Congratulations, you’ve done it!
You have created a great product that brings value to people’s lives. And you just know that everyone will be chuffed to bits when you introduce them to the very life-improving-thing they have all been waiting for.
But then, once the day you have been preparing yourself for comes, and you actually do enter the market, it’s time to face the music.
Your products and services, no matter how innovative, interesting and value-adding they might be, will not sell by themselves.
Instead, YOU have to do it.
Once all the enthusiasm and excitement wear off, you are left with the cold, harsh truth: you have to find a way for everyone to see the value that you can see in your products.
The solution to this issue is much simpler than you might have thought: it basically comes down to creating a place where you will not only attract customers but keep them hooked, begging for more.
That place (when done the way it’s supposed to be done) is called a landing page.
In today’s digital world, the landing page is the face of your business. A good landing page is a getaway to straightening your position on the market, generating sales, and increasing your return on investment.
Reading all of the above reasons, you can already sense why it is vital to do this task right.
And, having extensive experience when it comes to the subject, we decided to create a comprehensive guide in which we summarized all our knowledge about the features and elements of effective landing pages that generate leads and skyrocket your profits.
We got your attention?
Good! That’s what you will soon be able to do with your customers as well. Read on!
As always, we believe that for you to fully comprehend the importance of the discussed issue and the ways you can go about solving it, it is best if we start with the basics.
Thus, before doing what we promised (explaining the features that distinguish good landing pages from bad ones), we will first define what a landing page is, and mention the high-converting landing page types that differently structure your content. Only by knowing the options you have, you will be able to pick the right one for your business, and hence get the most of it.
Okay, so, what is a landing page?
A landing page is a page where the user “lands” after clicking a hyperlink. They are the first thing that the user sees, and as such are responsible for creating the first impression of your business. Hence, a good landing page can promote a positive first impression and turn the accident visors into returning customers.
Usually, this page is the home page of the site, and it is always created for the purpose of hooking the customer into wanting to find out more about your business and the products and services you offer. To put it in other words, it is the make-it-or-break-it place on the entire website.
Moreover, as most of them are highly visual, they create trust and place your business as a legitimate one on the market.
As a result of the reasons mentioned above, most of the time, when businesses create a landing page, they notice the growth of the conversion rate. Such is the case since, as opposed to blogs which mainly focus on popular posts to attract visitors and gain email subscriptions, landing pages offer several options for growing the email list and therefore the span of the business’s email marketing campaigns.
Generally, there are two types of landing pages: text only and video landing pages.
Today, most of the online marketing firms use a text-based landing page. One of the main features of a text-based landing page is user-friendly experience in a speedy manner. An example of a text-only landing page is pictured.
According to a survey conducted it was revealed that 49% of the people react to the visual information as compared to text information. So, why not use this information to your advantage, and add more videos, graphs and visual cues that can create a more positive user experience? eWeek estimates that by 2019 the revenue of online video marketing will reach $800 million, as most of the video websites like YouTube, Vimeo, etc. have become so popular among the internet user.
Finally, we come to the part that you are here for in the first place: the steps that you can follow to make sure that you create a landing page that will result in a boost of traffic and high conversion rates.
Here’s what you should do:
As an online business owner, you have to understand the mindset of the visitors of your page, so you can satisfy their needs and plan your business’s development accordingly. A good rule of thumb is to focus on offerings and practices that will attract your customers’ attention.
And the way to find this information out is by the good old market research.
Practicing proper market research techniques is necessary for any project – and there is no reason whatsoever to skip this part when creating a good landing page.
One of the most popular and successful ways to do this is to use the power of social media. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, have become an irreplaceable part of the everyday lives of the majority of people. Another perk that they offer is the possibility of two-way communication between the businesses and the customers, which not only increases trust and customer satisfaction, but also allows business owners to collect more data about their userbase.
In this section, we will focus on the anatomy of creating an effective and successful landing page. Undoubtedly, we all know that content is king, and the design of a landing page will affect the audience on how the content is presented, which will ultimately create interest in the minds of targeted audiences.
Here are some critical elements of a successful landing page:
Headline: The headline is the essential element of a landing page. It should be bold, clear and focused.
Supporting sub-headline: The supporting sub-headline has its own importance. According to Top Left Design, “a sub-headline will give people a reason to read all of your copy, instead of skimming or scanning it.”
Visual Focus: Studies show that human brain processes visual items faster than text. You can add visual focus to your landing page by adding photos, videos, and headshots.
Testimonials: Providing testimonials of previous customers is more than beneficial, as it shows potential customers real results, and as a result positively affects the trust factor.Core benefits: Providing highlights of the core benefits of a product or service on a landing page inspires customers to take action.
Call-to-action: To convert visitors into subscribers, the business owner needs clear and simple call-to-action plans. It is best if you use a call-to-action button instead of web links, as it is a clear statement of what you expect the visitors to do. Call-to-action buttons attract more customers when they are colorful, bold, and authoritative.
Landing Page Design Tools
You can go about designing a landing page in different ways. The easiest one is to use a landing page design template. Applying the right tools will make sure that the design is done effectively.
Below, we have created a list of some of the most popular landing page design tools:
The First and, perhaps, the most well-known landing page creator among online marketers is Click Funnels. Click Funnels offers a few unique features that other landing page software does not.
The first major component is the template selection. Not only do they have a vast selection of templates, but you can even sort them by conversion rate.
Moreover, Click Funnels is a platform that provides you with everything you need to sell, market, and deliver products online. Using Click Funnels, entrepreneurs can build highly convertible funnels that generate leads, increase revenue, set up webinars, and much more. It also has features to enable a shopping cart function and features to create a membership website.
Click Funnels helps to avoid the following costly techniques that accompany marketing products and services online:
For more details on the use of Click Funnels and to start a FREE account, visit this page.
Unbounce allows landing page creators to build and carry out A/B split tests to find out what works and what does not on the page.
The reason that Unbounce is so popular is the simplicity of usage powered by the “drag and drop” functionality, which is similar to Click Funnels. You can pick elements such as text boxes, images, forms, and much more from the side menus and simply drag them into a section on your landing page.
Beginner landing page creators search no more – this software is all they need.
Instapage is a freemium tool. When using it for free, which you can use to create a single professional landing page. However, if you wish to have more landing pages built, you have to opt for the paid version. If you are on a tight budget, this might not be your best bet; With that said, it offers almost all of the essential content building features. It allows you to drag and drop elements in and out of your page, as well as edit elements by clicking on them.
It has a built-in A/B testing feature so that you can optimize your page’s conversion rate after you’ve built the first version.
A couple of other tools worth mentioning are:
PopUp Domination: This tool is helpful for the beginners as well as experts. Considered one of the best pop-up box creators.
Optin Monster: Perfect for capturing emails and leads. Very easy and simple to use and can be easily integrated into a landing page template.
Optinskin: Used for adding opt-in boxes in blog posts, landing pages, and fan pages.
Now that we have covered the technicalities of building a landing page, it is time to talk about the aesthetics.
Numerous studies show that the right colors used on a landing page will improve conversion rates.
For example, color psychology suggests that in a yellow painted room, a person might feel anxious, whereas a blue painted room will make a person feel peaceful.
Color psychology works online as well, as the color combination of a brand, logo, symbol, or charts affect the buying decision of a prospective customer.
In a recent research study called, “The Impact of Color on Marketing,” it was revealed that color is the main factor on which up to 90% of consumer decisions are made about buying a particular product.
The two principal color areas one should consider are:
Background color
Choosing the right background color is imperative as it ultimately affects the conversion rate. If the background color is displeasing to the eye, the conversion of the landing page will reduce. Using solid colors in the background are an effective way to create a good impact in the minds of visitors to a landing page.
Link Color
Linking is used when you have a specific goal to achieve, or you would like to direct the reader’s attention to another area of the site.
Blue, maroon, or red have been shown to have the highest link click-through rates. This is probably due to the fact that most of the links tend to use these colors, so our minds are used to noticing them even when just scanning the page.
However, you do not have to follow all the rules that strictly. Instead, business owners should use link colors that coincide with the overall theme of the landing page. For example, in the case of a dating landing page, designers can use shades of an orange color, as orange symbolizes happiness and warmth of love. For digital items such as software, e-books, etc., designers can opt for a blue color, which is considered the color of trust and peace. These are just a few examples as the psychology of colors is a multifaceted approach and requires further research and in-depth study if one were to implement the concept to increase website conversions on a landing page.
Finally, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: conversion.
There are many simple ways to optimize a landing page to produce the desired results, but one that has proven itself to be especially effective is following the K.I.S.S. technique (“Keep It Simple, Stupid”).
You can apply the much-talked-about K.I.S.S. principle to your landing page by following a couple of simple suggestions:
Now, if these principles and steps are too much to take in, which is always a possibility, remember that Kaizen Sigma can lend you a hand and create the right kind of landing page for your business.
Creating a landing page that converts is both simple and complex at the same time.
It is simple since there are numerous examples and proven techniques that you can replicate to create good results.
The complex thing, on the other hand, is finding the right technique that will appeal to your target audience.
So, when it comes to landing pages, just like with any other thing, many rules exist.
Your job is to create your personas, do your digging, and respond to the market needs by following the specific set of rules that are applicable to your chosen industry.
In other words, focus your efforts. It is common sense that you cannot expect results if you offer meat to people that have decided to be vegetarians.
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