Principle: Clarity sells
Donald Miller (author of Story Brand) says a caveman should be able to look at the first screen on your landing page, and grunt back what you do.
There are 5 you must do in the section before the first scroll, and getting them right could mean the difference between a 1% conversion rate and a 5% conversion rate.
Explain the value you provide (title)
Explain how you'll create it (subtitle)
Let the user visualize it (visual)
Make it believable (social proof)
Make taking the next step easy (CTA)
Do all this, and the percentage of people who need what you have will qualify themselves within seconds of hitting the page.
Tactics
The Title
Your title should be a clear description of how the customer benefits uniquely from your product/service.
A smile you’ll love for less than $3/day
Rent a car without talking to the host
End pet itching, scratching, licking, for good
The Subtitle
Explain how you’ll fill the promise in the title.
Safely straighten teeth from home in 4-6 months
Contactless check-ins + easy app pickup/drop-offs
Two natural, gut-balancing supplements to stop itch at the root
The Visual
This one should be easy - just show the product being used, or even better: show the product next to the results it creates.
The Social Proof
Also easy - most people just put this later down the page. Prospects need it at the top. 5-star review counts, as-seen-in’s, before/afters - just put some above the fold.
The CTA
Take the bland (“start now” “buy now” “order now”) and add in the unique benefit:
Straighten my teeth
Pick up your car now
End itch now
Habits/Experiments
Go make a second landing page identical to the other one that’s already working except with all these changes. Run ads and traffic to it, and see which performs better.
Always tweaking, always improving.
Mike
Today’s inspiration: Marketing Examples: Landing Page Guide
🎄 P.S. no newsletter next week. Happy Christmas 🎄