Behind The Sales Page – Ramit Sethi

Salepage link: At HERE. Archive: http://archive.is/rgaTS

Watch me write a $617,944 sales page — right in front of your eyes

For the first time ever, get a behind-the-scenes look at the secret playbook I’ve been using to quietly crank out 6- and 7-figure sales pages — for years

Like this 16-page Finisher’s Formula sales page, which earned $344,523 in less than a week.

I used the same playbook to write a crisp How to Talk to Anybody sales page, which 3 years after its release is still bringing in $19,070 a month.

And my behemoth, 193,044-word sales page for Zero to Launch, which generated more than $5,000,000 in its first 5 days…

…and has netted well over $10,000,000 since we launched it.

Over the past six years, I’ve used this secret playbook to write more than 20 sales pages, all of which pulled in over six figures in their initial launch.

I’ve used it to write sales pages for products from $99 to $10,000+.

I’ve used it to write sales pages across multiple categories, including:

And not only does this secret playbook deliver winning sales pages, it delivers them fast and stress-free.

Best of all, you can now watch along as I use this playbook to write a new sales page that generated over $600,000 in its first week.

Today, I want to show you exactly how I do it.

Hi, I’m Ramit Sethi, the New York Times best-selling author of I Will Teach You To Be Richand the founder of IWT and GrowthLab.

We recently launched a new product called Mental Mastery. Our sales page for that course pulled in $617,944 in just a week. And it did it off of a funnel without a hard sell, without a webinar, without affiliates, without Facebook ads or any other gimmicks. Just a few casual emails and this sales page:

We captured on video every step of the process we went through to create this sales page — including our secret playbook we’ve never shared before.

These videos cover the good, bad, and ugly of writing a sales page. We zoomed in on exactly how we overcame the most challenging parts of any sales page:

• Where do you start?
• How do you sell without sounding salesy?
• How do you write a sales page fast?
• How do you know if what you’ve written is good?

We captured our entire process, step by step, word by word.

Looking back, I have no idea how we managed to sell anything before we created this playbook — it was like reinventing the wheel every time we wrote a sales page!

The nightmare that was my first sales page

I knew my first sales page was terrible as I wrote it.

I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t know how to make anyone care. Every time I wrote something, it sounded like a bad rip-off of someone else’s sales page. After spending 3 days on the introduction, I deleted it all and started over again — and I still had no idea what to write.

And this wasn’t a 50-page sales page, just a simple two pager. I’m not joking. It was bad:

Holy shit I used to suck at copywriting

All I knew: I wasn’t a sales page copywriter, so I expected the copy to be bad.

What I didn’t expect was the reaction I’d get: people angrily accusing me of selling out and trying to make a quick buck. They told me if it was cheaper, “maybe” they’d consider it. I didn’t understand why. The product was only $4.95 … how much cheaper could it get?

HOW MUCH CHEAPER, YOU CHEAP ASSES? 10 years later I can joke around about my sales page and know it won’t hurt anyone — including sales. In fact, it’s more fun to read my sales pages now. I know this is true, because you’re still reading, aren’t you?

Looking back, now I understand those reactions. I had 2 problems:

1. I just didn’t understand the basic “how-to” of writing a sales page. What are the most important elements? How many sub-sections do I need? What if I don’t have testimonials yet? Having a proven framework for the basics would have saved me a ton of time. Instead, I had to wing it. And just like customers would get angry if they walked into a restaurant with no bathroom, they got mad when I violated the basic rules of writing a sales page.
2. I was “writing from my heels.” That means leading with all the things I was afraid of — charging for a product, worrying what people would think about me, worrying about being too salesy — instead of telling people why they should buy this product. I was worrying about all the naysayers instead of writing to the people who actually cared.

I didn’t realize it back then, but people can sense when you’re afraid to sell. It’s like walking up to someone at a bar and saying, “Well … excuse me … I shouldn’t bother you but … do you maybe have a minu—” Ugh. No wonder people wrote angry messages about the price and the product. (Years later, when I sold a course for $10,000, I received almost zero complaints about price. That shows you how good copy can convert the right people.)

Writing that first sales page was demoralizing. I didn’t know the basics, I was afraid of making a mistake, and the worst part is people could sense it from the very first paragraph.

Compare that to today…

In the past, when I was writing a sales page, I used to “block off” a month to write it. I’d change my schedule, skip my workouts, buy extra snacks to live on during late-night writing sessions…

My real fuel was popcorn and coffee but I couldn’t find that meme

Not anymore. Thank god!!

Now when I’m writing a sales page, I wake up, make my coffee, and sit down to write. I already know about the positioning I’m going to take. I already have my examples ready to copy and paste from another document. And I don’t have to worry about where to start, which sections to write, or whether or not the copy is good.

It’s like a chef walking into a kitchen that’s been prepared overnight. Every tool and ingredient you need is there, ready to go. The recipe has been perfected.

I start writing.

If I get stuck, I put a pin in it and come back the next day.

I spend my time on the most important part of the sales page — that’s where I focus my creative energy — and I don’t worry about the other parts. I used to think every element of a sales page was equally important. WRONG! And the good news is, this means I can spend my time where it really matters.

Finally, I knew when it was “good enough.” It’s tempting to tinker with copy forever. But copy has a business goal. Once I hit the goal, I move on.

(Like the above paragraph you just read. I wrote it once, I knew it was good, and I moved on. I never have to touch it again.)

The biggest change is that I don’t worry about how to grab the reader’s attention or how to sell without being sleazy. Our playbook bakes the solutions to these common challenges right into the process

The results: Our Mental Mastery sales page generated $617,944 in less than a week. But do you know what I think is even cooler?

During this time…

• I finished my work early on a Thursday and snuck out to see a movie.
• I never missed a workout — I maintained my work schedule AND my personal life.
• Most importantly, I didn’t feel the overwhelming stress that I felt with our earlier sales pages. On a stress level, this was the equivalent of answering a few emails. I built our systems to make this work — and it does. I’m proud of this even more than the $600,000+ we generated in a few days.

You can write successful sales pages, too.

You can do it without sacrificing your social life or your sleep. You can do it without the stress and frustration and uncertainty. You can even do it without years of practice. Most importantly, your sales pages will be good — and they’ll let you share your business with more and more new customers.

How do you learn to write great sales pages?

IWT has been around for 13+ years. During that time, I’ve written dozens of sales pages and thousands of blog posts and emails. And for every page that was published, there are two to three that were deleted. (In fact, my team just deleted more than 650 old blog posts on IWT because they no longer lived up to our high standards.)

That’s more than 13 years of trial-and-error to figure out what really matters in copy and what doesn’t. This is learning the hard way. You’re welcome to try it, but I don’t advise it.

A better option is to learn from someone who’s done it before you. Here’s how most business owners try to master sales pages:

• Copying (excuse me, “getting inspired by”) someone else’s sales page
• Outsourcing it and praying that person knows what they’re doing — a very expensive bet
• Trying to use a plug-and-play template they found after two minutes of Googling

And then they’re surprised when they send it to their audience and only hear crickets. Guys, a bad approach will get you bad results.

Here’s a GOOD approach: Study the classics and take detailed notes. Books like…

I read these — and dozens more books on psychology, persuasion, copywriting, sales, marketing, and business strategy. When I found a promising tactic or strategy, I’d test it in my sales pages and keep the winners as part of my playbook. The only problem is, this took me nearly 10 years.

Here’s a BETTER approach: Study before-and-after drafts on a winning sales page from a writer you trust and respect.

Put those drafts side by side and see exactly how each section, each sentence, evolved during the sales page process.

Of course, to do this, you need copies of all the drafts that went into a sales page. I can give this to you today, but I want to go even further.

Here’s the BEST approach to learning how to write a winning sales page:

1. Watch a hit, 6-figure sales page be written, step by step
2. Be guided through the process by someone who has studied behavioral psychology and who has the scientific background in what it takes to change people’s behavior — so he can cut through the BS advice about persuasion peddled by “gurus”
3. Make sure that person has written for multiple categories. Also make sure they haven’t just had hits, but also failures. You want to learn from people with a varied background
4. See how that person hits — and solves — the same sales page challenges that hold you back
5. See the secret and hard-won tactics that separate dud sales pages from average and killer sales pages

This approach, I am excited to share with you today.

Introducing…

BEHIND THE SALE SPAGE

Watch me write a real sales page — step by step — that generated $617,944 in just a week

Behind the Sales Page is our secret playbook for creating winning sales pages. Follow along as we crack the hardest challenges in any sales page:

“Where do I even start?”

Start with the Big Three — We never write a word on any sales page until we complete these three critical documents.

“How do I get the reader to want my product?”

Our 6-Step Desire Formula — The 6 problems all sales copy needs to solve before introducing the product… and how we systematically craft each sales page to build maximum desire.

“How can I make my offer without sounding salesy?”

The “Feeling” Test — How to write emotionally charged, persuasive copy (that isn’t scammy).

“How can I write my sales page without spending forever on it?”

Process Matters! — What sections to write, in what order, and how long to spend on each.

“How do I know if what I’ve written is actually good?”

Ramit’s 3-Step Sales Page Editing Process —

The process Ramit uses to edit every sales page until it strikes the perfect emotional chord.

And those are just a few highlights.

The Behind the Sales Page course includes 6 videos that SHOW you exactly how our secret playbook works. Follow along, step by step, as we write, edit, and perfect a real 6-figure sales page.

This is not a PDF on sales page tips. You can find that anywhere.

We wanted to go deeper and let you shadow us through the entire sales page process. Imagine how much you will learn by watching me create a 6-figure sales page — right in front of you.

You’ll get our secret sales page playbook, and you’ll get to watch me use it to solve real sales page challenges, with real copy.

Module 1

Where to Start:

From Blank Page to Endless Ideas

What You’ll Learn

• The three mission critical documents that will keep you from getting “Blank Page Syndrome”
• How we start every sales page already knowing our customer’s hopes, fears, pains, and dreams
• Exactly what to look for in the product you’re selling — and how you’ll use it in your sales page

Module 2

Writing the First Half:

How to Build a Deep Desire for Your Product

What You’ll Learn

• Our 6-Step Desire Formula for making your readers need your product
• The section of every sales page we spend 80% of our time on (and no, it’s not the headline)
• Our counterintuitive approach to connecting with readers
• How to build trust on a sales page, step by step
• When to be positive, when to be negative … and how to smoothly move back and forth between the two
• How to address reader objections head-on

Module 3

“How Do I Know It’s Good?”

Ramit’s 3-Step Editing Process

What You’ll Learn

• The quick test you can use to check if your reader is still engaged … or long gone
• Is your sales page good yet? Use our Emotion Detector Technique to find out
• Our unusual trick for taking sales pages from GOOD to AMAZING
• Watch me polish the opening of our Mental Mastery sales page — draft by draft — with an explanation of exactly what I’m doing and why

Module 4

Transitioning to the Offer:

How to Sound Natural, Not Sales-y

What You’ll Learn

• How most people approach this section in their sales pages (and why it doesn’t work)
• The art vs science of transitioning to the offer
• A real-time case study of taking an awkward transition and making it natural and compelling

Module 5

Writing the Second Half:

Where to Save Time

What You’ll Learn

• How to write fascinating sales bullets (and pick the best ones for your sales page)
• The Idea Mining Technique for guaranteeing you always have more great ideas than you can possibly use
• How to help readers who get cold feet right before buying

Module 6

The Final Polish:

Writing a Headline That Stops Them in Their Tracks

What You’ll Learn

• How to “find” your headline in the work you’ve already done
• Beyond headline formulas: what we look for in a winning headline

If you hired me and my team to write your next sales page, this is exactly how we’d do it.

And with lifetime access to Behind the Sales Page, you’ll be able to use our secret playbook for every sales page you ever need to write.

Q&A that can change the way you write sales pages

There are tons of books and courses on writing a sales page. What makes Behind the Sales Page different?

I’m a big fan of lots of books and courses on copywriting. But after studying hundreds of books and courses — and writing 20+ sales pages that generated well over $10 million — I wanted to show you the actual process of writing an entire sales page from beginning to end.

There are many things you’ll learn in Behind the Sales Pagethat no book could ever teach you:

• Watch exactly how I write copy, including where I spend my time. It’s the difference between reading a recipe book and watching a chef cook it on video. You see what it should really look like when it’s done right.
• It’s normal to get stuck. This happens to everyone writing a sales page (including me). How do I handle it? How do I know when an idea is good enough to keep spending time on it … vs when I should give up? You can never learn this from a book. But you’ll see it in this course, which will save you dozens of hours on your next sales page.
• We also include lots of subtle techniques — writing techniques, structural secrets we’ve learned, and psychological insights we’ve pioneered — all in Behind the Sales Page.

What if I’m not a writer?

You don’t need to be an amazing copywriter to create a powerful sales page. The magic is in the process. If you can write an email or a blog post, you can write a sales page.

What if I don’t sell products? Does this course work for service businesses? Or memberships?

Yes! The sales page we profile in this course is for an information product like a video course or book, but the principles in Behind the Sales Page can be applied to products, services, memberships, SaaS — any copy where you’re trying to sell.

How do I know if I need this course?

Have you run into any of the following challenges when creating your sales pages:

• Where do I start?
• How do I get the reader to really want my product?
• How can I make my offer without sounding salesy?
• How can I write a sales page without spending forever on it?
• How do I know if what I’ve written is actually good?

If so, Behind the Sales Page will help you.

How is Behind the Sales Page different than Call to Action?

In short, Behind the Sales Page is surgically focused on sales pages, while Call to Action is more comprehensive.

Specifically: Behind the Sales Page shows you the exact process we use to write sales pages. It’s a step-by-step case study using our $610,944 Mental Mastery sales page. Call to Action is a comprehensive copywriting course that teaches you everything from customer research, copywriting mindsets, writing blog posts, emails, opt-in offers, and more. Both courses are designed to complement each other.

How long will this course take?

You have access to the entire course as soon as you enroll, but you can go at your own pace. To go through the course material and complete all of the exercises, expect to spend roughly 3-4 hours total.

Behind the Sales Page is for you if…

• You’re ready and willing to put in the time to apply the lessons in this course to your business
• You have a product or service to sell, you’ve tried writing sales pages on your own, but you’re not satisfied with your results
• You’re ready to go beyond cookie-cutter templates and scammy sales hacks
• You want to learn how to write a sales page from someone who has written over 20 consecutive 6- and 7-figure sales pages, someone whose writing you trust and enjoy
• You’re in it for the long-haul: that means working smarter — and harder — to create an asset that lasts

If you’re ready, I can show you the secret playbook we use to create 6- and 7-figure sales pages — again and again.

One good sales page can change your business — and your life

Back in 2009, I wrote the sales page for my first flagship course, Earn1K.

I didn’t have my sales page playbook back then, so it wasn’t smooth or fast or easy — or enjoyable. I had been building my business for 5+ years already and published a bestselling book, but writing that sales page was still an ordeal. It took me 9 months and 20 drafts, but it was definitely worth it:

Since 2009, that sales page has generated more than $5,000,000.00 worth of revenue.

Every month, new visitors find the sales page and it still converts — automatically.

Over the years, we’ve cleaned up the design and added some new testimonials, but the copy on the sales page has not changed. The reason it still converts, years later, is that it follows all of the rules I would go on to build into our secret playbook for writing great sales pages…

…the same playbook I’m now offering you.

A sales page is one of the most powerful levers in your business. If you mess it up, no one will buy what you’re offering no matter how good your product may actually be.

But if you write a good sales page — just one good sales page — it can drive your business for years.

Just one good sales page can turn thousands of casual visitors into enthusiastic customers.

Just one good sales page can earn you more than an enviable 9-5 job, for years.

Just one good sales page can change your business — and your life.

I’ve been fortunate to write not just one winning sales page, but over 20. It’s not magic. It’s not art. It’s not luck. It’s a process. And there is a proven playbook for how to do it.

Are you ready to stop thrashing around in the dark and start writing winning sales pages?