How does clever landing page copy work?
Kristina Allen on Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 04:51PM It doesn’t.
At our Copywriting for Landing Pages that Convert webinar, Roberta Rosenberg stressed that when writing landing page copy, we should “strive for clarity not creativity.” Landing pages aren’t the right place for being witty or to inject catchy phrases, save that for your blog. When customers land on a page after clicking an ad, they need to be informed as quickly as possible in very clear wording.
Because we have such a small window of time to catch the users attention before they bounce, we have to understand the basics of how online copy differs from print copy. The general standard for print paragraphs is to go no longer than seven lines (lines not sentences); however, online copy should run no longer than four to five lines. We also need to vary sentence structure and length to create dissonance and make the copy easier to read.
So remember, always write to deliver a clear and persuasive message devoid of witty little remarks that detract from the main message. We just can’t be sure that the user will get the joke, and if he or she doesn’t they will be gone in a heartbeat.
Landing Pages, copywriting in lead generation 
Reader Comments (2)
The thing that stood out to me most about this in the webinar was that there's also a difference between being persuasive and being clever, and that being persuasive doesn't mean sacrificing clarity.
There's a movement towards clarity in marketing copy right now (among the smart ones) and some people are taking it to the point of stripping out any ounce of decent, honest salesmanship. Clarity doesn't imply that we should avoid presenting information in a persuasive, organized and compelling fashion.
Josh, Thanks for the input -- what a great point. Clarity doesn't mean without personality or flavor. We still have to persuade. Roberta explains this in such a relevant, understandable way, doesn't she?!