Are Bottlenecks Clogging Your Sales?

When a sales page is not performing or if it’s not performing up to your expectations, the worst thing you can do is… nothing.

By taking action and making changes, you can strengthen your copy quickly and improve your sales conversions. In most cases, there are relatively simple steps you can take to alter the copy to improve your results immediately.

The key to this process is testing to boost your outcome.

The sad truth is, the vast majority of marketers don’t test. But if you are testing or about to, then congratulations. Because you’re miles ahead of most people in this industry.

However, when most people start testing, they immediately think of something they can add or change. Or they’re confused as to what to test, particularly what to test first.

In my experience, I’ve found that the best and most efficient element to test is to actually first remove the things that are stopping people from ordering. In other words…

… Bottlenecks.

Sales copy is a greased slide that should take the reader seamlessly and painlessly through your copy, from the moment they read the first few words to the completion of their order. The easier it is to read and take action, the more sales you will make.

Anything that blocks or slows down this greased-slide process should be eliminated.

Therefore, removing anything that causes friction should be your first objective. And do you know what the biggest bottleneck is? Before I tell you, first let’s cover a few things…

The Power of Split-Testing

Of course, you’ll want to ensure your testing is as accurate as possible by tracking your conversions from unique views, returning visitors, and email referrals separately.

If you want to implement all your changes at once, or if you want to test multiple variables at the same time, you need to take advantage of multivariate testing. Multivariate testing allows you to test multiple aspects of your copy, simultaneously, while determining which variables as well as the best combinations get the highest response.

(I use Google Website Optimizer almost exclusively now, and I recommend it.)

Your first step in improving conversion may be to review the sales page and eliminate any visual embellishments or distractions, including any oversized graphics or flourishes.

You’ll find that eliminating potential distractions from the reading process to the decision making process will increase conversion. Once you’ve trimmed the excess that may be impeding your results, then and only then can you begin to focus on the copy.

There are three major bottlenecks common in sales letters that you will want to experiment with and focus your efforts on. They are, in order:

1. The headline
2. The process
3. The offer

As one of the vital factors in your copy, much has been written about the creation of a strong headline. It must be powerful enough to be compelling to the reader.

But the logic is simple: the headline is the “on-ramp” to your salesletter. If people don’t read past your headline, they won’t take action no matter how good your copy or product is. And the headline is often if not always the biggest bottleneck in copy.

Some of my marketing clients have improved their sales from 20% to 700% by simply changing and testing the headline. (In some cases, it was as simple as adding or removing a few words.) This brings me to an important discussion.

Don’t Make Assumptions

Recently, a coaching client asked me for my opinion on this post from James Brausch, where James submits that the headline is not the most important part of a salesletter.

Now, I understand the message James is trying to convey. He makes a valid point.

But some people might misinterpret his findings and conclude that all headlines are unimportant. So let me clarify a few things. James purports that headlines are not the most important elements of sales copy because of two logical arguments:

1. James tested a variety of headlines, and when “nothingness” — that is, no headline at all — was included as a variable, it has increased response in some cases.
2. The order link is the most important element because, while sales copy can still work without a headline, it certainly can’t work without an order link.

First off, James’ premise is right. His argument is based on how elements directly affect actual, bottom line results. Are headlines necessary to creating sales? Of course not. Take away the headline and you can still sell. But take away the order link and you can’t.

Therefore, order links are, in this comparison, more important than headlines. But if you conclude that headlines are unimportant based on this argument, you would be wrong.

(By the way, in recent tests based on an idea I got from my friend Armand Morin, I found that a simple, ugly, old-fashioned gray submit button — the browser’s native button — outperformed a graphic one by 62%, even over traditional blue order links.)

But a headline is the most important part of the copy, not because it is directly tied to sales but because it is indirectly tied to the sales process, i.e., the “greased slide.”

It’s all about fundamental marketing: it’s the famous AIDA formula, an acronym which means “Attention,” “Interest,” “Desire,” and “Action.” The first part of the formula is the most critical element, because you first need to grab people’s attention.

If you don’t first get their attention, then the rest of the formula fails.

The Real Purpose of a Headline

A headline has but one purpose.

The purpose of a headline is to help capture people’s attention. Its primary objective is one thing and one thing only: to get them to start reading the next paragraph. (And the next paragraph’s job is to get people to read the second one. And so on.)

Simply because removing the headline wins in some cases doesn’t mean that all headlines don’t work at all, or that it’s safe to conclude headlines are unimportant. Coming to that conclusion is premature, misleading, even costly.

It’s a correlation, not a cause.

(There is a difference, and I’ll come back to this in a moment.)

First of all, there are many other variables here that are not taken into account:

• For one, the first paragraph — in a headlineless salesletter — can act as a headline. Or any graphics (with copy on them), pop-ups, even the web page title (i.e., the text that appears in the top browser bar) can work as headlines. Who knows?
• The reader’s mindset may be “presold” before hitting the copy — such as coming from an affiliate promotion or another site. Even the anchor text (i.e., words linked from the other site). They’ve probably captured the readers’ attention already.
• If the traffic came from a pay-per-click campaign, the ad (i.e., keywords and ad copy) acts like the headline. People read it and want more information. So if they hit a salesletter without a headline, they’re tempted to read it anyway.
• Headlines often scream “salesletter!” People may be pushed to scan the copy or leave when they see one. Especially if the headline has the tell-tale signs: red color, overexaggerated claims, or unnecessary bloat (i.e., needlessly wordy headlines).
• Finally but most importantly, they may not be targeted at all. Untargeted traffic is often the biggest reason for copy to fail. But if they are targeted, a headline may push them away. (Better said, a poor headline will.)

Bad Headlines Are Bottlenecks

While the headline is the most important part of the salescopy, it may also be its biggest stumbling block. Because if people can’t read past it, they won’t read the rest — no matter how great the copy, the offer, or the product really is.

So removing a headline in some cases may be like removing the bottleneck.

As Dan Kennedy once said:

“The truth about long copy is that, first of all, there’s abundant, legitimate, statistical research, split-testing research, to indicate that virtually without exception (…) that readership falls off dramatically at 300 words but does not again drop off until 3,000 words.” — Dan Kennedy in a Tim Paulson Interview

In this case, Dan was talking about long copy in that, if people are targeted, they will read it. All of it. But if they’re not, they won’t even get past the headline.

However, Dan’s assertion applies to headlines, too. In other words, if people are targeted and the headline is right for them, they will read the rest. But if it’s wrong, then the headline will actually push people away. The headline thus becomes a deterrent.

Naturally, therefore, if the headline is poor (and all other headlines being tested are poor, too), then “nothingness” can certainly win in this case because you are in essence removing the bottleneck — but you’re not necessarily removing the cause.

Chances are, if a really good headline was eventually found, it might win over “nothingness.” And I admit that, in some cases, finding the perfect headline might be a challenge. So removing the headline can be an obvious and immediate solution.

But it can also be the result of not having enough traffic or time to test more headlines, or simply being too lazy to come up with better ones. The latter is often the case.

(My friend, top copywriter Brian Keith Voiles, often talks about brainstorming up to 100 headlines or more before settling on the one he likes. You should do the same to figure out not only the best headline but also which headlines to test, too.)

Causality Vs. Correlation

Now, let’s go back to something I mentioned earlier.

There’s a difference between “causality” and “correlation.”

In plain English, it means that the winner in a split-test may be relative. The winning variable may not have directly caused the boost in response. It may have won because other variables tested weren’t good enough to produce a better result.

If “nothing” was used as a variable and won, it is possible that it was because the element tested was redundant and unnecessary. But it is also possible, and more than likely, that it may have been because all other variables tested were bottlenecks.

In this particular case, I believe — this is just an opinion — that removing the headline was not what caused a salesletter to outperform. It was simply the lack of a bottleneck that led to the copy outperforming with “nothingness” in the end.

Specifically, all the other headlines it was pitted against in that split-test were either not the right ones for that market or they were poor headlines to begin with.

But coming to the conclusion that removing the headline — any headline, for that matter — is the cause of your sales copy’s boost in response is premature.

For example, if you drink orange juice every day and you don’t have cancer, does that mean that drinking orange juice prevents cancer? If you used to have cancer and you clip your toenails every day, does that mean clipping toenails cures cancer?

Obviously, that’s an assumptive leap, and it’s wrong. There may be a correlation there, but it’s likely not the cause. You need to conduct more tests, dig deeper, and add more variables into the mix to pinpoint and validate the cause.

And that’s the case, here.

No headline winning in a split-test doesn’t mean that the lack of a headline caused the copy to pull more. It may simply be that “no headline,” in relation to all other headlines it was tested against, won because the others were poor or weren’t right for that market.

So removing the headline simply removed the bottleneck.

But it’s also safe to say that, given more time or traffic, if you were to test more headlines there would be one out there that could indeed outperform “nothingness” as well.

Now, I’m neither a mathematician or statistician, nor do I pretend to be one. But I do know that it’s often best to conduct more tests to determine the cause and if the winner is statistically significant. (Or, in this case, to come up with more headlines to test with.)

Find The Right Mix

You will want to test several approaches to determine what tests best for your market. You will only find the right mix through testing the elements individually and collectively.

(That’s the power of multivariate testing.)

Other than headlines, the ordering process and the offer are usually the next biggest bottlenecks. They can create friction, lower buyer confidence, and invite procrastination.

A more forward call to action may be what your product needs to overcome buyer hesitation and push them along the ordering process. Or the order form may be too confusing, too difficult to understand, or too cumbersome to fill out.

(We’ve discovered that, the easier you make it for your prospects to order from you, the greater the response will be. Often, the bump in response is significantly greater.)

Once you’ve removed any friction from the ordering process, next up is the offer. There are three components to the offer you will want to experiment with. They are:

• Prices
• Premiums
• Proof Elements

They’re listed in no particular order. However, people often start by testing the price.

They do so because testing prices is the easiest. Without question, pricing should definitely be tested. But until you’ve removed the other bottlenecks, you won’t know whether a higher price point will increase sales or a lower one will.

Also, when most people test premiums with their offers, they tend to do so by adding more. While alternative premiums may be more appealing, offering too many bonuses — or simply offering some in the first place — may be a deterrent.

Fear is a Bottleneck, Too

But often, the best one of the three is to increase the strength of your claims. Because your credibility — or the lack thereof — is a major bottleneck too. Better said, people’s inherent fear, insecurity, and distrust in you is a major bottleneck.

It all boils down to establishing trust.

Anything you can add to establish credibility, boost believability, and reduce their fear in buying from you will both strengthen your claims and increase your conversions.

You can increase trust through internal cues and external sources. Testimonials, case studies, screenshots, tours, guarantees, samples, and photos (including sample covers, product shots, and even packaging) are examples of internal proofs you can test.

External elements may include statistics, clinical trials, consumer ratings, authoritative endorsements, seals of approval, credit card logos, third-party indicia, and so on.

For example, Trust Guard and other safety features demonstrate security and the perception of integrity. (I personally know Scott Brandley, the CEO of Trust Guard. I have used Trust Guard successfully, and I highly recommend them.)

Once you are confident in your offer, you’ll want to experiment with more and varied “reasons why,” which increase the perceived value of the product — from the reasons the product is perfect for them, to the reasons they should buy and buy now.

Because lacking good, solid reasons why is another huge bottleneck.

Pumping up the story behind the product and the offer can give your copy more legs. If your product seems at first undervalued for the selling price, then establish a compelling reason why the product is being made available at such a small price.

This is also where you will work on overcoming procrastination, and spelling out why the product is a “must-have” and “right-now” product for your audience.

In the final analysis, by addressing these three areas — i.e., the headline, the process (the reading and ordering processes), and the offer — you will eliminate many bottlenecks in your copy and enable your visitors to move from interest to sale.

By removing bottlenecks first and through adequate testing, you can adjust your sales pitch quickly to ensure each change you make has a positive effect on sales, producing immediate, measurable responses that can result in a stronger campaign.