How Your Startup Can Benefit From Lead Generation Landing Pages

Usually, when people write about landing pages, they tend to write about those pages that come at the very bottom of the purchasing funnel – the converting money pages, so to say. And this is perfectly understandable. 

However, we must not neglect the top of the purchasing funnel, the lead generation part – a part that’s especially important for startups, which usually cannot rely on past glory, established connections, or big marketing budgets. 

In this article, you will find out what lead generation landing pages can do for startups, learn about the different types of these pages, and find a couple of tips on how to make them effective. 

There are more than a few ways in which carefully thought-out and realized lead generation landing pages can benefit your startup. 

For example, even in a pre-launch stage, a well-executed ‘coming soon’ page can be a valuable source of important information – the most pertinent being, of course, how many people are actually interested in what you are building. 

Coming soon landing pages are usually the last step in marketing campaigns that include pitches, guest blogging, social media efforts, and more, all aimed at sending people to the page. 

Some coming soon pages also try to find out more about the future early adopters, asking them what they would like to get from the future product. It’s doubtful that most startups will get enough responses to actually influence their roadmap this way, but you can always try. 

Lead generation landing pages can also be used to find out how your market segmentation and targeting are working out. Namely, you will probably have the market segments that you will be targeting with different campaigns (social, paid, content, etc.). By assigning them different customized lead generation landing pages, you can not only find out how effective your campaigns are, but you can also increase the chances of turning them into actual leads.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to using lead generation landing pages to inform and modify your purchasing funnel. 

In addition to this, lead generation landing pages can be a great tool for reaching people who didn’t even realize they needed a product like yours. A well-promoted lead magnet, such as a guide, a whitepaper, or a calculator (just an example of a simple app) will be of interest even to people who may not know they have a need for your product. After getting their information/email, you can later show them that they do. 

Your lead generation landing pages will target your visitors throughout the various parts of the purchasing funnel, and you may have various ideas as to what to do with them. However, the best way to categorize such landing pages is by the type of lead magnet you are offering. 

Demos/Trials: People love to try out a product before they commit to it, so offering free demos and trials is one of the most effective lead magnets. HubSpot’s free demo page is a great example of this. For added benefit, you can run a campaign to find out how people used your product during their free demo/trial, what they liked and what they didn’t, what else they need, etc. 

Calculators/comparisons/quizzes:  Interactive quizzes and calculators can also be great lead magnets. They are short-form, quick, and dynamic, providing information for visitors without being overbearing. EnergySeek’s interactive comparison for energy savings is a fine example. You don’t even have to code it yourself – you can embed a TypeForm survey, like Bibium did, for example. 

Original, comprehensive resources: White papers, ebooks, original data from surveys or other sources, and guides are just some types of original, extensive resources that can be particularly effective as magnet leads. People will definitely not mind leaving their email and some info for high-quality resources they cannot find anywhere else. A great example of this is VersionOne’s State of Agile report, the most comprehensive annual report on agile practices. 

Webinars/courses: Who doesn’t like to learn something new? Think of a topic that is closely connected to what your startup offers and do some knowledge-sharing. Check out Ahrefs’ Academy for a very straightforward and non-invasive example. 

Newsletters/podcasts: Another great way to generate leads is to have landing pages that tout podcast updates and newsletters like SmashVC’s where subscribers will get exclusive, super fresh content that will be of interest to them. 

Not all lead generation landing pages are the same and it would require an entire 50-page guide to even try and cover all of the best practices for different types, but there are a couple of tips that should work for the majority of them.

Keep it simple: Do not write novels with a thousand CTAs and fields to fill. The copy should be skimmable and to the point. The CTAs should be inviting and always reinforcing the benefit for the visitor. If you have to do forms, keep them to a minimum number of fields, the bare essentials (most often, only the email and the first name will do). 

Tell them what they’re getting: Always make it about what the visitors are getting from you in exchange for their email address. Is it the best free trial ever? Is it the most incredible newsletter in the world? Is it data they cannot get anywhere else? Make sure it is clear. 

Instill trust: Unless you have a team of superstar founders with multimillion exits behind them, people probably haven’t heard of you and they don’t know why they should trust you. Make them trust you. Give them the facts, give them testimonials, show them awards, and so on. Make them trust you with their personal information.

Make it exclusive/urgent/scarce: It is a well-known fact that rational thinking plays a relatively minor role when purchasing (or in our case, giving personal information for the magnet lead). Exclusivity, urgency, and scarcity are some of the most potent motivators for making decisions, and you should address them with your lead generation landing pages. Put time-limits on special free trial periods, emphasize the expertise behind your research, boast guest speakers on your podcast/blog, etc.  

Lead generation landing pages often get neglected as an essential part of a startup’s purchasing funnel, and that is a mistake. If done right, they can be a great source of not only new leads, but some useful insights as well.