Landing Pages: Increase Conversion Rates
Landing pages on a web site are special pages designed to welcome visitors who are arriving via a particular email campaign, banner campaign or via search engine keyword buys.
Why build and write unique landing pages for each pay per click campaign or ad campaign? Do it because you can match the landing page to the special offer or promotion and even the copy and graphics of the ad or search term. When you do that, you start to see much higher conversion rates.
Write short sentences
While all content online should have shorter sentences than you would find in print, when you get to the point of making the sale, write even shorter sentences and paragraphs. Why?
? You want to keep the pace fast¡ªyou want that person to make a purchase, subscribe, register, etc. and a fast pace in your writing creates momentum in the reader
? When site readers get close to achieving their task, they tend to skip any further text and go straight to the form and start completing it (that¡¯s why in some site¡¯s shopping carts you will see text in red, or even flashing text)
Make it Easy for People to Buy Online
Want to know one of the key secrets of writing for the internet? Whatever you are ¡®selling¡¯, even if it is a free newsletter, make it easy. If you want to get a decent conversion rate, you need to make it really simple for people to complete the task (this means that the process shouldn¡¯t require long explanations or lines of small print). If you find it hard to write the copy in a very simple way, then maybe the process itself is just too complicated.
If the process takes five clicks, see if you can rebuild it so that it takes just three, if it takes three, maybe you can do it in two, and so on. Once you have simplified the process, make you copy very clear, very simple...and make it sell.
Make an Offer to Close the Sale
When it comes to making the sale, add a sweetener, make an offer. Here are some ideas:
? If you are selling physical goods, maybe offer free shipping
? If you are selling an e-book, offer a second e-book, free
? If you are selling subscriptions, offer some additional goodies or privileges
? If you are selling something time-sensitive, offer a discount for people who act by a certain date
*Sweetening the pot is a sure-fire way to generate more interest and business¡ªgive the people the extras that they crave.
Writing for the Internet: Use active verbs in your sales copy
This is an oldie, but a goodie (and it applies both to offline and online copy). If you want someone to do something, use an active verb at the beginning of key headings, paragraphs, links, and calls to action. Here are some popular examples:
? Sign up now.
? Download your free white paper.
? Subscribe here.
? Buy now.
? Choose from these three items.
? Find out how to get started.
? Discover the secret to...
? Solve your problems with...
? Start here.
One of the secrets to effectively writing for the internet is to spell things out for people. Unfortunately, not everyone can figure out how to do simple things without directions. Be assertive and explicative and you are likely to see more results.