The Only Landing Page Copy Template You Need

The humble landing page is a rare chance to directly appeal to potential customers who are ready to hear your message.

It’s also a completely blank canvas, which can be daunting to even the most seasoned copywriters.

The good news? Landing page copy has science to it, which can help guide your creative decisions. In this article, I’ll cover the essential elements of an effective landing page, discuss a few major missteps to avoid, and go line-by-line through an adaptable landing page copy template you can use for your company.

Why Focus on Landing Page Copy?

A landing page is a modern version of the classic sales pitch. Your potential customers are ready to hear your persuasive argument — so you better make it a good one. Focusing on compelling landing page copy is a simple yet powerful way to drive goal conversions and earn leads.

Landing pages are often the final step before prospective customers become regular customers. Curating a user’s experience down a landing page and writing compelling copy can be the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity.

Must-Haves for Winning Landing Page Copy

1. A Unique Value Proposition

Why should potential customers choose your company instead of working with a competitor? To answer this question, you need a unique value proposition that highlights what makes your service or product different and better than the competition.

Your value proposition should also extend to each of your services or products. They need unique selling points of their own to truly capture your target market. 

Keep in mind a product or service may have dozens of benefits and features. Still, audiences have a limited attention span, so you should choose one primary selling point to anchor your landing page and provide a central persuasive thesis. (Though you can certainly mention other value propositions throughout the body copy!)

2. An Audience-Focused Approach

The copy you create will serve two primary purposes: selling to the customer and selling a product or service. To achieve both of these goals, keep your audience at the center of your landing page copy. 

The landing page promoting your product or service needs to be compelling and succinct. Customers don’t want to read a bland highlight reel of all your features — they want to know what you can do for them.

To get yourself into your audience’s shoes, ask yourself these questions:

• Where is your audience in the sales funnel? Are you targeting customers still gathering information or in the final stages of comparing products before making a decision?
• Do your audience members have some baseline level of knowledge about your industry or product? Think about the difference between targeting patients versus doctors, for example. The answer to this will affect the specific language you use and which features you emphasize.
• What kind of solution is your audience expecting to find? The official conversion marketing term for this is message match, which means the ultimate value you’re offering should be logically related to the messaging that encourages users to click on your landing page. A messaging mismatch would be like if someone were to click on an advertisement for a local fitness class and the page instead focused on selling exercise clothes rather than having a calendar signup.
• What benefit or value are you offering? Share the value of your product or service in terms that appeal to your audience. What’s the immediate, concrete benefit someone will receive by clicking on your call-to-action button? How will your features improve their life?

3. A Clear Call-to-Action

Think of your call-to-action (CTA) as the ultimate purpose of your landing page. Are you trying to capture more phone numbers and emails? Get more account signups? Schedule more consultations? Whatever it is, your landing page should funnel visitors toward the CTA.

A good CTA should be:

• Visible above the fold and shared again further down the page. The CTA should be the first and last thing your audience sees. For longer pages, consider using mid-body CTAs when appropriate.
• Clear and straightforward. Visitors should know what they’re getting into if asked to click a button or download a file. Buttons need to be associated with a clearly-defined action — and the outcome of the button click should also be obvious. The CTA should never be a surprise.
• The sole action available to users. In an ideal world, visitors are excited to call, click, subscribe, and sign up simultaneously. But in our world, having that many options is overwhelming. Give your audience one choice.
• Relevant to the body copy. Don’t ask readers to call a number if you’re trying to promote your ecommerce shop. Your CTA should be the next logical step after reading a landing page. 

4. A Distribution Plan

Landing pages don’t exist in a vacuum — they’re often the final destinations of effective SEO and PPC campaigns that capture attention and inspire visitors to investigate what a company has to offer. While writing copy that converts is essential, don’t neglect your plan for getting visitors in the first place.

Think of it like this: A landing page is a destination — your distribution plan focuses on the journey to that destination. 

The most effective strategies involve both a PPC campaign to generate paid traffic and SEO best practices to boost your chances of ranking organically. Not everyone clicks on PPC ads — so an organic campaign can reach searchers who may intentionally skip over ads in favor of organic results.

That’s easier said than done, of course. Our SEO checklist can help ensure you’re covering all your bases when it comes to technical, on-page, and off-page SEO.

What To Avoid in Your Landing Page Copy

1. Jargon & Buzzwords

Jargon and buzzwords often feel impersonal and can alienate customers who aren’t familiar with technical terms or lingo. The tone of your landing page should match your brand, but it should also speak your target audience’s language. Don’t rely on cliches to convey meaning. When in doubt, keep it simple and conversational.

Strike these terms from your copy:

• Superlatives that weren’t given by a third-party award or quoted from a testimonial. (“Game changing,” “world/industry-leading,” “cutting edge,” “the best in the biz,” etc.)
• Technical industry jargon, especially if you aren’t speaking to experts in your field. Jargon is especially prevalent in the tech, legal, and medical fields.
• Flashy corporate buzzwords that don’t serve any greater purpose other than sounding impressive. (“Synergy,” “core competency,” “blue sky thinking,” etc.)

2. Exhaustive Lists of Features

Your company has a lot to offer — and it makes sense you want to show it all off. However, the “kitchen sink” approach of detailing every feature, benefit, perk, and promise of your company can quickly become overwhelming and tedious to read.

Instead, hone in on features that are relevant to the landing page’s ultimate goal and appeal to your specific target audience. 

If you’re unsure which features are the best to target, consider creating multiple versions of your landing page to compare which highlighted features result in more conversions. (See the Create Variations for A/B Testing section below for more!)

3. Laundry Lists of Customers, Case Studies, or Testimonials

Again, avoid the kitchen sink approach of including a list of every single customer or case study. It may seem like featuring as many customers and reviews as possible will create a more persuasive case for your audience. However, this isn’t true. Your audience wants to know what you can do for them, not who all your past customers are.

Pick just a few of your most name-recognizable customers to highlight. For case studies, only include relevant cases that match the value you’re offering on your landing page. Alternatively, choose one customer or case study for a deep dive. It’s even okay to trim down lengthy customer testimonials.

Ultimately, your goal isn’t to show off by citing past successes but to give readers a fuller picture of the experience you’re offering.

4. Fluff or Filler Content

Your audience’s time is valuable. Don’t waste it. Keep your landing pages concise and engaging by removing repetitive or valueless fluff.

Each sentence should contribute to your underlying goal in some way. If you’re not sure whether a line counts as fluff, try removing it. If its removal doesn’t change the meaning of a paragraph or take away important context, it simply wasn’t meant to be.

Landing Page Copywriting Template

Now that you know the must-haves of landing page copy as well as what to avoid, you might still find the idea of developing some of your own challenging. Never fear — I can help! Use the following steps to create your own landing page copy that converts. 

Step 0. Plan Your Landing Page

Before writing, let’s do a little planning.

If you’re working with an existing page design, consider that layout during the writing process and tweak your copy to fit.

If you’re starting from scratch, it may be difficult to anticipate how much copy to write. As a rule of thumb, keep sections under about 200 words and ensure that no one body section is disproportionately longer than another. (The exceptions are the header and final CTA, which will naturally be very short.)

Before you start writing, make sure you know the answers to these questions:

• What kind of feel and tone are you aiming for? Consult with your brand style guide if necessary.
• What is your goal? Get people to sign up for a demo of a SaaS product? Introduce a new ebook, get sign-ups for an event?
• How will customers find your landing page? How do you plan to use SEO and other digital marketing strategies to increase its visibility?
• Who is your audience, and where are they in the customer journey? Build a buyer persona if you need to.
• What benefits would most appeal to your intended audience?

Landing Page Outline Template

Before diving into the individual sections of our landing page copy template, let’s look at a sample outline that can be adapted to fit most types of pages:

• Headline & supporting copy: Should fit the tone of your brand while addressing a major pain point or promoting your unique selling proposition
  • Company name & logo
  • Quick supporting copy further introducing the product/service
  • Above-fold CTA: Should have its own sub-subheading and a clear statement of what customers will receive when clicking the CTA button
• Subheading #1: Restate the unique selling proposition
  • Address customer pain points and anticipate objections
  • Provide more context on your offering and how it works (if needed)
• Subheading #2: Features/benefits
  • 3-4 highlighted features, focusing on how they directly benefit customers
• Subheading #3 – Social proof
  • In-depth case study accompanied by a prominent quote from the satisfied customer OR a selection of 3-4 testimonial quotes from past customers
  • Logo banner of other notable customers
• Subheading #4: Call to action
  • Restatement of the unique selling proposition
  • Final CTA: sub-subheading and a clear statement of what customers will receive when clicking the CTA button
• Footer with company name & logo

Step 1. Pain Points, Features & Benefits

Purpose: Meet your audience’s needs. Connect with their pain points. Explain how your product’s or service’s features can benefit them.

The core body copy of your landing page is where you’ll make your main persuasive argument by appealing directly to your audience. It’s where your value proposition and knowledge of your audience intertwine.

To write this section, we need to identify these three items:

1. Your customers’ pain points
2. Your product’s features
3. How those features will address those pain points

Identifying Pain Points

A pain point is any specific problem your audience is encountering. Maybe their sales are dwindling, or they’re struggling to find a product that’s affordable and fits their specific requirements. Identifying these pain points allows you to position yourself as a solution to prospective customers.

Here’s an example using one of our own landing pages: How To Budget for SEO .

We made this page because we noticed a common pain point for some companies lies in creating a realistic digital marketing budget. But how did we find this pain point? Through keyword research.

Another method for identifying pain points is talking to your sales team or long-term customers. Dig into their experiences to uncover potential roadblocks or difficulties. Your goal here is to find out what problems your product could potentially solve for people.

Defining Benefits & Features

Once you know what pain points your audience is struggling with, it’s time to demonstrate how you’re the solution to their problem. You can do that by showing the benefits of your product.

Here’s the thing, though: Your benefits aren’t a simple list of your product’s best features.

While a feature is a simple fact of your product, a benefit is what that feature does for users.

These are features:

• Our software comes pre-built with 100 widgets.
• Our platform has 24/7 customer service.
• Our meal kit is healthy and delicious.
• Our beauty products are made with sustainable ingredients.

These are benefits:

• Pre-built widgets save your team time and money.
• 24/7 customer service means you’ll never run into project timeline delays again.
• This meal kit will make you feel good and give you more energy.
• Using these beauty products helps you protect the environment.

If you read those bullet points again, you’ll notice another thing: We vs. you language. 

Features highlight a product and what it offers, while benefits focus on the reader and their needs. Reframing your copy to include “you” statements helps you connect with your audience on a more personal level.

Step 2. Credibility Through Social Proof

Purpose: Build your reputation by providing third-party endorsements of your company.

Making promises is one thing — showing proof is another. Marketers know word-of-mouth is one of the single biggest influences on individual buying decisions. Including social proof on your landing page presents word-of-mouth marketing directly to a potential customer —so if you have it, use it!

The most common forms of social proof are:

• Case studies. A compelling case study should present an initial problem or challenge, then explain how your company was able to overcome it. Case studies are most impactful when they use specific numbers and timeframes, but an authentic story of how your company benefited a customer’s life can be just as powerful. Our customer’s sales increased by 120% in 3 months. Here’s how we did it. / After surgery, Jane was looking at a long road to recovery. With our product, she got back to mountaineering in just three weeks. / Meet our Eco-Tire: the 100% sustainable car tire that no one thought was possible. Here’s our research and development process and how we use that same innovative process to manufacture products for you.
• Past/current customers. A popular and simple way to feature customers is by including a banner of logos above or below other social proof sections.
• Testimonials, ratings, & reviews. Try to choose reviews where customers mention specific details of their good experiences when possible. Avoid using stock photos or fake names for direct quotes, which can come across as inauthentic.
• Industry awards, certifications, & media features. Awards and certifications from credible organizations may provide a stronger sense of authority and expertise than subjective testimonials. If a media outlet has featured you, consider using a pull quote instead of a customer testimonial.

Step 3. A Value-Packed Call-to-Action

Purpose: Convert visitors into leads by providing a reason for them to fulfill your goal.

You’ve built up hype, piqued interest in your product, and kept your reader’s attention. Now it’s time to keep the momentum going with a final call-to-action that turns visitors into qualified leads.

There are two essential components to a call-to-action: A clear, precise verb and the resulting promised value, which are ideally (but not always) in the same sentence. Your CTA should briefly summarize your persuasive argument and encourage readers to take the next step. Many companies structure their landing pages so that their final CTA section includes a subheading, a line or two of copy or final piece of social proof, and a button. However you choose to format your landing page, keep it brief.

Need help figuring out how to make that closing pitch? Check out these sample CTAs:

Appointments 

• Schedule your free consultation.
• Talk to an expert today. 
• Get personalized advice. 
• Get the solution you need.

Email Subscriptions

• Gain top-secret insights into [the competition/your audience/an industry]. 
• Subscribe to see what you’ve been missing. 
• Get ahead of the crowd with the latest news. 
• Sign up to get monthly tips from [industry] leaders.

File Downloads 

• Download our 50-page guide to [task/skill/program]. 
• Master [task/skill/program] in just 10 minutes with our free ebook. 
• Get 500+ free widgets instantly.

Product Demo 

• Explore your personalized demo. 
• Get a quote. 
• Try free for 30 days. 
• Get your free sample box.
• Find out why 10 million customers trust our [product].

Ecommerce 

• Start shopping. 
• Add to cart. 
• Find your customized [product]. 
• Claim your discount. 
• This season, make gift-giving as simple as 1-2-click.

Step 4. Finally, a Compelling Headline & Introduction

Purpose: Capture attention. Summarize your offer and value proposition.

The headline is the first (and sometimes only) thing visitors read on a landing page. It sets the tone, provides context for who and what you are, and is the main hook for potential customers who are still undecided about your company. 

Clearly, your headline is important — which is why I recommend tackling your introduction last. Like the CTA, the headline and introduction encapsulate a landing page’s persuasive argument, but not even the best writers can summarize something that hasn’t been written yet.

To push the boundaries of your creativity, you and your team should brainstorm multiple headlines — ideally more than 10. Your headline and supporting copy should be unique to your brand, so this is one area where we can’t suggest stock phrases or a template. Instead, here are a few attention-getting headlines from actual landing pages:

• DoorDash [delivery driver sign-ups]: Your time. Your goals. You’re the boss.
• Unbounce [web page builder]: Don’t waste your ad spend on slow pages.
• Apple [AirTag GPS]: Lose your knack for losing things.
• KlientBoost [email marketing services]: Turn your email marketing into the cash cow it should be.
• Keap [CRM platform]: Keep your hard-earned clients.
• Embossed [embossed rolling pins]: Add more magic to your baking.
• Victorious [Keyword Research Services]: If you can dream it, we can rank it.

What do these headlines tell you about the audiences they’re trying to target? What kind of pain points do they seem to address? Can you identify the value propositions they’re promising?

Bonus Step: Create Variations for A/B Testing

A/B testing (also called multivariate testing) compares which version of a landing page drives more conversions. A/B tests involve changing one variable on a page and running the original and variation pages simultaneously to see if the change affects visitor behavior.

Many software programs allow you to conduct multivariate tests, but you can also run them for free in Google Analytics.

Follow these tips when developing A/B tests for your landing pages:

• Change only ONE variable at a time per landing page. That variable might be as small as swapping out button colors or as large as featuring an entirely different case study. Whatever you choose, only change one element per A/B test. Changing more than one thing at a time — or swapping out your entire landing page for a new one — means you’ll be unable to determine which one led to increased (or decreased) conversions.
• Form a hypothesis when choosing testing variables. Don’t A/B test variables randomly or just based on a “gut instinct.” Each test should have a hypothesis or reason behind it. Ask yourself: Why are you choosing this specific element to change? What kind of outcome are you expecting to see? Doing a little scientific thinking upfront will make your results more meaningful.
• Give tests time to gather enough data. A larger visitor sampling will give you a better view of the results. Typically, I recommend running an A/B test for at least two weeks before drawing conclusions on which variation is more effective. (You may want to run a test for longer if you’re in a niche market that naturally doesn’t generate a lot of search traffic.)
• Use a heatmap tool like Hotjar or Crazy Egg to better understand your visitors’ on-page behavior. A landing page heatmap can show what users click on, how far they scroll, and where they linger. You can use this data to improve existing landing pages and uncover ideas for testable variables.

Ready To Drive Traffic to Your Landing Page?

You’re now an expert in writing great landing page copy. But how is the rest of your SEO strategy looking?

To start driving traffic to your new landing page and boost your website’s search visibility, you need a comprehensive SEO strategy built around your business goals. Partnering with Victorious means you expand your team and your expertise. Schedule a free SEO consultation to learn how to get your landing page in front of more searchers.