A sales page is a standalone page created with one specific purpose in mind, to secure sales for your product. The product or service you’re selling on your page can differ depending on your industry or niche. However, the purpose of your sales page remains constant – getting visitors to convert into customers.
Sales pages are another type of post-click landing page that is divided into two main types:
Both types of sales pages are designed very similar. They contain a pitch of your product that your visitors go through and decide whether they want to click the call-to-action (CTA) or not.
The only difference between a long and a short sales page is the actual length of the page.
A sales page, also known as a landing page, is a standalone web page designed specifically to convert website visitors into buyers. The sole purpose of a sales page is to promote a product or service and encourage visitors to make a purchase.
Sales pages play a crucial role in ecommerce and digital marketing. They allow you to directly sell products or services to potential customers. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore what sales pages are, why you need them, and how to create high-converting sales pages.
What is a Sales Page?
A sales page is a dedicated web page that describes a product or service in detail and convinces visitors to buy it It focuses solely on making the sale.
The content on a sales page mainly includes:
- Headline and subheadings
- Details about product features and benefits
- Customer testimonials
- Call-to-action (CTA) buttons
Sales pages are different from regular website pages or blog posts that provide general information about a business. A sales page has a strong sales pitch to turn visitors into paying customers.
Types of Sales Pages
There are two main types of sales pages
Short-Form Sales Page
A short-form sales page quickly highlights the main benefits of a product and prompts visitors to buy it, The copy is concise and focuses only on the most important details,
Short-form pages are best for simple or low-cost products that don’t require elaborate explanations.
Long-Form Sales Page
Also called sales letters, long-form pages provide an in-depth description of a product, its features, pricing, bonuses etc. The copy is detailed and aims to anticipate any questions or objections a visitor may have.
Long-form pages work well for complex or expensive products that need more information to make the sale.
Key Elements of High-Converting Sales Pages
An effective sales page should have the following elements:
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Catchy Headline – A compelling headline grabs attention and conveys the core benefit of your offer.
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Subheadings – Break up long blocks of text with subheads that re-emphasize the main points.
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Strong Opening – Start with an interesting hook that draws readers in and makes them want to learn more.
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Benefits – Clearly explain how your product or service will improve the customer’s life. Focus on emotional benefits.
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Features – Highlight the standout features and specifications of your offering.
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Social Proof – Build trust and credibility by including testimonials, reviews, case studies etc.
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Images and Videos – Use visual content to demonstrate your product and reinforce your message.
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Calls-to-Action – Insert clickable CTA buttons to guide visitors to convert.
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Minimal Distractions – Avoid unnecessary clutter like sidebars and pop-ups. Keep visitor focus on your sales pitch.
Why You Need Dedicated Sales Pages
Many businesses make the mistake of trying to sell products from their general website pages. But sales pages have distinct advantages:
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Singular Focus – They have just one goal i.e. to convert visitors. No other conflicting objectives.
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Relevant Content – The copy is customized to address customer concerns and questions about a specific product.
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Targeted Traffic – You can optimize sales pages for high buyer intent keywords to attract your ideal customers.
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Higher Conversions – Sales pages convert up to 5X more traffic compared to regular website pages.
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Testing Capability – It’s easier to test and optimize one standalone page than a website with multiple pages.
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Data Tracking – You can measure performance through metrics like conversions, CTR etc.
In short, dedicated sales pages provide the best opportunity to maximize conversions and sales.
How to Create a High-Converting Sales Page
Here is a step-by-step process to create an effective sales page:
1. Identify Your Target Audience
First, get crystal clear on who you want to sell to. Define your ideal buyer persona – their challenges, goals, and motivations. This will shape your sales messaging.
2. Choose an Offer
Decide which product or service you want to promote via the sales page. Having a specific offer gives your page focus.
3. Craft a Compelling Headline
Your headline is the first thing visitors see. Make it irresistible so they feel compelled to read more.
4. Write Strong Opening Copy
Follow up your headline with an intro that grabs attention, speaks to customer needs, and establishes value.
5. Explain Key Benefits
Clearly articulate how your product solves your audience’s problems. Focus on emotional benefits over features.
6. Add Social Proof
Include testimonials, reviews, case studies, or any other evidence that builds trust in your offer.
7. Insert Supporting Visuals
Reinforce your copy with relevant videos, GIFs, screenshots, infographics etc.
8. Make a Clear CTA
Add clickable buttons with compelling calls-to-action like “Start Free Trial” or “Buy Now”.
9. Refine and polish your copy until the sales messaging is tight.
10. Publish and Promote Your Page
Launch your sales page and drive traffic to it through paid ads, email marketing, social media etc.
Sales Page Best Practices
Follow these best practices to further optimize your sales pages:
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Focus on solving customer problems, not promoting your brand.
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Break up long copy with subheadings, bullet points, and highlighted text.
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Use high-quality photos of your product to demonstrate value.
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Limit distractions by removing navigation bars, sidebars etc.
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Make your CTA buttons stand out visually with contrasting colors.
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Place your CTA both above and below the fold to increase clicks.
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Include a money-back guarantee or free trial to minimize risk.
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Add trust badges and secure checkout seals to establish credibility.
Tools for Creating Sales Pages
You can easily build optimized sales pages using these tools:
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Instapage – Drag-and-drop editor to make landing pages with A/B testing.
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Unbounce – Landing page builder with advanced conversion tools.
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Leadpages – Pre-made templates and easy customization for sales pages.
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Mailchimp – Email marketing platform with basic landing page creation.
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HubSpot – Option to make landing pages integrated with CRM and email.
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WordPress – Wide selection of sales page templates and plugins.
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EngageBay – All-in-one solution including AI content generator and sales page builder.
How to Promote Your Sales Page
Driving targeted traffic is key to sales page success. Some top strategies include:
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SEO – Optimize your page for buyer keywords so you rank high in search results.
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PPC Ads – Run pay-per-click ads on Google, Bing, Facebook etc. to bring in motivated visitors.
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Social Media – Promote your page on your brand’s social media channels.
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Email Marketing – Send broadcast emails or create email sequences to current subscribers.
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Retargeting Ads – Show relevant ads across the web to people who previously visited your site.
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Affiliate Marketing – Partner with influencers in your niche who can promote your page.
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Content Marketing – Create blog posts and guides that link back to your sales page.
How to Optimize Your Sales Page for More Conversions
Proper optimization is crucial for sales page success. Here are some key tips:
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A/B Test – Try different headlines, copy, designs etc. to see what works best.
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Analyze Data – Use analytics to understand visitor behavior and identify drop-off points.
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Improve Page Speed – Faster loading pages have higher conversion rates. Optimize images, enable caching, and minify code.
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Mobile Optimization – Review your page on mobile devices and ensure easy navigation.
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Exit-Intent Popups – Display targeted offers when visitors try to leave to rescue more sales.
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Lead Magnets – Offer a compelling freebie in exchange for an email address.
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Retargeting – Remarket to site visitors across channels to guide them back to complete a purchase.
Sales Page Examples
Let’s look at some stellar examples of effective sales pages and what makes them work:
![airbnb sales page][]
Airbnb cleverly focuses on the experience of using their service, not just the functionality. The large, emotive imagery sells the dream of travel.![soma sales page][]
Soma targets women’s pain points around intimate apparel. Their empathetic copy and clean design builds trust.
What is a short-form sales page?
Here’s an example of a short-form sales page promoting Ramit Sethi’s “Find Your Dream Job” guide:
The page has:
- A long headline explaining why you need to download the “Dream Job Secrets”
- A graphic that showcases the covers and titles of the guides
- Bullet points explaining what you’ll get once you convert on the form
- Rami Sethi’s claim of “$10,000 in 10 minutes” followed by a short about section that lets you know what his background is — enforcing credibility
- Visual cues directing you to the CTA button and s
- A short lead capture form that asks for your name and email address
- A color-contrasting CTA button with a “100% privacy. No games, No B.S., No spam” disclaimer
- Logos of reputable publications where the author and his products have been featured
A short-form sales page is like a typical post-click landing page and should include the same page elements. To find out more about post-click landing pages and how to optimize them, go here.
What is a long-form sales page?
A long-form sales page is precisely what its name suggests — a lengthy page that explains what the product is in as much detail as necessary. It is also commonly referred to as a “sales letter.” The page relays all the information about the offer so the visitor can make an informed decision.
While a long-form sales page includes all the elements of a short-form sales page (i.e. a headline, form, CTA button and ), the “hero” of the page is the copy because that’s what really matters. The amount of copy makes the long-form sales page long, which is why the copy should get the most attention.
Most long-form sales pages aren’t received well by audiences and listed below are four main reasons why:
- Most pages have horrible design
- They have low readability
- The copy is written in a hyped-up manner with many exclamation points and different colored texts
- Many products or services sold via long-form sales pages are scams, which is why their credibility is always somewhat of a question mark
The Pythagorean Plan page is an excellent example of a sales page gone wrong. The overall tone of the page is a bit off, and the “Dear Friend” greeting comes across very fake:
There’s only one graphic on the page, and the scattered red font draws emphasis to various parts of the sales pitch. But, this just makes the page design look scammy.
The Amazon ad on the left-side of the page is also a big distraction and detracts from any value the page has. The page also has a myriad of navigation links on the left hand margin, which gives visitors plenty of opportunities to navigate away from the page:
However, this list of reasons shouldn’t dissuade you from creating sales pages, because long-form sales pages are successful in generating leads and sales. Noah Kagan’s AppSumo long-form sales page is proof of that:
Creating an effective conversion-worthy long-form sales page is possible. All you need to do is include the right page elements. The CXL agency sales page is the perfect example of what a long-form sales page should look like:
Above the fold, the page has a simple, to-the-point headline, customer badges, and a short 2-minute video you can watch.
When you scroll below the fold you see the concise break-up of the services the agency offers:
Further down, the copy and the s on the page explain what the agency does for you as the client. Some points are even designed in a hidden drop down menu, so only visitors who are interested in finding out about a certain point choose to view it.
The page also has three strategically placed lead capture forms asking the visitor information at the right points:
Another useful element CXL uses is the “sticky” navigation links in the header that scroll with you as you move up and down the page. This feature makes it easy for you to navigate on the long page:
As you can see from CXL, a long-form sales page can work for your product if you know how to strike the right balance of copy and design elements on the page.
post-click landing pages and sales pages are the same thing because they are both standalone web pages that have one specific goal in mind. Both post-click landing pages and sales pages have the following elements:
- Headline
- Copy
- CTA button
- Lead capture form
- Graphics
- Trust indicators (testimonials, customer badges, company logos, endorsements, disclaimers)
However, long-form sales pages differ from typical post-click landing pages because the former tend to be quite lengthy when it comes to copy.
On the other hand, a homepage and a sales page are two completely different web pages. Your homepage discusses all the products and services your company has to offer while a sales page discusses just one offer and entices the visitor to sign-up for that single offer.
For example, this is the homepage for CXL:
The page has all the services listed with navigation links that take visitors to the other pages on the website.
The homepage is shorter than the agency’s long-form sales page featured in chapter 1. But the latter discusses the offer in so much detail that it answers all of the questions a visitor may have.
