Your Invite to Try Cheltenham Running Club

This leading paragraph has a larger font-size, to make a smoother transition from the headline to the first block of text.

This is a long-form sales page (or a "hybrid" sales page, by some people's definition - more about that later). Yes, there's a lot of text here and that might look intimidating. But trust me, it's a good thing.

You may think that people won't want to read so much text, but that's not true. Don't be afraid to take your time and write everything that needs to be said, to convince even your most skeptical prospect. In fact, that's exactly what a long-form sales page is about: it's for you to say everything that needs to be said about your product.

"But no one likes a wall of text!" I hear you say.

Well, that's true. And that's why we're not presenting our visitors with an intimidating wall of text, here.

See that beautiful divider above the heading? That's just one of the ways we combine design and copy to guide the reader though our content and keep things easy to follow.

Some of your visitors will be readers and others will be skimmers. The readers will start at the top and read every. single. word. until they reach the end of the page (or until they can't wait any longer and decide to buy). The skimmers, on the other hand, will skip about, looking for things that matter to them specifically.

The skimmers want to be convinced just as much as the readers do, they are just looking for information in a different way.

What you're looking at right now is the second block consisting of a main heading and a section of text. Break up all of your content into blocks like this to make everything easier to read, easier to understand and easier to navigate. You'll also notice that none of the paragraphs here are more than 4-5 lines high (on a large screen, anyway. Yes - this page is fully mobile responsive).

Oh, and what's going on here? Below is an image block. It lets you visually communicate some of the points you are making (which is also great to get those skimmers' attention).

Remember that long form sales pages are about relating to your reader. Don't jump right in and start talking about your product.

Instead, tell a story. Write about how things feel. Write about problems, frustrations, experiences, triumphs. Think about a movie or TV series - it's all about the characters and how much you care about them. And you only care about them if you can relate to them.

Trying to sell too soon is the most commonly made mistake - not only on long form sales pages. Even if your page is short and visual, without relating to your customer, you can't make sales.

Also remember that what you're looking at is only a template. Maybe you want to spend more time on the story. Maybe you want to add several more headline + text blocks, to really elaborate and evoke emotions. With Thrive, you can easily do so (just duplicate some of the existing blocks). Let the template inspire you, but don't let it limit you.

Next, we have another section to bring some visual variance to the page:

You've set the scene. You've captured your visitors' attention. You've related to them and told them everything they need to know to truly understand what your product is about. Now it's time to start introducing them to the product.

Keep one thing in mind: your product is the solution. At first, don't talk about it in terms of a product. Talk about how you found a solution and about how this same solution can help others too. Why do all this? Because if you set it up right, you will be the opposite of the slimy, used car salesman stereotype we all despise... you will not be pushing product, you'll be doing everyone a favor.

You can use smaller sub-headings like the one above to make an important point or for quotes that relate to your story. Notice how non-fiction authors love to use quotes throughout their books? That's because quotes are a nice change of page and they lend authority and gravitas to what you're saying.

Similarly, you can use text highlights and other text formatting to draw your reader's eye to important parts of the text. This also helps break up the page, to prevent wall-of-text-syndrome.

Now it's time to be very specific. Talk about your product, what it is, what your customer gets when they purchase. At this point, after all the buildup, your readers really want to know what you have to offer, so don't hold back.

Show a Product Image: It's always a good idea to visualize your product. Even if it's a digital product or a service, find some way to make it tangible - with an image.

After the first call to action, use testimonials, case studies, more points lists and more text blocks to address all possible objections your visitors may have. Knowing these objections is very important... and you can learn all about them by talking to your customers and visitors. Give them a way to communicate with you and you'll quickly learn what's on your reader's mind as she goes through this page.

This part of the sales page can be a lot longer than it is in this template. There may be many objections that come up and you can address them all. If you dedicate a separate text block or a sub-heading to each one, your visitors can easily find the ones they have on their minds and skip the rest.

People are risk averse. We dread making a mistake and wasting our time and money on something that turns out to be rubbish. This is the part of the sales page where you can appease all those worries.

"Add a quote here (it can be a quote from yourself, from the story or an authority quote from someone else). Something that puts a nice closing line on the story above.”