Trying to ramp up conversions... ideas anyone?

Start doing some split testing or multi-variate testing.

All it takes is finding one headline variation that converts better than your existing one to get even higher conversion rates.

Don't forget to test your offer as well. That can have a big influence on conversion rates.

Good luck,

Mike

Josiah,

First... please take this as helpful... not critical. But...

Did you write it or swipe it?

I ask because the verbage used could have been swiped from any low level IM sales letter. The emotions of that market are probably different from the ones you want to evoke.

Also... when I see things like the simple trick that will instantly make a joke "200% funnier..." You lose all credibility. Funnier according to who? And even if you could quantify humor this way, it wouldn't be in percentages.

Furthermore... you're trying to sell ice to eskimos. Here's the dirty little secret...

99% of people have no sense of humor, but 100% of people think they do. You're selling them something they think they already possess.

Lastly... no matter what you call it... no matter how you try to say it's not, the reader is thinking "$50 bucks? I could buy like 25 amazing joke books for that money." Or go to my local comedy club 5 times and bring a recorder..."

IMO if you want to succeed with something like this, you have to completely repackage the goods. Don't sell the sense of humor... don't sell the funny... sell the end result. No one really wants to pay half a hundred bucks to get a laugh. But they'll pay to be more successful... get laid... get better jobs... make more sales... be the hit at the office party. If you completely took away the "be funny" part and focused on these things exclusively, and rewrite your product to disguise what it really is, you have a much better shot.

For the record, I'm not saything this as just some copywriter. I made my living for a decade as a stand up comic and toured much of the western hemisphere headlining clubs and colleges. So... I know a little about the topic.

Now... all that out of the way...

All that said...

You say you're now getting 5% conversion on that book?

Seriously? Like a thousand people read the page and 50 of them plunk down $50 bucks? Really? And you want to increase that?

You should be thanking god you're getting that! 5% is better than respectable. It's downright great. Especially with such a wide open market. Seriously 2% on an ebook is respectable. I know $6.000 copywriters who would give their left nut for 5%. Be proud... buy yourself a drink. Seriously... if a client came to me with this book and said you think I could get 5% conversion? I'd say, you'd be lucky to get 3. 5%... probably never.

Montello makes some strong points: Sell the end result to them. Relate to their personal problems and tell them your book will solve them.

I think the pitch page is pretty nice. Lengthy, but nice. You've obviously been selling this book for a while (PR3) and I think your page reflects that.

I didn't look for it, but I assume you have a few purchase links? Some people want to purchase, not read. Don't stop them from buying on impulse by giving them too much to read.

This passage: Who is Stanley Lyndon? Stanley Lyndon is a famous comedian who has coached over 5000 humorists in comedy workshops, and has written lines for some of the biggest names in the comedy industry (yep, I’ve had to write THEIR jokes – haha!).
He has also featured on many television shows including David Letterman, Jay Leno, Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres, produced 3 TV Shows, and has written several parts of many sitcoms including Cheers, Frasier, Friends, and Will & Grace. Not to mention performing live on stage in front of many thousands time and time again.

...either kill it or move it to the bottom. As a potential customer, I honestly don't care about what YOU'VE done with the information, I want to know what your book will do for ME. People want to hear about them. So talk to them, and tell them how your book will solve their problems overnight.

Feature, Benefit, Emotion....FBE Talk:

"This house has a fireplace!" <----- feature
"You can light a fire and save on heating bills!" <----- benefit
"You can snuggle up to the fire with your husband and a blanket on a cold night!" <---- emotion

Always talk in that trio if you can. FBE, in that order, whenever you're pitching a product. Every time you mention a feature from your book, throw in the benefit and the emotion from that feature right after it.

My first reactions:

The copy is WAY long (which is fine) and the reader has to scroll a LONG way down before they can order. Good copy will have some folks wanting to buy before they get all the way down to the bottom.

Suggestion: Create a few more order buttons and place them closer to the top, in the middle, etc...

You're asking folks to drop $50 on an impulse. And clearly, you're good at it with a 5% conversion!

Suggestion: Consider breaking out a few chunks of copy or creating a "mini-course" on the topic that you can offer via an AutoResponder. And, of course I recommend the TrafficWave.net AutoResponder system.

Why add the AutoResponder?

1) You'll be building your list.
2) You can follow up and push the fence-sitters over the edge and get more sales.
3) You'll be building your list.
4) Did I mention the list thing?

What could you put in the "mini-course"?

* Offer to send them some of those funny jokes.
* Send some powerful testimonials.
* Send some more funny stories.
* Constantly remind them that until they buy your stuff, they're just going to keep being moronic uninteresting mind numbingly unpopular dweebs that will probably never get laid!
* Incorporate some of Montello's points about the benefits ... being more popular ... getting that new job ... being more comfortable around people ... being the life of the party .... etc...

When you incorporate the autoresponder, be sure to put the capture form above the fold and to the right of the page.

If I was getting 5% (on just about any product) I'd be worried more about getting a backend setup.

Look at it this way...

If you bump your current letter to 6% you've gone from $250 per 100 visitors to $300. Not bad.

But if you leave it at 5% and create a $300 backend product with a 1% response rate, you go from $250 per 100 to $550. A little better

Now, I don't know what your product is, or what the backend product could be, but I bet there's something there.