It’s not about what you or your boss likes. It’s about what your visitors like.
Till now, I have come across two scientists in the online marketing industry. One is Dan Zarella, the social media scientist. And the other is Brian Massey, the conversion scientist. [I hope to find a couple more.] If you don’t know, Brian is strongly passionate about studying the science of converting web traffic into leads and sales. As he finds the truth through his continued pursuit of knowledge and the use of logical and systematic approach, he feels delighted to share his insights with the denizens of the web world as well.
Brian is the author of ‘Your Customer Creation Equation’.
In one of his recent interviews with the Online Marketing Institute (OMI), he shared lots of tips on how marketers can increase landing page conversions.
Brian pointed out the most common landing page mistakes. He talked about the essential components that make up an effective landing page. He shared his insight into creating a great call-to-action. He talked about many other essentials without which landing page success can’t be maximized.
But when Megan Leap (Marketing Director, OMI) asked Brian about the biggest piece of advice that he would like to give online marketers, the latter responded in a way that could easily keep readers on the edge of their seats until he finished. His reply had a deep meaning and was very logical.
So, what was that biggest piece of advice?
“Make time”, Brian responded.
Before you start to scratch your head as to what Brian actually meant when he uttered the words ‘make time’, allow me to explain.
Landing pages can’t be created in a hurry. Brian was quick to point out that most of the marketers fail with their landing pages because they are short on time. It’s because they don’t devote adequate time to the creating of landing pages that they come up with messages that are targeted inwardly. When you aren’t ready to invest enough time, you’ll either create messages that you like or messages that your boss likes. In both the cases, you’ll only miss out on targeting the visitor through your designed landing page. You won’t think like a customer.
The result is least number of conversions.
So, you are ready to make time, right? Wait, because Brian doesn’t stop there. He goes on to explain how you should actually spend your time.
Brian further advises to -
Make Time to Be Curious
Being curious is related to inquisitive thinking. When you are curious, you’ll want to explore what your target audience or visitors will actually prefer to see on the landing page. Brian suggests you write down 10 of those things that you think visitors will value more highly.
Make Time to Be Deliberate
If your goal is to maximize landing page conversion, you should never forget to create at least two different versions of your landing page. It requires careful thinking, as you’ll need to create landing page A and B. Both the versions will actually be similar except for some variations that could influence visitors’ behavior. [The process of creating and testing the two versions of the same landing page is called A/B testing.]
Make Time to Review
Next, you should devote adequate time to the review process. Depending on the data (A/B test results, stats, customer feedback, reviews) that you have collected, you’ll need to take a microscopic look, find out what makes the most impact and what doesn’t so you can increase conversions.
Make Time to Educate
While you make time to work towards getting the best results with your landing page, it’s also a good idea to share your success with others in your team or company. This is an excellent way of showcasing your expertise as well as inspiring others to put in extra amount of effort.
Make Time to Learn
Expanding your knowledge base should be like the show that must go on. As a smart online marketer, you should be passionate about learning more and more, and more. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources, both online and offline, that you can use to increase your knowledge and improve.
If you want to increase the bottomline of your company or make more profits from your online business, building a landing page is one of the most effective ways you can use. However, the copy and design of the landing page must be driven by careful thinking, research and analysis.
So, are you ready to make time? Please feel free to share your views in the box below.
This post was written by...
Obaidul Haque – who has written 247 posts on Hello Bloggerz.
Obaidul is a professional SEO, freelance writer, guest blogger and online marketer. Owner of HelloBloggerz.com, he works with a wide range of clients from all across the globe and helps them expand the online reach of their businesses. Music is like oxygen to him. He can be reached via Google+ or Twitter.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Obaidul,
Thanks for the tip – it’s quite obvious, but sometimes you need to be reminded of the simple things. I’m a big Brian Massey fan. He makes conversion fascinating.
I’ve been known to throw landing pages up in a matter of hours without customization and thinking. So making more time is a great tip!
As you rightly mention, most of the online marketers would like to have their landing pages live within hours. When they don’t see results, they simply feel frustrated. Since boosting profits is the basic reason to have landing pages, one can never afford to be so careless and illogical.
Glad to know you’re a Brian Massey fan too.
Thanks for your comment, Michael.
This is what I mean when you share great value like this, it makes a big difference. You’re bringing us what really matters. This information is the reason why I got started with internet marketing back in 2008.
Thanks for this great content, Obaidul.
Glad you liked it, Rich.
It’s nice that I came across this article today because I was just thinking earlier about what it takes to create my own squeeze page. Never done it before because I’ve always felt like it was a big challenge to do. But after reading this particular article I’ve realized that it’s just like anything else, you must do your research, plan and execute!
The key components of a landing page include headlines, call-to-action buttons, images, videos, trust indicators etc. Most importantly, you need to keep the most important parts of the page above-the-fold. If you follow these guidelines appropriately and keep testing, you’ll be on your way to maximizing the results.
Glad you liked the article, Toshiba.
This is great advice here. I’ve created a few landing pages before and I’ll currently have another in the making late next week.
But…
I like what you stated about “Make Time to Be Curious”. It does make sense to create a landing page with what our target market would prefer to see – and less of what We Think will get them to opt-in.
Great Write Up!
Marc Bell
Thanks for your visit and comment, Marc.