Is your company already publishing a blog? Are you looking to generate more leads? Now that you already have a consistent number of blogs being published each month, take advantage of that publicity. You can use your blog to generate a large number of leads simply by providing high-quality, informational, and engaging content. You can utilize the following strategies to help increase the number of leads you are getting from your blog and cash in!
Here are some strategies that will help you capture more leads using your blog traffic:
Add an Opt-in Form in Your Blog Pages
Your blog pages are filled with areas that you can use to add advertisements, calls to action, as well as mailing list opt-in forms. Places like your sidebar, header, footer, or at the end of each blog posts are excellent places to put in opt-in forms or ads.
Companies like Rocket Responder have added mailing list opt-in forms at the foot of their posts as well as in their sidebar. Other companies have chosen to use their sidebar and end of their posts to promote subscription to their newsletter and blog, as well as free trial sign up forms. While it seems like you’re exaggerating by putting your forms in so many places around your blog, but it actually gives visitors more opportunities to actually notice the forms. For example, if a visitor comes into your blog and reads one of your blog posts he or she may not even glance over at the sidebar or header, but if they were impressed with your content they will certainly notice a call to action at the end of the post.
The key thing to increasing your inbound leads is to put your opt-in form throughout your blog so that you can capture your reader’s attention and their contact information.
Create Free Downloadable Marketing Content
In order to get the most benefit out of your blog you will have to create additional marketing content. By creating free downloadable marketing content such as whitepapers, ebooks, webinars, and templates you can increase the number of leads you capture. You can promote your free content through your blog as well as through your social media. This will allow prospects to download your content in exchange for some information about them, such as name and email address, and information about their business. Once you have their information you can slowly build a relationship with the prospect until they convert into a customers.
In order for this strategy to be effective you will have to produce content that is relevant to your target customer base. You don’t just want to attract subscribers, you want to attract individuals who are actually interested in your products and services.
Offer Incentives for Those Who Share Your Content
What is better than using free content to increase your inbound leads? Getting new leads thanks to word of mouth from those first prospects! Some companies, offers a free ebook or gift card for anyone who refers five people that fill out a form for a digital copy. This allows them to make an additional 5 leads for every single lead that comes in for the free coloring book.
Consider what would incentivize your visitors to refer more leads and test your idea.
Use a HelloBar
A HelloBar is a code that you plug into your website which will then put a bright colored bar at the top of your website. On that bar you can add a call to action that links to a product or a service, or leads to a mailing list opt-in form. You can also use it to promote free content or push your newest promo.
Select a call to action that is relevant to your target prospect.
Add a Popup to Your Website
It may sound counterproductive to most, but the truth is, popup forms and calls to action draw the most attention. While you may think that popups will increase your bounce rate, it is actually quite the opposite. A study on bounce rate responses to popups done by Dan Zarrella, showed that bounce rates on his website did not increase when he added popups. However, when he removed the popups his subscription rates decreased significantly. Even a respectable blog like Social Media Examiner uses popups. Popups can be added various ways, such as through code or a plugin. Popups that offer free content and clearly tell visitors what they should do often receive the best conversion rates.
Try these lead generating strategies in your marketing plan and monitor closely to determine if they help increase your inbound leads.
