How to Copywrite a landing page for success

Don’t just hash together different pieces of information. Guide your customers through the purchasing journey the right way and you’ll be sure to see improvements in your bottom line.

I’ve written before about general guidelines for writing for websites here. Be sure to give that post a read as an introduction.

First - what is a landing page?

You can be forgiven for thinking that a landing page is the same as a normal website page. On the surface some of them might appear similar.

In general, a web-page forms part of a website, giving more detailed information through each page.

A landing page is a stand-alone web page, created specifically for the purpose of getting a visitor to take action. The action you want them to take could be anything from subscribing to your email list, to buying your product, or even just clicking on a link.

Let me repeat some things - it’s specific, and you’ve landed on it from an advertisement.

This is important for the sale - if someone has clicked through an advertisement or link to get to your landing page then they will hopefully have increased ‘user intent’.

If user intent is high, then you’re halfway there

The key to creating an effective landing page is understanding what your audience is looking for, and then giving them exactly what they want. That means creating a page that is simple and easy to understand, with a clear call to action that stands out.

But the structure of a landing page shouldn’t be over-looked.

You’re guiding someone through the purchasing process.

You want to build trust with your prospect that your company is trustworthy.

More importantly, they need to know that the product/service/course is right for them.

I didn’t invent this structure, I just stole it from Glenn Fisher, master copywriter who specialises in direct-response copywriting.

It’s broken down into 4 parts which are quite universal in their application:

• Promise

• Picture

• Proof

• Push

Promise

What does your product have to offer the user?

What’s the benefit?

Find the main benefit and stick to it - this will be the ‘golden thread’ that pushes on beyond all of your copy. Don’t complicate the issue by listing the top 12 things that your product does.

Keep it simple, get straight to the point and make your promise resonate with the reader.

Take wedding videos for example. A promise such as “Timeless memories that don’t fade” will resonate with the reader better than “Wedding films recorded in 4K for stunning visuals”.

Then….make a secondary promise.

Add something to your promise that sparks the reader again.

“Timeless memories that don’t fade”

“You’re whole day, captured in a way as unique as you”.

In this promise we’re outlining our offering and drawing the reader in. At this point, a qualified reader will be interested and move to read more.

Picture

Paint a picture of what this offering will be like when a person purchases the offer.

Make it emotive.

Lean on the deeper benefits.

If this was a personal training product then we would start with a promise (e.g. lose 10kg of body fat in just 10 weeks….become a better version of yourself) and then we could move into the picture:

Want that dream body? Want to get fitter? Want to live a more healthy lifestyle?

With the super-duper program 2.0 you can have all this, and more. Imagine not having to cut out your favourite foods whilst be able to feel better, look better, and be a better version of yourself!

Here we do what copywriting should do best - we let the reader imagine what it would be like to receive such an awesome product/service.

Proof

Ever wonder why Air BnB pushes for reviews so much??

Social proof is one of the best tools in marketing available to date.

Someone else bragging about your brand means far more to a reader than any promises that you make as a business.

And yes, testimonials also have a loose structure to be followed to be more believable for your audience…more on that in future posts.

Let’s use the example of mobile application development as a service:

As a business-owner we wanted to show proof-of-concept to investors. Myth Digital developed the perfect mobile application that met all of our needs. Their team went above and beyond what we expected and their customer service was outstanding.

- Andrew, owner of Wooplatform E-commerce startup

Don’t forget to include your perfect audience cross-section in your testimonials. A testimonial from a male bodybuilder if you’re selling online coaching courses for ballerinas won’t quite cut it!

Push

My thoughts? Push, push, and push some more.

You need click here and buy now buttons spewed all over your landing page like it’s part of your design structure.

In a world of constant inputs, give your audience an easy route to buy your product - then make it even easier. Empty carts are the work of the devil.

Secondly, make the push specific.

Why should they ‘buy now’?

‘Buy now to change your life in 10 days or your money back’

‘Order now for peace of mind that we’ve got your whole day covered’

‘Click here for our free guide to save you thousands on your next house-purchase’.

Give people a reason to click!!

That’s all for now.

Give yourself a fighting chance with your next landing page and follow this loose structure.

Don’t forget to optimise your landing page for SEO! More about this here.

Want to save yourself a headache and hire a Belfast based landing page Copywriter with proven results? Just claim your free discovery session here!

Keep hustling,

Keep copywriting!

Thanks for reading,

Adam