Landing Pages and “PURLS”

Integrated marketing has at its disposal two more weapons which when used properly will greatly leverage your results. Landing pages and “purls”.

Landing pages, also called “micro-sites”, are simply very brief websites usually 1-3 pages in length. They’re highly focused on one thing—getting your prospect to take the next step. Done properly, a landing page covers one topic, in subtle ways addresses the risks involved, answers the typical objection-questions, and offers incentives to the prospect to “convert” or take that next step.

A landing page is preferred over using one’s website because it is more highly focused; fewer distractions to de-rail the conversion process. Typically some kind of link is provided in the prior contact vehicle (postcard, letter, TV ad, email, etc.) that links over to the landing page. From there, information about the prospect can be captured for future campaigns, the offer and incentive can be made and the prospect moved further along the conversion funnel.

One variation on the link to a landing page is something called a “purl” which stands for “personalized url”. A url is, of course, a web page address. A purl, however, is personalized with the prospect’s name usually. That simple fact creates a good amount of curiousity prompting the visitor to click on the link (if in an email or other electronic delivery media) or type the link into a browser for viewing.

This action takes the prospect to your landing page, or wherever else you may have pointed the link. It also lets the campaign manager know who has responded without any input from the prospect (remember their name is in the url!).

As with any other tool, landing pages and purls are better utilized in some situations than others. Our advice to you is to sit down and discuss it with us. We will help you craft a direct marketing campaign that works!