Hello there, boys, gals and non-binary pals. Mădă here. New to JOCstudio but not to the business. I’ve been working in (undercover) marketing for as long as my career and I’m here to spill the beans with everyone with an ear to listen. And oh, how many beans wait to be spilled. I’m about to start my journey here with some tales about landing pages. Now let’s dig in!
Landing pages should be your new best friend, no matter what type of business you’re running. “But Mădă, I already have a website!” you say. Well, hold on. Your website might not cut it anymore. And in the era of click, click, done, and attention spans continuously decreasing (hello Gen z’s, what’s up with that 1.3 seconds?), you need to move FAST.
Landing pages are the ultimate secret weapon for every marketing strategy. They focus on one goal or call to action, and that’s exactly where the magic happens. Trust me, it’s decisive in this digital age.
Here’s the sad truth: when marketers launch a campaign, less than half of them bother creating a landing page. And out of those who do, less than half bother with A/B testing. That’s a missed opportunity, mis amigos! Landing pages should be at the top of your priority list when it comes to creating killer marketing strategies.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “But Mada, my budget is tight!” I hear you, and that’s precisely why I’m here. Let me help you craft the landing pages that will make your visitors go, “Whoa, I need this in my life!”.
Let’s get cracking on the best practices for creating landing pages that will convert more visitors than a MLM scheme.
Hero Shot – Lights, Camera, Conversions!
Is it catchy but contextual? Will it make me stop to hear what you have to say? I’ll go as far as even asking you if it’s colorful because viewers are 80% more likely to read content that features colorful visuals. Oh dear, how I love the power colors! Imagine the captivating fiery red, the authoritative presence of navy blue, or the energy of bright yellow. These colors could easily captivate, engage, and leave a lasting impression on your audience (Wanna find out more about the psychology of colors? Read our article here!)
This is your landing page’s main image or video above the fold. It’s the superstar of your landing page. It’s the first thing your visitors see, so make sure it leaves a lasting impression. I’m talking about a visual that evokes emotions, makes them curious, and compels them to keep scrolling.
Banging Value Proposition – The Secret Sauce of Success!
How is your product better than the others? Why would I choose you? What’s in it for me?
Tell a story in which the main character is YOUR CLIENT. Always make it about them. What is it that they get out of this? What is the benefit? What problem are you solving? Highlight the benefits they’ll get, the problems you’ll solve. Remember, it might seem one-sided, but you need them as much as they need you.
And always deliver on your promise. They won’t come back if you don’t. Trust is everything.
Structure And Design – Making It Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!
Is it hard to read and follow? Is it confusing? “No, thank you.”
When you look at your landing page, think of a journey. Let everything lead and fall into the other next key piece of information. Let it be minimalistic but essential.
Make it easy for your visitors to follow along and understand what you’re offering. You don’t want to lose them because they got lost on your page!
Social Proof – The Cool Kids Love You, Show It Off!
Who loves your product and why?
This is where the magic of testimonials, reviews, and partner logos comes into play. Did you know that 74% of consumers consider word-of-mouth a key influencer in purchasing decisions? Yes, it’s a big deal. Showcasing social proof builds credibility with your prospects. People trust what others have to say about your business, so let them do the talking for you.
Clear CTA – Let’s Do This!
Is it clear what you want from them? Does it reflect your value proposition?
Use the right words and only use one CTA per landing page. I’ve seen companies spending thousands of euros and dollars on marketing campaigns with zero calls to action. To which I always respond that nobody reads our minds. How should they know what I’m trying to do here if I don’t let them know?
There’s a study that found that switching from the second person (“get YOUR free template”) to the first person (“get MY free template”) in button wording led to a 90% increase in clicks! Am I confusing you now? It seems counterintuitive to what I’ve said before about making it about them, right? Let me explain.
The story and the value proposition is about your client. I HAVE this wonderful thing that will HELP YOU solve this and that, just like it HELPED ME. NOW YOU can GET my wonderful thing too. Here it is. Buy MY wonderful thing now!
When creating the CTA copy, there’s another logic to it. You let them in on your little secret. You let them have a piece of what you have, that they also desire for themselves.
Maybe it won’t work the same for any kind of business, but that’s why you should test, test, test.
BONUS: UX Principles – The Hidden Gems.
A.k.a. placing the buttons at the right time, but not only.
Having a UX Specialist on the team would definitely be ideal, but don’t get discouraged. Even if that’s not the case, you can still steal a few tricks that make all the difference when your goal is to convert. Aside from what has already been mentioned and overlaps with the UX field, like design and structure, pay attention to your call to action button(s).
In longer layout landing pages, your CTA button should be right there, above the fold, next to your Hero Shot and at the end of your landing page as well. Over 90% of visitors who reported reading headlines also mentioned they read the CTA. Especially with complex products, where the customer needs more info to be convinced, they go through the page and at the end of it what should they do? If you make them scroll back all the way to the beginning, you’ll lose them. Put that button right under their nose!
Forms. So easily overlooked. Do you think they made it that far and they won’t give up now?
Oh yes, they will. I don’t consider myself a difficult customer of any sort, especially if it’s free. Yet, I gave up buying something, signing up, applying for jobs, etc., for this specific reason more times than I can count.
Here’s the secret (short) recipe:
- One column
- Autofill whenever possible
- If you need more info, make it multi-step
- If multi-step, start with the easier questions first
- Forget the fluff
Trust me, people are forgiving, but not when it comes to frustrating forms. They will turn around, and you’ll be left spending more money on trying to convert other people.
So there you have it mis amigos. Are any of these surprising in any way?
If you want to talk some more, we’re waiting for your DM on Instagram.
Good luck, and may the conversions be ever in your favor!
Your social fairy,
Madalina Muntean.
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