What’s a landing page? Dig around the world of digital marketing and you’ll see two competing definitions. The dictionary says, the section of a website accessed by clicking a hyperlink on another web page, typically the website’s home page.
To which I say, that’s confusing and not really the best use of a landing page.
According to Unbounce.com, one of the big boys in digital, “In digital marketing, a landing page is a standalone web page, created specifically for the purposes of a marketing or advertising campaign. It’s where a visitor “lands” when they have clicked on a Google AdWords ad or similar.” The bold formatting there is mine. As I said last week, it’s best to use a standalone page when you want people to have only one choice — opt-in, or buy, or say goodbye.
Landing pages, in other words, have one objective and one call-to-action.
The are 2 main types:
- Lead generation pages
- Cick-through, or sales landing pages
The following elements are foundational for a landing page, but hear ye hear ye — design and elements support great copy for great products — they do not do the job alone. You can have all of the right elements but if your headline is boring or you don’t show the value to the potential lead, they will hop off and onto the next thing.
First you begin to build answers these questions:
What is my one offer or big idea?
Who is it for?
What are the benefits to the lead?
Now for the elements…
- A strong headline that speaks to the pain or future vision for your prospect;
“Where will you be in 6 months if you don’t get any clients?”
or
“What if I told you that in 3 months you could be debt free? what would that change for you?”For products:
“Your current incense is polluting your home”
or
“What’s the first new piece of clothing you’ll buy when you lose that extra weight?
- A great image or a video, or both — don’t assume that videos work better than not having one. You must test. Poor quality video converts no one.
- If the traffic is coming from an ad, make sure the headline matches or is almost the same as the ad they clicked on to get there.
- Always have your call-to-action above the fold and bold. If you must have it below the fold — a sales page to unaware buyers, for instance — you must have compelling copy to keep people reading down the page.
- Buttons — bold, stands out, demands they click. Use words that mirror what you are offering. Say the freebie is about getting out of debt, you might use “I want out.” Test long copy on buttons rather than short and see what happens. “I am so ready to ditch my debt” might be more powerful for your people.
- Don’t ask for more than you need. When you are in lead capture mode, don’t require a phone number of address. You’ll lose people. First name and email is standard. If you want to include a field for phone do it — just don’t make it a must in order to opt-in.
- Don’t skimp on design. An outdated look or one that screams, “Non-techy here doing her best to get a landing page together” is a waste of time. Google “free landing page builder” and you will be rewarded with at least 5 choices.
Landing pages are a must if you are marketing in the online space. Remember, you can send people to your website with an ask that they sign up for something, but no matter how juicy that thing is, unless you stand over them, they are likely to get distracted and move on to your blog or social media feed. Not that this is a bad thing, but it’s not getting you that precious email address.
And if you’ve got the right nurture sequence in place, those email addresses will lead to sales, clients, and money in the bank.
Struggling with the copy? Not sure what a strong headline sounds like for your product? Grab a spot on my calendar and I’ll help.
A free offer isn’t much of an offer these days so remember, you’ve got to provide crazy-good value and be able to convince your reader it’s worth their information.
If you’re putting together a new lead magnet, take a few minutes to read this article. It will guarantee your lead magnet has a chance to wow your ideal someone.