Entries Tagged 'landing pages' ↓

Landing pages are a great way of creating a web page that is totally focused on one thing – buying, signing up for a newsletter, or collecting email addresses in return for free reports.

The key word in the paragraph above is focus – so the content of your landing page will be dependent on what you’re trying to achieve.

So, as an example we’ll look at…

Landing pages for freebies

Offering free reports or white papers is a great way to build your marketing list.

If you want to capture email addresses, you have to give people something (of value) in return. Information is the cheapest option and, let’s face it, people love to get free advice.

So, how do you make sure your landing page remains focused on its task – getting people to enter their email address in a capture box in return for your report/white paper?

1. Above the fold

I’m sure you’ve heard that phrase before. Above the fold basically means keeping all your important information in your readers’ immediate eye line.

After landing on your page, they are unlikely to want to start reading reams of text, scrolling down until they find out what they need to know.

Therefore, it is important all the vital information is above the fold, including your opt-in (data capture) box.

2. Don’t confuse

Your landing page has one reason for existing, and that’s to grab hold of your readers’ email address. If you add unnecessary navigation and links to your page, you run the risk of them wandering off before they’ve signed up for your report.

All you need is a single page, without links, directing them to enter their email address into a box. That’s it, nothing else.

3. Benefits

Simply adding the title of your report/white paper next to your sign up box isn’t going to convince anyone to enter their email address.

Add some short, benefits-led copy above the fold. List the benefits in a bulleted list to show them, quickly, why they should sign up.

4. Quick!

If you give your reader time to think, they’ll probably wander off without signing up. Tell them the offer is limited to a certain time period. If they don’t sign up straight away they’ll miss out on this vital information.

5. Make it scanable

People don’t have time to read every word you write, so use white space, bulleted lists and sub headings to make it is easy for them to find the information they want. A graphic pointing the way to the sign up box is also a great idea.

Landing pages are great if they remain focused on the task in hand. Giving your readers too much choice is like showing them the door. Tell them what you want and make it easy for them to comply, without distraction.

Over to you

Do you use landing pages in your marketing? If so, leave a comment below and tell us your experiences and what you’ve found works.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter, blogger and social media addict

Briar Copywriting

T:@sallyormond

F: www.facebook.com/freelancecopywriting

How do you feel when you search for something and find yourself on a landing page?

• Do you navigate away before you’re sold something?

• Do you hang around and have a read?

• Do you sigh and head back to your search result list for a real website?

People react differently to landing pages. To some they just scream BUY ME NOW because let’s face it, they expect to sell you something.

So how do you build trust and convince people you’re genuine and that it’s a good thing that they’ve landed on your page?

In previous posts I’ve already looked at what you should have on your landing page and what you can do to improve your conversion rate, so now I want to look at how you can encourage your visitors to trust you. After all, if there’s no trust there won’t be any sales.

How to gain trust

Most people don’t like being sold to. A landing page is there to sell (or gather leads etc.) so you’ll have to work hard to gain your visitors’ trust.

There are three main ways you can do this:

1. Testimonials

The good old testimonial – what would we do without them?

People like to hear how other people felt about buying from you. They want to know if the product worked how the customer service was etc.

Ideally the testimonials you use on your landing page will be linked to the product or service it is offering. That way you can convey all its benefits in your copywriting and your testimonials can back it up with real examples from happy customers.

2. Trusted logos

Are you or your company a member of an industry regulatory body, local business group or do you have some sort of certification relating to your product/service?

If the answer is yes, add their logo to your landing page. This will help establish trust because you’ll be seen as a bona fide company.

3. Privacy policy

This is very important if you’re looking to capture email addresses on your landing page.

No one wants to sign up for something only to be bombarded by emails from third parties.

Make sure you either have a few sentences outlining your privacy policy or link to your privacy policy page within your main website. If you do the latter make sure the link opens the page in a new window because you don’t want them to leave your landing page.

These simple tips will help you gain the trust of your visitors. Do you do anything else? If so please share it by leaving a comment.

What do I mean by calm copywriting?

Well let me first tell you about what prompted me to write this post.

I took my eldest son to the Orthodontist this morning. The Orthodontist is a lovely chap and comes from Eastern Europe…somewhere. Anyway, after making my son’s next appointment we got in my car to head back to school when I mentioned that I might get his father to take him in for the next appointment as I might not have my car that day.

My son looked at me in horror and said “no, you can’t do that. You know what dad’s like, he’ll try and talk in his European English so the Orthodontist understands. It will be soooo embarrassing!”

The ‘European English’ my son is referring to is the good old fashioned British way of communicating abroad – s-p-e-a-k-i-n-g   v-e-r-y   s-l-o-w-l-y  a-n-d   l-o-u-d-l-y to make sure our European cousins can understand us perfectly.

Admittedly it usually ends up either offending or reducing people to hysterical laughter.

So how is all this related to copywriting?

Well there’s a lot of ‘European’ copywriting about too.

We’ve all seen the landing pages which comprise of different sized fonts, bold colourful words and truly awful graphics. And this isn’t just confined to landing pages you can also come across it in emails, sales letters and websites.

Does it give the reader confidence?

No.

Does it engage, enthral and sell?

No.

Instead it annoys, switches the reader off and encourages them not to buy.

Rather than relying in brash sales techniques like these, use your words carefully and let them do the selling.

Keep your text uniform (other than your sub headings), calm and persuasive. It will have a great effect; make you appear more professional and approachable.

Remember your reader isn’t an idiot. They will see through all the frills, fonts and colours. If you want to be taken seriously, write seriously.

Landing pages are used to sell a particular product or service. It is not uncommon to see a company using multiple landing pages that are product specific. Therefore their other marketing efforts (such as email marketing, banner adverts etc.) can be used to target specific people with specific products.

They are highly measurable and can be very effective – when done right.

However, more often  than not, they are not used incorrectly and therefore fail to convert visitors into sales. There are many landing pages out there that are just a single page with a call to action and no persuasive copy. It’s as if people assume that just because they clicked through to your landing page, they’re going to buy.

That certainly isn’t the case – you have no idea where they are in buying process; they could be browsing for ideas or just curious. What they will expect is more detailed information to convince them your product is the one to buy.

Therefore when constructing your landing page you must take into consideration the following points:

• What do you want to achieve?

You must decide this before you begin anything. Why do you want to set up a landing page? Are you looking for lead generation, sales, to generate qualified leads for a subscription service or to buy a specific product, or perhaps you’re looking for people to sign up online for a forthcoming event.

• Understand your audience

If you don’t know who you are trying to attract how do you know what needs to go on your landing page?

Think about the type of person you are looking to attract. What makes them buy? Are they ready to buy yet or are they still researching? Who are your competitors that they’ll also be looking at?

Whatever you write on your landing page, make sure you make a connection with your reader. Use the second person (e.g. you and your) to build rapport. And don’t bore them with details about your company, excite them by telling them what your product will do for them.

• Lead generation

You obviously need advertising out there to generate leads to your landing page. Where are they and what form do they take? Are they attracting the right kind of people? Do they motivate people to click through? Is your message strong and clear enough?

• What are you saying?

Is the copy on your landing page saying the right things? Is it benefit lead? Can your reader see in an instant how beneficial your product is to them? Is your call to action strong enough to make them take action there and then?

All of these points are vital if your landing page is going to be successful. But one key thing to remember is to test every aspect of your page. Set up 2 or 3 pages and drive traffic to them. Which one converts the best? Once you’ve seen what’s working refine it again by setting up more test pages. Test headlines, CTAs, copy, images – test every thing!

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

A landing page is often a single page website that concentrates purely on one product or service. Traffic is driven to this page through other marketing means – e.g. banner adverts, email marketing, print ads etc.

There are 4 things that need to be considered when creating your landing page.

You have to look at:

• What your offer is going to be?
• Who will be interested in your offer?
• Why they should take further action (i.e. buy or sign up)?
• How do they take further action?

Landing page elements

There are various elements each landing page should have to help answer the above questions.

1. Logo

Your company logo will be on all your marketing materials so your reader can easily identify you. Therefore it should also appear on your landing page to keep the continuity.

Normally it will appear in the top left or top right corner of that page – somewhere it can be seen without detracting from the mail sales message of your page.

2. Unique value proposition

There is one question that will be in the forefront of your reader’s mind when they reach your landing page – ‘what’s in it for me?’ So you must answer it immediately.

Your unique value proposition will tell them exactly why they should do business with you – this will be a major benefit of your product or service.

3. Headline

Because your reader would have come to your landing page from another piece of marketing (email, postcard, banner advert), you must ensure your headline ties in with the advert that generated the lead in the first place. If you don’t you’ll cause confusion and lose the reader.

4. Offer

Whatever your offer is, it must be clear and concise. It is this that will make them make the buying decision (or not) so it has to be a fantastic deal.

But if you make it too complex they’ll walk away. Make sure you keep it simple.

5. Be interesting

The main body of your landing page (or video) has to be interesting. Make sure it is benefits lead so they are left in doubt about what your product/service will do for them. Always write in the second person (i.e. you and your) to build rapport and talk directly to them.

The format of your copy is also very important. Use short paragraphs and sub headings to break up the text. The use of bulleted lists will also add interest.

6. The use of images

Pictures are fantastic if used well. A poor quality or boring image will do more harm than good. Use one that is of high quality and interesting – something that will make them want it.

7. Call to action

This should be simple and commanding and can appear anywhere within the text. Don’t over use it though, there’s nothing worse than seeing a bold CTA after every paragraph – that makes you look desperate.

If the desired action is to complete an online form, make sure it is simple to complete. If your reader is faced with a long and tedious order process, they won’t bother.

8. Create confidence

You have to get your reader to trust you and have confidence in you and your product. Using testimonials, case studies, and reviews will strengthen your case and give peace of mind to your reader. But make sure they are qualified.

9. Be transparent

Don’t hide behind your landing page. If your contact details aren’t prominently featured your reader will think you have something to hide.

Make sure all your contact details are visible along with you T&Cs, privacy policy and copyright details etc. These can be on other pages, but you must make sure a link to them is clearly visible.

10. Test

OK, strictly speaking this isn’t an element that appears on your landing page, but it is vital in its development.

You will never know how your readers will react until you test your page. Create more than one and direct traffic to each one. Check your conversion rates to determine which was more successful. But don’t stop there. Constant testing is the only way to hone the optimum landing page that will convert consistently.