9 Tips About Landing Pages Every Florist Must Learn
Florist students! Today, we have a quiz for you. Don’t worry—you won’t get sent to the corner with a “Dunce” cap if you get it wrong. No matter what your answer, you’ll end up with some extremely valuable information that could lead to a huge increase in online sales for your shop.
The question: When you post an online message about your shop (whether on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or in a pay-per-click ad) and include a link in that message, where should that link lead the visitor?
A) Your home page
B) Your e-commerce page displaying the arrangements you offer
C) A page focusing on the next major holiday promotion
D) None of the above
What was your answer? I’d guess that most of you answered A, and a few answered C. But the real answer is D. The best page you should link to is probably a page you haven’t even developed for your site yet—a landing page. And it’s a critical page that can mean the difference between driving prospects away and getting them to buy from you—in droves.
What is a landing page? Wikipedia defines it the most succinctly:
As the Wikipedia info mentions, if you are doing any pay-per-click advertising, then your mini ads should be leading to a landing page, as should as any social-media marketing you promote. With focused landing pages, you make your best shot at converting those interested clickers into buyers.
How important is a landing page? It’s critical. A landing page delivers a clear and distinct message that directs the visitor on what to do next compared to a regular page of your website without that type of specific instruction. Study after study proves that you need to tell people what to do to close a sale, whether you’re selling flowers or used cars. And a landing page is the digital mechanism you use to do that.
But just what does a great landing page entail? I researched what one of the online-marketing industry’s most-recognized experts says on this topic: Bryan Eisenberg. Eisenberg is a pioneer in the area of improving conversion rates. He’s helped both small and large businesses (including HP, Intel, Overstock and NBC Universal) develop digital-marketing strategies that optimize the customer experience to convert more prospects into sales.
Eisenberg breaks a landing page into nine parts. (Actually, he breaks it into 10, but some of his points don’t mesh quite as well for florists, so I’ve edited him down and tweaked his suggestions a bit to create nine.) While you don’t necessarily have to include all of his recommendations, you certainly should put some serious thought into why you wouldn’t follow them. After all, he’s the expert at this, right?
1) Establish your identity. Include a clean, professional-looking logo at the top of the page. If your logo wasn’t created by a graphic design pro, then consider hiring one to do so. It’s important. Don’t let your son, niece or cousin create one just because they know how to use Paint.
2) Include a headline. The headline should include the “value proposition” you are offering—that is, whatever your special deal or discount is. And make that headline compelling. Get the person’s interest so that he or she wants to learn more.
3) Be consistent. Whatever the message is in your ad (if you are leading visitors from a PPC campaign, for example), then you should repeat that message on your landing page. Then, repeat that same message at check out, whether you are offering a 25 percent discount on Mother’s Day orders for new clients or a free upgrade.
4) Make the offer clear. For example, say you procured a fantastic price on long-stemmed roses, and you want to promote a special deal to encourage their sales. So you create a social-media or PPC campaign promoting a dozen long-stemmed roses for, say, $69.99. Customers can choose from three different designs (one with gyp, one in glass square, etc.).When you send prospects from the landing page—where you clearly promote this offer—don’t then link them to a page that displays all of your arrangements with roses. Only show them the exact options available via your special offer. Keep in mind this lesson taught by old-school direct-marketing teachers that still applies today: “The confused mind says no.” Don’t let your buyers get confused.
5) Use as little body copy as necessary. Body copy is the text that goes under the headline—and you don’t want it to get too wordy. Deliver your message in as few words as possible because people have very short attention spans that are only getting shorter. Experts refer to it as “Twitter mentality” because people are becoming overly accustomed to the mini messages delivered in 140 characters or fewer. Keep this in mind when writing the body copy for your landing page.
6) Include great imagery. As a florist, you’re lucky. Everything you sell is beautiful! But if you are including photos that you shot yourself, make sure they are top-notch. Nothing can diminish the credibility of your offer like a shoddy, amateurish image. The customer will take one look at your fuzzy photo with the messy design tools in the background and click away faster than you can blink. Show what’s for sale and make it look as great as it can. Great imagery is so important that Eisenberg says it can help balance the scale when your copy sucks a little.
7) Emphasize your call to action. Don’t get confused and think that your “call to action” is the same as your offer. They are not. The call to action (often called the CTA) tells the prospect what to do next. You can include your CTA in one of three ways: a link, a button or a form. Buttons are really popular because their graphic element seems to entice people to click on them. But you can do the same thing with text that the visitor clicks on to link them to the next step in your sales funnel. A form (which the visitor fills out with his or her name and email address, for example) is the best option if you are trying to get the individual to sign up for your e-newsletter or join a “Bouquet of the Month” club, as two examples.
8) Include trust marks. You use a secure site that encrypts your buyer’s financial information to keep it safe from hackers, right? Show that on your landing page. Include the little “lock” icon or whatever other imagery or text you have to let the buyer know you are a safe site. It makes a difference.
9) Include your contact info. At the bottom of the landing page, include your address and phone number. They not only make it easy for the prospect to get in touch with you if they have a question, but they also lend credibility.
Once you’ve done all of the above, don’t stop there. To ensure your landing page is truly effective, create a second one (or a third or a fourth) that has a slight (or even a major) difference from your first one. And then test the two against one another to see which one performs best. You may be amazed at how a minor change in verbiage or a different photo can make a huge difference in your conversion of prospects to sales.
Have you used landing pages? What have you found to be most effective? Share your experience here by adding a comment below or send a note to [email protected].
And, before you click away from this page…
Hold up, just a sec! We truly hope you’ve enjoyed this article. If you have, we invite you to learn more about FlowerChat by taking our quick, 3-minute intro video tour here to find out about all the great resources we offer.
And feel free to dive into more great articles like this one in our "Blooming Banter" section. It’s filled with lots of great content written exclusively for florists.
If you like what you see, sign up for membership! You can join for FREE! You'll automatically get a 30-day trial to our Pro-level membership. No credit card required.
Pro-level membership gives you access to all areas of the site, including all the forums, the photo gallery, blogs, videos, webinars and downloadable resources.
At the end of 30 days, your membership will automatically convert to our Basic level unless you choose to remain a Pro member. Heck, for the price of about two of those fancy coffee drinks each month, you can continue as a Pro member with all the benefits!
We look forward to seeing you in the forums!
Florist students! Today, we have a quiz for you. Don’t worry—you won’t get sent to the corner with a “Dunce” cap if you get it wrong. No matter what your answer, you’ll end up with some extremely valuable information that could lead to a huge increase in online sales for your shop.
The question: When you post an online message about your shop (whether on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or in a pay-per-click ad) and include a link in that message, where should that link lead the visitor?
A) Your home page
B) Your e-commerce page displaying the arrangements you offer
C) A page focusing on the next major holiday promotion
D) None of the above
What was your answer? I’d guess that most of you answered A, and a few answered C. But the real answer is D. The best page you should link to is probably a page you haven’t even developed for your site yet—a landing page. And it’s a critical page that can mean the difference between driving prospects away and getting them to buy from you—in droves.
What is a landing page? Wikipedia defines it the most succinctly:
In online marketing, a landing page, sometimes known as a "lead capture page" or a "lander," is a single web page that appears in response to clicking on a search engine-optimized search result or an online advertisement. The landing page will usually display directed sales copy that is a logical extension of the advertisement, search result or link.
Landing pages are often linked to from social media, email campaigns or search engine marketing campaigns in order to enhance the effectiveness of the advertisements. The general goal of a landing page is to convert site visitors into sales leads. By analyzing activity generated by the linked URL, marketers can use click-through rates and conversion rate to determine the success of an advertisement.
Landing pages are often linked to from social media, email campaigns or search engine marketing campaigns in order to enhance the effectiveness of the advertisements. The general goal of a landing page is to convert site visitors into sales leads. By analyzing activity generated by the linked URL, marketers can use click-through rates and conversion rate to determine the success of an advertisement.
As the Wikipedia info mentions, if you are doing any pay-per-click advertising, then your mini ads should be leading to a landing page, as should as any social-media marketing you promote. With focused landing pages, you make your best shot at converting those interested clickers into buyers.
How important is a landing page? It’s critical. A landing page delivers a clear and distinct message that directs the visitor on what to do next compared to a regular page of your website without that type of specific instruction. Study after study proves that you need to tell people what to do to close a sale, whether you’re selling flowers or used cars. And a landing page is the digital mechanism you use to do that.
But just what does a great landing page entail? I researched what one of the online-marketing industry’s most-recognized experts says on this topic: Bryan Eisenberg. Eisenberg is a pioneer in the area of improving conversion rates. He’s helped both small and large businesses (including HP, Intel, Overstock and NBC Universal) develop digital-marketing strategies that optimize the customer experience to convert more prospects into sales.
Eisenberg breaks a landing page into nine parts. (Actually, he breaks it into 10, but some of his points don’t mesh quite as well for florists, so I’ve edited him down and tweaked his suggestions a bit to create nine.) While you don’t necessarily have to include all of his recommendations, you certainly should put some serious thought into why you wouldn’t follow them. After all, he’s the expert at this, right?
1) Establish your identity. Include a clean, professional-looking logo at the top of the page. If your logo wasn’t created by a graphic design pro, then consider hiring one to do so. It’s important. Don’t let your son, niece or cousin create one just because they know how to use Paint.
2) Include a headline. The headline should include the “value proposition” you are offering—that is, whatever your special deal or discount is. And make that headline compelling. Get the person’s interest so that he or she wants to learn more.
3) Be consistent. Whatever the message is in your ad (if you are leading visitors from a PPC campaign, for example), then you should repeat that message on your landing page. Then, repeat that same message at check out, whether you are offering a 25 percent discount on Mother’s Day orders for new clients or a free upgrade.
4) Make the offer clear. For example, say you procured a fantastic price on long-stemmed roses, and you want to promote a special deal to encourage their sales. So you create a social-media or PPC campaign promoting a dozen long-stemmed roses for, say, $69.99. Customers can choose from three different designs (one with gyp, one in glass square, etc.).When you send prospects from the landing page—where you clearly promote this offer—don’t then link them to a page that displays all of your arrangements with roses. Only show them the exact options available via your special offer. Keep in mind this lesson taught by old-school direct-marketing teachers that still applies today: “The confused mind says no.” Don’t let your buyers get confused.
5) Use as little body copy as necessary. Body copy is the text that goes under the headline—and you don’t want it to get too wordy. Deliver your message in as few words as possible because people have very short attention spans that are only getting shorter. Experts refer to it as “Twitter mentality” because people are becoming overly accustomed to the mini messages delivered in 140 characters or fewer. Keep this in mind when writing the body copy for your landing page.
6) Include great imagery. As a florist, you’re lucky. Everything you sell is beautiful! But if you are including photos that you shot yourself, make sure they are top-notch. Nothing can diminish the credibility of your offer like a shoddy, amateurish image. The customer will take one look at your fuzzy photo with the messy design tools in the background and click away faster than you can blink. Show what’s for sale and make it look as great as it can. Great imagery is so important that Eisenberg says it can help balance the scale when your copy sucks a little.
7) Emphasize your call to action. Don’t get confused and think that your “call to action” is the same as your offer. They are not. The call to action (often called the CTA) tells the prospect what to do next. You can include your CTA in one of three ways: a link, a button or a form. Buttons are really popular because their graphic element seems to entice people to click on them. But you can do the same thing with text that the visitor clicks on to link them to the next step in your sales funnel. A form (which the visitor fills out with his or her name and email address, for example) is the best option if you are trying to get the individual to sign up for your e-newsletter or join a “Bouquet of the Month” club, as two examples.
8) Include trust marks. You use a secure site that encrypts your buyer’s financial information to keep it safe from hackers, right? Show that on your landing page. Include the little “lock” icon or whatever other imagery or text you have to let the buyer know you are a safe site. It makes a difference.
9) Include your contact info. At the bottom of the landing page, include your address and phone number. They not only make it easy for the prospect to get in touch with you if they have a question, but they also lend credibility.
Once you’ve done all of the above, don’t stop there. To ensure your landing page is truly effective, create a second one (or a third or a fourth) that has a slight (or even a major) difference from your first one. And then test the two against one another to see which one performs best. You may be amazed at how a minor change in verbiage or a different photo can make a huge difference in your conversion of prospects to sales.
Have you used landing pages? What have you found to be most effective? Share your experience here by adding a comment below or send a note to [email protected].
And, before you click away from this page…
Hold up, just a sec! We truly hope you’ve enjoyed this article. If you have, we invite you to learn more about FlowerChat by taking our quick, 3-minute intro video tour here to find out about all the great resources we offer.
And feel free to dive into more great articles like this one in our "Blooming Banter" section. It’s filled with lots of great content written exclusively for florists.
If you like what you see, sign up for membership! You can join for FREE! You'll automatically get a 30-day trial to our Pro-level membership. No credit card required.
Pro-level membership gives you access to all areas of the site, including all the forums, the photo gallery, blogs, videos, webinars and downloadable resources.
At the end of 30 days, your membership will automatically convert to our Basic level unless you choose to remain a Pro member. Heck, for the price of about two of those fancy coffee drinks each month, you can continue as a Pro member with all the benefits!
We look forward to seeing you in the forums!