What is a Squeeze Page and Why Does a Writer Need One?
January 19, 2008Internet Marketing for Writers Turns Ugly
Okay. It doesn’t have to be ugly. In fact, the more successful squeeze pages are actually quite attractive and useful. (See my post “Do Squeeze Pages Really Work?.”)
But What is a Squeeze Page?
A Squeeze Page is a web marketing document. It’s sole purpose is to get the reader to perform an action. That action might be to sign up for an e-newsletter or for some tips. It might be to purchase a book or to hire you for a lecture or a service. Whatever the outcome, the content of the Squeeze page is aimed at encouraging you to do something.
The old style squeeze page included so much text touting the value of the thing being sold that few if any people would actually wade through all of it. The useful portion of having so much data on one page was that the keyword-laden content made the Squeeze Page rank highly on search engine results, while not actually being useful to the person searching. For that reason, unless the person landed there in response to an ad, they provide diminishing returns.
Modern Squeeze Pages address this by actually providing useful information to their readers, then embedding a small “Call to Action” somewhere in the page. You can see an example of this on this blog entry. If you look to the right, you’ll see a link to purchase my book, as well as a link to sign up for my “15 Tips for Writers.” This type of Squeeze Page is called a “Hybrid Squeeze Page,” or “Reverse Squeeze Page.”
Why Does a Writer Need One?
Writers are in the business of selling their writing. A Squeeze Page can serve several purposes:
- Sell Your Book
- Sell Your Expertise As A Service
- Collect Contact Information To Build Your Platform
For more on platforms, see my previous article, “The Platform: The Writer’s Best Friend and Worst Nightmare.”
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Nice Post and your site really looks great.
Keep up the good work!
http://www.the-absolute-greatest.com
Hello, This is Noe…from Kyle Texas.
Just want to pass on some great information on to your readers. My friend, James Grandstaff revealed something that I found quite interesting… About “squeeze page”. Well, James surveyed approx. 500 people on his list who are interested in making money online. Many stated they were interested in affiliate marketing, product creation, MLM, etc… One of the questions was “Do you know what a “Squeeze Page” is?” 68.05% answered yes and 31.95% answered NO. To be honest… I was shocked that 31.95% said no. What about you? In light of this shocking survey data I decided to write this post today to go over the very basics of what a squeeze page is and why you should be using them in your business (if you are not already.) And for those of you who already use them, pay attention. You will probably learn something too. Here goes… A squeeze page which is also known as a “lead capture page” or “name squeeze page” is a simple web page with one purpose; to get your visitor to give you their name and email address so you can follow-up with them. That’s it. One of the best ways to get someone to opt-in to your squeeze page is by offering something of high perceived value such as a mini ecourse or a highly targeted eBook. Good example, let’s say you are promoting a multi-level marketing business opportunity. The products are great and you are a raving fan. Most people would just start promoting the website the company supplies. I say no. This is a perfect opportunity to implement the use of a squeeze page and offer something of value first. That way, you collect the leads, you follow-up with an introduction of yourself and begin building a long lasting business relationship. In sales, what we are really selling is “us” first, then the product. You always want to provide value first. Once your prospects warm up to you, then it’s time to ask the right questions to determine if your product or business opportunity can help solve their needs. If you’d like to see a high quality, high converting squeeze page that James has put together, you can visit the link. It’s important to read the “thank you” page on the other side you can get an idea of how the whole process works. Until next time… Yours in success, Noe Vela
Just read your article, but I would like to know, (because this is all new to me) how do you apply the squeeze page to drop into your home page?
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Well, the point of a squeeze page is to funnel a person toward performing a particular action. For that reason, it’s not really effective to “drop” one into a home page. The home page of a web site offers too many options for a user. Think of a squeeze page as a humane mouse trap. You bait the trap with hints of information that the person might be looking for, special offers, agitating a perceived problem the visitor has…whatever. You only leave them two ways out: leave the page or perform the action you want them to perform (buy now, subscribe now, etc.).
For instance, I have a new marketing workbook that’s coming out in October (Marketing for Writers: A Practical Workbook). If I were to create a squeeze page for that, It would be a stand-alone page offering information about my product, free samples, testimonials, bulleted lists as to why you need my product and what it can do for you, and periodic chances down the page to purchase. Maybe a special offer. At the bottom, I might mention that if you’re not convinced, you could sign up for my free 15 tips. At the end of the tips, I’d give another offer to purchase. Do you see how this works?
For a home page, you’d would be more interested in a “reverse” or “hybrid” squeeze page. In that instance, you would put the “Act Now” option on every page of your site. In that way, the whole website becomes the sales pitch.
(See my earlier post “Do Squeeze Pages Really Work?” for more information.)
Think squeeze page=hard sell; hybrid squeeze page=soft sell.
I think I’ll do an analysis of one in a future post. Thanks for the comment and the future post idea!
Angela
P.S. I’ve moved my blog over to a self hosted platform at http://www.angelarender.com/internetmarketingtips
Take Care!
Hi guys,
Where can I get Squeeze Page development product?
Thanks!