How to Design and Optimize Your Landing Page

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Your landing pages are a huge part of your online business. If you aren’t designing and optimizing them to meet your “ideal” customer’s needs you are missing out on a huge growth opportunity.

It’s why I brought in Sarah J. Bray to give us the scoop on what you are doing right and wrong on your landing pages.

We started off easy then really dug into what you need to do to make your landing pages convert for you.

This opening question really got the chat started. Too often we write the landing page for ourselves instead of our ideal customers. That’s why getting feedback is crucial so you know if you are hitting your “ideal”customer right in the heart, creating an emotional connection.

Your landing page is yours. You have to think about what you want people to do. If you want them to give you their email so you can deepen the relationship, you have to be clear on why it’s worth it to them. Even a page that doesn’t give them all the information, but causes them to want more, must let them know what they are getting into if they give you their email.

Q3 What do you suggest someone does before they start writing their copy for their landing page?

Every great landing page that does the heavy lifting, to close the sale, on a consistent basis, must be well planned out. That means really looking at who your audience is and what benefit they will get from taking action on what you are asking them to do. Once you can answer:

1. Who is this landing page for?
2. Why would they read my landing page?
3. What do they want out of the landing page?
4. What do I want them to do before they leave the landing page?

Then you are ready to create your landing page.

A simple landing page with straight forward reasons converts well because people know what they are getting themselves into. If you can’t be straight forward and honest with what you are offering, you are going to have a hard time getting people to take the next step.

Every great copywriter understands that their first version won’t be perfect. It’s all a part of the creative process. Testing to see what is working and what isn’t is a time honored marketing tradition. So use the tools out there like Google Website Optimizer. It’s what I use on my landing pages. There are other options out there, but it’s the best with the lowest pricetag (free!).

I accidently went from Q6 to Q8. I didn’t mean to skip Q7. Thanks for understanding.

Sarah said it best in her tweet, “Images that are intentionally chosen; as designer Paula Scher says, “branding”, not “blanding.”

Use specific images that add to the landing page’s over all theme and effect. If you can add images that entice and delight then you are winning the attention battle. They are more likely to take action on what you want them to do next.

If you want to join in on a #mktgchat and boost your business then come hang out on Tuesday afternoons at 2pm EST (11am PST).

Your Turn

What have you done well with your landing page that increased your conversion rates?

Thanks!

Thanks again to Sarah J. Bray. You should check her out on Twitter. She is delightful.