I know how important a well-crafted lead magnet is for generating more traffic to your website, which is why I invited Marie, a graphic designer, writer and founder of SmartLeadMagnets, to share with you the ultimate guide to creating a conversion-optimized lead magnet for your business. Take it away Marie!
I would like to share with you the ultimate guide to creating a conversion-optimized lead magnet. How you do this is vital because simply offering a lead magnet won’t motivate people enough to subscribe.
As a business owner, the most important thing that you can do is create highly relevant content that your readers value. So much so, that it motivates them to provide you with their email address, which will add to your sales funnel.
Valuable content is the kind that grabs your audience’s attention because it offers them information on how to solve a problem that they are having. The first step is to do your research and find out what your audience’s biggest issue is, and what they can do to overcome it. Here’s how you can go about doing that.
Solid Research Leads to Success
Clearly, you cannot assume that you understand what your audience’s issues are without doing any research. If you try to do this, you will waste a lot of time and money. I once did this and I paid the price.
I tried to build a business, without first making sure that I had a solid enough foundation. Do not make the same mistake that I did.
If you’ve got an email list that you’ve already compiled, send out an email asking the recipients what they are struggling the most with. If you don’t have an email list, you can still move forward by engaging in the following strategies.
1. Use Buzzsumo For Research
Buzzsumo is an amazing tool that allows you to view which content is being shared the most. First, collect the keywords that pertain to your industry and niche. Then enter them in the search box and the posts that are being shared the most will appear. The titles, headings, and keywords will reveal which problems your audience needs solutions for and the issues that most concern them.
2. Search Relevant Forums
You can also search online for the most active forums pertaining to your niche. Look through all the topics that are being discussed and narrow down your search to bring up the posts that are getting the most replies. Search for the most popular ones as well. These posts are a virtual goldmine of the types of questions that your audience wants answers to.
3. Use Quora
Quora is a free platform for pinpointing the major obstacles that are facing your market. It allows you to question others on which challenges they are having the most difficulty with. You can also ask what features they are seeking in a product and/or service. Because there are such a huge number of questions being asked on all different topics, Quora can help you a great deal in coming up with lead generation strategies.
4. Use Analytics to Monitor Traffic
Having a tool like Google Analytics is a great way to to track traffic to your webpages, videos, posts and/or downloads. In assessing the data, make note of the type of content that is getting the most activity and ask yourself what problems or challenges you are helping your readers overcome. What solutions do you offer?
Method of Delivery Makes a Difference
When doing your homework, make note of the most popular manner in which your audience consumes their content. There are many different options: podcasts, courses, webinars, eBooks, blog posts, videos, newsletters, etc.
You need to determine which method will most appeal to your audience in delivering your lead generator or magnet. Do whatever you can to offer valuable, relevant content that resonates with your audience, and deliver it via the medium that they find most useful to garner the results that you want.
Critical Elements of An Effective Lead Magnet
Here is what you can do to make your lead generator so tempting, that it’s nearly impossible for people to resist it!
1. It must provide the solution to a problem.
If you want to convert your audience, you’ve got to deliver on the promise spelled out in your title or headline.
2. The more detailed you are, the better.
In order to get conversions, you must be as specific as possible in explaining or describing your solution.
3. Give them a quick taste of success.
Once your audience has consumed your content in whatever medium you’re presenting it in, he or she should be able to immediately go out and apply what they’ve learned to achieve a tangible result.
4. Offer something of “high-perceived value”.
Your prospect must believe that what you’re offering is extremely valuable to them. The easiest way to do this is by offering something of value for FREE. To establish perceived value, assign a dollar amount to what it is that you’re offering for free, and announce the value of your lead generator or magnet right on your opt-in or landing page.
5. Make it easy to read and comprehend
It doesn’t matter what topic you’re discussing or what medium you’re using to deliver your message, your lead generator must be easy to access, comprehend and digest. People have a short attention span, and they’ll just click out and look someplace else. Keep your audience engaged.
Tips To Convert Visitors Into Buyers
Once you have created high quality content that attracts visitors to your website, now you have to find a way to convert your visitors into buyers. Here are some guidelines for how you can boost your conversion rates to the maximum.
1. Write a compelling eye-catching title or headline.
Point out the specific problem that you are promising to solve and describe the benefit. Just naming the problem or pain point is not enough. They must be clear about how this is going to benefit them or they will not sign up.
2. Write your copy in an active, not passive voice.
This keeps your reader’s attention so that they will actually listen to your message. You want them to feel like you’re speaking right to them, so that you will get their full attention and engagement.
3. Be up front and direct.
When describing the problem that you will solve and how your prospective customer will benefit, do not meander. Ensure that your message is perfectly clear, without being confusing. You want your audience to feel confident enough to quickly sign up, in a matter of seconds.
4. Create a sense of urgency.
Unless your audience feels that there is a level of urgency to act, they will have no reason to decide. Tell your audience that you are only going to offer your eBook, for FREE, for a very limited time.
5. Visually represent your brand with your lead generator or magnet.
You want something this important to be well-designed. If you have the talent and time to do this without compromising quality, then go ahead. However, it might be wise to hire a professional to create this for you.
So, there you have it! That is the ultimate guide to creating a conversion-optimized lead magnet. Have you ever created a lead magnet to build your list? What tips do you have for someone starting out?
Marie is a graphic designer, writer and founder of SmartLeadMagnets, a done-for-you lead magnet service that delivers engaging, high-quality content, without the heavy lifting. Have a burning question about lead generation? Click here to get in touch.
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