Landing Page Optimization: The FASTEST Way to Get More Subscribers

Hey Mauro,

I’m glad to hear that.

When you’ve done the changes (no hurry), come back here and let us know 😉

-Peter

Hey Angela,

Your page will be included in a future landing page critique post 😉

-Peter

The beauty of predictive spelling! Sorry for all the typos, I re-wrote it again

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It’s all in a jam! Join me for recipes and stories about jams, cookies and other food that is perfect to share with friends. Please subscribe to free updates to receive the sweet goodness streight to your email box! (subscribe field)

My readers come from all over the world and I have created a conversion chart for imperial and metric measures. You can download a free, beautifuly illustrated copy here….(download with email address or better Thank with a twitt?)

My cooking is not perfect but it comes from my heart!

(I like these two sentences, but it might be too much? – I cook all recipes in my kitchen and use my family and friends as tasting volontieres. A lot of people tried my cooking and they gone on to lead normal lives after that.)

Those are the two most common uses for the kind of landing page we’re talking about now. Though with guest posting, you sometimes want to create even more targeted landing pages…

You could check out my similar page. The niche is obviously as different as it gets, but the main point of the page is “selling” the free subscription. The bonuses are only that: bonuses.

Does that help at all?

Hi Anastasia,

There’s no real difference actually. A blog about food either helps people solve a problem or helps them get to their dreams. Or at least it should 😉

Your opt in page should get the idea across that you can help the visitors with something they want. If their problem is that their raspberry jam isn’t red enough or that they don’t know how to cook great blueberry pie, you should tell them you’ll help them with that.

I recommend you make a list of benefits your blog offers. List at least 30 specific reasons why your readers benefit from reading your blog. Once you have the list, you can pick the most valuable/common benefits and build a page that tells the reader about those benefits. Another thing you could consider is building some sort of a free resource that you offer for subscribers.

Does that make sense?

Regards,
Peter

Hi Ruan,

Using opt in landing pages for “nothing special” is quite common. Sure, most offer some sort of an incentive like an ebook, but many don’t do even that.

I don’t use OptimizePress as I prefer building landing pages with coding or with Premise. One of its benefits is that you don’t need to use a sub-domain.

And you’d probably drive traffic to the page with guest posts etc. Sure, you can also drive people there with links from your own site, and many say something like, “Subscribe to updates” but often other calls-to-action work better. That, as well as many other landing page related things, is about talking about the benefits you can offer the reader.

Did I make sense to you? Please, tell me if you have any questions 🙂

Regards,
Peter Sandeen

Hey Allan,

The page is good, really good. My suggestions are quite minor:

1. Consider replacing the first opt in box with bullet-points that illustrate the value of the book. AND move the opt in form under the picture of the book and the new bullet-points. That will make visitors really understand the value the book provides. Now that there’s nothing but the book’s cover and the opt in form, you’re assuming all your visitors already understand the value of the idioms.

2. You could add one more opt in form after the main copy of the page (before the second testimonial). When the copy ends, readers are (hopefully) ready to download the book. So, you should offer them the chance to do so.

3. The first headline of the page is now “Money in Mandarin”. I realize that’s the name of your site, but it looks like it’s the title of the page. You could just add a clear line under it (not an underlining but a line that breaks it into its own section) to indicate it’s separate from the page. Or you could just remove it. Having your logo on a landing page isn’t nearly always necessary…

What do you think? Did that make sense to you?

Regards,
Peter

Hi Lori,

First of all there are lots of good things about your page. And a 75% conversion is really good (I assume the traffic comes from guest posts etc.?).

Here’s what I’d do:

1. The “breadcrumbs” under the header is useless on a landing page. It just catches your attention but doesn’t add anything to the page.

2. The headlines (main headline and the one in the opt in form) are formatted weirdly. I think the “line-height” is too low or something as the lines overlap. They’re a bit difficult to read as they are…

3. I suggest you test what would happen if the opt in box came after the copy of the page. Or at least test what if it was smaller.

4. You’re asking people to tweet the page. It may affect your conversion; at least usually it does lower it.

5. You could try to make the bullet-points a bit more intriguing. For example: instead of saying, “De-Stress with Music and Dancing” you could say something like (assuming it’s true), “Get Rid of Stress by Just Listening to Music in a Certain Way”

Did that make sense? Please ask if there’s anything more…

Regards,
Peter Sandeen

Hi Haroun,

Just come back and leave a comment here if you want some ideas on how to improve the page when it’s done. Okay?

Regards,
Peter

Hey Augustus,

I think there are two main problems that cause the high bounce rate:

1. The overall look isn’t focused; there’s a lot going on everywhere on the page, so it’s difficult to understand where you should focus on the page. Consider changing the background picture and make the main boxes calmer and your bounce rate will go down.

2. More importantly: I wouldn’t ask people to sign up on the home page in this case. I’d only ask people to click through to learn more. You don’t give nearly enough information about your service on the page to justify asking for a sign up.

I think you’ll get much better results if you do those things 🙂

What do you think?

Regards,
Peter Sandeen

Hey Timo,

Thanks, I’m glad to hear you found the ideas valuable 🙂

Let me know if you have any questions…

Regards,
Peter

Hi Candas,

I offered ideas at the end of the post; meaning, leave a link to your landing page in the comments, and I’ll comment it here 😉 No, rush with it…

Regards,
Peter Sandeen

Hi Miriam,

“Squeeze page” is a type of landing page. It’s becoming more and more common to call them (squeeze pages) opt in pages; because people opt in to receive emails from you (even if you don’t use a “double opt in” system).

Going below the fold is sometimes a lot better than sticking an opt in form above the fold. It’s about the trust and about people’s expectations.

1. If you can create the necessary trust for them to sign up with less than half a page, then you can have the opt in box above the fold. But quite often people don’t know how to do that. So, if you know what you’re doing and you’re driving the right people to the page, you can have the opt in page above the fold. Otherwise use that space to create more trust and desire for what you’re offering and let the opt in form go below the fold.

2. When you see what someone is trying to “sell” to you (an email subscription in this case), you put your “sales-walls” up. People hate to be sold, so if they can see that you’re trying to get them to do something specific, they try to resist it.

Does that make sense?

I use double opt in, as does Danny and many, many, many others. I haven’t tested single opt in lists, but as my “abandonment” rate is minimal, I rather make sure my list is made up of real people 😉

I can give you some ideas if you let me know what page to look at. Did you mean your home page?

Regards,
Peter Sandeen

Oooh, I just had another thought – for a landing page where the goal is to get people to register for a free, half hour consult, that would have a higher bar for credibility and professional appearance. It’s a continuum – the less you ask for, the less you have to prove?

Hey Kristen,

Quizzes can work really well, but that’s not always the case. It depends a lot on the traffic you drive to the page…

Basically quizzes don’t add much to your credibility, but they can add to the likelihood of people subscribing because they force people to start interacting. When they’ve already answered some questions, they’re more likely to continue interacting (and if you then ask for a sign up, they just might do that).

At the moment the critiqued landing pages are selected from a “private” list. But I’m happy to give some ideas here in the comments 😉

First off, your page is much better than most I come across. It’s clean, and clear, and I especially like that you’ve made it easy for people to identify themselves at the end. Here’s what I’d do:

1. The headline is okay, but it’s not talking to all of your prospects. I, for one, have a long to-do list, but I don’t have filing cabinets on the way to world domination. So, when you talk about filing cabinets, I don’t relate to it. Something even more easily relatable could work better.

2. In the first paragraphs you mention some books. Not everybody has read them. Unless you’re targeting productivity enthusiasts, I’d stay clear of such specifics. The moments you start talking about something the reader don’t understand, you lose most of their interest and trust.

3. I’d make the language simpler. Not to say you’re readers or dumb, it’s just a fact that most people don’t use words like “adhere”, “constitute”, and “Enneagram Number”. When you use language that doesn’t match the language of your reader, they tune off.

4. You could make the promised value more clear from the start. Now you need to read to the very last sentence to know what value the page can provide.

What do you think?

Regards,
Peter Sandeen

Hi,

Having an opt in form at the top of the page is usually a good idea, I hope it works for you too.

I recommend investing the few dollars a month for AWeber etc. You’ll get much better control of your list with those services…

Regards,
Peter