What is the big deal about funnels and landing pages? I mean I have a website. Why do I need a landing page too?
Have you ever caught yourself muttering the same thing? I will admit that I once was also in this camp and didn’t really understand the differences. However, I knew that it was something that I needed to look into. I had a website that received regular traffic for years. Conversions for anything on my site were minimal or completely nonexistent.
Does this sound familiar to you too?
I still have a website today. Probably will for the foreseeable future. If for no other reason just to house all of the content that I have created. Websites are good for a home base for the few, curious people who do want to read and see everything there is to see about you and your brand. Honestly, this is not most people though. The average attention span of any visitor is very short. It’s imperative that you make the most of the opportunity.
I started looking at software that tracks all of the clicks and scrolls on my website. Then I realized that a majority of visitors hang out above the fold on my front page. This is the area that appears on a laptop or desktop computer at the top of a page before you scroll down. This is a key place to place an offer. The offer (or an opt-in) that takes your visitors to a landing page. The landing page is where you can grab their email address in exchange for something of value. (HINT: A 10-page ebook isn’t going to be seen as something of value to most people).
So what is a landing page?
A landing page is technically a web page. The difference is it is designed to encourage that the visitor to take an action or leave. By reducing the options and reducing distractions, it actually produces a much higher opt-in rate than a similar offer embedded in a traditional website. If you want to build an email list, sell a course, get people enrolled in your webinar etc., a landing page is the way to go. Contrary to what you may think a two-page funnel (landing page and a thank you page, once a visitor takes an action) can be very effective. Again the effectiveness is in the simplicity.
To demonstrate an example, when I used to have opt-ins for my email list all over my website I would see 1% to 2% conversions. I tried free courses, ebooks, and .pdfs for lead magnets in exchange for email addresses too. Since I have been using landing pages for the very same thing, I have seen my conversions rise as high as 30% to 40% with one specific setup! So even though the subtle differences between the two seem insignificant, the data says otherwise.
If I was just starting out with a new business right now and I had no online presence, I would build a landing page and create my online presence from there. You can still display the information that you want to and accomplish the same thing as you can with a website. The big advantage is when it comes to offering your products and services. By using a marketing funnel, again starting with another landing page, you will qualify the people who are interested in what you are offering and thus avoiding “selling to everyone.”
Does this make sense?
To see a simple example of a website that is housing a landing page, check out my website at http://intentionallyinspirational.com and my opt-in and funnel is front and center on my front page. If you have any further questions about any of this, just let me know and I will be happy to explain.