Landing Page Essentials

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How important do you think the landing page is for a product?

5 on 10

7 on 10

9 on 10

I pick option 3 every time someone asks me this question.

Today I’ll share the top 5 things you need to get right when you start creating a landing page. These are the “must-haves” without which an LP should not be shipped.

(Important Note: For a limited time, you can download a PDF version of this guide and an 18 point landing page checklist for FREE. Get it here)

I'll move quick and wrap this up in 5 minutes. But if you only have 30 seconds, then just read the precap below.

This is everything I’ll share below -

Precap

Role of a landing page

A Cool gif of a cash register 😅

5 Key elements to get started

Above the Fold
Benefits vs Features
Copywriting Frameworks
Social Proof
User Personas

Audit of Dagobert’s Twitter course landing page.

What’s good
What can be improved

18 Point Landing Page checklist

Homework - Action you can take to get started with your landing page.

Useful Links worth checking out

Now let’s dive deeper -

A landing page is at the heart of the marketing strategy of a product. Especially if you’re more into “self serve” sales and not 1:1 direct sales.

It explains to the user why they should care about your product.

It allays their fears and builds trust, and it eventually convinces them to take out their credit card and swipe it.

And then you hear that sweet sound of the cash register going cha-ching! 😍

A good landing page is like a never tiring, never sleeping, “never-asking-for-a-raise” sales-rep.

Creating it is one of the highest leverage activities you will do for your marketing. Do it well once and you’ll reap the rewards for a long time.

There are at least 5 elements you need to get right when you begin crafting the landing page of your product.

Above the Fold

Benefits vs Features

Copywriting frameworks

Social Proof

User Personas

To understand each element, as a case study, we will look at the landing page of the Twitter course from Dagobert Renouf.

It’s called - How to Dominate Twitter

Above the Fold

This is the top 20-30% of the page. The part of the page that we see before first scroll as soon as we land on a website.

There are 3 goals of this section:

Grab attention

Explain the problem being solved

Highlight the primary benefit of the product.

Bonus:

It will be great if this section can also boost trust and address some objections.

This is what Dago’s “above the fold” section looks like.

The headline and sub-headlines grab attention, address the pain point and explain the benefit of the product very clearly. Good stuff!

The copy on the CTA button is very compelling. Well done!

Possible improvements -

Some form of social proof can help here, a short, single line quote from a user. Something like “Amazing course!”, “Worth the money”. (There is some amazing social proof immediately as you scroll down with quotes from Justin Welsh and Andrea Bosoni. Which is great.)

Some sort of risk reversal or objection handling can be done right under the CTA button. Something like “30 Day money back guarantee”. SaaS products can say - “7 day free trial” or “No CC required”

Paying money is a psychologically painful act for the user. Our goal is to make it as comforting as possible.

Benefits vs Features

This is so important, and repeated so many times, still I see many landing pages just mention the features of a product and expect the user to buy.

Dago does it well because throughout the page he used phrases like -

“Boost your Twitter engagement…”

“Twitter can help grow your startup”

“I went from invisible to top of the feed…and got way more opportunities”

Like in this section, he’s essentially selling the outcome of the course, not the course itself -

Possible Improvements -

None ✅

Copywriting Frameworks

You don’t have to go complex, but you must use the basic copywriting frameworks throughout your landing page - AIDA, PAS and BAB.

AIDA - Attention, Interested, Desire, Action.

PAS - Problem, Agitate, Solution

BAB - Before, After, Bridge

Dago uses PAS brilliantly on the page.

He explains the problem, agitates it and then presents his product as the solution.

There are several sections that agitate the problem, but this meme is my favorite 🤣

This is the final nail in the coffin.

He’s established the problem perfectly, and right after this meme, he presents the solution with a section titled - “We’ll fix your growth by doing two things”

Perfect implementation of PAS.

Caveat -

This meme works because people already love Dago’s memes and he’s made a name for himself as a memelord on Twitter.

In most cases you should NOT use a meme on your landing page.

Possible Improvements -

None ✅

Social proof is one of the most important elements of a landing page that convinces people to actually buy.

All the persuasive copy in the world cannot replace a great testimonial.

Let me say it again - All the persuasive copy in the world cannot replace a great testimonial.

Now, if you have a brand new product, you can use social proof from your other work, or even ask a friend to give you a quote.

Dago has great testimonials from Justin and Andrea that add credibility to his expertise.

Possible improvements -

I highly recommend having a “wall of love” with more testimonials from more students on the landing page. And maybe showcase some real results once students start applying the lessons from the course.

Walls of love with 10+ testimonials work really well because people just scroll past them and still feel assured that this is a great product.

Again - give them comfort with minimal effort.

Check out Justin Welsh’s course Content OS for a great example of this.

User Personas

This is an interesting section of a landing page that helps the user self select into or out of the product.

You can even have 2 sections titled - “Who this is for” and “Who this is NOT for”.

Dago does this well with a section that says - “But this course isn’t for everyone” -

It’s great that he calls out what the users will have to do to get the most out of the course.

Again, Justin Welsh does this really well -

Possible improvements -

There can be a section that goes “This course is for you if you are a startup founder looking to grow on Twitter” and more related personas from Dago’s audience, or maybe attach them to the goals potential students might have like Justin has done.

Final Word

There are of course dozens of things that go into a high converting landing page.

But these were my top 5.

And I haven’t discussed the design elements of the page at all. Dago’s design is great, very bold and powerful. But for most people a simple design can work well.

Getting the copy and the structure of the landing page right is most important.

I made a quick 18 point checklist that consists of more elements you should keep in mind while making your landing page.

You can get it by signing up for the weekly newsletter.

Homework

All of this is useless if you don’t apply it. So here’s a little homework for you -

Take a new Notion or Word document

Write down the following details about your product -

The problems you’re solving (List 3 to 5)
The benefits you’re delivering (List 3 to 5)
Who is the ideal user for your product
Who is NOT the ideal user for your product
What social proof/credibility do you have for this?

Do this exercise and the answers will help you improve your landing page conversions.

Super Links

Useful links you don't want to miss -

Solopreneurship doesn’t mean solitude. Arvid says it better.

If you want to be a clear thinker, don’t obsess over a label or an identity. Thanks Mike!

Do something brave every day. Learn from Jill.

A cool new alternative to link tree.

An interesting collection of websites built using NoCode tools. Thanks Leif.

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

📜 Get a detailed audit of your landing page, catch loopholes and boost conversions. Book an audit here .

✍️ Never hire an expensive copywriter again. Get the perfect system to write all your copy here .

🧠 Solopreneurship is hard, but it doesn’t have to be lonely, get honest feedback, support and accountability, meet your Mastermind here

Hope this post helped you a little bit.

If it did, then make sure you don’t miss the next one.