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I talk a lot about the importance of building an email list as a digital product seller. Not only is it a great form of marketing, having an audience allows you to seamlessly move and grow between multiple platforms. It is great for growth, and it is also a solid backup should you lose access to a platform such as Etsy, Amazon or Shopify.
Building a landing page is simple. Learning how to create a landing page on ConvertKit will only take you around 10-15 minutes, but it will be a monumental step in growing your online business. Then, you can build your mailing list through Etsy, or your preferred digital product platform.
Note: If you do not have a Convertkit account yet, open one NOW. Come back to this tutorial later. It’s free for your first 300 subscribers, and will easily pay itself off as it grows. Plus, creating a landing page in ConvertKit is FREE (and very easy once you get the hang of it).
Sign up for ConvertkitBefore you start: deciding on your sign-up incentive
Before you learn how to create a landing page on ConvertKit, you must first decide on the reason why people will be willing to sign up to your mailing list.
Think about all those annoying pop-ups on websites that encourage you to sign up to an email list. Many without offering anything in return. How many times have you actually entered your email address? Very few (if at all) I imagine.
To encourage people to sign up to your email list through your landing page, you should offer a killer incentive to your customers. Some examples of incentives to offer your customer include:
- A free digital product (HIGHEST CONVERSION)
- A promo or discount code for Etsy or any other platform you sell on
- An ebook or guidebook with more relevant information to your niche
- Early access to a course or free training program
- Any other reason you can think of that would encourage YOU to sign up if you were the customer
In the example below, I am going to show you how to create a landing page on ConvertKit, that uses a free product as the incentive. The landing page is aimed at customers from my planprintland Etsy shop, who have already purchased from me and thus would be interested in the free product I am offering.
I have different landing pages for different categories of purchase (I.e. Digital planners, Printable planners, Kids Planners)
SEE THE REST OF THE SOFTWARE I USE IN MY DIGITAL PRODUCT BUSINESSHow To Create A Landing Page On ConvertKit
Step 1: Open the ConvertKit landing page builder
On your ConvertKit dashboard, click the red button in the top right hand corner that says ‘Create a new…’ and select ‘Landing Page’
Step 2: Choose your email landing page template
Next it’s time to select your landing page template. It may be a good idea to play around with the builder to get used to it, before building your final landing page. Y
ou can use the ‘Filter by Category’ checkboxes on the left hand side to see which landing pages are best suited for each use. You can also use the ‘preview’ button to see how the template will look live.
I have chosen ‘Breeze’, as it is quite a simple template to use, but still looks nice enough as a sign up page. Once you are more comfortable with the landing page builder on ConvertKit, the more complex landing page templates become a lot more simple to manage.
Step 3: Edit your email landing page copy
Copywriting is a learned skill. It can be tough to know exactly what to include on your landing page. Simple changes in words can make a HUGE impact on conversion rates. You should not stress too much about this in the beginning.
You should be extremely clear about the incentive you are offering to your customers, and optionally some information about how they will receive this incentive.
Think of it this way: Email sign-up landing page is a sales page for signing up for your email list. Your goal is to sell the idea of joining your mailing list, in exchange for their email address. The better the incentive, the easier this will be to do.
To edit the text, simply click on the text you wish to edit.
In my example landing page, I have included:
- A clear incentive to sign up using the biggest text: Sign up to receive the printable notes pack for FREE!
- Brand Name for brand recognition: PlanPrintLand
- A small bit of information about receiving the files: You will receive an email with your files. You may have to check your ‘spam’ or ‘promotions’ tabs!
Step 4: Edit your Images
Images are a great way of showing off your incentive, or adding character to your landing page. You do not have to create your own images – as ConvertKit has a large built in image gallery.
If you are offering a freebie or Ebook, I would suggest showing it off as much as possible. This will lead to a much greater conversion rate. You can use Placit to create a mockup of your ebook.
To change or edit your images you simply click on the image, and use the settings on the right hand side of the landing page builder. You can upload your own images, use your instagram feed or select an image from the Unsplash image gallery.
On the example landing page, I created a quick image to show off my freebie, and removed the background photo, which I felt was unnecessary for this particular landing page.
Step 5: Include your branding
Once your images are added, you should match the colors and fonts to your brand. The more consistency with your online shop or store, the better.
You can edit your colors and fonts by clicking on the element of text, button, or input fields and playing around with the settings on the right hand of the landing page builder.
As my Etsy shop and branding is very pink, I have kept this theme on the landing page. I have made the call title and call to action (button) very bright, as these are the two most important aspects of my landing page.
Step 6: Preview your landing page
Before finalising your design, it is a good idea to preview what It will look like when it’s live. You can do so by clicking the ‘preview’ button in the top right hand corner of the landing page builder.
Configuring your email landing page settings
Before you publish your ConvertKit landing page, there are some important settings you must configure to ensure the best possible experience for your customer. The landing page settings can be accessed along the top right hand side of the ConvertKit landing page builder.
The three options we are going to worry about are ‘General, ‘Domain Name’ and ‘Incentive’. For now we don’t have to worry about ‘Advanced’ or SEO & Analytics’ as the default settings work perfectly!
General Settings
For general settings, I use the default ‘Show a success message’. If you have your own website, and would like to redirect the customer to a page on your website, you can select the second option.
Domain name
If you have your own website, you may set up your email landing page using a subdomain. However, the free domain offered by ConvertKit is perfectly adequate. You can edit your ConvertKit domain name prefix in your settings. In my example, I changed my prefix to ‘planprintland’. This will appear before “.ck.page/”
On your landing page URL, you should enter a keyword that describes the specific landing page. In my example landing page, I entered ‘free-notes’, which is useful for both me and the customer.
Incentive
My personal preference is to directly attach your incentive to the automatic email.
- You should select ‘Send incentive email’ up the top
- Uncheck ‘Auto confirm new subscribers’ to prevent spam. This means that customers will have to download your files or they will not be confirmed as subscribers. This option prevents a LOT of spam and should always be left unchecked.
- ‘After confirming direct to’ should be set to ‘download’ rather than ‘URL’ for most use cases. There, you can attach your incentive document(s)
Publishing and sharing your landing page
Your landing page is now ready to be published and shared! The publish button is in the top right hand corner of the ConvertKit landing page builder. To share your landing page, copy the link that pops up once you hit publish. This link can be shared anywhere your customers may be, including:
- As a separate PDF of TXT file contained with your downloads
- In your Automatic Message to buyers on Etsy
- In your social media bios
- On your website
- In your product descriptions
And thats how to create a landing page on ConvertKit! I wish you all the best in your email-list-building endeavours!