10 Tips for Successful Landing Pages

10 landing page tips

10 via Wikipedia

A successful landing page means more subscribers, more queries, and more clients. But what 10 things can make or break your page?

Here are ten tips for designing and writing a landing page that converts.

A good landing page has to be relevant, has to appeal to its audience, and, of course, has to convert (turn visits into subscriptions or leads or sales).

These simple steps will make your landing page better.

1. A catchy and relevant headline

This is not the place to be funny or cute. People don’t want to admire your writing (sniff). They want to solve a problem. If you sent them to the page from an ad or an email, keep the two related to each other (so they know they’re in the right place.

2. Testimonials

Use real people, with real names, not initials. If they’re in the same industry as your audience, that’s even better.

3. A photo of the product

Advertisers call this the “hero” shot. It’s the big, beautiful picture of everything they’ll get (all the mp3 files, ebooks, worksheets, and videos in one glorious pile). This is especially important online, as it makes e-products look real and tangible. Make it a clickable image (people click on everything).

4. Your logo or your photo

This is another good way to establish trust. It shows you’re not hiding behind spammy content – you stand by what you sell and your proud of it.

5. A simple form

The more fields people have to fill out to get something, the less likely they’ll do it. If you can create a form that fills in information automatically, or has check off boxes (rather than long menus), even better.

6. Benefit statements

Use lots of them. Bullet points are good. Or, if not, then short, to the point paragraphs. Break them so they’re easier to read. If it’s an ebook, point to the page numbers where the information is found in the book.

7. Sub-headings

It’s long been a truism that people don’t read (Claude Hopkins complained about it in 1920). However, they do skim.

Some read just the headlines and sub-heads, others will look at headlines, skip along, and then read more closely when they see something of interest. Write for both kinds of readers.

8. Several order buttons

Some people take one look at your page and shout, “Eureka! My problems are over!” Others need a bit more information to make up their minds. Include more than one order button or form.

9. Simplified format

Leave the subscription page, the links, the other offers, away from your landing page. You want to keep it simple. Break up the paragraphs into small, easily-digestible bits. Don’t use long (10-15 line) paragraphs. It’s just too hard to read onscreen. Use a lot of white space (this also helps readiblity).

10. Value statement

Also called anchoring, this means comparing the cost of your product to the cost of something else – or, stating a high value for it – and then telling the reader that it will actually cost much less. It’s a steal!