Chris Christoff July 15, 2020 Landing pages are standalone webpages that are created for a specific purpose or campaign. The purpose of a landing page could be to get more email signups, to get people to register for a webinar or other event, download an ebook, or various other goals. Landing pages are so effective because there’s nothing else on the page to distract users from the action you want them to take.
But, if your landing page doesn’t seem to be working the way you want it, it could be because of your headlines.
While there are many elements needed for a successful landing page, your headlines are more important than you think. The headline is often the first thing users will see when they land on the page, so it needs to grab their attention and encourage them to take action.
So, let’s supercharge your landing page headlines! Here’s how to write effective landing page headlines.
Be Clear
The first step to writing effective landing page headlines is to be clear and to the point. Visitors to your landing page shouldn’t have to guess what your headline means. Rather, they should be able to immediately understand what your landing page is about and why they should take action.
For example, let’s say you’re creating a landing page for a giveaway you’re running, the giveaway prize is a brand new pair of Apple AirPods. If your headline is something like “Do you like Apple AirPods?” it’s not clear to readers that you’re running a contest; they might think you’re just asking their opinion on AirPods and leave. But, with a headline like “Win a Pair of Apple AirPods Today!” it’s obvious to users that they can enter your contest for a chance to win.
You need to be crystal clear with your headlines if you want users to take action on your landing page.
Focus on the Benefits
Next, remember when crafting your headline, you need to focus on the benefits the user will get for taking the action you want them to take. People want to know what’s in it for them before they do something, so use your headline to tell them.
If you’re trying to get people to sign up for your newsletter, don’t use a headline like “Sign Up for My Newsletter”, instead write a headline like “Sign Up For Daily Tips Delivered Straight to Your Inbox”.
Take a look at how Lyft does it:
Instead of using a headline like “Drive For Us”, they focus on the benefits for their target audience by using the headline “Make up to $ 35/hr Driving Your Car.” Lyft even takes it a step further by adding a calculator tool to the page that lets people figure out exactly how much money they can make.
When your headline demonstrates the benefits, users will be more likely to sign up or buy.
Use Power Words
After making sure your headline is clear and focuses on the benefits for your target audience, pay close attention to the words you’re using. Words are powerful—some more than others.
In fact, there are actually power words you can use in your headlines. These power words are more persuasive and can even trigger a psychological or emotional response. By sprinkling in a few power words into your headline, you could see a 12.7% increase in your conversion rates!
Some power words you can add in your headline are:
- Greed Words – Bonus, Limited, Quick, Profit, Savings
- Sloth Words – Basic, Downloadable, Instant, Easy, Template, Tools
- Vanity Words – Beautiful, Elite, Genius, Effective, Moneymaking
With persuasive and emotional headlines, you can skyrocket conversions on your landing pages.
Don’t Forget About Formatting
Lastly, after you’ve created the perfect headline for your landing page, you can’t forget about formatting. If you make your headline too small, hide it in a corner of the page, or use a font that’s hard to read, your website visitors might not even see it at all.
Your headline has to look good on the page and it has to visually stand out to readers.
Here’s a good example of formatting from Cigital’s landing page. The landing page headline is bold and stands out at the top of the page. They also created a bold subheading to show the benefits people will get from reading the ebook.
Try following these formatting tips for the best results:
- Center your headlines
- Make your headline bigger than the rest of the text on the page
- Use a font color that stands out (like black text on a white page)
- Use “Title Case” (capitalize each word)
- Add relevant subheadings if needed
Over to You
Creating effective headlines is an art form and what works for someone else’s site may not work for yours. Use these tips to play around with different landing page headlines and see what works best for you. Once you find the perfect formula, you can skyrocket conversions on your landing pages.
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