October 29, 2018

Beginner’s Guide to Landing Pages

From one-time visitors to guaranteed leads, this is the summit that all advertisers are seeking to win. However, what lies between a good advertiser and a bad one and vice versa? Sometimes it is a bottomless abyss, which you can bridge by plying a ropeway out of original, non-trivial and creative solutions. Therefore, if you want to get across the gap safely and quickly, mind the hint number one – landing page website.

We mean it! Simple landing pages are able to turn a more or less decent product and/or service that you promote into a real bomb! Plus, it will save you a fortune on launching and building up a website, while the result is nowise worse – you acquire the same audience with little to none investment.

Briefly on landing pages: what’s the hype & what’s the use?

Synonyms: sales page, squeeze page, pre-lander, lander, lead capture page, offer page

Now, what is a landing page?

Despite the many names, the original landing page definition remains unaltered. This is a digital page affecting a user’s behavior to the extent they act out as required by the advertiser. It can be a click, purchase, view, call, link transition, completing a form, etc. The point of this marketing move is to carefully lift the veil and indicate the real value of the offered product or service.

Moving on to the most “stirring” part, we are here to answer your question. How to create a top converting pre-lander? Sure, you will hardly come across a perfect recipe mostly due to lack of guarantee. You see, some marketing tricks work out really well, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will work for a great landing page. Although, we have saved a whole lot of tips, various tools, and utilities for you to generate a sales page converting as hell!

Here are just a few of them. Grab while still hot and use them well!

Use testimonials

People tend to believe each other, this general truth is already hundreds of years old, so why not taking advantage of it? For instance, you might want to collect feedback from those who already use your product and suggest others to try it out. Then fill in the Client testimonials section on your landing page website with a couple of positive user reviews. Top those with a few exclamation marks, and the result won’t be long in coming – you’ll get your full of users in a twinkle.

Use high-quality images

Aside from the above-mentioned landing page definition, let us reiterate it a bit. A pre-lander is your brand’s image, the face that reflects its values in a concise and simple yet flawless manner. How do you avoid getting outplayed in front of millions of netizens? Here’s the answer, you don’t cut corners when it comes to make-up. Visuals are the first thing any user watches at a close-up. Even if your texts are polished – each phrase being acute as a razor blade with testimonials cutting to the quick – but you cannot boast off a single quality picture, we really hate upsetting you by telling that such a squeeze page will not pay off.

The best solution, therefore, is to use high-quality images, which show the true colors of your unique selling proposition. You can either purchase them or make a quick DIY, the main point is to link the visuals of your sales page with the brand at a perception level. What we mean here is to let the users know in crude terms what you are about to offer. Once their sight captures the image, it’s already pretty much clear the offer comes from your brand. Make sure to adjust the images to your landing page size, so it doesn’t look overcomplicated.

Try to limit choices

Do you know that the most-wanted product is the one that’s been sold out? A time-limited USP is not a marketing novelty, though it proves out to be quite effective. Spice up your pre-lander with a little bit of drama and make sure to indicate in the bold type that this is a “limited offer.” Along with the typed part, you can utilize a compelling visual image in the form of a timer, ticking clock, battery discharged, just use your imagination! If a user is hesitant about whether he wants your product or not, the feeling of urgency will convince them they really need it.

Limit scrolling length

A good lead capture page can be viewed and read across all devices without a hitch. But please do not take it for the roads untraveled expecting a user to wander about forever. Brevity is power, meaning you have to respect the standard landing page size. And what can serve the best illustration? We are more than sure the limited scrolling length can. Show your potential audience the amount of content to be availed right from the start. No need to keep them guessing how much is left; respect their time and your money. Practice shows that vertical scrolling is the best solution for both mobile and desktop devices, whilst the horizontal one is extremely annoying and reduces your chances to attract a new monetization unit. Here’s a quick sum-up: vertical scrolling – yes, horizontal – no, landing page size matters – yes. Let’s keep going!

Use shorter forms if possible

So, you have successfully attracted a user, and they even made the required action. What’s next? After all the back-end magic hidden from the eye, a user is finally redirected to the feedback form. But no, this can’t be serious! How many questions are there, fifteen?! No one has got time for such long forms. Instead, utilize shorter yet more informative forms that are neither time-consuming nor confusing. The optimal set of queries includes the general contact information such as full name, telephone number, email address, ZIP code, country of residence, as well as some payment details.

Add directional cues

Just the way your kitty cannot resist chasing a laser pointer so is the user unable to overlook the ‘juicy’ pre-lander with a couple of directional cues. Algorithms are the key to successful lead generation. If you expect a user to follow a link, fill out a form, press the button whatsoever, you should state it. Guide the user by helping them navigate across the page and directing their actions. Bright buttons, contrast symbols and arrows, various fonts and colors, comprehensive infographics and a powerful call-to-action – here are several tricks to try out as directional cues. The main point is to be concise and as much specific as possible.

Make them an offer they cannot refuse

And we are not talking about the one that is made out of four most-awaited words. In fact, any lead capture page helps advertisers achieve their primary goal, which is to drive more sales. But you cannot reach it out with a product alone; you also need a customer. How to attract a customer? Shower them with bonuses, discounts, gifts, and the word “free.” Add it next to any offer watch the users fly like bees to honey. Even if you don’t promise the nectar and ambrosia, any person will still want to get something for free. Tart up the offer and make it as catchy as possible. Interactive elements work smoothly every single time; see for yourself!

Conclusion

To be brought out:

  1. Pre-lander is one of the opportunities to draw the attention of users to a product and/or service you promote. Therefore, you might want to make your sales pages more appealing so they hit more conversions. Don’t be shy and get creative; you can jiggle the forms and contents or try something new. The only thing to remember is the landing page optimization – make sure to split-test to know for sure which work and which don’t.

  2. Learn from your competitors. Seeking inspiration in other people’s ideas does not mean stealing from them. On top of that, any idea can be reworked and improved in a completely different way, so you will get a brand-new idea in the aftermath.

  3. If you hate making a page from scratch by yourself, shift your focus to the LP templates. These are already highly polished and comply with the standard landing page size and content requirements. It’s an option to save some man-hours, which can be used otherwise.

Except for that, there are numerous recommendations concerning the structure, the location of blocks, the frequency of video content, the completeness of texts, etc. Our tip is to never neglect them. Once you obtain enough experience and improve your marketing skills, you will realize the inescapable importance of standards, especially when it comes to creatives and customer acquisition. You better stick to the advice of knowledgeable professionals, who have tried and tested tons of marketing strategies.

Good luck with your first pre-landers!

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