Whether you’re looking to sell a specific product or gather leads for your business, a solid landing-page strategy should be considered a necessity. Just like virtually every other marketing tactic out there, this can be done well or it can be done poorly. To see the best return on your investment, businesses need to build effective landing pages before testing and optimizing them for maximum conversions rates. It isn’t rocket science, but it does take more than just creating a page that “looks good.” Throughout this article my goal is to provide you with some great tips that will help you create a good landing page that does what it should – convert!
Before we get started, know that there is no standard manual on creating the perfect landing page. Depending on what you’re using it for, some landing pages are better as straightforward as possible while others deliver more of a step-by-step guide. Although we can’t cover every single type of landing page in this article, I can provide you with some of the best practices you should consider when creating your landing pages. Remember, when you begin designing your page it’s important to determine what it is you want to accomplish. Are you looking to grow an email list? Promote a new product? Promote a discount or subscription service? Once you have your goal in mind, think about what your message will be.
1. A Great Headline – Your headline is where everything begins – interest, attention and understanding. The headline is what will compel visitors to stay and learn more about whatever it is you’re offering. Your headline should accomplish three different things: grab the readers attention, tell the reader what the product or service is about and never be longer than 20 words, preferably limited to 10. It’s also worth noting that if your headline complements an image which explains the product or service, then you shouldn’t need to go into quite as much detail in the text.
2. Persuasive Subheads – The next element to a high converting landing page is your subheadline. If your headline makes the visitor look, then your subheadline should make the visitor stay. Together, these two pieces of content make up the one-two punch of your landing page’s power. Subheadlines should also accomplish three things: being placed directly under the main headline, include some element of persuasiveness and go into slightly more depth and detail than the main headline. The main headline and subheadline together should efficiently explain what you’re offering, which will lead to creating a better connection with your readers early on.
3. An Explanation – Successful landing pages need to make what you’re offering perfectly clear. Remember, if a potential customer doesn’t understand what your product or service is about, you’ve lost them and most likely will not get the sale or subscription you’re looking for. That means a straightforward explanation is crucial. Here are two important things to keep in mind while writing your explanations: it can be integrated with your headline, or completely separate and your explanation should be benefit-oriented. Explanations are functional, but functionality should be tilted in favor of the user. That means your explanation doesn’t always have to be separate from your headline and subheadline. In fact, if you go out and look at different landing pages you’ll notice that many have virtually no text aside from the headline and subheadline. With that in mind, when you reach the explanation portion, consider it as more of a goal that your page needs to accomplish.
4. Methods of Contact – If you run a legitimate business then it’s something you should definitely make clear on your landing page. Some of the most persuasive landing pages I’ve hit over the years included phone numbers, physical addresses and email contacts. In fact, some even had a popup where a customer service representative asked me if I needed any help. These can go a long way when it comes to building trust in the company and to help eliminate any friction in the conversion funnel. Here are two important things to keep in mind as you add contact information into your landing page: always provide some assurance that you are a real company (a physical address and phone number at the least) and live chats featured in a popup can be helpful, but not a must-have. If you insist on using a live chat popup then do your homework and make sure you have some convincing reasons for keeping it there.
5. A Guarantee – Every customer loves a guarantee. A guarantee (regardless of what it is or how it’s presented), can help people feel reassured while on your landing page. The word guarantee in itself improves the likelihood of a conversion. When creating a guarantee for your landing page, keep these three tips in mind: choose a type of guarantee that works for your business type, and state this guarantee on your landing page, In the absence of any explicit product guarantee (such as money back), you can provide a different type of guarantee (such as 100% no spam) and position your guarantee statement close to the CTA, which will help the potential customer receive that final bit of assurance before clicking. Don’t dive way into the legalities of your guarantee while writing it for your landing page. Just say it. The point is that you have a guarantee, and the customer knows it.
