One of the best ways to get people to sign up for your email list is to provide a freebie, or opt in. But people won’t sign up for it if your landing page is not appealing. In this article I will explain what should go into your landing pages and what shouldn’t be there.
What are landing pages for?
Landing pages are a simple page that has one call to action, that is one thing that you want your potential client to do. That one thing is to sign up for your free offer. This free offer will help you to show you to establish your expertise and credibility with your ideal client and grow your email list.
You want your landing page to appeal to your potential client by explaining how it might solve one small problem.
Tools to use to create landing pages
There are several tools available for creating perfect landing pages. I go into more detail about the tools you can use in this blog post.
- Use your email marketing platform. Most email marketing platforms include the ability to make at least simple landing pages
- Use a website page. If you use a page builder for your website then you can probably make your landing page right on your website. Just make sure that it still follows the important format options listed below.
- Using a webpage may be difficult depending on how your website is made, what theme you used and if you are using an easy to use page builder.
- Standalone landing page builders. You can also use a stand alone landing page tool like Leadpages, Instapage or Unbounce. These options can produce stunning landing pages but they do have a added monthly fee.
What should be included on your landing page?
Your landing page should clearly state who it is for, what problem does it solve, how does it solve it. One of my best converting opt ins includes the main line of “Menopause weight loss starts with a great breakfast that balances hormones and makes you feel great.”
Who is it for?
You don’t have to include a cheesy Attention Women who suffer from <your topic>, but you can and it is a really quick way of saying, yes you are in the right place. But you can also make it clear in the wording of your offer.
In my example above, it is clear that it is for women going through menopause.
What problem does it solve?
You want your client to see one problem that they can solve by getting your free guide, joining your challenge or signing up for your webinar.
It is also clear in my example above that the problem my guide solves is weight gain.
How does it solve the problem?
This is one problem that I see often with people in the wellness industry in not making it clear how you help people. If someone doesn’t believe in essential oils, you don’t want them signing up for your guide to essential oils to reduce menopause symptoms. Likewise if you help clients by providing exercise plans, then make that clear.
A clear call to action
You want to make sure that it is clear what you want your user to do. In most cases it will be to enter a name and email and click the sign up button. You might want them to sign up or subscribe, but that shouldn't be on your button. And that brings us to …
Form or button?
Should your landing page include a form or just a button? I think that this is a personal preference. You do want to make sure there are only a few steps for people to take before signing up for your freebie.
This means that entering the email address and then clicking a button is probably the easiest option, but some studies indicate that once that a single button that leads to a form will provide more sign ups because they have already taken action.
My advice is don’t overcomplicate things. If a button works better with your system, then just use a button. If a form works better, then use a form. You can also experiment and try different landing pages and see which works better for you.
Product mock up or bold background photo
Adding a product mockup can help to create a sense of the value of the freebie, but a bold background photo can be just as enticing.
Make sure you are GDPR compliant
Let me start by saying I’m not a lawyer or legal expert, so if you want to be sure you are compliant, check with someone who specializes in GDPR compliance.
You should include a link to your privacy policy on your landing page somewhere. If you use a button, then the link to your privacy policy can be on the linked form so it doesn’t clutter up the main page.
You also want to make sure that your wording meets GDPR.
About you
If your landing page is more likely to be seen by a cold audience, ie people that don’t know you, then including a picture of you and a short bio can help. On a desktop this can go below the fold so it is not visible until you scroll down
Testimonials
You can also include a testimonial or two after the about you section. Don’t worry about this if you don’t have any yet.
What Tech Do You Need?
To start and grow your wellness business
What should you not include?
You want to make sure that your landing page contains nothing that will distract the person who lands on your page. Here are some things you don’t want on your landing page:
- Menu. If you are using a page on your website, then you want to make sure that the top menu is removed. You don’t want people to have the option of checking out a blog post, or anything else once they land on that page.
- Social Media Icons. Here is another way that someone might click away from your landing page. Don’t include social media icons on your landing page.
- Popups. Make sure there are no popups on your landing page. If they are about to sign up for a free offer, you don’t want to distract them by showing a different offer or even the same offer.
- Ads. I hope this one is obvious. Never include ads on your landing page. You have someone who is interested in your free offer and suddenly they see an ad for that new iPhone they’ve had their eye on. What do you think they will click on?
Another important point is that a landing page that just says sign up for my email list is not very effective.Most people get enough email and won’t likely sign up for your list without some type of incentive.
Summary
Having a professional looking landing page is a key to getting people to sign up for your freebie and your email list. Now that you know how to make an awesome landing page, make sure that your website is ready for visitors with this simple guide to website mistakes: