The Case For Pain Points
There’s been a lot of chatter on the internet about pain points on the sales page over the last couple of years.
Namely, why we shouldn’t feature them as strongly on our sales pages (or our marketing). And why we shouldn’t be agitating them either.
When this conversation comes up, words like manipulative and unethical have been thrown around, because after the dumpster fire of 2020-’23, no one wants to be seen as the type of business owner who tap dances on people’s pain.
Especially since my clients are high-integrity creators and coaches who:
- Are terrified their offer will be seen as a cash grab (which paralyses them from moving forward with their sales assets)
- Don’t want to coerce or manipulate people into buying
- Want both buyers AND non-buyers to feel good about consuming their sales content
But as a result of this convo…
I’ve reviewed a ton of sales pages that have skipped over the “pain points” section completely, before jumping straight to talking about their program.
(Most likely out of fear they’ll be seen as manipulating their audience.)
Here’s my nuanced take on this:
NOT talking about your prospects’ pain points and challenges is actually doing a disservice to them and you.
People want to learn/work with/buy from business owners & creators who see them and understand them.
And it’s hella challenging to achieve that^ if you can’t SHOW your audience you do know what it’s like to struggle with the same challenges. You’ve been where they’ve been. You’ve carried that burden, and you do see their pain.
As someone who’s invested quiite a pretty penny in courses and coaches, I’ve noticed the business owners I invest in aren’t those who simply claim they’re experts.
They’re experts whose content have moved me emotionally and shown me they “get me” and understand where I’m at.
Which means I’m far more likely to jump on their waitlist, save up for their offers, and trust they’re the right people to share my business challenges with.
Where it *does* become icky is when the sales page positions they offer as “buy it or suffer!!”
I mean… we’ve all seen broetry sales copy that makes us feel shameful or bad for not investing.
So the way I approach sales page is not by skipping over pain points completely, but by writing about it with empathy –
I like to reflect and acknowledge the audience’s current reality (aka their challenges & current emotional state) back to them to show my client has an intimate understanding of where they are…
Then spend the rest of the page showing the audience they are capable of achieving their desires, and why my client’s course is one of the best avenues they can take to reach their goals faster.
Other specific ways you can speak empathetically about your audience’s challenges on your sales page is by:
- Having a deep understanding of your audience and their emotional states throughout the decision-making process (so you know IF and WHEN to reflect their pain points back to them)
- Validating how the audience feels
- Using storytelling (like in the Bio section) to illustrate how you were in that same situation too and how you got out of it
In saying that…
The reason this conversation is nuanced is because everyone’s audience is different and requires different info depending on where they are in the decision-making process.
Which is why having a solid understanding of their emotional journey is key!
But if you’re scared to talk about challenges on your sales page or marketing assets because you don’t want to be seen as manipulative…
Know that you can talk about it and still make sales with empathy and understanding.
Food for thought,
Ash
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