Why do you need to gather leads?

If you run your own business and have a website, chances are that you want as much traffic to your site as possible. But once a visitor lands on your site, are you missing a trick? Do you fail to convert that visitor into a lead?

Leads are a gold mine for any business owner. These are potential customers that have expressed an interest in what you have to offer by checking out your site.

Don’t let them get away!

Offer them something irresistible as a reward for stopping by, and you’ll have the opportunity to communicate with them again and build a relationship.

However, capturing leads is not that easy. It’s a big step for people to offer up their email address willingly.

So, what are the best ways to convert website leads?

The 5 Step Formula For A Perfect Lead Capture Machine

The perfect place on your business website or blog to snag your reader’s attention is on a landing page. If you’re not sure what a landing page is, I share all the inside tricks on how to design an irresistible landing page that converts like crazy.

Once someone arrives on your landing page, here are my five steps to easily convert traffic into subscribers and, ultimately, customers.

1. Create a targeted freebie.

Solve a real problem by answering your target audience’s biggest, most burning question. Choose a subject that will show off your expertise and create real value for them. The trick here is to go into one very specific subject and answer it in full detail.

Pick something directly linked to your products and services so that it enables you to introduce these at the end. If your leads want to discover the bigger picture, you can upsell them to a premium offer at this stage.

Ultimately, your freebie should be so good that you won’t want to give it away for free!

2. Promote your freebie like a premium product.

People are so used to seeing opt-ins on every website they visit, that they are becoming more discerning.

A simple “enter your email address to stay in touch” just won’t cut it. You need to create more than just a good title and a form to encourage people to part with their sacred email address.

It’s time to get to work.

Create a blog post or an entire page to present your freebie. It needs to be as good as a sales page for a premium product to hook your target audience.

Your blog or page should include:

• A description of the problem – Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and show them you know the pain they’re going through.
• An irresistible solution – Use language that makes it explicitly obvious what the benefits of your freebie are. Paint the picture of your audience’s dream outcome as a result of your freebie. Include energy. Make it impulsive. I reveal my complete guide on how to write headings that convert like crazy in this article.
• Make it obvious – People like to know exactly what they will receive before committing their email address. Is it a PDF, an eBook, or a free one hour webinar? Make it clear. If you offer several things, create a checklist to illustrate what’s included. To make it even more attractive, include bonuses. For example, if you offer a free social media audit as a PDF, include 5 bonus actions for your reader to instantly improve their Instagram account.
• Include social proof and testimonials – Validation is incredibly powerful. If you have them, include testimonials or reviews from happy customers from your social media pages to boost your credibility.

3. Include a compelling call to action.

First, make it clear that your freebie is in fact free. It may sound obvious, but if people are left wondering what the catch is, they are not likely to take you up on your offer. Provide incredible value for free and reassure them that there is no commitment or risk.

As well as including the magic word “free,” use a compelling call to action to convince people to make a decision.

It’s unlikely the regular “Subscribe” button is going to produce the results you want.

Experiment with using different phrases that will speak to your audience in their language.

For example, people want to feel like they have found the answer to their problem and are not alone. Word your call to action carefully to imply that, by signing up, your audience will transcend from outsider to an insider, gaining valuable knowledge in the process.

Your call to action can change someone’s hesitant response into a “Heck yes!” or an “I’m in!”

Display your tantalizing call to action whenever you introduce your freebie. Play around with wording and even the color of your opt-in button to see what is most captivating.

4. Make sure your freebie is getting the attention it deserves.

Position your freebie in eye-catching places on your website that are hard to ignore. Here are my top suggested locations for your freebie:

• In the navigation or menu bar on your website
• Advertised through a colorful band you create in the hero section of your homepage
• A teaser at the end of each blog post
• Pinned at the top of your blog post roll and social media feeds
• On social media (using appealing language)

5. Improve, improve, improve.

Constantly monitor the success of your freebie. Gathering feedback will help you identify what content is connecting most with your audience.

Don’t be afraid of making changes until you discover the ultimate combination that makes your opt-in irresistible:

• Tweak the text.
• Test different color combinations.
• Use different images.

Note the changes you make and how many leads you gather each time. This knowledge will be invaluable and will help you to replicate successful versions for your paid offer.

If you aren’t sure where to look to find data on your freebie’s success, head to Google Analytics. Here you’ll find the source of web traffic to your opt-in page. You will be able to tell the places on your website that people were most receptive to your offer.

Another tip is to use software called Hotjar, which allows you to build heat maps on your website pages. Using this will show you where people are clicking on your opt-in.

FINAL STEPS: How to turn your leads into customers.

Congratulations, your lead magnet is more popular than free cupcakes! Before you get carried away, remember that simply acquiring leads is not the ultimate goal here.

The end game is to convert these leads into happy customers.

People have liked what they’ve seen on your website enough to part with their sacred email address.

Now it’s your opportunity to act.

Follow up consistently, and show them you have the solution to their problem. Soon you will have an email list of loyal, engaged fans who will be your most devoted customers.

Don’t let your website traffic go to waste!

I hope I have shown you how easy it is to hook potential customers.

If you have any questions on how to take your website from lackluster to lovely, get in touch to see how I can help.

 

Amandine Tanefo is the web designer, website expert and entrepreneur behind Launch & Sell, feminine WordPress themes. She helps female entrepreneurs just like you build themselves an amazing website quickly, without any coding knowledge needed, to stand out online.