I am an interface and user experience designer.
Imagine a storefront – the owner has put up a freshly painted sign with the name of their new emporium, a crowd is gathering for the grand opening, and you can see some people moving around inside the store. Moving to the front of the crowd, you see that the window has a beautiful pedestal set up with a spotlight – displaying nothing at all.
“What’s this store about?” Mutely, the crowd points to the beautiful sign – well executed, sure, but it tells me nothing. The store owner ambles out. “Look,” he says. “We can let you in so you can see what this is all about – but only if you also bring five of your friends. By yourself, you can’t come in.”
That store is obviously a store that doesn’t want your business. It’s also, unfortunately, the landing page strategy for a lot of startups.
Here’s the thing: I’m genuinely interested in your startup. I wouldn’t have clicked through to your landing page otherwise – I want to know what cool thing you’re going to do for me. I’m even reaching for my wallet. You’re obviously running enough of a service to have existing users – enough that you must have features, functionality, or something you could tell me about.
Instead, I’m presented with a megaphone.
“Hey!” you say. “Thanks for stopping by! We’re genuinely excited to have you. Why not yell at your friends about our service?”
“Well… okay. What’s it about?”
“Can’t tell you unless you yell loud enough, sorry.”
Even if I can’t get in immediately, I will sign up for your list or follow you on Twitter for a few tidbits of salient information. I’ll remember to check back if you’ve hooked me.
Your landing page should not be a gimmicky social-media-laden afterthought while you’re launching – it’s the first and most important interaction I have with your service. Make me want to come inside.
@Togsy Ha – that’s amazing but clearly not right. I’ll look into it.