The Landing Page: Key to Your Website’s Success
What is a landing page? It is any page that a website visitor "lands" at when they arrive at your site. Usually, but not always this is the home page. Seth Godin reminds us again of the purpose of a landing page:
- Get a visitor to click (to go to another page, on your site or someone else’s)
- Get a visitor to buy
- Get a visitor to give permission for you to follow up (by email, phone, etc.). This includes registration of course.
- Get a visitor to tell a friend
- (and the more subtle) Get a visitor to learn something, which could
even include posting a comment or giving you some sort of feedback
The vast majority of counselling and healing professional websites that I see still don’t get this at all. Many professionals put up sites and then wonder why they don’t work for them. The reason is often related to an unclear purpose (and poorly written on untargeted copy).
If your landing page is not focusing on getting your visitor to do one or two (no more, says Seth) of these things, your website needs an overhaul.
Web Headlines Need to Stand Out
Copywriting expert, Nick Usborne says, Give Your Web page Headlines Some Space to Breathe.
While the headline of your webpage is the key determing factor whether your web site visitor will stick around to check you out, a strong headline cluttered amongst too many other elements won’t get the attention you might hope for. Even if you have a great headline, if people are distracted from seeing it, your headline won’t do you one bit of good
As Nick states, make sure your headline dominates the page. A simple, but important statement.
6 Principles of Influence
Guy Kawasaki, over at Bona tempora volantur, interviews Robert Cialdini the author of Influence–Science and Practice. Discussed in the interview are Cialdini’s 6 princples of influence:
- Reciprocation. People give back to you the kind of treatment that they have received from you.
- Scarcity. People will try to seize the opportunities that you offer them, that are rare or dwindling in availability.
- Authority. People will be most persuaded by you when they see you as having knowledge and credibility on the topic.
- Commitment. People will feel a need to comply with
your request if it is consistent with what they have publicly committed
themselves to in your presence. - Liking. People prefer to say yes to your request to the degree that they know and like you. No surprise there.
- Consensus. People will be likely to say yes to
your request if you give them evidence that people just like them have
been saying yes to it.
Some examples on how you can apply these to marketing your counselling or healing practice:
Reciprocation: Treat people with respect and offer to give things to them at no cost (e.g.newsletter, free report) and do things for them that will help them whenever you can. Too many professionals think of marketing as "getting" something from people. Focus on the giving and see how it pays off.
Scarcity: Be different and interesting in what you offer. Don’t offer the same as everyone else.
Authority: Write books, articles, columns, speak at organizations and give workshops.
Commitment: Be clear and direct in what you ask for and get people to commit to you. Don’t leave requests or agreements vague with anyone including potential clients, referral sources, etc.
Liking: Stay in front of your prospective clients and referral sources, follow through on your promises, build relationships of trust, find ways to keep in touch with your target market. etc.
Consensus: Use testiomials and case studies in your marketing.
I plan on reading Cialdini’s book. How about you?
