Guide to landing pages Pt1
A high-converting landing page boils down to one thing: effective communication.
Visitors need to know what, why, and how you do what you do - and be inspired to take action.
But most people get stuck assembling blocks of design elements and competing headlines that don’t drive action.
In part 1 of The Ultimate Guide to Landing Pages, we’ll give you the framework to assess your current landing page.
In part 2, we’ll give you the playbook to create an LP that doesn’t flop the sale.
Let’s get started.
1. Clarity is King.
Clarity tells the visitor one thing: What do you do for me?
And it starts with the headline.
It delivers a clear first impression that piques consumers’ interest and persuades them to keep reading.
It seems simple.
Yet many get it wrong. And it often arises from vague, buzzword-filled phrases that fail to communicate the message.
Exercise:
Drop your headline(s) in the table below and see if it answers "What Do You Do For Me?" If not, then re-write your headline until it does.
2. Context is Queen.
Context answers the second question: how do you make it happen?
Context is delivered via sub-headlines and copy.
Without it, your big idea is nothing more than an empty claim.
And should always answer, “HOW?”
Drop your sub-headline(s) or copy in the table below and see if it answers "How Do You Make It Happen?"
If not, then re-write your sub-headline or copy until it does.
3. Creative is the Prince.
Your creative elements: paint the picture.
Without them, you're letting the consumer's imagination take over.
With them, you show what you deliver.
It's not enough to tell, you must show.
4. Don’t Design A Landing Page, Write a Letter.
LP’s are often designed with blocks of copy and creatives.
And the result is a choppy conversation that loses its flow.
Imagine an elevator pitch where you stop at every floor on the way down.
It would completely ruin the flow of your pitch.
Your landing page is no different.
It should flow.
And it should feel like a conversation.
When you build your landing page in blocks, you destroy all of that and open the door to distraction and confusion.
Bad Example: Squarespace
Read Squarespace's copy out loud.
You will notice it doesn't feel like a conversation, and instead, like blocks of ideas, grouped to build a landing page.
It's not talking directly to you.
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Good Example: The Farmer’s Dog
This is from The Farmer’s Dog’s landing page.
When you read it aloud, it’s like a personal letter that speaks directly to you.
Use “The Founder and the Employees” tactic to stress test the flow of your headline structure.
Every headline has a job, but only one headline is the founder that cements your value creation in the mind of the consumer.
Every following headline is a supporting employee.
If other headlines make claims that steer off in different directions, then you open doors to confusion.
Next, we will show you how to put this into practice. But for now, re-examine your landing pages with:
- The Clarity Test: Does your headline answer the question, “What do you do for me?”
- The Context Test: Does your subheadline answer the question, “How do you make it happen?”
- The Creative Test: Are you showing or just telling?
- Write a letter: Read the page out loud. Does it read like a letter or blocks of claims?
