How to Create an Effective Landing Page

Ads send prospects to an initial landing page–not to the product or company home page. The first landing page should a) look similar to the ad, b) reiterate the information and offer found in the ad, and c) encourage visitors to click a link to provide us with just a little bit of information so we can know more about them (our pre-approach information).

And finally, the landing page is used to TRACK the response from the ad. Then and only then does it drop us to a secondary page that provides the information they are seeking, along with product information. This secondary page can be very similar to the product page–but it also contains information about the promotion. There can also be different landing pages so you can use an a/b split to test which is working best.

If we spend $4-20k on an ad, we can easily afford to spend an hour to create a simple primary and secondary page to optimize returns.

KEY:

  • The purpose of the ad is to sell the product and get people to call or go to the landing page.
  • The purpose of the landing page is to get people to provide their contact information (NOW you have a lead).
  • The purpose of the landing page is to provide the deliverables promised in the ad.
  • It ensures prospects don’t get stuck on your home page (where “your” step-child product might not even be featured (especially in large organizations))

Sample Landing Page

I’ll show samples of the Primary and secondary pages, plus the lead form and the final “squeeze page” designed to keep the prospect focused and maximize response.

Initial Ad Sample

landing page samples This is a standard “Z” format ad designed to maximize response (get them to the website or have them call). BTW, this ad was developed by Chanimal and pulled 8-13x the cost of the ad. They tried one from an ad agency that looked more like a branding ad–it pulled 2x the cost of the ad (this WON). So they ran it for almost 1 1/2 years in PC Magazine.

Primary Landing Page

landing page sample, example, landing page

The primary page has a similar look as the ad (so they know that it is the correct place), then its job is to get the prospect to CLICK HERE and complete the form (you have an almighty LEAD – regardless of what they do from this point forward).

Form to Capture Lead

landing page sample, direct response, landing page form, lead capture

Ask for as little information as you can (to increase submission ratios), but get enough to qualify the lead. Keep the excitement moving–get this information, do not let them leave yet!

Secondary Page

secondary landing page, 2nd landing page, call to action, ad

This becomes your “product” page, includes the fulfillment of the promise, but also starts to sell the product (the previous content was to sell the “complete this form”) and has additional offers that are more aggressive to further qualify and convert this prospect to a happy customer. But even if it doesn’t, you’ve got a LEAD at this point so you can follow up (directly or via a partner) and close this deal.

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