If you’ve got an online biz, you’ve probably heard the term “landing page.”
I actually asked about this in my community recently… and discovered that at least half of the people in there didn’t REALLY know what it was.
Like… they thought it was a full-on website…
Which explains why they were so stressed about putting a landing page up for their biz.
So today I’m gonna break down what a landing page is… and how you can use it to build your email list. Which is the KEY for a stable, long-term biz.
If you’ve been wondering how to create a landing page for that exact purpose… then you’re gonna want to come to my next FREE workshop.
I’ll tell ya more about what that’s about at the end of today’s show.
So let’s dive into what a landing page is…
For the sake of today’s convo, we’re talkin’ about a landing page designed for getting people to OPT INTO your email list.
AKA: handing over their email address to receive something for free.
Sales pages are a totally different kind of landing page, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.
We’re talking about just getting someone to sign up for your email list to receive something of value for free.
Which could be…
- A webinar – or online training…
- A freebie, like an ebook, cheat sheet, checklist, or some sort of downloadable guide…
- A free multi-day online challenge… or
- A virtual summit…
Things like that.
Typically you want to have a landing page offering that ONE thing… and giving them ONE action to take.
Which is to sign up… and submit their email address in exchange for that free gift or access to your free training or online event.
The cool thing about landing page is… because there’s only ONE action to take… you can keep it pretty short and direct.
In fact, there are 4 main components you absolutely need.
If you don’t have these 4 things, your landing page likely won’t perform well for you.
So let’s put on our scrubs… and dive into the anatomy of a landing page.
Can you tell I’ve been getting back into Grey’s Anatomy lately? LOL
Doctor shows are oddly comforting for me… especially that one.
Sign me up for anything Shondaland.
She could do a show about someone selling phone books and I’d be in. LOL
Anyway… landing pages.
The first thing you need on your landing page is… a compelling hook.
As in, a short punchy statement right at the top of the page that makes the reader think, “Yes I want that.”
Maybe what you’re offering addresses a problem they’ve been having…
Or something they desire.
For example, one of my most popular online challenges teaches busy women how to get back an hour or more in their day.
Because I have a lot of moms and working women in my community… and I know this is a pain point they have.
So that’s a strong performer for me.
Maybe your audience feels stressed and anxious all the time… so they want to learn how to manage that stress better.
Or maybe you have more of a business audience… and they want to learn how to improve their email deliverability rate. Or open rate. Or clickthrough rate.
A compelling hook addresses what they want… and makes a strong promise as to what they’ll get out of handing over their email address to you.
And you gotta do that FAST. Because you literally have about 2-3 seconds to capture someone’s attention.
We all have squirrel brains now… you gotta hit ‘em with the razzle dazzle if you want them to take action.
A great place to get ideas for short, snappy, compelling titles is… Amazon. Best selling book titles.
You should also check out magazines.
My fav ones are tabloids and women’s magazines like Cosmo. LOL
They’re FULL of eye-catching hooks right on the cover.
The second thing you need is some sort of benefits paragraph.
Which is actually a great point because the biggest thing I see people do wrong on landing pages – is focus on the features right away.
But the fact is… people don’t buy features. They buy benefits. And emotion.
And by “buy” I’m not talking about purchasing something right now.
I’m talking about buying INTO your vision.
Buying into an action with you.
So right after your compelling hook… your landing page needs to get into the BENEFITS.
Here’s an example.
Let’s take a food delivery service – like Uber Eats or DoorDash.
Benefits would be… you get to eat from your fav restaurants – without ever leaving the house.
You don’t have to hunt for a menu… get on the phone… place your order… put on real pants (which is honestly the worst part of picking up takeout LOL)... get in the car and go get it.
Then drive BACK home to enjoy it.
Nope, with DoorDash, you get to stay home in your joggers with ratty hair on top of your head… and still enjoy your fav sushi or pizza or salad – from the comfort of your home.
Which saves you tons of time and effort.
See how that’s about the benefit?
If DoorDash focused on the features, they’d be talking about their actual app
Like, you download an app on your phone.
You can search for restaurants, choose pickup or delivery, and see your past orders.
BORRRINNNNGGGGGG.
Remember… no one cares about features. They care about BENEFITS.
AKA: What they’ll get out of it.
Ok so the third thing on the page is… the facts about the free thing you’re asking them to do with you.
This could be features… but I suggest you include benefits here too.
Including facts helps people understand what they’re actually signing up for.
And I’ll be honest with ya…
Some of my closest biz besties actually suck at this part. LOL
Don’t tell them I said that.
The reason I say some people suck at this part is… they stay fluffy.
Lots of big words and promises… and they miss the mark on grounding it into a practical reality for people.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to landing pages like this and had NO idea what I would actually experience if I signed up.
And I live this stuff day in and day out!
So if IIIIIIII can’t tell what’s going on or what I'll actually be DOING by signing up…
I can only IMAGINE how many other people are bouncing off the page because it sounds like a lot of promise…
And not much substance.
Which I don’t want to have happen for you.
So for you, let’s say you have an ebook guide.
And on your landing page after you’ve led with your compelling hook… and you’ve described the benefits…
You can dig into what’s actually IN the guide.
Like, maybe you offer 10 kid-friendly recipes…
And maybe it has a shopping guide… or 7-day meal planning template.
You would put that sort of info next on the page… and like I said, I personally recommend putting benefits here too if you can.
For example you could say:
- 10 kid-friendly recipes… even the pickiest of eaters will love.
Because that could be a concern a parent has – that’s she’s just gonna be throwing away money AGAIN… or creating waste.
When you add a bit of benefit to a feature, it actually helps calm the parts of the brain that try to throw up red flags about making a change.
You see, as much as we think we want change… it can be uncomfortable.
And we tend to default to comfort.
So if you can keep bringing in benefits, you can use that to overcome potential objections.
Just keep those benefits short and direct.
Now the fourth thing you absolutely need in your landing page… is a call to action.
As in a very specific action you tell them to take.
Which could be: Download now… Sign up here…
Things like that.
You see, people want to be told what to do.
I know that sounds counter-intuitive… especially if you have kids LOL… but it’s true.
Your landing page should have ONE action on it.
In my experience, the more options you offer people… the less likely they are to do ANYTHING.
So be very clear about what you want them to do…
Which is to give you their email address to receive whatever it is you’re offering.
Everything on your page needs to be leading to this ONE call to action.
And it’s specifically intended to build your email list.
Which is a super critical part of your business.
Fun fact: did you know that when you add email marketing to your social media efforts…
Your chances of getting someone to work with you – or buy from you – jump from 12.5% to over 60%?
Yep.
That alone is reason enough to prioritize building an email list.
Now, in that landing page workshop I mentioned to you at the top of the show…
I explain how landing pages work in more detail.
With actual visuals to show you where things go and why.
As well as – (and this is the part I’m actually most excited about) – a live demo of a landing page being built.
As in watching it be done in real time.
I’ve done similar tutorial style workshops before and they are ALWAYS popular… and people walk away feeling like they know what to do right away to see results.
So if YOU know you need a strong Landing Page to build your email list… but don’t exactly know what to do or what to say or where to even start… this workshop’s for you!
It’s on Wednesday, April 6th…
It’s normally $97 but I know this will really help your biz so if you show up live, I’ll cover the cost for ya.
And actually, if you head over there, you’ll see how I’ve structured the landing page.
BTW I gotta tell ya, it actually turned into a full on tongue twister talking about this page with my team.
Landing page workshop landing page.
We ended up just calling it LP LP. LOL
I’ll throw the link to the workshop into the episode show notes… as well as this week’s newsletter for ya.
And don’t forget… it’s next week on April 6th… and free when you sign up now and show up live.
Super excited for this… hope you sign up.
Have a great week, friends… and I’ll see ya online.