Book Review: 2008 Landing Page Handbook
Ian Lurie Sep 11 2008
Disclaimer: I’m a Marketing Sherpa Affiliate. I was not paid for this review. But if you buy the book from this link I will get a bit of cash. Pretty please?
I re-read this book every year, and make most of my staff read it (or at least try to) as well.
There are plenty of books out there that talk in broad generalities about internet marketing. They say great stuff like ‘Write great content’ and ‘Offer value to your visitors’.
Duh.
The Bad
First, this book is HUGE. I would’ve ruptured a disc lifting it if they weren’t already ruptured. Read the whole thing, no matter how daunting it seems.
Second, sometimes it gets almost too specific. The book offers amazing detail (see ‘The Good’, next) but it doesn’t always show you the high-level view.
Unless you’re a marketing geek like me, though, you aren’t going to care.
Finally, it costs $497. It ain’t cheap. But it earns its money, I promise.
The Good
The Landing Page Handbook offers real, actionable advice, including things like:
- The best positioning of a ‘hero shot’ image.
- Button colors that get highest conversion rates.
- Results of multi-variate testing.
- Best typography and use of bullets.
It’s like a step-by-step course in great landing page design.
I’m not exaggerating – 90% of what I know about creating great landing pages comes from this book.
[ Buy the Landing Page Handbook ]
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Ian Lurie
CEO
Ian Lurie is CEO and founder of Portent Inc. He's recorded training for Lynda.com, writes regularly for the Portent Blog and has been published on AllThingsD, Forbes.com and TechCrunch. Ian speaks at conferences around the world, including SearchLove, MozCon, SIC and ad:Tech. Follow him on Twitter at portentint. He also just published a book about strategy for services businesses: One Trick Ponies Get Shot, available on Kindle. Read More