We’re in a digital age.
A digital age where people are turning to the internet more than ever and consumer confidence in online shopping is up.
According to CNBC, on Black Friday, the kick off of the holiday shopping season, more consumers turned to online shopping than ever before.
Consumers spent 21% more than last year; over $3.34 BILLION.
And, get this, over $1.2 BILLION worth of purchases were completed on mobile devices.
But while online sales were UP, the brick and mortar sales were DOWN tremendously.
The reason?
The convenience of online shopping is trusted and readily available from anywhere in the world.
Now I’m sharing these stats with you today because it shows a global trend that’s happening right now.
A trend that you should be conscious of.
In today’s article, I want to talk to you about the importance of sales messaging.
In a world where you have approximately 15 seconds to GRAB the attention of your website visitor, a person who’s ready to take their wallet out and spend, it’s important that your messaging is clear and transparent.
Whether it’s a video, an email, or a written letter – the WORDS that you display are more important than ever.
A simple headline or email subject line can either attract or deter a visitor.
And over the years as a digital marketer, I’ve noticed an alarming trend.
People are learning how to create a website, create landing pages, get traffic, create amazing images, and create more social media presence…
But no one talks about the ONE THING that takes a visitor to a sale.
WORDS.
The words on the page, the words in your video, the words that sell.
Today I want to teach you 3 simple tips on how YOU can sell with just your words.
These words are what get your visitor to take out their wallet, enter their credit card information and BUY.
These are words that make you money.
1. Focus on Problems and Solutions.
When a visitor lands on your webpage or video, they are there for a reason.
Maybe they landed on your page after a simple search or an advertisement, but either way, you’ve accomplished 50% of the job: getting that person to your page.
The next 15 seconds are vitally important.
Your new job is to get their attention, address the problem, and show them the solution. Just like that.
Let’s look at two examples of headlines.
Headline #1:
Headline #2:
Headline 2 captivates you with solutions while touching on problems that you may be having: attracting, engaging, and converting your visitors.
Now re-read each headline.
Though they share a similar message, one is driven for problem/solution marketing and the other is designed to share what it is and what it does.
Which one do you think would convert better?
Here are the stats:
Headline #1 Conversion: 3.48%
Headline #2 Conversion: 6.56%
Almost double.
That means if you got 100 visitors to your page, you’d literally have TWICE the number of conversions or sales just based on that headline.
Why?
Because you had 15 seconds to capture their attention and Headline #2 was able to help you DOUBLE the attention of that visitor.
2. Use Stories to sell.
Now this one gets tricky.
When it comes to this lesson, I think back to a TV show I loved watching in the 90’s and early 2000’s called Seinfeld.
Seinfeld was a show about absolutely nothing.
But it was one of the most popular and legendary sitcoms in the United States during that time.
Why?
Because it used stories.
Each episode always had a start, a middle and an end.
Regardless if the story had a real meaning or even a lesson, people were engulfed by a tale that helped them relate.
It hooked them into the messaging.
Instead of attempting explain this, let’s do it by example again:
Email example #1:
Email Example #2:
Now when you read each of these, you quickly realize the dramatic difference.
One is straight to the point.
It doesn’t give you enough time to relate nor does it really intrigue you.
And the other, tells a tale of pain in a person’s life and the story of what they did to find the solution.
Now if you guess Email Example #2 was the BETTER one, then you’re correct.
Example #2 is a story based email which helps capture your audience’s attention to get you more CLICKS which in turn will make you more sales.
Let’s look at the stats between these two by Click Through Rate (the # of people that read the email and clicked through):
Email Example #1: 14% Click Through Rate
Email Example #2: 38% Click Through Rate
Now again, if you had 100 people OPEN this email and 14 people clicked through – that’s 14 people that could make a purchase.
Versus the 38 people that clicked through on the second email.
Which one do you THINK would give you a higher chance of making sales?
Finally, let’s do one more tip.
3. The importance of the “Ask.”
The #1 fear I see when it comes to people who are starting online is the ASK.
I’m talking about ASKING for something to happen.
Asking your visitor to take an action.
Regardless if it’s clicking on a button, putting their email address into a box, or even clicking on another page.
Simply asking someone to do something is simple, but creating that psychological drive, the desire to follow your instructions or the “WANT” to follow through is a whole different experience.
You see, the WORDS that you use can completely change the action of a person on your page.
Let’s get into examples again – this time we’ll do a few to get your mind “moving.”
Example Buttons #1:
Example Buttons #2:
Now… you see these are two groups of buttons that you could have on your site for your “ASK.”
And you’ve probably seen both on a site before, which may or may not have inspired you to take action or exit the page.
If you guessed Example Buttons #1 are the ones that will convert better, then you made the correct decision.
These are proven words that we use to get people to take action.
Let’s try this example one more time with words that make action happen:
Example Pre-Action Words #1:
- Enter your email below and get access.
- Enter your email and let us send your gift to your email.
- Enter your email and get access to [PRODUCT NAME].
- Click on the button below to get your access today.
Example Pre-Action Words #2:
- Enter Your BEST Email and Get Instant Access Today!
- Enter Your Email Below And Let us Email You Your Gift Right Away!
- Step 1: Enter Your Email Below & Get Instant Access to [PRODUCT NAME]!
- Click on the button below to get INSTANT ACCESS!
Again, as you can see, each set shares the same message but gives a completely different feel.
And in our case studies, one of these typically generates over 50% MORE action by the users.
So… after reviewing the two examples, which would YOU rather click on?
If you picked The Pre-Action Words #2 you’re on the right track.
Now these examples I made were SUPER transparent and simple.
This was my way of sharing how important WORDS are to sell.
If you take these and push them to a long format sales letter, video, or email, suddenly there are multiple elements that come into play.
From the headline, to the body, to the call of action, even to the words in an email, it’s WORDS like these that help create the PERFECT message or the PERFECT sales page.
With that being said, the entire point of this article is to teach you that WORDS play a very important part of SELLING. And the way words can make a dramatic difference in your online success.
In the comments below I want you to tell me the example that YOU felt was the best and why!
Jimmy Kim
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Jimmy, first of all, can’t wait for Exact Model, what a great product to assist entrepreneurs in what is always a critical area: capturing and converting! I believe the best example was #2. Use Stories to Tell. The reason is this: if we can’t draw our current audience or potential customers in, then we have have no opportunity to convert them. Telling a story and making it relatable whether it is a shared problem with a solution, or conveying an experience that may be of value is essential to building a relationship, fan and customer base. Words are the precursor to action, and that is why I am looking forward to Exact Model, as it provides a profesional and time-saving solution in giving you the right words at the right time to make the best possible conversions. Thanks Jimmy!
Hi Jimmy,
I liked example #2 because I find it difficult to always come up with a new clever way to tell a story that grabs my audience or prospect’s attention. I would love a copy of the Exact Model and I would put it to good use. I love that it will have pre-loaded templates and I don’t have to think about creating one every single time. What a time saver! So in the words of Jimmy Kim (with a twist), “Enter My Email Below And I’ll Let You Email My Gift Right Away! Thank you for putting out such great products to help us in our businesses.
Example #2, because from what I have learned about internet marketing as a whole, it’s about developing a relationship with your list to be able to successfully market to them and ultimately get them to buy from you. Definitely the headline is key where you can point out the problems and the solution to entice your subscriber to open, but the Seinfeld approach to writing the body is where you not only get to expand on those problems, but also create that necessary relationship with your subscriber to say “I had the same problem your having and this was the solution to my problems, so instead of you wasting you time and money to figure it out on your own like I had to, I’m going to solve it for you right now”. They begin to know and trust you as someone like themselves, and it becomes easier to market to your subscribers going forward. So not only does example #2 help you short term, it helps you long term….which is the ultimate goal.
Hi Jimmy,
Thanks for the great post. I am a regular reader of Snaptactix and greatly appreciate the informative content.
Of the three tips, I agree with many who said that all three are absolutely essential. I also noticed that, based on your question, most people chose either #1 or #2 and I don’t recall anyone saying anything about #3. That would be my choice. Let me explain.
Firstly, I watched your early bird video. The video was not totally convincing on why I would need that software. I am curious about it but not convinced. The thing that really stood out for me was the call to action, “Get on the early bird list!” If it is something I might want at least I can get on the early bird list and maybe I would even get an early bird price.
Lastly, I believe the best headline and the best and engaging story is nothing more than entertainment if it does not have a call to action. So if I have to pick one that has an edge on the other two I choose #3.
All the best,
James Redland Anderson
Thanks for sharing your tips to be successful from your experience. I like the one talking about having a relationship with your audience and showing them you are human without being pushy trying to sell them something. A more trust factor.
Hey Jimmy,
I am just in the beginning of email marketing business(Thanks to Anik Singal & Jimmy Kim), and I can tell that the story telling method is the best, my emails that tells a story always get high open rates and engagement from my list. So I chose Example#2
Hi Jimmy,
I was drawn to #2. I believe in a personal touch in sales. With a word tweek here and there gives the potential customer the feeling that you actually care enough to “speak” to them. Everyone wants to be important and phrases like, “Enter your address and get access” would make me feel as if you don’t really care to speak to me and you are just telling me to do something. What’s more, “Click on the button below to get INSTANT ACCESS!” makes the CTA more personal and exciting.
Stories don’t have to be lengthy but interesting enough to lead me to want to find out just how this product helped you solve your problem and how it can solve mine too.
Make it personal. Talk to ME! Explain with a simple yet entertaining story to hold my attention while you tell me how my problem will be solved using your product.
Hi Jimmy,
Thank’s you have share your experience so i could learn it. Learn and study are updating knowledge and information especialy for me.
Regards,
Bambang Milono