How to Create a Thank You Page
Thank you pages are the icing on the cake that is your enticing, conversion-boosting offer. Now that your new contact has already provided their information in the form on the landing page, the thank you page is their chance to access their download, eBook, white paper, subscription, or coupon code. All that’s left then is to show them some extra love and encourage them to continue clicking around until they become a customer. While this category of webpage does not require too much when it comes to complex design, a successful thank you page remains clear, concise, and encouraging.
Within the practice of inbound marketing, this specific type of page has a special role in promoting a sense of satisfaction and moving the contact along the buyer’s journey. Especially for new contacts for whom this is their first engagement with your company, the thank you page represents a crucial moment for nurturing this lead. When it comes to the content on your page and the layout, there is a careful balance to be met between the offer in the present and the next steps for the future.
Follow these three steps to maximize the effectiveness of your thank you page:
1. Show Your Gratitude
Once your contact has submitted the form on your landing page for this offer, they’re probably feeling pretty excited about what lies ahead. Join in their enthusiasm with a bold header that congratulates them upon their arrival on this page. As their first impression, your header and its approach are important to boost the contact’s sense of satisfaction with the action they have just taken and to meet their anticipation of downloading the available offer.
As an example, even with just a simple statement of gratitude, you can accomplish this goal. As a result, the contact will be motivated to then look for where the offer is linked below.
2. Provide the Offer
The next section of your page to tackle is where you will provide the offer in question. As your contact has already submitted their information, there is little need for elaborate content. Rather, provide any clear timeline or expectations about the offer, its validity, or its delivery method that may be in question. Using a bulleted list is an easy way to break this down, so you won’t distract from the main event of the page.
The most important part of your thank you page for the contact is the call-to-action button to access the offer. At this point they’ve been waiting pretty patiently, so make your CTA bold (within brand guidelines) to lead them to the main attraction of your funnel. CTAs can be linked to directly download the offer or prompt an automated email to be sent to the contact’s inbox or both. It’s always a good idea to send an automated follow up email when a user downloads the offer. This strategy also gives them a way to easily refer back to and redownload the offer, so be sure to mention in this section of the page that they should check their inbox. Plus, even if they are downloading the offer directly from the page, the user will start becoming familiar with seeing your company name in their inbox.
3. Lead to the Next Step
While accessing the offer might seem like the final step for the contact, don’t let them click away just yet! In contrast to the landing page before it, a thank you page should show your navigation menu to encourage visitors to explore the rest of your website. In addition, include social sharing options that lead back to the landing page so that they can share your great offer with others and promote your brand.
When it comes to page design, another component on your page should be a next relevant offer. This could be a form to subscribe to a newsletter or simply a CTA that links to another relevant page on your website. Wherever you choose to lead the contact next, this offer should be relevant or complementary to the one they just accessed in this funnel. As a result, they’ll be more likely to click through and fulfill your ultimate goal of new contacts and conversions.
Thank you pages are a perfect opportunity to delight a contact and use this positive experience to guide them through the buyer’s journey. With these three steps, you’ll craft a page that both fulfills its purpose within the offer funnel and continues to lead the contact to the next one in your inbound marketing plan.