Michele Linn’s favorite ten tips for better landing pages

Earlier this week, I introduced you to a new contributor, Michele Linn. In this first post, Michele provides ten tips to improve what’s crucial but still so often forgotten in many forms of marketing, including content marketing and email marketing (in fact in almost everything a marketer does online): the landing page. 

As someone interested in B2B marketing, I am constantly registering for webcasts, white papers, newsletters and research reports. Not only am I interested in learning about different perspectives, but I also find it fascinating to see how companies handle the registration and follow up process.

Last year I registered for a white paper about lead generation. Besides the standard questions, the landing page (i.e. the page where someone lands once they click on a link to your offer) had a number of (required) questions that asked if and when I would need a solution Huh?

Besides knowing the name of the company, I had no idea what type of solution they even offered and if/when I would need such a solution.

While I understand this info helps for lead scoring, it still didn’t make sense in the context of my user experience.

With that in mind, here are my ten favorite tips for creating effective landing pages:

1) Create user-focused copy

I’ve heard that readers only spend 8 seconds on a landing page, so you need to make your message clear and compelling — very quickly.

If readers can’t immediately answer “What’s in it for me?” you will likely lose registrations.

2) Minimize distractions on the page

Because readers’ attention spans are so short, you want to make sure they understand exactly what you are asking them to do:

– Remove any navigation so readers don’t start clicking to other places in your site (and you lose the lead).
– Make sure everything on that page is directly related to your offer.

3) Limit the registration information you require

Only ask for the necessary information such as name, email and company.

However, there are a few things I would suggest including that may not seem obvious (see #4 and #5).

4) Include an opt-in option for your email newsletter

If you have a newsletter, consider including an option for the reader to opt-in. It’s a great way to generate new subscribers.

5) Ask where the reader learned about your offer

If you don’t have a way to track where visitors are coming from, provide a list of possibilities from which they can select.

You don’t need to make this a required question, but readers often provide this info. It is very useful to see which promotions are working best, and, in the age of social media, you may be getting visitors from unexpected places.

6) Include testimonials

When possible, provide quotes from readers about your offer. Not many landing pages offer this, and it’s an easy way to stand out.

7) Create customized landing pages

The most effective landing pages relate directly to the promotion. Especially if you are doing pay per click advertising, consider creating multiple versions of your landing page that includes references to specific keywords.

8) Offer sample content

If you are promoting a white paper or newsletter, provide readers with some of the content.

Not only will this help them decide if they should register, but it will also improve the quality of the leads you do receive as there is a great likelihood that this person is interested in this topic.

9) Write copy that can be easily scanned

Use bullets and subheads so your reader can skim copy and quickly see what they will be receiving.

10) Test

While there are some definite “dos and don’ts” with landing pages, you never know how readers will respond. Test and test again.

What are some tips that you use to make landing pages effective?

Michele Linn is a founding member and frequent blogger at Savvy B2B
Marketing. Her website is Linn
Communications. You can also follow her on Twitter.

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