From meh to magnifique: How to write a landing page in 7 steps
Key article takeaways:
A landing page is a focused, standalone page designed to drive one specific action
Unlike a homepage, it should guide visitors toward a single, clear outcome
Strong landing pages combine clear messaging with an understanding of your audience’s needs and behaviour
Simplicity matters—too much information or friction can quickly lead to drop-off
This guide walks through 7 key steps, from setting a clear objective to ending with a strong, well-placed CTA
A compelling landing page can be the difference between someone bouncing—as in, getting off your website—and someone becoming a loyal customer. To work, it has to connect with a real person, namely, your audience or buyer persona.
And it must guide said persona toward one clear action.
In this blog post, I’ll share key strategies that turn bland pages into more compelling ones. But first, let’s start with the basics.
What exactly is a landing page?
A landing page is a standalone page on your website. It’s where someone lands after clicking on a particular link—usually from an ad, email, or social post.
Unlike your homepage, which does a bit of everything, a landing page has one clear purpose: to guide visitors toward a single action. That could be signing up for a newsletter or webinar, downloading an eBook, or making a purchase right then and there.
It’s not about showing off everything you do, but more about making it easy for someone to do
the one thing.
Thus, while home pages generally feature a smorgasbord of messages, landing pages are much simpler. It can be helpful to think of it as a focused conversation that you’re having with another human.
More than copy: a fusion of psychology and smart design
Creating a strong landing page requires you to flex several skills. Yes, it’s about writing clear and persuasive words. But it’s also about understanding the psychology and needs of your audience—i.e., your buyers.
But what does this actually entail?
In practical terms, this means demonstrating that you understand your buyers’ problems or challenges, and empathizing with the irritation this causes them. I’ll cover how this is done below.
Then there's style and user experience. The best words won't help if the landing page is chaotic, difficult to understand, or just plain bad.
If your page is hard to navigate, visitors might take a quick peek and then run for the hills. And yes—that’s why they call it the bounce rate.
To recap, the best landing pages come together when empathetic messaging fuses with smart design.
“This means demonstrating that you understand your buyers’ problems or challenges, and empathizing with the irritation this causes them.”
What are the steps for writing a high-conversion landing page?
1) Set one clear goal
A landing page should have one job and one job only. Do you want someone to sign up, book a call, or download a resource? Pick that goal, then write and design around it. If you try to do too much, you’ll dilute your message and confuse visitors.
For example, if you’re creating a lead magnet landing page, the main goal is to have your web visitors download the lead magnet.
That’s it.
Note that the lead magnet can take on multiple forms: a white paper, an eBook, a fact sheet, etc.
Pro tip → If you don’t know what you’re promoting on your landing page, then you shouldn’t start creating one in the first place. Take a few moments to pause and reflect over a coffee, a matcha, or whatever your hot beverage of choice is. And then start writing down ideas.
2) Know thy audience—and their needs
Before you write a single word, get clear on who you’re talking to, meaning:
Who is your audience or buyer?
After you’ve identified them and their key characteristics (i.e., age, gender, education, values), you’ll want to better understand their most urgent needs and objectives. This starts with uncovering why they're drawn to your business in the first place.
Consider: what keeps them up at night? What are they trying to achieve? And, what’s blocking them from achieving their goal?
The more specific you are, the easier it is to talk to your audience directly. In turn, this increases the likelihood that they will feel validated, seen, and heard.
And, at the end of the day, isn’t this what we all want?
Conversely, if you don't know who you're talking to and what they care about, your message will be unclear or vague. And consequently, it’s less likely to resonate.
If you’re working for a company or freelancing with a client that has their personas and messaging already mapped out, fantastic. But we don’t always live in an ideal world.
Pro tip → No personas? Then you'll need to ask more questions and dig deeper. Talk to the individuals who are the closest to the audience (e.g., salespeople, account managers, etc.) or look at what customers say about their problems in reviews, emails, or phone calls. Where are they struggling? What problem was resolved? What did working with the company now allow them to do? Pay attention to language around feelings of relief, for instance: “I now have so much more time to spend in strategy mode thanks to…”
3) Write a strong headline
Immediately engage your audience with a clear, catchy headline that captures their attention and entices further curiosity. While they’re not necessarily one and the same, marketers sometimes refer to the headline as “the hook,” because it’s meant to rapidly generate connection and interest, as in, to hook your audience in.
No, not to imply that they’re a fish or anything.
Oh boy, this has Seinfeld-moment written all over it.
🤦🏻♀️
Er, in any case [insert awkward chuckle], you might also have copy under the headline that elaborates on what’s in it for the reader, or that simply provides more context about the page.
Since everyone’s attention span is incredibly short these days—can’t say I blame ‘em—a strong headline can go a long way in sparking interest.
Pro tip → Don’t be scared to think outside the box here. Brainstorm ideas and consider infusing your headline with a touch of humour or something different than “Get our guide on fly fishing” or “Hot real estate tips.” These statements are vague and don’t explicitly convey value or address the “what’s in it for me?” question. But before you settle on your final hook, you’ll need to grasp the concept outlined in step 4 below.
4) Explicitly address pain points and benefits
Now that you’ve identified your buyers and what they care about, let’s connect this to a fundamental principle of copywriting:
Good copywriting means communicating with empathy. And, this requires explicitly highlighting a feeling (i.e., frustration or irritation) or a cognitive state (i.e., confusion, uncertainty, desire to reach a goal).
Remember how I talked about understanding your buyer’s reality and validating it in step #2? Well, this is exactly what I’m referring to. Your audience wants to feel that you get them, that you understand their problems or challenges, what marketers refer to as pain points. Often, their problem or challenge is linked to a specific emotion or cognitive state, or both.
From a writing perspective, what does this entail? It’s about creating copy that acknowledges and underscores what those pains are and tying it back to whatever you’re promoting on your landing page.
For instance, go further than just stating your offering, listing features or elaborating on “what’s in the guide”. Although those are important, you’ll also need to outline how your offer solves a real problem that they’re facing. Explicitly highlight what’s frustrating your audience and explain how your offering or resource makes their life easier, better, or simpler.
Now, a concrete example.
Say you’re a real estate company and you want to create a landing page to promote a guide you just put together called: “5 Ways the Canadian Residential Market Changed in 2025.” It’s a state-of-the-industry report where you lay down the facts, provide expert insights and analysis, and cite many prominent sources. People will read it because they’re either in a buyer or seller’s market and are seeking guidance on what they should do next—buy their home, sell their home, or sit tight.
Instead of using the title of the guide as your H1, consider something like:
“If the 2025 housing market feels uncertain right now, you’re not alone.”
Depending on your layout, this could then appear as a short paragraph directly beneath the headline:
“The market has shifted in meaningful ways this year. Our guide breaks down what’s changed and what it means for buyers and sellers trying to decide their next move.”
This works because the headline acknowledges the reader’s current state—uncertainty—while the paragraph adds just enough context to ground the offer. It reassures the reader that something has changed, and more importantly, that the guide will help them make sense of it.
Pro tip → Please avoid stale, robotic language that feels hollow and is void of empathy. You won’t achieve resonance and connection that way. Make it human and relatable. Keep it real.
“Your audience wants to feel that you get them and understand their problems or challenges—what marketers refer to as pain points. ”
5) Cut out the clutter: Use a simple design
Make sure your landing page is neat and tidy. Use images that support your message and draw the eye, and get rid of everything else. This means having a layout that is appealing and has enough white space to draw attention to the call to action.
Work with your graphic designer or web developer to create something high-quality and professional. If you don’t have someone in-house, there are an abundance of great folks you can hire via LinkedIn, Fiverr, or Upwork.
Pro tip → Want to really irritate the web developer or designer? Deliver an abundance of copy—the kind that sure as heck won’t fit into a content module that only looks good with 250 characters, max…The takeaway? Inquire about character or word limits before you even put pen to paper.
6) Tastefully build trust
It’s natural for people to hesitate before committing, and every marketer knows this. Therefore, it’s part of a skillful copywriter’s job to intentionally (and ethically) help the reader feel safe and confident enough to take the next step.
That’s where social proof comes in—testimonials (written or video), case studies, or recognizable logos. Social proof is the stuff of trust-building, primarily because it visibly shows that others have had a positive experience with your products or services.
Ultimately, trust is the bridge between someone reading your page and actually clicking on your big call-to-action (CTA) button. Without it, even the best offer can fall flat.
Pro tip → If you don’t have testimonials yet, don’t panic. You can build trust in other ways, such as clear explanations of your process, transparency about what they’ll get, or even addressing common objections directly on the page. If this is you, I recommend doing 5-7 FAQs at the end of the page. At 7+, you risk overwhelming the reader.
7) End with a clear and compelling CTA
Your CTA is one of the most important parts of your page. Why? Because it tells people what they need to do next.
Therefore, please try to make it obvious and hard to miss. Use strong, action-oriented language that leaves no doubt about the next step.
Pro tip → If your page is long, don’t rely on a single, unobtrusive CTA at the bottom. Sprinkle a couple throughout so visitors can act whenever they’re ready.
Could your landing page use a little more love?
I’m going to invoke my inner Forrest Gump here and exclaim:
“And that’s all I have to say about that.”
If your landing page is still stuck in the meh zone, let’s fix it. Shoot us an email at info@simileagency.com, and we’ll help you turn it into something that’s truly magnifique.
Thanks for reading, and be well!
