Landing Page Copy Writing Techniques That Build Sales
It used to be that landing pages were used as destinations for paid advertising campaigns. In today’s competitive digital landscape, with sources of website traffic ranging from organic traffic and multiple forms of paid search marketing, all of which have a cost attached to them, it can be argued that each and every page of a website should have some or all of the elements listed below to encourage conversion.
The Funnel
The funnel is a copywriting technique that employs a headline to draw attention and then walks a prospective customer through the sales process, starting with an offer to solve a problem for the consumer, quoting pricing and establishing the value of the product, testimonials or expert statements ensuring the value of the product, anticipating customer objections and answering them, and then leading the customer to where and how they may purchase the product. All you need is a surprise 2 for 1 offer with a small shipping and handling fee and you have a late-night commercial for tactical sunglasses or a magical cleaning agent, right?
There is a reason that this is familiar. It works. It can be adapted to virtually any level of product as long as thecontent is true to the product’s brand voice and value proposition.
Simple and Clear Language
For most products and services the use of complex vocabulary and technical jargon (without simple explanation of what the technical jargon means) will scare a large portion of the population away. Some products are designed for professionals who “speak the language” of the business that they work in, and may be an exception to this rule. The language that should govern the tone and complexity of your language should be brand voice.
Urgency
The late-night commercials always specify that they have a “limited time offer”. This would not work well at all for most landing page content. The most compelling and overlooked urgency proposition is the opportunity cost of not using the product or service described so eloquently in the funnel. If you have established that your product or service will save or make money, save time, or deliver a superior user experience for its user, then there is a definite cost to delaying action.
CTA (Call To Action)
Calls to action arephrases and words which tell the prospective customer what to do next to takeadvantage of the offer that they have been present. This typically involveshelping them to take the next action in the funnel. The absence of a compellingCall to Action like “Begin Saving Now” or “Increase Your Income” can make allof your efforts on creating a perfect headline and funnel a waste of time. An effective CTA gives your customer an “easybutton” like a quick form to reach your sales team, a click to call phonenumber, or a direct link to purchase the product online. You do not need towait until the end of the landing page to offer a call to action. Effective CTAs can be in the header of thewebsite, hyperlinks in the body of the landing page copy, or a button in theupper right corner of the page. There isa fine line between an effective number of CTAs and have a landing page thatlooks like a snapshot of the Vegas Strip. There is no formula. The factorsthat determine how many and the methods that you use for Calls To Action arethe structure of your website, being true to your brand and knowing yourcustomer.
Write Better LandingPage Copy And Increase Sales
How’s the above for an effectiveheadline? Effective copy is the key to asuccessful landing page. The outlinebelow is an effective landing page content checklist.
- Write a headline that is true and correct, but will get theattention of your customer
- Focus on the problems that your product or service can solve,and show how you solve them.
- Take advantage of testimonials and expert evaluation toestablish credibility.
- Use clear and easy to understand language that is tailored toyour audience.
- Create urgency for the purchase of your product or service
- Ask questions that relate to the customer’s experience and willgenerate “yes” answers.
- Calls To Action need to be prominent. Keep selling, but don’t drive customers away.
- Be true to your Brand.
If you have different approaches that you would like to test, don’t hesitate to use A/B split testing. Be sure to use the same traffic sources and give the test long enough to deliver significant results. Ultimately, your potential customers and your sales numbers will be the judge of the quality of your landing page copy.
Eric Van Cleave is the CEO and Digital Marketing Director for TIV Branding
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TIV Branding is a boutique branding firm in Sonoma County, California. We specialize in building brands by using traditional, social and digital channels in unison. If you would like to discuss a project or find out more about how we do what we do, please email us at info@TIVbranding.com.