Not so much when it comes to your visitors’ email addresses. You likely don’t have to look further than your own inbox to see why—there’s no shortage of companies ready to flood you with their latest and greatest offers. Which means people are wiser to marketing tactics and, understandably, more discerning than ever about who they give their contact information out to. They need more than a blank form field. They need to clearly see the value on the other side of that “sign me up” button.
Hayley is a former Copywriter on Unbounce’s content team. When she’s not rambling away, you’ll find her watching the Real Housewives of Anywhere, eating a block of cheese as a meal, or petting strangers’ dogs on the streets of Vancouver.
Paul is a writer on Unbounce’s content team who lives and breathes storytelling. (It’s like oxygen but with better plotlines!) Ask him what he’s up to at any given moment and you’ll get answers ranging from folding paper dragons (y’know, origami) to catching up on the latest cool tech, and finding other ways to channel his inner geek.
That value is communicated through more than just copy. (Though messaging is indeed very important! Signed, a totally unbiased copywriter.) The how, where, and why of what you’re asking is what creates a compelling overall experience for the visitor. One that shows you understand and respect their needs. And that you’re offering something really great to make trading their email a total no-brainer.
It’s about showing and telling. And in the spirit of show and tell, we’re going to do just that. Later in this post (or you can jump right down if you’re in a rush), we’ll show you eight lead generation landing page examples from Unbounce customers that prove effective lead gen comes in all forms. But before we do that, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page–the same landing page, if you will. (Sorry.)
Okay, let’s start with the basics. A landing page is a web page that’s created for a specific, single purpose. It’s the destination that a visitor “lands” on after they’ve followed a link in an email, ad, or social media post. (If you want to know more about landing pages, we’ve got a few details to share.)
A lead generation landing page (otherwise known as a lead capture landing page) is a type of landing page whose sole purpose is to–you guessed it–get leads. And while it would be nice to live in a world where people across the internet just shower you with contact info without a second thought, we don’t live in that world. (Sigh.)
Instead, page visitors want to receive some sort of value in exchange for the value they’re giving to you (like their email address). The best lead generation landing pages offer visitors something enticing, like a free ebook, a webinar, a free trial, or just evoke a sense of curiosity and make the visitor want to learn more.
Why do you need a lead generation landing page?
You want to talk with potential customers, and a lead generation landing page is a great way to start the digital conversation. It’s all about establishing a line of communication with customers, so you can show them that your product or service meets their needs.
But you don’t want to chat with justanybody–a truly good lead capture landing page (as opposed to the ones that are merely meh) should appeal to potential customers who are genuinely interested in what you’re offering. By pre-qualifying your leads, you’ll be able to invest less time and effort in finding what you’re looking for: customers who’ll convert.
Lead generation landing page best practices
At this point you know what you want and why you want it—now let’s get into the how. Here are some tips on creating lead generation landing pages that’ll open the floodgates and have you swimming in leads.
Offer some value
You know how some restaurants give you a piece of candy when they bring you the bill? That’s because of a scientifically proven principle of reciprocity—if you give someone a gift, even a small one, they’re more likely to be generous in return. For restaurants, that takes the form of a larger tip. When it comes to lead capture landing pages, providing the equivalent of digital “candy” can turn into an increased likelihood that visitors will provide their contact info.
Provide your visitor with something that gives them value, such as a free ebook, webinar, white paper, newsletter, or trial period, and they’ll be more inclined to return the favor.
Use persuasive copy
Attention-grabbing headlines; short, descriptive paragraphs; easy-to-read bullets; clear, enticing calls to action—all of these copy elements can go a long way towards convincing your visitor that yeah, they like what they’re reading and they’re willing to fork over their details to learn more.
Design matters
The design of your page can be a huge factor in gently nudging visitors to fill out the contact form. Whether they realize it or not, the landing page’s design is the first aspect of the page that sinks into their brain, and if the design is messy, cluttered, or frustrating, they’ll just bounce.
One thing to look for in a good page design: Keep most of the essential info “above the fold,” which basically means the top section of the page that can be seen without scrolling. This pretty much guarantees that the visitor will see what you want them to see.
Only ask for what’s essential
Don’t get greedy and start asking page visitors for details that aren’t necessary, like their annual marketing budget, five-year marketing plan, and favorite TV show (although that last one could lead to some fun chats). If your page has a form, make sure the form only asks for the truly crucial details that you need to keep the conversation going so it doesn’t feel too pushy.
Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to include a detail or two about your privacy policy so your visitor can feel assured that you’re not going to misuse their data.
Just one goal per page
While we’re on the topic of simplicity, a good rule of thumb for lead capture landing pages—heck, for pretty much any landing page—is to make sure it focuses on only one offer and one desired action. You might be tempted to cram a bunch of offers onto the page, but don’t do it! You’ll just end up complicating the page and reducing conversions.
This best practice also applies to adding links that lead to other pages on your website. Strip all of those away so you can eliminate distractions and encourage the visitor to only think about the one thing you want ‘em to do.
And to be clear, it is okay to include multiple CTAs throughout a single page—just make sure they all point towards the same destination.
Be mobile friendly
Since the majority of internet users access the web through their phones, it’s best to format your lead generation landing page so it looks nice and spiffy when opened on a smartphone. After all, you’re trying to encourage visitors to give you their email, and that’s far less likely if they open a page that looks like hot garbage on their smaller screen.
Message match
The best lead generation landing page experience starts even before the visitor lands on the page. They came to this page by clicking on a link from somewhere else (like an email or ad), so make sure the messaging is consistent across the entire journey. If your ad is offering info about cat-shaped cookies, then your landing page better serve up details about those aforementioned (and adorable) feline-formed treats.
Social proof
How do you build trust? It’s not easy, especially when you’re talking to complete strangers who have landed on your page, but one way to increase trustworthiness is with social proof. An endorsement from a reputable brand or a testimonial from a previous customer provides a trust signal and helps create the impression that you’ve got something really good to offer.
How to create a lead generation landing page
Now that you know all the good stuff that should go into a good lead gen landing page, let’s go over the steps you can follow to make it all happen.
Set goals
What are you trying to achieve through your landing page? What metrics or goals would translate into “success”? Like the old saying goes: you need to know what you’re aiming at before you can hit your target.
Write the copy
Focus on important copy pieces like headlines and benefits, so you can grab attention quickly and arouse interest. Not a writer? No problem, Smart Copy to the rescue! And don’t forget about calls to action (CTAs)—those are the prompts that can nudge readers into becoming leads.
Select images
In most cases it’s a good idea to start the page with a big, attention-grabbing hero image. Also, when choosing images, look for ones that support the benefits of your product or service and coordinate nicely with your copy.
Design and build the page
Whether you’re an experienced designer or struggle to draw a stick figure, you’re in good hands with Unbounce. Browse through our gallery of 100+ high-converting design templates to find the one that best fits your vision.
Unbounce also offers two powerful and easy-to-use landing page builder tools:
Smart Builder is an AI-powered landing page builder that provides data-backed recommendations. With this intuitive tool you don’t need any design or writing skills—you can create multiple pages quickly and easily.
Classic Builder is a drag-and-drop landing page page builder with advanced customization and coding options. If you’re already fluent in page creation, this tool will allow you to fine-tune your pages down to the tiniest details.
Connect the page
Now that the page itself is created, it’s time to link it to your domain and integrate components like tracking scripts and CRM tools. After all, the data your page generates ain’t gonna track itself.
Publish and optimize
Like a little bird learning to fly, it’s time to send your new page out into the world. But don’t let it fly alone—optimization tools like Smart Traffic can modify and test the page, resulting in an average conversion boost of 20%!
Next, let’s jump into some lead generation landing page examples that’ll spark some inspiration and show you what’s possible.
Steal some lead gen landing page tips from these clever Unbounce customers’ examples
Vancouver Island University
Click to see VIU’s “Worth It” landing page in its entirety.
Vancouver Island University knows one of the biggest concerns for many students (besides dodging those 8:00 a.m. class slots) is paying tuition. And that said investment in education brings other concerns along with it, like which field or studies should they put that investment toward, and what’s their career potential once it’s been made?
Instead of leaving prospective pupils to figure it out on their own, VIU created the “Worth It” campaign centered around this lead generation landing page. Not only does it give students information to help answer those questions, it offers up a chance to win $2,500 credited toward their Fall 2020 tuition. And their nine percent conversion rate of nearly 35,000 visitors, which is well above the education industry median, proves their lead gen efforts are paying off.
The VIU team (of only six!) who worked on this campaign drove traffic through a number of channels, from paid advertising on Facebook and YouTube to social media sharing to traditional print ads at ferry terminals and their local airport. Not surprisingly, given the nature of their target audience, most of their traffic came from mobile devices.
“What helped us with conversion rates was that Unbounce is such a mobile-friendly platform. The bulk of the traffic generated for this campaign was from mobile. We had a lot of flexibility on how things were displayed on different screen sizes and this enabled us to better optimize the page and convert more leads.”
Christine Johnson, Digital Marketing Specialist, Vancouver Island University
The bottom line—they crushed their bottom line. With a combination of audience insight, solution-oriented empathy, informational value, smart targeting, and an undeniably compelling call to action, they exceeded their original goal of 500 leads to bring in over 3,100. Which gives a whole new meaning to the “Worth It” campaign.
What works well:
Making sure not to bury the lede, VIU focused on the clearest incentive—that sweet, stone cold cash—and put its entry form right at the top of the page. Surrounded by colorful graphics and laid over a photo of fresh-faced students gathered on a beach, a cheerful, people-centric message is instantly communicated, featuring the coastal Vancouver Island backdrop that sets VIU’s campus apart from others. So there’s already a huge value proposition served up in the hero section, before visitors even start scrolling to the rest of the goodies below.
Those goodies being a wealth of resources, delivered through engaging video, statistics, easily digestible summaries, and a straightforward Q&A format that voices common concerns students have followed by all of the programs, benefits, and opportunities VIU offers to help and guide them. As they continue down the landing page, more general and experiential benefits of a VIU education are showcased—like small class sizes, an inclusive community, and laid back “island life” on one of the world’s most beautiful natural playgrounds.
What could be improved:
There’s a lot of content on this page, making the page very long, and since most of the visitors experienced the mobile version that would have resulted in a ton of scrolling. Cutting down on the amount of copy throughout the page and reducing the content would create a better mobile experience.
ckbk
ckbk is a digital cookbook service that brings the world’s best recipes online, making classic and contemporary cookbook content available to members in one convenient place. As a subscription-based business, landing pages are key to ckbk’s marketing in order to grow their email lists and drive more signups.
What works well:
Here, they’ve done something a little different than your typical lead generation strategy by incentivizing registrations with an extended free trial voucher. This landing page not only acts as a gateway for visitors to enter the code they’ve been given, referred, or seen promoted online, it also serves as additional advertising for all of the content and services they offer.
Which is exactly what makes this page so compelling—a showcase of benefits through messaging, video, testimonial, and imagery. Just below a warm and inviting hero image (anybody else craving some fresh-baked bread right now?) showing a real-life recipe displayed on a mobile device is a summary of membership value alongside a short promotional video. As you scroll down, the features and benefits—like diversity of recipes, filters for skill level and dietary requirements, the ability to create your own “collections,” and more—are plainly laid out to show visitors all the goods they’re in for and address any concerns or questions you may have before signing up. Complete with a bright, eye-catching (and mouthwatering) image gallery of just some of the cookbooks included.
They also clearly know just how important building trust is, especially depending on the level of information you may be asking visitors to share. Endorsements from award-winning chefs and travel writers, press from recognizable publications, and a note that a membership can be cancelled anytime—including during the extended free trial—all help to reassure visitors they’re in good hands.
What could be improved:
The CTA “Claim your free membership” is succinct, direct, and enticing—but it’s slightly inaccurate because when the reader clicks through, they still have to fill out a form before they can get the free membership.
This could be fixed by including the form on the initial page and combining it with entering the voucher code. That way the reader can fill everything in through a single step and enjoy a seamless experience.
PS. The fine people of ckbk have offered a voucher for any Unbounce blog foodies interested in trying out their service! Use “COOKBOOKSFOR30DAYS”to claim your extended trial here.
Condair
Commercial and industrial humidification and evaporative cooling products may not sound too sexy to the average bear—but the average bear isn’t Condair’s target audience. And with a conversion rate of 83% on this lead generation landing page for a free desktop hygrometer, they clearly know just what that target audience wants (to the tune of over 2,800 conversions).
This targeting is what makes Condair’s offer so clever as a lead generation strategy. Everyone loves to get a little something for free, but they’re not giving just anything away. Instead of a more typical “swag” item like a coffee mug or t-shirt—which, while still great, are more generic items any business can customize—they’re dishing out freebies that are perfectly aligned with the products and services they offer, and the wants and needs of their prospects.
What works well:
Visitors to this page are likely already problem aware, somewhat solution aware, and probably in some stage of evaluation. It’s super smart for Condair to offer a gift in exchange for their information so they can get in direct contact, and to use page real estate for additional form fields that help qualify leads instead of trying to dazzle them with superfluous design or slick photography that doesn’t hold much weight for their prospects. Instead, they’ve kept their offer and landing page itself simple, making space to ask the kind of questions they need to in order to best serve that individual. That said, they don’t go overboard with form fields—there are just enough questions to get a context for that visitor’s needs while keeping their time, and value of their exchange, in mind.
The benefit is three-fold: Condair gets a contact portal and wealth of data for prospects who may have otherwise anonymously left their site, a relationship is instantly established through reciprocity, and said prospects get a cool little present before they even become Condair customers.
What could be improved:
File this under “Small Detail but Somewhat Significant”: Throughout the form almost every field and question (except “Address 2”) is marked with an asterisk, presumably to indicate that the info is required. But they also use an asterisk to indicate a disclaimer for the free hygrometer offer, which is a completely different use for that plucky little character.
To be clearer, they could have moved the disclaimer up so it was directly below the free hygrometer offer, allowing them to remove that particular asterisk. It would also be good to explain somewhere in the form that all items marked with the asterisk are required fields.
National Sewing Circle
The folks at National Sewing Circle (and their marketing agency, TN Marketing) are seasoned pros at effective lead generation. We’ve featured their work before in a post on great popup examples, and couldn’t pass up another opportunity to do so when we discovered how well this lead gen landing page was performing.
What works well:
Don’t let that seemingly innocuous little carrot fool you—this page packs a serious conversion punch at 88% of over 3,400 visitors. Catering to a thriving and active community of sewing enthusiasts, they’ve chosen to offer a cute, fun, and broadly-applicable pattern with an incredibly low barrier to entry. Much like Condair in the previous example, National Sewing Circle understands the balance of give and take, asking only for an email address to “unlock your download.” From there, they can nurture those leads through email marketing and show how much value they can deliver.
And get this—it’s one of many. The simplicity of this landing page makes it extra easy to duplicate with minimal customizations, as well as giving it a clean, clutter-free appearance. And since National Sewing Circle knows there’s (usually) no such thing as too many leads, they’ve made it part of a themed package of individual patterns. The landing page below, also created in Unbounce, links out to each pattern’s respective download page, all with similarly high conversion rates.
What could be improved:
In the first screenshot above, right under the header image, there’s a box containing a carrot graphic and two pieces of copy: “Carrot” and “FREE PATTERN”. Since the latter copy is in a box and all caps, it feels like it could be a CTA button…but probably isn’t because the real CTA is the “DOWNLOAD” button below. Using a CTA design on copy that’s not designed to be clicked on is a no-no.
Also the capitalization on the CTAs is inconsistent—the first one is in all caps, but the second one is in sentence case, as well as being unnecessarily long since they could easily delete “Click here to”.
UENI
UENI, which provides marketing and advertising services to small businesses, proves anticipation can be a powerful thing with this relatively vague, yet high-converting landing page targeted at ecommerce clients.
One of the primary use cases for lead generation landing pages is drumming up excitement before a business, product, service, announcement, or whatever the case may be, has even come to fruition. It’s a way to get the word out early while building a list of subscribers, allowing you to gauge interest before going to market and create a more solid launchpad for when you do. We’ve used this strategy before for Unbounce campaigns, and I have to admit that launch day is a lot less nerve wracking when you already have a list of people who’ve essentially told you they’re excited to see what you’ve got.
What works well:
In this case, UENI’s applied a light hand in copy and design to beautifully capture a feeling of “mystery” while giving enough detail away to intrigue the right clients. Though the page may seem sparse, its polished design, saturated, high-contrast colors, and use of negative background space reflect their brand and a certain level of quality one can expect from them (even in its simplest form).
The copy is doing a lot of heavy lifting, too. In a handful of sentences, they’ve managed to communicate everything they need to say about who this offer is for, why it’s great—as the headline claims—and what makes it special (exclusive access). It’s a strong case for swapping out nothing more than your email address. And at a 56% conversion rate, it seems a lot of people are already sold.
What could be improved:
Since folks are generally becoming more aware of the necessity of online privacy, it would be nice to include a short disclaimer to reassure readers that UENI won’t abuse their data. Otherwise, there’s not a lot to suggest here—the page’s design is simple, yet effective.
Learn the ins and outs of high-converting ecommerce landing pages from 27 real-word examples.
Frank & Dick
Frank & Dick is a digital advertising and media agency based in Oslo, Norway, that specializes in ecommerce for mid-to-large businesses. Lead generation landing pages are a recurring part of their client strategies, typically in combination with Facebook and Instagram promotion—and typically with much success.
Giveaways have proven to be a reliable lead generator, with two of their highest-performing pages represented here. They’re an especially smart tactic for ecommerce, given that you’re incentivizing prospective customers and promoting a product at the same time.
The above example created for Blafre, which makes colorful accessories and water bottles for children, brought in over 8,000 new email leads by targeting parents whose children were starting kindergarten that fall with a chance to win a cute back-to-school package full of Blafre products. They used the same basic strategy below for another client, Bellas Hus, a clothing and home goods retailer—to equally impressive results at 80% of over 4,000 visitors converted.
What works well:
Frank & Dick’s winning formula is as straightforward as it is effective: a high-value giveaway package, enticing product photo, low barrier to entry, clear CTA, mobile customization, and thoughtful, granular targeting (oh, and making sure everything is GDPR-friendly!). Which is why they use it often, simply tailoring each landing page for different clients, products, and audience segments.
“Unbounce is a very easy tool for us to build landing pages in a short time that usually convert much better than landing pages set up in our clients’ website platforms. Because of the possibility to build and customize these pages for conversion, [the process is] quite simple and super user friendly. And at the same time, [we’re able to] maintain our clients’ brand design and identity.”
Benedicte Ødegaard, Adviser, Frank & Dick
What could be improved:
Since our Norwegian is a bit rusty (as in “we don’t speak it at all”), it’s hard to critique the content. It’s a well-executed page, which is why we selected it for this list, after all.
Australian Life Tech
With a dedication to health, fitness, and nutrition, the small, nimble team at Australian Life Tech are all about results. And know that sometimes keeping things clear, simple, and action-oriented can be the best motivation.
Their lead generation landing page for a Home Workout Pack for the 28 by Sam Wood program is a perfect example of this, currently converting at 91%. While it may appear particularly lean at first glance, therein lies its effectiveness—combined with thoughtful placement and strategic targeting.
“We use [landing pages] to help personalize lead capture and conversion. This frees up our technology team to focus on other initiatives and ensures we can move forward with speed and confidence.”
David Jackson, CEO, Australian Life Tech
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What works well:
Their team complements core sales sites with landing pages tailored to specific promotions and customer segments, so they know visitors to this lead generation page are already familiar with their brand and services. A fluff-free landing page with clear and direct offer, aided by friendly, conversational copy and a bright, smiling photo is all that’s needed to get those leads rolling in.
What could be improved:
Not a lot! The design is simple, yet effective. Our only suggestions are to use a more action-oriented CTA, something like “Get your Workout Pack”, and to clarify that all fields marked with an asterisk are required.
Ready to get more of your own leads?
What works for others can certainly work for you—it’s really just a matter of knowing what makes the most sense for your business, what will best resonate with your target audience, and how to make that audience’s needs and experience a priority. A valuable offer, relevant messaging, clear CTA, and a little design flare is a solid place to start. (You can always optimize from there!) Start building your lead generation landing pages today with a free 14-day trial.
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