The 5 Stages of Writing Irresistible Landing Page Copy

The 5 Stages of Writing Irresistible Landing Page Copy

Reader Comments (34)

  1. Hi Demian,

    Thanks for the nice post. I’ve heard about this landing page, but most times, I forget to make a buying decision. Guess, it’s now time to take action.

    See you around Demian,

    Daniel ”the web content writer”…

  2. Small changes in language can make all the difference. How you phrase something, how specific you get in your points can either drastically help or hinder the success of your landing page. You’ve got to keep tweaking things until you figure out what works!

  3. Hi, thanks for the post.
    Landing pages are something that I have not been very successful with. Tried to make some landing pages a couple of times, but ended up with nothing. Maybe I have to follow these stages and start again altogether and see how it goes.
    I think I need to make a landing page that convinces people that they need it and not focusing more on selling point.

    • Landing pages aren’t about talent or innate ability — they’re about studying what’s worked before, and trying different approaches to see what works for your audience and what doesn’t. They’re much more about technique and testing than they are about “art.”

      Writing interesting content comes naturally to some people (although all of us can improve our abilities with work), but this kind of persuasive copywriting is something you have to study and work at.

  4. Absolutely brilliant post ! I will keep these five stages in mind next time when I next try to make a landing page as a great landing page is crucial for a product or a newsletter. I am bookmarking this post, Demian.

  5. Very interesting to say the least. I guess since I’m at the 3 year mark with my landing pages, it’s time for me to start doing my homework.

    Once more you have surpassed my expectations and I thank you for that. 🙂

  6. Wonderful post! These are definitely stages that I will keep in mind when making my landing page. Thanks for the wonderful tips!

  7. I just recently started reading Eugene Schwartz’s “Breakthrough Advertising.” I’m still in some of the early chapters, but it’s a fascinating read and the steps you’ve outlined certainly make a lot of sense. What’s even more fascinating is then looking back at some of the copy on the various Copyblogger products and seeing all of this in action.

  8. Nice one!

    As Nick mentioned, test your landing pages. Even the slightest change, let’s say you change a ‘submit’ button color from blue to red, can impact your conversions. But you won’t know unless you conduct an A/B split test.

  9. Great post. I’ve also heard the term, “awareness ladder.” It’s the first research question I ask myself or my client before I start a piece.

  10. Hmmm. Writing for the sophistication level/message readiness of a whole market is a pretty broad job, no? New customers still arrive w/fresh ears. And targets are individuals after all.

    If I’m 24 and feeling stuck under my first 2K in credit card debt, I don’t really care why some people never get out of debt (Stage 5 glutted market suggested headline). I’ve been looking for a Stage 1 message about defeating my credit card debt with only a calendar and a spreadsheet.

    The late stage message is actually a mismatch now… and just because there are a lot of competitors in the debt counseling field doesn’t mean I’m looking for something other than what I’m looking for. MY problem is what it is.

    I think I’d use this lifecycle approach more for a long term sales program, taking a list through the stages. But I still believe you have to put your target audience before your market stage when it comes to your message.

    Naturally testing is the way to find out what works best, though, especially with landing pages. As always, do whatever works!

    • Your market is your audience (and yes, you could say this is your list). It would be great if you could personalize a message for everyone in your market (for the 24 year old in $2,000 of debt, the 33 year old in $30,000), but it’s just not practical or affordable. This is why you go for the widest market possible.

      Now, if there was a large enough market of 24 year olds in $2,000 of debt, then you could dominate that niche — but you would have to do it with a message that singled them out.

  11. Awesome article. Gary Halbert always stressed that a copywriters job really is to be a student of markets.

    I always like to watch the weight loss industry as it is obviously very mature and all the promises have been made before, even in the mechanism stage.

    Have you heard about Insanity? Anyways, they are making millions now and definitely use Swartz’s last stage as they focus on the emotion of the consumer and their premise is “dig deeper.”

    Also, they make you work your ass off. So their product actually works. Which is a good reminder that if you make a promise, back it up with a great product. There is no trick or secret mechanism for their product or marketing copy which makes it believable as people have heard that stuff before.

    I’ve personally bought and used Premise. It’s a good product.

    I don’t use it anymore as my sites have got more complex, but the landing page I created with some of the graphics and elements in Premise, made me $5,000 last year in profit and sells about $500 per month (in profit, its a landing page for an eBook).

    Thanks for this article.

    • James, a buddy of mine convinced me to try Insanity. I did it for one day. At a time when I was in very good shape (fresh off a year of marathon training, 60 push ups in one go — not so any more) … and I hated it. So, yeah, I’ve never done it before. 😉

      It is an interesting phenomenon, because like you pointed out — there are no short cuts. What I think there is — and the appeal — is an invitation to join an exclusive club of people who are insane. But awfully good looking, too. The same with PX90. Or the Tough Mudder races. It’s like joining a fraternity. And for a generation of Millenials and Gen Xers who sit on their bottoms all day, it’s adventure. That’s the only way I can explain our fascination with exercise programs that are designed to work out until you vomit. 😀

  12. Wonderful article, I definitely agree a landing page is worth taking your time on. I will definitely remember these stages the next time I create a landing page, Thanks for sharing!

  13. Ohoo my God! You guys have been rocking my world, with your very extensive and well content rich articles. In such a way that I feel like I have been Introduced to a new University degree. And thank you for this Ultimate Landing Page Guide.

  14. Great stuff Demian. Going to have a play around with Premise this afternoon. Do you know any plugins that will work with Premise to also A/B test the headlines you pick? I remember one being available a while back but can’t remember what it’s called.

  15. Demian,

    Thanks for breaking this down! I think I’ve internalized some of these concepts from studying and working with plenty of landing pages, but I’ve never been able to walk someone else through the process or describe why it works.

    You were able to put it into a 5-stage process. I appreciate it,

    -Corey

    p.s. Definitely picking up Premise before I write my next landing page. I’ve wasted way too much time trying to tweak landing pages on my own (and still not get them exactly how I want them.)

  16. Hi – thanks for this great resource. My students are learning about SEO, and I’ve mentioned your article in my blog. Your insights on landing pages and their relationship to market cycle are very cool.

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