EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Rick Raddatz on "A Tale of Two Sales Pages"

Plus Short Sales Copy Wins in WordBiz Vote

By Debbie Weil
Publisher, WordBiz Report

One thing is certain: long sales copy online excites more emotion than short copy. If you hate it, you really hate it.

And this despite the fact that direct mail controls consistently prove that long copy outsells short.

Online, long copy has developed the reputation of Ginzu knife selling. Many of the endless scrolling sales pages we see on the Web scream with hype.

Do they work? Which is more effective online - long or short sales copy? Which makes you want to "buy now"? That was the gist of the question I posed to WordBiz readers in a recent survey.

I asked WordBiz Report readers to take a look at InstantAudio.com alongside AudioGenerator.com. Very different pages, but selling exactly the same product - a Web-based audio tool I highly recommend.

Close to 80 readers responded with detailed feedback. Here's how they voted:

Jane Hendry, a UK copywriter, made a key observation:

"I'm just wondering why you're asking us to choose between Rick and Armand's sites, when surely their stats say which one is the winner (adjusted for traffic volumes of course)?"

So I picked up the phone and called Rick Raddatz, the brains behind InstantAudio, for an answer to this question.

See below for reader feedback from the survey.

Here's how he responded:

The two Web pages started out quite similar to one another

"AudioGenerator's page was more tame and InstantAudio was more like a sales letter," Rick explained. A former, long-term Microsoft marketing and development manager, Rick is co-founder with Armand Morin of AudioGenerator and InstantAudio (the same Web-based audio service).

How Armand tested AudioGenerator's copy

Over a two-week period, Armand systematically tested one copy element after another. The goal was to measure visitor actions - specifically, conversion to sales - after every 1000 page views. (Although measuring unique visitors is ideal, both Armand and Rick used page views as their metric. For one-page sites like these, page views and unique visits are roughly comparable, Rick maintains.)

"Armand's primary change was in the wording of the headline. He also added an audio clip to the order page," Rick said. "The page design stayed pretty much the same but the site got progressively more exciting and dramatic."

And the winning copy tweak was…

"That amazing caustic line, 'Discover how a measly $1 a day can increase your online sales… and send your competition running home crying to mommy!'"

Adding the word "measly" alone produced a measurable bump in sales conversion. (OK, you may hate it. But it's got an emotional punch.)

How Rick tweaked copy & content on InstantAudio

First Rick tried a short sales letter. Next, he wrote a long sales letter in a style that was primarily educational. Two-thirds of it was FAQs. Conversion to sales (measured after 1000 page views) grew by 25 percent.

Then he converted his long sales letter into the audio clip you see near the top of the page, highlighted by the flashing red arrow. "That bumped up sales conversion another 75%," Rick said.

Finally, he realized he could use his product to "sell" his product. He added the free audio postcard trial to create the page you see now.

Free vs. paid: make your message resonate with your traffic

"What matters most," Rick said, "is how your message resonates with the traffic you're getting."

AudioGenerator's traffic comes primarily from Armand's affiliates. As the creator of the "generator" line of small business tools (see GoGenerator.com), Armand has a sizable database.

In contrast, InstantAudio gets a lower volume of traffic from pay-per-click advertising (on Google) and through email campaigns targeted at B2B audiences.

"Affiliate-driven traffic comes at you with a different commitment, different perspective and different motivation," Rick said. It's "friend of a friend" traffic.

"If you send a friend with an inkling about your product (i.e. a hot lead) to a site that is not compelling, it won't grab them and you'll lose a sale," Rick said. You can be "a little pushier."

InstantAudio is optimized for "purchased traffic" which is, er, a bird of a different feather. As Rick puts it, "They're like timid little rabbits and if you scare them away they're gone forever; they scare very easily. So my site is less scary for those timid little purchase rabbits."

Purchased traffic is "like timid little rabbits. They scare very easily and if you scare them away they're gone forever. InstantAudio.com is less scary for those timid little purchase rabbits." - Rick Raddatz, co-creator AudioGenerator and InstantAudio Thanks to Sean D'Souza for this scared purchase rabbit!

Each page is a winner!

While he declined to divulge the exact sales conversion rates for the AudoGenerator vs. InstantAudio pages, Rick maintains that each page is optimized for its respective traffic.

Your copy has got to be like "an animal in the Galapagos," he said. It must develop certain unique characteristics in order to adapt and survive (in this case, to a particular audience). "It's a Darwinian survival of the fittest."

The lesson is test… one copy or content element at a time

"The big lesson," Rick said, "is to take the traffic you're getting now and test it."

Optimize your online sales page by tweaking one copy or content element at a time. Test:

- different headlines
- adding silent testimonials
- omitting them
- adding audio testimonials
- omitting audio clips

WHAT WORDBIZ READERS SAY ABOUT LONG VS. SHORT SALES COPY

Here is the most oft-mentioned feedback from WordBiz readers who responded to a recent survey asking them to compare two sales pages for the same Web-based audio service: InstantAudio.com and AudioGenerator.com.

(Because I "sent" readers to AudioGenerator, you fall in the category of affiliate traffic. Presumably, you would be disposed to give the page a fair chance.)

Why readers dislike AudioGenerator's long sales copy

- too much hype
- "in-your-face" hard sell
- headline is annoying ("Crying Home to Mommy")
- everything seems so formulaic
- too many testimonials and all sound the same
- "whole site screams at me in a blaring, forcedly optimistic way and I hate that in every kind of ad (be it Web, radio, print)"
- WAY too long; does the page never end??
- sales pitch is too high pressure
- "I like long copy in general but this site looks like copy overkill. Too many promises in the headline, plus too many testimonials, make the offer look like it comes from a high-tech snake oil sales company"
- looks like a scam
- "the long copy bugs me; I want to get the information I'm looking for quickly and easily"

OK, we got that out of the way.

What DOES work on AudioGenerator's long page?

- "Crying home to Mommy" in the headline is a bit over the top but the idea of defeating your competition is sound
- the testimonials
- "cost/benefit is presented clearly as $1 per day in the headline"
- "the sample audio message was succinct but could have included the 3 steps to use AudioGenerator"
- "details in the text allow you to scan through the information and find what interests you"
- you are almost intimidated into buying
- more passionate message from CEO Armand
- lots of action and places to click
- logical and easy-to-spot links on the left-hand side

What works on InstantAudio's short sales page?

- short and to the point, yahoo!
- respects my intelligence
- doesn't beat me over the head; presents the facts and then lets me decide
- excellent design & photo; good wording; talks to me
- concise copy
- the offer to send the free audio postcard
- calm, focused tone
- more professional than used-car salesman
- ordering looks easy
- the phone number at the top of the page
- easy to navigate and looks professional
- simple message
- a single voice from a single location answers all the questions about the product/service
- copy gets directly to the point: what is this, how can it help me, how can I use it and what does it cost?
- exit pop-up (Wait! Before you go, I need your advice… ) is an outstanding attention-getter

To compare the copy, calls to action, and design of these two sales pages at your leisure, visit:

AudioGenerator.com

InstantAudio.com

Useful Links:

Jakob Nielsen on Information Pollution

Nick Usborne on Long, Scrolling Sales Copy, Part I

Nick on Long, Scrolling Sales Copy, Part II

Are long sales letters scams? by Michel Fortin

Different Strokes for Different Folks by Roy H. Williams
Thanks to Michel Fortin for a pointer to this article!

This article was first published in the Dec. 10, 2003 issue of WordBiz Report