Adapt Your Business For Success In The Digital World
For any business getting your product or message out there is on your mind. With COVID, your digital presence and website have become your new storefront.
In the restaurant above, people would still purchase pizza without the sign, but the sign nudges them along.
You want to do the same for your online business. Sure, it’s great to have people on your website. But you want action.
Landing pages nudge people to take action — like “pizza by the slice.”
A useful landing page has engaging headlines, offers a valuable transaction, and showcases happy customers on the other side of your offer. I created the mockup landing page below to explain some key points you should include.
The company, Headway, makes it easy to find affordable therapists.
Step 1: Define your customers
Marketers create buyer personas, or fictional characters, that resemble their clients. They know they can increase their conversion rates with a variety of buyer personas and targeted ads.
You can go deeper into buyer personas, but here are some things to think about:
What problems you can solve, who needs those solutions and what it would take to convince them to choose you.
If you’re struggling to come up with ideas, start with yourself as a buyer persona. Here’s one for my Headway.co campaign:
Corey outlines a young adult that lost his job and is facing financial and social uncertainty. He communicates virtually and wants this process to be quick.
Using this buyer persona, I can target someone that needs a low cost, virtual tool to get them feeling better and back to work.
Step 2: Choose your platform
I used Instapage (check out their landing page), but a quick search can find various programs with different features.
Factor in the price you’re saving on outsourcing the job. Sites with over 30 landing pages bring in 7x new leads — that’s a lot of work you don’t have to pay a designer to do.
Look for:
- Price per month
- Templates available
- Ease of use
- Limits on # of landing pages
- Integrations with your other platforms
And here’s an example of a template with the interface I used. For a detailed walkthrough, check out this video of how I did it.
Step 3: Create value with your copy
You want your copy to get customers to agree to your ask. The length and detail of your page will depend on what value you’re providing.
In my example, the call to action is to submit your email and receive a free download. Trading an email for a free guide is a fair trade for most. Putting a price tag on the guide would require more detail from the copy.
Quicksprout has some great tips on formatting your landing page after deciding what you want to say.
I made sure to keep my buyer persona in mind — young adults struggling with financial and social uncertainty that need low cost, virtual resources.
Step 4: Deliver it to customers
Now you can directly target a set of your customers with a great value proposition and put it together nicely.
Depending on your goals, you will use your landing pages in different ways. You can also add them to your existing website for a more personalized experience.
I want my landing page to collect emails for prospective clients using a Facebook ad targeted at my buyer persona.
When the user clicks the ad, a landing page with a relevant call to action will appear, increasing the likelihood of a new customer!
You’re ready to make your landing page and publish it to the world, here’s a checklist to keep you on track.
Engaging Headline: This is the first thing your customers see. Make it stand out.
Value Proposition: Let your customer know what you can do for them and why they should choose you.
Call To Action: Give the customer clear instructions to complete the transaction.
Social Proof: Provide proof that following through with your company is a good idea!
Nicely packaged: If you go to a restaurant that’s a mess, you’re probably going to walk out. Keep your content clean and straightforward!
Deliver: Target your ads on social platforms and email.
Track performance: Vary your copy and delivery method, note what works and what doesn’t.
