1 - Lead with customer value
Have you given any thought to the people who are buying your products or services? Before you start writing your copy, you need to consider the one question every single one of them asks themselves when they arrive on your landing page: what’s in it for me?
You see, when people visit any site on the internet, they don’t care how fabulous your product or service is. They don’t want to know about the amazing features, the multiple ways it can be used, or whatever else you’re trying to tell them. They simply want to know how your product or service will make their lives better.
They have a problem and they’re looking for a way to solve it. So they go to the internet to find a solution. If your website or landing page looks like it might provide them with that solution, they’ll click on your link.
But if you don’t grab their attention right away and show them how your offering is the solution they’re looking for, they’ll leave and move on to the next thing that looks like it might solve their issue.
Today’s consumer is decreasingly loyal to specific brands and more swayed by the effect a product or service has on their lives. For this reason, it’s important to focus on including value-based messaging in your landing page copy.
When you’re writing your copy, ask yourself the following questions:
- What’s the primary problem your audience is dealing with?
- How does your product or service solve this problem?
- How can you integrate these messages within your landing page copy?
By showing readers the value you’re providing, rather than simply explaining what you’re offering, you’ll immediately get their attention and encourage them to keep reading.
Example:
Muzzle does a great job of summing up the value they provide in one simple sentence. They don’t try to be clever or witty. They just lay out exactly why you should download the app.
2 - Tug at people’s heartstrings
Emotions profoundly impact people’s actions. They spark instinctual impressions, help make things stick in our memories, and prompt us to follow the same course of action in the future.
Think of words that you have a gut reaction to—they’re usually extremely positive or negative.
It’s easy to sprinkle in a few emotive words when writing landing page copy. Here are some ideas:
Negative words (think fear-based words): agonizing, contrary, controversial, censored, damaging, fearful, offensive, lewd, scary, shameful, surprising, truth, provoke, seize, unjustified, etc.
Positive words (think warm-hearted words): delight, earnest, huge, honest, natural, loving, uplifting, stable, supportive, solid, smart, trusted, freeing, happy, unified, etc.
By using these words you’ll raise the stakes and engage more of your readers.
Example:
If you’ve ever tried to buy a home with poor credit you know the process is scary. HomeLoanGurus’ headline plays on that, but also suggests that they have a solution.
3 - Numbers are believable—use them!
It doesn’t matter how talented a copywriter you are—your audience will doubt some or all of your claims unless you back them up with some data.
Basically, you need to provide proof.
Including testimonials on your landing page is one way of achieving this, but another way is providing data. For example, let’s say you provide SEO services. Here are some of the statistics you could include in your landing page copy:
- The number of clients you’ve served.
- The number of clients you’ve helped reach the first page of Google.
- The average number of positions your clients have improved by in search rankings.
This shows readers you’re not all talk—you also have the data to back it up. And if people are unsure about doing business with you some strong numbers might be the final nudge they need to convert.
Example:
Wise utilizes numbers in a few different ways on their landing page. First, they use a key stat in their headline to illustrate why you should use their service. They also have a calculator right in their hero section so you can see just how much money you’ll save.
4 - Use simple language
You might be surprised to learn that most people read at a seventh or eighth-grade level. So, if your landing page copy uses a lot of big words and long sentences you're going to confuse visitors.
Instead, keep your writing casual. Write the same way you’d talk to someone in person. Not only is this kind of language easier to understand, but it’s also more effective. It makes you sound like a real person who they can relate to—and who they’re much more likely to buy from.
Keep your sentences short and snappy as much as possible. Longer sentences are harder to read, so use them sparingly. The same goes for your paragraphs. Big long paragraphs look intimidating, so break them up to create more white space. This makes your copy look much more inviting.
Tip: Want to write better copy? Read more! Kat Von Roh, current head of content at Salesmsg and former Leadpages copywriter claims this is how she improved her writing skills.
Example:
Doordash doesn’t mess around with fancy words or long sentences. Their copy is short, punchy, and easy to understand while still driving home the value they provide.
5 - Cut the fluff
The average attention span of consumers is now only eight seconds according to recent research. That means your landing page copy needs to get to the point as quickly as possible.
So, how long should your landing page be? As long as it needs to be… and not a word more.
Our advice is to create your first draft and then continue editing it down until only the essential information remains. Keep your copy simple, eliminate unnecessary words, use end-pain positioning, and then you’ll begin to see the power of true hypnotic copy in your business.
Adjectives are also fluffy and most landing pages are seeping with them. While it’s tempting to include generic descriptors in your landing page copy, they are pointless unless you provide ample evidence that the adjectives really are true.
So, avoid adjectives in your landing page copywriting and swap them out with active verbs, numbers (per guidance above), and proof points that your business is actually the best.
Example:
Houzz keeps their landing page short and sweet. They lay out the benefits, provide you with social proof, and make it easy to take the next step. There are absolutely no wasted words on this page.
6 - Be a grammarian
Poor spelling and grammar make your business look untrustworthy.
Attention to detail is mission-critical in any form of copywriting, especially with landing page copy. If you missed a typo on your landing page, what details have you missed when creating your product or developing your service?
This isn’t to say you can’t break any grammatical rules. It’s okay to break a rule here or there if it keeps your copy more conversational and helps it flow better. But there are some mistakes you simply can’t make.
These include:
- Misspelled words
- Wrong form of a word (your vs you’re, there vs their, etc.).
- Improper punctuation.
- Improper capitalization.
To limit your mistakes, always have someone proofread your copy before you publish it. This could be a team member, collaborator, colleague, or even a friend or family member. If you have the budget, consider hiring a professional copyeditor to review your work and provide feedback.
Example:
You’d be surprised how many typos slip through the cracks. Can you spot the typo below? Luckily for Hubspot, they’ve built up enough credibility to not let this bother them. However, if you’re trying to build a new business you can’t afford these kinds of mistakes.
7 - Address Objections
It doesn’t matter how great your product or service is, or how convincing your landing page copy is—visitors are going to have objections.
They might think it’s not worth the money, they could wonder whether it’s the right choice for them, or they might doubt it will actually work.
Your first instinct is probably to avoid these objections, but your best course of action is to steer right into them. Start by thinking about all the possible objections readers might have. Then address them in your copy and explain why they shouldn’t be worried about them.
- Are they worried about price? Show them all the ways you’re worth what you charge, or point out you’re cheaper than your competitors.
- Not the right product for them? Share examples of all the different clients you’ve worked with so they see that your solution works for a wide range of people.
- They don’t believe it will work? Include data and case studies to back up your claims.
These are just a few examples of how you can address common objections. With your readers’ concerns out of the way, they should have no excuses not to perform your desired action.
Example:
A FAQ section is an excellent way to address objections. Select questions that deal with the most common concerns potential customers might have and use your answers to ease their minds.
8 - Create urgency
You don’t just want your landing page visitors to convert. You want them to convert now.
The second someone leaves your page your chances of making the sale drop dramatically. Life is full of distractions, and even if someone was considering your offer there’s a good chance they’ll forget all about it once they’re faced with a new problem.
To combat this, the best copywriters create a sense of urgency and scarcity in their copy. Scarcity accelerates demand and prompts a quick decision—which is exactly what you want.
There are a number of techniques you can include in your landing page copy to create urgency and scarcity, such as:
- Count-down timers.
- Temporary deals.
- Timing words (no, low, now, without, limited, reduced, soon, and stop).
- Temporary free access.
- Pre-sale countdowns.
The best conversions are quick conversions, so heighten the urgency to get that click today.
Example:
Countdown timers are perfect for events, as shown below. Subconsciously, you know you only have a limited time to register before it’s too late, but a countdown really hammers home that point and heightens the urgency.
Build your landing page today
Before you start practicing your new landing page copywriting skills you’ll need a landing page builder. Leadpages offers over 250 website and landing page templates that are already optimized for conversions. Every template is easy to customize with a user-friendly Drag & Drop Builder.
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