The Daily Feed Issue #41: How to persuade people to buy on your website

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I'm going to give you a simple tip today that has worked for me and will help you sell more on your blog or website. Here's a rule of thumb: Long copy sells better than short copy. In other words a page of 600 words talking about your product will sell better than a paragraph of text. This rule applies to low and high cost items, but the effect is stronger for higher cost items. That is why when you respond to a late night infomercial enquiring about the Sleep Number bed they send you a big info packet with about 20 pages of information that includes a DVD. It's a long copy sales pitch.

There's an assumption on the Web that you have exactly 2 seconds to sell someone before they click through to the next website. People who only have 2 seconds to spend on your site aren't going to buy anyway, so forget about them and focus on visitors who do have time. 

I'm going to give you a real-world example that caused me to buy something today. Go and take a look at the following website. I don't have a relationship with this company and I don't get anything from you visiting them - it's just a great example of long copy direct marketing. 

http://www.bearextender.com/

The entire website is selling a single product. The reason I fell for this sales pitch today is because it has a ton of text. If you click through the tabs at the top you'll see:

• A home page with about 300 words of intro
• How it works with around 1000 words of copy, a video and lots of photos
• A ton of reviews. This is an important component called Social Proof.
• The Buy Now page has yet more copy with more reviews and photos.
• And there is of course the accessories and support page.

All of this for a single product. There's a reason this site reminds you of a 30 minute infomercial: Because this format works and has worked for over 50 years. The medium may be changing to the Web and the graphics and art may be updated, but the strategy is the same. 

You've probably run across those sites on CNN selling a diet formula, weight loss trick or exercise system. When you click the ad you land on a site that looks like a news site or blog entry. What you're really doing is reading a long copy direct marketing pitch. I can't stand those sites either, but take the time to click a few of the ads and examine what the pitch looks like and how it guides you into making a buying decision. You'll learn a lot. 

As I said yesterday, when you're selling on the web you need to do everything a real-world sales person would do in a real-world sales pitch. That is why longer copy sells more if you're marketing without physically being there. 

Regards,

Mark Maunder

Feedjit Founder & CEO

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