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Landing pages can be one of the most powerful tools used in lead generation. And still, their critical function with online marketing cannot be overemphasized, yet many online marketers do not understand the strategies involved and often fail to get a grasp of fundamentals.
What Are Landing Pages?
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Within the internet marketing world or online marketing in general, a landing page, sometimes referred to as an “opt-in page,” “subscribe page,” “squeeze page” or even a “splash page,” is typically a single web page that appears in response to a user’s request for more information about a particular product or service. The user clicks on a “button” to submit their name and email address to receive more information from a website. At this point, the user is taken to a page containing either a product download, tutorial, or any other type of offer. Now the user has “opted in,” to an email list and is considered a subscriber. The name of the landing page – and therefore the name of the email address associated with it – is generally called a “list.”
Landing pages are unbelievably valuable to online marketers because they allow marketers to obtain much needed information about their audience quickly and easily. Without these pages, marketers are unable to determine whether a given segment of their audience wants to receive further information or if they want to subscribe to a mailing list or opt-in to a specific offer. This segment of the audience – the email subscribers of the landing pages – can provide the conversion stats with the information they need to target their promotions to that audience.
The next time you find yourself wondering what some of the tools are for internet marketers to increase online lead capture, take some time to consider the ways in which landing pages can be used to increase the flow of leads in your online business. Not only do these tools allow you to gain access to a large database of potential customers and email subscribers, but they also allow you to share valuable information with the people that sign up for your email lists. The strategy of using effective online marketing tools such as landing pages to capture leads will help you increase profitability and improve the performance of your online business.
Now, while landing pages can be the perfect strategy for building a list of subscribers for your internet or affiliate marketing business, there are a couple of hurdles to mention when effectively launching any type of landing pages for lead generation.
First, consider this – landing pages can be seen literally anywhere across the internet.
In fact, countless websites and blogs use various landing pages, opt-in forms, pop up forms, etc. These forms no longer phase internet users, and realistically, they are either cautious about submitting information or simply clever in identifying a ‘bribe’ when it is presented.
Most people are becoming more hesitant in supplying their information because they realize it usually includes additional marketing emails that will be flooding their inbox.
What does this mean for you and your online business? It simply means that the level and standard for creating and implementing a landing page has been raised.
So, does that mean that most landing pages are ineffective? Most definitely not! However, what needs to change is your focus and creativity. You will need to push yourself to a different level to be able to convert your visitors into email subscribers.
Second, your landing page needs to be effective so you can improve your conversions.
What Are Subscriber Conversions?
How to make your online business a success should start by understanding what subscriber conversions are. Subscriber conversions is basically an analysis of the results that you get from the actions that your visitors take, whether those actions are from opting into your newsletter, downloading a product from a website, or filling out a form. This is how you can know if the visitors to your site are genuinely interested in what you have to offer or not. When you understand this concept then you can start focusing on your landing page to drive traffic to what you need to offer.
When you create your landing page, you will want to make sure that it has two purposes. The first purpose is to lead potential subscribers to the opt-in forms on your site, and the second purpose is to convert them into subscribers. That is why you must use your landing page to push visitors onto your opt-in forms. Therefore you must be truly clear with your landing page. Make it amazingly simple to understand. You can do this by testing different pages, styles, fonts, colors, and sizes as well as using different text, images, and layouts.
Once you have done this, you should focus on creating a call to action for your landing page. Tell your visitors what they must do next by creating an irresistible offer that they must have or better yet, something that provides answers or solutions for them. This can be accomplished by researching problems in your niche and creating a product that will encourage them to fill out the opt-in form. All of this can be achieved through testing, but if you do not test then you will not know what works and what does not.
By following the steps outlined below, you can easily improve your conversions and develop a landing page that will turn you into a lead generating expert.
1. Keep things simple
Many online marketers often believe in overloading their landing pages with text, images, and even videos. Unfortunately, that is not the case for incorporating an effective page. For this example, less is better.
I know, for some people it might seem contradictory to what you have learned or heard of before. This is especially true when you are trying to develop a sense of trust with your visitor by encouraging them to subscribe. However, many tests have discovered that what a landing page really needs is a convincing headline, a valuable free product, and a simple, basic design.
If your page includes images or graphics, try to include only 1 or 2. The same thing applies to bullet points, if you decide to use them, limit them to 3 to 5 at most.
When it involves your form fields, keep it simple and ask for a minimum of their first name and email. If you think about it, the more details that you ask for such as phone number, address, and more will only cause people to hesitate in signing up. At this point, most people are basically unsure of who they are dealing with.
2. Keep information above the fold
Most online marketers are aware of the term, ‘above the fold’ which relates to the information that is visible without the need to scroll down a page. This means your headline, sub-text, and form fields should all be visible when a visitor lands on your page.
If it is required of your visitors to scroll down your landing page to opt in, you are simply hurting your chances of an effective conversion rate. Your landing pages should make the sign-up process fast and easy. And the worst thing you can do is create pages that make your visitors jump through hoops.
3. Make sure your page loads fast
Because of the internet, people have become impatient. People want everything fast. From fast food to researching information, everything needs to be presented quickly.
Of course, much of the impatience we see today was mostly unheard of a couple decades ago. Although, it is pretty much part of the normal scene today.
What does this mean?
It means if your landing page takes forever to load, visitors are simply going to move on and click out of your page and visit another web page.
Your landing pages need to be optimized and fast loading. So, you will probably need a reliable web hosting service like Bluehost.
Otherwise, you could simply use a good email marketing service such as ConvertKit, which provides a landing page builder with fast hosted solutions.
It really does not matter which way you decide to go, just remember – speed is everything. Here is a convenient way to check how fast your page loads: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
4. Make sure your landing pages are mobile optimized
Have you noticed how many people always seem to be glued to their phone screens. Constant surfing the net no matter what they are doing or what time of day it is. Because of this, you must make sure that your landing page is optimized for mobile devices.
Here is a neat resource where you can check the performance of your landing pages on mobile devices: https://ready.mobi/
5. Make sure your page is consistent
Whether you are placing paid ads or any other type of content on the web which is helping to direct traffic to your landing pages, you must be consistent with the ads or content and that of your landing pages. This includes text styles, fonts, colors, and images that are used should be somewhat similar. And the content that is mentioned in an ad or other content type needs to reflect that in your landing pages as well.
This will help to make sure that a visitor experiences a seamless transition which almost feels natural. This is opposed to going from an ad which may seem original to your landing page which could be extremely different from the ad that was clicked on.
6. Do not make the mistake of adding links to other pages
I know I have been guilty of this before. I always thought that it would be beneficial by adding various links to my landing pages or squeeze pages. These are links to such pages like your blog, articles, and even your about us page. Truthfully, you only need to add a link to your terms and privacy pages. Also, these links should only be placed towards the bottom of your page utilizing a smaller text and font size.
If you think about it, landing pages generally serve only one purpose, and that is to convert visitors into your subscribers.
If you provide other links that point away from your landing page, you can be sure that many visitors will end up clicking these links and be gone forever.
7. Make sure to create a powerful headline and a strong call to action
In many cases, it will be the headline you create that eventually determines the success of your landing page conversions.
Make your headline to the point and around 7 to 10 words in length. Think of your headline as something that provides true benefits and informs potential subscribers of its value they are getting for free.
Now, before you start writing your headline, do some research into the niche and uncover what people are struggling with. This includes problems, concerns, and possible solutions. Once you have these collected, try addressing them in various headlines. Then choose the one that best serves your landing page.
And another thing you need to add is a strong call to action. Remember, your visitors will need direction so tell them what to do. You can add your call to action right above your form submit button or add it to the button itself. Of course, much of it will depend on your landing page and form style used. Include call to action examples like ‘Sign Up Now!’, ‘Watch the Free Training Now’, ‘Get Access Now!’.
8. Take the time to go over the material you have created
It might be safe to say that both you and I plus many others will not create successful landing pages right from the start. Many online businesses go through the same process when developing their landing pages. However, they also include ongoing testing and tweaking of their pages until their conversions start to improve.
A big part of the process is A/B split testing where you deploy different examples of your pages while keeping an eye on the analytics. This will provide you with firsthand knowledge of the landing pages that are doing better. Based on the data you receive get rid of any pages that perform poorly.
Testing generally involves the headline, subject phrase (if any), text, images, fonts, styles, layout, colors, call to action, plus more. Use different examples and variations when testing, but only include one example at a time when testing. This way you will have a better idea as to what is working and what is not.
9. Get to know and understand who your audience is
When you begin creating your landing pages, always remember, there is no one page that will work for everyone.
This includes areas which are niche specific. Keep in mind, your market may be within a niche but there will always be a variety of audiences that require different needs. For instance, fitness for men is a popular niche, yet fitness for men over 50 is a specific niche itself.
Although, some men may prefer to workout at home due to their careers. Other men may suffer from being overweight while others simply want to get in better shape. Some men might decide on working out at a gym while others may enjoy exercising at home.
The point here is, if you are trying to target these different audiences, you will require the use of different landing pages that reach out to them. Because of that, your headlines will also require some adjustments to reach your target audience.
“5 Weight Loss Tips for Men Over 50!”
“9 Home Exercises for Men Over 50!”
“Fitness for Men Over 50! Gym Workout to Get in Shape!”
There are 3 different headlines which can be used for 3 separate landing pages. All of which target men over 50 who are trying to get in shape, but all have various needs.
Will this require additional work and effort on your part?
Of course it will. But look at it this way, the extra time and effort that you put into your landing pages will help improve conversions and increase the rewards many times over.
10. Do not forget to add your ‘Thank You’ page
Finally, when visitors begin to sign up from your landing page, you should immediately send them to a thank you page that automatically informs them that your gift offer has been emailed to them.
Or you could have something which asks them to click on a confirmation email that was sent to them. Heck, you could even have something simple that says “Thanks for signing up!”
The important thing is that you notify them and include items that they need to know. Doing this will give your new subscriber some reassurance and acknowledgement of them subscribing to your offer.
There you go, 10 simple ways that can help improve conversions for your landing page while building an effective lead generating strategy for your online business.
