Inbound Marketing on a Shoestring Budget [3/5]: Convert

Mad Men by finnur.malmquist

Now that we have increased the volume of visitors to the site it is time to start converting them. The majority of these conversions will fall into the top and middle of the sales funnel. We convert them with these 4 components:

1. Premium Content

Premium content is your offer to the 82-100% of visitors who are not ready to buy yet. In exchange for premium content we ask the visitor to provide their information. At this point they officially become a lead. Premium content comes in many forms such as: eBooks, White Papers and Case Studies. We create interest in our premium content with effective calls to action (CTAs).

2. Calls To Action

A CTA is your opportunity to convince a visitor to learn more about your premium piece of content. The key factors in any CTA are: Offer, Copy, Design and Placement. All of these items should be tested on a regular basis. The offer is your opportunity to state what the lead will receive ie. Free eBook about saving money with product X. The copy is the sales pitch you use to convince a visitor to click on the CTA. Design elements such as colour and font selection can impact the effectiveness of a CTA. It is important to try different CTA placements to determine which one will convert at a higher rate. Some popular placements include in post, bottom of post and sidebar.

3. Landing Pages

Landing pages are the gateway in which we exchange the content for a visitor's information. It is important to note that we are selling the content and not a product. Have a clear title for the content. Include a brief description of what is included followed by bullet points containing features and benefits. All landing pages must have a lead capture form. This is our final opportunity to convince the visitor to become a lead.

4. Conversion Forms

Forms are the final gateway between you and the lead. Your form should be simple and ask for only the necessary information. A shorter form will generate more conversions ie. Name, Email Address and Phone Number. Your form should have a title "Get The Free Report" and rather than a submit button you should provide a button that more clearly identifies the action such as "Send Me The Free Report"

What Should I Do Next?

At this point you have more visitors than ever. You have the content and CTAs needed to convert visitors. You have more leads than ever, but many of them are too early in the sales funnel to begin selling to them. It is time to focus on the Close phase.