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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Squeeze Page Design Guide




Compelling and Attention-Grabbing Headlines: Your squeeze page's headline should be the very first thing that your visitor sees and therefore it needs to attract attention, draw them in and keep them focused long enough for them to become a confirmed subscriber of your mailing list.

Your headlines text size should be larger than the rest of the text on your page, and for increased exposure, consider adding color to your headline (red and blue works well). You could also consider highlighting your headline and any sub headline that you use. You can use the tags to enlarge your text, which will not only help with capturing attention from your visitors but will also alert search engine crawlers that the enlarged text is important.

Center your headline within your template and try to work in your opt-in box so that it is close to the headline itself. If you are using a CSS based squeeze page, your opt-in box could be placed in a right column, with a bullet list of benefits featured in the main body of your page.

You should keep your content trimmed down so that it focuses only on the most important information that you have to share. Avoid wordy squeeze pages that offer endless paragraphs of information. Your squeeze page has only one task, to convert visitors into subscribers and so you need to keep it clear, concise and of course, exciting.

You will want to split test your copy (including lengths) to determine what will increase conversion rates, but in the meantime, here is a quick overview of how to better structure your squeeze page content so that it is easy to read, understand and encourages subscriptions:

1) Use Bullet Points To Highlight Benefits Bullet points emphasize important features and draw attention to the special aspects of becoming a subscriber of your list. This is a great way to showcase the benefits of becoming a subscriber, and what they will receive, in return, for their subscription.

2) Retain Focus At All Times Eliminate any external links and keep your squeeze page focused. You want to avoid distractions or in directing potential subscribers to external websites (or even internal pages on your site). Their only option should be to subscribe to your mailing list. You don't want to confuse them or deter them from your one objective; getting that lead.

Avoid navigation menus, widgets, plugins, or links to articles. Your squeeze page should be one-page long, feature your bullet list, headline, opt-in box and private policy. Eliminate clutter and any information or content that is not necessary to securing the subscriber.

3) Strong & Clear Call To Action. If you want your squeeze page to successfully recruit new subscribers, you need to clearly direct visitors to fill out your opt-in form and confirm their request.

Do not assume that people know what to do. Remember, not everyone is likely to have experience with mailing lists, and so you need to directly instruct them as to how they are able to gain access to your free, high quality offer.
Just the same, you also want to direct them to confirm their request to you're your list once they have entered in their name and email address.

If you are using a double opt-in format, you will not be able to communicate with subscribers who have not verified their request, so make absolutely certain that you are following up and instructing everyone to confirm.
(You can do this by automatically directing subscribers to a secondary page on your site that thanks them for subscribing and tells them that the final step is to check their email and confirm their request to join your list by clicking on the verification link sent out by your autoresponder system).

Just like your squeeze page, keep your confirmation page clean and crisp. Avoid any external links at this point because you need your subscriber to follow your instructions instantly, eliminating any chance of them forgetting to confirm.

4) Minimize Graphics and Use Them Wisely. Your squeeze page should load quickly and remain clean and focused. 
However, it's been proven that using report covers, or ecovers can increase subscriber rates by giving your visitor a visual picture of what they will receive after subscribing to your list. Make sure that the graphics you use are high quality and original, and that your report cover portrays the product or offer you are giving away accurately.

Always make sure that you personally go through the subscription process before launching your campaign to make sure that you receive the initial welcome email sent out by your autoresponder, and that your opt-in box itself works properly.
Squeeze pages can be as detailed and lengthy or as short and precise as you wish, depending on your target market and overall layout.

You need to make sure that you emphasize the benefits of joining your list, and that you highlight the opt-in box, drawing attention to it and whenever possible, keeping it visible above the fold.
Always use a headline that explains exactly what they will receive after they become a subscriber. People don't always give away their email address so easily and it's your job to explain exactly how they will benefit by doing so.

Regardless of how you structure your squeeze page, you need to thoroughly test what works and how you can improve it.
Split Testing Squeeze Pages Regardless how well you design your site, or how thoroughly you analyze each section of your squeeze page, there is no way that you will be able to accurately predict how well your visitors will respond to your offer, without comparatively testing alternative layouts.
One easy method of testing your pages and evaluating conversion rates is by using Google's Website Optimizer, a free tool that will help you run simple split tests of any websites you own.

You will need to add a snippet of code to your squeeze page after creating your Google Analytics account. This code is given to you by Google and is available within your account once you have added and verified your website's location.
Once this code is placed on your website, Google Analytics will start tracking your visitors and traffic.

When split testing, start with only one element at a time.

For example, if you change the headline on your squeeze page, leave everything else in its original state until you determine whether tweaking your headline helps with conversion rates. Once you have determined what headline works best, change another element of your squeeze page, such as the color scheme, opt-in box frame, or summary of your offer.
Always test the original against the variation and give it enough time to accurately determine whether your changes have increased your subscription rate before making any permanent changes.

If you find it difficult to create a squeeze page, one easy tactic is to study existing squeeze pages in your market, and then create yours so that it is modeled after successful pages. Don't copy from them, but use it as inspiration and a foundation in which to build your own.

If you aren't familiar with HTML and aren't comfortable editing code or CSS, you could consider using WordPress to develop squeeze pages, quickly and easily. With WordPress, you can set up a static website in just a few minutes, and by simply copy and pasting your autoresponder code into its main page, you can have a fully functional squeeze page set up within minutes.

Another thing to consider is building video based squeeze pages, where you feature a video alongside your opt-in form that offers your visitors with a slideshow or presentation of what you are offering.
Use a free movie making program like Windows movie maker, if it came with your computer, or download a trial copy of Camtasia (TechSmith.com) and create a short video or slideshow that speaks directly to your target audience and showcases the benefits of your mailing list or newsletter.
Remember to split test your squeeze pages, so that you are consistently tweaking and improving them for best results.


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