A landing page, also referred to as a "squeeze page" or "lead capture page", is used to get subscribers onto your mailing list. In its simplest form, a landing page is a one-page document with a box for your visitor to input their name and email address to subscribe to your mailing list or newsletter.

Getting people to give their details, however, is not as easy as it would first appear. Many reasons exist for a person to withhold their personal information, such as their right to privacy and the fear of being spammed.

Here are four tips that I believe will give you a head start for creating a successful landing page. On average, a good landing page will convert one in five of your visitors into subscribers.

Firstly, and perhaps most important of all, you should offer a freebie in exchange for your visitor's email address. Offer a special report or a sample of your paid product to your visitor in exchange for their details. A good way of preparing a product to give away to your visitors is to use private label rights material.

Private label rights is simply a name given to a product, or products, that you can purchase on the internet for very little money, or in some cases for free, and use in whichever way you wish. You may use the product as-is, re-write it, or combine it with other information products that you own.

Secondly, your landing page must be professionally-written. When writing your landing page, treat it as if you are writing a sales letter. While you are not necessarily trying to make a sale or trying to get someone to buy your product upfront, being able to entice your visitors to give their details to you is equally as important as selling your product.

Thirdly, other than your opt-in form and important terms and disclaimers, there shouldn't be any other links on your landing page. This is important because you don't want your visitors distracted from the task at hand. Also, avoid placing Google Adsense on your landing page.

Remember that your landing page has only one objective, and that is to legitimately acquire the names and email addresses of your visitors.

Finally, reinforce the benefits of the freebie you are offering to your potential subscribers. Focus most of the attention on encouraging your visitor to download your free offer. Later, you gently remind your prospect that he or she has nothing to pay, but just merely to subscribe to your newsletter in exchange for the freebie.

As a final thought, in order to build trust you can include your hand-written signature or a photograph of yourself explaining who you are and why your visitor should care.