The cornerstone of any marketing campaign is to encourage your audience to perform an action, such as enquire about a product or service or buy something from you.

Deciding what action you want your audience to take after viewing your advert or post on website/social media, is the first task when developing your marketing plan.

Asking your audience to call you provides you the chance to directly engage with prospective buyers and build a relationship. However, it does require the prospective buyer to take a leap – pick up the phone and dial. Not that easy for some (especially during work hours).

Likewise, asking your audience to email you also demands something of them. They need to type, even if it is only to introduce themselves and ask for more information.

Just providing a website address is fine if your objective is to increase traffic to your website. But if you are trying to attract leads, you are simply hoping they continue browsing and eventually find your horses or services to enquire on. Quite a few steps for the prospective buyer to make.

A web “landing page” with a simple contact form is a better alternative to convert your marketing audience into sales leads.

A landing page could be an existing page on your website that visitors end up viewing whenever they click on a link shared in an email, on social media or in online advertising.

Alternatively, it could be a standalone page explicitly designed to communicate further details and a “call to action”. Unlike the rest of your website which can be informational, educational or entertaining (or all of the above), the goal of a standalone landing page is singular – take action.

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Keap’s standalone landing pages can help you attract more sales leads, convert existing leads into sales, record expressions of interest for an upcoming sales event such as a yearling sale, or record RSVPs to an upcoming event.

Keap’s Landing Page builder offers great functionality to refine the layout of your landing pages. It is almost identical to the new email builder discussed in this article. This reduces the time needed to learn how to build email broadcasts and landing pages.

Below are 7 principles of effective landing pages that we choose to follow. Can we help you build your landing pages?

1 Keep it simple

Once your visitors land upon your designated landing page, they shouldn’t be scared away by too much information or too many options.

Provide just enough information to encourage that next step – an enquiry on your horse – but leave something up your sleeve to provide them when they enquire. This is often referred to as a “lead magnet”.

2 A killer headline

The headline is for capturing the attention of your visitor. It’s the most important element on the landing page.

According to research (Ted Nicholas), “73 percent of buying decisions are made at the point of the headline.”

The headline should capture the reader’s attention, inform and educate the reader, and be short and precise.

3 Use video, correctly

Video can provide a valuable dynamic and personal addition to a landing page. However, if used incorrectly, video can be dangerous. Be sure to keep your customers in control of the experience by keeping videos to 60 seconds or less. And the first ten seconds must be about what you are selling – not about your business and certainly not your logo (you are not selling your logo!).

4 A clear call to action

A call to action (CTA) entices the prospect to complete your objective as easily as possible.

In our view, the easiest option for the prospect is for them to complete a brief contact form with their name and email address (and optionally their phone number) to receive more details via email.

A landing page should therefore have a clear, highly visible call to action (CTA) form ready for completion.

5 No easy exits

The less places for visitors to click or divert to, the more likely they are to complete your objective. Give visitors few options (or none) to leave your landing page without completing the contact form.

One call to action form (or button) is advised. A second option may be viable in some circumstances. For example, you may choose to offer the visitor the chance to browse more racehorses available in your website, just in case they view all details on this specific horse but are not interested.

6 Less is more

A short, concise contact form is a must. If your form is too complicated and asks the visitor to enter too many details, they will be put off.

7 Automate for email response

A good landing page encourages the visitor to provide their email address. We can configure your Keap app to automatically email further information to the contact to create a great first impression – and exactly when the contact is on the computer or device.

Review our article Add inbound enquiry automation to your marketing

It’s essential to respect the preferences of your mailing list subscribers and deliver relevant content. One way to achieve this is by creating an email preference centre.

Technical Level: 2 out of 5
Read time: 3 mins
Who should read this?: Any Keap user responsible for designing email broadcasts.

In this guide, we’ll explore why you should invest in building an email preference centre and how it can benefit both subscribers and your marketing results.

More likely than not, we have built an email preference centre for you already in your Keap CRM app. If not, or if you are not using it, please get in touch with us and we’ll help you get it going in minutes.

1 Enhance User Experience

Providing subscribers with the ability to customise their email preferences improves the overall user experience. Subscribers appreciate you respecting their time and their inbox. When they can choose the type and frequency of emails they receive, you can deliver more relevant and valuable messages. They’re more likely to stay engaged (open and click your emails) and less likely to mark messages as spam.

2 Reduce Unsubscribes

When subscribers receive too many irrelevant emails, they’re more likely to unsubscribe. An email preference centre can help prevent this by allowing users to opt-out of specific email types, or reduce email frequency. This reduces the risk of losing subscribers altogether and helps maintain a healthy email list.

3 Improve Email Inbox Placement

Email preference centres help you maintain a clean and engaged list of email recipients. Higher open and click rates and lower unsubscribes improves the chances of ALL emails reaching your recipients’ inboxes and not their spam folders.

4 Gather Valuable Data for Targeted Sales

Email preference centres also serve as a source of valuable data. By tracking subscriber preferences, you gain insight into their interests. This information can help you segment your email list more effectively, create personalised content and target specific customer segments with relevant offers.

5 Build Trust and Transparency

Transparency is essential in email marketing. Providing subscribers with an easy way to manage their preferences demonstrates your commitment to transparency and respect for their choices. Building trust with your audience can lead to increased loyalty and long-term customer relationships.

6 Adapt to Changing Preferences

Subscriber preferences can change over time. What was relevant to them a year ago may not be relevant today. An email preference centre allows subscribers to update their preferences as their interests evolve, ensuring your emails remain aligned with their current needs and preferences.

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So, if you haven’t already, consider building an email preference centre by using a Keap web form or landing page with custom Yes/No fields.

We have created “Mailing List” custom fields in your Keap app, for this purpose. For example:

• List: News
• List: Ownership
• List: Events

You may have other types of email content or choices for your mailing list subscribers.

At the bottom of ALL of your email broadcasts, we recommend ALWAYS including a link to this email preference centre so your mailing list subscribers can constantly choose what emails they wish to, or wish not to, receive.