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In the dark and ancient days of digital yellow highlighters and outrageous claims, a cry rang out over the mountains — a cry for sanity, integrity, and beauty.

There came forth from the mountain 10 commandments to guide a certain tribe of Internet publishers in all their conversion endeavors.

The landing page would no longer be a desert of confusion and bad taste.

Its goal would now shift to the ethical and neighborly persuasion of the prospect to take their desired action.

These are 10 Commandments of Landing Pages That Work.

Bind them to your mind, let them flow through your pen …

1. Thy landing page shalt have but one goal

Thy landing page shalt have but one goal, and the number of the goals shall be one. Not two, not zero, but one.

If thy landing page hath zero goals, it is a "branding" page, and such vanities shall bear no fruit.

If thy landing page hath more than one goal, thou shalt confuse thy visitor, who shall leave thy site in disgust and anger.

Thy copy shalt not be divided amongst more than one goal, for such shall surely drive thy visitor to lamentation and thy copywriter to madness.

2. Thou shalt not litter thy landing page with false imagery

Thou shalt not litter thy landing pages with false images nor unecessary imagery, but only that which is gainful and relevant.

Let not a cute kitten, playful puppy, happy child, nor LOLcats appear except as and when they shalt be — in context — perceived as deeply relevant and meaningful.

Neither shalt thy litter thy prose with false imagery nor “creative” allusions that might leadeth thy visitor from the path of righteous goal completion.

Neither shalt thee fail to disclose thine affiliations, lest the FTC rain down upon thee like a plague of locusts.

3. Thou shalt not take the name of an authority in vain

Thou shalt not take the name of an authority in vain, for such false endorsements shall land thee in the court of man forthwith.

Further, thou shalt honor thine own name by keeping thy promises, in headline, subhead, graphic, offer, delivery, and guarantee, that thy days on the Internet shall be boundless and fruitful, and thy reputation pure.

4. Honor thy whitespace

Remember thy whitespace, to keep thy landing page scannable and readable.

For thy visitor doth not read in earnest, nay, preferring to skim and skip and scan.

So break up thy text, and include ye in all things subheaders and bullet points and simple sentences anon, so thy visitor may find succor in thy text.

5. Honor thy host, bandwidth, and client

Honor thy web host, thy bandwidth, and thy client, that thy load times shalt not be excessive and the patience of thy visitor shalt not be exhausted.

For thy visitor is Busy and Impatient, and hath not time to waste waiting for thy site to load.

But yea, if thy page doth load quickly, thy visitor may tarry and thy bounce rate shalt surely dwindle.

6. Thou shalt not kill

Thou shalt not kill thy visitor's interest with boring copy.

Thy copy shall flow like a river unto the sea, carrying thy visitor along in the gentle current of thy persuasions to the port of goal completion.

Thou shalt not kill thy visitor's trust with unbelievable claims.

Thy claims shalt have proof, and trust marks, and yea, testimonials and demonstrations sufficient to support and prove thy remonstrations beyond faith and suspicion. By this ye shall overcome all objections and prosper.

Thou shalt not kill thine integrity with suspicious associates, nor thy reputation through excessive returns and unresolved support issues.

7. Thou shalt not adulterate thy premise

Thou shalt not adulterate thy premise nor offer by dabbling in external irrelevancies, but shall remain faithful to the visitor and goal throughout thy prose and yea, unto the end of thy landing page shall it serve thee.

Maketh thee no mark upon thy page that doth not contribute towards thy goal.

8. Thou shalt not steal

Thou shalt not steal thy visitor’s attention, time, coin, and bandwidth, but shall inform, educate, and persuade only after receiving consent and permission.

Thy shalt deliver value in all things, and thou shalt not engage in any activity of scam nor spam, nor even the appearance thereof.

Collect ye no information unnecessarily, for each such imposition burdens thy visitor with doubt and fear.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness

Thou shalt always speak the truth about thy product, thine offer, thy guarantee, and thy competitors.

Thou shalt not bear false witness in any event, for surely thine integrity is worth more than gold. And if it be not so, remove thyself from the Internet.

10. Thou shalt not covet

Thou shalt not covet thy visitor's cash, nor his credit card, nor his email address, nor his phone number, nor anything that is thy visitor's.

Thou shalt provide value in fair exchange, and in all things eschew deceitful schemes and trickery.

Love thy customer

Thou shalt love thy customer as thyself, and for all thy days shall ye serve him in gladness.

Go ye forth now and take heed of these Commandments.

Honor them on all pages. Disregard them at thy peril.

Hast thou a commandment to share with thy fellow marketers? Speaketh thy voice within the comment box below.

About the Author: Steven A. Lowe knows 101 Ways to Land More Business Using Landing Pages. When he's not studying marketing and copywriting or reading copyblogger.com, he runs Innovator LLC, which specializes in innovative consulting and custom software development.

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Thursday, March 15, 2012