Do you know how powerful landing pages can be? According to a 2012 study conducted by Hubspot, companies who increased the number of landing pages on their websites from 10 to 15 saw a 55% increase in leads.
Landing pages are a must if you plan to be doing business online these days. And, while it may seem overwhelming to have to create your own pages, the fact is that there are plenty of tools out there these days which make it dead simple to do.
I don't say that to put web designers out of business… but the fact is that, as business owners and entrepreneurs, we need to be agile – sometimes having to churn out an offer at a moment's notice. And having to outsource landing page or opt-in page creation to someone who doesn't share your urgency can cost you in more ways than one.
In a moment, I'll share some of my favorite tools for creating sweet looking pages on your own. But first, a few pointers about what makes for a landing page that will convert big time:
1. Don't Beat Around The Bush
Short attention spans rule the day, so your call-to-action or main point needs to be front and center. People online don't read all that much text. Headlines are what's important. So if you MUST include detailed explanations within your landing pages, be sure to use section headings that people will see when they are scanning through the text.
2. Contrast The Colors
If you want your call to action to really stand out, make sure to design your page with sharply contrasting colors.
3. Keep Out The Clutter
This may be something for you to split test, but most landing pages convert better when they are simple. Background videos, complex images, etc. can slow down the load time of your page… and studies have shown that slower load times also means fewer opt-ins or page views.
4. Format Like Your Life Depends On It
Most of us overlook formatting, but when you clearly lay out things like your headlines, images, copy, form, etc., it can help you clearly walk your visitor through the value of your offer and have a higher chance of getting that coveted conversion.
5. Include Social Proof
Case studies, testimonial, a Facebook comment stream, or even just some social share buttons (with counts showing) all go a long way in adding third-party credibility to your content and offers and can help boost conversions.
…Now what about those software solutions I promised?
Well, here are three solutions that I like a LOT:
SqueezeMatic is a silly-simple drag and drop landing page builder created by Brett Rutecky, whose software products I adore (in fact, when you click this link, you'll see it in action).
Another tool that you'll see me using right here on this site is called InstaBuilder… which, frankly, is even more powerful, but requires a bit more comfort using the back end of a WordPress website.
Finally, I'm a huge fan (and customer) of the guys who created Engagifire and Captifire, the latter of which you can find a video about right here: