How to Convert Visitors into Customers Using a Landing Page

A brilliant landing page combined with a ‘converting funnel,’ is usually the backbone of an profitable online business.

Using a landing page, you can gather leads, and using your funnel process, you can subsequently turn those leads into customers.

In basic terms, this means that you now have a way to turn website visitors into customers.

And that means you have a way of turning website visitors into money.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at how you can use a landing page, in order to generate customers.

We’ll take a look at what makes landing page work effectively, but also what constitutes a high converting sales funnel.

By the end of this post, you’ll be able to take what you’ve learnt, and use it to improve the revenues of your own business.

Let’s begin.   

Providing a great giveaway

Most landing pages work on the basis that there is something given away for free, in exchange for an email address.

So before you do anything else, your first task is to figure out what you’re going to giveaway.

And what you are going to giveaway… is going to depend on the kind of audience that your business caters to.

Because of this, you’ll need to do some research ahead of time so that you can figure out what it is, that your audience appreciates and values.

If you’re a SAAS company, you may benefit by providing a product demo, whereby people can trial your offering to see if it meets their needs.

On the other hand, if you’re not a SAAS style company, you may want to offer a free PDF instead, of which teaches your target audience how to solve a specific problem.

If you choose the PDF option, it is important that the PDF giveaway, really hits on a pain point that your target audience is struggling with.

If not, then those who visit your landing page won’t feel compelled to enter in their email address to access what is on offer.

So how do you find out what you should be giving away?

One way you can go about this task, is by using the Google Keyword Planner.

Head over to Google Keyword Planner, and then select the ‘Search for new keywords using a phrase, website or category.’

For the sake of this post, let’s say I’m looking to create a business around ‘dog training.’

Because of this, I type in ‘dog training,’ into the ‘Your product or service,’ box.  

After clicking on ‘Get Ideas,’ I then select the ‘Keyword ideas,’ tab.  

I’ve sorted these keywords by ‘Average monthly searches,’ to figure out what is most popular.

As you can see, I’ve highlighted popular keywords that can be used to inspire PDF topics.

Another way you can get this done, is by visiting forums, in which your target audience spends their time.

Here is what I found when searched a popular dog training forum.

I’ve sorted the posts by views and I’ve then highlighted some popular topics.

If you’re looking to craft a PDF that covers an issue a lot of dog owners are struggling with, then those topics are worth looking into – because a lot of people are talking about them.

Your goal is to really impress with this PDF.

So make sure you put in the time and effort needed, in order to make it valuable and easy to read.

In doing so, readers of the PDF will be more inclined to read anything else you send them, because you’ve already earned their trust with a great piece of content.

This is key, when it comes to building out a conversion funnel that is going to generate customers.

Optimize the landing page for conversions

We’re not going to cover how to actually create a landing page in this post, as we’re more interested with the conversion process for now.  

However, if you want to learn more about creating a landing page, I’ve covered the topic here.

The key issue we want to investigate now, is how you can set up your landing page so that it is going to ‘convert.’

There are many things that can influence a landing page’s conversion rate, but there are four key factors that will cause the biggest shifts.

The first of these factors, is the headline used on the landing page.

Writing a great headline is a bit of an art, and it will take practice before you can get it right.

The main thing you want to keep in mind when writing a headline, is questioning how you can best showcase the benefit on offer.

What is there to be gained should someone enter in their email address?

Though this example refers to an opt in form, it still showcases the benefit of showcasing a benefit rich headline.

As you can see, by mentioning what was on offer, and explaining that it was free, signups rose by 31.54%.

If you need some inspiration, study other landing pages you can find.

In particular, take a look at landing pages that are used by advertisers.

There’s a good chance that the headlines used on their landing pages are working, as it is costing money for the advertiser to get people to the landing page.

Don’t just click on ads aimlessly, however.

Just keep a note of any landing pages you see, after having clicked on ads that were relevant to you.

You can also read some insightful articles on the topic, such as this oneand this one.

You’ll also want to pay special attention to the bullet points.

These should be written as if they’re‘mini-headlines.’

That means that they need to be benefit rich and ‘punchy.’ You do not have time to be fluffy here, or else you’ll just bore people.

And bored people will leave your landing page.

Your goal is to quickly convince the reader, that what’s on the other side of the optin form, is worth having.

When writing the bullet points, be specific about what you’re trying to convey.  

In doing so, it helps to increase the believability of anything that you’re writing.

Again, you can learn how to write great bullet points, by studying other landing pages.

Make sure, however, that you don’t copy anything.

Another thing that will impact the conversion rate of your landing page is the image that you’re going to use.

The style of image you need to use is going to depend on the landing page itself.

However, a cool trick you might want to experiment with, is having a person, who’s line of sight aims aligns with the opt in form or the bullet points.

An example of that can be seen below.

Lastly, you’ll also want to dedicate some of your time to the opt in form itself.  

You should not see the opt n form as just one big element – rather you should assess it in terms of its different components and factors.

Each factor can affect the optin forms overall ability to ‘convert.’

One such factor is the number of form fields your optin form contains.

Some have found that by having less form fields, they were able to increase the opt in rates on their landing page.

Leadpages ran a test and found that an opt in box with only one opt in form, raised conversions by 12.44%.

The copy that you use for the button, can also impact how well the optin form converts.  

Though you want to do this far down the testing process, changing the button colour can also impact conversions.

Leadpages, again, found that a change in button colour increased conversions by 86.41%.

You may even want to take a look at the impact of using security and spam mentions under the optin form too – reminding people that their data will never be shared or sold.

This won’t work for everyone, however.

The inclusion of a privacy notice, can also reduce conversions by 18.70%.

Keep in mind, that the odds of you creating a perfect landing page the first time round, is low.

Therefore, after you’ve created your landing page you’ll need to do something known as split testing.

We touched earlier, on how changes in an opt in form can impact conversions.

This is where you adjust elements of the landing page, in order to boost the number of people entering in their email address.

You can use a tool like Optimizely in order to get that done.

When you’re split testing, there are a few things to acknowledge.

The first, is that it is better to make big changes rather than small incremental changes.

Unless you have a brilliant landing page at the moment, a small change is not likely going to create a significant change in conversions.

Secondly, if you are making small changes, make sure you only change one thing at a time.

Don’t change the headline, and the bullet points at the same time.

If you do so, it’ll be difficult to figure out what caused the actual change in conversions.

Have a process for turning subscriber into a customer

There’s no point in amassing a lot of subscribers, if you do not have a method for turning these subscribers, into customers.

Just like the giveaway, your process for getting this done is going to depend a lot on what kind of business you are in.

For example, if your business provides a software solution, it might be a good idea to get subscribers on the phone after they have provided their email address.

In doing so, you can speak to them and ask them about their experience.

You’ll then have the opportunity to deal with any of the doubts and concerns they have – making it easier for you to turn them into a customer then and there.

Alternatively, you might want to send people a sequence of carefully crafted emails, that continue to provide value and build goodwill.

At some point in the email sequence, you may want to send an offer, of which lets the subscriber know that you have a paid offering.

You could create a sequence whereby you send people a total of 8 emails, and you send an ‘offer email,’ every fourth email.

Don’t be afraid of sending too many emails.

Hubspot found that email open rates only dropped off, after 16-30 email campaigns.

Note: Hubspot defines campaigns as –

Your ability to turn subscribers into customers is going to depend on how well crafted your giveaway is, but also how good your email content is too.

Good emails, earn you the right to send more emails.

There’s a lot to be said about writing an autoresponder sequence that will resonate with people.

You’ll need to use the tips mentioned above, in relation to coming up with giveaway ideas, to also come up with ideas for the emails you’re going to be sending.

It can be a good idea to sign up to the lists of your competitors.

This will give you a sense of the approach that works for them, in terms of the kinds of emails that are sent out, and how in depth the content is within them.

It’ll also give you a chance to see how an offer is presented, and the kind of language that is used in order to persuade you to buy.

Again, you’re not looking to copy anyone, but you are looking to learn from people who have been playing them game a lot longer than you.

Keep in mind, however, that you can always combine the two approaches discussed above.

For instance, you might send subscribers a sequence of emails, and then ask them if they’d like to have a ‘one on one’ phone call with you.

Ultimately, your goal is to provide value, and help build goodwill by positioning yourself as a ‘trusted authority.’

If all else fails, come back to the thing that you’re trying to sell.

Question if it is something that people actually want.

Conclusion

A persuasive landing page, combined with an effective conversion process, can be the driving force of an online business.

After having gone through this post, you should now have a sense of what you need to do, in order to have a great landing page, and effective conversion process of your own.

You now know, for example, that a great giveaway is important.

You also know that having a process for converting leads, is also essential, if you want your landing page to turn a profit for you.

Whether you do that with the use of an auto responder sequence, or a phone call, the strategy adopted tends to depend on the style of your business.

Go through this post again, and see if you can use some of the tips mentioned to boost the sales of your online business.

What have you experienced when it comes to creating a landing page that converts visitors into customers – are there any tips you can share?