Creating The Perfect Landing Page.

If you’re using Simplelists for email marketing campaigns then the email you send will probably contain a link to a webpage so that readers can go to your website. It’s really important to get this landing page right - here are some tips...

1) Don’t Just Link To Your Home Page

This is pretty obvious but is something that people get wrong far too much! The landing page should be specific to the email that you’ve sent - visitors will be looking for information related to the email and if they land on a general home page then you’ll lose them.

2) Use A Concise Headline

The headline will be the first thing that visitors see when they click through. It should be close to the top of the page and large enough to be obvious and also be concise and catchy. It should also inform people that they have landed on the correct page by matching the content of your email.

3) Include A Striking Image

Pictures create an impression quickly, add colour and style to your page and encourage people to read the content. The main image should be high up the page so that people don’t need to scroll to see it and should be relevant to the page content. Remember to include 'alt tags’ for your images so that sight-impaired people’s screen-readers will pick up on them.

4) ... Or Video

If the main content of your landing page is video based then there is no need to include a picture as well - that would just serve to distract. It can be a good idea to include a brief introduction to the video - just a couple of sentences to encourage people to click play. A written summary of the video can be a good idea too as some people will prefer to read/scan rather than watch video.

5) Think About Colours

Think about the image that you’re trying to portray and match your colours to this. It can be a good idea to look into colour psychology when you’re doing this. People associate different feelings with different colours, for example blues are associated with trust, wisdom, confidence and stability while reds are associated with energy, strength, passion and desire. Also consider colour contrasts - avoid those colour schemes that make people’s eyes bleed!

6) Use Sub-Headings To Break-Up Long Text

People are more likely to scan than read online, so breaking your text into bite-sized chunks with clear headings is a good idea. Not many will read a long block of continuous text.

7) Include An Obvious Call To Action

Decide what you’d like visitors to do... maybe you want visitors to view your special offers, subscribe to your service or buy a product. Whatever action you’d like people to take, make it clear and easy for them.

8) Remember To Optimise The Page

Give the page a relevant Page Title Tag, URL and Meta Description. This will help search engines and can also improve click through rates from emails as people can see that the link has a trustworthy address.

9) Make The Page Mobile Friendly

Ideally the landing page can be viewed on all kinds of devices, from widescreens, to laptops, to tablets and smart-phones. A responsive page is best but if this is not possible at least make sure that the page works on phones and tablets. This is especially important if you want visitors to fill in a form or make an online purchase.