Home pages, landing pages, sales pages... oh my!
😵💫 These terms are thrown around online and VERY frequently confused. Just like any industry, marketing has a lot of jargon. It's easy to mix these pages up.
Here's a little secret - even inside one of my copywriting communities, sales pages and landing pages are confused on a weekly basis. (And they're budding copywriters!)
Fear not, by the end of this blog, you'll understand Home Pages, Landing Pages, and Sales Pages. You'll know when to use them... and more importantly, how they'll help your business!
Here's the main reasons you should know the difference between these online pages:
➡️ You want to be an informed consumer and avoid getting hoodwinked by the less-than-ethical marketers. You also run the risk of getting the wrong type of page that won't help your funnel.
When you're not clear about what you want or need, it's easy to have a project go sideways. It's not fun for the copywriter or the client.
When I was a brand new copywriter (fresh outta healthcare and trying to hang up my isolation gown in exchange for a non-clinical career) I was asked to write a sales page for a company.
I was excited about the company -- they totally aligned with my values and I could promote them without a shadow of a doubt in my mind. I dug in, researched, grabbed templates and outlines and wrote the very best sales page I could muster.
But unfortunately I hadn't paused long enough to ask them exactly where this sales page was going to live in their sales funnel... and it turns out they actually wanted a website page. Womp womp... it's a time-consuming mistake. (But you won't have to fall into this trap -- because you'll know better!)
You probably don't want a marketing terminology course... so I'll keep this snappy.
What's the difference between a Home Page, Landing Page, and Sales Page?
🏠 The Home Page:
This is the first page of your website. It's job is to pique the interest of visitors and make them want to learn more about you and your business.
Most likely the way your home page does this is by encouraging people to join your email list where you can connect with them, nurture, and eventually sell your services.
Your home page also acts like a very detailed business card -- it's there for people to refer to and remind themselves what you're all about in case they forget.
We can put it in this context to help it make even more sense:
It would be weird to ask someone to marry you when you first meet them, right? Yeah... don't ask new website visitors to immediately jump into your program. Ask them on a date first - aka your email list.
Oftentimes the job of your home page is to educate visitors and offer a valuable opt-in so people will join your email list and give you the opportunity to build a relationship with them.
Your home page is like your front yard. It's representing your business and hopefully feels like a place they'd like to come visit again... or maybe step up to the front porch and get to know you.
✈️ The Landing Page -- An important and often confusing piece of your online marketing
This is a catch-all term for various pages — which is probably why it's the most confused page I know.
(Hmm... maybe a bit like occupational therapy. Does anyone *actually* know what we do?)
A landing page is literally a place where people "land" after they click a link or button from somewhere in internet-land.
But these aren't crash-landings.
Landing pages are strategic — their job is to get the visitor to take one small action, which is one step further into the marketing funnel.
Often people "land" on landing pages after already knowing a bit about your company, whereas they may land on your home page from an internet search and they've never heard of you before. This is why landing pages don't have to be as in-depth as your website home page. (typically)
You can have a landing page as a stand-alone opt-in page where you offer someone a free webinar, download, or resource in exchange for their email address. People landing on this page don't have to think too hard about putting their information in -- we're all used to subscribing to email lists and then unsubscribing later.
A slightly longer landing page is a squeeze page. It's names this because it "squeezes" information from people... kind of a gross name, but you don't have to gross about your marketing. You can create ethical squeeze pages. This type of page may ask a bit more about people including birthday, ages of kids, state you live in, occupation, or any other bits of information that the business owner wants to be able to use.
Other landing pages include check-out pages, sales pages, joining a challenge, waitlists... there are almost endless variations of landing pages.
Yep -- a sales page is a type of landing page... but not all landing pages are sales pages!
💸 The Sales Page:
This one's my favorite... and my specialty. 😉
A sales page is one specific type of landing page.
Think back to geometry class for a minute. "All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares?" <-- sound familiar?
All sales pages are landing pages... but not all landing pages are sales pages!
You basically know what a sales page does based on it's name, but it actually goes beyond "making a sale."
The sales page explains exactly how a course/program will solve a problem and bring the person to a better, brighter future
It walks the reader through a sales conversation, much like how you'd talk to a friend who needed some type of help or support but wasn't sure about taking action. It explains the problem, why other things haven't worked, what it looks like after the problem is solved, and then explains all the features and benefits of the thing it's selling. And of course it gives you the opportunity to buy as well.
Sales pages do another thing as well... they help people understand if they're NOT the right fit for the program/course.
🛑 WAIT — The sales page's job is to NOT sell to someone sometimes???
Yes!
➡️ Sales are important, but it's ALSO important to ensure customers are informed and make the best decision for their situation.
The sales page empowers people to take positive action and change their situation... or self-select out and find something else.
It's a delicate balance, but oh so worth the time and effort to get it right.
That's the core differences in a nutshell!
Home Pages — Landing Pages — Sales Pages
Each one of these serves a specific purpose in your marketing funnel, otherwise known as the client journey. (That's just marketing lingo for all the times people see your content or hear about you before they take action and hire you.)
I'm curious if you learned something new and how you'll apply this to your marketing... drop me a DM on Instagram.
Does funnel and sales page talk make your head spin?
Do you wish someone would tell you exactly what to do to get more sales... or just take the whole thing off your plate completely?
Good news— that's what I'm here for.
Done-for-you copywriting and marketing consults.
Click here to send me your info and see if we'll make a great copywriting team -- I can't wait!
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