Time is a key factor in purchasing decisions. A limited offer, an ending promotion or the last available seats all create a sense of urgency in your audience, which can effectively increase conversions. One of the best ways to take advantage of this mechanism is to add a Countdown Timer to your sales page. If you use LeadPages to build websites, in this article you can read how to easily create and add a countdown timer to a page using Apresly and why you should use this technique in your marketing campaigns.
Free Countdown Timers for LeadPages
Adding a countdown timer to your LeadPages landing page may be easier than you think. With Apresly, you can create and embed a countdown timer in just a few steps to grab users’ attention and motivate them to make a decision faster. Below you’ll find step-by-step instructions on how to do it for free.
Log in to your Apresly account
If you are doing this for the first time, sign up for a free account using this link.
Create a new campaign
After logging in, go to the “Campaigns” tab (side menu on the left) and select the type of campaign that suits your needs. You can choose from five options:
- Evergreen – you can synchronize the countdown timer used in the email with the one used on the offer page, so that each subscriber gets an individual deadline. The countdown will start, for example, from the moment they sign up for the mailing list. This is perfect if you want the offer to be valid for a certain period after registration, regardless of the date. It is ideal for evergreen campaigns, such as webinars, where the user gets an email with the offer immediately after signing up.
- One-Time Offer – a short-term campaign, great for instant promotions, such as those lasting 15-30 minutes. Here it is also useful to synchronize countdown timers to increase the credibility of the offer.
- Fixed – a campaign with a fixed duration for all users.
- Periodic – a campaign launched on a selected day of the week, which allows you to run cyclical marketing campaigns.
- No deadline – a campaign without a specific end time, with the possibility of adding pop-ups that will effectively attract the attention of the audience.
Let’s assume that your latest course is about to launch. The sale will be open to everyone at the same time, so a permanent campaign would be ideal. Let’s look at this example later in the article.
Name your campaign and set a deadline
Under the “Deadlines” tab, you can name your project and choose a category for it. Here you will also set a deadline, which is when the countdown should end.
Select the page where you want to display the countdown time
Specify what you want to happen after the countdown timer ends: you can stay on the page and hide the countdown timer, or stay on the page but reset the countdown timer to zero. You can also redirect traffic to another page. Then select the page where you want to place the countdown timer and indicate the address to which users will be redirected when it expires.
Customize the look of your email countdown timer
To maintain consistency between your sales page and email campaigns, it’s a good idea to synchronize your countdown timers. You’ll find this especially useful for Evergreen and One-Time Offer campaigns, but if you want to send sales emails regarding ongoing sales, it’s a good idea to include a countdown timer in the email as well. Not just on the page. Here you can customize their appearance in emails and download HTML code to integrate them into your mailing campaign.
If you only care about the page countdown timer, this step is not necessary and you can skip it.
How to Configure Sticky Timer When User Scrolls the Page
Customize the look of the countdown timer on the website
Create a free personalized countdown timer for LeadPages.
This is where the fun begins. Apresly gives you unlimited possibilities when it comes to personalizing your countdown timers. Choosing between a sticky timer and an inline timer depends on your goals and how the countdown timer is presented on the website:
- Sticky timer – a “sticky” countdown timer that remains visible on the screen even when the page is scrolled. Ideal if you want users to always be aware of elapsed time, such as in time-limited offers.
- Inline timer – a countdown timer embedded in a specific place on the page that does not move with scrolling. This is a good solution if you want the countdown timer to be part of a specific section, such as next to a purchase button.
If you want to maximize the sense of urgency, a sticky timer may be a better choice. How to set up a sticky timer? First, choose the color palette that suits you best.
If you don’t like any option, no problem – you can set your colors.
Apresly also allows you to add your avatar, making the sticky timer stand out even more as well as draw attention to yourself. It can be your company logo, a striking emoticon or your course logo. You can add your graphic or choose one of our suggestions:
If you want the countdown timer banner to include a call to action (CTA), you can put it there. Is this a good solution? Definitely yes! A CTA can significantly increase the effectiveness of a campaign – a countdown timer builds a sense of urgency, and a thoughtful call to action prompts the user to respond immediately.
Remember that you can also set up labels to tailor the language to your audience, for example:
Of course, you can choose an inline timer.
If you choose it, you can also personalize it to your liking. You have the option to choose a template and color palette or set your individual preferences.
How to Implement a Countdown Timer to a Landing Page in LeadPages?
It’s almost done! Now you need to implement your countdown timer on your website, how to do it? If you have chosen a sticky timer, all you need to do is paste the special code in the HEAD section of your LeadPage page. This code is one for all campaigns, which means that if you want to edit the countdown timer, you don’t have to implement the code again. Everything will happen automatically.
To paste the tracking code into LeadPages and implement the created countdown timer to your website:
- Open your page editor in Leadpages.
- From the sidebar on the left, select “Settings” > “Analytics”
- Paste the copied code from Apresly into “Head Section Tracking Code” and save.
Once your page is ready, publish it to see how the countdown timer displays.
If the tracking code has been implemented correctly, a green checkmark should appear in the “Deadlines” tab next to the page where the countdown timer is to be displayed:
Done! Now you can check if everything works and test the campaign!
Add a countdown timer to the page in LeadPages.
If, on the other hand, you chose an inline timer – just copy the html code from Apresly and paste it in the desired place.
To paste the copied code into your project in LeadPages, use the “HTML” widget – drag it to the desired place, and then click on it to paste the code.
Once the page is published, you can see the results.
How to Use a Countdown Timer to Bring Results?
A countdown timer in online campaigns, especially when selling courses, e-books or other digital products, can be a very effective tool that introduces an element of urgency and takes advantage of the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out, or fear of missing out) mechanism. An effective countdown timer not only counts down, but also evokes emotions to become an even more effective tool in marketing campaigns.
What can you use it for?
One-Time offers and limited-time offers (One-Time offers)
The countdown timer is perfect for time-limited offers. When users see that they only have a few hours or days to take advantage of a promotion, they feel more pressure to make a decision.
Access to exclusive content
A countdown timer can be used to show that access to special materials (e.g., VIP course, webinar, Q&A session) is time-limited. This can be offered only to the first 50 people who sign up.
Launches and first available versions
For new products, like e-books or courses, you can use a countdown timer to announce the release date and create an atmosphere of excitement. The countdown timer shows how much time is left until the product’s release or the availability of special offers for early access.
Webinars and live sessions with limited availability
You can use a countdown timer to build tension before a live event, such as a webinar or Q&A session. Setting a timer before an event that will only be available to a limited number of attendees reinforces the feeling of urgency.
Limited “early bird” offerings
If you’re offering a course or e-book with an early sign-up discount (e.g., for the first 100 people), a countdown timer to the end of this offer will help emphasize its time limit. For example, it could be an offer with a discount that expires after a certain period.
“Black Week” and other seasonal actions
On the occasion of special sales days, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday or other periods with big promotions, a countdown timer to the end of the event can help build an air of urgency. In this case, you can offer big discounts on courses or e-books that will only be available for a few days.
Summary
You don’t have to code to add a countdown timer to LeadPages. You can easily personalize it and implement it on the page of your choice with Apresly. An effective countdown timer is not just a countdown to a specific date, but a tool that increases user engagement and conversion through a sense of urgency and FOMO. The choice is yours!
