Landing Page Copy that Always Converts + 5 Secret Tricks
A compelling landing page copy will draw more eyeballs to your website, improve your brand’s reputation, and attract more visitors through word-of-mouth marketing or organic reach.
Poor landing page copy will result in a significant customer drop-off, damage your brand’s reputation, and, in extreme cases, cause your website to be demoted in Google’s search rankings for good.
These are just a few of the reasons why having a high-quality LP copy is critical in today’s cutthroat digital environment, where the looming danger of AI-produced content threatens to disrupt the basic search engine paradigms to something not even the best SEO pros could’ve predicted, regardless of their expertise and cumulative experience.
What Is Landing Page Copy?
Landing page copy is a type of marketing copy that comprises a landing page and whose main goal is to convert incoming visitors into paying customers. However, you can’t just slap a bunch of random words onto a landing page and call it a day. The copy must have structure, typically broken up into frames, and it must follow a clear progression path where it explains everything to the visitor based on their level of awareness in the overarching sales funnel.
There are five levels of customer awareness, including:
- Unaware—The customer doesn’t understand they have a problem, and isn’t actively looking for a possible solution.
- Problem aware—The customer has successfully identified the problem, but they’re still not looking for a solution.
- Solution aware—The customer knows about the problem and has identified a few possible solutions.
- Product/service aware—They’re aware of the problem, are familiar with several possible solutions, and recognize that your product or service could address their pain points.
- Extremely aware—The customer is in the final stage of awareness; they have a detailed understanding of the problem, are extremely familiar with the solution, and know about your company, your products, and the specific offer in your landing page copy.
A customer’s level of awareness is inversely proportional to landing page copy length. The less aware the customer is, the more copy you need to write. The more aware they are, the less copy you need to land a successful conversion.
How to identify your visitors’ level of awareness
Visitors coming from different traffic sources will expect to see different information, design features, and web elements on your landing page. The best way to identify their awareness level is to write copy that targets the underlying intentions behind the traffic source your leads landed.
For example, people landing from a paid ad will most likely be problem and solution aware, but they won’t know much about the specifics of your brand or products. This tells us two things: your copy’s length needs to match their awareness level, i.e., roughly 500-600 words, and it should provide a detailed outline of your company and the particular offer.
On the other hand, subscribers arriving through your email funnel are already product aware; they’ve heard about your brand and have some experience with your products/services, so you can skip the introductory part and push for an immediate sale with 300 words or less.
Copywriting Course serves an enticing homepage (which also doubles as a landing page) to visitors coming from multiple traffic sources, including social media, paid ads, and organic search. It uses every trick in the proverbial marketing book: a countdown timer to create scarcity and urgency, compelling product features and benefits, positive client testimonials, a detailed FAQ section, before-and-after earning outlines, and elements lifted straight from evergreen copywriting formulas like PAS or AIDA.
Since they’ve grouped all customer awareness levels into a single package, Copywriting Course’s landing page copy is evocative, stylish, relatively long (roughly 1,500 words), highly structured, and extremely assertive. The site is doing everything in its power to convince people from all walks of life to buy its courses.
To compare, let’s consider Morning Brew’s newsletter subscription page. It’s a landing page designed specifically for people who know what they’re getting into, featuring a compelling headline, around 30 words of straightforward copy, and a prominent call to action (CTA) to seal the deal.
Lastly, if you don’t have the capabilities or budget to serve different landing pages to different audience cohorts, start by making a rough estimate of the ideal copy length relative to the awareness level of your most valuable group, and build from there. This method should improve your conversion rates in no time.
How is Landing Page Copy Different From Other Types of Copy?
Landing page copy falls under the umbrella of direct response copywriting (check our direct response copywriting guide to learn more), or, more specifically, Business-to-Customer (B2C) copywriting. Other types of copy include content marketing, social media copywriting, paid ad copywriting, brand copywriting, and SEO copywriting, the latter of which might be a lost art.
Even if the prospect isn’t ready to buy, i.e, they’re still in the early stages of awareness, landing page copy typically carries a more urgent tone compared to other copy types. By nature, direct response copywriting tends to be more straightforward, compelling, and persuasive, with the simple goal of convincing people to take immediate action rather than doing something in the future, or at all.
However, even within the category it belongs to, landing page copy walks a fine line between urgency, engagement, and outright persuasion. Compared to something like a direct response mail-in letter, whose primary goal is to persuade someone to place a purchase without informing or educating the prospect, landing page copy might include persuasive elements only when the reader isn’t quite yet ready to buy.
In contrast, content marketing copy is there to inform, educate, and entertain, focusing on building long-term relationships with the goal of cashing in on them later. Social media copy varies by platform, usually manifesting itself via short-form posts, gotcha-moments, quirky replies to famous brands with large follower counts, and jokingly-structured parables. It’s one of the hardest forms to master without slipping into cringeworthy territory.
Paid ad copy is brief, targeted, and crafted for instant reactions, leveraging memorable hooks within a strict character limit. Occasionally, ad copy CTAs can be so aggressive that they inadvertently end up having the opposite effect on readers.
Brand copy is usually part of a broader campaign created by major marketing agencies such as Ogilvy or Saatchi & Saatchi. It has its own unique set of challenges, trying to leave a lasting positive effect on customers contained within a series of messages distributed across different platforms and media.
SEO copywriting, or what’s left of this strategy, tries to balance keyword optimization with organic, human-level readability in order to get more traffic and support a website up the rankings in Google SERPs. Until the early 2020s, this was the dominant approach for most new brands and emerging websites. However, once AI-generated content took over, coupled with the drastic pivots in how search engine algorithms work, it became clear that traditional SEO copywriting is on its way out the door sooner rather than later.
Here’s a handy table that outlines the key differences (and a few similarities) between a variety of copywriting formats compared to landing page copy.
How to Apply Copywriting Frameworks to Your Landing Page
Copywriting frameworks are structured rules for crafting persuasive marketing copy that converts, and does it well. The most famous frameworks include AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action), PAS (Problem, Agitation, Solution), and the 4Us (Unique, Urgent, Useful, Ultra-Specific).
These frameworks shouldn’t be confused with landing page formulas, which essentially work like shortcuts for writing specific page sections. Example landing page formulas include the following:
- Hero Section Formula (Desired outcome + Customer objection = Attention-grabbing hook)
- Features Formula (Enticing features + Straightforward descriptions = Better product/service understanding)
- FAQ Formula (Common questions + Clear answers = Softened customer objections)
The main difference between copywriting frameworks and landing page formulas boils down to specifics: AIDA or PAS provides you with the overall copy scaffolding from beginning to end, while landing page formulas offer tried-and-true blueprints to specific sections of your upcoming landing page.
Both paradigms share the same goals: getting more eyeballs to your site, increasing conversions, and transforming first-time visitors into recurring customers—all through leveraging the power of narrative (plus some strategic CTA positioning) in marketing copy.
Applying a copywriting framework to a landing page and getting the desired outcome is more akin to explorative art than rigid science. To use a framework like AIDA or PAS to build your landing page, craft your copy in a way that creates a captivating story, then season the story with elements your audience can identify with on a deeper emotional level.
With AIDA, begin with an eye-turning headline to grab attention, then proceed with your narrative logically, i.e., have your previous paragraph tie in to your next frame to build interest. Next, use social proof or product benefits to create desire, and, finally, end with a strong CTA to drive immediate action.
If you decide on using PAS instead, open your landing page copy with a problem your audience regularly faces, then amplify the problem to its extreme to emphasize its impact, and finish by introducing your product or service as the solution. Also, you can combine either of the two copywriting frameworks with a landing page formula (such as adding a detailed FAQ section) to better illustrate your point.
Lemlist’s homepage is a stellar example of combining PAS with several landing page formulas to create an impactful, eye-catching design.
Its hero section starts with a strong headline in which Lemlist illustrates the main problem (the first stage of the PAS framework): use smart prospecting to get actual replies from an email outreach campaign.
Next, it leverages a glowing customer testimonial to reinforce the idea of its software’s reliability and reputation.
In the next section, Lemlist highlights four possible agitations (the second stage of the PAS framework): difficulty finding relevant prospects, the frustration of personalizing contact information with AI without sounding dull, the inability to manage multiple email sequences from a single platform, and the issue of messages ending up in spam folders.
Following a handful of equally positive client testimonials, the platform concludes with a trusted, research-backed solution (the third and final stage of the PAS framework).
The FAQ page is a thoughtful addition that provides reassurance and helps nudge leads toward purchasing a subscription.
5 Tricks to Improve Your Copy and Get More Conversions on Landing Pages
Sometimes, a small insight can take you a long way in crafting the perfect landing page copy, rekindling inspiration right when creativity falters. Here are five of the most impactful tricks to write killer LP copy for consistently good results.
1. Craft impactful headlines (and subheadings)
The first element people notice in any kind of marketing copy is the headline. If your LP headline fails to capture their attention, it’s likely they’ll bounce immediately for good. On the flip side, a strong, engaging headline will make readers think: “Wow, I wonder if the rest of the copy is this good. Let me check just in case.”
The same goes for subheadings, which serve as reinforcing elements that emphasize the headline’s message. They’re like connectors that gel the copy together, providing clarity when the reader is unsure what’s required of them on the page.
Focus on crafting strong headlines and subheadings, and you’ll be one step closer to people actively seeking out your LP copy, boosting conversions, and potentially entering the marketing hall of fame.
2. Use the “slippery slide” technique
Slippery slide (courtesy of Joe Sugarman) is a copywriting technique where each line of text in your main copy has one purpose: to get visitors excited about reading the next line. This way, you’re building what Mr. Sugarman called a “slippery slide.” In other words, once the reader starts, they simply can’t stop until they get to the end of the copy.
How? Here’s a way. Instead of using “then” to connect two passages, use “as a result of” or “because of” to create a causal relationship between your sentences. To readers, it’ll feel like witnessing the best story of their lives, engaging their senses in a way that excites, encourages, and compels them to convert.
3. Leverage social proof
It might look like a given, but many website owners invest so much into design that they overlook the persuasive power of social proof in landing page copy. Social proof isn’t there to boast about the quality of your product or service. It’s real voices from real people that strengthen your brand’s integrity, helping ease skeptical customers toward a final decision.
4. Mix short and long sentences
Balance your LP copy with a blend of short, punchy sentences and longer, more evocative ones. This dynamic creates a natural rhythm that transforms the copy from a monotonous slog into an engaging read that keeps visitors entertained until the final stop.
Here’s one example: “Get your smart toaster. Now. Our one-of-a-kind, high-performance, compact, portable, rechargeable, and beautifully crafted toaster is both a feast for the eyes and a game-changer in the kitchen. Quantities are limited, so act fast before the second batch sells out!”
5. Break all the rules
Copying everybody else’s strategies and designs can only take you so far before the approach itself is rendered tired, obsolete, and extremely overused. Sometimes, it’s good to break all existing rules to showcase your creativity, especially if and when the opportunity matches your originality.
Bruno Simon, a UX design expert, took this idea to heart. He created a fully playable interactive experience from scratch, letting visitors control a jeep in an otherworldly safari to explore his portfolio. The typography matches Bruno’s imaginary environment, and, despite its quirkiness, the copy works in favor of his professional strengths.
3 Common Mistakes Even Experts Make With Landing Page Copy
Sometimes, and it happens more often than you’d think, even seasoned copywriting pros can churn out the occasional landing page dud. Here’s a quick rundown of the three most common mistakes even veterans of the craft make with LP copy.
1. Complex, cute, or unclear language
Using unnecessarily complex, needlessly cute, or endlessly convoluted language in your LP copy can have a detrimental impact on conversions because it creates an incongruence in the customer’s decision-making process. As a result, they end up pausing and spending time on decoding the language, instead of focusing on the unique value proposition (USP) behind your intended message.
Solution: Use simple and clear language that speaks directly to your customers. This builds trust and reduces cognitive load, making prospects more willing to consider your call to action.
2. No demonstrable pain point
Failing to clearly demonstrate a pain point on your landing page is a business-busting mistake of colossal proportions. It gives leads zero reasons why they should engage or act on your offer, ultimately tanking your conversion rates in the process.
Solution: Identify your customers’ primary pain point, then showcase it front and center on your landing page. Reinforce the copy with clever visual design, especially in the above-the-fold section. Once your audience experiences their familiar discomfort yet again, introduce your product or service as a clear remedy to their woes.
3. CTA overload
Too many CTA buttons can give a proper headache to visitors, assaulting their attention span and negatively impacting on-page conversions. Instead of guiding them to a single, unifying path toward a clear goal, multiple competing CTAs make it harder—if not downright impossible—for people to go where you need them to.
Solution: Stick to a single dominant CTA or a series of complementary CTAs that align with your landing page’s primary goal. Keep them simple and consistent with your site’s theme to maximize the chances of achieving a favorable outcome.
Should You Use AI to Write Your Landing Page Copy?
As much as I hate to give a non-answer, it depends. For critical landing pages that already have a serious revenue or customer flow, it’s best to write them individually by hand. Unless you train them on your personal machines to apply a specific writing style you want, AI copywriting tools like Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4 can produce a somewhat okay copy quickly, but they have a much harder time understanding the nuances of your customers. In many ways, writing world-class copy boils down to identifying your customers’ problems and voicing them out loud, before your target audience even has a chance to second-guess their choices and interests.
On the flip side, if you need to produce something like a hundred landing pages for your marketing campaigns, using AI models will get it done a lot faster. It’ll be good enough that the funnel will work, it just won’t be conversion-optimized and ready for publishing right out of the gate.
