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January 17, 2024

How To Write Landing Page Copy That Converts (Checklist and AI Tips Included)

How To Write Landing Page Copy That Converts (Checklist and AI Tips Included)

Table of contents

Landing pages help you generate leads and maximize marketing efforts with targeted and personalized campaigns. You can use them to capture valuable data and insights into user behavior, too.

However, creating a strong landing page requires careful planning and knowing who your audience is. As a copywriter with six years of experience, I've helped many small businesses achieve their marketing goals by crafting compelling landing pages.

Let's look at how to write landing page copy that will capture your audience’s attention and persuade them to act. We'll also look at how AI tools can help you level up your copy and provide you with a free, downloadable checklist.

Key Takeaways

  • Landing page copy should have a specific goal — such as downloading an ebook or purchasing a specific product
  • It must feature personalized content that will resonate with your target audience.
  • You should include a compelling CTA, testimonials, persuasive headings, and make the page’s value clear.

Landing page vs. homepage — what’s the difference? 

Your website's homepage introduces your business to visitors and helps them find their way around. It highlights key features of your site, such as a blog, new products, an “about us” page, and contact details. It’ll normally also try to persuade the visitor to take action (for example, make a purchase or sign up for a newsletter). These are also known as “calls to action” (CTAs).

Walmart’s homepage features lots of links to different product categories and highlights how to find its departments and services.

Let’s take a look at Walmart’s homepage: it features many CTAs including “shop now” and “shop decor”. It also includes links to different products, an incentive to join its membership, a search bar, and a navigation menu. 

Landing pages, on the other hand, are standalone web pages designed with a specific goal in mind. Unlike homepages, they tend to have a singular CTA, like signing up for a service or purchasing a product. Users often find landing pages via a CTA in a social media post, paid ad, email, or via search engine result pages and homepages.

The difference here is that landing pages are more personalized, catering to specific audience pain points, interests, and needs. 

That’s why it’s easy to measure landing page metrics, like click-through, conversion, and bounce rates. By contrast, tracking homepage conversions is harder because there are so many navigation links to analyze.

A landing page for Walmart’s membership has a clear goal: to get people to sign up for the membership. 

Here’s a Walmart landing page. Note that it only focuses on encouraging users to join the membership, and doesn’t feature a navigation menu or search bar. 

Use this table to see key differences at a glance:

Examples of different landing pages

To understand how to write landing page copy, let’s look at common types of landing pages.

Sales landing page

A sales page, as its name suggests, is all about selling. This page is normally kept simple with limited navigation options, keeping users focused on clicking the sale button. 

Let’s take a look at two different sections of a sales landing page from Chris Orzechowski’s site, The Email Copywriter. This page encourages people to opt in for Chris’ monthly newsletter, which costs $100 a month. 

The Email Copywriter’s sales landing page entices visitors to pay for its monthly newsletter.
The Email Copywriter has a sales landing page that encourages visitors to pay for a monthly newsletter.

Why this landing page works:

  • Chris instantly identifies his customers — e-commerce brand owners and marketers. He then offers a solution to their pain point (wanting more sales).
  • It highlights why the product is special and worth investing in.
  • Instagram recommendations and client revenue information offer “social proof.”
  • The CTA is short and direct, with a green button that stands out.

Squeeze landing page

Compared to sales pages, squeeze pages are generally much shorter. They capture email addresses in exchange for a valuable resource such as an e-book or webinar. 

Here, the website Classy Career Girl offers a free, digital planner.

A squeeze landing page on the website Classy Career Girl. It encourages people to download a free planner by submitting their email address.

When users click “DOWNLOAD NOW,” this pop-up appears:

Website Classy Career Girl uses a pop-up box to entice visitors to enter their email addresses for a free, downloadable planner.

Why this landing page works:

  • Uses persuasive language — “the ultimate guide,” “the best decision you’ve made,” “it’s FREE!”
  • Details real names of people who’ve downloaded the planner, creating social proof and building trust. 
  • Includes all the relevant information without any fluff. Visitors know exactly what they will receive and how long the planner will last for.

Splash landing page

A splash page pops up when someone visits a website. They're introductory pages you have to exit before exploring the main site. They can confirm your age, location, or promote a special offer or service. 

Take this example from SEO expert Neil Patel.

Neil Patel’s splash landing page offers readers more SEO traffic if they use his website analyzer tool.

When you click on his site’s homepage, this splash page instantly appears. It’s designed to encourage visitors to trial his action plan for boosting website traffic.

Why this landing page works:

  • There is a sense of urgency — “Answer 5 quick questions”.
  • The heading “Want More SEO Traffic?” offers a clear incentive.
  • Neil emphasizes that the tool provides all the information you need to create results — “step-by-step,” “exactly what you need to do.”

6 Tips for Writing Effective Landing Page Copy

Now that we understand what the different types of landing pages are, let’s look at how to write landing page copy that sells. 

1. Personalize landing pages for specific audiences

If you want to create landing pages that convert, it’s important to ask yourself:

  • Who is your target audience? 
  • What are their pain points?
  • How can your CTA address their concerns?

Once you’ve identified your target audience, you can tailor your writing to them. You’ll also be able to pull out specific pain points and address their concerns via a suitable CTA. 

You should also consider the language and tone of voice that will appeal to your audience and personalize your text appropriately. For example, a casual tone and slang might appeal to a Gen Z audience, while a formal tone better suits business professionals. 

Pro Tip: Use Wordtune’s Casual and Formal buttons to edit the tone of your text in minutes.

Let's say your landing page targets people looking to create a website as an additional income stream. Use simple language that's easy to understand — as your audience are website beginners — and emphasize that your website builder is easy to use. Consider mentioning your target audience specifically in order to appeal to them.

Example: "Our website builder is so user-friendly, even the busiest person can create their own website in just a few minutes."

Use a tool like Wordtune’s Prompts feature to help you create audience-specific content. For example, if I'm a businesswoman aiming to get women in their twenties to subscribe to my newsletter. By joining, they can learn how to climb the corporate ladder.

I can click Wordtune’s Create button and type in my prompt — as demonstrated below.

By giving Wordtune a prompt, its Create tool can generate landing page copy.

Then, I click the purple arrow to generate copy:

Example of Wordtune’s Create tool generating text based on a prompt.

The generated text can be adjusted by clicking the arrow in the top left-hand corner and editing the prompt. For example, I might like to further personalize my prompt with demographic information (age, location, etc) or a suggested word count.

2. Keep it short and sweet

Unnecessarily wordy sentences make it difficult to understand your CTA. Keep text short and relevant, and ensure that your page has a single focus.

For example, if your page encourages customers to join your membership club, only include content that explains club benefits and how to sign up. 

Your headline communicates the main message of your page. It should be kept short, snappy, and attention-grabbing. Research indicates that the average headline is 6.52 words long — with the majority being between three and eight words.

Use Wordtune's Shorten feature to develop concise headlines and text. 

Wordtune Editor’s Shorten feature removes unnecessary words to create concise text.

Simply type your text into the Editor— or describe what your content is about in a few words — highlight your text, and click Shorten. Wordtune will then generate suggestions.

3. Add a clear CTA

A CTA is the most essential part of a landing page, so it needs to be clearly visible and easy to understand.

Be sure to:

  • Use action verbs: "Get," "download," and "start.”
  • Create a sense of urgency: Include words like "now," "immediately," and "right away."
  • Be specific: "Enter your email address and click download" is easier to follow than "You can enter your email address and then click the download button to sign up."

For more tips, read our guide to creating effective CTAs.

4. Include “trust signals” (testimonials, reviews, etc.)

While homepages have lots of links for visitors to learn more about your business, landing pages don't provide the same resources. That's why it's important to include trust signals to demonstrate your brand's reliability.

Trust signals are: 

  • Testimonials: Use statements from people who represent your target audience. 
  • Security badges: SSL certificate logos and encrypted site badges show your site is secure.
  • Customer reviews: Highlight how many stars your business receives from respected review sites like Trustpilot.
  • Industry recognition: Add award badges and relevant mentions from reputable organizations.
  • FAQs: Demonstrate your knowledge by answering potential questions — i.e., how you protect data. This shows that you’re trustworthy and take your audience’s concerns seriously.

Make sure you keep information directly linked to your CTA to avoid overfilling the page and overwhelming readers.

Want to generate personalized FAQs? Use Wordtune’s Create tool.

In the example below, I used this prompt: 

AI Prompt: “FAQs on downloading an ebook by signing up to a newsletter”

Wordtune then created examples of FAQs and corresponding answers. 

Wordtune Editor’s Create tool generating FAQs based on the prompt “FAQs on downloading an ebook by signing up to a newsletter.”

5. Make sure you provide value

Visitors who don't find your landing page’s information engaging, relevant, and valuable will ignore your CTA — leading to poor conversions. 

Make sure you avoid over-explaining the product and instead state how it can help readers. 

Example:

"We are an award-winning skincare range that uses natural formulas made by our skincare experts."

Vs.

"Our award-winning, natural formulas will restore hydration to make your skin bright and supple."

While the first example demonstrates how great the brand is, the second also explains how the product benefits customers (“make your skin bright and supple”). This helps to convince customers to try the product themselves and click a “buy” or “shop now” CTA. 

6. Optimize for search engines

Optimize your landing page with relevant keywords, image alt tags, and meta tags. However, don’t overuse keywords — keep them relevant and deploy them sparingly. To learn more about our top tips on making sure your content is SEO ready, check out our guide for top tips, tools, and strategies.  

Landing Page Checklist

Use this checklist when creating your landing page copy:

  • A clear target audience and goals. Your audience should be defined, and content should be tailored for them. Make sure your text supports the landing page’s goal and guides users to a CTA. 
  • A persuasive headline: Make this concise and align it with your target audience’s interests and pain points. 
  • Benefits: Explain how your product and CTA benefits readers.
  • Concise content: Use bullet points, subheadings, and short paragraphs to make your copy easily scannable. Include images that support your message to reduce the amount of text.
  • A powerful CTA: Keep this short, simple, and aligned with your goal. Use bold fonts, buttons, and contrasting colors to make your CTA stand out. 
  • Optimized copy: Ensure that relevant keywords are included and pay attention to meta tags and image alt text.

Once you’ve created your copy, monitor your landing page’s performance and tweak it as needed to increase its effectiveness. You can also conduct A/B tests to compare different versions of your page to see which works best. 

Conclusion 

Landing pages help marketers and copywriters collect leads and convert them into customers.

When creating landing page copy, remember to focus on one call-to-action, include trust signals such as testimonials, and personalize copy for your target audience. Use our handy Landing Page Checklist to make sure your copy is the best it can be, and you’ll be seeing results in no time. 

Check out these examples of powerful copywriting to keep boosting your conversions. 

FAQs

How do I measure the effectiveness of my landing pages?

Measure click-through and conversion rates to see how effective your landing page is. You can also assess how long people spend on the page. If many visitors leave quickly — say after 20 seconds — your heading, images, or opening text may not be compelling enough.

How long should the landing page copy be?

This depends on the complexity of your service or product. For example, a detailed course on web development will require more copy than a page on downloading a brand's newsletter. What's important is to ensure your text clearly explains the benefits to your target audience. Wordtune can remove content fluff to make copy concise. 

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