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Here's how to create a landing page that converts with ConvertKit, the all-in-one email marketing platform.

Click here to start a landing page, then use the tutorial below to create the best landing page for you quickly.

When I first thought about starting a blog, the idea of building a website was overwhelming. At that point, I had already built a readership through social media that wanted to hear from me, but they were struggling to connect with my content. Social media platforms faded (Snapchat) while others conquered downloads (TikTok), making it messy to consistently reach my readers, and faulty platform notifications did not help. 

Then, I heard about ConvertKit landing pages, and it was like a light bulb went on! Even without a website of my own, I decided to give ConvertKit a try, and voila! It was so easy. I found the best template for my business and launched it in less than 30 minutes. 

The landing page allowed me to start promoting my newsletter before I had a domain or a website. The little time I spent designing the landing page was well worth it! I was able to start building my email list and continue to connect with my audience. 

Before we get started, make sure to sign up for my newsletter and get tons of tips and tricks to boost your blogging business.

Anyone can make a landing page! It was well worth investing my time and effort, and I’m sure it will be worth your time, too. 

Want to find out how you can get more support with writing, social media and blogging? Sign up for the academy's waitlist today.

SIGN UP FOR WAITLIST BUTTON by BLOGGING BUSINESS OWNER

First of all, what exactly is a landing page? 

A landing page is a standalone page that a website visitor ‘lands’ on after clicking on a link. Do not confuse a landing page with your homepage or a regular blog post on your site, as they are not the same. A landing page is far more straightforward, more focused, and a lot more enticing than a regular webpage.

The primary purpose of a landing page is to grow your audience and get your site visitors or audience to respond to a specific call to action, such as signing up for a newsletter, registering for an event, or making a purchase. It is a simple and highly effective way to increase conversion rates and grow your business.

If you are thinking about a landing page for your site but are not sure where to begin, look no further than ConvertKit. ConvertKit is an online marketing tool created by a small tech company based in Washington. It focuses on helping its users (i.e., content creators) connect with their audience and grow their fan base. 

As the top competitor in the email marketing world, ConvertKit has recently expanded to landing pages and commerce. To make their services open to everyone, including beginners, ConvertKit has rolled out its free plan.  It costs nothing but has everything you need. 

The free plan includes:

• Unlimited landing pages and opt-in forms
• Incentive email options (send freebies to your fans)
• Thank you pages
• Access to the referral program
• ConvertKit Community
• ConvertKit workshops

For even more, consider using my link to get access to subscriber management (tags and segmentation) and broadcast sending. 

Do I even need a landing page?

You may be thinking, “Why should I bother with a good landing page? I can collect emails and phone numbers to my email and send out alerts that way.”

Let me stop you right there. Whatever you do, don’t do that.

There are many reasons why collecting private information is sanctionable and can put you in an uncomfortable situation, especially if people decide to opt-out or ask for a personal data report. 

If you are interested in safely connecting with your audience for free, a landing page is a MUST. Do not feel put off if the words ‘landing page’ seems complicated or overly technical, as it isn’t. There are so many ways to make a free landing page, and ConvertKit is one of the best tools out there to create an amazing one. 

Top 5 benefits of a useful landing page

• Improves your SEO ranking
• Increases conversion rates and grows your audience
• It makes your brand more professional and credible.
• Automated marketing – you don’t have to do a thing once it is up and running.
• A valuable source of information about your site visitors or social media fans

A landing page is not just for business owners, as even bloggers can benefit from landing pages. In fact, the Bloggingwizard suggests that having a landing page can increase your site’s conversion rates. If you use WordPress, even better – ConvertKit has its own intuitive WordPress plugin for bloggers to reap the benefits of a landing page.

Why choose ConvertKit?

With tons of marketing tools online, you might wonder, why ConvertKit for your landing page instead of some other competitor website?

Honestly, I believe that ConvertKit is the best for landing pages. It’s not just me who loves it either. ConvertKit is very popular and has made it to the top 20 of all marketing automation websites online.

It is free, and they give you a temporary domain name that can be shared and accessed at any time. You can send unlimited broadcast messages to a target audience. For example, bloggers can identify subscribers interested in email marketing from those who are most likely to buy a photography course. Making a landing page and connecting with your audience is easy on ConvertKit. The company places simplicity and customer satisfaction as their top priority. 

Here are more reasons to choose ConvertKit:

• Its interface is easy to use and ANYONE can create a landing page with this tutorial.
• ConvertKit offers excellent customer service.
• ConvertKit offers unlimited landing pages and a buildable free plan.
• You get a placeholder domain that you can share.
• You can use your landing page as long as you need
• You will appear more professional to your audience.

There are many reasons people choose ConvertKit as their landing page website. If you are interested in starting a landing page but are confused on how to start, keep reading. Also, you can comment below or send me a private message. I am here for you, so do not hesitate to connect with me. 

Click here to start your landing page.

How to start a landing page with ConvertKit

1. Start your landing page.
   
   You can click here for ConvertKits landing pages, then continue with the easy steps.
   
   First, you will want to select a theme. You can scroll up and down or use the category box on the left to find themes in your category. Once you’ve found a theme that reflects your brand, click on “preview” to see the screen in PC or mobile form (yes, it’s responsive) and explore similar themes conveniently placed on the left-hand side of your screen.
   
   There are a ton of beautiful themes on ConvertKit, so you might have trouble choosing one straightaway. No problem, just use the heart button to select a few themes you can compare later on. Once you have decided, click the pink button that says “choose” on your screen’s top right-hand side. 

2. Customize your landing page
   
   Now that you have a theme, it is time to customize it to make it unique to your website indeed. You can change the colors, fonts, messages, buttons, and pictures/ videos on your screen by clicking on them and following the right-hand side instructions. I picked the Belmont landing page as an example.
   
   
   

3. Next, change the top color and add a call to action to the top of the page. To do so, start by clicking on the color and changing the background and font color on the right-hand side. 

A quick note on the call to action (CTA):

The CTA is the focal point of your landing page. Keep it short, easy to understand, and attention-grabbing. To make it even more useful, use action-oriented words, include only commonly used phrases, and make your CTA visually stand out from the rest of the landing page.

In my examples, I changed the background to light purple, changed the font color to red, and updated the font to read “Get updates by email” at the top. Click “save and publish” after edits.

4.  The next step, update the body of the page.
   
   
   
   
   
   You’ll notice that clicking on each of the sections in the body will change the widget on the right-hand side. 

1. On box #1, you can click on the image to edit and replace it with your pictures. For me, I like the photographs and will leave them as is.
   
   

2. On box #2, you can edit the text by clicking on it.
   
   

If you are just starting and don’t have a name yet (like I did), writing “coming soon” is perfectly okay. If you do have a name, write it in this section. 

3. On box #3, you’ll want to write a message to your audience and highlight the benefits of signing up.
   
   
   
   
   
   In my example, I wrote a friendly greeting and briefly explained why it’s essential to sign up by saying, “join the waitlist.” Consider using the phrase “join the waitlist” if you aren’t quite sure when you’ll launch your website or if you’ll be doing something else like Podcasting.
   
   Other messages could be:

Sign-up to get updates on concert schedules

Connect with me and receive my weekly newsletter

5. Next, update the sign-up button on the landing page form.

I will start by clicking the plus sign to add one more box so that I can collect the site visitor’s first name and send personalized emails.

Click the drop-down menu for custom fields such as “first name” and write the words “first name” on the box labeled “custom field label.” You’ll notice that the words appear on the fields on the left. You can choose to require the field to be filled or not by clicking the “required box.”

Here is my sample landing page so far:

5. The last customization will be the “join waitlist” button. Click the button to change the words. For me, “join waitlist” works! Other variations you can use may include:

Sign me up

I am ready

The Brick House Rules!

The only change I made was to make the button stand out. Changing the button helps to guide the audience to the final step. 

Click “save and publish,” and you have a landing page! But before we share it, let’s do a preview. 

Preview and Share

Hooray! You have made a landing page. Now it is time to preview it to make sure that it looks perfect for your site. On the top right side of your screen, you will see a “preview” button. 

Click the “preview” button. 

Love it? If not, you can always make changes by repeating the starting steps.

HOLD ON! To exit the preview, click the “exit preview” button on the top right. 

If you happen to click the back button, it’s okay! Just click on the “landing pages and forms” on the top bar and select your landing page near the bottom of the screen.

Now that your landing page is ready, the next crucial step is to share it with your audience.

To share, click “share” on the top right and “click to copy” your URL.

You can start to share this URL by placing it in your social media bio. Other places you can include landing page links are social media posts, blog posts, and website footers.

Settings and Reports

Take a deep breath. You did it!

The reports section shows you visitor stats, subscribers, and conversion rate (how many people came to the landing page and signed up). Monitor this section regularly and use the stats here to make targeted improvements to your page. 

The settings section is just as important, deciding what happens after the form is submitted. 

In this section, I would like to highlight two customizations that can genuinely elevate your user experience. To access them, click on the “incentive” button on the left of the pop-up.

1. Edit Email Contents. The first is the incentive email. Click on the button to see the message your audience will receive when they sign up. Customize it to fit your brand voice and make sure that it leaves your new fans with a positive first impression. If you like it, then keep it. 
2. Download. This option is for freebies. For example, if you’ve promised a freebie like a downloadable calendar or free stock photos, then upload these here so that your audience receives it immediately after sign-up. While everybody loves a good freebie, it is OK to skip out on this. Without a freebie, subscribers will be directed to a ConvertKit page. You can update the redirection by inserting the URL at the bottom box. 

The final step is optional too, but use it well, and it could help you boost your brand. It’s a “thank you” page. 

Click on “advanced” and click “send subscriber to thank you page.” Again, this step is optional. Click “save” on the bottom left.

Thank you Page

A thank you page is the page someone lands on after adding their email to your subscriber list. While it may not seem as significant as the actual landing page, do not overlook the thank you page as there is a lot you can do with this page. 

It may be optional, and it does come last, but a thank you page can be a powerful way to increase your customer base. According to ImpactPlus, the thank you page is like the ‘impulse zone’ of your website. Once a subscriber has already shared their email address with you, they are more likely to say yes to further call-to-actions. Make the most of this psychological window by designing a fantastic thank you page that is genuine and persuasive.

You can use the thank you page to encourage referrals by including an ‘invite your friends’ email field or share on social media buttons. You can even promote your own social media pages on the thank you page – include your social media links alongside interesting blurbs that entice your readers to click through.

ConvertKit makes it convenient for you to create a thank you page. Click on the plus sign on the top left, and it will automatically take you to your thank you page. This page will show after your audience has signed up. 

You’ll find that your thank you page closely matches your landing page. I added pictures and deleted some text. After all of that, I present to you here my final product. 

Click “save and publish,” and your thank you page is live. 

WOOHOO! You have a landing with ConvertKit! If you sign up for ConvertKit and have any questions, you can always contact me. I am here to support you!

Some general information about ConvertKit and it’s the free plan:

• ConvertKit is regularly uploading new landing pages, so if you want to change it up or add a landing page in the future, be sure to stop by the landing page section.
• Because you used my link, you have access to broadcasting, sending mass emails to your audience of up to one-hundred. 
• Also, because you used my link, you can manage subscribers with tags and segmentation.
• With the free plan, you can incentivize subscribers by uploading a freebie.
• You have access to thank you pages to recognize your subscribers.
• You have access to the ConvertKit community, which is filled with support and a great place to drop questions, too. 

Additional Resources

• 25 powerful call-to-action examples to double your email list – Effective CTAs are essential if you want to grow your email list as a creator. These 20+ call-to-action examples will help you write a powerful CTA. (convertkit.com)
• The 30 Best Landing Page Examples To Steal & Profit From – Find out 30 different landing page examples you can “steal” from. Check at what they did right, and apply it to your own landing pages. (crazyegg.com)
• Email Sequences: Best Practices for Relationship Building – Email sequences are relationship building automated emails that pull your audience through your email marketing funnel to convert to them customers. (convertkit.com)
• 49+ Best WordPress Plugins in 2021 (Most are FREE) – A good plugin can help your business soar online. So here's our hand-picked list of the very best WordPress plugins (and most are free). (wpforms.com)
• The 5 best landing page builders in 2021 – With a great landing page builder, you can get results. We tested dozens of apps, and here are our picks for the 5 best. (zapier.com)
• Free landing page builder: Promote your next big idea in record time – Build beautiful landing pages that convert in minutes with ConverKit’s free landing page builder. Our customizable templates help set your ideas live in minutes. (convertkit.com)
• How to create a landing page in the next 10 minutes – ConvertKit – You’ve got an idea…now what? Here’s how to create a free landing page in just a few minutes. (convertkit.com)
• Musicians: 15 Ways To Grow Your Email List Orpheus Audio Academy (orpheusaudioacademy.com)
• ConvertKit Archives – Blogging Business Owner (bloggingbusinessowner.com)
• Resources Archives – Blogging Business Owner (bloggingbusinessowner.com)
• Stories From Experts About the Impact of Digital Life – While technology experts and scholars have concerns about the current and future impact of the internet, they also tend to report their own experience of digital life as positive. (pewresearch.org)

Conclusion

A landing page is no longer the domain of only professional blogs or high-end websites. These days, a landing page is a part of building a brand. Even if you do not have your website, make a landing page for your social media. With ConvertKit, you don’t have to worry about costs or techy details. It could not be easier.

Originally posted on January 1, 2022 @ 12:31 pm