NOTE from Rand: This post was contributed by the winner of our landing page competition, Paul Robb. Here's Paul's winning page, which drew both surprise and controversy. Paul offered to write two posts on the results of his page and his strategy for persuasive copywriting - this is the first of those posts. Enjoy!
We're now one full week on from the results of the SEOmoz "Landing Page Contest," and I've printed out all of your comments... sat down... read through them twice... I've highlighted, I've underlined, and I've thought very carefully. The result? I've decided I'm going to write a couple of posts for "YOUmoz" (this is the first).
Before I get started, I want to take a moment to quickly “tip my hat” to all of you readers here at SEOmoz... for two reasons. First because... as my high-school French teacher used to say... "Flattery will get you everywhere, Paul". And second because I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the way you’ve welcomed me with open arms and hearty congratulations - despite my somewhat “alien” appearance. I can feel the love! Well, sort of. So… Landing Page Competition… what was THAT all about?
“I have to say - the winner totally shocked me. Those long form sales letters are not my style, but it's hard to argue with results.” - Rand Fishkin, Sphinn.com (Mon 17th Sept)
Yes, Rand, my all seeing eye can spy you… even all the way over there at Sphinn. There is no escape. Now, what are we to do about this “shock,” this “trauma,” this “feeling in the pit of your stomach,” which I know many readers share?
Well, the way I see things, there are only two possible reactions.The first is what I will call the “SEOmoz Response.” The SEOmoz Response is characterised by a desire to learn something of value, which perhaps can be applied to future endeavours to the benefit and increased profitability of everyone involved. The second is what I will call the “Ostrich Response.” The Ostrich Response is characterised by the desire to bury one’s head in the sand and reject anything that does not conform to one’s own personal belief systems and view about the way the world “should” be. If you are an Ostrich, or anything that resembles one, then this post is definitely not for you. I’m sorry I’ve wasted 30 seconds of your time making you read this far. I really am. But, it’s over now. You can shuffle off and normal service will be resumed in your feed reader shortly. Move along people... Please? Thank you.
Now… those of you still reading… did you know that an ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain? Well, I kid yee not. It's a true story - look it up - just not until you are done with SEOmoz for the day! Onwards. Having tipped my hat to all of you "mozzers," it's only right I do the same to my "mentors." So here goes: I worship at the church of Gary Halbert (R.I.P), Claude Hopkins (R.I.P), Robert Collier (R.I.P), John Carlton, Gary Bencivenga, Tony Robbins, Joel Bauer, Brian Tracy, Richard Bandler, John Caples, and many other master persuaders. These men have taught me a great deal about life (albeit, I’ve never studied under any of them face-to-face). I owe them a debt of gratitude, and I’ll upload a list of all the titles in my library to a page on my website - www.crediblecopy.org - so you can check them out (if you want to). Most of what I know about persuasion, selling, and influence I owe to the names you've just read. I freely give them FULL credit for my knowledge, because...as a baby...I was not born with an ability to persuade people in print (quite the opposite, in fact). We all learn from our predecessors though, don't we, so this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
And I’m not trying to pass myself of as a “guru” here; in truth, I feel a little “uncomfortable” putting myself out there in front of the sharks of the world - and the sharks are out there, keeping their eyes on SEOmoz (you’d be surprised by some of the names in my inbox). What is this post all about then? I want to share with you a little of what I’ve learned during a “You need to get out more, Paul” amount of my life studying the works of these masters, because I personally feel like I have really learned a lot from you guys (and girls) here at SEOmoz, and now I feel like I can give you a little something of value back in return in this post. But, you're right...who am I kidding...it's not all "give give give" here. I get to "showcase" myself a little bit, too. Also, on a final personal note, I feel it’s now time for me to get and stay out of my own comfort zone.
I’m sure there will be those who shout me down and heckle and make wild unfounded accusations. One person thinks I’m an MLM scam artist running a “get rich quick” scheme, for example. Bizarre - very bizarre. But, in my experience (and I do have a little), it really scares people when they encounter a young person who possesses enormous substance. It makes them “uncomfortable.” Some people just don’t seem to know how to react, sadly, which, think about it, leads me to a point I don’t have time to cover here: the most interesting study of life, in my opinion, is the way things actually ARE, not they way things “should be.”
Anyway, enough of this "jibber-jabber." When you start to talk about “persuasion” or “selling” or “influence,” a whole horde of people instantly get all excited and scream MANIPULATION. Are they right to do so? Well, here is how I personally make the distinction:
- Persuasion is the process of influencing people to take an action of mutual benefit, or an action of benefit to them.
- Manipulation is the process of influencing people to take an action for your gain and their loss, or just generally to their own detriment.
Just like a long, sharp kitchen knife can be used for purposes good or evil, so too can the tools of persuasion. It all depends on the desired intent of the person in control of the “weapon.” At least, that is my current, somewhat shoddy analogy. You know what? Sometimes good enough is good enough, so it’ll just have to do us. OK, I’m going to kick this whole thing off in a way that will probably surprise you. With the headline The Reason Why SEOmoz Doesn’t Need My Landing Page - that’s right. I said does NOT.
One of the most profitable (and ethical) business models on the Internet today can be summed up by the following sweeping over-generalization.
- Build a community
- Give community enormous amounts of valuable free content without so much as a hint of a sales pitch
- Continue to grow community.
- Leverage community and its built-up reciprocation, commitment, and consistency...and so on...to occasionally introduce and sell a premium product.
Result? You meet with little buyer resistance, PROVIDED YOU “SELL” IT RIGHT. I’m sure you already knew that, didn’t you? Good.
The magic of Carlos’s landing page (which took 2nd place) is that it “knows” the blog and other free content is doing most of the “heavy lifting.” There are a heck of a lot of people who already “know” what SEOmoz and the Premium Membership package is all about, because they read the blog regularly (17,500 feed subscribers, anyone?). And Carlos’s landing page expertly finishes the job off and helps bring in the money for SEOmoz. This is what I believe to be at the very core of SEOmoz’s business model (however massively I may have generalized things), and should always remain so. Not simply because you SEOmozzers believe it is the right thing for Rand to do, but also because I believe it has the potential to be the most PROFITABLE thing to do.
Hmm. Are you starting to see now? Maybe I’m not such a sleazy scam artist after all. Whoda thunk it, huh? A “white hat” long-copy writer? Surely you jest! Now, let’s see if we can get to the really juicy part…the part you have all been waiting for in this post: The Reason Why SEOmoz DOES Need My Landing Page.
When I sat down to think about writing my landing page, first, I twiddled my mustache, then I stroked my fluffy, white cat and said “Hmn” a lot, then I raised the pinkie on my right-hand slowly towards the corner of my mouth…and I said before cackling out loud for what must have been a full minute…I WANT TO CONVERT “RAW” TRAFFIC INTO CUSTOMERS. I ask you SEOmozzers, does it GET any more evil than that?
Converting "rawish" traffic into customers takes a LOT of copy, and it is a completely different audience from the one Carlos targeted. Interestingly, the same forums calling me a scam artist seem to have an intense dislike for Carlos’s page. I’m not going to lie to you: I take a lot of comfort from this fact. What do these people want? Well, they seem to think page 8 looks very pretty. So if that’s your goal – to look pretty - then fair enough, I guess. Wait a minute. Is that an Ostrich I see before me? I’ll move on. Wrestle with pigs and, whatever happens, you are going to get dirty. (I think it was John Carlton who I just stole that line from, but for our purposes let's simply replace the word "pig" with "ostrich." Yes, I think that'll do nicely). Whatever.
I know Hamlet won’t mind me mentioning page 8. I’ve spoken to him a little by email and he is a SAVVY guy – definitely not an Ostrich. He was good humoured about the stats of his page, and I would back him to make the adjustment and come up with a very effective landing page the next time he is called upon to do so. Now, did anyone notice how I "swung for the fence" in my copy by selling people on the idea of parting with the FULL $399, and not $49 a month? When you bring in the “big boys,” Rand… you might want to do a short test based around "said fact."
On the face of it, I don’t understand why you would offer a “sign up for a month” option. You seem to be cheating yourself out of a lot of money, but you are the man behind the curtain with access to all of the data here. Not me. And, I don't have time to go into the reasons why in detail here, so let me just say this: My view is that what you are offering is either of long-term value, or it isn’t. If it is, then people need to get on the bus! Respect.
Let’s get back to the contest. I suspected nobody else would take the approach of going after “cold” traffic (especially for a small looking $1,000 prize), but I knew I would be on fertile ground - call it gut instinct. And I knew if I succeeded…boy, if I succeeded…then I would really have “run one up the flagpole,” as it were. Listen: there are a LOT of people floating around the online world that you will get only ONE chance to sell to. They are interested in buying something TODAY, and if they don’t buy from you they are going to go away and buy from someone else who is a lot like you, or maybe even come tomorrow their attention will have turned 180 to a whole other industry or niche. Whatever the truth may be in this case, when dealing with these people DELAY IS THE DEATH OF THE SALE. They're going to buy from someone, so it may as well be from you. And it’s a huge audience. Huge audience.
Side note: contrary to the conventional wisdom that may be helping you sleep more easily in your bed at night, this audience is not comprised of stupid idiots who get "tricked" into buying from any old sucker who can write a "pitch." I hope to touch on this in my next post, but I can't promise I'll have space. Listen: if you believe, as an organisation, you are offering people real honest-to-goodness value in your products and services, then you have a duty to your prospects to powerfully make the arguments that will make them WANT what you are offering, RIGHT NOW, today. There is no tomorrow. You have to make them believe you, to take away all the risk, romance them on the key benefits to…
Damn it. I’m already on page 7 of A4 in Microsoft Word here. And I don’t want to go getting all “long copy” on you. God forbid. Nobody would read THAT after all now, would they? Of course not! Wait a minute... Is that an Ostri… ... ...Never mind.
Okay, mozzers, thanks for your time. I hope to see (and get involved in) some HIGH QUALITY discussion in the comments section. I know a lot of people were hoping for me to get “down and dirty” on the copy side of things in this post… but this is CRITICAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION. Meat and potatoes has to come before dessert.
All the best,
Paul Robb
www.crediblecopy.org
I have to admit that I didn't think much of Paul's page in the begininning. I didn't read it, as a matter of fact. I just skimmed through, got a general idea of what he was doing (very general, I must say), and decided it was more in line with annoying "get rich quick" type emails that someone find their way into my inbox.
However, once I saw the numbers I went back and actually read the page. That was when I saw that Paul's writing is truly remarkable in that it makes quick work of snagging the reader's attention and keeping it. It's so conversational it flies in the face of what I thought was the "right way" to sell with copy on the internet. Adhering to the "rules" of usability I'd be taking a page like Paul's and chopping it down to a quarter of its current size. It seems that in doing so I'd be way off base.
Paul's page is less about presenting a product/service and more about sitting down with Paul and having him explain some things (making you laugh along the way). As a writer, I've got to give Paul some serious respect and congratulations on this. It works.
In the end, I'm really grateful to have the chance to be an SEOmoz fly on the wall in this case. I have a newfound understanding of American consumers on the internet and the power of well-written copy.
Like it or not, I suppose, the testing method that was used proved Paul’s long-copy landing page for SEOmoz was more successful than the other entrants’ submissions—both long and short. I think it may be fair to keep in mind that that was all that was tested here.
Among things that weren’t tested:
I think most would agree that Paul’s landing page had an effective writing style. And who wouldn’t agree that it is a long-copy landing page? We know that both long- and short-copy landing pages were submitted and tested. We’ll agree that the testing performed verified that one of the pages achieved more success than the others.
My points are:
Well summarised... Rand - willing to give a short page designed by Paul a shot ;-)?
Sure - we're still up for more testing :)
We're currently running tests of our own internal pages against Paul's winner and have one right now that's (at least today) a couple conversions ahead (but we don't have near enough results for an acceptable confidence variable).
You should definitely create some video content for the landing pages and test it. Even if it's just mashed together "Whiteboard Friday" stuff, initially. Should boost results significantly.
Thats interesting... I am hoping you guys will post the results up in the near future?
I am really inspired by this competition, and hope to trial the two distinct style on two distinct client psych profiles and see the result - not too soon, but when I do, and the results are worth putting up, I will make sure I do..
I think that the copy in both the sales page and this post is interesting, engaging, humorous and essentially credible - at least, I found it to be so when it was backing up a product that I knew in advance to be of high quality (SEOmoz).
In fact, I think that for raw traffic, Paul's page would be hard to beat. It provides a lot of solid basic SEO information, and legitimately promises access to cutting-edge industry knowledge, all using well-written, clearly understandable and highly communicative copy.
Kudos.
Paul - Thanks for responding my emails, your kind words and your offer to help me in the future.
I learn more when I lose than when I win, and I learned a lot about the effectiveness of long sales letters from this competition. ;-)
I know that it's a fault on my part but I have to say that I skimmed this - I will probably go back and re-read when I have more time.
What I will say is that a lot of thought obviously went into your page Paul, and the figures certainly back it-up. That said, I just don't like it. I actually wonder whether this is a tomato/tomahto thing - I just don't feel like us Brits are into these sort of ads.
As soon as I see the 'let me tell you about my company' type pages I just switch off - and, from our experience creating landing pages for PPC campaigns here in the UK, so do many of my compatriots.
Anyway, I realise that this is a generalisation and backed up by gut feeling rather than reams of data, but I think it's potentially a point worth discussing.
Anyway - congrats Paul; you have once again shown that if I don't like something, it's bound to do well!
;)
Hi Ciaran
You make some VERY insightful comments. Thank you.
First: I would skim read the above copy too! Because the paragraph structure is all wrong in my opinion (as measured by getting people to actually READ the thing), however Rand likes the "long paragraph" formatting, so I just have to accept that "when in Rome" and all that (I'm not "sniping" here, Rand... just trying to speak the truth).
Second: many people share your "gut instinct," immediate reaction and this is VERY VERY VERY important - hugely significant. Wait for my second post, Ciaran, because it might just rock your world.
Paul
Well I read it all - because I was pre-primed to, simply because of the shock of the success of your landing page...
Ciaran - I didnt like the page as well (no offense Paul), but I am wondering if this is just professional blindsight? being in the online industry, we "know" that such pages usually promote scammy content or information....
But...
What about the layman? Individuals and businesses especially the mom and pops who dont know much about SEO, would probably want more than just a checklist (easy to say in hindsight). I mean what would a non SEO know about Crawl Test, Term Target, Keyword Difficulty? Pauls page actually breaks down what SEO is in general terms and keeps the reader hooked (Note to Rand: do we have bounce rate figures for the two pages?).
I know for a fact that many individuals in the UK are looking at the web as a "new" resource to gain business - especially in one of the industries that I handle a lot. I also feel that it might just be worth a test to run these sort of pages to gauge UK conversions - I am going to try it as an email to possible new clients (strangely enough my original idea was quite similar to Carols page).
I just hope that I can write like Paul....(any tips?)
Very good point - check lists only work if you know what is being checked. Paul's post gets round that problem with simple explanations.
I'd be interested to see any stats on UK campaigns where these sort of sales letters are A/B tested against more 'traditional' landing pages...
Ciaran, there is little dependence on knowledge with a checklist. It is such a frequently used device that we instinctively know that it is a comparison of value where one value is higher.
I wrote a short post about when to use both types of landing page.
I dont mean this in a negative way, but I disagree - a checklist is usually a number of variables that the user is interested in - but if the user is ignorant of the variables, then presenting them with a checklist and telling them that they should be excited by receiving the items on the checklist would not be realistic.
On the otherhand if the list is defined to the users, their interest is piqued, and very often they can make snap judgements if the item is of value. On the other hand an educated user might be irritated by descriptions, and at a glance could judge whether the list is useful or not. I still suggest that the two pages converted different mindsets...
Paul's bounce rate was (rounded) 91%
My bounce rate (again rounded) 87%
Both of us offered only one exit, so anyone who did not make it to the Choose page is a bounce.
Thanks - thats useful to know! seems like sucha small percentage, but its not really...
Wonder if we could psych profile the conversions for each site, and see if there is a huge difference in their mentalities?
Would be useful if we are targetting a certain usergroup (e.g novices VS experienced SEO's)
Basically you need to flesh-out what part of the buying cycle your target is in and provide appropriate material for that user.
You will generally see a good return from making a more tailored entry point for novice and experienced users.
There is a lot to reply to here, so I'll just throw my piddly 2 cents in at the end here.
I agree that the page that won isn't pretty, and it turns me off, but just like Matt Cutts said at SMX in Seattle, "the people in this room are not average internet users".
That being said, there are a lot of sheep in this world, and the winning page proves that. This copy puts things into perspective for those sheep and lists the benefits of membership in terms they can understand.
I agree 110%. The more segmented you make your entry points, the better you can serve that population. This is why solutions like Kefta do so well.
I think along similar vein to Ciaran.
however, I wouldn't say I dont like your landing page, I would say I dont yet understand it, but I really really want to!
I want to know what it is about long copy that sells. I have never yet landed on a long copy page and actually read it all, I dont think long copy has ever converted me to sale.
and not being a copywriter, (but have studied persuasion from many of the names you mentioned) I want to understand the psychology behind it, the reasoning behind it so I can brief a copywriter in the right way. or know what I am looking for if a copywriter comes to me with something like that.
I did read your entire post, which is unusual for me on such a long post. Looking forward to the 2nd installment.
Maybe I should have said that I didn't understand it either. Whilst I'm a big fan of Ogilivy, I just don't react well to these things - especially on the web:
Again, I simply prove my lack of understanding of American consumers!
Awesome - a down-thumb for simply daring to express a differing opinion (in, I thought at least, a polite and self deprecating way).
I've finally made it!
Odd that... I thought your comment was quite honest and innocent? (wonder if I will get a thumb down for supporting you? lol).
Heres a thumbs up to make up for it...
umm by the time I finished the previous post your comment had a thumbs down... how odd. Wonder what you said?
Out of interest, maybe the person should clarify why they find your comments offensive?
Well, no worries - I just countered that thumbs down with two thumbs ups of my own. I don't think there was anything wrong with your comment at all.
It would be interesting if we could get stats on how far down the page people were when they either abandoned the page or went through the sign up.
From the point of view of a consumer looking for SEO information, I'd totally read the entire article. I remember when I bought the SEOBook the first time, I read the entire landing page a couple times before I actually bought it. If you're interested in it you will read it. If you're not interested or you're just reviewing it for a contest like this, then you won't read it.
So, this entire post was a long copy letter, right? The overuse of quotation marks, the humor, the way you slyly insiuate that if we don't buy what you're selling, we're ostriches? Well played.
I think one reason many of us dislike the "long copy" approach is because we are viewing it from the other side - we're the ones trying to sell something, and we're concerned that people would associate us with the slimy scammers who use similar sales pages.
I mentioned once in a previous comment that after reading Aaron Wall's redesigned SEObook sales page, I made the purchase. And I read every word of the letter. Still, looking back, I can't say exactly why I read all the way to the end, and what it was that convinced me to buy, so I'm interested to see your next post.
Funny you should mention that - I was thinking about the similarities in Aarons sales page and the one Paul did - there are quite a few.
I think one of the most interesting points I have taken away from the contest and its results is not that long copy works (it does obviously) but it works well when combined with an authoritative site.
Its one thing coming across a long copy sales page without any other information on the company selling the service, and a totaly different one when you can actually see what else the company does - something thats common with both the SEObook site and the SEOmoz site.
The one thing that Aaron did that was different, and I realy liked was the " Still Not Sure if the SEO Book is for You? If you aren't ready to buy, click here" bit.
I look forward to the next installment... anyone else notice Paul's cryptic remark; "Wait for my second post, Ciaran, because it might just rock your world." ?
Edit from Paul: I really misunderstood/misread Lorisa's post at the time I wrote this comment, so please just disregard and move on to the next one! (Sorry again, Lorisa)
Hi Lorisa!
I'm ALL FOR people exposing the tools of influence, thanks for your comment. In terms of the general direction of your post, I think you may have missed the "bulls-eye" slightly.
I'm not going to get into a "name calling" match with you, now way... that's not helpful to anyone. So, if you think I'm "sly" then I'll just have to be comfortable with that.
All the best,
Paul
Why is saying "slyly" considered name-calling? I'm sorry if you misunderstood my comment - I was complimenting you on a job well done. And I don't think my comment missed the boat at all, but you'd have to be more specific for me to know what you mean.
You told us we're ostriches if we're not willing to consider your way of doing things - isn't that name-calling?
I'm so sorry, this is my fault entirely. I misunderstood you. Thanks for your kind words, Lorisa - and I hope we can immediately just draw a line under this!
Apologies again.
Already forgotten. Trust me, I am very eager to learn more from you!
Verygood of you guys to clear that up... theres nothing worse than seeing name calling and arguments on a forum or in comments...thumbs up!
Paul,
some people compare your LP with seobook's (written by Brian aka Copyblogger) but I notice one big difference: your only has a "call to action" right at the end of the page, while Seobook has several links to the order page and almost countless buttons "buy now" at the bottom. Would you care to elaborate on this, any specific reason?
Good question - I noticed it, but ignored it.. I think it might be in line with this comment...
Hi Antonio
I've never met Brian, but I suspect he worships at the same "church" as I do. He seems like an intelligent man based on what little I've seen of him.
To answer your question directly: my headline makes reference to a "Select Group" of internet marketers (implying exclusivity). This exclusivity has to be "paid off" in the copy in order for the suggestion to be credible (conciously or subconciously) in the readers mind.
What "pays off" the concept of exclusivity? It is the sub-headline you see towards the end of the copy "The 3 Qualifications You Must Meet Before You Can Join."
It would completely incongruent to make a call to action prior to this "pay off".
Probably further calls to action should be tested and might well show improvement. However, now you know the reason for my decision making!
All the best,
Paul
Would too many calls to action (such as Aarons page) have any negative effect - I did find them ever so slightly annoying...
Hi Rishil
Thanks for all your contributions in this thread, I haven't responded to you directly all day - sorry about that. Tried to find an email address for you through your SEOmoz profile, but no luck!
I'm sure Aaron's page has been tested by Brian, and what you are seeing is the "control" (best performing page). So, I'd have to assume that all those call to actions DO increase response.
Pretty boring answer - just "always be testing".
Thanks again
Paul
lol... ;-) no worries!
That does make sense, but like everything else, I guess test test and test again rioght?
I made it to the end Paul so you must be doing something right. You certainly have a way with words and writing copy that makes me want to know what's coming next.
You've got me hooked already for part 2, which I hope won't be a long wait. My belly is now full from the main course and I'm craving a little something sweet for dessert.
Quick note from me:
I'm currently staring down the barrel of a VERY persuasive deadline - the UK Tax Return deadline, which is 30th September. *shivers*
Bottom line: I won't be around much for the next couple of days. When I get back I'll post the "follow-up" to YouMoz.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. I was touched by some of the comments, and I don't want you to go confusing my lack of "response" with a lack of genuine appreciation for what many of you had to say.
In my own head I just didn't want to "pollute" the comments section with a bunch of "thank you, thank you, thank you's," however maybe that would have been the right thing to do.
*shrugs*
Thanks again everyone,
Paul
I have to admit that I used to think long-form sales letters were a central spoke on the axis of evil internet marketing. When I first started using Clickbank I used to eliminate products sight unseen simply for using a sales letter on their pitch page (that is until I realised that would leave me with a whole....two products)
This might be jumping the gun for part 2 - but the big differentiators for me in terms of your page were:
Particularly with the last element - it was actually the fact that it was nicely formatted and that it was embedded in a credible looking site that allowed me to lower my in-built mistrust of the form and actually appreciate the text.
Anyway - thought it was great - and certainly made me think about what I do.
It's an automatic monthly renewal.
If anyone knows which forums Paul is refering to please let me know.
Hi Carlos
I've emailed you the name of the forum I saw that took a "dislike" to your page.
All the best,
Paul
This is an interesting post, but it was incredibly meandering and long-winded. I think you could have made your point without all of the length (of course, I read the entire thing, but I also edit posts for spelling, grammar, and readability, so I read every post).
I'd recommend maybe, as you put it, getting to the meat and potatoes more quickly in your next post. This one had two appetizers, a soup, and a salad before the main course.
Thanks for stopping by, Rebecca.
"This is an interesting post, but it was incredibly meandering and long-winded. I think you could have made your point without all of the length."
Is that what you said about my landing page, too? :-)
Yeah, but landing pages and blog posts are like tomato toe-mah-toe.
Rebecca, i am with you. Way too long of an article here. I felt like he was proving that he could write long in yet another format. I too read it all, with some impatience hoping for something meaty.
I felt compelled to hunt in the comments for that satisfying feeling of finding wisdom that was still missing. Paul can write, but I couldn't follow him on Twitter - if you know what I mean.
Congrats.
I'll have to read things more carefuly, your LP and this post.
Do you charge by number of words? (just kidding ;-)
Great read. I actually have to build a couple landing pages for a site I'm working on and you sold me on it. I'm going to give the long letter a shot. Looking forward to the book list on your site.
Paul - Congrats on winning the contest.
I'm very interested in reading more about why the long copy format works from a psychological/sociological perspective and who it works on in particular. Is there a line where the prospective consumer is too imformed for this method?
I'm also interested to know if you endorse this sales method for all types of selling or only for certain price points. For example, you went right for the 1 year subscription sale, which proved to be a smart move. If Seomoz only sold monthly subscriptions would this be as effective? In your experience, does this method work for E-commerce as effectively as selling services? If so does it work at all price points or is there a cut off?
Looking forward to your next post and further discussion on the long letter format.
"I'm very interested in reading more about why the long copy format works from a psychological/sociological perspective."
You could try "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Dr Robert Cialdini, if you want to "book up" a little bit on the theory. It's a great read. I'm not going to have time to get to Cialdini's work in my next post, because there is something much more fundamental that I want to cover.
"and who it works on in particular. Is there a line where the prospective consumer is too imformed for this method?"
As somebody who isn't a huge fan of long copy sales letters himself (shock)... I can tell you it's not so much a matter of "IF" people respond to long copy and the simple secrets of master salesmanship... it is more just a matter of HOW we like to be sold. I'm sorry to be a little bit vague on this for the moment, but none of us are immune. Not me, not you, not anybody.
Thanks Paul. I'll check out that title.
I agree, I like the one you did Paul. I think the big difference is that a page that asks someone to buy something and give away their credit card information is going to have to have a lot of information. You can't just have a table showing the details of each package and then ask someone to pay for it.
You had insane detail, and gave away a lot of info from the site that probably taught people a lot on it's own. If that much info is in the up front presentation, of course they'll be more comfortable in makign the purchase. Take a look at Bruce Clay's site, they give out tons of information - it shows that they're experts and that they are not trying to sell you something but want to help you. If you read all the information provided, then you still want help they're ready to help you.
I had a client who sold herbal products online, he had a lot of background in direct sales, MLM, and other sales but not on the Internet -except for some e-mail marketing. When he sent me his landing page, which looked a lot like Paul's I thought it was pretty bad, but it converted really well.
Take a look at SEOBook's new book landing page it follows the same linear format - looks ugly, but it converts.
I've heard others say that landing pages should be really short, and always kept above the fold, but it just depends on the type of product or service you're selling and who your buyer is, and how much knowledge they already have on your product. For someone who has never heard of you, you need to give them a lot of concrete reasoning to buy from you if you want to do it on one page. If someone is looking for ringtones, they already know what they want and don't need a lot of encouragement or re-enforcement.
I love these contests and the discussion, because now we can compare the different entries and learn from them all! It also shows that the design and visuals aren't what sell stuff, but the content.
Hi jgoddard
In a comment much further up this thread, you said:
"If you're interested in it you will read it. If you're not interested or you're just reviewing it for a contest like this, then you won't read it."
BINGO! BINGO! BINGO!
As others have said... there are also some people who, although interested, would have been turned off immediately by the look/format.
Great stuff! Thank you.
Paul
Out of interest - do you ever run A/B testing for landing pages?
Yes, A/B testing is crucial to testing the success of advertising.
But also, just to clarify, not always do long landing pages work better, but in a lot of cases they do. In the case that someone is searching with a generic search phrase like "seo education" they're looking for information on seo and to get them to signup for something they'll want as much info as possible before they actually sign up. If they are typing a search term like "seomoz subscription" or using some other term using the actual brand as the keyword, then they're already aware of the brand and the product so they're more likely to know what they want and do not need as much of a selling page.
But in those cases, they're in a different phase of the buying cycle, so you don't need to give them such an in-depth landing page. This contest was more for people who are not already aware of seomoz, so the long landing page worked well.
yep..
I read most of this but did get glazed over at some parts. You're an excellent writer. Got any good book recommendations for anyone learning? I know a copywriter that could use the knowledge.
As for the monthly fee, most businesses operate on a month to month basis. It makes sense to offer a monthly option in my opinion. That is the one I chose when I signed up and it helped to make a small investment first to test the offering. Though I could see why people would sign up, take the articles, and then not renew.
It's Rand's job to figure out how to keep people interested and add value month over month. I like the tools but to be honest, they are not the best on the net so I don't use them very often. What keeps me here is the great discussions and the Q&A section. It's really valuable since I don't attend conferences or have many contacts in the SEO world that I can talk to freely.
Hi nicknick
If there could only be one book it would be "Scientific Advertising" by Claude Hopkins. It's very old now, however that means if you search for it in Google then you can download a PDF for free.
Just for my own curiosity, nicknick, when you sign up to the premium membership package as a "monthly" member, is it on a "till forbid" basis or do you have to PROACTIVELY renew your subscription at the end of every month?
All the best,
Paul
Hi Paul,
PayPal auto renews the subscription every month and takes it from the credit card. If I had to do it myself, I'd probably let it lapse or forget about it. So the active subscription helps. Thanks for the book info. I'm going to search for... I mean buy it soon.