(an excerpt from Chapter 5 in Becoming an OBM)
Planning
Before starting any project you want to make sure you plan before you start. This is SO important in order to prevent frustration and wasted time and resources along the way.
Let’s look at an example. Your client has just written a book and needs to get a sales page “live” so he can start selling the book.
The first step is to plan the sales page, which means getting really clear on what exactly your client wants.
- Is there an example of a sales page that he really likes? Which elements does he like or not like? I always like to work from an example, especially if your client is new to sales pages or really wants to try something different.
- Does he want a short/sweet style sales page or a longer/harder sell page?
- What domain name does he want for the sales page?
- Will you need to hire a copywriter to write the page?
- Do you need a 3D graphic of the book to put on the page?
- What look (colours, graphics, layout) does he want for the page?
- Does he have testimonials ready or do you need to collect some?
- What price will the book sell for? Is it an e-book or print book?
- Are there any bonuses to go along with the purchase?Is there going to be a special launch price/offer?
- Does your client want an upsell as part of the buying process (e.g., Buy the book and workbook for a discounted price)
As you can see, in order to effectively plan this project, you need to have a strong understanding of all the elements of setting up a sales page. If you don’t have experience in this yet, then I suggest finding a few sales pages and studying each element of the page.
You will also want to consider the cost of each piece of the project so that you can a) have a good idea of what the overall cost will be, b) prevent last minute surprises and c) have a guideline for keeping costs in check.