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20 Ways To Optimize Your Landing Page
Copy For More
Conversions A lean, mean, actionable guide for startups, entrepreneurs and
digital marketers
Peter Michaels Conversion Copywriter
www.rockandrollcopy.com
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A Brief Intro… If you’ve ever tried selling your products and services online, you know it can be tricky. There are so many critical components that make up a good website, an effective landing page, or an irresistible offer – and there’s a right and wrong way to approach each component. But when you get it right, you create a powerful tool for generating sales, sign-‐ups and leads… Which makes your landing pages your online sales force, regularly delivering juicy ROI that helps grow your biz. Sometimes, to optimize your conversions you first have to invest a fistful of time and money in training, research and experience… …but then there are other times when you can leverage the insights of a seasoned Conversion Copywriter and find out how it’s done – without spending a thing. Today is one such rare occasion, my friend ; ) This short guide is my way of helping you nail the most important components of your landing page… It outlines 20 key tips I’ve learned over the past few years working with startups, entrepreneurs and consultants who needed to convert readers into customers – and prospects into clients. Some you may know, others you may have heard other conversion experts preach about in a different form. Each has been hand-‐picked from my own tool-‐box of practical ‘hacks and tips’. It’s all too easy to drown in info-‐overload these days, so I’ve kept this guide lean, mean and most importantly, actionable.
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It’s long enough to help you get the essentials right and start seeing significant improvements… and short enough for you to easily digest and start implementing in one session. There are some terrific in-‐depth courses out there that can teach you to write better copy – I know, I’ve taken some of ‘em – but our goal here is simpler: I want to help you fix your most important landing page TODAY, FAST and FOR FREE. Ok, all set? It’s time to dive in…
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1) Headlines, and how NOT to use them
Headlines! Important, yes? That’s why they’re at the top and all. Ok. Just don’t try to throw the kitchen sink at your landing page headline… It’s tempting when you love your product to want to tell the world every last detail about how and why it’s so damn cool. But your headline, value prop or hero section – whatever you want to call this first copy area your reader sees – isn’t the place for that. Don’t overcomplicate it. Ideally you want your prospect to take one single, clear idea away from reading your headline – so don’t muddy the water by springing too many concepts on ‘em right away. That’s not to say you should use a 4-‐word ‘tagline’. This isn’t a billboard ad. It’s not a place for cute but meaningless rhyming… Your headline can be a dozen words, sure, but keep it lean, and to the point (try not to use “or” in your header, for instance). Remember: the main objective of your headline is to give ‘em something good and then get ‘em to read on. Copy checklist takeaway: make your headline head-‐LEAN (yes, that’s a crappy pun. But its heart is in the right place.)
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2) Matching expectations Think about where your visitor came from – how did they find you? If you’ve set up Google Ads, Facebook ads or some other form of referral ad to send traffic to your site, make sure your visitor’s expectations are met as soon as they see your headline. ‘Cos we’re impatient creatures these days, especially on the web… A prospect researching a problem is likely to have a whole bunch of ‘solutions’ open in their browser. You don’t want yours to be closed before it’s had chance to shine because the language in your headline doesn’t match the link they clicked to find you. You don’t have to repeat the whole ad in your header – unless you’re confident you’ve got a super-‐enticing headline you can use in both areas – just be sure any promise or specific benefit that enticed them to your site is reflected in your header. For example, if I ran a campaign ad that read:
“How To Convert More Email Subscribers Into Buyers” …but then it sent clickers to a landing page with the headline:
“Find Out Why Your Copy Isn’t Pulling Its Weight” …I’d likely lose a lot of people straight away who didn’t see the connection between copy and subscriber conversions – even if I went on to explain that connection further down the page. Here’s a couple of examples where the marketing peeps get it right, matching visitor expectations with a search-‐relevant headline:
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The Wildnet search ad above leads to this easily-‐relatable landing page:
And this Hertz ad…
…leads to this page, featuring the same specific £13/day car hire term:
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Of course, the idea of ‘message matching’ doesn’t just apply to paid ad traffic… Research what other messages your visitors have seen before they arrive at your page – referral sites, guest blogging, social media, email campaigns etc… You don’t want to confuse them with your headline, or you’ll find yourself red-‐X’ed the hell off their screen. Copy checklist takeaway: does your headline match visitor expectations?
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3) Utilising the unexpected The flip side of that last point is: You can also grab your visitor’s attention by surprising them with your headline. If you have a wide variety of traffic sources and aren’t running super-‐targeted ad campaigns, you could use the element of surprise to grab eyeballs. Try stating how your product/service does the opposite of what people expect… You could debunk a popular myth they’ve likely heard about your market… Or begin a story (case studies are ideal) that you then continue down the page. If you can find something extraordinary, or even just unusual in the story you want to tell on your landing page – and if it can be expressed as a headline in a couple of sentences – people will read on to find out more. Which is what your headline should do – encourage visitors to stay on the page longer so they can check out your offer. Copy checklist takeaway: can you stop your prospect in their tracks with the element of surprise?
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4) Banish the buzzwords
In his excellent book ‘Essentialism’, consultant and author Greg McKeown explains how he was brought in to help a large Silicon Valley company define their value proposition… The CEO showed him his latest idea, and McKeown cringed. So did I when I read it. The usual suspects were all present: “Passion, innovation, execution and leadership”. Write these words down. Ok, now cross them out and never use them in your sales copy again. If you want your message to resonate, don’t use overused management-‐speak clichés like these. They’re scattered across bland, unimaginative corporate websites worldwide, like bird-‐poop on park benches. And they won’t get noticed because they mean nothing to your prospect. He or she has heard it all before, a thousand times. I don’t doubt you’re passionate about (or at least, interested in) what you do – and if you’ve created a solution to a problem, then you’re by definition kinda innovative… But that doesn’t mean you have to spout meaningless clichés on your website. You deserve better – as do your customers and clients. ‘Passion’ and ‘innovation’ are the bare minimum people expect from entrepreneurs… ‘execution’ is just David Brent-‐esque management-‐speak for ‘doing’… and ‘leadership’ just suggests someone, somewhere, is in charge. How do these traits actually benefit your customers? It’s all just ‘word-‐shaped air’ (as CopyHackers’ Joanna Wiebe once memorably wrote).
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These buzzwords are now banned from your sales copy – challenge yourself to write without using them. You’ll find the extra thinking you do to replace them with something better will improve your message. At the very least you won’t make your reader cringe! (Even if the odd buzzword slips out every now and then, if you catch and improve more than you let through, your message will benefit from being much more unique.) A classic RT from Aussie ad expert Ryan Wallman on the subject:
Don’t do it, kids.
Copy checklist takeaway: keep the passion in the bedroom, and off your website.
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5) Speak to one person at a time …yes, even if you’re in B2B. Why? Because businesses don’t read, people do. Yes, there may be more than one person at each company who looks over your site – key workers who pass your offer on to their boss for budget approval, and so on… But when somebody reads your copy, they’re only ever using one pair of eyes and one brain. Your message has to resonate with that one person, right at that moment. Every reader you have is an individual – with their own personal thoughts, emotions, desires and insecurities. That doesn’t change because they dress smartly to go to work. So conversational is great, colloquial is fine… you can ease up on the cute, but always refrain from writing in ‘biz-‐speak’ to ‘a business’. You’re writing for one reader, who just happens to work in a business. And yes, it absolutely helps to picture him or her while you write. Copy checklist takeaway: look ‘em in the eye and write as if you’re talking to one person, always.
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6) The You/Me axis
It may seem obvious, but a quick scan around a sample of landing pages suggests not everyone realizes that talking about what you do is only half the story. Don’t get too focused on what you do/your product does, at the expense of what your prospect wants to achieve in their life. For every ‘I’, ‘my’, ‘our’ or ‘we’ in your copy, there should be (at least an implied) ‘you’. The more ‘you’s, the better. So if you write about your product’s ‘intuitive design’ make sure you follow it with something like ‘…makes managing your inventory simple.’ Imagine your reader is in an impatient, selfish ‘what’s in it for me?’ mood. Because when nobody’s watching, that’s how we act – especially when encountering a sales message. So for every statement you make about your product, offer your reader a reason to give a damn… Otherwise your copy risks sounding like a five-‐year-‐old telling their parents about what they did at school today : ) Copy checklist takeaway: don’t be a ‘Me-‐Me’. Keep the ‘YOU’s higher than the ‘WE’s.
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7) Identify your reader Think about who the ‘you’ that you’re addressing actually is. Your reader, that all-‐important eye on the page… who are they? What are they looking for? Why? Do you make software that helps a particular group of people do their job better? How about calling out to that group by name, so they know right away they’re in the right place, and that you understand their needs? For instance: “Cloud-‐based software for project managers” “Personalised deliveries for craft beer fans” “Exception monitoring for Ruby developers” Exception monitoring experts Honeybadger know a majority of their customers are Ruby developers, and we wanted their site’s copy to reflect that by referring to their target’s job title:
Then later, the line “whether you’re a developer or a project manager” was included to call out their top user groups, and demonstrate that this product was created for them specifically:
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By getting specific with your audience – stating who this is for, and why – you form a stronger bond with them, and encourage trust. That way they’re more likely to see you as someone who ‘gets’ them… someone who’s ‘on their side’. Even better, if you are part of your target market (like in the example above), make sure you let ‘em know you’re one of the gang. Copy checklist takeaway: say who your product is for. Specificity sells.
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8) Ingredients and taste
You’ve no doubt heard the old ‘sell the benefits, not the features’ maxim before. It’s almost become copywriting cliché… even though it still applies. So here’s a different way of looking at it: You understand already the greater appeal to your user of your product’s benefits (how it improves their life) compared with its features (the mechanism that produces that improvement). So do you ditch features copy entirely? No. There are many cases when you really should highlight your features too – especially online when people can’t always experience your product before they purchase it. That’s why I like to think of good ol’ feats & bennies as ‘ingredients & taste’. Think about your favourite dish when you eat out. If you were to explain to someone why you love it so much, you’d most likely describe the taste AND some of the key ingredients, so they get a better impression of the overall experience. So consider the key features that resonate with your customers as important ingredients (like ‘integrates with WordPress’, ‘lasts up to 15 hours’ or ‘comes with a waterproof cover’)… People recognise these as useful features that give them a better idea of how your product will help them, even when the benefits aren’t spelled-‐out explicitly. Next, the benefits of your product are its taste – the actual outcome and experience they get when they use it. The things that generate the most emotional responses from your customer.
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The taste of your product is more unique and of greater value to your customer than being simply the sum total of its ingredients. It’s more about how they experience that taste, how they enjoy it – so it’s your job to get more descriptive in your copy here, and convey those ideas. Make their mouth water, the same way yours does when you imagine your favourite meal. Copy checklist takeaway: mention key ingredients as well as tastes to help your prospect really ‘experience’ your product.
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9) Countering objections with benefits Ok, so you know you need to highlight features AND benefits to persuade your prospect you have the right solution for them. Now here’s a powerful way to use those feats & bennies to really influence sales on your landing page. See where you have your biggest, boldest call to action button or sign-‐up form? Try listing 3 or 4 of the most important benefits to your customer (TIP: ask your existing customers what they think these are) alongside or directly above that button or form. Use a bullet list for visual clarity. When you’re asking someone to take action online, the point at which your reader’s anxieties about trust, value, security and regret are at their highest is right at the moment when they must commit to handing over their money – or even just an email address. So to counteract this fear and maintain the momentum you’ve built up during your sales message, you need to reassure the reader they’re making the right choice while they’re making it. Here’s how we used this tactic for LocalizeDirect’s ‘StoreFront’ landing page for app makers:
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And again on BetterFlow’s landing page for students and researchers:
Copy checklist takeaway: when fear of commitment is at highest, counteract it with reassuring benefit copy.
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10) Winning hearts and minds
People buy on emotions and justify with logic. So ideally, your copy should appeal to your reader’s sense of logic and their emotional hot-‐buttons. Practically, what this means is you should create a logical, fact-‐based argument along with an emphasis on the emotional outcomes of using your product. Here’s a couple of ways you can do that: State how many others have already solved their problem with your solution (social proof is always good), alongside a description of how your reader will feel once they’ve used it… Or explain how much money they’ll save on average using your wonderful widget (logic), backed up with some imaginative suggestions for how they can enjoy the money they’ve saved (emotion). Stats and charts are great ways to visually strengthen your argument. BUT be careful not to drown your reader in evidence. Fact-‐based proof is important, but on its own it’ll rarely move somebody to action. You should combine specific stats with a tangible sense of improvement – paint a picture of your prospect’s new life and how different it is after they’ve become your customer. (It doesn’t have to be a tropical island hype-‐fest with fast cars and endless parties – just an idea of how the problem they had will reduce or even disappear once they have your solution.) Because the more you involve them in the narrative – and they start to imagine using the product – the more likely they are to choose this new, desirable version of themselves rather than stick with things as they are.
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Remember, your prospect is simply a person looking for a solution to a problem. So help them understand how that problem can be solved logically, and what that would feel like emotionally. Tick both boxes and you have a clear, effective way to persuade. Copy checklist takeaway: buyers need to feel they’re making a LOGICAL decision about something they DESIRE.
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11) Appealing to awareness Do you know how aware your visitor is of your solution when they arrive at your sales message? If they’re not yet aware of your product (cold traffic) – or not even aware a specific solution to their problem exists – it’s a good idea to lead with an appeal to their emotions, rather than to logic. If you know people are finding you by searching for the answer to a specific question (or solution to a problem) you can assume they’re more aware (warm traffic), so will be looking for a mixture of emotion and logic. You can also assume they’ll be considering your competition too… So try grabbing their attention with an appeal to their desire to solve the problem, then supporting your argument with evidence of why you’re the best option. And if they’re highly aware of your solution (hot traffic) and are looking for proof you can provide it better (or more uniquely) than the competition, then you should strengthen your message further – using stats and more in-‐depth information, to establish credibility. Content marketing is a great way of leveraging medium-‐to-‐high-‐awareness states. It’s where the information you offer and the authority you establish can give you the edge. (Just remember to persuade as well as provide. Content without a purpose can be a pretty blunt weapon. It doesn’t always make sense to take the long way round to the sale if there’s a short one.) Copy checklist takeaway: tailor your messaging to your reader’s likely awareness of your solution.
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12) Social proof done right
Testimonials are the bee’s knees for helping you sell online. Used correctly, they give you credibility and can be a huuuge influence on your prospect’s buying decision. Listen, as much as we all believe in our own uniqueness and individuality, the truth is we’re often reluctant to commit to a direction – especially when there’s a price to pay – without knowing who else has been down the same road ahead of us, and what happened to them. So it’s obviously important you highlight the words of satisfied (preferably delighted!) customers in any online selling situation. Ok, but how do you know which testimonials to choose? And what if your latest product’s still wet-‐behind-‐the-‐ears and you only have a handful of users? No problem. Here’s how you can use your past & current customers’ experiences to influence your new ones: First, when asking for testimonials, be clear about what you’re asking for. Don’t just fire off an email to your list and ask them to “say something nice about us.” Give them a framework for their response. If you don’t, you’re allowing too much room for vagueness about their experience. And you’re not in control of the feedback. That may sound odd, but it’s ok to be in control here – to direct with a question and suggest what to comment on. This isn’t about putting words in your customer’s mouth, it’s about asking the right questions.
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Try asking for specific feedback on one element of your service, rather than the whole experience: Ask some of your users to describe how your customer service helped them fix a problem, for example. Ask another segment about how a key element of your product helped them do their job faster, or better. Ask another section to explain in their own words how their results have improved since they started using your app. There’s all kinds of questions you can ask your users to get the best testimonials. But if you leave it up to your user what they choose to talk about, the risk is they might end up waffling on about something vague (“it looks nice” or “delivery was fast”, for instance)… Or about something so super-‐specific to them that it’s hard for prospective users to visualize their own use case. But with a little direction you can reap rewards and get useful, detailed testimonials that resonate with others. So next time you need to feature a happy user’s thoughts about your product, don’t just ask “for a quote for our site” – get specific. Ask them to tell you WHY they needed your product, HOW their life got better, and WHAT that meant to them – in their own words. Copy checklist takeaway: ask for specific testimonials and let your existing customers do the hard work for you.
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13) Whose experience should you feature? Another effective process for selecting the best testimonials is to ask: who do your visitors EXPECT to hear from, and who aren’t they expecting? Expected advocates and the unexpected can be useful, so wherever possible include a representative from each. Your visitor expects to see somebody like them – someone in a similar job, or a similar age, or with a similar problem… The clearer the description, the better. There will be others with the same experience, and they’ll want to get on board too. They may also expect to see the industry expert or well-‐known name – someone whose seal of approval is worth a hundred anonymous comments. If you’re fortunate to have someone like this on your client list, pull out one of the most unusual things they’ve said about your product, and use it as a headline or call-‐out. (Remember, you call the shots with your questions, so ask them to talk up something specific, not just… ‘general awesomeness’.) Neil Patel’s QuickSprout agency leverages an eye-‐catching quote from TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington:
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But what about who your visitors don’t expect to see? Too often the element of surprise is missing from testimonial choices. To arouse your reader’s interest, highlight the unexpected. How about the 85-‐year-‐old great-‐grandma who uses your app because its no-‐frills interface makes her life easier? Find someone outside your standard user group and show just how important your product is to experiencing life in all its rich variety. Appeal to the simple ‘if they can do it, then so can I’ comparison process that everyone understands. Or how about a testimonial from someone admitting a surprising side-‐effect of buying from you? An instance of expectations exceeded, where the end result was almost too powerful… like a consultant booked solid with work and now turning away good prospects regularly as a result of your influence on their lead-‐gen process. Copy checklist takeaway: mix up testimonials that surprise with ones that reassure.
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14) Leveraging authority
Yes, your customer cares more about what you can do for them than who you are… But that doesn’t mean they’re ready to buy from someone they don’t trust. Establishing trust and authority is crucial online. Wariness – and sometimes, even suspicion – is natural, because your prospect can’t get to know you in-‐person. So how to counter this? Use the ‘KLT’ principle: we’re more likely to buy from people we Know, Like and Trust. So for starters, you’ll want to use a bio of some sort, to show you’re a real person (or team of real people), so your online visitor can get to know you. That’s why a good About page is important. It shouldn’t be just a vanity splurge, you should aim to create empathy – it’s your chance to step out from the doubtful shadows of the internet and encourage people to like you. But to remove any nagging sense of doubt in your prospect’s mind when they hit the Sign Up button, they need to trust you too, which can be tricky. So here’s how to leverage authority in your copy to soothe any lingering suspicions and prove you’re one of the good guys (or gals). Imagine there are two identical versions of your product or service… There’s yours, but there’s also a kind of ‘parallel universe’ competitor: one that costs the same and works the same way too.
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The only difference is who’s behind each version. There’s you… and there’s your evil twin. To out-‐sell this dastardly doppelganger, your copy strategy is key. To tip the scales in your favour, you must shine a light on all your relevant experience in your chosen biz… Demonstrate how you’re the trustworthy option with details of past successes (but don’t brag, and keep it relevant)… Mention how long you’ve been in the business, and where you’ve spoken, taught, appeared or mentored… Link to some kick-‐ass content on your site that proves you know your onions. A great way to demonstrate authority is by teaching knowledgeably: showing, not telling. Tell the world WHY you do what you do, why you’re not just another clock-‐puncher. State your desire to disrupt your niche… how you saw something broken and vowed to fix it… how you’ve proved time and again that you can be trusted. Prove your authority this way and you’ll leave your competitors in the dust (evil twin or not). Copy checklist takeaway: how’s your KLT factor? Have you provided evidence?
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15) Small fish? Big pond? No problem What if your product’s box-‐fresh or you’re a little light on experience? Don’t worry, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be seen as ‘untrustworthy’. Biggest doesn’t always = better… I mean, think of the corporations (and governments) often viewed as untrustworthy or unreliable, even despite their years in biz or units sold! But if you’re the little guy or gal, you can work your authenticity and your values. Highlight your willingness to go the extra mile for your clients or customers… Point out how they’ll always deal directly with YOU and you alone, getting no-‐holds-‐barred access to the expert they need… How you don’t farm out customer service to a third-‐party or make them wait in a queue for support… Focus on your ethics, your reason for doing what you do. People will respond to this, and even see their own values reflected back at them. Don’t hide your ‘kitchen-‐table’ or ‘coffee-‐shop’ status – make your small size an asset. The personal touch, that one-‐on-‐one communication you offer, is desirable to a lot of people. Show how much your customers mean to you, because you deal with less of them than the bigger fish in your pond do. Here’s how design studio Asilia turned their relatively small size into a big asset on their About page: It’s so good we’ll even let ‘em off for slipping an “innovative” in there… ; )
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Copy checklist takeaway: be up-‐front about your size or level of experience. You’re not some faceless mega-‐corp, so don’t pretend to be.
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16) Promises, and how to make them
At the very heart of your offer is the core promise you’re making. Maybe your product comes with a whole bunch of cool promises, and delivers too? Cool beans. But not all promises are created equal – especially at the point where your prospect is yet to become a customer. In a sales message, you should focus on the core promise that’s enticing to your prospect right now… not at some point further down the line when they’ve experienced your product, played with it and learned how it works. Promise something that makes sense as a desired outcome… something that gets them visualizing a future without the annoying problem you’re about to solve. And if you really wanna push their hot-‐buttons, promise something only YOU can promise. Make it unique to your service, to underline the difference between you and your competitors. Think about what sets you apart: is it speed, accuracy, security, variety… or something else? Then, dig deeper: can you promise to meet a set target within that factor, and how attractive would that be to your prospect? And always consider whether your promise is appealing to your prospect, rather than just to you… Remember, when it comes to buying decisions, people act selfishly. If you’re promising to deliver something you find impressive, just make sure you’re certain it means a lot to them too. Copy checklist takeaway: have you made a super-‐sexy core promise?
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17) Making the difference Ok, so maybe your offer actually consists of several micro-‐promises… And within those micro-‐promises there’s probably something you do specifically because you KNOW it’s something your ideal customer wants, right? Something the competition can’t deliver – and you know it’s something that bugs the hell outta your prospect when they can’t get it… Something that really gives your product the edge because without it, your prospect could still do the basic thing they need to do, BUT much less comfortably. Think about the one thing YOU offer that makes life easier with your service than with anyone else’s. Ask your users to help you find what this is. You’re looking to identify something that may not appear dazzlingly exciting to the wider world, but that makes your ideal customer’s life noticeably easier, and happy they chose you over the other folks. You don’t even have to name-‐check the competition here. If there’s a particularly thorny issue in your niche, your market will know who’s part of the problem, and who’s part of the solution. Going back to an earlier example, the Honeybadger team knew from talking with their customers and other developers that rate limits imposed by rival services were driving customers nutso – so they made sure readers knew Honeybadger wouldn’t do that:
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Copy checklist takeaway: find out what you do differently, and make it a promise your customer can’t ignore.
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18) Time for action… a Call To Action!
Ok, you’re almost there... You’ve grabbed your reader’s attention with your headline and they couldn’t resist reading on... You’ve seduced them with your product’s benefits, appealed to both their head and their heart… You’ve proven your authority and made a tantalising promise… Now all you have to do is ask for the sale. Eazy peazy, right? Stop shaking, it really can be… In fact, asking for a sale online should be simple – even if you’re no smooth-‐talking salesperson offline. If you’ve got the majority of the preceding elements right in your site copy, your Call To Action (CTA) should actually be what your reader wants to see next, after your highly-‐persuasive sales argument : ) And yet, the close is so often the part where startups and digital marketers drop the ball. So, how to avoid that, and close effectively? An action button that stands out against its surroundings is a good way to go. You know, like the Internet Marketer’s buy-‐now buddy:
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A little cheesy sure, but people like to click buttons – and of course we associate pressing them with getting what we want (think vending machines, TV remotes, automatic doors etc)… Even if you’re using a contact form on your landing page instead, there’s probably a button at the end there somewhere too to submit the completed form. So the first point I want to make about CTAs is this: If you’re using a button, don’t have the button copy ask your prospect to do something that sounds like work.
“Sign up” = work, dammit. Some signup processes are lengthy – you’ve been through ‘em yourself, and they’re a drag, right? People are busy. So don’t give your prospect the impression they’re about to go through a P.I.T.A. process to get what they want.
“Next” = ugh, work. The big problem with “Next”, “Next step” or “Continue” buttons is they don’t give any indication how many steps there might be: is this step 1 of 2… 3… 27? Who knows?!?
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“Begin registration” = crappins, waaay too much work. I’m outta here! ‘Begin’ doesn’t suggest instantaneousness. And ‘registration’ is formal, too fancy-‐pants. Don’t sabotage a sale right at the point where things are getting hot & heavy because you asked your prospect to “do” something boring. Copy checklist takeaway: does your CTA sound like work for the prospect? Fix it!
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19) Headline/CTA symmetry Ok, so don’t create friction in your CTA, and don’t ask the prospect to work for their goodies… So, what message can you use to close the deal instead? Well, instead of highlighting what users have to do, how about reiterating what they’re gonna get? By focusing on the outcome instead of the process, you can create a more enticing buying or sign-‐up procedure. Think back to your headline: what did you say you’d do for your prospect? Did you open with “The Easiest, Fastest Way to Get Documents Signed”? Then try closing with “Get Documents Signed Faster & Easier”. Did you promise “Higher Conversions”? Then try closing with “Click For Higher Conversions”. Notice how these examples both mirror the desire created in the headline AND put the emphasis on the result – not the process of signing up for an account, or going through a registration procedure. This ‘open & close symmetry’ is there for a reason: it’s a simple way to capitalise on your prospect’s motivation and avoid friction. Is using similar copy to your headline in your CTA lazy? Hellz no… It’s about making crystal clear what you’re offering, so the reader can’t get confused or put off. Confusion is a conversion killer. Besides, what’s more important at this stage: showing off your word-‐smithery or getting more sign-‐ups for your biz? Copy checklist takeaway: be clear. Tell ‘em what they’ll get when they hit that magic button.
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20) The simplest choice
Whoop! Just time for one final tip, and it’s an important one, so put that tea-‐break on hold for a couple more minutes. Listen up: WITH YOUR CALL TO ACTION, CLARITY IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL. Want your visitor to buy from you? Make it easy for them. Want them to sign up to your trial or email list? Make it easy for them. Make it the simplest choice your visitor will make today. Don’t make them think. It should be as straightforward as Yes/No. Your CTA button should be highly visible. It should look like the only thing the reader needs to click or complete to get what they want. There should be no doubt in their mind about what they need to do next. Don’t bury the CTA amongst similar-‐looking links or icons. Don’t muddle the options or the layout – give them one clear option to proceed, and ensure it’s enticing… Offer gratification, not an ordering process. So: “Get instant access to…” instead of “Get started”. See the difference? Remember: with your CTA, more than on any other part of your website: don’t try to be clever, just K.I.S.S. (Keep It Stupid Simple). Copy checklist takeaway: check, double-‐check and triple-‐flippin’-‐check your CTA section. Make it EASY for the user.
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Ok, so you’re all set to write an ass-‐kicking landing page…
If you can tick off and implement what you’ve learned here then you really do have a great chance of creating a landing page that converts. I hope this guide has been useful to you. Whether you’re running a tech startup, a million-‐$ biz, or you’re a solopreneur working out of your front room, these tips will help you communicate better with your site visitors, and encourage them to take action. Communication is the key to conversion – even if you’ve got a world-‐beating product or service, poor communication is the biggest obstacle standing between you and the sale. Not everyone’s an expert communicator or skilled writer of course – and not everyone has the time to produce effective copy for their biz… So when you need expert input on your landing pages, emails, sales letters – or any other parts of your marketing that need to communicate or convert – drop me a line. I’m a CopyHackers-‐certified Conversion Copywriter with several years’ experience of crafting sales copy, and I love working with startups and entrepreneurs who want to impact more people’s lives. You can contact me at www.rockandrollcopy.com or tweet me @rockandrollcopy. I’d love to hear how this guide’s been helpful to you. Now, go get those conversions! Pete
Peter Michaels Copywriting & Marketing www.rockandrollcopy.com
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