7 Landing Page Copywriting Mistakes You’re Probably Making

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Designing a high-converting landing page isn’t a piece of cake. You need to consider the layout of the page, the placement of your CTAs, the color palette, and many more elements to make it work wonders for your bottom line.

But even if you know everything about landing page design, you might be still making these popular copywriting mistakes. Here are 7 common landing page copy mistakes and tips to help you fix them.

Landing Page Copywriting Mistake #1: Not optimizing for legibility


How do you ensure that people actually read your copy? You need to understand how consumers approach landing pages first. They quickly scan them and start reading only when something catches their eye. And then they’ll be scanning again.

That’s why you need to focus on the legibility of your copy to boost the chance that it actually gets read.

Choosing the font, ask yourself whether it’s big enough and easy to read. Are the letters or lines too close together? Does the color stand out against the background of your landing page?

Once you pick the right font, you need to structure your copy with legibility in mind. When writing your paragraphs, use 1 to 3 short and simple sentences. Divide your paragraphs by subheadings to break the copy.

Finally, use the 5-Second Test to see whether your copy is easy to scan.

Have a look at this landing page from KISSmetrics. Clear black font on a white background works wonders for legibility.

Landing Page Copywriting Mistake #2: Hiring an ‘affordable’ copywriter


Trying to hire an ‘affordable’ copywriter can end up being the most costly copywriting mistake. If you outsource copywriting, you need to hire a professional copywriter who has experience in your niche and are results-oriented. These copywriters are relatively rare. And if you find them, you’ll learn that their services are costly. They’re simply aware of their money-making abilities.

At a rate like $250/hr, a copywriter will experience your product, talk to your customers, and reach out to your team to create a copy that sells.

An “affordable” copywriter will deliver words which aren’t guaranteed to sell. Have a look at job boards like this one to compare different services and find a professional who can take your landing page copy to the next level.

How do you know if a copywriter is a good choice for your brand? Here’s a couple of tips on how to hire the right copywriter for your landing page:

  • The copywriter knows how to make a scannable copy
  • They understand when to mention the price and insert CTAs
  • They know how to persuade visitors to perform an action
  • They’re results-oriented
  • They’re interested in the performance of your site
  • They’re always willing to test their copy

Landing Page Copywriting Mistake #3: Lack of defined goal


Copy without an objective sets your landing page up for failure. Even if you’re not going to write much, your copy is there to achieve specific results – for example, convincing consumers that your brand can be trusted.

Define a goal for every individual piece of copy. For instance, if you’re writing copy for a sign-up form, focus on one key purpose: getting as many qualified leads as possible to fill out your form and sign up to your service or newsletter.

Set a goal for your copy and stick to it. Your landing page should persuade users to take an action so make sure that your copy helps to achieve that objective.

Look at this landing page for a customer acquisition webinar from QuickSprout. Notice how the call-to-action button makes it clear exactly what the user is supposed to do?

Landing Page Copywriting Mistake #4: Focus on benefits, not features


Instead of listing all the features of a product to impress consumers, you need to focus on its benefits instead. You know everything about your product, but providing visitors of your page with this information isn’t going to be persuasive.

Consider the problem from their perspective. Show how your product can make their lives better. Make sure you’re talking about the right benefits too. Highlighting the wrong benefits is a serious mistake.

Make your copy about your customers. Interview your current clients to learn what they see as the biggest benefit of your product. Perhaps they found some unexpected uses of it as well? Use their answers to guide your writing process and you’re bound to create convincing copy.

For an excellent example of a landing page that focuses on benefits, head over here. Salesforce’s Service Cloud Einstein is a complex product, but scrolling down the page allows users to see why it’s bound to bring them specific benefits like personalizing customer care.

Landing Page Copywriting Mistake #5: Not Understanding your audience


Understanding the key benefits of your product is just one element in developing the critical foundation for your copy. You need to understand your target audience.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself before writing your copy:

What stage of the buying cycle are your visitors in?
Have they heard about your product before?
Do they intend to make a purchase?
Do they have all the information they need to make a well-informed decision?
Is there anything that might be holding them back from purchasing your product?

Once you know where your target audience is located on the buying cycle you’ll be able to develop a great copy for your landing page.

For example, if you know that your visitors aren’t ready to request a demo yet, ask them to learn more about your product or watch a video. Segment your audience on the basis of the traffic source and create dedicated landing pages with customized copy for each of these consumer groups.

Landing Page Copywriting Mistake #6: You allow design to lead copy


Many marketers find this critical question difficult to answer: What comes first – the design or the copy?

Most of the time, copywriters come into the picture once designers finish designing a landing page. But if you first design your landing page and then add copy, you’ll be making a serious mistake. It’s copy that should lead design.

If you design your page first, your copy isn’t going to be as high-converting as it could be. Instead of cramming your copy into convenient lorem ipsum spaces, start with crafting a copy wireframe based on your qualitative research.

Once you know what you want to say, you’ll be able to create a design that perfectly accommodate your copy and only boosts its performance.

Landing Page Copywriting Mistake #7: Lack of language coherence


If you’ve done your homework, you probably have a long list of phrases and words to describe your product and its benefits.

Your research should point you towards different types of language that you could use in your copy. As you can imagine, a list like that can quickly turn into a disadvantage if you fail to properly analyze it and learn a lesson about your audience.

Your first step is to look for patterns in your list. Which words and phrases appear most often? Who will use them to describe your product?

You need to use the language that is most frequently used by the segment you’re writing for. A close analysis of your list will prevent you from picking your personal favorites that won’t convince your audience. You simply can’t afford to write copy that is based on pure assumptions.

Writing persuasive copy for a landing page is more complex than you’d expect. But since every single element of your landing page should convince visitors to follow your call-to-action, the goal of your copy needs to be perfectly aligned with the central objective of your page. Otherwise you’ll be wasting precious space for copy that doesn’t sell.

Avoid these mistakes and you’re bound to deliver copy that only boosts the performance of your landing page, converting more leads thanks to clever phrasing and language that resonates with your target audience.


About the author:

Zoe Anderson is a tech-savvy blogger with a great passion for teaching. Zoe is a part of the team behind StudySelect where she often shares her stories pertaining to technology, marketing and social media.

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