Master Landing Page Copy in 13 Steps [30 Examples + Template]

Landing page copy is like a digital salesperson: it can talk to thousands of potential customers at once, generate demand, guide people through the decision-making process, and motivate a desired action.

Get it right, and strong copywriting can turn any marketing campaign into a revenue-generating machine. 

Get it wrong, and poor copywriting can plummet your conversions… fast. 

In this article, we’re going to explore 13 requisites for effective landing page copy, loads of landing page examples, and a 9-point landing page copy template.

When you’re finished, you’ll have all the tips, insights, and inspiration you need to craft compelling copy that converts. 

Let’s go.

Though figuring out how to write landing page copy can feel overwhelming, it doesn’t actually need to be hard. 

Not if you follow these 13 landing page copywriting best practices. 😉 

The more conversion goals you add to your landing page, the harder it gets to write compelling copy for each. What this all boils down to is that your conversion rates are now at risk of falling. 

In fact, including more than one conversion goal (offer) on your landing page has shown to plummet conversion rates as much as 266%. 

So before you sit down to write your landing page copy, define the single goal you want your visitors to accomplish after they land on your page. Then build your copy around that goal. 

Whichever goal you choose becomes your call-to-action (CTA), and every word that follows should convince visitors to click on it. 

For example, Loom’s conversion goal is to get visitors to start a free trial. So their CTA and copy promote the same goal, from top to bottom: 

Different channels have different purchase intents. 

For example, people who enter your landing page through a Google PPC ad after clicking on a branded keyword are more likely to purchase than someone who passively scrolls through Instagram. 

That’s because people visit Google to find businesses they want to buy from (especially when they type in a keyword with your brand name), and people visit Instagram when they want to socialize with their friends, family, and followers (i.e., not to buy). Two different intentions. 

Typically, people who discover your landing page via a display ad have the lowest intent to buy. In contrast, people who find you via a purchase-intent keyword on Google or Bing have the highest intent to buy. 

In other words?

People who aren’t in-market for what you sell have a lower chance of buying, while people who are in-market investigating your solutions have a higher chance of buying. 

So the bottom line?

Don’t send cold social media visitors who haven’t expressed intent to buy and who haven’t heard of you before to a landing page that asks them to buy now. 

That just doesn’t make sense.

To avoid that, you must align your copy with the intent of your visitors.

The last thing you want your landing page copy to communicate to potential customers is a different message than the ad creative that sent them there. 

Enter: message match. 

Message match means matching the headline, subheading, and CTA copy of your ad creative to the headline, subheading, and CTA copy of your landing page. 

For example, notice how ADP matches their PPC ad copy with their landing page copy: 

Continuity between click and post-click can mean the difference between a bounce and a conversion. 

So keep it consistent. 

Message match your copy. 

And get the conversion.

Your landing page value proposition refers to the primary benefit you promise to deliver (or problem you aim to solve) and why people should choose you over your competitors.

Think of your value proposition as the most important (and challenging) copy you will write. 

Why? 

Because it’s the first group of words your visitors will read when they arrive on your landing page. And you don’t have a lot of room to get it right. 

For example, Bliss succinctly delivers their value proposition in as few as 16 words: 

The best landing page value propositions articulate three main things using a headline and a subheadline. It’ll answer

• what value does your product or service promise to deliver?
• who do you provide that value for?
• how do you plan on delivering said value?

If you truly offer a unique product or service (i.e., category creator or one of a kind), or if you’ve built a strong brand, sometimes all you need to do is tell people what you do. 

For example, Shopify (one of the biggest eCommerce brands in the world) clearly articulates what they do without belaboring the who or how (since most visitors will already know that): 

For the rest of us, it’s better to clarify who you sell to and how you plan on keeping your promise.

For example, GatherContent (a content operations platform) fails to articulate the what, who, or how in their headline and subheadline, and it’s likely killing their conversions: 

Now juxtapose that with a revised value proposition I drafted using what I know about their product and promise: 

What: write, edit, collaborate, and publish faster and all in one place

Who: content publishers 

How: streamline content management through one platform, not twelve

Simple. 

Let’s look at one more example from Trainual, who hits a home run:

What: faster and better employee training and onboarding software

Who: small businesses 

How: one platform for processes, policies, and procedures 

Way to go, Trainual.

Here’s a copywriting hack: use the words your customers use, not the words your marketing department uses.

Why?

Because most of the time, the language is not the same.

To start understanding the language your customers use, follow these tips:

• Actually talk to them: Set up interviews with happy customers, unhappy customers, and lost leads to learn how your customers talk about the problems you solve and the products or services you offer. 
• Scour online reviews: If you’ve been in business for a while, you’ve (hopefully) accumulated a fair amount of online reviews. Read through them, categorize them, and look for patterns in the way people talk about their pain points.
• Interview your employees: Talk to your sales team, customer service reps, account managers, support, etc. Interview your colleagues who interact daily with your customers—they’re in on the ground floor and know more than anyone. 
• Get social: Hit up LinkedIn, Reddit, Quora, Instagram, TikTok, etc. Participate in the conversations your customers have about your industry, and identify the words and phrases they use most. 

For example, when rewriting the copy for our KlientBoost website (landing pages included), most of our copy came directly from online reviews. 

We discovered that results, expertise, speed, communication, education, cost, and honesty all ranked high among the characteristics our target market looked for in an agency. Then we infused our copy with their language, not ours. 

Bottom line: strong landing page copy trades in industry jargon for the words of your customers. Period.

Could you imagine if Jasper (formerly Jarvis) filled their landing page copy with impersonal industry jargon?

Stale. Impersonal. No clarity. 

Now juxtapose that with their actual landing page copy: 

It’s fresh, personable, and in the words of their customers. Which do you think performed better?

Landing page social proof refers to third-party validation in the form of testimonials, star ratings, endorsements, case studies, media mentions, awards, or any other badge that indicates to potential customers that similar people have had success with your product or service. 

In a word: credibility. 

Social proof communicates your value proposition in the words of real people and peppers your offer with credibility in a way you alone never could. 

Let your customers do the talking for you. 

Show the proof inside the pudding. 

Then watch as your copywriting filled with social proof lifts your conversions. 

For example, Jasper (we really like them) knows that their potential customers are highly suspicious of their new brand, new offer, and new claims. So instead of beating them over the head with persuasive copy, they just soak their offer in social proof. 

Seriously, Jasper’s free trial landing page is dripping in third-party validation. They boast

• over 100 authentic testimonials 
• logos from their biggest clients
• star ratings from credible review platforms 
• number of happy customers (“Over 1,000+ reviews”) 

When it comes to social proof, place it everywhere, including 

• above the fold 
• near your call-to-action (CTA) buttons
• in its own section
• near your benefits 
• on your forms
• on your thank you pages
• on your checkout page

For example, Semrush features a testimonial from Wix on their sign-up form: 

Mixpanel features social proof in the form of client logos and customer count in their hero section: 

And Xero Shoes features customer testimonials on their checkout page: 

Further reading: Social proof examples

Your prospects want to feel spoken to, not spoken at or spoken about. 

Make them feel like they're the only person in the room. Conversationalize your content. 

Here’s how to just that:

• Write in the 2nd-person: Write your copy in the second-person point of view. It uses the pronoun “You” to address the reader and implies that the events and story are about them. 
• Avoid industry jargon: We’ve mentioned it before, but it’s because it’s so important. You don’t want to just drone on and on in a way your target audience doesn’t care for. In fact, they’ve seen the industry jargon a thousand times before, and they’re looking for the company that’ll speak to them, not regurgitate the same things yet again.
• Don’t be so formal: Use periods more than commas. Write short, choppy sentences. Use parentheses as asides. Use incomplete sentences. Heck, sprinkle in some one-word sentences.
• Jazz it up with some personality: Add some creative flair and give your company a true voice. Use some appropriate humor, puns, etc.

For example, let’s look at Monday.com’s existing value proposition vs. the one we rewrote for them.

Existing headline/subheadline: Monday’s use of the third-person POV makes their copy sound too formal and impersonal. 

Revised headline/subheadline: Monday can transform their copy into a 1-on-1 conversation with their prospects by using the second-person POV (and a little bit of added flair):

Strong copywriting requires clarity, and clarity requires specificity. 

When landing page copy veers into abstraction, it makes it difficult for visitors to discern the importance (and meaning) of your words. 

For example, when Wix states, “The leader in website creation,” what does that mean to you?

It likely means nothing. 

Who are they referring to? Leader compared to who? Better yet, according to whom? And leader of what? Most customers? Best platform? Something else? Who knows. 

Now juxtapose that with this revised headline we wrote:

Better, right? Specific. Credible. Relevant. Meaningful. 

Let’s look at another example.

In this first example, can you even tell what Semrush does or how they do it?

That’s your unique selling proposition (USP)?

• “Tools for any SEO challenge” 
• “Versatile solutions” 
• “SEO journey”

Too vague. Too ambiguous. Too used. Too meaningless. 

Now juxtapose that with their updated (and more concrete) headline: 

As a visitor, now I know what Semrush promises to deliver and how they plan on delivering it. 

How do you make your landing page copywriting more concrete? 

It’s simple.

• Use numbers: This is one of the easiest ways to make your copy concrete. Say “Over 3.8M websites use Wix,” or “#1 Ranked PPC Agency by Clutch.” Don’t just leave it up in the air.
• Avoid superlatives: You’re not the “quickest,” you deliver “results in 48 hours.” You’re not the “cheapest,” you cost “less than a cup of coffee.”
• Be specific: Instead of just saying you have “Versatile solutions,” say you have “50+ tools on SEO, content marketing, competitor research, PPC, and social media.” 
• Stop using these words: “Leader,” “premier,” “solutions,” “synergy,” “all-in-one…” Your prospects have seen it all before, and these words carry little meaning. 

Your customers buy your products or services because of the outcomes, not the inputs that produce them. 

This means your landing page copy should never emphasize features (inputs) over the benefits (outcomes). 

For example, Jasper (yep, again) doesn’t overstate their artificial intelligence, machine learning, or copy translator (all features). Instead, they handle objections by focusing on the outcomes those features produce. With Jasper, you can

• finish writing 2-5x faster
• boost ad conversions with better copy 
• rank higher and conduct better SEO 
• end writer’s block 
• write clearly in any language 
• scale your content marketing 

And ClickUp doesn’t emphasize their visual planner, collaboration tool, or progress tracking (all features); they use them as subheadings to communicate the benefits those features provide: 

The truth: low-motivating CTAs have become the status quo in marketing. 

You know the usual suspects: 

• “Try for free”
• “Get started”
• “Start free trial” 
• “Watch demo”
• “Request demo”
• “Schedule a consultation”
• “Download now”
• “Book a meeting”

These are all missed opportunities.

Clicking on your CTA is the most threatening choice your landing page visitors will have to make, and everyone will read it. 

So make it count. 

One word can make or break your campaign performance (just ask Unbounce): 

The trick to writing high-converting CTA button copy boils down to

• emphasizing value
• handling objections

Let’s take a look at both of these. 

We like to refer to CTAs as “calls to value.” 

Action is great, but nothing motivates action quite like reminding your visitors of the value awaiting them on the other side of a click. 

When it comes to your CTA button copy, do your best to communicate the value of your offer, not just the action someone needs to take to get there. 

For example, compare the action CTAs vs. the value CTAs in the graphic below. Which is more motivating?

Second, a high-converting CTA handles objections about your offer directly within the copy. 

You won’t always have room, but when you do, think about the last-second objections your prospects might have about your offer, then handle them within the CTA copy. 

For example, compare the standard CTAs (red) to the ones that handle objections (blue) in the chart below:

Let’s break down just one of these examples.

The CTA: “Get free proposal”

The prospect’s objection: "That’s great and all, but I don’t think I’ll have the time, and I don’t know how big of a commitment this is going to be."

The CTA that handles the objection: “Get proposal in 2 mins.”

The prospect: “2 minutes? Let’s do it.”

Consider a click trigger if you don’t have room to handle objections in the button copy. 

A click trigger refers to microcopy placed under or around your CTA; it’s designed to entice clicks. 

For example, Jasper (we can’t help ourselves) uses a click trigger in the form of their aggregate star rating: 

And SproutSocial uses a click trigger to handle objections about using a credit card or needing to install software:

Your final CTA refers to the last section at the very bottom of your landing page. 

Most landing pages use this space to repeat their value proposition in the exact same words as their first CTA. 

Don’t do that. 

Instead, use this section to restate your value proposition in different words or to illuminate a different aspect of your promise. 

For example, in Pipe’s landing page headline and subheadline (above-the-fold), they emphasize getting paid upfront for recurring revenue: 

But in their final CTA, they tweak their value proposition a bit and present it in different words, this time emphasizing the “growth without debt or dilution” part: 

Same value proposition, different emphasis, more powerful effect. 

Over 20+ years of research keep telling us the same thing: most users will only skim the headlines of your landing page, nothing else. 

That means what your copy looks like is just as important as what it says. 

When formatting your landing page copy for skimmers, heed the following: 

• Use one-sentence ideas: When sections of copy turn into 3-4 sentence paragraphs, your visitors likely aren’t going to stick around for all of it. Instead, limit blocks of content to single ideas in as few words as possible. 
• Leverage a visual hierarchy: Headlines, subheadlines, and paragraphs should have different font sizes, font weights, and colors. Without thinking, visitors should be able to tell the difference at a glance. 
• Use bullet points: Let your copy breathe. Use bullet points with short sentences to make your content more skimmable. 
• Be consistent: Make your landing page learnable by repeating styles over and over again. For example, if you typically use a bullet point section with headlines and paragraphs to explain details, repeat that copy style throughout your entire landing page. 

Last, but certainly not least, copywriting is never truly finished. It’s just finished for now. 

Over time, it’s your job to test your messaging to keep growing conversions. 

For example, over the last 6+ years, we’ve split tested our “free marketing plan” copy dozens of times, each time finding a variant that helped us increase conversions. Each time, we never changed the actual offer, only the copy we used to present it. 

Version 1: 14-day free trial 

Version 2: Get my free proposal 

Version 3: Start my free marketing plan 

Version 4: Start my pricing calculation 

So, where do you start with split testing?

Customer feedback. 

What better way to test out various versions of your landing page copy than to collect feedback from your actual users?

Installing landing page tools (such as chat boxes and online surveys) can help you gather ideas on your users' thoughts.

Here’s an example of what our feedback tool looks like:

Here’s another example of a customer satisfaction survey from Vero. These surveys can uncover insights on any bottlenecks or hang-ups your visitors may experience on your landing page:

Once you find the truth about your landing page user experience and message, you can tailor your landing page copy accordingly. 

Then rinse and repeat. 

If your value proposition concisely communicates what you do, who it’s for, and how you do it, then the rest of your landing page design and copy should provide the details. 

Think of each section as an opportunity to reiterate your 

• what: what does the product or service promise to do?
• who: who is this product or service for?
• how: how does this product or service deliver upon its promise?
• why: why will it improve my life for the better?

Lucky for you, we created a landing page copy template that will help you deliver the perfect landing page copywriting. 

Using Monday.com as an example, we outlined the nine primary sections, from top to bottom, for which you’ll need to write copy: 

1. headline + subheadline
2. CTA copy + click trigger
3. three biggest pain points 
4. features + benefits 
5. who’s it for
6. how it works
7. social proof
8. final CTA
9. conversion page 

Like we mentioned previously, use your headline and subheadline (above-the-fold) to communicate your value proposition in as few words as possible while maintaining clarity. 

For example, Monday.com introduces their team management “Work OS” (what), built for different departments within the business (who), deployed through a single platform (how). Not the most outstanding value proposition, but when paired with the strength of their brand, it’s effective nonetheless.

Remember, your CTA button copy should emphasize value and handle objections. Make exploring the “promised land” a no-brainer. 

For example, Monday.com uses generic CTA copy, but they leverage their click trigger (microcopy below the CTA) to remind prospects that it’s free forever with no credit card required. 

Don’t make your prospects wait. Hit them with your core benefits as soon as possible by addressing their biggest pain points. 

What are the three primary pain points your product or service can help your ideal customers overcome? Once you identify them, address them.

For more complex products or services, it helps to feature a dedicated features and benefits section somewhere on the page. Reiterate your core benefits, this time attached to specific features so prospects can understand how the inputs relate to the outputs.

Monday.com masterfully does this using a tab feature within its own section: 

For some of you, you may be able to spotlight your target market directly within your headline and subheadline. However, for those with more complex solutions, it helps to dedicate an entire section that clearly articulates the intended market for your product or service.

Monday.com dedicates a section to their four distinct target markets:

1. marketing 
2. sales
3. project management 
4. dev 

Certain products or services are self-explanatory, either because they’re everyday commodities or simple solutions. 

But for new or complex products or services, your visitors will need a healthy dose of education on the mechanics of your offer.

A well-written “how it works” section synthesizes a complex process into 3-4 easy-to-understand steps. 

Unfortunately, for Monday.com, this is the one section of their landing page that misses the mark a bit. They do include a “how it works” section (“Powered by Work OS”), but it’s just too vague and meaningless. 

Social proof should go everywhere. But always ensure you create a dedicated section for it too. 

Prospects will look for it. 

Monday.com features testimonials, client logos, and industry awards all over their page, but they also include a dedicated social proof section. 

Lastly, restate your value proposition, but in different words. 

For example, Monday.com uses their final CTA to wrap their message with a bow: “Deliver your best work with Monday.com.” 

For lead capture landing pages or lead generation pages (i.e., landing pages with embedded forms), your landing page is the conversion page. 

Visitors can arrive and convert from the same page.  

But for click-through pages that take visitors to a conversion page (e.g., eCommerce checkout page, account creation page, etc.), just because a prospect has clicked your CTA button, it doesn’t mean your job is done. 

The copy on the page your CTA button takes them to is just as important as the landing page itself. Don’t forget it.

For example, when you click on the Monday.com CTA, it takes you to an account creation page. 

But instead of just providing a form, they provide social proof (client logos and customer count) and a click trigger (“Get started - it’s free. No credit card required”) to nudge prospects over the finish line. 

Further reading: Landing Page Template for Designing and Layout

Easy: not clearly articulating your value proposition within the landing page hero section (above the fold).

It's not your job to write poetry about your products/services; it's your job to make the value you provide as crystal clear as possible. And to do it fast.

To ensure you're writing crisp "above the fold" headlines and subheadings, use these six core ingredients as a shortcut for what to include:

1). Persona: Are you talking to all customer segments? A narrow product/service segment? Tell them in your headline or subheading. Let visitors know they've landed on a relevant destination.

2). Problem: What's the primary pain you solve for your visitors? For example, "Every hour that passes after a form submission, close rates decline by 20%."

3). Capability: What can they do with your product/service that they couldn't do before? For example, "increase speed from website submission to contact."

4). Feature: What feature unlocks the capability and that no one else has? For example, "automated lead scheduling."

6). Benefit: What's the primary outcome (usually a change in some important metric) that buyers get from your product or service? For example "Increase sale qualified lead volume by 40%."

5). Category: What category are you anchoring to so visitors understand your value relative to alternatives? For example, "automated inbound lead scheduling app."

Strong copy and a great landing page understand the problem its customers want to solve, then present an irresistible solution that prospects can’t help but to take action on. 

Weak copy ignores the needs of its customers, talks more about the product than the outcomes, and fails to entice conversions.  

Thankfully, writing landing page copy that converts doesn’t need to be complicated. 

Simply follow the 13 best practices we outlined in this article, then use the landing page copy template to construct your high-converting landing page. (Don't forget about incorporating a stellar hero shot, too, which you can read all about this in our next blog.)

And if you get stuck at all, just reach out to us to help you through the process. 😉

Finally, we’ll leave you with an oldie but a goodie: years back, we partnered up with Instapage to bring you a landing page copywriting blueprint gifographic (infographic but with gifs). 

Check it out below, and go forth and prosper on your copy optimization journey.