Those massive long sales pages: Do you REALLY read them?

[eterxx]

When I land on a massive long sales page, I always think it's a scam.. but the product can be very legit sometimes.
I honestly don't understand how this kind of landing page can work, it's a completely outdated technique

 

[ardley216]

I have read the pros and cons about long sales pages versus
short sales pages. Some of the more well-known, successful
copywriters like Gary Bencivenga and Gary Halbert (now deceased)
have always stood by and encouraged the use of the long
sales page. However, they were GREAT copywriters and knew
how to "pace" their copy and keep the reader interested.

In my opinion, medium-size sales pages WITH the addition of a
compelling sales video is the way to go in this day and age. In
Halbert's and Bencivenga's time, streaming video and high-speed
internet were not yet commonly available.

That is not to say that the long sales page is dead, but if
you plan to go that route, you had better have your
copywriting "chops" down, or have the bucks to hire a
seasoned, professional copywriter.

Cheers! - "Wiz"

Thanks Wiz, Insightful! But I have to admit, the long sales pages, especially to ones who see them every day, are very outdated. But I do agree that if someone had never seen them before, they are useful and do make a successful sale. When I want to buy a product (especially SEO), I want to see a full standard website, easy to navigate, easy to read, less of the sales patter, more of the content. I love seeing comparing charts, and working demos, and so on. Before I sign up, I like to see that there is visible support, such as a forum. I do completely avoid sales pages, because I feel it will soon be released on BHW!

 

[shadowedsniper]

There's been a lot of research on this. The real advertising experts say long landing pages will always out-convert short pages.

I think as marketers we recognize these long landing pages and instantly think scam.

To paraphrase something from a book called Cashvertising, long landing pages provide the endless information that makes some customers more comfortable before purchasing. And the other customers who are already sold after the first few paragraphs will scroll past all the other stuff and proceed to checkout. It captures both types of buyers.

 

[WizGizmo]

One technique that can be very helpful is to go to Clickbank
and analyze the sales pages of the top 10 best selling products.
Then "model" your sales page after those vendors' pages.

Cheers!

 

[verdox]

I think as marketers we recognize these long landing pages and instantly think scam.

You hit the nail on the head there, what we see and what Joe Public is seeing is not one of the same thing.

 

[ardley216]

Ok, so then why do we see countless super long sales pages on marketing products?

3 examples of products I have bought (or am about to buy), are market samurai, WPSynIt, and SEO-Viral, all are short. 2 have elements of the long sales pages, WPSynIt, is what converts me best, standard website

Also, the results are looking very clear!