26 Jul How to write landing page sales copy that converts
A landing page is a one-page explanation about the features and benefits of your product or service. It will usually include a BUY button, BOOK appointment, or another call to action.
Think of an infomercial on morning television, but less cheesy. The formula is usually the same. The product changes, but you feel like you’ve seen it all before. You have!
They all start by defining the problem.
Are you tearing your hair out over lack of sleep?
Are you sick of pet fur all over your clothes when you’re just about to head off to a meeting?
In our case, we are writing landing pages that respect people’s intelligence. But take advantage of the emotional drivers we all have. A landing page works well when it uses this formula.
What does a landing page do?
The page works hard at doing two main things.
1. It helps educate the prospect, and
2. It tries to close the sale.
The landing page is the destination point to which you want to drive online traffic.
Links to the page can be disseminated in social media or in email signatures, and through all sorts of ways.
The landing page is a cornerstone piece of your marketing communications campaign.
Crafting your message
A critical thing for websites is the use of text and a clear message. Yes, we need images and video as well because we are mostly visual learners. But it is words that craft your message and words that are used by search engines and their search bots to find you.
When you are writing sales copy for a key product on your website, there is a formula I find very useful.
It is called AUTHOR. (Hat tip to Cham Tang at Authentic Education for teaching me this handy acronym. Much appreciated.)
Attention
First, we have to get our reader’s attention. How? By stating the problem they have.
This will do two things. It will help clarify who your target audience is, and also resonate with them because they will be able to relate.
We can’t offer to solve a problem if we haven’t defined it first. We need to define the problem. Think about your target reader and their pain point.
Let me give you an example.
“Are you responsible for marketing in your company but feel absolutely overwhelmed by small jobs that you don’t really achieve anything?”
Understanding
Now you show that you empathise and can relate to that problem.
“I have been there too. I know exactly what that is like. You are so busy and it is like death by a thousand paper cuts. At the end of the day, no-one understands what value you bring or whether it is aligned to the companies goals or not.”
Tension
Now we have to build suspense. We take the pain point and draw it to its natural conclusion if we don’t do anything about it. What will happen?
“Our marketing efforts try to be everything to everyone, but they end up being nothing to anyone. If we don’t address this problem, we end up anxious, totally stressed out, and questioning, not just as an employee, but our value as a human being.”
Help Them
Now we offer the guidance they need.
“What if I told you that there is a simple framework you can go through, step by step, and help clarify the company objectives and a create a marketing plan that will be simple, effective and efficient. You will be doing less and achieving more. You can go from feeling like you could get fired any moment, to feeling relaxed, in control, and appreciated.”
Offer Evidence
Here is where we should put in some testimonial or reviews. Use real customers who have achieved the results you are offering.
“I was at the point of seeing a stress counsello9r and considering medication. The X Factor helped me work out where the company opportunity was and then turn that into a simpler plan that gets results day after day. I am so grateful. I love my work and my life again.”
Respond
This is the call to action. If you have a service, it could be to Book or schedule an appointment.
If it is a product, a BUY button.
You may also include a way of giving prospects a chance to sample your product or service, that could be the CTA as well.
Lastly, you might have attracted a visitor who is interested but not ready to buy from you., in which case, you will want to capture their email address and contact details for your database. Then they can be nurtured through a drip-fed email series or added to your regular newsletter list.
Final Push
In this section as well, you can offer pricing information and any guarantees.
You might also like to restate the offer in terms of the tension to the resolution. For example:
“Stop worrying about getting fired, and be the office hero who loves his work.”
To summarise, this format helps people understand your solution to the problem. It makes sure we are focused on who we are helping and using the words they will understand.
As a tip, try to use language that is visual so a reader can bring it to life more vividly.
And remember as well, functional benefits always ladder down into emotional ones. When you can get a toehold into emotional territory, that is very hard for a competitor to displace. We have to connect in the head and the heart.