Category: Work-Life

A Crash Course on Landing Page Copy

A landing page is defined by Unbouce as: “In digital marketing, a landing page is a standalone web page, created specifically for the purposes of a marketing or advertising campaign. It’s where a visitor “lands” when they have clicked on a Google AdWords ad or similar.” So in essence, a landing page is a blip of your website that is custom tailored to a specific promotion you are running.

Landing page copy is incredibly important. It is where your would-be customers go when they click on an ad, so they have to be intrigued enough to follow through on your landing page. There are 6 things that are absolutely critical to a successful landing page creation, and of course I’m going to explain them all to you.

Headline and Sub-Headline

These go hand in hand for every. single. piece of copy you write. A captivating headline should always attract your readers after less than 3 seconds, you don’t have long, especially on the internet so you better wow them from the get-go. I can promise you, if your headline sucks, your conversion rate will suck. A good headline addresses a problem that you want to solve. Today our example is going to be getting people to register for a webinar that will show them how to use their iPhone.

Endless Information at Your Fingertips

As you can see we created an intriguing headline with a problem we want to solve for them, there’s a whole bunch of information out there for them, and they don’t know how to get to it (we’ll tell them how to solve it in the sub-headline).

Learn the ins and outs of how to operate your iPhone

See, we are telling them what we’re doing, and how it directly correlates to the headline.

So now I’ve caught the attention of the reader, because I have already targeted them with ads on being a new iPhone user, or being a beginner in the iPhone realm, and they have landed on my landing page wanting to know more.

Body Copy

Body copy for a landing page should be short and sweet. Because this is a webinar, I plan to say a short blurb about the webinar and detail in bullets the topics I will cover.

During this live webinar on July 12th, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. ET, we will go into detail on how to use your new iPhone XS and the new features revealed with its release. In this webinar we will discuss:

  • How to use portrait mode
  • How to add parental controls to other devices
  • Hidden features
  • And much more!

As you can see, in my body copy I said what I’m doing (webinar), when I’m doing it (July 12th, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. ET), and what I’ll be covering (bullet list). The 3 basic things a reader would need to know in order to register for my webinar.

Form (Lead Capture)

The most important thing that needs to be on your landing page, is a method in which your users can buy/register/sign-up/download whatever it is you want them to do. Since we’re doing a webinar, we’ll be asking them to register for it. (Don’t say “sign-up” for a webinar, you sign-up to receive a newsletter, you sign-up to play tee-ball, you register to attend something). So in order to register for a webinar we have to get them to fill out a form. A form is huge in the landing page world. A form is a method in which you’ll capture the lead because they want to be captured, you don’t have to farm for these leads, or cold call, or any other grimey method. These people want to be contacted and they are giving you everything you need to do so. Form copy is super duper easy. Always remember: The shorter the form, the better it performs. Don’t make them fill out frivolous details, stick to the bare minimum.  Our form will look something like this: (please note: this is NOT a designing a landing page demo *I’ll get to that another day* this is simply for copy, so ignore the grey color and basic fonts)

Notice how my form is short, i have 3 required fields, and 1 optional field, and my call to action button stands out and tells them exactly what I want to do.

Call To Action
CTA

The 5th most important thing in your landing page copy ties in directly with your form, a call to action. A call to action is simply telling your reader/future-customer what you want them do to. In this example, I want them to register for this webinar, and I want them to do it now. So, my call to action is simply Register Now. If you want people to sign-up for your newsletter, it could be Sign-Up Today, if you want people to download your eBook it could be Download Now. You see where I’m going with this right? A great CTA is short and bossy. Don’t be afraid to tell people what to do, if you’re timid, you won’t get results. Be bossy, be blunt, and be straightforward. Don’t put a bunch of foo-foo text in your body and CTA because you’re trying to get awesome SEO, if you’re concise and direct in your body copy the SEO will come with it.

Contact Section

The last important thing to include in your landing page copy is a contact section. Give people a way to contact you if they have questions. A contact section doesn’t need to include a map with your exact whereabouts, but a simple Contact Us section with an email address (and maybe even a phone number) is the bare minimum you should include. Don’t just put a phone number, people nowadays don’t want to talk on the phone, they’d rather text. So unless you have a text bot, an email address will suffice.

Find this guide helpful? Share us on Facebook & LinkedIn. Have a comment you’d like to add? Go to the Contact Page above and let me know!

How to Create the Perfect Marketing Postcard to Increase your Leads

Writing postcards is something that no one really thinks about, either you hate the little postcard that clogged up your mailbox, or it caught your attention and you actually sought out the company. Either way, postcards have made an impact on you, even if you don’t realize it.

Postcard Marketing 101

There’s a rule with postcard marketing, if it doesn’t catch the reader’s attention in under 3 seconds, you’ve lost them. So that is why I created a foolproof formula to help you get the readers to turn into customers.

Rule #1

Have an Awesome Headline

Any marketer knows, all your copy needs to have an eye-catching, super fabulous headline. Headlines should be short and to the point, and should address one important thing: alleviating a problem your customer has. Whether that problem is needing a house painter, or needing a dentist, they have a problem and you are about to provide them with a solution.

Keep your headlines on one line and as short as they can be. For example:
Chipped tooth? (headline – addresses the issue)
Quality Dental Care is right around the corner (sub-headline – provides the solution)
versus
Do you have a chipped tooth? Quality Dental Care is a great dentist that is right around the corner.
The first headline addresses the issue – and provides a solution. All with short, concise text.

Rule #2

Have a Rockin’ Body

Now I don’t mean, have a six pack with a Nicki Minaj bum. What I mean is to be sure your body copy is formulated with thought and is not filled with fluffy buzz words.
A good body copy of a marketing postcard will flow like this:
Sentence about how you can help them. Sentence about your company. Sentence about how awesome your company is at helping with this person’s issue.

Then comes an important part. Give a bullet list of services you provide. Weird, I know, but trust me it works.

So after your few sentences of body copy you provide your services like so:
– Service 1
– Service 2
– Service 3

Limit your list to a maximum of 3 things. Pick 3 of your key services you want to highlight and make sure they are pertinent to the copy of the card. You wouldn’t put window tinting as a service when you are showcasing your oil change special, so keep the bullet list relevant.

Rule #3

Give ’em an Offer They Can’t Refuse

All marketing postcards need to contain an offer. No matter how small that offer is, you need to include it. Offer 30% off, $20 off, BOGO, anything, but always, always, always include a promotional offer.

The most successful cards I have written have contained anywhere from two to three offers on the card. Give your customers options and you’ll be who they come to for that service. You can’t expect someone to hang on to your postcard just because you say you’re the best, you need to give them a reason to try you out, and for most people – that’s with an offer.

Rule #4

The Ol’ CTA Razzle Dazzle

If you work in marketing you know what a CTA is, if you don’t, you need to head on back to marketing 101. A CTA or call to action is what you want your customer to do. Do you want them to call now? Do you want them to register for something? Do you want them to sign-up online? Your CTA is going to tell the reader what to do, so make it short, direct, and bossy.

A good CTA makes the reader act immediately.
Give these a try:
Call Today!
Don’t Wait – Register Now!
Stop Waiting – Take Action & Call Now

You see, I’m bossy, I’m brief, and I tell them what to do. A good CTA shouldn’t be some long drawn out phrase. Hit ’em with the quick 1-2.

Rule #5

The Grand Finale

Finish up your marketing postcard with these absolutely essential items. Your contact info. If you don’t include your information, how are they going to reach you? I know it may seem like common sense but you wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve looked at a postcard and had to guess how to contact them. Also, a logo is not contact information.

Necessary information to include would be:
Company Name
Phone Number
Website
Always include your website. Some people (like myself) don’t like talking on the phone for an answer I can just look up online.

Rule #6

I Shouldn’t Even Have to Say This

Please have branding. Have a logo (a professional logo, not one you created in your free trial of Photoshop), have company colors you follow, have a style guide of fonts, all of these things will set you apart from your competition. Why else would you invest in marketing if not to get more customers, so invest in yourself, create a company you would patronize. Branding goes a long way in marketing, you want to set yourself up as a front runner, an expert in your field; with a sub par logo and random branding, you look like an amateur.

Invest in Yourself
Download this free copy template