e-book Series: Business growth 20 tried and tested tips to help you generate more leads page 1
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 How to make your offers irresistible How to use your CTAs to grab people s attention Ways to make your landing pages convert How to optimise your forms How to maximise your lead generation page 4 page 6 page 7 page 8 page 9
Introduction Successful lead generation is what keeps the funnel full of sales prospects while you sleep. However, surprisingly, only 1 in 10 marketers actually feel their lead generation campaigns are effective. campaigns involve a lot of moving parts, which means it s often difficult to know which elements are performing successfully and what needs to be fine-tuned. The best lead generation campaigns contain the following 4 elements: 1 OFFER An offer is something that s perceived as being valuable. It can include e-books, white papers, free consultations and product demonstrations. 2 CALL TO ACTION (CTA) A CTA is either text, an image or a button that links directly to a landing page so people can find and download your offer. 3 LANDING PAGE Unlike normal website pages, landing pages are specialised pages that contain information about one particular offer, and a form to download or sign up. 4 FORM You can t capture leads without forms. They re used to collect contact information from a visitor in exchange for an offer. Is your lead generation working effectively? Do you know which parts of your campaigns need refining? This e-book outlines some useful ways you can improve your lead generation. page 3
1 How to make your offers irresistible #1 Use the element of scarcity If you look at the principle of supply and demand, you ll notice that when supply is limited, demand goes up. That s because scarcity has a psychological influence on us, making us want something even more if there isn t enough to go around. Scarcity is great because it creates a fear of shortage, and a sense of urgency. You can apply it in the following ways: Limited time offers They re among the most popular in the scarcity category. Just think about your average car dealership. Practically every advert features a limited time deal. Get 0% financing before it s gone! Limited quantity offers When something s of limited quantity, it suddenly becomes unique or exclusive. In some studies, limited quantity or supply offers have outperformed limited time offers. Limited quantity offers are great for getting people to say yes to your offer without procrastinating. Limited time and limited quantity offers Groupon uses limited time and limited quantity offers perfectly. That s because its deals end within a certain time frame and they limit the number of people who can buy each deal. That s a powerful combination. The site also packages these scarcity tactics with discounting, which is another great value-add. #2 Leverage the bandwagon effect It s natural for humans to copy one another, even without realising it. So when we notice our social circle is doing one thing, we tend to follow suit. One great way to make an offer more valuable is to show that other people are participating in that offer. If possible, a great way to do this is to mention the number of people who ve already purchased, downloaded, signed up or donated. #3 Use appealing titles If you have a great offer with a bad title, chances are no one will download it or sign up. But if you have an amazing title, suddenly everyone wants it. That s because people do naturally judge a book by its cover. If your offer is a piece of content, such as a white paper, e-book or presentation, put effort into creating a compelling title that resonates with your target audience. page 4
#4 Create offers for different buying stages One of the most commonly used offers on websites is contact us. Of course you want your prospects to talk to your sales team, but not everyone will be ready. Buyers usually do their own research before they re ready to speak to a sales rep. Plus, every prospect is at a different stage of exploration. Some may need more education than others. That s why it s important to develop different offers for different buying stages. #5 Avoid using corporate jargon Professional images are necessary, but you need to avoid using corporate speak at all times. What is corporate jargon? It s those terms and phrases that have been over-used, rendering them meaningless. Avoid these words when describing your offers and stick to plain English. Here are just some of the words you should steer clear of: Next generation Cutting edge For instance, someone at the top of the funnel may be more interested in an informational piece like a guide, whereas someone closer to buying at the bottom of the funnel might be more interested in a free trial or demo. Create offers for each phase, and include a primary and secondary CTA to these offers on various pages throughout your site. Market-leading Solution Value added Unrivalled Mission critical page 5
How to use your calls to action to grab 2people s attention #6 Make your CTAs easy to find CTAs perform best when they re placed above the fold the space where your web page is viewable to the user without having to scroll down. Research has revealed that anything below the fold will only be seen by 50% of people who visit your page. Double the number of people that see your CTAs and you ll significantly increase your leads. #7 Use contrast to make your CTAs stand out A CTA is meant to stand out, so if your CTAs blend in too much with your overall site design, no one will see them. You want as many eyeballs to land on your CTAs as possible. Help make this happen by using contrasting colours and design to make it clear they re clickable. #8 Link your CTAs to landing pages CTAs are meant to send visitors to a dedicated landing page where they ll receive a specific offer DON T use them to drive people to your homepage DO send your web visitors to a targeted landing page that s relevant to what they re looking for, so they re willing to give you their details. If you have the opportunity to use a CTA, send them to a page that ll convert them into a lead #9 Improve your thank you pages Thank you pages are great CTA real estate. Even if someone completes a form on your website (converting as a lead), the interaction doesn t stop there. Increase engagement and you ll transform your prospects into loyal fans. Once visitors complete a form, automatically direct them to a page thanking them for downloading or signing up. Not only is it polite, but it also gives you space to promote more offers and content relevant to what they ve just requested. page 6
3 Ways to make your landing pages convert #10 Remove the main navigation Once a visitor arrives on a landing page, it s your job to get them to submit the form. If there are links on the page to move about your website, it will distract your visitors and reduce the chance of them converting on the page. You can increase your landing page conversion rates by removing the main navigation from the page. #12 Create simple landing pages Less is more when it comes to your landing pages. A cluttered page means a distracted visitor. Be brief and to the point, giving them enough of a taste so they want to sign up for more. In addition to your headline, include a brief paragraph explaining what the offer is, followed by a few bullet points outlining the benefits. #11 Keep your messages consistent Have you checked if your CTAs and landing page headlines are consistent? If people click on a link for a free offer and then discover there s a catch on the landing page, you ll instantly lose their trust. Similarly, if your headlines read differently to your CTAs, it ll cause confusion and result in your visitors wondering if your CTA is connected to the wrong page. #13 Encourage social sharing Don t forget to include buttons to enable your prospects to share your content and offers. Include multiple social media channels as well as email, since people have different sharing preferences. When your offer is shared more, more people land on the page, and therefore more people complete your forms and become leads. page 7
4How to optimise your forms #14 Make forms the right length The fewer fields you have in a form, the more conversions you re likely to receive. This is because each new field you add to a form creates more work for the visitor. However, the more fields you require, the better quality the leads might be, because only those really interested will complete it. The only way to find out what works best is by testing various form lengths and seeing what gives you the best leads. #16 Adjust the styling Sometimes people won t complete a form because it looks long and time-consuming. If your forms involve a lot of fields, try making them look shorter by adjusting the styling. For example, reduce the spacing in between fields or align the titles to the left of each field instead of above it. If your forms cover less space on the page, it ll seem as if you re asking for less. #15 Avoid the word submit One of the best ways to increase form conversion rates is to avoid using the word submit on your CTA buttons. That s because people very rarely want to submit to anything. Instead, turn the statement into a benefit that relates to what they re going to get in return. For example, if your form relates to downloading a brochure, the submit button should say, Get your brochure. page 8
5How to maximise your lead generation #17 Think about your search engine optimisation (SEO) It s crucial you make it easy for people to find your landing pages using search engines. Here are just some of the ways you can do this: Pick a primary keyword for each landing page and optimise that page for that word. If you oversaturate a page with too many keywords, it ll lose its importance and authority because search engines won t have a clear idea of what it s about Place your primary keywords in your headline and sub-headline. These areas of content carry greater weight with search engines Include the keywords in the body content, but make sure they re relevant to the rest of your content Include keywords in the page URL and file name of images, or use them in the ALT tag #18 Conduct A/B testing A/B testing is a great way to increase leads across all channels and tactics and can be used in CTAs, landing pages, email marketing, advertising and more. You d be surprised at how much of a difference changing the colour or shape of your CTA button can make. Research has revealed that A/B testing your landing pages and other assets can help you generate up to 40% more leads for your business. When done correctly, it can provide you with a huge competitive advantage. #19 Generate social media leads Social media isn t just for sharing selfies and holiday snaps, it s essential for generating leads online. Companies that only use social media to blast out messages about themselves aren t using social channels effectively. When sharing content on social media, don t always post something that relates to your company. Share links to other interesting things you ve found online instead. Publishing and sharing content that directs traffic to targeted landing pages is the single biggest lever to increase lead generation through social media. You can do this by posting links to new landing pages and sharing useful resources such as blog posts and discounts. #20 Email marketing Many businesses think that email marketing is only best used when communicating with existing prospects and customers. However, it s a great channel for lead generation. You can use email to generate more new prospects by: Making sure you have a list of happy subscribers that enjoy receiving emails from you Sending people valuable offers such as discounts or educational content Giving people the tools to share your content by adding forward to a friend links or social media sharing buttons page 9
About Cognition Cognition is a full service marketing agency rooted in a commercial approach we create captivating marketing that drives revenue and growth. We re an agency with a head for business because, after a decade of commercial success, we know what works. Our award-winning teams in London and the Midlands are led by experienced entrepreneurs and include some of the brightest marketing strategists, digital experts, PR specialists and creative minds, all ready to apply their expertise to the challenge of growing your business. 30 MINUTE CHALLENGE Want to bolster your sales pipeline? We offer a no-obligation meeting to discuss your marketing. If you re not impressed after 30 minutes, we ll even pay for your time. Contact Paul Houston, Cognition s Commercial Director, on 0800 781 0247 or email paul.h@cognition.agency. page 10 cognitionagency.co.uk