This is Part 2 of our 4 part ‘List Building From Scratch’ series of posts.
In the last post we covered how to create the perfect lead magnet that expertly targets your ideal audience and makes them want to join your list.
In this post we’re going to cover how to create the landing page or squeeze page where you send your visitors, so they can sign up and get the lead magnet.
After all, even if you create the hottest, greatest, most magnificent lead magnet ever, it won’t mean a thing if your squeeze page scares people away.
Next time we’ll cover how to get as much traffic as you want from Facebook.
Because once you have learned all three of these skills, you can literally go into any market and create a list building machine in just days.
Better still, you can take it one step further and build a complete product funnel behind your lead magnet, offering a tripwire (low ticket) offer, followed by your main offer, followed by a big ticket item.
In fact we are going to cover all of that in Part 4 of this series.
So let’s start at the beginning…
What is a Landing or Squeeze Page?
You know how when you click on a link to get a free book, and you end up on a page that tells you how great the book is, and it gives you a form to enter your email address to get the book?
That’s an example of a landing page, and more specifically, a squeeze page. The reason it’s called a “squeeze” page is because it “squeezes” the visitor into opting in to your list, since there is no other option on the page.
Sales letters and video sales letters can also be used as landing pages. The visitor clicks a link to check out the product and lands on a sales page.
Today for the purpose of creating a list building machine, we’re going to spend our time on making a squeeze page.
And not just any old squeeze page, either, but one that converts like crazy.
Think about this: You build a squeeze page and send 200 visitors to it per day, every day, like clockwork.
Now, you were in a hurry when you built the squeeze page. You cut a couple of corners, didn’t spend much time on your copy and basically just threw the thing together.
And it’s converting at a respectable 30%. So in the course of 30 days, you get 1800 new subscribers. Not bad!
But what if you’d invested a little more time and effort, and got that conversion rate up to 40%? Now you’re getting 2400 new subscribers a month for the exact same effort.
And if you get that page converting at 50%? Now we’re talking 3,000 new subscribers per month.
Do you see why it’s important to get your squeeze page just right? The more subscribers you get, the more money you can make.
Do you see why it’s important to get your squeeze page just right? The more subscribers you get, the more money you can make.
Plus, once you get an offer in place to monetize your list building efforts, you’ll be able to make more sales on a squeeze page that converts higher.
This means you can spend more money to get new subscribers, which means you can build your list even FASTER.
I see marketers throw up squeeze pages like there’s nothing to it. And they’re right, it’s easy to put a squeeze page up. But it takes talent, skill and testing to create a squeeze page that converts really well.
One thing – don’t get hung up on how well your page ‘should’ convert. Every niche is different. Every offer is different. There are many variables that affect how well your page converts, not the least of which is quality.
For example, what would you rather have – 10,000 random people on your list? Or 1,000 highly targeted people who want exactly what you offer? You get the idea.
Building your squeeze page
If your squeeze page is going to convert, then you’ve got to make it laser focused on that one single conversion behavior.
Golden Rule of Squeeze Pages – Don’t distract your visitor. Ever. For any reason.
One page. One offer. No distractions. No exit links, no sidebars, no headers, no footers…
Your goal is to create a compelling landing page with great copy and an irresistible offer. Appearance is important, but your offer is crucial. It’s better to have an ugly page with great copy and a great offer, than a super slick page with lousy copy and a boring offer.
You’ll need…
• A Headline – what is it that you’re giving away?
• A Sub-headline – what does your lead magnet DO?
• 3-4 bullets – build curiosity
• An Image of the Lead Magnet – make it GOOD
• The “Download Now” button
Want a super-fast shortcut? Use a template from Lead Pages.
We’re not going to get into the mechanics of building the page itself, but rather, we’re going to focus on your copy.
If you want to learn, then go to YouTube and search for videos that tell you step by step how to build your squeeze page.
Or – and this is the path I would recommend – there are lots of Page Builders that make great squeeze pages, such as Instabuilder 2.0 (which I use), Lead Pages or for more advanced funnel building capabilities Clickfunnels
These are all designed with non-techies like you and me in mind, and I recommend investing in one of these. If you are doing any amount of online marketing, you will get more than your money’s worth.
But if you do feel completely overwhelmed by the mechanics of page building, then don’t do it. … at least not yourself 🙂
Hire someone to create and put up your page for you. Fiverr is a good place to start. If you do choose this path, do make sure you only use a seller with good reviews.
The important things is DO NOT GET HUNG UP ON TECHNICAL STUFF.
Either learn it or outsource it, but don’t let the technical details slow you down or deter you for a second.
Example squeeze page copy
Let’s look at example copy from a Free Webinar Sign Up Page
“HOW TO GENERATE A $100,000 PER YEAR INCOME ONLINE (…EVEN IF YOU HAVE ZERO EXPERIENCE!)”
Claim your spot on this unmissable free training event and you’ll discover:
- How to make $300+ per day ($100k a year) or more by just giving stuff away to people online.
- The PROVEN secret to making money online in 24-48 hours even if you have no prior experience.
- How to explode your online income up to 395% using a simple system that’s proven to work time and time again.
- The ‘tried & tested’ method to generating automated wealth using the internet.
- And much, much more…
Notice the headline tells you what you’ll learn. The sub-headline lets you know exactly what it is. And the bullets add fuel to the fire, building curiosity and desire in the reader.
Squeeze page tips
Let’s cover some techniques that can move your own squeeze page from mediocrity to email lead gathering machine!
Social Proof: For those who need a slightly bigger push to grab your lead magnet, consider adding social proof below the fold.
This could be testimonials from readers or customers, or even a quote from a well-known person in your niche that praises your lead magnet.
Frankly, most people will never see the social proof because the headline, sub-headline and bullets will be enough. But for those who need a little added incentive, nothing beats social proof for getting them off the fence and joining your list.
Two Step Opt-in versus One Step: Most squeeze pages use a one-step opt-in, where you see the form right there on the squeeze page.
But testing shows that two-step usually out-performs one-step. A two-step has a button on the squeeze page that says something like, “I want it!” or “Send me the report!” or “Download Now!”
Once the visitor clicks the button, the form appears for them to fill out. Hence the name “two step,” since it takes two steps to complete.
In a two-step, at the top of the form you can place a progress bar – one of those half-filled in bars that says you’re 50% done. The wording is usually something like, “Yes, I want the [fill in name of lead magnet!]. There is a space for their email address, and a button that says something like, “Get Instant Access.”
All of this is remarkably easy to do if you use the templates from Lead Pages or something similar.
So why does a two-step convert better than a one-step?
Because you are initially asking for a smaller commitment, in that you’re only asking that they click a button.
But once they click the button, they have taken the first step to get the report, and thus they follow through.
It’s what known as making a ‘micro commitment’.
It’s weird, I know, but human psychology is often strange and bizarre – hence the need to test things to see what works better.
Cover Image: Go to Amazon and browse the books. These could be books in your niche or any niche, for that matter. You’re looking for overall style and concept. When you find 2 or 3 that you like, use these for design ideas.
If you want to save money when creating the image for your lead magnet, you can use a program such as Canva, which is excellent. Or if you prefer to outsource, head over to Fiverr – there are some great ecover creators there. Show the designs you liked to your chosen graphic artist, tell him or her what you like about them, and ask then to create something similar.
Your bullet points: Spend time on these because one well-crafted bullet can make the difference between a person joining or not joining your list.
To make great bullets:
Be specific. Don’t tell them your lead magnet will make them money. Instead, tell then you’re going to show them the exact 12 word ad that netted you $$23,965.
Spark curiosity. You’re walking a fine line between being specific and making them curious. For example, The “You forgot” reminder trick that brings in an extra 344 subscribers to my list each week. People want to know what the ‘you forgot’ trick is.
Convey ease of use, or speed to results. Use your bullets to communicate how easy it will be to do [fill in blank] or how fast it’s going to happen once they know how.
Tell Them Why: Have a good reason why you need their email address to send them a report they could easily download without subscribing.
This one is controversial among online marketers. Many will tell you that your lead magnet must be something that can be immediately consumed, and I agree this is a good thing. If your new subscriber does watch your video or read your pdf, they now have a better sense of who you are and why they should continue to read your emails in the future.
However, when you ask for an email address in order to send them a pdf or video link, it becomes quite clear that you are harvesting their email address. After all, you could just as easily provide the download link without asking for their email.
This raises a red flag to many people, and actually makes it harder to convince them to give you their email.
But… if you offer an email course or newsletter, then of course (no pun intended 😉 you need their email address.
Offering an email course also overcomes the GDPR regulations, which state that you must make it clear on your squeeze page that anyone subscribing will receive follow up emails. If that’s explicitly what they are signing up for, then that’s that box ticked.
Personally, I like to do both. I like to give them an immediate gift – perhaps telling them my favorite method of getting traffic – while also giving them an email course that they receive once per day for the next week or two.
This way they get an immediate benefit AND you have a very good reason for collecting their email address.
Plus, people consume information best in small chunks. An email course gives you the perfect reason to appear in their email account each day, and it gets the reader used to opening and reading your emails as well.
In the example above where the immediate benefit was finding out my favorite method of driving traffic, the email course would be step-by-step HOW to implement that method.
See how they naturally tie together? It’s the best of both worlds.
Emphasize small investment of time, huge payoff: Your prospect is crazy BUSY. He or she isn’t looking for a 200 page pdf or a series of 12 videos. What they would love to have is a 2 page cheat sheet that tells them exactly how to fix the problem that is currently driving them crazy.
Less is more when it comes to lead magnets, and you need to emphasize on your squeeze page just how fast they can consume the info to get the payoff they seek.
Think of it this way – you want to let your prospect know they are getting something they will use, and not something they should use.
Fewer Fields = More Subscribers: Whenever possible, reduce form fields. The fewer fields there are on your form, the more likely people will fill it out.
Don’t believe me? Imagine a form that asks you for your first name, last name, phone number, email address and mailing address.
Now imagine a form that asks just for your email address.
Which one are you more likely to fill out?
Use Payoff Button Copy: Have you seen those buttons that say things like, “Sign up,” “Subscribe” and “Submit?” Ouch. Who wants to submit? No me and not your prospects, either.
Use your button copy to remind them of what they are getting and not that they have to do something.
Good examples are:
• Send me my course now!
• Send my free tips!
• Get instant access!
• Give me access now!
Test, Test, Test: Don’t take my word for anything above. While these are all proven, effective techniques, the fact is that different things can work in different niches. Once you’ve built your squeeze page, make it your control and test it against other pages.
- Try changing the headline – even a small headline tweak can sometimes result in a significant change in conversions.
- Test your sub-headlines and bullets.
- Test your button copy.
- Test two-step versus one-step.
- And even test the lead magnet image, too.
One last thing, and I know I’ve said this before but it bears repeating – do not let the mechanics and technical aspect of setting up a squeeze page deter you for even a second.
You can either learn it, use a program such as Lead Pages, or simply hire someone to handle it for you.
There are multi-million dollar earners in the “how to market online” field who literally couldn’t build a squeeze page if they had to.
But that’s just it – they don’t have to. They hire someone to do it for them, so they can focus on the important aspects of running their business.
Outsourcing and delegating anything that’s not in your realm of expertise will do more to accelerate your business growth than almost anything else.
Set a deadline to have your squeeze page in place that’s no more than 7 days out. And then just get it done.
OK, that’s it for this post on how to create your high converting squeeze page. Hope your found this useful.
In the next post we’ll cover how to get traffic on demand from Facebook, at which point you’ll be able to use the skills you’re learning to go into any market and create a list building machine in just days.
