In case you can’t tell, I freaking love websites. I love helping entrepreneurs and personal brands bring their website dreams to life. When your website reflects the authenticity of both you and your business, it completely transforms how you show up online.
And yet, we could play around with copy and design for weeks, but if we don’t ever tell people what it is you actually do, expanding your business and online presence is never going to happen.
Therefore, you’re probably going to need a services page for your website.
If you’re an online marketer, coach or consultant, or basically any kind of service-based business selling online, you’re probably going to have to do some educating on what it is you actually do. (After all, I didn’t even know what a copywriter was before I became one, so if you’re a Pinterest manager, web designer, or social media manager, you’re probably a similar boat.)
So if you’ve been putting off that services page for a while, here’s everything you’ll need to make a services page that sells for you.
First, why do you need a services page?
The goal of your services page is simple: help people get closer to deciding to work with you than when they first landed on your website.
In order to help them make this decision, we need to help them visualize what this will look like.
Ok, let’s take a little journey first:
If we were sitting in my living room and I brought out a big cardboard box with a hole cut into the side and asked you to stick your hand in, would you do it?
Probably not. After all, you don’t know me. What are you doing in my living room? What could be in the box?
But if I told you there were 3 fluffy kittens in the box that I had just rescued, and showed you pictures of them on my phone, and you heard them meowing, and I told you I needed help socializing them because they were a little shy and I wanted them to find good homes…
Then you’d have a pretty good idea of what you’re getting yourself into. You’d probably even be excited to play with these fluff balls, even if they were a little shy.
The point being? Mystery boxes don’t help people make decisions.
You need to feed people enough information, and in a way that connects with their emotions, and then you’ll probably have a good case for getting them on your side.
This is what your services page needs to accomplish. It needs to answer the questions people naturally have, in a way that gets them excited about reaching out to you.
By the end of your services page, they should feel excited about reaching in that box and playing with the fluffy little kittens.
How to write a services page in 8 sections
Now, every business is different, so not every section will be relevant to your business. In general though, this is the content and the order I recommend for writing a services page that converts.
Here’s how you write a services page in only 8 sections.
1. Engaging Hook
First, you need a way to hook people in and get them interested in scrolling further.
If you’re reading this blog post, you’ve officially lost all permission to use headers like “our services” or “my packages.” They’re boring and don’t compel people to keep reading. You can do better, I believe in you.
Here are some prompts that can help you come up with an engaging hook for your services page:
- Talk about an industry statistic your audience should know
- Share your secret to successful projects
- Relate to a common struggle your target audience faces
- Describe the feeling people get when they work with you
- Brag about your unique value
- Let them know you understand where they’re at
If you’re still not sure how you can get people to keep scrolling on your services page, pull up 2-3 of your main competitors’ services page to make a comparison. (Since they’ll likely be having these up on other tabs while they’re looking at your website.)
If you can make your opening hook more engaging, intriguing, and value-forward than you’re competitors, you’ll probably be well ahead of the competition as far as scroll time.
2. Showcasing your secret sauce
Before they get too far on your services page, you need to prime them for understanding the value you provide. (Especially if you’re selling high-ticket, this is important for helping them understand the value of your services, especially if you’re more expensive than your competitors.)
What is it you and your brand do differently to make your projects successful?
You can view how I do this on my services page. Selling with empathy is my secret sauce. It involves the feeling your leads get when they land on your website, the proven process we work behind the scenes, and the personality we showcase to make you a relatable brand.
Before my leads even scroll to see my services (and do a price check while comparing me to other copywriters) they already know that I’m providing value to their project that no other copywriter is going to be able to give them.
This subconsciously raises the bar for them. Now, when they go to another copywriter’s website, they can either compare “secret sauces” or realize that not a lot of copywriters are even adding this section to their services page…
3. Services or packages
Ok, now comes the most important part of the services page- the actual services! Truthfully, I didn’t think you would forget about this part, so we’ll keep it brief.
Here are a couple things I do want to mention about the packages or services section of this page:
- Keep it brief. A small description, bullet point list of features, and starting prices are usually your best bet here.
- Call them out. It’s a good idea to provide a “who’s this for” section if applicable to your services. (Like I said, people don’t know what copywriters actually do, so I provide a little blurb about what makes a package appropriate for them.)
- Clear, not clever. Although I couldn’t resist calling my main package “the dark roast package” I don’t even include that language on my proposals. That eyebrow copy is mostly to be clever, but we abandon it later in the customer journey to provide more clarity on what it is I actually do.
Also, providing a CTA button after each package can be a great addition to keep people moving along the customer journey. It helps them understand how close the thing they want is to them, just a click away.
4. Process
To be honest, you could switch the order of the packages and process sections, and it would probably be just fine. That’s what I did on my own page, and I think it helps set up the expectations people put in place before they see the services.
I looooove a process section. Like I’ve been explaining, your goal is to help people visualize what it’s like to work with you (and reap the benefits of your services.) A process section further helps them visualize becoming a client.
A process also helps set expectations and deter leads who might not be a good fit.
For example, if you’re an agency or marketer who works with people in 6-12 month engagements, you’re going to want to filter out the people who want to test you out for a month before dropping you for a cheaper option.
Including your process helps enforce the value of a long-term engagement, but with a positive spin. You don’t have to berate price shoppers for reaching out to you, because they’ll sort themselves out once they have a clear picture of why you work with people for several months.
For a process like this, show what you do in week 1, month 1, month 3, etc. This helps show the rhyme and reason behind your process, and discourage people from asking you to speed up a timeline for them.
I do this on a smaller scale, since my engagements only last a couple weeks. Still, it discourages people from reaching out for last-minute and expedited website copy projects, while explaining the value of my process along the way.
5. Testimonials, Case Studies, or Client Results
After you’ve explained what you do and how it works, now is a great time to show some social proof or results.
I’m definitely against guaranteeing results for clients, as many marketers have to disclaim, but you can help them draw their own conclusions for the kind of results they might get by showcasing testimonials, stats from previous projects, or links to case studies.
You don’t need to overdo it here, just 1-2 of your best client testimonials should be enough to showcase the value of your services.
6. Helping them make a decision
By this point on your services page, ask yourself, “what would prevent them from booking with me now?”
For myself, I determined that the business owners I am trying to reach might not be entirely sure that investing in website copy is going to have a big impact on their business, or whether this is the optimal investment when they could be considering other options for investing in their business.
So I included a section describing what’s happening in your business when you know it’s time to invest in website copy.
> High traffic, but low conversion rates? Yeah, it’s definitely time to upgrade your copy.
> Don’t know how to be clear and conversational in your copy? Don’t DIY, hire a professional.
> Scaling or rebranding your business? It’s time to change that copy too.
For your own business, think about any objections someone would have at this point. Maybe they are seeing that your prices are higher than all your competitors. Address that head on and explain why. Maybe they see that you have a waitlist of 2-4 months. Brag about how far you book out and why, so they’ll be encouraged to reach out now.
Either way, think about what they need to know at this point to get them to follow through on that CTA button.
7. FAQs
Services pages are the ideal place for your FAQs! Not only can they help with SEO, but this is the point where they might have more detailed questions that might not be dealbreakers, but will definitely help them understand what it’s like to work with you more.
Collect FAQs from your client projects, and keep them updated as your services get more optimized for client results.
8. Call to action
Yes, you’d be surprised how often DIYers forget to actually ask people to buy from them!
Whether your first step is scheduling a call or filling out an inquiry form, you have to actually ask people to do it. The final CTA on your services page can be accompanied by a compelling section of text that reminds people what’s at stake if they don’t go with you.
For example, you can remind people that they are losing margins every day they don’t optimize the operations of their company. Or maybe remind them that there are people going to Google every day to find a business exactly like yours, so your SEO services do people a huge favor by connecting you to them.
You can always tell people what their next steps are if they’re still not sure which service is right for them. Usually this is booking a call, so you can be as helpful as possible to people.
Whew! Too much work for you? Let me help write your services page then
Ok yeah, so on the surface, services pages that are fully optimized for sales might be a little more complex than just throwing up your pricing, but in the end it’s fully worth it to help people understand what they are getting when they hire you.
The good news? You don’t have to do it alone. You can either have me write it, or audit your existing copy! Here’s how we can connect.
Check out my copywriting services: Need some conversational copy that is optimized to grow your business and connect with your people? Check out my services here.
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