Looking for a sales page template? We've got you covered!
In Thrive Architect (formerly Thrive Content Builder and Thrive Landing Pages) you'll find several sales pages in the landing pages templates library.
In this video we're focusing on the "Copy" sales page. This is not just any sales page template. It's a very carefully crafted "hybrid" style long form sales letter.
Check out this training video to learn how all the elements work together, to create a uniquely conversion-boosting page.
More...
Traditional Sales Letter or Long Form Sales page?
I'm sure you've seen them before... those ugly looking long form sales letters with tons of yellow highlights. What made them so popular and efficient at selling?
The reason they worked so well is because they managed to connect with the potential client by telling a story.
Today, design standards have caught up with the traditional sales letter and we've seen more and more nicely designed short form sales pages.
But wouldn't it be nice to be able to marry both? The long from storytelling copy from the traditional sales letter with the modern design of the present-day sales page?
Enter the "Hybrid" sales page template.
The term "hybrid" style sales page was invented by Joanna Wiebe from Copyhackers in her article: Long Copy + Short Copy. And it's the perfect mix of long form copy with design to create a high converting combo page.
Let's have a look at the different sections on a hybrid sales page.
12 Essential Elements for a Hybrid Sales Page That Converts
- An attention grabbing headline (16.07 min)
- A sales video (optional) (16.20 min)
- A curiosity driven sub-headline to start the story (7.59 min)
- A first paragraph to start the story and connect with your reader (8.05 min)
- More sub-headings and paragraphs to unravel the story and do some teaching. The "wall of text" is broken up with a list element, icons, colored backgrounds, etc. (8.16 min)
- The Product reveal section with bullet points and a product image. You can find a tutorial on how to create a product image here. (15.16 min)
- A buy button
- Well crafted testimonials (15.47 min)
- A risk reversal section with your guarantee
- Another call to action
- Your Signature
- The P.S. section to enforce loss aversion
All of these elements are included on the Copy sales page template, but even if you're not using a template you'll be able to write a high converting sales page if you follow the outline above.
But that's not all... We want to make it as easy as possible for you to get that oh-so important sales page up and running. That's why...
It's Also a Sales Copy Template
Rather than writing filler Lorem Ipsum paragraphs on the page, we used the text on the template to explain what to write in each section of the sales page.
When you read the template, you're actually reading instructions on how to write a high converting sales page.
You can preview the template here.
And for your reference, we've also created a downloadable PDF of the entire sales page, including all the sales letter copy and some additional annotations. You can download it below:
How to Load this Landing Page Template on Your Site?
Look for the set called "Copy" in the Landing Page Templates library
The Copy sales page is part of the templates library included in Thrive Architect.
To load the template on your own WordPress website follow these steps:
- Create a new WordPress page. This page will be your sales page.
- Save the page as a draft and click on the big "Edit with Thrive Architect" button
- Now it's time to load the template. Go to "page setup" in the bottom of the Thrive Architect sidebar.
- Click on "Choose a landing page template"
- Open the "Copy" landing page set
- Select the Copy Sales Page
- Read the template and replace it with your own copy and images.
- Save the page in Thrive Architect
- Publish the page in your WordPress dashboard
That's it! You published your hybrid sales page.
Any Burning Sales Page Questions?
Do you have any questions about creating sales pages? Any thoughts or feedback you'd like to share? Please leave a comment below and I'll be happy to reply.
Brilliant! A template as a template for creating the content at the same time. The value keeps pouring in. Seriously, of all the companies I do business with, you’re the only one that continues to educate, inspire and over-deliver on every touch point.
As I’ve mentioned previously, wish others would follow your lead and realize this business is about both the solution provider and consumer “thriving” together!
Thank you very much, Al!
Awesome content, as always Shane. Thank you. This is one incredible tool to have in the arsenal.
Tell me, have you tested whether it is possible to use these landing pages to embed inside a Facebook page tab?
Kevin
Hello Kevin,
We’ve not built any template with that purpose in mind. As far as I know, the Facebook tabs still use iFrames, right? That means a page should have a certain width to fit the tab and it should sit without alignment or styles around it on a page (basically stuck to the top left corner of a blank page).
We can create some templates for this quite easily, but you’d still have to figure out how to show your iframed page in the tab, make sure your website supports https and all that. I will have to look into this with our developers, for more details.
What I can say right now is that creating templates for Facebook is not a high priority for us, because there are other page types we want to get done first. But we almost certainly will add some Facebook templates at some point in the future. 🙂
Thanks Shane – I really appreciate your response.
I know Thrive content builder content needs to be separate from WordPress content but how do I edit the text of the WordPress content. For example, bold Italic and change the font and size etc.. Thought I would ask you before sifting through wordpress plugins.
Thanks,
When you use the WordPress Content element inside Content Builder, you’ll have all the usual text editing tools available as well.
Excellent video.
The concept behind what you’re doing with these pages is spot on.
I’d love to see more templates set up like this with the psychology behind them explained.
Thank you for the comment, Frank!
I’ll happily provide more videos like this if there’s demand for them.
Okay, Shane, as one of your happy customers, I wish to “demand” as many of these videos as you can possibly make! You constantly amaze and inspire us with your high quality instruction. Keep ’em coming!
Haha, okay. Noted! 🙂
I second this 🙂
Awesome video and Sales Page!
The beauty of the design behind the Hybrid Sales Page is something that I have come to expect. The actual “Long Copy” template (customizable, of course) is a wonderful bonus. However, the explanation behind the psychological importance regarding the various elements of the Page – the importance of Story-Telling, Teaching, Headings, Testimonials and Lists – makes this worthy of a stand alone product. Thanks!
Thank you very much!
Thanks for this, and all your great videos. I am so glad I purchased both the Thrive Themes and Thrive Content Builder. The tools are so simple and easy to use and I can create pages that rival professional web designers. I highly suggest your products to anyone with or without site building skills.
Thank you for your support, Missy!
Outstanding video! I think that one of the reasons some of us didn’t like the webinar is that your own videos are so good that they spoil us. Very few people can compete with your information delivery efficiency. It respects our time and at the same time gets across the information that you need to have delivered!
Thank you very much, Nick! I do my best, although I’m sure it also has to do with personal taste and maybe my style of delivery is just the right kind for you.
It just keeps getting better.
I went through hundreds of plugins, themes and other WordPress goods.
Content Builder is the best WP product I’ve ever purchased.
Wow, thank you very much!
I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, but WOW! Everything you guys do, you do it the right way. Love how you not only create beautiful designs, but you have logical reasoning behind your designs as well. Also, your teaching is very valuable—much appreciated! I have to say, Thrive may be the best investment I’ve made for my business to date. Great job Shane!
I have to agree with you 100%. I’ve been around a long time in this business and I know all of the players (and the wanna be players)! No one does it as well as Shane and Paul.
From an investment point, it absolutely IS the best investment I’ve made in my online marketing business in 12 years.
I have dumped all of my $300 premium themes in favor of Thrive themes. I’ve cancelled my $500 per year subscription to a landing page service – thanks to Thrive’s features! It even integrates well with Mail Chimp – allowing you to get started with auto-responders for FREE!
You cannot beat the value of Thrive Themes!
Awesome Nick—good for you! I’ve stopped looking around at themes and decided to stop using OptimizePress 2. I would put Shane and Paul at the top in their field, as well. Trustworthy, knowledgable, and concerned about doing things the right way!
All the best,
David
Thank you very much, David! I really appreciate your support and I’m happy that we’re able to provide stuff that adds real value to your business.
Awesome video. Refreshing to say the least.
Thank you for your comment, Damien!
Well done, I can’t wait to use this template and seriously hope that it is fully compatible with TCB (unlike the Thrive Templates I’ve used thus far).
This is a Content Builder landing page – so yes it’s compatible. Anyhow, theme landing pages will also be compatible with TCB in a few weeks, too.
Awesome Paul! (Is this a hint of the upcoming new release??) 🙂
Hello Shane,
I hate templates for internet marketing purposes.
Why? Well, they drive inexperienced users to turn out a bog standard page or other item that is no different from thousands of others put online by many inexperienced website owners hoping to magically hit the success button.
That was until I saw your video about the Thrive templates. I now love your templates because they are so adaptable in design and opportunities for good content relevant to the individual website and its purpose for existing. That is absolutely in line with all I have come to enjoy about the Thrive Content Builder.
I now produce the type of pages I used to spend inordinate amounts of time getting right prior to discovering Thrive but I now do so in a fraction of the time. This is my most useful tool.
Thank you, Shane and your team.
Best regards,
Peter Kershaw.
Thank you for your comment, Peter!
I actually felt the same way about templates. I often started setting one up, but then ended up not using it because I couldn’t really suit it to my needs. Even for my own purposes, I’m very happy that we found a balance between “ready made” and customizability with our plugin.
Hello Shane,
Thank you for your comment. I am aware that somebody has recently promoted a sales page program with text animation but have not yet seen it in action. It sounds interesting for a possible future development at Thrive. Have you seen it and is it the way to go in the future?
Best regards,
Peter Kershaw.
I just published a post with my thoughts on the use of animations on websites: http://thrivethemes.com/fancy-animations/
This is beautiful, Shane. Exactly what I need. Perfect, perfect, perfect. Thanks!
Thank you, Eric! I’m glad the template serves you well.
Thanks Shane, great video and I am looking forward to using this on my new site. Loving Thrive Themes they just make this website building so easy. Thanks again 🙂
You’re very welcome, Martin! Glad you’re enjoying Thrive. 🙂
Shane, your videos double the value of your wonderful themes and your TCB plug-in. Reading down this page, almost every comment is a testimonial to the value your products offer and the advice you give. You could practically cut-and-paste these comments into your sales template!
Somehow, in your own sales pitches, you need to emphasize the additional element of education that follows when a customer buys into the Thrive system. I was a little hesitant at first to buy both the Themes pack and the TCB plug-in, but fortunately I perceived enough value and made the right decision. Had I known how much more I would be receiving with your steady stream of tutorials, it would have been a no-brainer decision.
I’ve got my new skeletal website up and running using the Ignite theme. It is beautiful and it was so easy to give it the look I wanted. Thanks for everything.
Tip Kilby
Thank you very much, Tip! It’s a good suggestion. I’m not sure how I can convey this with credibility in the sales message, but I’ll give it some more thought and try to make this part clearer. 🙂
Maybe you could talk about how you don’t just give us tools and say goodbye but you teach us how to use them in our real life businesses to improve conversions.
Shane – You’re the man!
In effect, Shane is showing us how to amp our business communications to the nth degree! And then how to present it in the online world of today – all while showing your audience the utmost respect! You can’t do any better than that in this world.
Hello guys,
planning to buy the membership. Do themes support cyrillic alphabet? Can I incorporate country-specific social networks not supported by themes in a way built-in buttons function (share bar etc).
Thanks!
Yes, you can use them with the Cyrillic alphabet. We don’t have any specific support for other social networks.
Hi Shane – great video and education as usual !
I was thinking, with the continual rise in mobile usage and people accessing webpages from their smartphones more and more…
How does that stack up with the long form sales page? I mean are there any tests you have done for that? Do people stick around for long enough on these types of pages on a mobile device, as opposed to Tablet/Desktop?
We are also being told to make our content longer on all our pages and posts as well, because of the ‘feedback loop’ of… Google being more likely class that as ‘authority’ content, if visitors like and share it… which they will, if it’s deep and great enough! But isn’t that contrary to what mobile devices inherently require: shorter more concise content!
I don’t have any data on this and I haven’t come across any case studies or tests on the subject, so the following is just speculation.
It may well be that the attention span and willingness to read content is lower for mobile visitors than it is for desktop visitors. However, I don’t think making content shorter for mobile is a solution for this. Long content and long form sales letters aren’t about being long just for the sake of it.
In fact, “long-form sales letter” is a really bad name for this thing, because it gives the impression that it has to be long. When creating a sales message, you never try to make it longer. You try to make it as short as possible (and yes, that’s true for a long form sales letter as well). The idea is that you say as little as possible and as much as necessary.
In the case of a hybrid sales page like this template is made for, it means that you craft the most persuasive message possible and you recognize that in order to do that, you need to tell a story and form a connection with your visitor.
You can compare it to a really thick novel. Sure, the book is huge and the text is very, very “long” but you can bet that the author never tried to pad out the story. No author thinks “I better write another 100 pages of fluff so it will look better on a bookshelf”. The opposite is probably true and for every page of text you read, one or more might have been cut in revisions and editing. The author is trying to tell the most entertaining, most moving, most important story he or she can, in as few words as possible. But there’s a lot of story to tell, so you end up with a thick book.
Just like cutting content out of a novel because e-reader screens are small wouldn’t improve the book, cutting content out of a sales page for mobile devices wouldn’t improve the sales message or make it more persuasive.
I just wanted to thank you for such a good video. It was very informative yet not to long and very helpful to me. I’m just a newbie to this and I’d like too thank you for easing my fears. I’m sure we will be talking in the future. Patrick Headley is my coach who sent me this link to help me.
Thank you,
Cabbie
Thank you for your comment, Cabbie. I’m very happy to know that this video was helpful for you.
This is so incredible Shane!
Thank you so much for sharing (I wouldn’t have noticed this template otherwise too)
That’s the one downside to releasing so many templates at once: there are some gems in there that are easily missed. But I’ll be making more videos like this one, highlighting what the different sets are about.
I don’t know how you guys keep doing it, but once again, you’ve released a product at exactly the time that I need it.
I’ve been working for days on a sales page that I’ve designed from scratch based on other ones that I’ve experienced, but I’m actually going to start again with your long-form template as I now know exactly what I’ve got to do and how to hook in the readers.
Filling the page with a “how-to” is a stroke of pure genius – nice work boys!
Thanks for the comment, Tim! Good to know that this came at just the right time for you. 🙂
With over 30 years in the techie field of bridging the divide between the person who is stuck using the “whatever” and the developer who created the “whatever” I’ve never seen someone blend together an understanding of the behind-the-scenes details and the need for us “out here” to do something more than drop stuff in a box and move on.
Truly impressed with how you provide a hybrid between “template” and good business, education with value. I’ve struggled for ages with the WHY of stuff…and you’re clearing the fog away with your clear, precise style and well done tools.
Kudos. Congrats. Stellar work.
OOPs, meant to ask … you mention testing the variations of pages (copy only, VSL, etc) and wondered if those features are built into TCB or the themes. I know XXX does have that and I’m just beginning a journey into that process.
We don’t have any built-in testing features, but I’ll be releasing a tutorial on how to run split tests (for free) on our templates. Coming soon! 🙂
Hi Shane,
Great information like the idea of mixing both types up as seen pros and cons of both, dual readership layout is also great feature – adding value is key. Thanks again for a great job and updates
kind regards
Simon
Thank you, Simon! Glad you like the template.
Thanks Shane…something I don’t know diddly about, well, enough to be dangerous!
Shane,
I’m afraid to have to say that I’m not very happy with this set of features.
As a trained copywriter I have a feeling that you may have put me out of business 😉
Then again, with all the great stuff you have put into the “hybrid” style sales page, I’ll be able to turn out more copy faster.
Great work!
All the best,
Jeremy
(Singapore)
Haha, fair enough. I don’t think it quite does the copywriting job all by itself, though. 🙂
Where do I get help with Hybrid?
For the Hybrid sales page, you can post in the Thrive Content Builder support forum.
Great video, Shane ! It was really very helpful in gathering the useful information.
Thank you! Glad you found it useful.
Nice video presentation. Had difficulty watching it though as the video kept getting stuck and then didn’t buffer. Thought you might like to know. I don’t think it’s at my end, internet connection is fine to watch other videos. I wonder if it is the player or wistia?? Any thoughts?
Hi Dan,
Sorry about the video troubles. Wistia is usually very reliable, but perhaps there was a temporary issue of some kind? If you experience the same thing with all videos on our site, let us know.
Hi Shane, fabulous training mate. loving your easy to follow explanations. Excited. BTW I noted this issue with buffering also but that’s not really an issue when the content is this good……
Great content. You just gave me a potentially great idea of how to connect better with my prospective clients. Thanks.
Glad to hear that, Rudy!
Brilliant Shane – Thanks so much!!
Do believe the penny has finally dropped on yee old sales pitch.
Have one question for you:
You state that the CTA comes in roughly the 4th part/section where you actually begin to talk about the product.
In the video though – say you want to introduce yourself (face to face) with the viewer and say that product is low calorie diet you’ve created from a certain place on the planet based on their foods/diet…
Would you formulate the the vid in the same tone – talking about why obesity is still an issue etc etc and then go on to talk about why this diet was created as it will a) etc etc
Dont reinvent the wheel right?
Thanks – sorry if thats pushing it a bit 😉
Thanks for your comment, Rob! Glad you liked the content here.
Yes, you can use the exact same story-telling technique and structure for a video. Note that for video, just like for a sales page, this way of structuring it isn’t necessarily the best way of doing it. But it’s a well-tested method that works great for many businesses. Once you get a decent amount of traffic, it’s worth testing this against a more product-focused approach as well.
Brilliant!
Thanks mate.
Your explanation of how the sales page works in each separate section is invaluable…
Much cudos to you.
Many thanks.
Thank you, Rob! Glad you liked this video. More sales page templates and videos like this are in the works.
Well.. I’m into the thick of it now and my constant nagging question I ask myself is whether to write 1st or 3rd person or 1st just a little bit.
By that I mean I’m creating a diet product – it’s basically a list of low calorie dieting recipes (popular food in west) filmed on location in certain part of the world where I’ve now lived for 10 yrs.
But – I can’t write it like “well – when I rocked up I was fat as.. but now these recipes.. bladibla are how it changed me” – cos I was scrawny when I arrived and now i’m about 75kg – a comfortable weight.
So I’m still unsure how to approach it.
Whether to schpeel – or tell it completely how it is
Obviously testing is key – but the Long Copy + Short Copy where she gives demonstrations of squeeze pages not sales pages??? states that if I were to buy her product it may reveal exactly the way to address this type of product.
Mmmm – any pointers would be most welcome,
Writing 50% (as she adds) as a means of convincing b4 talking about the product seems totally extreme but then again this is what works they say.
Fyi..can u make your comments box stretchy.
Cheers!
Those are difficult questions to answer. Like I’ve stated before, this isn’t the “right” or the “perfect” sales page template. It’s just one type of sales page that often leads to very good results.
As for the story: maybe you can find a different subject for your story, if your own isn’t the ideal one. 🙂
This is a really great short tutorial on how to write a sales page in the proper order and hitting the most effective aspects. You could charge to access this video all by itself. 🙂
Nice work!
I love this template and video explaining it. Actually, I love just about everything you produce at Thrive Themes, which I have used to completely rebuild my site after it totally crashed last August.
Just one thing . . . I downloaded the PDF of the annotated template, but it one long page. That is, it is not separated into x number of separte pages in which to view the document. So, for me it’s useless to print out, which is what I want to do. Unless I’m missing something, is it possible to produce this PDF in x number of pages to view each page of the site template?
Thanks — Paul
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your comment!
I never print anything, so I’m not sure about this, but it seems to me that one of the printing options should be splitting the document up onto a number of pages, no?
Hi,
I’ve printed this long PDF page on separate sheets. Just use the option ‘Poster’ in the ‘Print’ window while printing from Adobe Reader. It automatically split the big page. You can also adjust it by percentage covering. Good luck 😉
There was an error on this page, regarding the bonus PDF. Sorry about that. I’ve updated the page and it should work now.
Shane… I’m in love with you!!! Thank you very much for your tutorials and for your work.
I didn’t buy yet any product of Thrive, because I’m choosing if I take Thrive Landing Page or a Membership.
Thank you, Deborah! I’m very happy to know that the tutorials have been helpful for you. 🙂
Shane, Once again, you and your team are top notch. I am an entry level marketer with limited marketing skills. I can’t say enough positive things about the knowledge you and your team share. I love what I read, and it finally makes sense. I am beginning to understand just what sales and marketing truly mean, and how it impacts my customer base. Your themes and plugins are second to none, and have truly helped my business excel. My only hope is to see additional customization’s be allowed around the blog listings, and blog entries so that I can make them more sales and marketing driven as well.
It would also be awesome to see ThriveThemes provide a custom membership plugin complete with drip content, and synchronization with list building services… I’d pay extra / top dollar for that.
Thanks again for all your incredibly great work! and Kudos to your team too.
Sincerely, Dan L
Thank you for your feedback, Dan! A membership system of some sort is on our long term roadmap. We can see there’s a real need for a better solution, but we also see why everyone else has failed to provide such a solution yet. So, it’s coming, but not soon.
Shane, I’ve been writing copy for over 30 years. I started in direct mail.
That was one of the best short explanations of how a sales page works that I’ve heard.
Speaking like that only comes from actually understanding what the heck you’re talking about.
Nice job!
Thank you very much, Patrick!
Shane that was great. My question is if use a VSL as in this template and combined with the written letter how can get the letter to auto scroll to sync with the video as I’ve seen others do it with VSLs Thank you.
I would not bother doing that. The thing about video is that very few people will just sit there and watch the whole thing. Most people will grow impatient and start scrolling through the page while the video is still playing. Taking that control away from the visitor and making the page auto-scroll instead just makes it like watching a video on top of another video.
This is a very good product and fine tutorial.
Will implement in few of our pages next week.
Thanks !
Thank you, David!
Thank you, David. Glad you enjoyed this content. 🙂
This was one of your best videos! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and useful tips. They come at the right time for me. Cheers!
Thank you very much, Sonia. 🙂
I always learn a lot watching your videos. Thanks so much, Shane!
Thank you, Maureen!
I just discovered Thrive and am enjoying the content and education I’m getting here. I’d love to see some examples of your landing page in action. I’m having trouble translating the instructions to my copy. Examples would help. Thanks for a great experience.
Shane, does Thrive have a sales letter page template like the one you have used here to gives the effect of the raised margins with drop shadow on the page?
Hi David, the template is still available.