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Cavanaugh Interactive

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Email Campaigns

10 Facts You Should Know About Landing Pages

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Landing page

What’s the first thing you want to accomplish after launching a website? Sales conversions, of course!

After building countless business sites, I can tell you that almost everyone wants to follow up by using MailChimp for email campaigns. Why? Because statistics show that because every businessperson has email (and probably checks it often), it is the top-priority marketing channel to reach prospects and customers.

Not long ago, campaigns involved sending bulk email messages to a mailing list—customers, suppliers, influencers, and anyone else who signed up to receive email messages.

But now MailChimp has added the ability to build a landing page; i.e., a standalone web page built primarily for lead generation and sales.

Before you begin working with landing pages, here’s some information you should know:

10 Facts About Landing Pages

  1. Landing pages aren’t available to the general public. They’re only accessible by clicking on a link in an email, a search results page, an ad, or other digital location.
  2. Landing pages don’t contain website navigation. That’s because the page has just one purpose—one special offer—and shouldn’t contain any distractions.
  3. Each page is meant for a specific target audience. Unlike your website, it is meant for a limited audience your offer will appeal to.
  4. There are two kinds of landing pages—one for growing your mailing list, and one for showcasing and selling your product/service.
  5. In MailChimp, each landing page must have a list associated with your account. It can be an existing list already in use.
  6. Landing pages can be used with multiple campaigns. For example, create a page for new signups to your list and welcome them with a automated email series. Or create an ad with a call-to-action button linked to another landing page.
  7. Links to the landing page can be placed on your website, at the end of blog articles, and in email messages. Think of of a landing page as the final step in the sales funnel that attracts people who are almost ready to buy.
  8. The landing page link can also be shared on social media. If your audience(s) hangs out on social media, use a landing page URL to drive traffic to your page.
  9. A thank-you page critical to completing the landing page experience. It delivers the offer you are promising and also restores navigation to your website. It can also include an invitation to subscribe to your blog or another related offer.
  10. MailChimp monitors landing page traffic. Statistics like visits, clicks, a performance graph, subscribes, and order information for products connected to complimentary ecommerce software.

Landing pages have morphed to help marketers create a focused offer and call to action. It’s an effective method for getting to know your target audience better and increasing sales conversions.

Want to discuss ideas for creating a landing page? I’m always available to listen and contribute ideas. Call 414.771.8906 or email nancy@cavanaughinteractive.biz

A crazy good email marketing campaign pays off

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Email MarketingLast month I sent an email letter to clients and prospects titled, “Website Redesign: How to Know When It’s Time”

Boy, did that strike a nerve!

Almost 38% of the recipients opened that email. And for those people, I followed up with a second email, “We saw you peeked.” That one was opened by a whopping 71%!

According to Mail Chimp, a standard email open rate is about 20%. So my email campaign about website redesign was double the normal rate and the follow-up email was 3.5 times greater than normal!

Wouldn’t you like the same crazy good results for your next email campaign?

My recipe for success

The purpose of my original email was to remind business people about the importance of keeping their web presence up to date, and how I can help. I listed seven warning signs that point to an aging website. Web redesign is a hot topic right now and thought I could really connect with those concerned about the age of their website.

Little did I know just how interested they really were! The open rate told me so!

But I didn’t stop there.

How I followed up

Step 1. I monitored the list of people who opened the email using Act-On marketing automation software. I watched some recipients track through my website and checked to see whether mobile-responsive devices were used. I saw the pages visited, learning specific areas of interest.

Step 2. I followed up with phone calls to those clients I knew had older websites. In just a couple of hours, I closed several thousand dollars in sales.

Step 3. Rinse and repeat: I subdivided my email list, selecting only those people who had opened the first email. Then I tailored a second email to encourage contact with me.

Step 4. I followed up again on “opens” from the second email. Each time I called someone, I discovered they were already receptive to a redesign and willing to discuss. Again, I quickly closed sales for website updates—some of them older than six years!

Why am I telling you all this?

Email marketing is a wildly popular tool for reaching  prospects and customers. It keeps your business in front of them, confirms your authority as an influencer in your field, helps attracts inquiries, and closes sales faster. The cost is low; the benefits are lasting and substantial.

Relevant statistics about the value of automating email marketing

— Qualified leads increase by 451% by using marketing automation to nurture clients.
— Vital information can be captured about which recipients are visiting your website, how they got there, and what they’re viewing.
— Sales cycle times are reduced by up to 70% by using marketing automation to nurture sales.

Business owners recognize the value of email campaigns. They ask me all the time about email marketing. And guess what? I have experience with both Mail Chimp and Constant Contact—not to mention list building and maintenance.

For those of you looking for the kind of crazy good results I got, it’s time to talk about how we can strategize and manage your online marketing through automation.