Let’s discuss the best way to capture more leads from your website
Leads, in this case, refers to people who meet the following criteria:
- They are interested in what they are selling
- They have given you their contact information
- They have given you permission to contact them
Why Build A List of Leads?
Building and maintaining a list of leads is an important step for your business not matter what you sell. The primary function of this list is to remove the gatekeepers from you speaking with an audience of interested buyers.
What’s a gatekeeper?
A gatekeeper is someone who (usually) charges you speak to an audience. If you’ve run an ad in a newspaper, magazine, or on a TV or radio station, you’ve paid money to that media entity to put your message in front of their audience.
Not a bad way to go, but you’ve need to have an audience of your own.
When you own that audience, you can create a cash surge at will. Got a major expense coming up? Tax bill coming due? You can “send that bill to the list” and get that money that way.
Additionally, if you’ve been in sales for more than about 15 minutes, you’ve noticed that everyone buys on the first contact. They don’t say yes, they don’t say no… they say “not right now.” By adding that lead to your list, you can then follow up with them and put an offer in front of them at a later time, a time that may be right for them to make a purchase.
The last reason is perhaps the most important of all, and kind of sums up all the other reasons: a list is an asset to your business. An asset, as you might recall, is something that makes you money. Of all the costs in running a business (or marketing department), most of them are expenses…. you consume something, pay for it, and then you don’t really have much to show for it.
An asset is different — the time, money, and energy you put into building a list will make you money — far more in the long run.
Now let’s talk about the easiest way to add people to your list:
Enter the “Lead Magnet” on stage right…
A Lead Magnet is something that allows you to exchange something of value with someone for their contact info. Usually, the name and email address, but sometimes additional details. For the purposes of this article, we’ll only cover email list marketing.
That’s easy, right?
Not so fast.
Go to just about any website for a small business and you’ll see an email signup box. Just above it, you’ll find something like, “Join our email list.” If they’re really savvy (e.g., NOT savvy), they’ll say something like, “Subscribe for news and updates.”
Ick.
Here’s the problem: “news and updates” is something exactly nobody wants. You put that on your website, and not even your mother will subscribe. Not even she wants to hear it.
Never forget the term “value for value.” A person’s contact information is a thing of value. Maybe not in terms of cash out-of-pocket, but certainly in terms of time, attention, and privacy. You’ve got to offer something that they will value and want enough to trade their information for that.
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Lead Magnet Formats
So what does make a good lead magnet? Here’s a good list:
- Reports/Guides
- Software trial
- Quizzes
- Cheat sheets or checklists
- Video training
- Discount or free shipping
- Assessments or tests
- Sales material (like actually informative brochures or price lists)
You can mix this up a bit based on your industry, but those are the most common and more effective Lead Magnet formats.
Characteristics of Great Lead Magnets
If you’ve picked one of those formats, here are some characteristics of great Lead Magnets to keep in mind:
- Ultra-specific: Your lead magnet must not be general or generic. Make sure to solve a specific problem or answer a specific problem for a specific person.
- One Main Point: The best lead magnets have one big, clear, deliverable. They don’t offer “a lot of littles.”
- Desirability: Your Lead Magnets must deliver something you know your market already wants.
- Immediate Gratification: Don’t make your Lead Magnet too big, too long, or too involved. You’re not here to teach everything about a subject, but just to give information on one small part of one topic. The rule of thumb is that if people can’t consume your Lead Magnet in 15 minutes or less, you have gone too far.
- Pre-framing the Sale: The best Lead Magnets “set up the sale” by helping the lead take the next logical step in the sales process. One way that you do this is by not offering the “how” of solving your prospect’s problem, but just identifying the “what.”
- High Value: Don’t forget to build a lot of value into your Lead Magnet. Not only should the Lead Magnet have high perceived value (don’t let it feel cheap or homemade), but it should also have high actual value to your prospect.
Don’t Mess This Up…
If you’re ready to jump-start your list building, you need our checklist to make sure your Lead Magnet is the best it can be. With a good Lead Magnet, your list will grow faster… and with the right kind of people.
That’s what you want, right?
Then get that checklist now!
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