Writing good sales pages confuse people, and most speakers, authors and coaches shy away from taking the time to create them. Let us help you by sharing a recipe.
Sales pages, landing pages, opt-in pages. It’s no wonder it’s so confusing, there are so many names, and yet these are essentially all serving a similar purpose, even though they are called different things. They all ‘sell’ something (even if it’s something free!) This is relevant for everyone working in business because you need a way to capture someone’s attention and get the to sign up or buy.
Technically, sales pages are exactly that — they show an offer about something you can BUY.
Landing pages, lead pages, opt in pages are geared more to offering something you get for free that signs you up to a list.
BOTH need to grab the attention of your avatar, and some of that is down to who that ideal client is. That’s why there are so many different pages out there when you go to look for examples. Whether they are B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer) can have an impact — the language changes, the look and feel does too. If they are deep thinkers or just want a result can impact the length of the copy you choose. If they are highly visual and fast, your pages might contain more imagery than an avatar who likes to process information and detail. As we always say, knowing your avatar well is a key to everything! The more you know them, the easier it is to ensure you get your marketing efforts converting!
START with Why to get them right:
Here’s why it’s so important to do the upfront thinking and crafting of your pages — whether you are directly selling or just enticing them onto your list so you can build a relationship with them:
- You only have seconds to get your point across
- You want the sales or sign ups (if they’ve landed, let’s land them!)
- You don’t want your time and efforts wasted
- You don’t want to waste their time (everything leaves an impression!)
Elements to consider and get right when writing your landing pages:
Whilst no pages are created ‘equal’ or the same, there are definitely some checklist type points that you can incorporate so it works for you.
- Branding.
Make sure that your branding fills the page — not overtly and plastered everywhere of course, but the page needs to be recognised as YOURS. It needs to tie in with what they know of you already.
2. Simplicity
Make it easy on the eye! Create your landing page as something that draws them in, is not confusing, and guides them to know (in seconds) what this is about and why they might want whatever you are providing. Clutter creates confusion.
3. Have a clear description of the problem the product solves
Create intrigue or desire with your headlines, then explain the problem so they understand that you know what they are going through. The more you define the problem exactly as they think of it, the easier it is to hook their attention.
4. Have only one option per page
A landing page only ever has ONE call to action; the temptation is to tell them options, but options create confusion. To paraphrase Yoda — ask them to Do or Not Do — that’s the only choice on a landing page.
5. Make sure there’s consistency
Think about where they were before the landed on this page; was it your email? A post? A blog on medium? On LinkedIn? In FB?). Make sure your branding, style and wording/language is a fit. The job is to create a SEAMLESS experience — it has to make sense ie it’s the LOGICAL next step.
6. Be CLEAR about what you are asking for!
Make sure your buttons and calls to action are obvious and appear as soon as possible– tell them what to do next. Don’t be polite, be direct.
We think you can hear that it REALLY is about them, the person who is reading your page, being invited to take a next step!
What to do next is to check your landing pages and see if they have these elements. We’ll share more about what else you can do in a future blog. For now, make sure you review your content and tweak them.
Join us in The Connection Hub to access a deeper training we did on this here.