Coming in for a landing...page
One way to step up your game when you’re marketing, such as for annual themed family sessions, or advertising to engaged couples, is to create a special landing page that clients are directed to if they click your ad.
What are the benefits?
It shows clients that time and energy was invested into the experience to create a custom place for the information, and increases credibility and trust.
You can add details and more images that help you with the sales process, that you would otherwise clutter your ad with (or not have room for at all). We have a tendency to try and put everything into the ad - time, location, number of images, clothing info, retainer/booking details etc. The landing page is an extension of your offering. So your tiny ad can have simply enough information for people to click through - and that makes it easier to design as a teaser. Besides that, if you use your ad in a paid FB campaign - you can’t have much text or it will be declined.
Clients go directly to the place where you have opportunity to close the sale and get them to book. If you direct them to a contact page, they need to complete an extra step of filling in a generic form before they can get more details. Some might abandon the process right there if they feel it’s too cumbersome. If they reach you on FB, then you may have a ton of back and forth that can also hinder the process.
When you get traffic to your website, it improves your SEO ranking.
Does this mean creating a new page for every marketing piece? In short, yes. But often you can re-use your page on a regular basis, whenever you run a particular special or campaign. It may seem like a lot of work, but once you get the hang of it with a format that works, you can duplicate a page and replace the images and text as needed.
Your ads have a big job - to get you hired. Don’t skimp by downloading pre-made templates that may look pretty but have zero connection to your branding, and slapping together some text and photos. Construct it with deliberation and you will be re-paid in paying clients! Tips for a landing page:
Inspirational tone - here is your opportunity to close the sale. Make it look amazing!
Consider images carefully - absolutely best work, relevant to the campaign. For example, you may be tempted to use a so-so image for a Fall themed session because that’s all you have from last Fall. Just remember what I said above - the goal of the campaign is to get clients and it has to work hard! Do a model call, get your neighbour’s kid, do whatever it takes (except using stock imagery or someone else’s work) to get a KICKASS image!
Big headings, small bits of text, interspersed with images. Make it an easy read.
Calls to action throughout. Once they scroll past the first Book Now button, add another lower down. Give opportunity at every step of the way for someone to contact you.
Consider removing your main menu if you’re able so that it helps client focus on what you want them to do on the page, instead of navigating away. If it makes sense, place links inline with text - that way you are still leading the experience.
Here is my landing page for my engagement campaign, created a few years ago. While I started adding recent images, it will get a re-vamp for this season in terms of layout and copy, as well as an updated slideshow. But at least it gives you an idea. Happy landing-page making!
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