This year’s marketing term of the year has got to be “funnel.” Marketers and business owners seem to be laser focused on building their online sales funnels, including email campaigns and landing pages.
The sales funnel is a strategy in which lots of potential customers are at the top and move through a strategic process of becoming your loyal customer at the bottom. In short, a funnel is a series of steps strangers take to move from being your prospect to being your paying customer.
A key component of your online sales funnel is your landing page—the single page you are encouraging prospects to land on and take action.
If your landing page does not seem to be working or converting well, you might be making one of these mistakes:
1.) Your page’s look and feel is not engaging.
While there could be several reasons for a page not engaging, chief among them is the page simply does not look good. It’s a digital ugly duckling. Use crisp images, vivid colors and contrasting button colors to make a page pop. If you think color is no big deal, think again. Research shows 85 percent of consumers identify color as the primary reason for why they buy a product. The page below showcases food delivery company, Plated. Pictured is what else? Colorful food!
Consider including a short video to get your message across. A study by Eyeview, a video marketing technology company shows embedded videos can increase conversions by 80%. And according to Mist Media, video on a landing page makes it 53% more likely to show up on page one of Google.
In the example below, TechSmith, the maker of Camtasia, has incorporated a short video as part of its page design. The video succinctly describes how the product works. Also, note the headline is simple and to the point “Make Amazing Videos and Screen Recordings.”
2.) Your headline is not compelling.
More than 90% of visitors who read your headline also read your call to action copy. That’s important because your headline draws them in and your call to action gets them to convert. The takeaway here is spend adequate time creating powerful headlines.
Headlines that work for landing pages fall into the following categories:
- Lists….“3 Stocks that Will Help You Retire Rich”
- Value Propositions…. “Be More Productive at Work with Less Effort”
- How to…“How to Grow Your Business with Instagram”
- Straight to the Point….“Create a Profitable Online Store”
The example above is from SamCart. While the design is not particularly breathtaking, the headline is indeed compelling. “The easiest way to sell your digital products & services in the internet is getting easier.”
3.) You are asking for too much information
An all too common mistake with lead-generating landing pages is the opt-in form is asking for too much information. Prospects who are not familiar with you or your brand are not willing to part with their valuable, personal information. Ask for a name and email address and keep it at that. Perhaps with a subsequent offer you can request additional information.
4.) Your call to action (CTA) needs work
Your call to action is one of the most important aspects of your landing page. After designing and writing benefits oriented content, your call to action should be motivating visitors to take the next step. Words like Enter or Submit are not encouraging anyone to click. In the example below from the SBA, the call to action button is in a bright blue, which gets attention. But the button text says Submit.
Instead, spark interest and describe what visitors will receive.
Consider button text such as:
- Grab Your Free 30-day Trial
- Download My Free Ebook
- Sign Up for Free Updates
- Send Me Specials
The worst offense with calls to action is to assume visitors to your page know what you want them to do. The absence of a CTA will guarantee a decrease in your conversions.
What other landing page mistakes do you see happening? Share in the comments below.
Very nice.
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