Welcome back!
We talked in the first lesson about how you’ll sell your course when it’s ready for a full launch, and we focused on your sales pipeline.
I recommended a simple, two-part pipeline where you use free training as a way to warm people up before sending them to your sales page.
And in this lesson we’ll focus on the sales page (we’re building the pipeline backwards, remember?)
No matter how you decide to structure your pipeline, you’ll need some kind of web page that describes your programme and invites people to buy it.
To make things as straightforward as possible I’ll break a typical sales page down into 10 different sections and show you how to complete each one.
Then, once you understand how a typical sales page works, I’ll give you some suggestions for creating shorter and simpler pages.
Note: We’ll be referring back to the work you did in the earlier modules of the course to define your target market and the promise that you’re making to them.
There’s a lot to get through so let’s jump right in.
1) Promise + Positioning
The Promise + Positioning section is right at the very top of your sales page and it’s where you’ll call out the target audience, articulate your course’s central promise and talk about its unique advantage, i.e., the positioning.
When you’re building this type of “hero” section, you usually have four types of page real estate to play with:
- Pre-title – a line of small text that introduces the main title or headline
- Title – the main title, usually displayed in a large font
- Subtitle – a subtitle, displayed in a smaller but still prominent font
- Text – descriptive text in a normal sized font
Here’s how we’ll use these elements:
- We’ll use the pre-title to call out your target market. This is essentially the [Group] component of your target market description.
- We’ll use the title to describe the central promise of the course using a bold and eye-catching headline.
- We’ll use the subtitle to expand upon the central promise, and potentially mention the unique advantage.
- We’ll use the text for any additional information to support the main promise, and mention the unique advantage if it wasn’t mentioned yet.
2) Problem + Pain
The Problem + Pain section is where you’ll describe the problem your course solves for your target market.
The aim of this section is to empathise with your target market’s situation and amplify the pain that their problem causes.
Again, you’ll go back to your target market description where you used the following template:
[Group] who want [Goal] but [Obstacle]
This time the Goal and Obstacle component will help you describe and expand upon the problem faced by your target audience.
Remember: if you want something, but there’s a persistent obstacle in the way, that’s a problem, right?
3) Personal Story
The Personal Story section is an opportunity to show that you personally understand the problem by telling a relatable story.
The story could be about you, or someone else, for example, a client.
When telling the story you can use the following template:
- Problem – talk about the impact of the problem for you or your client
- Final straw – what event forced you (or them) to look for a solution?
- Journey – what happened on the journey to finding a solution?
- Turning point – at what point did things finally take a positive turn?
- Positive outcome – what’s life like now the problem has been solved?
The story can just be a few short paragraphs but it should show that you understand the problem, it’s solvable, and a bright future lies on the other side.
4) Programme (Benefits + Features)
The Programme section is where you introduce your course or programme as the solution to the problem(s) faced by your target market.
You can use the following structure:
- Introduction – introduce the programme and reveal its name
- Description – describe the programme, what it does and how it does it (this should be consistent with the promise in the hero section)
- Benefits – list the benefits of taking the programme: the things that students will learn or achieve (this is what the programme provides)
- Features – describe the programme format and its most important features (this is how the programme delivers the benefits above)
- Destination – remind readers of the future destination the programme makes possible, where the promised results have been achieved
By the end of this section, readers should have an accurate overview of your programme, what it does and how it does it.
5) Provider
The Provider section formally introduces you as the programme’s instructor and creator and establishes your credentials.
This section doesn’t need to be long (particularly if you already talked about yourself in the story section) but it will usually include a photo of you.
Note: If you choose not to include the Story section (see later comments about creating a simpler sales page) this section should go into your backstory a little.
6) Proof
The Proof section is where you include some short quotes or, better still, short videos from your “beta” students to provide potential customers with proof that your programme works.
If you haven’t run a beta version of your course yet, you could use testimonials that relate to you, the instructor, rather than the course itself.
And if you don’t have any testimonials at all, you can include any information (e.g., research) that backs up your approach.
7) Prompt (or CTA)
The Prompt section is where you explicitly invite the reader to join your programme.
This should include the logistical information and provide a way for potential customers to take the next step (e.g., signing up, booking a call, etc.)
Here’s a list of information to include:
- Duration and timing of the programme
- Price (and details of any payment plans)
- Call-to-action (CTA) button such as “Join Now”
Also, remind the reader of the problems and “re-paint” the picture of the positive future that your programme makes possible, i.e., the destination.
8) Bonuses
The bonuses section describes any additional content or benefits that customers get if they sign up within a given timeframe.
Bonuses aren’t essential but they make your programme more attractive and incentivise for people to make a decision before a particular deadline.
One scenario is offering an early bird enrollment period with a temporarily reduced price and extra bonuses which disappear after a certain date.
Even saying “sign up now to get these bonuses” implies that the bonuses won’t be around forever.
Tip: When creating bonuses make sure they are complementary to the main promise but not necessary for achieving the result. Examples include: a relevant mini-course or a 1:1 consulting session with you.
9) Guarantee
It’s common practice to offer a “no quibble” money-back guarantee for your programme to lessen the perceived risk of signing up.
Your guarantee could be as simple as:
“If, within 14 days of joining the programme, you decide that it’s not right for you, send an email to [email address] and I’ll refund your payment, no questions asked.”
Note: Sometimes there might be a good reason to not offer a refund at all, or only offer a conditional refund (e.g., “if you complete the steps but don’t get the result I’ll refund your payment in full”) but it will depend on the specifics of your programme.
10) FAQs
The FAQs section is a chance to answer any remaining questions buyers might have that could stand between them and taking action to buy your course.
You’re aiming to pre-empt logistical questions (like “what time will the weekly calls be?”) and potential objections (like “what if I’m a total beginner?”).
How to Create a More Minimal Sales Page
The recommended format above covers all of the bases you’d expect to find in the sales page for an online product or programme.
It’s useful to understand the purpose of each of these sections, even if you don’t use them all in your own sales page.
If you want to adopt a more minimal sales page, either because your course is at the smaller end of the spectrum, or because a comprehensive page feels like overkill for you or your target market, here are some ways to slim it down:
- Omit the Personal Story section and use the Provider section for any information about your relevant experiences
- Omit some or all of the Bonuses, Guarantee and FAQs sections (you can easily roll the guarantee into another section, e.g., Prompt).
- Make heavier use of bullet points to distil the information down to its essentials
In the Resources section you’ll find examples of longer and shorter sales pages for the same (fictional) programme.
Ready to Draft Your Sales Page?
Whether you plan to keep things simple, or create a more richly-designed sales page, your first draft can just be a simple text document.
Use the 10-point structure above to create the first version of your page, then revise it over a period of a few days.
If creating the whole page in one sitting feels overwhelming, just focus on one section at a time.
Remember, you can create a shorter, simpler sales page by omitting some of the less critical sections and using more bullet points.
Good luck!
🛠️ Resources
Here are two versions of a sales page for a fictional course called The Peaceful Parenting Programme:
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Longer version – a comprehensive sales page, using all 10 sections, and featuring more written content and images.
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Shorter version - a shorter and simpler sales page, with fewer sections, more bullets, less content and fewer images.