Landing Page Copy

Landing Page Copy

Overview

Landing page copy is not literature. It is salesmanship in text. Every word either moves the visitor toward conversion or gives them a reason to leave. The mistake: writing copy that sounds clever instead of copy that closes. "Revolutionary AI-powered workflow optimization" sounds smart to the writer. It means nothing to a visitor who wants to know "will this save me 10 hours a week?" This skill covers conversion copy frameworks, section-by-section patterns, and testing methodology — built on the shoulders of Joanna Wiebe, Oli Gardner, Harry Dry, and the direct response legends.

When to Use

Trigger phrases: "landing page copy", "hero copywriting", "CTA optimization", "conversion copy", "sales page copy", "write landing page", "optimize hero section", "A/B test landing page copy", "messaging for landing page", "headline formulas", "value proposition copy"

Authoritative Foundations

Joanna Wiebe — Copyhackers

"The first rule of conversion copy: start with the problem, not the product. Nobody cares about your product. They care about their problem. Show them you understand their problem better than they do — then show the solution."

Wiebe's 3-step persuasion:

1. I know what you're going through (empathy with the problem)
2. Here's what's possible instead (the promised land)
3. Here's how to get there (your product)

Oli Gardner — Unbounce

"The 5-second rule: within 5 seconds of landing on your page, a visitor should be able to answer: What is this? What's in it for me? What do I do next?"

Gardner's attention ratio: Every page should have exactly ONE conversion goal. If there are 10 links on the page and 1 CTA, the attention ratio is 10:1. Reduce links, increase conversions.

Harry Dry — Marketing Examples

"Don't tell me your product is fast. Show me a screenshot of the load time. Don't tell me customers love you. Show me the exact quote. Don't tell me you grew fast. Show me the revenue chart. Show, don't tell — always."

Eugene Schwartz — Breakthrough Advertising (1966)

"There are two kinds of copy: copy that creates desire, and copy that channels existing desire. The latter is far easier and far more profitable. Find the desire. Channel it. Don't try to create it."

The Landing Page Copy Architecture

Section 1: Hero (Above the Fold)

The most valuable real estate on your entire website. 80%+ of visitors never scroll past the hero. You have 3-5 seconds before they leave.

Headline formula — 5 patterns that work:

Headline rules (Wiebe + Gardner):

• Under 12 words. 6-8 is the sweet spot.
• No jargon. No "revolutionary," "advanced," "best-in-class."
• Specific over clever. "47% reply rate" > "Unlock email potential"
• The visitor should know what you do AND why they should care in one read

Subheadline (1-2 sentences): Expands on the headline. Clarifies who it's for and what they get. Concrete, not abstract. "12,000+ sales teams use LeadMagic to find and verify prospect emails — built directly into their workflow."

Hero CTA copy:

Hero CTA rules:

• Button text = the action + the value. "Start free trial" (action + zero-risk). "Get your score" (action + value). "Find emails now" (action + urgency).
• ONE primary CTA. Two CTAs split attention and reduce conversion.
• Supporting text directly below button: answer the #1 anxiety ("No credit card," "14-day free trial," "Cancel anytime").
• Secondary CTA (if you must): not competing. Smaller. Less prominent. "See how it works" or "Watch demo" — NOT "Contact sales" next to "Start trial."

Section 2: Social Proof

Place IMMEDIATELY after hero. The visitor just learned what you do. Now they need to know: "Do other people trust this?"

Social proof hierarchy (most to least effective):

1. Customer results with specific numbers: "Acme Corp increased reply rates from 3% to 47% in 30 days." Specific. Verifiable. Powerful.
2. Customer quotes with full attribution: "LeadMagic paid for itself in the first week." — Jane Smith, VP Sales, Acme Corp. Not: "Great product!" — Jane S.
3. Customer logos (recognizable names): 6-8 logos in a row. "Trusted by 2,000+ teams." Best if the visitor recognizes the logos.
4. Aggregate metrics: "12,000+ companies. 500M+ emails verified. 99.5% accuracy."
5. Media / press mentions: "As featured in TechCrunch, SaaStr, First Round Review"
6. Star ratings / review count: "4.8/5 on G2 (500+ reviews)"

Social proof copy rules (Harry Dry):

• Every claim needs proof. "Trusted by 2,000+ teams" — show the logos or the counter.
• Quotes must be specific. "We got 47% reply rates" > "We love it"
• Attribution is mandatory. No "Jane S." — full name, title, company.
• Place the strongest proof closest to the CTA.

Section 3: Value Propositions

3-5 value props. Each: icon + headline + one sentence.

Wiebe's "So what?" test: For every feature you want to list, ask "so what?" until you reach the actual benefit.

• "AI-powered email finder" → So what? → "Find any email in 30 seconds" → So what? → "Fill your pipeline 3x faster than manual research" → That's the value prop. Not the feature.

Value prop formulas:

Structure per value prop:

• Icon: Visual anchor (keep it simple — a checkmark, not an illustration)
• Headline: The outcome, bold, 3-7 words
• Subhead: One sentence. Concrete. "Our waterfall enrichment checks 25+ data sources simultaneously so you never miss a valid email."

Section 4: How It Works

3 steps. Keep it simple. The visitor doesn't need to understand your architecture. They need to understand: "Is this easy to use?"

Step structure:

• Number + Headline: "1. Enter a name and company"
• One sentence: "Type a prospect's name and company — we do the rest."
• Visual: Screenshot or simple diagram showing the step

The 3 steps must answer:

1. What do I do? (input)
2. What happens? (process — briefly)
3. What do I get? (output)

Section 5: Feature Grid

6 features. 2-column or 3-column grid. Each: feature name + one sentence + checkmark or icon.

Feature copy rules:

• Feature name: noun phrase. "Bulk Verification." Not "You can verify in bulk."
• Description: what it DOES for the user. "Verify 10,000 emails in one upload." Not: "Our bulk verification engine utilizes multi-threaded processing."
• Group by benefit: "Save Time" row, "Improve Accuracy" row, "Scale Outreach" row

Section 6: Pricing

3 tiers. One recommended. Annual default.

Pricing copy rules (see pricing-psychology skill for deep dive):

• Recommended tier: "Most Popular" badge. 70-80% of customers will choose it.
• Plan names: descriptive, not clever. "Starter," "Growth," "Enterprise." Not "Solo," "Team," "Business" (ambiguous).
• Feature lists: checkmarks for included. Dashes for not included. Never X marks.
• Enterprise: "Contact us" not a price. This is a feature, not a bug — enterprise deals need conversation.
• Annual savings: show the monthly equivalent. "$49/mo billed annually" (not "$588/yr" — anchoring to the lower number). Show monthly price as comparison.

Section 7: Objection Handling (before the FAQ)

Anticipate and kill objections BEFORE they reach the FAQ. Place objection handling copy at the point in the page where the objection naturally arises.

Objection handling formula (Wiebe):

1. State the objection (prove you understand their concern)
2. Address it directly with substantiated facts; do not invent assurances
3. Flip to benefit (why it's not a problem for YOUR product)

Section 8: FAQ

6-8 questions. Write them from customer conversations, not your imagination.

Required FAQ questions: Is there a free trial? Do I need a credit card? Can I cancel anytime? What integrations do you support? Is my data secure? How is this different from [competitor]? What kind of support do you offer? What happens after the trial?

FAQ copy rules:

• Question = customer's exact words. "Do I need to talk to sales to get started?" Not: "What is the onboarding process?"
• Answer = 2-3 sentences max. Link to more detail if needed.
• No marketing language in answers. Straight answers build trust.

Section 9: Final CTA

Repeat the hero CTA. Same message. Same button text. Consistency matters.

Visitors who scroll to the bottom were interested enough to read everything. Don't confuse them with a different offer now.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Landing Page Copy

A/B Testing Landing Page Copy

What to test (in order of impact):

1. Headline (biggest lever — 10-30% conversion swings)
2. CTA button text (5-15%)
3. Hero image vs. no image (5-10%)
4. Social proof placement (5-10%)
5. Pricing page layout (3-8%)

How to test (CXL / Wynter methodology):

1. Hypothesis: "Changing headline from X to Y will increase conversion by Z% because [reason]."
2. Traffic requirement: minimum 100 conversions per variant for statistical significance. 500+ is better.
3. Run until significance (use a calculator — don't eyeball it).
4. If winner is clear: ship it. Start testing the next element.
5. If no clear winner: the difference is noise. Test something bigger.

Pre-test with message testing (Wynter / UserTesting): Before A/B testing live, test your copy with 10-20 people from your ICP. Ask: "What do you think this product does?" "What would make you sign up?" "What's confusing?" Fix the confusion before spending traffic on A/B tests.

Output Format

LANDING PAGE COPY DECK — [Page Name]

HERO:
- Headline: [formula + rationale]
- Subhead: [one sentence]
- Primary CTA: [button text]
- Supporting text: [anxiety killer]
- Secondary CTA: [if any]

SOCIAL PROOF:
1. [Specific result + attribution]
2. [Customer logos]
3. [Aggregate metric]

VALUE PROPS (3-5):
1. [Outcome] — [one sentence]
2. ...
3. ...

HOW IT WORKS (3 steps):
1. [Action]
2. [Action]
3. [Action]

OBJECTION HANDLING:
- [Where] → [Objection] → [Response]

FINAL CTA: [same as hero]

Implementation Checklist

• Headline is specific and under 12 words (test: "would my ICP stop scrolling?")
• Hero communicates what it is and why it matters in <5 seconds
• Every feature is rewritten as a benefit (test: "so what?")
• CTA button text is action + value — not "Submit"
• Social proof has specific results with full attribution
• Objections handled inline (not just FAQ)
• No jargon, no passive voice, no "revolutionary" anywhere
• Page passes the "grandma test": can a non-expert understand it?
• A/B test plan ready with hypothesis and success metric
• Every claim has evidence (number, screenshot, quote, or source)

Quality Check

Before delivering, verify:

• Output matches the user's stated request
• Named frameworks or sources are reflected in the recommendation
• The deliverable is specific enough for an agent to execute
• Any assumptions, risks, or dependencies are explicit
• No unsupported claims, invented facts, or private/internal references are included

Common Pitfalls

1. Clever over clear. "We're the Salesforce of email" = I need to know what Salesforce is to understand you. Just say what you do. Fix: "Find any email in 30 seconds." No metaphors. No analogies. Just the outcome.

2. Feature vomit in the hero. "AI-powered, multi-threaded, cloud-native email verification platform with enterprise-grade security..." Nobody reads past the fourth word. Fix: One headline. One subhead. Two CTAs. Everything else goes below the fold.

3. No anxiety reduction. "Start free trial" with no supporting text = "but what's the catch?" Fix: Add "No credit card required" or "14-day trial" or "Cancel anytime" directly below the button.

4. Lazy social proof. "Trusted by leading companies" with no logos, no names, no metrics. This is less credible than NO social proof. Fix: Logos, specific results, full attribution, or aggregate metrics. Something real.

5. Testing too small. Testing "button color" when the headline is vague = optimizing deck chairs on the Titanic. Fix: Test the biggest lever first. Headline. Then CTA. Then social proof placement.

6. Copy written in isolation. Marketing writes copy. Sales hears objections daily. They never talk. Fix: Interview 3 salespeople. Ask: "What are the top 5 objections you hear?" Address every one of them on the landing page.

Execution Artifacts

• references/framework-notes.md — Named frameworks and reference tables
• templates/output-template.md — Deliverable shell for agent output
• scripts/check-output.py — Lightweight deliverable validator

Related Skills

• copywriting — Marketing copy fundamentals, Cialdini principles
• landing-pages — CRO audits, conversion patterns, form design
• v0-lander — Build landing pages with v0 by Vercel
• vibe-marketing — AI-powered content at scale
• a-b-testing — Experiment design and statistical significance
• design-system-gtm — Brand consistency across landing pages
• ui-ux-gtm — Landing page UX and accessibility