The Anatomy of the Perfect Sales Page

Nine key features that make up the perfect sales page.

How do you build the perfect sales page? What do you need to convert your visitors into customers?

First, not every page on your website is a sales page. Some pages are strictly informational. Create a page for each product or service you offer and make sure to include nine key features to help convert visitors to customers.

Everyone knows that in order to sell a product or service you have to promote it. Since the birth of the internet, digital marketing has changed and evolved in many ways. One thing that hasn’t changed is the way our brains work. We have a limited attention span and we want to find what we’re looking for with as few clicks as possible.

Marketing is as much about psychology as it is about sales. Building an effective sales page (landing page, lead page, etc) is no different. Your visitors don’t want to be distracted by irrelevant content or lots of links to other places. They came looking for one thing: a solution to a problem. They need something and you can provide it. The only thing standing between you and that sale is a great sales page. Look for a cool little download at the end of this post.

1. Identity
   

   Your branding should be prominent in the header. There should be no doubt about who your visitor will be connecting with. Don’t make your audience have to look for your branding. Make it obvious in your use of color, font and messaging.

2. Minimal Links
   

   A sales page is meant to do one thing: get the visitor to take action, or convert. Lots of links leading away from your page can distract your audience and allow them to leave without converting.
   
   Whatever links you do share on your sales page, make sure they open in a new tab or window. That way, if your visitors do decide to venture away, your page is still up there waiting for them to return.

3. Clear Headlines
   

   Describe what you’re selling in a few words. You can also try posing this as a question to your visitor and then providing your product or service as the answer.

   Review your customer avatars and craft your headlines accordingly. Ask yourself questions about your audience. Who are you selling to? What need are you filling for them? Answering these questions will help convert visitors into customers.

4. Relevant Imagery
   

   I can not stress great imagery enough. Your imagery should be professional and relevant. Selling a product requires professional shots of the actual product. Selling a service might mean a professional shot of the individual providing the service.
   
   Check out this post about using authentic imagery to increase engagement and conversions.

5. Solid Description
   

   Again, refer to your customer avatars and try to think like your audience. They aren’t familiar with your product or service. They’ll have questions about it. Don’t leave them unanswered.
   
   Make sure you get your point across quickly. What are you selling? How does it solve the visitor’s problem? How can they get it?

6. Call-to-Action (CTA)
   

   This is the task you want your visitor to complete. Whether it be filling out a form, scheduling an appointment or purchasing a product … you want your CTA to encourage conversions. Make it clear and easy to find.
   
   This is a great place to use email collection to grow your email marketing list in exchange for something relevant to your product or service. Check out four more places to collect email addresses.

7. Reputation
   

   Great reviews and referrals are gold. Nothing is going to build your reputation like your loyal customers. Try and use a photo of the customer and the best part of their testimonial. Ask them to state what they liked best about the product or service you’re selling on your sales page. Keep it short and make sure the review you choose is easy to understand.

8. Additional Info
   

   Share anything else that’s going to help your customer make the decision to take action. This is a great place to offer additional features to those who might still be making up their mind. You can also add more photos and details further down the page. Speaking of …

9. Above the Fold
   

   All of the most important information and the CTA should appear above the fold. This means that they should be able to access all of this without scrolling further down the page. If you do offer more details further down the page, repeat your CTA so that they don’t have to scroll back up to find it. People have a limited attention span (roughly 3-5 seconds) and if you haven’t pulled them in by then, they’re going to wander off.

Now, how do you actually build one?

There are lots of options out there. You could try building it yourself or purchase a template. Or you could schedule a free consultation and let a professional handle it. It’s all up to you. Start by downloading this short document that outlines these features for you.