Q1. Am I at the correct place?

What you sell in your direct mail piece needs to match what you sell on the landing page. Visually, this means that if you feature a photo of an iPod on your buckslip you should feature that same photo on your landing page. If your offline offer is for an interest rate of prime plus 1.8%, then your landing page needs to match that.

Q2. Where is the one thing I'm looking for?

Landing pages have in many cases replaced business reply cards as the response device in direct mail. Which means your landing page is not so much a webpage as a response device. And Maxim Number One of direct mail response devices and order forms is to make them simple to understand and easy to complete.

So if you have invited your direct mail reader to download a funky new cell phone ringtone from your site, make that ringtone simple to find on your page and easy to download.

If you're offering a free white paper, show a picture of it and instructions on how to get it.

If you're offering a discount that visitors receive by entering a discount code found on the postcard you mailed them, make the place where they enter that code on your landing page impossible to miss.

Q3. Can I trust these people?

Trust is the deal breaker online (and offline). Buyers who decide they cannot trust you won't buy. So if your direct mail piece wins their trust but your landing page loses it, you lose the sale. And the customer. Which means you must avoid the things that create suspicion, and employ the tactics that increase trust online.

For example, would you trust someone who has this headline on his landing page?

"The Amazing Money-Making Secret of a 28-year-old Convicted Felon Who Earns More Money Per Year Than The CEOs of FedEx... eBay... Amazon.com... Time Warner... Apple Computer... McDonalds... Microsoft... Nike... Yahoo... Ford Motor Company... General Motors... and Goodyear COMBINED!”

I'm not making this up. Google the phrase and see for yourself.

Avoid landing page mistakes that arouse suspicion:

1. No office address

2. No phone number

3. Testimonials by people who only have initials

4. Extravagant claims

Use landing page elements that create trust:

1. Better Business Bureau logo and link to the online profile of the BBB member

2. eTrust logo

3. Name, address, phone number and email address of principals in the company

4. Toll-free customer service phone number

5. Endorsements from trusted third parties, such as The Wall Street Journal or Lloyds of London.

Remember that your landing page is part-two of your direct mail sales pitch. You'll convert more visitors into buyers when you give them what they expect to find, make the process easy and quick, and avoid the tactics used by spammers and scammers.

© 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc.