No-Hype Marketing Academy

How to Structure, Write and Format an Effective Long Sales Page

A learn-by-doing course on long-form copywriting with an option for one-on-one feedback

To sell an event, information product, subscription program, class, tour or coaching program, you need a long sales page that lays out what the offering consists of and persuades the reader to buy. Your artfully chosen words on the screen (or on paper) do all the selling work.

In copywriting terms, this is one-step buying, or direct response. What you're selling is somewhat complicated to explain, and it might cost $100, $500 or as much as $10,000 or more. By the end of your presentation on the page, the reader needs to understand the offer clearly, know how they'll be better off from buying, and have all their questions, doubts and concerns put to rest.

In this practical online course, which is laser-focused on this type of marketing writing, you learn, implement and optionally receive feedback on the fundamentals of creating an effective long sales page. Hands-on practice comes from two homework assignments that get thoroughly discussed in the course videos. Your learning tools also include explanations, checklists, analyses of student drafts, and written commentary on finished sales pages that can serve as models.

At the conclusion of this course, you'll be able to write a polished, long sales page for yourself or for a client. And you'll know how to handle this monumental writing challenge again whenever you need to. You can refer to the worksheets, checklists and annotated examples in the course for years to come.

Course instructor: Acclaimed advocate of no-hype marketing copy, Marcia Yudkin, author of Persuading on Paper, Meatier Marketing Copy and 14 other books.

You follow the course through a combination of online videos and downloadable PDFs. With the upgrade option for the course, you also receive private one-on-one written feedback from Marcia on two drafts of a long sales page for one product or service.

Who Is This Course For?

If you have to or want to write long sales pages for your own offerings, for your organization or for clients, you'll get great value from this online course. If you have to write one of these right now, the course guides you efficiently through the steps to get it done promptly and well.

Because of the assignments and practical resources included in this program, you achieve a practical, not just a theoretical, understanding of points like these:

• When and why to use long sales pages - and why, when you need them at all, they often need to be much, much longer than you might think
• Essential facts that have to be included, as well as why you must provide many more types of information than simply the facts
• Ways to build trust and credibility with potential buyers, with checklists so you won't forget commonly overlooked persuasive elements
• Techniques for finding juicy tidbits and anecdotes to dramatize in your copy
• Eight types of headlines to get your page going quickly and effectively
• How to tantalize without descending into dishonesty or hype (a skill modeled by remarkably few copywriting mentors)
• The importance of anticipating and responding to the thought processes and emotions of your readers, including their fears, worries, and knowledge or ignorance
• What to do if you have multiple audiences for your sales page
• Practical guidelines on formatting your text for readability
• Experience-based pointers on communicating value so people "get it"
• Sample sales pages for a membership program, a course, an accredited educational program and a business manual - with helpful commentary on the elements shown in each
• Strengths and weaknesses of three attempts to sell the same item
• Why vastly different approaches to selling the same item to the same audience can be legitimate
• Common mistakes, misconceptions and omissions to avoid, so you get the results you desire

During the course, you practice the skills needed for long sales pages by analyzing and writing a page to sell a particular US-government book that is helpful for families. The building-blocks approach, with detailed full-length examples, enables you to quickly assemble the pieces for any other sales page.

If you've opted for the mentoring upgrade, you then apply the lessons learned from the homework to a sales page challenge of your own, receiving detailed feedback from Marcia on two drafts of your page. The feedback ensures that you've crafted something reasonably clear and persuasive that contains everything needed for your ideal customer to make a buying decision.

Whether you enroll in the basic or upgraded version of the course, you have lifetime access so you can review the course materials as many times as you like whenever you need to write another long sales page.

Questions and Answers

Q: This course focuses on long sales pages, but aren't they outmoded? People have such a short attention span these days.

A: Everyone has a short attention span for things that don't interest them, but in most markets, people are quite willing to read a lot of text when something important is at stake for them. They might want to make sure they book the right vacation villa, or that an educational seminar is designed for people like them, or that an event is likely to address what interests them and be worth the cost. In the course, you'll discover how to write a single text that meets the needs of both skimmers and those who read every word. As long as you have a situation where people can't or don't want to talk to a live salesperson, long sales pages will continue to nail the sale.

Q: Aren't long sales pages outmoded because they've been replaced by sales videos?

A: It's true that some sellers, in some markets, get good results from video sales letters. However, this doesn't mean that writing is outmoded. Many consumers will not or cannot watch sales videos (for example, when they're shopping at work or when their partner is asleep in the room where the computer is). Besides, much of what you'll learn in this program about the key ingredients of long-form written selling also applies to scripts for video sales letters.

Q: Do I need a background or experience in copywriting for this course?
A: No. You get definitions for all marketing terms, such as "dual reader path" or "call to action," used in the instruction. With that said, the course is designed as practical guidance, not theory. If you're savvy enough to create something for sale at a substantial price, you're smart enough to compose a decent sales page by following the models and course guidelines.

Q: What if I already have a lot of copywriting experience - would I benefit from this program?

A: Definitely. The practical assignments in the course clue you in on key mistakes, misconceptions and misdirections that you'll then be able to transcend. And the upgrade option features a low price to pay for expert-level analysis of your writing flaws, weaknesses and strengths. With Marcia's feedback, you are able to kick all the kinks out of your high-stakes sales page before you send traffic to it.

 Q:What's the time commitment for the course?

A: The course videos total about an hour and a quarter, but that doesn't count time you'll spend offline studying the PDF resources and doing the two homework assignments. If you choose not to do the homework assignments, you could probably complete the course in three hours. Seriously doing the homework might add around five hours more. Weighing that against the know-how and confidence you'll gain, it adds up to a smart investment if long-form copywriting is part of your business.

Q: I've been told I need to write long sales pages, but I detest them, because they're typically dripping with hype.

A: Then you've come to the right place to learn. Effective sales pages don't have to be hypey. You don't have to pander to fear or greed, and you don't have to exaggerate, lie, guilt-trip the reader or concoct ridiculous analogies. Look back through this very sales page to see how that can be. Tone is a separate issue from carefully orchestrated information that truly helps a shopper make up his or her mind about a purchase. Your sales pages can be friendly, matter-of-fact, fun or earnest, as you choose. But you'll still need to include the elements described and analyzed in this course.

Q: Does it matter if I'm from outside North America? 

A: Since it's an online course, you go through it on your own timetable. People from Great Britain and Australia sometimes worry about taking copywriting courses from Americans because they feel their compatriots prefer toned-down marketing. With this course, however, the tone is already taken down a notch because of the no-hype philosophy.

 Q: What if I have more than one sales page I need to write and want feedback on?

A: Simply ask Marcia for a special "repeater" rate after you finish your first sales page.

Q: Is there a guarantee?

A: Yes. Sign up for the course and tackle the lessons in order. After you finish Lesson 3, if you don't feel comfortable with the content, don't like the teaching method or aren't satisfied for any other reason, request a refund and you'll promptly get back everything you paid.

The Basic and Mentored Options

Lifetime access to all the videos, handouts, resources and downloads for the course (the Basic option) costs $97. You'll find the signup link at the bottom of this page.

Lifetime access to all the videos, handouts, resources and downloads for the course and private feedback on two drafts of your own sales page for one offering (the With Mentoring option) costs $497. There is no time limit for taking advantage of the feedback opportunity for the With Mentoring option. For this option, Marcia will be in touch to tell you how to submit your drafts for constructive comments as part of your enrollment in the course.

If you have a question, please email Marcia ([email protected]). Otherwise, scroll to the bottom of the page for the signup link and get started on your mastery of the art of long sales pages today!