Having a simple and effective landing page (or squeeze page) is one of the best ways to build your email list and grow your sales.
But what exactly makes a landing page good?
In previous blogs, I’ve talked about the elements of making a successful email campaign and similar principles apply. Your landing page should be a fruitful step in gaining information from your ideal buyers to ultimately increase sales.
First, you need a solid understanding of a landing page’s purpose so you know what needs to go into it.
Inside the Landing Page
The term landing page is sometimes misused to refer to any home page on a website.
In truth, a landing page is a key part of your sales process, but what exactly is it? What does it really do for you and your prospects?
A landing page is a simple web page that is specifically created to get your potential buyers to opt in. By opting in to receive emails from you, you’re able to build up your email list with truly valuable contacts.
Examples of landing page designs might include:
- A relevant calculator tool
- A detailed quiz or questionnaire offering a ‘result’ on sign-up
- Free download (such as an eBook, audiobook, template, checklist or series of videos) in exchange for information
Essentially, the landing page acts as a portal where prospects exchange their email address for access to or further use of something they are genuinely interested in.
It’s crucial that you don’t get caught up with the sell, sell, sell in your landing page, though.
The Sales Page Vs. The Landing Page
So you’ve got your website and you’re figuring out what pages will be most useful to your email marketing campaign.
But what’s the difference between a landing page and a sales page?
Ideally, a sales page will be longer than a landing page and include everything from product details and costs to reviews and testimonials. The call to action on a sales page is usually a direct link to purchase or add to basket, without another marketing step in-between.
On the other hand, landing pages are created for the sole purpose of gathering names and email addresses – this is where your email lead generation is going to come from.
On your landing page, you’ll feature a freebie or incentive for visitors to give you their email address. Once you have those details you’re able to sweep them off their feet with your stunning email marketing.
Ultimately, a sales page sells a main product or service to visitors. A landing page turns visitors into email subscribers through some kind of free incentive.
6 Steps to Create a Good Landing Page
So what turns a good landing page into a great one that gets regular sign-ups?
These are some of the essential steps to creating an effective landing page:
- Keep it concise – focus on quality over quantity
- Keep it intriguing – don’t divulge all of your secrets
- A targeted headline – dial in on your ideal buyer’s interest
- Create a compelling offer – I covered lead magnets in a previous blog
- Hit their pain point – offer a quick fix
- Prioritise mobile-friendly design – optimise for mobile users
What Do You Get Out of It…?
Building a list with opt-ins from landing pages helps you to increase your conversion rate and make more sales by allowing you to communicate with visitors who are perhaps not yet ready to buy. It’s making the most of the long game. Once you have those interested leads, you have potential sales-ready to be nurtured and led to the point of purchase.
Don’t forget your landing page is weeding out the disinterested website visitors too. You’ll end up with a list of engaged hot prospects just looking to be convinced by your next email campaign.
This is a much better option than buying data to bulk out your list, as you’ll have your ideal buyers at your fingertips.
Want to learn how to create compelling email marketing campaigns? Keep your eye out for my next blog posts…
