User Review
( votes)Starting a blog for your business, products, and services is a great way to bring in a lot of traffic to your site. Having good high-quality content gets your visitors interested, but now you need to turn them from readers to leads.
Converting your traffic can be accomplished in various ways. For best results, it’s often best to use a subtle blend of multiple approaches instead of just one (without going over the top).
Check out the methods below to see some of the options that are on the table:
Lead Magnets
Lead magnets are options on your site or in your blog posts that offer an extra incentive to get your visitors to provide contact information. A downloadable white paper, subscription to your newsletter, or a message section that requires an email address are all examples of lead magnets.
For lead magnets to be effective, they have to offer something of genuine value. Comment sections may not seem useful in this sense, but someone who is leaving a comment or asking a question is a fully engaged person. They are expecting a response; thus, the need for further visits has been established.
Below are descriptions of various types of lead magnets like newsletters, webinars, and content upgrades. All of these types of interactions invite visitors back while giving you ways to keep in contact with them.
Remarketing
Remarketing is a way to have your product ads follow your visitors once they leave your site. When visitors move on to other sites, a service provider like AdRoll, ReTargeter, or Perfect Audience will “pixel” them, meaning they capture what items were looked at and will then show those product ads on the next few sites they visit.
Retargeting, or remarketing, relies on the quality of your product ads and how much you are willing to invest. This is not a free service, so make sure your ROI will be sufficiently high enough to warrant the expense.
This option is a great way to keep your products in potential customers’ views for longer but does have additional expenses to take into account.
Content Upgrades
A content upgrade builds on what you already have out there by adding an extra bonus. As marketing terminology goes this is a relatively new term, but it is based on years of strategy.
DIY and craft bloggers have been doing this for a while. They provide a good, well-written blog about a project filled with anecdotes and advice, then, partway through, they offer a .pdf file of the materials or a blueprint of the process that can be emailed right to them—instant engagement. The reader loved the story and got a bonus upgrade.
Content upgrades are not the same as discounts or promotions. They are additional bonus content, like checklists and webinars, that add value without cost.
Webinars
Video is becoming more and more important for showcasing products and services. For example, Etsy and Amazon are both encouraging sellers to post short clips alongside product pictures to bring more attention.
While you may not want to use your webinars as mini commercials, they are great for showing a product in action as part of an informational video or a how-to guide. Creating webinars about topics related to your business or products is also a way to establish your knowledge and expertise.
Webinars are a great way to put a face and a personality to your business. Giving an option to subscribe to new content and sharing videos can also boost new traffic to your site.
Special Promotions
Special promotions can give your readers that all-important feeling of being part of an exclusive group. Offering eBooks or webinars, special discounts for specific products, or a giveaway are all ways to get one-time visitors back to your site.
Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) may be a fairly new catchphrase but is based on decades of marketing experience that says people want to be part of the in-crowd. Keep in mind, sending out daily “specials” can take some of the exclusivity away, so use these promotions on a more reserved schedule.
On the other hand, big-name brands bank on customers assuming there will always be a deal available, and leverage that into creating regular customers.
Call-To-Action
Call-to-Actions can be anything from a signup email box, a link to related content, or a webinar that they might like. The longer they stay on your site, the more likely they are to remember it and want to return if they found good value in your content.
CTA’s are very useful in turning a reader into an engaged user of your site. Anything that can get them to perform some interactive activities on your site automatically gives them a feeling of inclusion.
Offering downloadable content, or direct links to the products your post talked about, or a free trial all work to get a visitor into a buyer. These can be placed at the end of blog posts or off to the side as recommendations without seeming aggressive.
Newsletter Signups
Producing quality newsletters on a regular basis is a great way to let your readers know what’s going on in your business. A subscription box is easy to add at the top or on a sidebar of your site. The bottom of the blog post may seem like a logical position, but you run the risk of losing out on the people who may only be skimming.
Set a schedule and stick to it for sending out your newsletters. You don’t want to inundate them, but letting them know about new posts, webinars, or new products can keep them coming back.
Email Marketing
Encouraging your readers to sign up to receive emails is one of the oldest yet most effective methods of lead generating out there. It requires little effort on their part but gives you a giant opening to make sure your content is fresh in their minds every time they get a new message.
Putting a signup box on your site, whether at the top or as a floating header, is a quick and effective means of getting them onside. Be sure not to overwhelm them with too many product ads or sales messages, but a regular schedule of notifications will help keep them engaged.
Creating your blog was a great decision to get your name and business knowledge out there in front of people. When you use these methods, it can be an even better way to turn those readers into active and engaged leads.
