Why do IM'ers think that people want to read thousands of words on their squeeze page?

[Paul Myers]

Steve,

Don't get me started on you, Myers.

C'mon. You and Reilly both.

Which one o' you foist? I can fight you both together if you want. I can fight you with one paw... err... hand tied behind my back...


Paul

[Steven Fullman]

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

Steve,C'mon. You and Reilly both.

Which one o' you foist? I can fight you both together if you want. I can fight you with one paw... err... hand tied behind my back...


Paul

Nah...

My mudda told me it was rude to hit a man in a hat.

(...just before they carted her off to the nut-house)

[BrentRarama]

I've also wondered too why some of these sales pages are so long. But I've fallen for it a couple times. I'll start reading it from the beginning and my buying temp starts to get up... by the time I get to the bottom and find out the cost. BAM my credit card comes out. I guess they make them long for people like me haha. I've learned though after that happening twice... I go straight to the bottom to find the cost... then read it.

I do notice though with the long sales pages that are effective is the copy has the ability to raise a person's buying temp.

[4deb]

Long copy gives the analytical thinker the details they're looking for

Short copy, or solid headlines gives the impulsive thinker what they want/need

By using longer copy-- you're catering to both types of thinkers

[danhughes]

Whatever your message and whomever you're addressing, you need to be compelling enough to inform them that you are credible. When both happen, you get a conversion.

In other words, you need to be compelling in order to build credibility... and in turn, sell something.

Certainly, video does seem to be successful. But it depends on two very important parts in this equation. You... and the customer.

There are *many* people who's message is significantly less credible / compelling because they added video to their page. Just go to YouTube and search MLM... that's some seriously sketchy looking people!!

It's not just about whether the camera makes you look like a bank manager or a drug dealer though.

I'm Fat.... Flat out... Fat! There is *no way in the world* that I could do a video piece for "Fat Loss For Idiots" for example, and expect it to convert. But I can sure as heck write a long copy letter that would make a super model feel insecure.

Undoubtedly, one of the most successful copywriters (that's still alive!) is Dan Kennedy... How does he answer the question,

"Who in hell reads long copy sales letters?"

==> Buyers Do <==

[Kesh247]

It really depends on who your target audience is. Some people like to know what they are opt-in into so they want to see a little content on the landing page, and some like it short and to the point.

[TheCren]

It's been split tested by many people, many times. Get over it - long sales pages work. You don't like them, I don't like them, you'll find several people who agree with us, but it's a moot point to discuss.

I also don't like infomercials, but guess what... they sell. When you have a major brand name to promote, then and only then are regular commercials and short form sales letters the key. When you need to establish a rapport, that's when you use long form sales letters.

[DavidTheMavin]

Originally Posted by TheCren

It's been split tested by many people, many times. Get over it - long sales pages work. You don't like them, I don't like them, you'll find several people who agree with us, but it's a moot point to discuss.

I also don't like infomercials, but guess what... they sell. When you have a major brand name to promote, then and only then are regular commercials and short form sales letters the key. When you need to establish a rapport, that's when you use long form sales letters.

This makes sense, but I'd love to see someone's split testing stats. Do you have any links?

[Magic Mel]

Originally Posted by DavidTheMavin

I know I don't! Once I see a ton of text and a super long landing or squeeze page I say forget it.

Don't IM'ers know that people ready significantly less and have shorter attention spans on the Internet? This is usability 101 from like 1996 here.

I mean just look at the popularity of twitter.

The squeeze page/sales letter needs to be any length (long/short) -- till the desired results are generated for the marketer. Some like to read long sales letter and some don't, a good web copy will cater to all audiences on most occasions.

[ayolov]

A squeeze page in theory SHOULD be shorter since the offer is simple (you don't need to do all that much convincing) since you are simply asking for an email, that said you do have to do some convincing and maybe that will require- yes, a lot of WORDS, so what's so wrong with a long squeeze page? If you have to write 6 pages to build rapport, trust and the necessary excitement for the visitor to ante up their email so be it!

I have managed real estate sites and there, an email is considered a lead that could very well be worth a house!

Build your squeeze page as long as need be, test every sentence, every word until you get the best conversion rate, if it was short, sweet! if you needed to write a looong one, do it!

I bet writing a short and good converting squeeze page will take you longer though, in the wise words of Mark Twain, “I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”

[tommygadget]

For me, it's skim, blah, blah, blah, skim some more, blah, blah, blah, skim, find price, leave page with freebie (if there is one). Only if the offer is truly compelling do I even CONSIDER buying

TomG.

[Traffic-Bug]

Short, sweet, crisp, and meaningful landing pages always win rather than long, boring, winding, convoluted pages.

[Nino C]

LOL.. i always skim the page... i dont read all the testimonials and al that crap... i do my own research...

Just want to see what its about and what the price is...

All im thinking while skimming the page page is "Is the investment worth it"

[Michelle Strait]

I just completed a squeeze page that has three call to action boxes. One at the very top above the fold, one mid-way down the page, and another at the very bottom. I can't wait to see how well it converts.

[Ryce]

Originally Posted by jasonl70

Even if you use video - you still need to predict and overcome objections. It is not different then a salesletter in this regard.

And we are already seeing long vs short video discussions popping up

Exactly. I, for example, hate when people use auto-starting videos. I may be on the phone with a client while browsing and the "guru" will jibberish loud on my back...

As far as long sales letters will work or not it depends on a lot of factors

I will NOT read a LONG sales letter. I may opt in but mainly beacuse I was sold on it before.

I do see a trend of the best gurus using more videos and less of those biblical long scripts.

I doubt its effective. People read less
and the type of people to fall for that kind of long sales letters (same type who buy from infomercial TV) are even less likely to read.

The book sales data are mixed but IMHO a lot of people buy books and never get around reading let alone learning a thing or two.

It may also happen with the IM info products. I know people that keep buying stuff and NEVER act on it. The WF itself is packed with solid knowledge that never get to see the real world of trying

[Steven Carl Kelly]

Video is rapidly doing away with the need for long-form, text-loaded product pages.

[n00b]

Tonight I was listening to John Tesh and he shared some interesting info that goes along with long form sales letters. According to studies, people will buy a product with a long list of features before they will buy a product with a short list of features, even if the features listed are irrelevant, or in the case of some of these studies, made up!

Something as simple as putting "comes with a power cord" on a toaster box increases sales even though everyone knows that all toasters (in the U.S. at least) come with power cords. The studies proved that packaging with long lists of features and detailed explanations consistently outsold their counterparts. To prove that it wasn't just on techy stuff, they did the study with VEGETABLE OIL! People bought the vegetable oil that had the most writing on the packaging even though (for the case of the study since there is only so much one can say about vegetable oil) the ingredients listed were completely made up!

I suggest everyone go check out that TED video that was recommended in another thread. The human mind is many things, and rational is not one of them. Long form sales letters convert more even though it's true that most people will not read the whole thing. Just the appearance of all that text psychologically supports their choice to buy.

Do you want to be right, or do you want to make sales? You decide.

[bravegoat]

I found that splitting the sales pitch into 2 pages, moving from "problem" to "solution" works well. Otherwise, if it can't work for that niche, using a short but very well written sales page does a better job than a very long one with tons of stuff.

[SteveJohnson]

It's very interesting and enlightening to read through this thread.

Speaking solely of sales pages as opposed to squeeze pages, there are two groups of opinions here, basically - one group says that long copy is dead, gone the way of the dodo, no more workie.

The other group maintains that long copy still sells, and, depending on the product, is even necessary.

One group bases their opinions on personal preferences and anecdotal information; the other group bases theirs upon the results of testing, tweaking, testing some more.

Care to play "match the groups"?