If your sales copy doesn’t flow smoothly, rewrite it. Or fail.

A couple of weeks ago a young copywriter sent me a sales page he had written. He wanted to know if I thought it was any good.

I must have been having a very slow day, because I don’t usually have time to answer all the emails I receive, let alone look at attachments.

And I kind of dread reading “newbie copy”, because I know I’ll find lots of things that aren’t working quite right, and also know I won’t have time to write back with a full and comprehensive critique.

Anyway, on this particular day I did read the entire sales page.

By the end of the page I realized I had read every line and every word…without pause…from beginning to end.

That’s a remarkable thing.

Remember, I wasn’t reading the page as a consumer or prospect, I was reading it as an experienced professional in a hurry, with a sharp eye out for weaknesses. I was deliberately watching for problems.

But this copy was so good I never had an opportunity to start being critical. Before I knew it, I had finished the page.

First, the copy was good enough that it didn’t bore me or make me roll my eyes. (I can be very cynical when reading sales copy.)

But that’s just part of it. For me, the really big thing was that there was nothing that tripped me up or made me pause. In other words, nothing broke or slowed the flow of the copy.

Here are a few things that can trip up a reader and make her pause, hesitate, and then abandon the page.

1. A disconnect between the lead and the rest of the page.

It’s one thing to write a great headline and a great lead at the beginning of the body text. But it’s quite another to create a seamless transition from headline to lead to the rest of the body text.

More often than not I find a big, fat seam just after the lead. There is an awkward transition between the opening and the rest of the page.

2. Poor writing or sentence structure.

A clumsy sentence can bring your reader to a stop. Or, if not a stop, it can make the reader slow down and pause.

That may not sound like a big deal, but it is. Because as soon as a reader pauses, there is a strong possibility that she will abandon the page altogether.

3. A bad transition between sections of the page.

When you are writing a sales page you will include various different elements. You’ll describe the benefits of the product or service you are selling. You might also want to describe some of its features. Then you might share some testimonials or customer stories. Then you’ll want to tell them about your money back guarantee. And so on.

As a copywriter you need to move your readers from one element to the next, without pause or hiccup. You have to draw them forward from your lead all the way through to your call to action, without any friction, invisible seams or barriers.

The bottom line…

Out of 100 people who start reading your sales page, only a small proportion of them will read the complete page from top to bottom. And, of course, an even smaller proportion will complete a purchase.

To increase conversions, you need to maximize the number of people who DO read the entire page. And that means writing a page that flows like honey from top to bottom.

Don’t give your readers even the smallest reason to hesitate, because hesitation leads to abandonment.

So next time you write a sales page, have a few people read it before you submit it to your boss or client. Ask them to make pencil marks at any points where they felt themselves pause or hesitate…even if they are not quite sure of the cause.

Then go back and think about those problem areas, identify what’s going wrong, and rewrite them.

Success is not just about how powerful your sales message is, it’s also about how smoothly it flows.

Related resource:

Writing Kick-Ass Website Sales Copy (My ebook, published by Wordtracker.com)

About the author: Nick Usborne is an online writer, copywriter, author and coach. Read more…