##Your copy will make or break your sales.
Realize one thing. Your landing page is your main salesperson. It will be out there, standing out in the rain. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. Either closing sales or wasting them. Your choice.
####Would you hire a bad salesperson and trust him/her with your financial success?
Of course not.
Then, why do you not invest in it?
A good landing page is constantly changing. Your #1 job is to create a good base page and through testing have it evolve over time. Just like salespeople become better with time your landing page should too.
Lots of startups and programmers think they can just do with a cookie-cutter landing page. No. That is the worst mistake you can do. Would you hire and trust a complete stranger to lead your business sales? Of course not. Then why do you trust an un-tested landing page with your sales success?
Put the effort in the landing page. Always. Nothing else is as important.
##Use Testimonials.
Online businesses need to have social proof in their landing pages. Why? Because these days any person can have a website and scam people out their money. Social proof tells your visitors that you are legit. That is why the social network links are important. People need to know that:
1. You are a real person.
2. You are a real business.
3. Real people have bought from you and are happy to have done so.
####How do you use user testimonials?
- Testimonial length depends on your market. Test this metric. Sometimes one sentence is enough. Others need a whole paragraph (or even pages).
- Always include the real name of the person giving the testimonial. Try and include their location.
- If possible, have the option to let prospective clients contact the clients in the testimonials. This does not work for everybody. Test it.
- Include a picture of the person giving the testimonial. It tends to test positively.
In a future newsletter article I will include a system to get automatic user testimonials.
##Include your contact information where people can see it.
Whoever thought that putting their contact information at the bottom of the page in a light gray font should be fired. One of the key differentiators from real businesses and scammers is the contact information. Scammers hide it. You should not. Displaying it where people can easily handle it will give people a positive impression about you.
This also allows you to test your landing page indirectly and find spots where you are not doing so good. If people are emailing you with the same basic questions then address those questions directly in your landing page. Thus reducing the amount of support you have to do and removing obstacles from your sales ladder.
##Stop using "Hi, my name is $name. Welcome to $page.
Don't copy the landing page from other sites. It does not translate. Never does. Desginers and programmers are particularly guilty of this.
Do you know what people do when they read that in your page? They leave. Why? Because you are not establishing yourself as a authority in the subject.
##Content is more important than graphical design.
A pretty page with bad copy does not work. An ugly page (from the POV of a designer) with good copy works. Don't believe me? Test it.
##An UI designer is not the person to trust with your landing page design.
This is the work of a marketer. The marketer will work with desginers to develop the landing page, but he/she has the final say on things (as long as they are backed by data from results). Designers hate this. They argue about it. Don't listen. Have them test their work. But they won't do it, because most designers don't test anything. Harsh but true. Ask them. Find out for yourself.
##But graphics are important.
Every startup that sells online should have the little lock image featured promonently. Are you certified for something? Show it off. Test the placement of every graphical element.
####The marketing bits landing page does not feature some of the things I mention here.
You are right. It does not feature some of the things here because its a work in progress. Your page should also be a work in progress. Its never done. You will see the page evolve over time. Visit it from time to time.
Landing pages are quite complex. But I want you to understand something. Your business sucess depends on that landing page. It should be your priority.