Guide to Landing Pages (Pt 2) (B)

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Heyyo - today's part two of our landing page guide. Keeping the intro short again because it's a big one.

Last thing - if you're in LA and want to hit our meetup on Feb 7th, you can RSVP here. Excited to meet some of you!

But first, a huge thank you to our partners HubSpot and Sleepless.

In partnership with HubSpot

90% of startups fail. Very few become $1B+ unicorns but the few that do follow these trends…

Hubspot did an in-depth analysis of the global unicorn landscape in 2024.

Here are 3 quick trends that stood out:

1. The top unicorns embrace AI, freemium growth, and community.

2. It takes 9 years to build a unicorn.

3. VC’s are on the hunt for strong founder teams, large total addressable markets (TAMs), and scalable tech with notable traction.

Our whole team read it. You should too.

In our previous guide, we laid out the foundation of a landing page that converts.

Now, let’s put it into practice.

Mastering your Above-The-Fold

Goal: Earn the scroll

Your above-the-fold section is single-handedly the most crucial aspect of your landing page.

It determines whether visitors will keep reading the rest of the page + keep scrolling.

And you only have a few seconds to persuade them.

To earn the scroll, your above-the-fold must include these 5 elements:

1. A value-focused headline

The headline is the first thing visitors see.

It can make or break a landing page.

We have four formulas to test and see which one works the best for your audience:

2. A complimentary sub-headline

Your sub-headline’s goal is to explain, educate, or introduce how you make the headline a reality.

Make your headline believable.

And the best sub-headlines do two things:

1. Explain how the value is created

2. How the process/product works

3. Creative

Your creative should bring your words to life - to show (not tell) what you do.

Show real people, real results, and real use cases.

So, they can visualize themself doing it.

And know what to expect.

4. Social Proof

Consumers seek reassurance in their choices, looking for evidence that others have trusted you and had positive experiences.

This is why incorporating social proof on your landing page is not just beneficial, it's essential.

And because your above the fold holds the most weight — it must include the proof to back the claim through testimonials, endorsements, success stories, or user statistics.

It adds credibility. It instills confidence.

And supports that value creation you promise.

Example #1: Hotjar

5. Next Step: Call-to-Action

Your Call-To-Action serves as the bridge to the next step.

And provides the consumer with clear steps to take action.

Most CTAs are vague.

They don't emphasize the value creation on the other side.

And if you want the consumer to feel convinced when they tap your call to action, then remind them of the value on the other side of their decision.

Mastering Your Below-The-Fold

Your above-the-fold laid the foundation.

And now your below-the-fold is where you start building the dream. It's where you cement the value and convert traffic into customers.

It's where you bring them home.

In your Below-The-Fold, these are the 5 essential elements.

1. Benefits Continued

You should continue to drive home the benefits of what you offer, to make your above-the-fold claims believable and reliable.

There are three approaches that I have found to work best:

Formula A: How It Works

If you told me that you do X, show me how you make X possible.

Formula B: Address Pain Points - Then Remove Them

Benefits are created on the backend of pain points.

Address them — show the consumer their current reality.

Then, showcase how you remove them.

Pain. Dream. Fix.

Formula C: Reinforce The Main Value Proposition

When you repeat something, you hone in on the fact that it's very important.

So keep reinforcing the main value proposition.

2. Differentiate with Features

Your benefits sell the product.

Your features differentiate the product.

And both work collectively to get someone to believe in the product.

3. More Social Proof

Use more social proof to show that your product delivers on the value it promises and that your features deliver on the difference it creates.

4. Frequently Asked Questions

Your FAQ section tackles and answers every "what" and "how."

It continues to tackle the mental objections and roadblocks that could prevent a consumer from taking action.

5. Last Call-To-Action

Now, you just need one more small reminder with a little push over the edge to take action.

And that's a wrap!

To recap, the secret sauce for your above-the-fold is:

• A value-focused headline

• A complimentary sub-headline

• A product photo

• Social proof

• Next step

And your below-the-fold should include:

• Benefits continued

• Differentiate with features

• More social proof

• Frequently asked questions

• Last call-to-action

In partnership with Sleepless.ai

What prevents startups from optimizing their landing pages?

Bandwidth.

Instead of shilling your design out to any agency, use this guide as a checklist.

Ask what they think about the:

• Top of fold vs. Bottom of fold

• Headline

• Subheadline

• Social proof

• Benefits vs. Features

• FAQs

• Call to Actions

Do they know their stuff?

An agency I trust is Sleepless.

I got you $1,500 off in perpetuity. (That’s wild).

But don’t take my word for it.

Scrutinize their work. Now you have a framework.

🕳 Rabbit Hole Reads and Resources

• Newsletter Marketing: Follow CMOs at Nike, Oracle, and Shopify and sign up for the Open Rates waitlist. Easily reach 10,000+ newsletters and identify the best fit for your brand's marketing campaign based on real data/previous newsletter sponsor history (LINK)

• Newsletter Growth: Check out Beehiiv’s guides on how to get 1k subs in 90 days. (LINK)

• Marketing 101: Liquid Death is the brand to show if someone doesn’t believe in marketing. Listen to the brand’s founding story on How I Built This. (LINK)

• King of Loyalty: Who better to learn about building customer loyalty than the King of Hospitality Danny Meyer Setting the Table by Danny Meyer is a great read. (LINK)

• Trend Shopping: Why Does Anybody Need 37 Stanley Cups? Trend shopping. (LINK)