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TL;DR: Landing pages that convert have a few elements in common: copy that tugs on emotions; a value proposition that makes clear you’re the only person for the job; and descriptive calls-to-action.
One of the joys of owning a marketing agency for 17 years is the number of outstanding people who have entered my orbit and become genuine friends. Dan Russell is one of them.
I first met him when he was running a digital marketing agency. He is currently building He is currently building Quoted, a market research company that helps businesses show up in AI search results.
Because I love learning from my friends, and because I don’t pretend to know everything there is about marketing, I asked Dan for his advice on how to create landing pages that convert. (Dan is both adept at writing copy and building the page himself.)
Here’s what I learned.
Landing pages that convert get the copy right
As Dan said, “The design of your page is secondary to copy.” Amen!
And to write the copy, you need to answer three questions:
What is the offer?
The elements on the page are dictated by the offer.
Is it a service or product?
Free or paid?
How will people take advantage of the offer? By filling out a form, placing an online order, or visiting your bricks-and-mortar location?
If you are running a sale for your direct-to-consumer mattress company, your landing page is going to look very different from an individual who is selling coaching services.
What is the level of market sophistication?
This concept doesn’t refer to levels of intelligence. It refers to whether your audience is already familiar with your product or service.
Ride sharing was once a new concept. So was Gillette’s safety razor. When they were introduced to the market, the offer required copy that quickly and clearly educated the consumer on what the product was (along with the benefits).
If you’re offering something that is already well understood in the market, like small-batch gin or chiropractic care, you don’t have to educate the consumer. You just need to make your value proposition clear (more on this below).
How can you tap into emotions?
The ad agency Ogilvy grew into a massive success because they hired extraordinary copywriters who could hit on pain points the consumer didn’t even know they had.
Rolls Royce is famous for an ad that said something like, “The loudest thing in the Rolls Royce Phantom at 60mph is the clock.”
That paints a picture, right? It also highlights the desire people had for a quiet car. Rolls Royce figured this out. Other car manufacturers did not.
Home insurance companies sell peace of mind, which takes many different forms. The more specific and evocative they make peace of mind, the more they connect with consumers.
For your own business, think about what people are most worried about.
Then look at the landing page from a psychological and emotional perspective.
What do you want the audience to feel, and how does that feeling connect to the thing you’re offering?
Place your value proposition above the fold
Dan learned how to write a strong value proposition from MECLABS Research Institute and told me it has one job:
Explain why you are the only person/company/organization in the world who can provide this thing.
That’s a tall order for a landing page!
But you can do it if the offer you’re making is providing value in some way. How am I the only person who can provide this? Make that clear about the fold. Establishing your differentiator immediately will affect conversions.
You can also stack psychological influences at the top of the page, things like awards, five-star reviews, and even the number of happy customers you’ve served over the years.
(By the way, writing copy that is clear and tugs on emotions and a value proposition that makes obvious you are the best person for the job is NOT easy. Our website copywriting service makes it easy.)
Use descriptive calls-to-action and bold button colors
The research on effective calls-to-action (CTAs) agrees: Use descriptive language so people know what’s on the other end of the button click.
That means avoid using single-word commands, like “submit” or “continue.”
Instead, write “get my ebook” or “watch the next video.”
Reducing the level of uncertainty will improve your conversion rate.
In terms of colors, use bold colors that jump off the page. Dan likes green, blue, and purple - the colors of trust. Avoid red (which means stop! End call!) and dark orange (the color of traffic cones, which means caution! Watch out!).
Add CTA buttons where it makes sense. In other words, don’t place the button in the middle of a narrative where it’ll break the reader’s attention.
Six more tips for high-converting landing pages
1 - When writing landing page copy, create a chain of logic and conclude with the offer.
2 - Weave in a story – if you have the space.
3 - Be mindful of the number and type of fields on a form, because it affects conversions. (Tip: people hate sharing their phone number. Don’t ask for it.)
4 - Use a serif or sans serif type to elevate the page.
5 - Make sure it looks great on mobile, because that’s where people are looking at your website.
6 - Use video on your landing page (record it on your mobile phone). Research has shown that video supports conversions.
Do your landing pages convert? (Most don’t)
And by the way, my landing pages are not perfect. I track landing page visits and clicks, so you better believe my underperforming pages will be getting some updates asap. (I’m going to start by looking at them on my iPhone.)
Here’s some homework for you:
Go to the landing page for your top-selling service. How do you want a prospect to feel after reading the copy? Do you hit the nail on the head, or does it need some work?
Related: The LinkedIn Strategy That Tripled a C-Suite Network