Landing pages are the foundation of online businesses. If you are a seasoned entrepreneur, you probably have more than one! You can optimize them to boost your business.
Your landing page is where you send interested people to turn them into leads by asking them to share their email address in exchange for a freebie. This needs to be valuable to your ideal audience. It’s the ultimate place to direct people you are interacting with on your social media, website, podcast, YouTube channel and paid ads. However, just because you are sending traffic to your landing page doesn’t mean it is converting.
What’s the problem?
Have you ever been in a situation where you worked really hard on creating a valuable freebie, designing a beautiful landing page and running targeted ads but your conversion rate is still low?
It is super frustrating but don’t worry, you can fix this.
Of course, you need an awesome freebie that your ideal customer wants to sign up for but your landing page also needs to convince visitors that you are offering value. If it doesn’t, they’ll click away without opting in and you’ve lost a lead.
It’s fine if you don’t capture every lead. Just remember the industry average for conversions is 26%. I have worked with clients to increase their conversions to 50% or higher. Shockingly, a lot of digital marketers are sending potential leads to landing pages that convert at a rate of less than 10%. Don’t settle for any less than the average. Your landing page should be working for you. If it’s not, it’s time to make some changes!
What is a lead generation landing page?
Now landing pages can take various forms. The type we are talking about here is the one that gives people access to a freebie. Visitors opt-in to receive some free content from you and then you email them with other offers later on. This is known as a lead generation landing page because it encourages new people to interact with your business.
Offering free value in exchange for contact information is a key part of the sales funnel so don’t overlook this landing page just because it isn’t selling a paid offer.
How do you make one?
As well as including the right elements in your landing page which we are about to discuss, you want your landing page to look good. There are loads of tools out there that you can use to build your landing page. The one I use and recommend the most to my clients is Convert Kit. It allows you to easily create beautiful designs. Plus it is also an email marketing tool so you get 2 in 1.
Don’t worry this awesome tool isn’t going to blow your budget. If you have under 1000 email subscribers, you can use the free plan. With some of the other plans on offer, you can migrate your current contacts for free.
So if this sounds like the tool you want to use to create your landing pages and more, go ahead and check out Convert Kit.
Now let’s get into the 3 essential parts of a high-converting landing page.
Part 1: Attention-Grabbing Headline
The headline is the first thing visitors see so you want to get it right. Make a good first impression. You don’t need to overcomplicate it though. Show visitors they are in the right place to get some amazing free content. It can simply be your freebie title as long as it portrays how valuable the freebie is.
Make a good first impression and visitors will continue to read your landing page which is necessary for them to be happy to give over their details in exchange for the freebie.
Qualifying subheading
To add to the impact of your landing page, include a subheading. It should qualify the heading so if you have said your freebie is the best, explain why by sharing how it will help. It should also validate the visitor by indicating to them they are in the right place and this freebie is for them.
There is no point in people completely different to your ideal customer opting in because the rest of your marketing is unlikely to appeal to them. Focus on showing your ideal customer that this is the content they need to solve their problem. Be specific about who the freebie is for and how it will benefit them.
Part 2: Crystal Clear Call to Action
In this case, your call to action is to sign up for the freebie. Make sure your opt-in form isn’t too complicated. All you need is their name and email address. Asking for more than that is going to put visitors off. It should be easy for visitors to tell what you are offering and quick for them to sign up for it.
You can place the call to action underneath the subheading so those already convinced can submit their information straight away. The opt-in form should always be easy to find or once again you could potentially lose leads.
CTA Button
The CTA button might seem like a small piece of your landing page but it can make a real difference. First, when it comes to design, have some fun with it. You want the button to stand out so color-wise it shouldn’t blend into the rest of the page. It shouldn’t be the same as the rest of your color scheme. Pick a color that compliments the page while standing out at the same time.
You can also have fun with the text of the CTA button. It should be clear what action visitors are taking and it should sound exciting. Something as simple as ‘Access Free Content’ or ‘Yes! I’m in. Let’s get started’ is more exciting than ‘Submit’ or ‘Subscribe’. You can really play around with this to hype your leads up for the content they are about to receive.
Part 3: Details of the offer
This is where you explain why the visitor can’t live another day without your freebie. Landing pages for freebies should be kept on the shorter side. You don’t want to overwhelm leads that are new to you and it shouldn’t take as much convincing because they don’t need to part with any money.
Do include a couple of sentences explaining what your freebie is and why it is beneficial. This will help people who aren’t quite sure to make up their minds. What do they get out of your freebie? Keep it catchy and concise so visitors can see the value being offered quickly. Going on for too long is distracting and you don’t want any distractions on your landing page.
No distractions
To avoid any distractions as well as keeping the text concise, make sure the page layout is simple. You don’t need a navigation bar or a footer. The color scheme should be flattering. The same is true of any images you include. The page should work well together to encourage visitors to opt-in for the freebie.
Those are the 3 essential parts of a high converting landing page. With these elements included you are bound to win over visitors and increase your conversion rate. However, there is something else you could add if you want to.
Bonus: Testimonials
Social proof is always beneficial. So if you have already shared your freebie when you are writing your landing page, you can add some testimonials too. This is the final way you can convince visitors that your freebie is well worth getting.
If you do extend your landing page beyond the three main elements, include another call to action. You don’t want visitors to be convinced by the testimonials and then have to scroll all the way back up the page to opt-in. Avoid anything that could put visitors off so they leave without opting in.
Now you have learned everything you need to know to write a high-converting landing page, it’s time to take a look at your own landing page.
Questions to ask yourself going forward
Is your landing page aesthetically pleasing?
Have you included enough details to convince people to get your freebie NOW?
Is it easy to opt-in?
Are you message matching so your message on social media and other marketing channels matches the message on your landing page?
If you make the necessary changes, there is no reason why you can’t up your landing page conversion rate to 50% or even 60%. Get this key marketing stage down and you really can market your way to millions.
Links & Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
My favorite landing page tool – Convert Kit
An example of a landing page – lizboer.com/freebie
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