9 replies
Hello guys,

I am currently busy starting my own business. I have a product, I have done market research and feel like it's time to start working on my landing page. I figured that because I am not a professional or even experienced copywriter it would be a good idea to come here for some guidance. Don't hold back on any criticism, I can take it.

Before I go any further I want you guys to know that my product will not be launched in the USA. I live in the Netherlands and the product is meant solely for the Dutch market. While I have tried to write as grammatically correct as I could I might have slipped up a few times.

The product

The product I am selling is aimed at women that love buying shoes. On a reasonably regular basis these women buy shoes that are a tad too big, causing pain. The most common reasons they bought the shoes are that:
"The shoes looked so good and I figured a half size too big wouldn't hurt too bad."
"The shoes were 50% off and I couldn't leave them there."

Ergo, they do like the shoes but hate the fact that walking on them is an absolute torture. That's were my product comes in.

My product is a 'package deal' that consists of four separate products, each of which increases comfort and helps make the shoe the appropriate size. It's price will be around $10.

Headline
I thought of a few headlines and I felt this one was best. The biggest benefit of my product is that women can keep their shoes and walk on them pain-free, which I tried to include in my headlines.

Leave the pain, keep the shoes.
With [my product] your shoes will fit like Cinderella's glass slippers!


Benefits
I looked at a few good landing pages and they all had a checklist with the biggest benefits of the product. I have thought of a lot and felt like these described the product best.

Walk pain-free again.
No need to buy new shoes.
Fits in every shoe, you can't go wrong this time.
Nobody will notice.

Alongside those there are a few others that I feel people are interested in. However, I have a hard time making them sound interesting.

Way cheaper than having them remade.
Super quick solution.

Traffic
I have decided to use three ways of generating traffic.

Facebook ads
The first method is Facebook ads. I am going to target women age 20-45 that have a broad interest in heel, pumps, peep-toes, boots, oxfords etc. These women are most likely to both buy online and have shoes a size too big.

Google adwords
With Google adwords I feel like targeting keywords like 'shoes too big' and 'blisters from shoes' are the way to go. These people are looking for a solution and I am offering it.

Websites
There are multiple shoe-lover websites and I think that my product will be of great benefit for the readers of these blogs. Contacting the owners about advertising possibility is my plan of attack.

The landing page
I am going to use software to create the landing page. I am going for a reasonably simple design. I want the headline in the top left, with the benefits right under that. These will be supported with a before/after image on the right.

I am afraid I won't get enough people to buy immediately for me to make the ads go directly to a sales page worthwhile. However, I think that having to put in an email address when ordering a physical product might seem odd to some women, especially those that do want the information immediately. Therefore I want to create two buttons under the headline and benefits. The first one reading: 'Give me more info right now!' and the second 'Send me the info!' with an optin box next to it. This way I think I can get the highest conversion rate, but I'll have to test it.

I hope this is enough information for you guys to give me some tips.

Any advice is truly appreciated!

Regards,
Bart
#idea #landing #page
  • Profile picture of the author 06blawton
    Originally Posted by Bart de K View Post

    Hello guys,

    I am currently busy starting my own business. I have a product, I have done market research and feel like it's time to start working on my landing page. I figured that because I am not a professional or even experienced copywriter it would be a good idea to come here for some guidance. Don't hold back on any criticism, I can take it.

    Before I go any further I want you guys to know that my product will not be launched in the USA. I live in the Netherlands and the product is meant solely for the Dutch market. While I have tried to write as grammatically correct as I could I might have slipped up a few times.

    The product

    The product I am selling is aimed at women that love buying shoes. On a reasonably regular basis these women buy shoes that are a tad too big, causing pain. The most common reasons they bought the shoes are that:
    "The shoes looked so good and I figured a half size too big wouldn't hurt too bad."
    "The shoes were 50% off and I couldn't leave them there."

    Ergo, they do like the shoes but hate the fact that walking on them is an absolute torture. That's were my product comes in.

    My product is a 'package deal' that consists of four separate products, each of which increases comfort and helps make the shoe the appropriate size. It's price will be around $10.

    Headline
    I thought of a few headlines and I felt this one was best. The biggest benefit of my product is that women can keep their shoes and walk on them pain-free, which I tried to include in my headlines.

    Leave the pain, keep the shoes.
    With [my product] your shoes will fit like Cinderella's glass slippers!


    Benefits
    I looked at a few good landing pages and they all had a checklist with the biggest benefits of the product. I have thought of a lot and felt like these described the product best.

    Walk pain-free again.
    No need to buy new shoes.
    Fits in every shoe, you can't go wrong this time.
    Nobody will notice.

    Alongside those there are a few others that I feel people are interested in. However, I have a hard time making them sound interesting.

    Way cheaper than having them remade.
    Super quick solution.

    Traffic
    I have decided to use three ways of generating traffic.

    Facebook ads
    The first method is Facebook ads. I am going to target women age 20-45 that have a broad interest in heel, pumps, peep-toes, boots, oxfords etc. These women are most likely to both buy online and have shoes a size too big.

    Google adwords
    With Google adwords I feel like targeting keywords like 'shoes too big' and 'blisters from shoes' are the way to go. These people are looking for a solution and I am offering it.

    Websites
    There are multiple shoe-lover websites and I think that my product will be of great benefit for the readers of these blogs. Contacting the owners about advertising possibility is my plan of attack.

    The landing page
    I am going to use software to create the landing page. I am going for a reasonably simple design. I want the headline in the top left, with the benefits right under that. These will be supported with a before/after image on the right.

    I am afraid I won't get enough people to buy immediately for me to make the ads go directly to a sales page worthwhile. However, I think that having to put in an email address when ordering a physical product might seem odd to some women, especially those that do want the information immediately. Therefore I want to create two buttons under the headline and benefits. The first one reading: 'Give me more info right now!' and the second 'Send me the info!' with an optin box next to it. This way I think I can get the highest conversion rate, but I'll have to test it.

    I hope this is enough information for you guys to give me some tips.

    Any advice is truly appreciated!

    Regards,
    Bart
    Hi Bart,

    So just to confirm, your landing page will be in Dutch?

    My main points with the copy are:

    - "Way cheaper than remade" ... this won't be important to anyone. No-one but the most hardcore enthusiasts get shoes remade any more.

    - "Super quick solution" ... be more specific. Will they get delivered tonight? Arrive by tomorrow? Also never use the word 'solution'. I'm not sure if it has the same corporate-speak type ring to it in Dutch, but if it does, don't use it.

    - What's really important to your potential customers? What really frustrates them about their shoes being too big?

    - I imagine an illustration would work well on the landing page for this kind of product. You could depict a scenario where a half-a-size-too-big shoe would get annoying, and then have an 'after' type illustration showing your product as the answer to their problem.

    - With your headline, just test and test and test. Test as many quirky, attention grabbing and uniquely hooked headlines as your budget will allow. I can't comment on your suggested headlines more without knowing more about the market.

    - For FB traffic, don't focus on shoe lovers. A tiny tiny tiny portion of your market will actually 'like' different types of shoe on Facebook. If you have an idea of other places your target market shop online, use a tool like Alexa to get more details for their demographic and go from there.

    - If you want to visitors' details on your landing page, I'd recommend a special offer of some kind. Perhaps a discount on one of your products if they sign up now. Or a coupon for a related shoe store (you'd have to look into joint ventures for this, but it could be worth it).

    And finally, my biggest, most crucial tip of all is...

    If you're not 100% confident with this, I'd recommend hiring another copywriter to do your dirty work.

    They'll most likely get better results than you could in a fraction of the time.

    A copywriter worth his/her salt will also help you to develop your USP/positioning, too.

    It's an investment well worth making.

    Good copy can be worth a thousand salesman with a heap of targeted traffic added to the mix. You will get a return on your investment if you choose a good copywriter.

    Just my two cents. Hope that helped.

    -- Ben Lawton
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  • Profile picture of the author 06blawton
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    • Profile picture of the author Bart de K
      Hi Ben,

      Thanks for taking the time to respond. It's appreciated.

      Indeed, the landing page will be in Dutch. I translated my idea to get good feedback.

      Good points on the benefits. I'll take out the 'cheaper than having them remade' which will leave me with five benefits total. What I meant by quick solution is that, when you receive the product, you'll have your shoes fit in five minutes. Aside from that, customers will receive the product one day after ordering.

      I'll be sure to test headlines and will reconsider Facebook advertising.

      About hiring a copywriter. I am a student on a student budget. I honestly believe a copywriter might be well worth my time and money, but it is not an option right now. Aside from that, I do like the idea of copywriting and this project seems like a great entry-level project to hone my skills. I know that I could get a job, make some money and invest more to get better results. But, while I do take this seriously, I want to experience which parts of business I like and which parts I don't.

      Regards,
      Bart
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      • Profile picture of the author 06blawton
        Originally Posted by Bart de K View Post

        Hi Ben,

        Thanks for taking the time to respond. It's appreciated.

        Indeed, the landing page will be in Dutch. I translated my idea to get good feedback.

        Good points on the benefits. I'll take out the 'cheaper than having them remade' which will leave me with five benefits total. What I meant by quick solution is that, when you receive the product, you'll have your shoes fit in five minutes. Aside from that, customers will receive the product one day after ordering.

        I'll be sure to test headlines and will reconsider Facebook advertising.

        About hiring a copywriter. I am a student on a student budget. I honestly believe a copywriter might be well worth my time and money, but it is not an option right now. Aside from that, I do like the idea of copywriting and this project seems like a great entry-level project to hone my skills. I know that I could get a job, make some money and invest more to get better results. But, while I do take this seriously, I want to experience which parts of business I like and which parts I don't.

        Regards,
        Bart
        Hi Bart,

        No problem.

        I wouldn't even mention the fact that it doesn't take long to put them in. If it's the type of product I'm thinking of, I don't think how long it takes to put them in is something that'll be too important to your prospects.

        They'll know by intuition they they're simple to insert & remove.

        Yeah, I'd recommend getting a part-time job. It takes the immediate pressure off so that you can make better long-term decisions and not be going for the quick buck.

        Not to mention the fact that any business -- unless it's a service business and you can get clients right away -- takes a while to get up and running. This'll be especially true when you have upfront inventory/distribution costs.

        I've done a quick Google search of Dutch copywriters, and this guy might be worth a try:

        Dutch copywriter - Copywriter Collective London

        If you still want to do the copy yourself, I'd recommend looking at the AWAI courses and picking up books from the 'all time greats' -- there'll be plenty of threads on here that mention them. Ogilvy is a good place to start.

        -- Ben Lawton
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  • Profile picture of the author lotsofsnow
    Everything looks good but this is not good:
    Originally Posted by Bart de K View Post

    These will be supported with a before/after image
    "The "Before and after taking" ads are follies of the past. They
    never had a place save with the afflicted. Never let their memory lead
    you to picture the gloomy side of things. "
    Scientific Advertising By Claude C. Hopkins, page 64
    http://www.scientificadvertising.com...dvertising.pdf
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    • Profile picture of the author 06blawton
      Originally Posted by hpgoodboy View Post

      Everything looks good but this is not good:


      "The "Before and after taking" ads are follies of the past. They
      never had a place save with the afflicted. Never let their memory lead
      you to picture the gloomy side of things. "
      Scientific Advertising By Claude C. Hopkins, page 64
      http://www.scientificadvertising.com...dvertising.pdf
      I'd have to disagree.

      Maybe not photos, but a clever illustration that highlights how annoying buying a half-a-size-too-large shoe is, and then shows the relief you'll get once you buy Bart's product, should have a positive effect on conversions if used properly.

      It's a simple way to communicate the value of the product.

      Look at the illustrations on Basecamp's landing page to see what I'm talking about.

      -- Ben Lawton
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    • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
      Banned
      Originally Posted by hpgoodboy View Post

      Everything looks good but this is not good:

      "The "Before and after taking" ads are follies of the past. They
      never had a place save with the afflicted. Never let their memory lead
      you to picture the gloomy side of things. "
      Scientific Advertising By Claude C. Hopkins, page 64
      http://www.scientificadvertising.com...dvertising.pdf
      Whatever gives you that idea? Before and Afters have always worked. They're hypnotic. In some niches they are extremely powerful - weightloss for instance.

      "Never let the memory lead you to picture the gloomy side of things" - from Hopkins "Scientific Advertising" - page 64). That whole chapter doesn't apply much to today.

      Hopkins also said "Don't try to be amusing. Money spending is a serious matter."

      Both are WRONG. They may have applied in 1923 - when that book was written - 91 years ago.

      (Sheesh - as Rick Duris would say)
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    • Profile picture of the author sethczerepak
      Originally Posted by hpgoodboy View Post

      Everything looks good but this is not good:


      "The "Before and after taking" ads are follies of the past. They
      never had a place save with the afflicted. Never let their memory lead
      you to picture the gloomy side of things. "
      Scientific Advertising By Claude C. Hopkins, page 64
      http://www.scientificadvertising.com...dvertising.pdf
      I'm a fan of Claude, but have no idea where he got this idea. Sounds like an opinion. I've created thousands of before and after ads that have worked very well. When done right, they leverage Cognitive Dissonance, which is one of the most powerful forces of human motivation.

      You DO have to dissolve the fears and insecurities associated with the negative experiences, but you have to do the same thing with positive experiences.
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  • Profile picture of the author elmo033057
    Originally Posted by Bart de K View Post

    Hello guys,



    The product I am selling is aimed at women that love buying shoes. On a reasonably regular basis these women buy shoes that are a tad too big, causing pain. The most common reasons they bought the shoes are that:
    "The shoes looked so good and I figured a half size too big wouldn't hurt too bad."
    "The shoes were 50% off and I couldn't leave them there."

    Ergo, they do like the shoes but hate the fact that walking on them is an absolute torture. That's were my product comes in.


    Regards,
    Bart
    Perhaps times have changed or you live in a place where the culture is different, but when I sold ladies shoes in Dallas, Texas they were always trying to fit into shoes that were too small. They hated admitting their feet were a larger size; kind of like buying dresses, they hated to admit they were a bigger size than they were.

    Just a thought. God Bless!

    ELMO
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  • Profile picture of the author Bart de K
    Thanks for all the replies guys.

    I'll look into the before and after pictures. It seems like testing is the only option here.

    Elmo, you are indeed right, buying shoes a size too small is more common. But, more than a few women occasionally buy shoes a size too large as well.

    Regards,
    Bart
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