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For many online businesses, generating leads is the cornerstone of their marketing strategy. Even if that’s not the case for you, you can still benefit from collecting high-quality leads for your business (and this is especially true for small businesses).
A good lead generation strategy can help you collect more qualified leads and convert them into paying customers. Whether you run a blog or an online store, it’s important to focus on improving traffic and generating more leads for your business.
To help you do this, we’ve listed nine tried-and-true lead generation strategies that nearly always work wonders.
By using tactics like offering free giveaways, improving your landing page(s), and tweaking your about page, you can ramp up your lead generation efforts in a fast, cost-effective way.
Read on to learn more about these techniques and others!
Why focus on lead generation?
Focusing on lead generation is crucial for the sustained growth and success of any business (especially small businesses).
Here are several key reasons why prioritizing online lead generation should be at the forefront of your marketing strategy:
- Sustained business growth: By consistently generating new leads, you create a steady stream of opportunities to convert into sales, which is essential for long-term business growth and stability.
- Increased sales and revenue: Effective lead generation strategies target individuals who are already interested in your products or services. This targeted approach increases the likelihood of conversions, leading to higher sales and revenue.
- Cost-effective marketing: Compared to traditional marketing methods, lead generation can be more cost-effective. Digital lead generation tactics often require less investment and can yield higher returns. This efficiency allows you to allocate resources more strategically.
- Better customer insights: Lead generation processes involve collecting valuable data about potential customers. This information provides insights into their needs, preferences, and behaviors. Understanding these aspects helps you tailor your marketing messages and improve product offerings.
- Scalability and adaptability: A well-structured lead generation strategy can be easily scaled to match your business’s growth. As your company expands, you can adjust your lead generation efforts to target new markets or demographics.
9 lead generation tactics that work
Now that you understand the importance of lead generation and its impact on your business, you can implement effective lead gen strategies to attract and convert potential customers.
Here are nine proven lead generation tactics that will get you qualified leads:
1. Offer an awesome free giveaway
The first and most immediate method you can use to generate leads is to offer a great free giveaway in exchange for your visitors joining your list.
A giveaway like this is also known as a “lead magnet.” It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or expensive, but it does have to be something of value to your readers or customers.
For example, you can offer them a special report, an ebook, or a free tool that makes sense for your niche.
If you operate an online store, you can also give visitors a discount coupon in return for submitting their contact info.
When visitors are willing to provide personal info, it indicates that they’re at least a little bit interested in your content or your products, which makes their contact information twice as valuable.
Try promoting your lead magnet on a popup like the ones below:
2. Generate leads with a landing page
Landing pages are an important early part of the sales funnel that many potential leads come into contact with. They’re also a place where you can explain your products or offers in more detail than on social media channels or a popup.
If you set up a free giveaway (as covered in the previous section), don’t forget to create a fantastic landing page that not only highlights the giveaway, but also effectively markets your site, your products, and your content.
Don’t simply say, “Want one? It’s free!”
Rather, take the time to explain how your giveaway will benefit your visitors. Highlight the regular price of your special report, or note how much money buyers can save by using your coupon. Explaining your offer in detail can also increase lead quality, as those who sign up are really interested in what you have to offer.
The more attractive you make the freebie, the more likely you are to successfully convert potential leads into new sales leads.
3. Use gated videos
Another winning method to quickly generate leads is to add gated videos to your site.
Gated content is simply any content on your site that can’t be viewed until visitors complete a form. This lets you capture contact information from prospects who are interested enough in the videos you’ve produced to share their personal info.
However, be aware that gating information can dramatically reduce the number of downloads or views. You might lose a paying customer if you require them to enter their email in order to see a video.
Make sure that your content marketing is geared towards developing a relationship rather than simply maximizing views. To use a gated video to generate leads, you can use Wistia Turnstile to add an email opt-in form to a video you upload.
4. Optimize your About Us page
One of the most important pages on your website is the “About Us” or “Meet the Team” page.
However, many online businesses don’t realize this page can do more than simply inform your visitors about your company. It can also generate leads for your business and perform other functions.
Your about page is where you get the opportunity to explain who you are and what you offer to your target audience. It’s also a great place to highlight your unique value proposition, share social proof from your current customers, and insert a call-to-action.
5. Mention giveaways in your email signature
Another great way to generate leads is to mention your giveaways in your personal email signature.
You probably send out dozens of emails every day. Don’t waste that potential marketing channel! Instead, include a link to your site, and mention your giveaways at the bottom of every single email you send.
This is an extremely effective technique. For instance, the British Red Cross has had enormous success generating donations by adding links to its donation pages in the email signature of all of its employees. Prospects were 20% more likely to donate when interacting with an employee who had the modified email signature. You can learn more about this strategy by clicking here.
Consider using an email signature service if you have specific formatting needs or want to include graphics and other design elements. Here are a couple to check out:
6. Use remarketing ads
Another key lead generation method is to use remarketing techniques.
Visitors who have visited your site in the past are better leads than those who are not familiar with your site. That’s why you want to consider using remarketing ads to convince visitors who’ve left your site to return and complete a purchase.
You can even use marketing automation methods like personalization to adapt your lead generation campaigns to individual visitors.
When your remarketing campaigns include a personal touch, you’ll generate more leads to send to your customer relationship and contact management software.
7. Use exit-intent popups
If you want to capture more leads from the web traffic you’re already getting, exit-intent popups can help you save site abandoners.
Here’s how it works: the instant a visitor’s mouse cursor movement indicates that they intend to close the active window, back out of the site, or enter a new URL, a popup message appears to stop them in their tracks.
Exit-intent software lets you offer new information, suggest other content or products the visitor might like, or offer a coupon or other incentive to encourage the visitor to join your list. In short, it gives you a second chance to convert a prospect into a new sales lead.
Here are some exit popup templates to get you started:
8. Partner with an influencer
Partnering with influencers is another great way to generate leads for your business.
No matter whether you’re a B2C or B2B business, your prospective customers are active on one social media network or another. There’s a reason that influencers are one of the most popular types of paid media for generating leads.
You just want to make sure that the social media platform your influencers are on is a good place for building relationships with your potential customers. If few people from your target audience visit that site, you won’t manage to gather many qualified leads.
To get more out of your influencer marketing, create a customized landing page or welcome popup experience that speaks directly to your customers’ hearts.
9. Use gamification
Gamification is an online lead generation strategy that more and more ecommerce stores are taking advantage of. It involves integrating game-like elements into non-game contexts. One particularly effective gamification strategy is the use of lucky wheel popups.
Lucky wheel popups are interactive, spinning wheels that offer visitors a chance to win various prizes or discounts in exchange for their contact information.
This approach leverages the psychological appeal of games and rewards, creating an engaging and memorable experience for potential business leads.
The excitement and anticipation of winning something can significantly boost the conversion rates of converting leads. When visitors feel they have a chance to win a valuable prize, they are more inclined to engage with your brand and provide their information.
If you’d like to implement a lucky wheel popup, you can get started with these ready-to-use templates:
FAQ
What is lead generation?
Lead generation is the process of attracting and converting strangers and prospects into individuals who have expressed interest in your company’s product or service. This interest is typically shown by sharing contact information, such as an email address or phone number, which allows you to follow up with potential customers.
How does lead generation work?
The lead generation process involves generating leads (i.e. collecting customer details like name and email address) using either onsite messaging or advertising campaigns on social media platforms and search engines. Once you successfully generate sales leads, you can send email marketing messages to the potential customer.
Why is it important to use lead generation strategies?
Even when potential customers are squarely in your target audience, they might not be ready to make a purchase right away. Adding customers like these to your email marketing list can help ensure they don’t forget about your store and boost the odds that they’ll eventually make a purchase. And ensuring you have a steady flow of new leads means your business can continue to grow and expand.
What’s the best lead generation strategy?
There are many lead generation strategies that you can pursue as an online business, including campaigns on marketing channels like social media platforms, content marketing, and even in-person networking events.
Out of all the options, we’d argue that on-site messaging using popups is the most effective way to generate more leads for your business. Your website visitors have demonstrated interest in your site, and popups that feature great lead magnets can grab their attention very effectively. This means that you can reach very high conversion rates for your lead generation campaigns on your landing pages, homepage, or blog posts.
If you need to prioritize your marketing efforts as a small business, this is a great place to start.
Wrapping up
Email marketing is a great way to secure direct engagement with your target market over a sustained period of time.
Not only can you use online lead generation to encourage new leads to make their first purchase, but you can also build a base of loyal customers that will stick around for a long time.
If you want to strengthen this crucial stage of your sales funnel and capture leads for your business more reliably, you can use free tools like OptiMonk to create onsite lead generation campaigns. Using OptiMonk’s professionally designed templates, you’ll be able to attract leads and secure more future customers.
What should you do next?
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Written by
Nikolett Lorincz
Nikolett is the Head of Content at OptiMonk. She is obsessed with content marketing and loves creating educational content for ecommerce store owners. She truly believes in the importance of quality over quantity.
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