying, especially when you do find a price and it's unjustifiably high. What I prefer to see is an up front acknowledgement that the product or service is not free. If I like the price, the copywriting will be the means by which I am persuaded to part with the money, or not. Hiding the price or leaving to the end of the page, I feel, will discourage more people than it will attract.

[damjan]

I do the same thing as peejaydee.

[fthomas137]

I know I'm saying what everyone else has said here, but I believe that it all comes down to this point.

When the deal is so good that the price feels like a bargain!

Frank

[shahrier]

I think price should be placed after you have made it clear you are offering a strong valuel. So they think you are going to be charging lot of money and then you reveal price and it is lower than they expecting. Then place bonuses on as well. That is what works for me.

[JasonParker]

The best place to reveal your price is after you've fully explored the benefits and after you've built the value to the point where it feels like you're about to charge 10x the price... Except you hit them with a price that seems like a bargain. Then after that you might price drop from there using reasons why.

[ARSuarez]

In my opinion, it all comes down to this question:

How aware is your market of your type of product?

Is the concept of a neon colored mailbox that shoots mailmen foreign to them? If so, price doesn't mean anything because they don't understand why they should have the product. Even for a dollar. Even for a penny.

Going further, Frank Kern made this joke/example during a seminar: "I have this product... and in just 3 easy steps, it will cut off your penis.

Well hell, I don't want that thing. I don't even wanna look at it. Doesn't matter how much it is."

Same idea.

1. How aware are they of this product

2. How much would they want/need something like that

3. What is the price.

If they are very aware and it's cheap, tell them upfront. If they are not at all aware and it's cheap, you still have to spend time building the value to MAKE them aware (how much do they need it?)

Cheers,

Angel

[Jeremy S]

Good replies in this thread. I feel like in my experience, the best place for the price is when it is not needed. Know this sounds cliche, but hear me out.

There are times you are reading an offer, and halfway through you have butterflies. Its answering all your questions, solving your problems, making you feel at ease. You are almost just looking for the "Purchase" button. Scrolling down, etc.

In my opinion, this is the most important thing you will ever hear in terms of price/copywriting.

IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT YOUR PRICE IS, OR WHERE YOUR PRICE IS LISTED.

If the product is properly targeted, and the copy is written correctly, it will convert regardless. Good luck.

[peejaydee]

Originally Posted by Jeremy S

Good replies in this thread. I feel like in my experience, the best place for the price is when it is not needed. Know this sounds cliche, but hear me out.

There are times you are reading an offer, and halfway through you have butterflies. Its answering all your questions, solving your problems, making you feel at ease. You are almost just looking for the "Purchase" button. Scrolling down, etc.

In my opinion, this is the most important thing you will ever hear in terms of price/copywriting.

IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT YOUR PRICE IS, OR WHERE YOUR PRICE IS LISTED.

If the product is properly targeted, and the copy is written correctly, it will convert regardless. Good luck.

I understand what you're saying, but from a consumer point of view, this is so very wrong.
Price is as important as the benefits. If you don't pitch at the right price point and at a level consistent with competitors and market expectations, you can have the best pitch on the planet and never convert.

[KristofVanoverbeek]

I woudl suggest putting it at the end. This will force the buyers to read your sales page and when they or done they will be convinced and buy it regardless

[jtunkelo]

It doesn't matter what the magnitude is - if the price itself truly is a major selling point in and of itself, then by all means break it out early and often.

If it's not a major selling point, then you need to build the case very carefully first.

That should be your main guideline, not whether the price is 'small' or 'large'. It's all subjective to the background you're painting with your copy anyway.

[Paul Hancox]

Hi peejaydee

Originally Posted by peejaydee

As someone who is a content writer, but not necessarily a copywriter, I can only give a reader/prospective customer perspective.
If the page has no immediately obvious price displayed I will:
a) look for the price on the page without reading beyond the first para
b) decide whether to read the page at all based on the price and my reaction to the potential value for money based on what I saw in the first para and the headlines
c) move to another website immediately if there's no price on the page.

If you do this, then chances are, one of three things is going on...

(1) You are already familiar enough with the product, and ARE just looking for the price (because that's all you need).

(2) The copy isn't relevant enough to you.

(3) The copy didn't get and hold your ATTENTION.

If you don't feel like reading past the first paragraph, then the copy itself has failed... at least, for you.

I would say I'm a fairly normal guy, so there must be a fair percentage of people who will also operate this way. A page with no price has something to hide and 9 times out of 10 it will be because the price is high and the VFM isn't there - hence my approach. The copy then just comes across as so much BS to justify the high price.

Of course it has something to hide... the price!

The reason we copywriters often tuck the price away, is because we don't want people like you jumping to conclusions about the VALUE FOR MONEY before you even know what VALUE you're getting.

If you're looking at the price tag first, all that's telling you is whether you can AFFORD it or not.

The price tag alone tells you NOTHING about value FOR that money... because if you haven't read the copy yet, you don't KNOW what value you'll be getting for that price tag!

Here's an illustration I like to make to highlight my point. I have a 1 page PDF to sell you, for $1,000. Will you buy it?

Chances are, your initial thought is... of course not! 1 page??? $1,000???

Unjustifiably high!

And yet that 1 page PDF contains next week's Euromillions lottery winning number... $63 MILLION... guaranteed.

Now it looks like a ridiculously LOW price, right? Your thought is now probably, "Woah... this sounds like a scam!"

The point is, copywriters do things in a certain order for a REASON.

Your gut instinct was that buying a 1 page PDF for $1,000 was ridiculously overpriced... until you realized the VALUE for that money.

Then it sounded way too low... a scam, even. (See the problem with giving the price too early?)

That is the job of the COPY (in part)... to demonstrate VALUE for money.

There is also another more subtle thing going on... and this is based on PSYCHOLOGY.

If I show you a tall person, and then put a short person next to him, you will naturally see the short person as shorter than he really is.

That's because we see things in RELATIVE terms.

If I talk about your *expensive* options first (the $2,000 guru courses, $10,000 university courses)... then you'll see my $50 ebook as a BARGAIN, by comparison.

I think what I'm saying is, get the price in early and play fair with potential customers. Three feet of screen text before you see a price is just annoying, especially when you do find a price and it's unjustifiably high. What I prefer to see is an up front acknowledgement that the product or service is not free. If I like the price, the copywriting will be the means by which I am persuaded to part with the money, or not.

What do you mean, "unjustifiably high"? The point of the copy (in part) is to JUSTIFY that price.

If you don't read the copy (if you don't like the price)... no wonder it seems UNJUSTIFIABLY high!

Now, I am not blaming you for your behaviour of looking for a price early on.

Ultimately, the copywriter is to blame for not creating compelling enough copy that makes you want to read past the first paragraph.

Hiding the price or leaving to the end of the page, I feel, will discourage more people than it will attract.

I propose an idea. Have a good copywriter create two sales letters selling your product or service... one with the price upfront, and one with it placed nearer the end, after value for money has been fully established.

Then come back and tell us which one converted better.

Copywriters don't go by feelings... they go by what works best. If your way really did work best, I can promise you that most sales letters would be like that before long.

They don't, because it doesn't usually work best.