When you strip away all the bells and whistles - streaming audio or video, floaters, banner ads, Taguchi testing - the success of your landing page depends mainly on the copy. When all is said and done, a landing page is basically a long-copy sales letter posted on a server at a specific Web address or domain.

Therefore, the best copywriters for landing pages are not necessarily the young and Web savvy kid; they are the grizzled direct response veterans who possess the ability to write long-copy sales letters that sell.

However, it's not enough just to be a great sales letter writer. There are differences between print sales letters and landing pages, and without this knowledge, a landing page crafted by a traditional DM copywriter without Web knowledge may bomb.

Specifically, here are 10 keys to writing landing pages that maximize online conversion rates, some of which apply equally online and offline, but many of which are strictly conventions for the Web:

1-Build credibility early.

Put a great testimonial or three above the headline on the first screen. Use an official seal in a banner at the top of the page.

2-Capture the e-mail addresses of non-buyers.

There are a number of mechanisms available for capturing the e-mail address of visitors who click on your landing page but do not buy the product. One is to use a window with copy offering a free report or e-course in exchange for submitting e-mail address.

3-Use lots of testimonials.

Testimonials are even more important online than offline, since people are super-skeptical and wary of Internet marketing scams. The latest and greatest technique: video testimonials. You click on the customer's picture and get a video testimonial from her.

4-Use lots of bullets.

Build lots of selling points into your products and then on your landing page have a great bullet item or fascination on each. Online buyers like to think they are getting a lot for their money, so longer bullet lists are better than short ones.

5-Arouse curiosity in the headline.

The headline should either arouse curiosity, make a powerful promise, or otherwise grab the reader's attention so he has no choice but to keep reading.

6-Use a conversational copy style.

Most corporate Web sites are unemotional and sterile: just "information." But a landing page is a letter from one human being to another. Make it sound that way.

7-Incorporate an emotional hook in the lead.

Logical selling can work, but tapping into the prospect's emotions is much stronger - especially when you correctly assess how the prospect is feeling about your product or the problem is solves right now.

8-Solve the reader's problem

Once you hook the reader with emotional copy dramatizing her problem, position your product as the solution. Then prove it.

9-Make it timely and current.

The more your online copy ties in with current events and news, the higher your response rates. This is especially critical when selling financial and investment information.

10-Stress the money-back guarantee.

All your competitors give strong money-back guarantees. So you can't get away without doing the same. If your product is good and your copy truthful, your refund rates can be as low as 1% or even less.

11--Bonus tip -- Offer bonuses.

Online buyers want free stuff: free CDs, free reports, free access to Web content, free software, free tools. Have at least one and preferably two or three bonuses for every product you sell.