Your sales letter made me fall asleep

All about "Convincing" visitors ,so, they buy...

It's pretty standard in the industry that's why. It's too common to see those types of sales pages. A lot of marketers just copy other marketers hence why you see this type of sales page too often.

If i was you, i would just skim read it and look for the relevant information that you require.

If people want to read the entire thing word for word they can.

If people want to skim over it they, they can do that too.

It's always better to provide too much information and let people decide not to read it all then to leave out information that could answer questions people may have.

Because long sales letters convert (assuming they're done correctly. I too, like most people I assume, typically skim through them for specific features and pricing info.

What I can't stand is long VSLs that don't let you skim through at your own pace. Any time I land on a VSL, I bounce within 5 seconds.

I don't like them. I don't use them. These types of promos were very effective in the early 2000's but in the time we're in...

VSL's convert a lot higher.

Ever think the reason these long sales letters aren't working for you is because you aren't the target demographic?

Those long sales letters are made to convert a specific type of person who wants to read about a product for that long.

85 percent of Facebook video is watched without sound.
And the reason I mentioned this, is because I wonder how long VSL should really be?
Same as long sales letters, I don't want to sit there for 20 minutes, listen to your BS, and how you lived in a little apartment and you stumbled upon this system that no one ever thought of, and now you drive a Ferrari and I don't care to see a Ferrari in your videos, or sales letters.
We all know by now its BS. So please....

I've really lost patience with VSLs. The last one I started to watch (and only because I was really interested in the product) spent the first 12 minutes on the sob story of how pathetic the person's life was before they stumbled on the great system. That's when I gave up.

The better ones at least have a written sales letter below for those of us with no patience. At least I can scroll to find the price and then decide if I want to know more.

If a sales page is boring me, it's a good sign that I don't NEED the product being sold.

Longer sales copy works well for some products/services - not so much for others. The long sales letter has an outline you can see if you look closely. They are repeat, repeat, repeat and there's a definite formula to most of them.

New marketers especially seem to spend a lot of time reading sales pages - why? If the product is one you are looking for, one you are ready to use right away...check the sales copy to see if the guarantee and features meet your needs - and place your order.

If you are reading sales pages to "see what this is" - that time would be better spent working on your own sales page or product.

I don't watch VSLs at all - now THAT'S boring.

Morphius, I think you may be making the classic mistake of confusing concept with execution. Good long form sales letters work. Good VSLs work. Bad ones don't. Problem is, there are so many bad ones around that they seem like the norm.

When the long form sales letter first evolved, online marketers didn't have the kind of targeting power they have now. So they put in 'everything and the kitchen sink' so that a wide range of prospects could find the information they needed to make a buying decision.

As for VSLs, the good ones are as rare as low humidity in the Florida summer. Most of them are essentially long form letters in video format, which allows for extremely annoying things like no indication of length, no controls, long periods of ego stroking by the seller, and so on. Add in little goodies like autoplay and setting the volume at 11, and I'm with Kay - I see a standard issue VSL, and I reflexively reach for the back button.

As for long form content putting you to sleep, there's a story from the olden days of advertising, circa late 1940s or early 1950s. Having presented a copy dense ad to an executive, the copywriter was rejected out of hand with the assertion that no one would read that much copy.

The copywriter then wagered his fee - double or nothing - that he could get the executive to read every word of similarly dense text on a full newspaper page, not just the magazine page presented.

The exec took the bet, and asked when the copywriter would have the page ready. The copywriter said that he didn't have to write the whole page, just the headline.

The headline was "The Real Truth About Joe Executive".

The exec paid up.

The moral of the story is that if the content, text or video, is important to you, there is no such thing as "too long". If it means nothing to you, there is no such thing as "short enough".

Lack of clarity in some cases. People feel so unclear on their product that they need to be as long winded as possible to justify/convince/manipulate, etc.

Full clarity, in other cases. Top earners sometimes use long sales letters because they are clear on the approach and earn coin.

Use bullet points and subheadlines to make it easier to read

It's entirely standard in the business that is the reason. It's excessively normal, making it impossible to see those sorts of offers pages. A considerable measure of advertisers simply duplicate different advertisers consequently why you see this sort of offers page time after time.

Read Dan Kennedy's "The Ultimate Sales Letter", and other such books from classic marketers.

Sales letters have worked from day one back when they were actually letters (you know, snail mail stuff). They also appeared in print publications.

I actually do share the same opinion as you. Today, I don't think a sales letter is actually required for online stuff. I find them long and boring.

Fo me, if I want to buy a product I want to see it working. I don't want to read about how it could make me rich. I don't want to know how it has helped others. I just want to know if it solves the problem I have, and is affordable. As a customer you can present that information to me in any form that allows me to easily read it without any problems, or frustration.

Long boring sales letters make me feel like I'm about to be scammed.

In 2017 many companies do perfectly well without a sales letter. You don't have to present a sales letter as a huge block of text on the page either. But, you do need to be good a UX to pull it off. Most marketers have no idea what UX is, let alone designing sales pages that customers enjoy reading. Hence why many stick to the tried and tested sales letter.

Sales letters are just one way to sell a product. They work. Why fix what isn't broken?

Some people would say these long sales letters represent good old fashioned copywriting. I find them quite annoying, over the top and feel that the longer the letter the more 'scammy' or desperate the offer may be. I avoid reading them.

Hello,

Most people when interested in buying something, they want to get all their questions answered. Long sales letters tend to do that. The more complex and expensive a product is, the more you need copy in order to sell it.

Of course you don't need long sales letters everywhere. Amazon is the best example of this. However, it has been proven again and again by every experienced marketer that long sales letter do work quite well, a lot better than the short one. So it is not appealing to the preferences of one person but rather, to what the majority wants.

In the moment that most people will just scan through the letters and impulsively buy a product that is over $50, then most letters will shorten up.

Best regards,
Razvan Rogoz

Yup... it took me so long to get used to the Crazily Rambling Long Sales Letter. Once I got over them, I started writing them for clients. They're easy and fun to write. If you don't want to read it all, just scroll to the end.

What I'm finding now that I'm fully converted to the IM selling mindset is that they offer a familiar format for learning the details of someone else's info product, and deciding if you want to buy or promote it. Because if you look at them, they all have the same sections. And bullets. Lots and lots of bullets. With checkmarks.

• First comes the sales pitch and presentation of the reader's problem or "pain point" as they say.
• Next comes the intro to the product. Always get those keywords into your page title, product name and H1 and H2 headings.
• Then comes a list of tangible benefits - the What You Get.
• After that, the intangibles - "peace of mind, greater confidence," - emotional benefits, really.
• Next, the list of What's Included in this package.
• You can also add Testimonials, which double as exposure for all the marketers who left reviews.
• Then, the price, with some pricing psychology for more convincing - also, reassurance of secure payment method.
• Short details on how the file will be delivered.
• The BUY NOW button.
• And maybe a PS at the end, as that last little nudge for those doubters or people who just scrolled to the end and are about to close the page.

The long sales letter also serves as an easy way to copy and paste snippets into your own emails when you're looking to promote someone else's info product as an affiliate.

Allow me to set up this metaphor. Golf.

95% of golfers learn the PRO (PGA) swing. Yet less than 1% master it to the point of competency, which is why 99.9% of all golfers suck. But it is the defacto way to golf, and the thousands of PGA teachers have a lot at stake.

Now, think of Copywriting/Marketing teachers as the PGA pros...their income is determined by the number of people they convince to learn Copywriting in a certain way, like LONG Letters, OR VSL.

Because Copywriting has all these many "pros" teaching, it is one of the reasons you see so much of the "poor effort", same as you see on the golf course MOST ot the time. The teaching of copy writing has become a huge incestuous circle jerk, being taught by "Institutes" and people who haven't ever sold anything with their copy, and even then if they have, maybe under special circumstances.

IF you are selling something, the best shortcut is to "enter the conversation already taking place in the target's SUB CONSCIOUS mind, where real persuasion and influence take place".

IF you are just annoyed with long letters or VSL's respond with a NOT buying, and sooner or later, enough of those messages rec'd and you may see a difference.

There are very few copywriters who think outside the boxes of their gurus.

And this is ONE reason we see so much long crap and rambling video, they simply don't know how to do otherwise.

FORE!

GordonJ

For whatever reason, long sales letters convert better.

Many marketers test different sales pages and choose whatever page has the highest conversion rate.

Any sales letter if it is not able to communicate the crux of the topic within 7-8 lines, the purpose gets defeated. No one has the patience to read a thesis in the form of a letter. Crisp and clear content is required.

Most sales letters are written in a way to target different kinds of people.

There will be people who are new to internet marketing and would read the whole sales page. Often, effective sales copy will do the selling.

There are people who would skim through the page. This is when the subheadlines will do its magic to provide the prospect with enough info of what they will be getting.

If you are in your industry long enough, just by skimming through the sales letter, you will know what you are going to get if you buy the product.

There will be people who look at the price first, then scroll up, and often, the sub headings or bullet points will be the key to grab the attention of the prospect.

VSL are good but it does not cater to all. Again, some will prefer to go through the video, some won't.

Sales letter are written to cater for all kinds of people. This differs from catering for a certain persona. A certain persona will definitely have different kind of people with specific preferences as mentioned above too.

Just my 2 cents.

Lol.

There are two types of sales letters that I usually see.

The first type, are the ones that are super long. They are designed to speak to a TINY fraction of people who are qualified to buy. These are usually for expensive products, coaching, or consulting.



The other type, are relatively short and to the point. "This is what I have, this is how it can change your life. Buy now!". This type of sales letter is great for software, plugins, and stuff that can prove a point without much hype and ballyhoo.

Just my two cents.

Depending on the sales letter, and I'm going to assume when I say this, the sales letter isn't boring to the person they're targeting. You're most likely not their target audience.

why don't you just use different perspective? why don't you make a short and simple sales letter that converts? sometimes obstacles in our life become an opportunity for us in the future. just an idea.