So, you’ve decided to run a competition to launch a new product. Let’s say, it’s a new line of sneakers. You want to offer your customers a one-time chance to win a brand new pair of these shoes. Since it’s a one-off giveaway, it’d be weird to publish the competition on your website, right? You need somewhere to share details of the promotion and the sneaker collection, and perhaps an entry form for people to fill out. That “somewhere” is a landing page! A landing page is a single webpage you create to house content around one purpose. You direct readers there using a compelling CTA (call to action) containing a link, which you post somewhere else on the internet—a Google ad, a YouTube video description, or a social media post. What’s next? Well, learning how to create a landing page of your very own, of course! Read on for a step-by-step walkthrough of the process.

Step 1: Define the Purpose of Your Landing Page

Marketers and business owners use landing pages to fulfill a few core purposes: encourage visitors to purchase something, enter their contact information, or educate customers on a product or service.

Learn the Key Components

A landing page might seem brief, especially compared to an entire website. Still, there are actually a lot of parts that all work holistically to encourage the visitor down a specific path. The components of almost every landing page are:

1. A headline
2. Page copy-including the benefits or features of your offer
3. A USP (unique selling proposition)
4. A hero image
5. Social proof
6. A CTA (call to action)

In some cases, you might include a video in place of or in addition to the hero image. You might also include other components specific to your industry or the purpose of the landing page, such as a QR code, sharing options, or social media hashtags.

Know Why You Need a Landing Page

Knowing your goal is the key to getting the results you want from your landing page. Your goal should be:

• Clear
• Measurable
• Singular

And it should be summed up in your CTA. For example, suppose your goal is to collect demographic information on your customers. In that case, your CTA should encourage the reader to click to complete a survey asking them one or two simple, demographic-related questions. If you want to get your customers to purchase a product you have a lot of stock of, your CTA might instruct visitors to download a discount coupon they can use to buy that product in your online store.

Step 2: Use a Landing Page Builder

Whether you’re wondering how to create a landing page in WordPress or any other platform, this step seems easy. But it can take forever if you don’t approach the task in a smart way. Instead of using a template, which lacks creativity and flexibility, use a landing page builder. There are numerous platforms to choose from—just Google “best landing page builders” and you’ll see tons of results—but we really like Unbounce here at VO. So what are the benefits of a landing page builder?

• Highly personalized design
• Little to no coding skills are needed
• Domain name registration
• Built-in analytics
• A/B testing for CTAs and other features
• Third-party software integrations
• Lead management

After all, one study found personalized CTAs perform over 200 percent better!

Step 3: Craft Killer Copy

Since a landing page is just that, a single page, every bit of copy counts, but some pieces of copy count more than others.

Attention-Grabbing Headlines

Remember, the average visitor only reads the first six words of your headline. So you need to pack your USP or your reason for creating the landing page into those six words in a way that compels the reader to, well, read on! The rest of your copy should follow in the same concise manner: cut out industry jargon, chop down wordy statements, and focus on communicating how your solution (your CTA) can solve your visitors’ problems.

Need help crafting all that killer copy? Check out Viral Octopus’ Landing Page Sales Copywriting gig!

A Catchy Call to Action

Really, the CTA is like a teeny summary of why you created your landing page in the first place. So keep it short, compelling, and honest. Always avoid deceptive CTAs. Make sure it’s evident what your reader will get or what they’ll be required to provide if they click that button: Get Your Free Trial, Enter Your Details to Win, Download the Discount Coupon. If your CTA is a form, keep it simple, too. First name and email address are usually enough. Once visitors are on your mailing list, you can re-target them with follow-up emails.

Include Social Proof

A 2017 study found that 93 percent of consumers buy products because they read about them in a review. And businesses need ratings of 3 stars or more to be considered trustworthy. Clearly, there’s a need to include some social proof or “trust triggers” somewhere on your landing page. These could include:

• Customer reviews and testimonials
• Industry certifications
• Socials follower counts
• Logos of well-known partners or clients
• Endorsements from industry influencers
• Brand or company history
• Photos and full names of company employees

Place this proof near your CTA to encourage clicks. And if you don’t have any social proof to include, start collecting it before creating a landing page. For example, ask your social media followers for product reviews.

Step 4: Make It Look Good

Once you’re happy with your copy, it’s time to design the landing page. You should:

• Cleverly craft your hero image
• Use video to capture attention
• Use photos of real people or products
• Include illustrations and diagrams
• Brand it to increase trust: add your logos, color palette, fonts, etc.

Don’t be afraid to sub out some of your copy for imagery at this stage. After all, readers do over 300 percent better when following text and image instructions than purely text instructions.

Step 5: Tracking, Testing, and Optimization 125

You might think that once you’ve designed your page and written the copy, your landing page is ready to release into the world. Not so fast! It’s time to optimize.

Track Page Performance

To get the most out of your landing page, you need to track what happens on it now and for future campaigns. Insert your Google Analytics ID into the landing page coding, and it will get to work measuring a vast array of data. If you plan to connect your landing page to a Facebook post link, add a Facebook Pixel in there, too.

Cement Your SEO Settings

If you haven’t optimized your page for search engines, you’re missing out on conversions and increasing bounce rates. Be sure to, at minimum, write a compelling title tag of around 60 characters and summarize your page content in your meta description (about 150 to 160 characters).

Preview, Publish, and Tinker

And now, it’s time to preview your page, checking for things like spelling and factual errors, image placement. Once you’re satisfied, hit publish—choosing where you’d like to publish the page to (e.g., your website)—and start promoting that page! Viral Octopus just so happens to have two amazing gigs perfect for getting you the landing page hits you need. Check out our Facebook and Google ads management gigs today! But wait! There’s one more thing to consider… Shockingly, only 17 percent of marketers A/B test their landing pages. Whether this is true or not, don’t be among the 80 or so percent who doesn’t do this. A/B test everything from your CTA copy to your headline to your hero image to see what gets the best conversions.

Now You Know How to Create a Landing Page

Landing pages are an integral part of marketing today, allowing you to convert visitors into customers and capture valuable customer data. Learning how to create a landing page that gets the results you want might not happen with the first page you build. But if you follow the steps above repeatedly, you’ll graduate from net newbie to landing page pro in no time at all. If you’ve tried these steps and are still not satisfied with the results, or you just don’t have time to design a page yourself, why not turn to the talented team here at Viral Octopus? Book our Landing Page Design gig, and you’ll get a conversion-centered landing page targeted to a specific audience with top-quality visual content and copy. Your dedicated Viral Octopus team will include a savvy strategist, certified UX expert, crafty copywriter, and wizard-like web developer-all working to create the outcomes your business needs. Let’s evolve together!