As mentioned in part 1 of this article (Five Steps to Effective E-Mail Marketing for Your Small Business: Part 1, the E-Mail Message), the landing page is what the visitors see when clicking a “call-to-action” link in the e-mail message. Not only does a landing page allow you to reaffirm what you’ve stated in the e-mail message, it also provides information to visitors who might otherwise write or call to find out more. This allows you to extend the conversation and present more appealing information and images that directly relate to your product or service.

Why Did I Come Here?

Whisked away from an e-mail in-box by clicking a link to the landing page, visitors might immediately ask, “Why did I come here?” The landing page is the answer to that question. It’s your chance to remind visitors why they clicked the e-mail link, an opportunity to continue the conversation and describe the benefits of your product or service. It is worthwhile to repeat the key benefits outlined in the e-mail in the following ways, keeping the conversation light:

• bullet list
• description of next steps
• informative, appealing graphics

Besides allowing you to answer basic questions, a landing page also gives you the opportunity to elaborate on features and benefits of your product or service.

Tell Me What to Do

Because visitors skim your pages, it is important to engage them visually and use clear-cut instructions. In other words, you need to tell them exactly what to do. This doesn’t guarantee anything, of course, but sometimes visitors simply need explicit instructions before they’ll do anything at all on a landing page.

More Info, Please

Answering questions and providing visitors with useful information helps ensure that you can put them at ease. Think face to face, where you’re able to present a positive image of your company, allowing customers to trust that you understand and can respond to their needs. A landing page works similarly, answering questions in a conversational tone and cultivating trust by intuitively offering answers to questions visitors might have.

• “What is your return policy?”
• “What if I’m not satisfied with your service?”
• “What if I find a better deal elsewhere?”
• “How do I speak with someone in person?”

Depending on the product or service you specialize in, answering these concerns will help ease the transition from potential customer to committed buyer.

How Do I Buy This?

Once you finish answering basic questions, one of the next steps might be to encourage the purchase of a product or service, which is why you should include some form of shopping cart on the landing page. This may be the only chance you have to guide visitors toward a purchase. So featuring a “Shop Now” or “Buy Now” button or something similar is a must.

Sign Me Up

Because site visitors might not be fully committed to buying when they first visit a landing page, including a signup form on every page of your site. Not only do you build a list of potential customers, but you also give visitors the opportunity to opt in whenever you have news or offers to share.

Say Thank You

Finally, whether or not you offer a freebie of some sort after registration (e.g., special report, tip sheet, guide), make sure to say thank you for the visit. This simple word of gratitude gives you the chance to say, “If you like what we have to offer, please feel free to share this site with your friends.” Social media buttons such as Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon and others (see addthis.com) make that a simple task, and you should include a way for visitors to e-mail a link of the site to friends.

Answering visitors’ questions, anticipating their needs, and offering them a chance to sign up or buy is a way to nurture trust and leave visitors feeling glad they clicked a link to your landing page.