Last updated on July 1st, 2021

What does writing high-converting sales copy have to do with CHEESE? 

Turns out… everything. 

See, here’s the thing about cheese. 

It’s like a savory magic bullet that lights up your taste buds with a dairy-dopamine surge.

It satiates umami cravings like nothing else.

It makes you want every bite. 

And then a little bit more.

Pretty much what you want your sales copy to do as well. 

Right? 

Right. 

So… how do you manifest that intensity and translate it onto your sales page?

How do you keep your readers wanting more? 

How do you get them hungry enough to read from the top of your page all the way to the bottom of your sales page (leaving no crumbs behind)?

I’ll tell you how it’s NOT going to happen…

With shifty, salesy messaging and dry-as-dirt copy with the dull consistency of imitation cheese (sorry, Velveeta).

I’m going to share my not-so-secret recipe, C.H.E.E.S.E, to help you whip up stick-to-the roof-of-your-mouth copy that ensures all the right flavors mix into your sales page.

C.H.E.E.S.E is my step-by-step recipe for writing high-converting (6-figure) sales copy that greases the wheels for conversion, so you can attract (and convert!) your ideal client and bring home the bacon.

Baked into C.H.E.E.S.E is:

C- Creating Disruption

H – Honing in with a Hook

E – Establishing Trust

E – Engaging Eyeballs

S- Selling with Soul

E – Encouraging the Sale

 

 

Your sales page copy contains layer upon layer of different ingredients to consider, such as: 

curiosity and interest-piquing headlines,
I’m-talking-to-you-attention-getting lead copy,
customer-focused empathy,
personality-infused easy-on-the-eyes copy,
the value-laden meaty offer
and finally…the sale. 

CHEESE is the framework that holds the structure of your sales page and ensures ALL the ingredients are working together in epicurean harmony, so your sales page isn’t bone dry, flavorless, or worse, a hot mess of directionless cheesy goo. (Think fondue, minus the pot 🤷🏻‍♀️)

 

“Cheese is the glue that holds me together” 

Anonymous

 

Ready to find out how we separate the plain-Jane bagels from the always-sold-out Croque Monsieurs? 

Let’s start this conversation with…

 

C – Creating Disruption – aka the Headline 

Your headline is the very first thing your prospects, browsers, and would-be buyers will see, either in search or on your page.

It all starts with the headline. 

Your headline’s job? 

To create disruption that makes your reader lean in and pay close attention.

It’s the conversation ice-breaker.

Your headline should have an “oomph” factor that starts the chain reaction throughout your sales page.

We’ve all seen effective headlines at work. 

They’ve stolen our focus and distracted us countless times (despite our best intentions) – whether it’s Buzzfeed-style clickbait articles, breaking news, or magazine covers. 

When done right, headlines work.

Here’s how to make sure your headline is doing its job:

• State a fact and be specific: Free 5-Week eCourse Shares Easy-to-Use Strategies that cut your Grocery Bill by 50%.
• Ask a question: What if you could sleep without worrying how much your mortgage deferrals are hurting your credit score?
• Paint a Picture: Help them imagine life without their challenge or issue of concern. What does it mean to them? Are they confident? Giddy!? Are they relieved? Elated now that they can finally do a one-handed cartwheel? Whatever it is, be vivid and specific when describing how their future selves would feel.

Remember: your headline should be interest-provoking with an intriguing but clear message that pulls the reader to move further down to the next section.

 

H – Honing in with the Hook – aka the Lead Copy

The Hook comes right after your headline.

Its job— to pull readers in so they’re hungry for more.

Build on the interest and curiosity established earlier in the headline. 

You want to remind your readers why they are here.

Reassure them that they are in the right place to find a solution.

You should hook them by:

• Highlighting their struggle (put a cold, hard spotlight on how they are feeling): Ex: You’ve wanted to take the next step in your real estate career, but you feel stalled. You’re not ready for a team, and you don’t want to run a brokerage. You want to scale, but you’re stumped with what’s next.
• Bring out the pain they are feeling right now (ask a probing question or state a startling fact): Ex: They say the average person changes their jobs 12 times over their lifetime. But you’ve doubled that. Easily. You want a career but worry that people like “you” aren’t cut out for it.
• Share a stat (prove that they aren’t the only one that feels this way): independent studies, external articles, videos, and webinars that highlight their struggle and demonstrate that their problem isn’t unique to them or unsolvable.

It should be powerful enough to create a connection.

You want to create copy that resonates. You want to empathize with your reader’s pain without exploiting their fears.

You are assuring your reader that you get them.

You understand their struggle.

You want to impart this understanding before they move onto the next section.

 

 

E – Establishing Trust – aka ‘The Cred’

🤔 Curiousity itself isn’t enough.

You need to prove your credibility as someone your readers can and should trust. 

In other words, why you?

First, you need to establish who you are and why they should trust you.

What makes you uniquely positioned to be their go-to person? 

Here’s where you strengthen trust, build their confidence in you and your solution.

Readers want assurance that not only are they in the right place but that you are the right person to help them.

Your copy can do this by:

• Sharing your story: Illustrate your origin story, share your background or use a past event or experience to build a bridge between you and your prospect’s experiences. You want to showcase your common ground and share your “why.” People want to understand your motivations.
• Share testimonials: Ensure that these are well-positioned and matched to where your prospects are in their journey. They should highlight similar challenges, desired results, and realistic outcomes.
• Share your credibility boosters: Published articles, guest posts, interviews, podcasts, affiliates, industry features, etc.
• Share your investment guarantee:  Focus on objection busters such as your refund policy, money-back guarantee, and anything else that’s a potential limitation.

Anyone can make a promise. 

Building real trust with authentic connection needs to go beyond your pinky promise. 🤞

You’ll need to deliver real-world proof to confirm your claims and give your prospect a reason to believe you.

 

E – Engaging Eyeballs – aka ‘The Looks’

Sales pages can be long—suuuper long!

That’s a lot of copy to consume, so make it enjoyable and easy to read – it shouldn’t feel like a chore to push through.

It should have personality (yours!) and be entertaining (it’s not an uptight annual report or compendium of top-selling widgets and geegaws). 

Make it genuine. Make it real. Make it you.

Now – to the eye candy.

Looks matter. 

Your layout matters. 

Layout and design are a critical part of visual communication. 

You want to keep the conversation moving. Make it easy for your reader to grasp your message and stay engaged.

You don’t want to make your readers work. 

Easy-to-read copy makes an easy-to-sell sales page. 

Here are a few tips to trigger engagement and make your page easy to navigate:

• Make it personal: Include personality-infused, entertaining copy (consider memes, gifs, pop-cultural reference – you do you).
• Use visual elements to break up text: Icons, graphics, photos, color boxes, call-out boxes, etc.
• Intuitive layout: Sections should have a seamless flow, good content architecture that features easy-to-locate links.
• Pay careful attention to formatting and fonts: Make them mobile and Google-friendly.

Good design and engaging copy make for a smoother flow and transition between each section.

 

“Cheese. It’s the milk you chew.”
Chandler Bing

 

 

S – Selling with Soul – aka ‘The Pitch’  

This is the meat of your page…the pitch your reader’s been waiting for. 

You’re going to want to chew slowly here and make sure you’re selling ALL of the benefits. 

At this point, you will have already won your reader’s interest, hooked them in, established trust, while ensuring your copy is entertaining and easy to read.

This is where you sell. 

But you sell with clarity, intention, and purpose. 

Go deep with full-flavor detail. 

Share outcome-focused features, specific benefits, and expected results. 

Paint the picture of how their life will improve with your solution. 

What changes and improvements can they reliably expect?

You’re going to want to share specific details such as:

• All the key benefits of your offer: 6 modules is a feature. WHAT those modules do is the real benefit. Highlight that. 
• Identify your ICA: Explain clearly who this offer is and isn’t for
• Build on that trust you’ve established: Distinguish yourself from other offers and competitors in your niche and outline points of difference.
• Paint the “after” picture: Use detailed, elaborate brushstrokes to illustrate how their life will look and feel after using your product or service.
• Pair it with results: Share results that people have experienced with your offer, such as testimonials, endorsements, and feedback that match and specifically describe their expectations.
• Address objections in your FAQ section:  Reduce anxiety, address any still-lingering sources of resistance, and reassure them (with clear language) that your offer is perfect-for-them.

Position your soul-aligning value, your beliefs, and your big promise.

Make it simple for your prospect to understand the full benefits you’re offering and describe its impact (so they can confidently decide if your offer is right for them) before they move onto the next and final section.

 

E- Encouraging the Sale – aka The Close

If your prospect has read this far, they’re interested. 

You don’t need to feel awkward or squeamish about encouraging the obvious next step…the sale.

If this transition feels awkward, let’s change that now.

🛒🛒🛒 It’s the equivalent to the check-out line in a brick and mortar store (remember those?!? For some of us, that feels like lifetimes ago).

The cashier doesn’t act all flustered and embarrassed when it’s time to check out, right?

Neither should you, because…you’ve done your due diligence and carefully followed each step to ensure you’ve built trust and shared your unique value with integrity.

Make it easy for them.

Let them know what to expect and what’s next. 

HOW do you do this? 

As with everything else, with intention.

• Watch your pace: Make sure you ask for the sale AFTER you describe the benefits and results. Be specific & reiterate WHY they should trust you.
• Outline next steps: Explain exactly what they need to do next to get access.
  Share how they can buy: Payment plan options, installment plans, pay-in-full benefits etc.
• Describe how payment works (and how their payment is protected): SSL encryption, money-back guarantee, satisfaction guarantee etc.
• Remember (once more with feeling) Ask for the sale AFTER you’ve explained the benefits, the results, the reasons they should trust you.

Selling is the characteristic sales page fait accompli, but the secret to a high-converting sales copy isn’t just “the sale.”  

Asking for the sale is just one ingredient in a multi-ingredient recipe.

Your sales page is an ongoing conversation – not an ongoing sales pitch.

C.H.E.E.S.E provides a step-by-step guide to shaping that conversation, so your ideal prospect makes a decision that’s right for them.

 

Because you want them to feel good about their decision, right?

 

That leaves no place for flavorless, ho-hum copy or bloated, hard-to-digest salesy tactics. 

From start to finish, your sales page should not only reflect your reader’s beliefs but should also deeply align with your values.

Your sales page copy has a lot of heavy lifting to do. 

It needs to grab your prospect by the eyeballs, trigger interest, nurture connection and articulate your value in a customer-focused conversation. 

The cleverest copy in the world won’t work if it isn’t speaking to your client.

The best offer in the world is forgettable if it’s buried in messy, hard-to-read copy.

C.H.E.E.S.E is your recipe for high-converting, purposeful, profit-making copy so your readers inhale your words and help your audience make decisions they feel good about. 

Because at the end of the day… You truly want to help people.

But you can’t help people if they don’t read your copy.

Want your readers to feel irresistibly pulled into your copy with mouth-watering messaging that speaks your prospect’s language, is profitable, and still feels ridiculously good?

Be the first to know when Ready-to-Sell opens. 

Ready-to-Sell is our premium online program for copywriters and course creators who want to sell more courses with the perfect blend of sales strategy and copywriting “recipes”.