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Anyone Have a Sales Letter Template That Doesn't Look Like One?

by Matt Remuzzi
9 replies
I've been hearing more and more lately from customers that they almost didn't buy from me because they think my site looks too much like "one of those sites" with the long scroll and no navigation links, etc. and I have to assume I am not hearing from many more that didn't buy for that very reason.

And it's true my conversion rate has gone from 2% down to about .8% over the last year on the same volume of targeted traffic.

So, does anyone have any good templates or examples that still use long copy but maybe looks more 2010 than what worked in 2003, when I did my designing?
#conversion #design #letter #sales #template
  • Profile picture of the author ShaneRQR
    That seems a little odd. What is it that you are selling?

    The thing is, for many products, having navigation and sidebars and stuff just wouldn't make much sense. If you have one site selling one fairly straight-forward product, then I don't really see what you'd want with extra navigation on the site.

    For software products or services, you might consider several tabs for "features", "screenshots" (software), "about us" and stuff like that. But I don't know of any templates like that.

    It's surprising to me that your customers are actually complaining about this, though.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Remuzzi
    It is a software product. I only recently added a phone number, and I've had a lot of conversations along the lines of "well, I almost didn't call (or order) because the site looks kind of scammy" or "I didn't really trust it because a lot of the sites like yours with just one page turn out to be rip off products."

    Our competition sells stuff on sites that look more like e-commerce catalog sites so that is what they compare us with, I guess. The problem is we only sell on product, not 10 or 20 and there are a lot of benefits to explain so a salesletter approach makes sense and we do convert sales but I am sure I'd do better if I didn't have this credibility gap.

    My thought was the design is what is causing the problem since I've already test the copy, headlines, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kris Turner
    I came across something you might find useful last night, actually.

    I'm a big fan of Eben Pagan and his marketing, so I keep an eye on what he's doing. His DoubleYourDating stuff has always been very traditional: very simple sites, long-form sales letters, very few navigation links anywhere etc.

    Yesterday I checked in on his main dating site: Dating Advice For Men | How to Attract Women and Use Pick Up Lines. And found it had been completely overhauled into something more like a content site. But the long-form sales letters are still there within the site, just not to in-your-face.

    At some point, I might test this approach on one of my sites and see what impact it has. But it's a big change for anyone who still has a bare, long-form sales letter up.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jesus Perez
    check out WordPress Themes, HTML Templates - ThemeForest for some great templates for software.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
    Banned
    Steve Fullman & I have a beauty coming out real soon as a WSO. PM me. (You'll be so glad you did and your teeth will stay white for years.) But seriously...this baby is lean, keen and mean - designed to make sales - not look flashy and be hard to read. Nothing else like it on the market to my knowledge. Those that use it first are going to brain it. Steve wants to call it something like "Stealth Bomber Salesletter Template" but I prefer something like "Seriously Sick Salesletter Template". :-p
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Remuzzi
    Thanks- that dating site layout is interesting because I believe that used to be a much more traditional sales page, as you mentioned, and now it looks more like a blog or full content site. That may be the direction I test out going...
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  • Profile picture of the author JackBas
    That's really interesting. I've always wondered about the effect of the 'scammy looking page' but haven't been able to test it for myself.

    Why not go back to your 2% conversion page and split test it with features of your long sales page? Throw in a few tests to make it similar to Eben's style too...
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Remuzzi
    @Jackbas- the same page that was getting 2%+ conversion is the same one that is now under 1% conversion- that's why I am looking for something to change it up. I've already tested and maxed out the headlines, copy, etc.

    The product is evergreen so I don't think the problem is the copy stopped working- based on actual conversations with customers it seems to be the design itself, and the general association with shady products sold via that format website that is the problem.
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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    you make the mistake that you are looking for a "template".

    How about making a nice pre-sell page with some review, doesnt need to sound too salesy at all. My best sites are made like that, aka comparison/review sites.
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