The Secret Recipe To Create A Perfect Landing Page

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a-perfect-landing-page

The title says it all. In today’s post, you will learn some insights on how to craft a perfect and compelling landing page for your website.

Technically, a landing page is any page on your website where visitors can arrive (or land) when they clicked a link. The most concerning point now is to get you to do what this page was created for. You also need to make sure the content is worth the click it took for people to visit and that it’s worth their time to make it to the end where you will put a call to action (CTA).

In this post, we will narrow landing pages down to content marketing or email marketing campaign purposes that are meant to generate conversions. Always bear in mind that those conversions may not necessarily be revenue-generating sales.

Let’s start by identifying the definition of a landing page.

What Is A Landing Page?

In the Internet marketing field, a landing page is a webpage that set is apart from your main site. It is created for a specific purpose. It’s not included in your site’s navigation. It doesn’t offer many click-out options, either.

You can create a landing page to encourage visitors to:

  • Buy your products / services.
  • Sign up for newsletters / mailing list.
  • Visit a physical location.
  • Make a donation.
  • Take some action.

Why Do You Need A Landing Page?

So you have spent countless hours and efforts creating your website and building your social presence. Why do you need another page with specialised content and goals?

The answer is because they serve specific purposes and goals.

Your website, however, remains static. Perhaps the one area of your site that may have regular updates is your blog. However, regular changes is not feasible for a larger site and definitely a big no for an e-commerce site.

Still, you need landing pages to increase conversions. When you consider that increase came from simply changing a single page on your website, you have to admit that it’s quite impressive.

Landing pages can have several purposes, they can be broken down into two broad categories: click-through landing pages and lead generation landing pages.

1. Click-through landing pages

While you can create landing pages to sell your products or services, most of the time, the sale likely won’t take place on the landing page itself. The visitor will click through the landing page to get into the product page. That’s where the transaction will occur.

Why don’t we do the deal on the landing page? It’s impractical, to say the least. Plus, click-through landing pages can be more effective when they’re tied to specific events or dates, like holidays, since those pages are often incorporated into email marketing campaigns.

You’re not going to email your list about every single item you have for sale, as this action will make people unsubscribe form your list faster that you might ever think. You need to save the emails for the special occasions. Think about the deal’s niche and the really good reasons to show up in your list members’ inboxes. Make sure your landing pages support those emails, and encourage your readers to click through to get to the good stuff so you can get the conversion.

2. Lead generation landing pages

How do you build an email list in the first place? Through lead generation pages.

A lead generation landing page allows you to collect data about your site’s visitors. Names and email addresses are often enough for most marketers’ purposes because you just want to be able to contact that person at a later date, most likely via digital means such as your newsletter or an email campaign.

However, people don’t just give that information away freely. Just as the landing page itself has to be worth the click, you need to make your invitation worth enough for someone to provide you with their personal information. Some of the things you can offer in exchange for personal data are:

  • Newsletter subscriptions
  • Free trials of your service
  • Ebooks
  • Contest or giveaway entries
  • Webinars
  • Event registrations

Before you decide what to offer, consider what will work best for your audience and why. For example, emails offering e-books have a nearly double click-through rate (CTR) over emails offering webinars. Take a look at the diagram below:

ebooks-vs-emails-comparison
Click to Enlarge

To attend a webinar, you have to be present. You probably have to at least sign in somewhere, if not download software to your computer in order to see and hear the webinar. Attending a webinar can mean a good 30 to 60-minute chunk out of your day. And how many times have you tried to attend a webinar, only to have it waylaid by technical difficulties? On the other hand, if you download an e-book, you can read it whenever you want. You don’t even have to read it all at once.

It’s more about convenience. Make sure whatever you’re offering is convenient for your site’s visitors.

What Should A Landing Page Look Like?

How much text is enough for a landing page? How much text is too much?

It depends. What is your landing page about? Can it be explained in a couple of sentences, or does it require a few paragraphs? What action are you trying to elicit from your page visitors? Comments? A name and email address? A click?

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to content. Here are some quick tips:

  • Use as much text as it takes to adequately convey the purpose and goal of your landing page.
  • Try not to be any more wordy than is absolutely necessary to avoid losing your reader before they arrive at the CTA.
  • Use powerful and evocative words and phrases.
  • Avoid making the reader have to scroll down too far—or too many times—to reach the end of the page.
  • Keep your text size and spacing consistent, and use the same font (or at least, the same font family) throughout.
  • Be clear and concise. In other word: get to the point.

Continuous Evaluation Is Necessary

Once you write your first draft, you will want to edit, not just to find grammar and spelling errors, but to make sure your text is doing its job to the best of its ability.

The thing is, after you’ve written a page and read it 148 times, you’ll no longer see where it can be cut, where it’s not performing, and how it sounds to someone reading it for the first time.

An editor can help you make your landing pages both appealing and functional. Bring in another set of eyes, preferably a professionally trained ones, to cut off your content down to the most interesting and effective text.

Landing Page Components

  • An attractive headline: If your landing page is linked to an email marketing campaign, the page headline should mimic if not repeat the email’s subject both for consistency and to avoid confusing page visitors.
  • At least one good image: A colorful image that echoes the page’s theme or simply shows the product or item the page is about. Images should be large enough to see clearly, but not so large that they displace text, or add to too much scrolling.
  • A clear CTA: Whether you’re asking for donations, or encouraging readers to sign up for a newsletter, webinar, what have you, your CTA should be clear. Include at least one of those powerful conversion words, and you’re in business.
  • Clarity and focus: This doesn’t just apply to the CTA, but to all your text. Make it very clear to your visitors what the page is about, what its purpose is, and what you expect them to do there. Blurry articles will mislead your prospects. Don’t make them have to figure it out, or choose between way too many options.
  • Mobile responsiveness: If your website is mobile responsive, then your landing page also need to be easily viewed on mobile devices. If you’re still not convinced about the prevalence of mobile, consider that the number of people who use the Internet on their mobile phones is expected to increase from 2.23 billion in 2014 to 2.97 billion in 2017.

How Do Landing Pages Work For You?

The only way you’ll know is to try it out. Create more than one landing page. Try different things, test everything, use tools to run reports, and document it all. Find out what people want, and what makes them click through. And if all else fails, use one of the most effective investigative methods you have available to you: Ask your potential clients directly.