Believe it or not, there are a lot of intricacies involved and the best squeeze pages are those that have been split tested countless times to maximize conversions. For example, a slight change in layout, a tweak in the headline, or even a new color can have drastic effects on the sign up rate.
1. Simple layout
First of all, make the layout of your squeeze page simple – no frills. Include a headline, maybe a paragraph of text or a short video, a sign up form, and submit button. That’s it. Make sure everything is above the fold and eliminate all distractions that may prevent users from signing up (e.g. external links, unnecessary images, clutter, etc).
2. Catchy, attention-grabbing headline
The headline is probably the most important component of the squeeze page. If there’s just one thing that a visitor reads, it’s the headline so make it count and entice people to continue on in the process. The best headlines are at the top of the page, big and bold (red usually works well) and are focused around people’s emotions.
3. A play on emotions
Simply put, emotion sells. Find out the hopes and dreams of your target audience and deliver on that. For example, don’t just offer an ebook with a bunch of information. Provide a manual to gain confidence with women. Or a method to finally make money online. Or a guide on how to get accepted by a dream college. You get the idea.
Also, be sure to touch on as many emotions as possible when writing your copy. Fear and urgency work best when trying to get people to take action.
Here are some examples.
Urgency: “Special limited time offer for the next 50 subscribers only.”
Fear: “3 out of 4 people lose money in the stock market. Find out how you can be in the top 25%.”
4. Selling on benefits
When describing your offer, sell on benefits not on features. In other words, explain how you will fulfill subscribers’ needs and desires. As the old marketing quotes goes, people want a hole not just a drill. Visitors don’t need to read through another product description. What they really want to know is, “what’s in it for me?”
This is essentially how you can give your offer a high perceived value. A PDF ebook in itself probably doesn’t have much value. But a guide on how to improve a person’s life in some way definitely does. See the difference? Use it in your marketing.
5. Minimal web form
Never ask for more information than you need. Can you get by with just an email address? If so, it might be worth limiting your form to just that. Get rid of all barriers to conversion. Not many people are going to want to give away all of their personal information for a free download.
6. Loud and clear call to action
Rather than use generic words like “go” or “submit” for your form button, use a clear call to action like “download now” or “get your free ebook now”. These tend to lead to much higher conversion rates.
Also test different colors, button sizes, and placement. You’d be surprised by some of the small changes that have a big effect.
7. Disclaimer and privacy policy
This is one component that a lot of marketers ignore or forget, but nevertheless is very important. Always include a disclaimer and privacy policy on your squeeze page. Not only will they protect you in case of a lawsuit, but they also help you to obtain the trust of your visitors.
Include a line like “We hate spam just as much as you do. We will never share your information with any third parties.” Displaying a security badge (e.g. Verisign) next to the web form also helps to prove legitimacy and thus improve conversion rates.
Final Thoughts
The guidelines listed in this article offer a good starting point for your squeeze pages, but you have to remember that you must constantly test things out. No matter how great you think a conversion rate is, every squeeze page can be further improved with testing, testing, and more testing.So what do you think? Are you making the most of email marketing and squeeze pages to gain more leads for your online business? Share some of your favorite squeeze pages and testing results in the comments below!
