Holding pages, or coming soon pages don't have to be bland web templates that say nothing more than "Website coming soon!" Instead, they can be a useful marketing tool in the build-up to your web site launch.
Here's how to create a bit of hype and have people coming back to your web page even before your finished site goes live.
Branding
Now is the time to start getting your company branding out there. With the right logos and colour schemes in place, you can create an impact even before the completed website is on-line and get into the mind of your potential customers.
What’s it about?
The first thing you want is for your your holding page to introduce what the completed website will be about. Not too much information, just enough to get the visitor interested and coming back to see the finished article.
Remember that coming soon pages aren’t anything new, so you have to make yours stand out. Try and be unique or do something fun that entices people to share your holding page with their Twitter or Facebook friends.
If you can get thousands of visitors to your coming soon page, your chances of a good post-launch period will be that much better.
Follow-up the sign-ups
Remember that every web page needs a call to action, and your coming soon page should be no different. Your primary goal is to have people coming back when your site is done and dusted, and the last thing you want is for it to slip the minds of a few people.
So, don't leave this to chance and give visitors to your page a way to be sent a reminder. A well designed, single-field web form will work perfectly.
If you can let visitors see what they can gain from signing up (beta testing, info on your great products etc) you will see a much higher rate of sign-up than with an instruction to just "Enter your email address" .
Anyone who wants more information can be followed up with a branded email template, further enhancing your company name before you have really got going. You can then start to be really creative with your email marketing campaigns, creating a massive build-up to launch day.
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