Category — Web Marketing

A website landing page is the sales pitch you can’t give in person.

It’s the page that does all the heavy lifting of selling your product or service.  If your visitors aren’t buying your product, your landing page may need a makeover.

Here are some tips on how to make a great landing page.

A compelling headline

A great headline will get attention.  A poor one will be ignored.  If the headline is no good, nobody will read the rest of the copy.   Write a headline your readers can’t resist: create a sense of urgency,  create a contradiction, or promise an easy solution to a hard problem.

An introduction

Remind people why they came to your landing page.  Talk about the problem that your visitor has – which you can fix.  Or, get them excited about the cool tool or exclusive access they’ll get (but only if they buy).

Add more value

Then, you build on that.  Tell the visitor more about the benefits.   You can use bullet points,  but if you want a great landing page, they’ve got to focus on benefits, not features. Say, for example, you’re selling a cookbook.  Tell me about the delicious food I’ll be eating.  Show me pictures of it.  Give me a “taste” of the recipes.  Make my mouth water.  Explain how I can have a great dinner on the table in under 20 minutes (or whatever the premise of the book is).

Answer questions

Sales letters are often long because there’s no live person handy to answer questions.  So, you’ve got to include all of them (or at least the most common ones).

Add even more value

If there’s special access (book and limited consulting slots, special membership forum), tell me about that.  Why is it special?  What will it do for me?

Have a great guarantee.  Explain what it is, show how it removes the risks, and what to do if they need to use it.

Ask for the order

“It’s easy to get your copy, just…(click on this button, call our office, fill out this form).   Give exact instructions.  Spell it all out.  And, make sure you explain what will happen after they do so.  Have buy now links throughout the page — but not at the very top.

Show proof it works

Get testimonials. If your product is new, send out some samples.  If it’s not brand-new, get reviews from other clients who have used it.  Use their words (not yours).

P.S.  Don’t forget the P.S.  It’s an old direct marketing technique.  When people get a sales letter, they read the salutation, then look at the end. Like you just did.  Because, after all, we all want our marketing to be successful; trophies are good too.

P.P.S. If you’re in the U.S., enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.

Image thanks to :  svilen001

Do people think you’re great? Do they tell their friends? Wear your colors (like the fans in the photo)?

People are naturally skeptical, but you can build your credibility with something called “social proof.”

Here’s how it works. Say you belong to an online group. Your friend Bob emails you to say his friend Jill just joined. You go look at her profile, and see she’s also a friend of Betsy’s (another friend of yours). You think, well any friend of Bob and Betsy must be good people. You already like her (because your friends recommended her).

The same thing works for companies and products. If someone asks me for a good ebook designer, I strongly recommend Paul Durban. If that person trusts me (and I hope they do), they go to Paul prepared to think he’s great (which he is).

How can you get social proof for yourself?

Make referrals

If someone asks you for a referral, make a recommendation. It works three ways. The person who asked is happy with you because you helped her. The person getting the referral is happy because you sent him a potential client. And, you’re happy because you helped someone.

Get testimonials

Ask your clients for testimonials about the work you did for them. Ask for their opinions of your service (good and bad). Tell them it doesn’t have to be anything formal, just make a few notes. Asking for both the good and the bad will help you, and also help your clients (as you’ll know if anything is bothering them).

Cite statistics

McDonald’s used to have a sign counting up the millions and millions of burgers sold. The idea was that all those numbers proved that their burgers were good (see, we’ve sold 60 million of them).

Get interviewed

Reply to appropriate queries on HARO (help a reporter out) and get your name in the news. Being interviewed shows you’re an expert. Put out a press release when you come up with a new product (not about you, but about how the product solves a problem – there’s a difference). This can also generate more press and interviews.

Be social

Commenting on blogs, activity in forums (for your ideal customer) and answering questions all show your expertise. After a while, people will start to recognize you, your name, and your avatar, as they see you around the web. They’ll feel they know you.

Share your thoughts

What have you done to build your own credibility?  Especially online?  Share your tips.

Image thanks to steelcityhobbies

Ever see a big guarantee on a web site?

You’re happy, or your money back.

Risk-free trial. Try it for 30 days, if you’re not happy, we’ll refund your money.

Here’s one from Bob Bly:

“Best of all, Cheap Car Tips and Tricks comes with our iron-clad money-back guarantee. If you are not 100% satisfied with the guide, just let us know within 90 days for a full and prompt refund.That way, you risk nothing. So what are you waiting for? To order Cheap Car Tips and Tricks, just click below now.”

Here’s mine:

The Backwards and Forwards Guarantee

“I’m stealing this idea from Megan Elizabeth Morris, who stole it from Naomi Dunford (who stole it from Mark Silver at Heart of Business). Here’s how it works. Buy the checklist. If you decide you don’t find it useful, I’ll refund your money. All you have to do is ask— and forward the website review checklist to someone you think can use it. Let me know why, and I’ll improve it for the next version or suggest other people or resources that may help.”

Why this is important

Is a guarantee required? No. However, it’s a good thing to do. Why? Because it shows you have faith in your product. And, it reassures people that if they have a problem, you’ll stand behind what you do. It’s called risk reversal. It doesn’t just make you look good; it will get you more sales too.

A creative guarantee is even better. It stands out in the reader’s mind.

Longer guarantees are better than short ones. So is a guarantee that lets you keep the bonus “all about widgets podcast”, even if you return the widget buying CD that you ordered.

Try it. I guarantee you’ll like it.

Image by 1stlogodesign

John Wanamker once said, “Half my advertising is wasted, I just don’t know which half.”

Actually, there is a way to tell where your sales are coming from.

Set up tracking systems on your web site

If you don’t have Google Analytics installed on your site, go do it now.  You set up a Google account, add some code to your site, and you’re good to go.  This will tell you where your clicks and visits are coming from. And here’s a Google Analytics tutorial with tips on what to look for.

Track clicks and ads

If you run a print ad, use a unique URL (such as www.mysite.com/logo).  Keep this fairly short and easy to remember.  The harder it is to type, the less likely it is that people will do it.

Do the same for a direct mail or postcard marketing campaign.  Add a unique URL or a keycode (a series of numbers or letters, like LOGO1, for the first logo offer mailing) that identifies which mailing it is or which list you used.

Add tracking links to your ebooks.

Offer a bonus

Add an incentive to go to the landing page.   Offer an additional discount or bonus for using the code. Put a box to your home page that says, see us in ______ magazine?  Enter your code here.  The code would be the unique URL name, which sends them to the landing page.

Welcome new visitors

If you’re driving visitors from another web site, welcome visitors from XYZ blog. right on top. For banners, or AdWords campaigns, send people to a landing page set up for that particular campaign.

Google can track all of this, as well as the conversions (sales/sign-ups) for each one. Once you know where your sales are coming from, you can shift more time (and money) to what works. Then, do a happy dance, cause you know more than John Wanamaker ever could.

Got any other ideas or tips for tracking?  Anything I missed?  Share in the comments.

UPDATE: Well, I missed a broken link. Fixed now.

Image: stellablu

Continuing from yesterday’s post, great design, or even OK design, won’t sell all by itself.

Here’s what does.

Don’t sell

The first thing that sells is not really selling at all. A strong, in-your-face sales pitch right up front will send people running for the hills. Instead, talk about what’s bothering your readers. Give them information they need. Be friendly. Ask for feedback (how am I doing?) and answer questions.

Know who you’re talking to

Understand your audience. Know what their problems are. What frustrates them. Offer information and insight that will help them fix it. Make it clear what you do. Explain what kinds of people or businesses need your help. Show why it’s worth the money and the results you get.

Design your site for other people

Don’t make decisions based solely on what you like (unless you’re darn sure you match your “tribe”). I’m not saying you should hate your web site, just that you’ll do better if you keep your visitors’ preferences in mind. Don’t make your site purple because you love purple.

Paint pictures

Write content that talks to your readers and about your readers.  When you do want people to buy, they should be able to see, taste, and smell how great they’ll feel if they buy from you.

Here’s a simple example from online grocer FreshDirect (I don’t know who writes their copy, but he or she is good!):

A hint of cloves and tart pineapple. Juicy as a honeydew. This all-purpose pear holds up well when cooked, but it’s just as good right off the tree.

That’s for a pear. Are you hungry?

Share your thoughts

What do you think? Are you struggling with your own web site? Got a question? Ask, and I’ll answer.

Image thanks to iprole