We’ve either created or reviewed HUNDREDS of freebie lead generation offers, and we’ve identified four characteristics of a high converting lead generation offer. Nailing these four characteristics in your next lead generation offer can lead to a freebie that generates hundreds or thousands of emails.
How much do you enjoy sending cold emails or DMs to find clients or customers? If you’re like 99% of business owners, that answer is none.
However, you have to connect with potential clients somehow if you want your business to thrive.
Enter lead generation.
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Effective lead generation creates a consistent pipeline of potential clients or customers. And as we’ve discussed frequently in podcast episodes and blog posts, email marketing is one of the most effective ways to generate and nurture leads. Simply put, it generally looks something like this:
- Create a “freebie”: Some sort of free download, training, etc. that offers a TON of value.
- Give this freebie away in exchange for their email address.
- Nurture your leads by sending them regular, value-packed emails.
We’ve either created or reviewed HUNDREDS of freebie lead generation offers, and we’ve identified four characteristics of a high converting lead generation offer. Nailing these four characteristics in your next lead generation offer can lead to a freebie that generates hundreds or thousands of emails.
Quick Note: Be sure to check out the resources we link to at the bottom of this post that cover the technical aspects of setting up lead generation on your website such as embedding download forms on your website.
Let’s get started.
What is a Lead?
A lead is a person who has expressed interest in your business’s product or service. In a broad sense, this can be anyone who interacts with your business— from people who follow your social media page to people who complete the contact form on your website.
For the purpose of this blog post and the corresponding podcast episode, we’re talking about marketing leads: people who have shared their email or phone number. This contact information allows you to connect directly with them in order to provide value and promote your business.
Why Focus on Lead Generation?
All businesses need a pipeline of potential customers or clients. Businesses that don’t have a pipeline of warm leads can quickly fall into a cycle of hustle, finding new projects every time a current project ends. It creates a feast or famine mentality in your business and can lead to unpredictability in your income.
Lead generation, on the other hand, creates sustainability, because you’re able to build a steady stream of interested clients.
It also increases brand awareness because you’re able to stay connected with people over time.
And while it requires an initial investment of your time, lead generation actually saves you time in the long run by eliminating the need for cold emailing and messaging.
How Do I Generate Leads?
The way you choose to generate leads has everything to do with your target audience. Think about what kind of resource would entice them to share their contact information.
At Davey & Krista we offer a website quiz where people can learn what design or platform would best meet their website needs; at Till Agency we offer a free SEO or ad audit. Different audiences, different lead generation techniques.
Here are a few ideas to get you started—
- Teach a free workshop
- Offer downloadable case studies
- Send physical mail
- Offer samples or free consultations
- Build a referral program
- Create lots of content / opt-ins
- Provide some sort of ‘freebie’
- Offer a discount or coupon code
- Ask visitors to take a quiz
Most lead generation focuses on collecting people’s email addresses, but I think there’s some merit to asking for phone numbers. SMS marketing has a much higher open and click-through rate than email marketing.
Does that mean email marketing is ineffective and obsolete? Absolutely not. But it does signal the need to try different lead generation and marketing strategies in your business.
Best Practices for Lead Generation: The high converting lead gen formula…
The process of lead generation begins by identifying your target audience and what issues they often face. This information provides clarity about what kind of offer you need to create. Think about what questions or problems your clients often bring to you. If they have these issues, then your potential clients do too.
The best offer has 4 key components.
- Actionable & manageable. Your offer should be something that people can actually take action with. Ask yourself, “How can I solve this person’s problem as efficiently as possible?” A 50-page PDF may provide valuable information, but few people will have the time to fully use a resource of that length. Keep it short and sweet.
- Profitable. Whatever you offer should be profitable for the person who’s downloading the resource or signing up. Make sure that your resource can give them some sort of win.
- Urgent and critical. Address your target audience’s current problem & tell them how you can help solve it right now. Paint a picture of how things can be different if they download or sign up.
You may even consider making your offer time-sensitive. If people want the customizable holiday templates or the link to a three-day workshop happening next week, they need to provide their email sooner rather than later.
- Relevant. It’s obvious that your download should be relevant to the person downloading it, but relevancy is also extremely important for your business. A relevant resource helps you qualify your leads so that you’re only connecting with people who fit into your target audience.
Once you’ve created an offer that includes all 4 key components, it’s time to build a high-converting landing page. The page should have a single goal: encouraging people to subscribe to your email or text list so they can access your offer.
Creating a strong landing page is a feat all on its own and therefore deserves its own post. To help you get started, here are 5 simple tips for creating a landing page that converts.
What Do I Do With My New Leads?
You’ve got warm leads– now what?
One of the worst things you can do with new leads is to ignore them. Once people subscribe, start them down the path of your nurture email sequence. This welcome sequence allows you to introduce yourself and establish your authority as an expert.
In addition, there’s always the risk that people will download their freebie or attend your workshop and then opt out of future emails from you. Use your welcome sequence to share bonus content like links to helpful blogs or extra Canva templates. Show people that it’s worth sticking around your email list.
Whether you utilize email or SMS marketing, stay in contact with your leads, providing a mixture of value-added and promotional content.
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