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How to Create Effective Landing Pages

Landing pages are specially crafted web resources, built with the goal of getting visitors' contact information. Since many people receive dozens of spammy emails each day, you will have to bribe them. Yes, you need to offer them something valuable on your landing page; otherwise, they won't be motivated to subscribe to your email list.

To create an effective landing page, try to see things from your visitors' perspective. What's in it for them? In other words, how will they benefit from sharing their personal information with you? Make sure that your headline emphasizes a huge benefit, and that you are giving away something of real value. If it's a digital product, ensure that it solves a pressing business-related problem.

You can offer your subscribers a 30% discount on their next purchase, or a free 30-minute consultation, for example. The offer should be reinforced by an image or a video which is relevant to your visitors and demonstrates the benefits of the product or service that you are selling. Don't forget that very few people have the time and energy to scroll down the page, so ensure that your offer is fully visible in the above-the-fold section of your landing page - that's the content visible when the users open the page.

Some marketers believe that long copy has the potential to win more business, but I don't agree with them. People live busy lives, so I would rather have them read 100 words of high-quality copy which highlights the results/benefits that they're going to achieve, rather than having them scan through 3,000 words of (probably) clever, but tiring website copy.

No matter what option you choose, it is essential to write compelling copy for all your landing pages. People may be reluctant to do what you're telling them to do, so try to calm their fears and instill trust by using a few logos of the companies you've worked with in the past. Social proof can be very effective.

Remember that white space, bullet points and short phrases are very useful, so incorporate them in the design. Try several versions for each landing page, and then ask your coworkers which one looks better. Ask them to look over the page for 10 seconds (not more!) and then tell you what they've learned/liked/etc.

The call-to-action button must be large, brightly colored, and clearly visible. Make sure it stands out; do not make it hard for people to subscribe to your email list! This means that the number of elements on your landing page must be kept to a minimum. Don't use sidebars, for example, even if they are fully visible on the rest of your site.

Resist the temptation to ask a lot of information. People won't trust you from the very beginning, so you should only try to get their email. Then, you can use surveys, contests, feedback forms, etc. to get access to more of their personal data.

All your landing pages should be mobile-ready. It is estimated that over 70% of people use their phones to browse the web, so make your landing pages responsive. If that isn't possible, redesign your site with mobile devices in mind, because that's where the World Wide Web is heading, anyway.

Don't forget to test each landing page. With A/B testing, you will drive about 50% of the visitors to the first version of your landing page, and the rest to the second version. There are several tools that can do that for you on autopilot, so I won't get into details. Test headlines, images, videos, copy, colors, button shapes... everything! Keep all these things in mind when designing your next landing page, and I guarantee that you are going to achieve remarkable results.