Creating a pre-landing page is a twisted story with obstacles and happy endings. Your task is to create a killer pre-landing page and implement native ads that will not be rejected by viewers.
In this article, I will analyze four major mistakes with pre-landing text generation and the ways to fix them.
So, let’s consider the fundamental mistakes of the majority of pre-landing pages.
Mistake #1: Overspam
I’ve seen many pre-landing pages where they mention a product every 200-300 characters. What kind of native presentation are we talking about here? First, it creates an impression of a knockoff product. Secondly, there is simply no point in overspam.
Try using the following formula: one product mention per 1,000-1,500 characters. It’s enough to name the product four to six times on a standard pre-landing page (which takes about 6,000 characters). Besides, there’s no need to distribute references uniformly throughout the text.
Think for yourself: you do not advertise a brand, do you? What is the use of the fact that the user remembers the product name? After all, your task is to redirect the user to the landing page with the product details. It is enough for him/her to make sure that the landing page sells exactly the same product mentioned on the pre-landing page.
Yes, the user can read the pre-landing fragmentarily and it is necessary to capture his/her attention. But there are other ways to do this. Today, we will analyze three of the most effective methods.
Write the Product Name in the Caption
The image is more insightful than the text. Therefore, users study it first. Then, they read the caption with the product name. By the way, it can also be a hyperlink, as in the following example:
If a user has paid attention to a photo, I’ll bet anything that he reads the caption as well. So why not take advantage, right?
Subheadings
Many people skim articles. That is, they skim through the content and read subheadings mostly. This means that you need to mention the product name intriguingly at least in one of the subheadings. For example:
- Long-term use of MiracleTablet can cause anorexia.
- Why is MiracleTablet banned in five countries?
- “The last time I ate was four days ago. Because of the MiracleTablet.”
Don’t worry that you’ll scare the reader off with such a headline. It engages users’ attention, and you can get the best of the content. For example, the MiracleTablet drug causes anorexia, because it is dead good at burning fat. Or it is prohibited because it contains the bile of an animal red-listed in five countries. Also, MiracleTablet dulls the hunger, so our storyteller forgot about food (she’s simply stupid. But that’s not you, of course. You won’t forget to eat, even if you don’t want to).
P.S.
People always read the P.S. , which is why it’s often used in e-mail marketing. But it’s also good for pre-landing pages. In the P.S., you might want to write the product name with some kind of USP or warning, for example:
- P.S. Beware of imitations. MiracleTablet is sold by an exclusive distributor in Russia and costs 147 rubles.
- P.S. While quantities last, the MiracleTablet is released less than three units per customer.
- P.S. With MiracleTablet taken under fasting condition, you’ll boost weight loss by 300 grams per day.
Mistake #2: Fake Recommendations
There are reviews on almost every pre-landing page. But the copywriting is poor. Instead of showing a better performance as a social proof, it encourages the user to close the page.
If you don’t have required skills, then you’ll have trouble writing original reviews. But there is a simple solution: you can copy and edit real recommendations from similar product reviews. As a case in point, let’s consider the MiracleTablet weight loss drug we’ve made up. Go to the iHerb website, monitor fat burners and copy top reviews.
It’ll take a few minutes to search, and another ten minutes to edit the review (adapt it to your offer), and you’re done! This way you’ll have original and USEFUL reviews (which are highly rated by the target public).
Mistake #3: Improper Presentation
Most pre-landing pages are designed under the Problem-Solution principle. But this is not enough. On the pre-landing page, you must sell a story rather than a product. Naturally, there should be advertising highlights in the story. But if you want the user to make up his/her mind to purchase, he/she must believe your story, which should:
- Intrigue (this is interesting!)
- Inspire (I want to do the same).
- Challenge the mind (I want to avoid these kinds of problems).
- Motivate (I will buy it now, while I can).
I will disclose the pre-landing structure in detail in the following articles if you are interested.
Mistake #4: No Reader Engagement
If you want the reader to embrace your story, you have to make him a part of it.
Remember how you were reading an absorbing book, swimming in visions and imagining yourself becoming a part of a story. And when you ‘swam out’ a few pages later, you could not remember a word of what you’ve just read. This means you caught a blissout, that is, you were not just following the plot, but you were walking in the character’s shoes.
And you can make a customer enter this state of mind. To do this, NLP copywriters use three imperative verbs: ‘imagine’, ‘remember’ and ‘think of’. These are activator words designed to exert an effect on the reader’s subconscious mind. Here are some typical applications:
Imagine you have found a million dollars. What would you spend it on? Will you buy a house with a huge pool, or circle the globe, or open a bank deposit and get by on interest? Thinking about ways to manage money, purchase a lottery ticket for eight rubles. After all, next Friday the prize pool of the Hotron Lotto will reach one million dollars. It might become yours.
In the example given, we make the reader daydream visualizing results, where he already owns the money. He/she only has to take a small step and to purchase a lottery ticket.
Believe me, it’s cheap-as-chips wheels. The sell-in price of the original product is $1,900 (we buy it from a manufacturer in Finland for $ 1,400). We also pay $200 for refrigerator truck shipping, and $400 for calcification and silver ionization. The total cost value per package is $20, which we sell for $22. Now think: if others’ prices are cheaper, then what are they saving on?
In the example given, we ask the reader to think while initiating a self-persuasion process. This technique is borrowed from Gestalt psychology, when the patient finds a solution ‘by himself’.
Take a moment to recollect your feelings when you were 20. Testosterone was so off scale that you had a hurricane in your pants at a glance at your sexy girlfriend. You were always ready for it, your confidence attracted women. How many times could you make love in one night? Assess your strength today, but don’t be discouraged – the MiracleTablet drug will bring testosterone level back in just one course of administration (12 days).
In this case, you make the reader immerse in his own memories. It’s not a made-up story of a celebrity from TV. These are true emotions. He became the hero of your story, which should have a happy ending (both literally and figuratively). You can apply this technique in any niche related to wellness (beauty products, dietary supplements and other wonders).
By Kirill Derechin. Many thanks to the Yellow Web for the contribution.