The way people make buying decisions have changed drastically over the last decade, thanks to the internet. That makes it all the more crucial for marketers like you to stay on their toes and constantly be up to date. One of the most powerful strategies to help you with that is the lead generation strategy. And to start a winning lead generation strategy, you can start with your blog.
Here are some ways to turn your blog into a lead generation machine so that you can capture leads to build a relationship with your audience and convert them into new customers with ease.
Create gated content
You can make exclusive content and make it fully accessible only when prospects share their name, email address, and other contact information. This type of content can be a variety of blog assets like ebooks, reports, whitepapers, case studies, explainer videos, and more.
Before gating any content, make sure you give snippets or previews of content, so the prospects know what it’s all about. That way, they can get more confident in sharing their personal information with you. We’d also recommend choosing a catchy slogan that goes well with the call-to-action.
Add newsletter sign-up forms
Another way to generate more quality leads using your blog is by having a “subscribe newsletter” place on your blog. It might sound like an absolute no-brainer, but it’s effective.
When a prospect finds your blog article valuable and informative, they tend to look for more. In this case, you can offer them other insightful content in email newsletters. You can place it in a footer on the blog or place it as a banner at the top of the blog to make it even more noticeable.
Your newsletter will give you a path to offer exclusive deals, seasonal sales, or showcase your previous case studies. You can also ask for more private information such as the date of their birthday. When you have this type of knowledge, you’ll be able to create an automated system that sends people personalised emails with offers on their birthday.
Include obvious call-to-actions (CTA)
Some bloggers still underestimate the power of call-to-action on their blog. CTA is the magic “button” to compel your prospects or readers to take action.
If you write a blog article, make sure you include CTA that can guide the prospects to a relevant ebook or whitepaper. You can also simply include a relevant link on the text of your post as an alternative. Here are some creative CTA texts:
- Increase your ecommerce sales
- Earn from your website
- Learn about marketing
Host webinars
Webinars have become more and more popular these days. Therefore, you should take advantage of this strategy and situation to generate more leads.
Start by promoting your webinar on your blog and include registration forms as well. Don’t forget to make it simple for them by entering their information, such as name and email address. This way, it’d be much easier for the prospects to book their seats for the webinar directly from your blog. We’d also recommend asking for any other related information that will help you guide them into making a sale with you, such as their area of interest or company details.
Use exit intent pop-ups
Exit intent pop-ups only appear when a prospect or reader is about to leave the page, stopping them in their tracks. That is what makes this kind of pop-up less intrusive. You can use it to offer enticing special offerings in a last-ditch effort to convert.
One thing you need to bear in mind here: make sure your pop-up headline is intriguing enough and hint at a need. You need to convince readers to understand that they have a gap in their knowledge, and you can help them fill it – after they share their names and email addresses.
Give real advice
Blogs are all about information, but it only has a positive impact if they are unique and valuable. For example, use a real-life story or develop a list of things you can mention that most how-to blogs would miss out on. Whilst these small excerpts of info might seem trivial, they can help build trust between you and your potential customer. It will also make your company feel less corporate and more human, which is a great way to gain the likability of potential customers.
Give something for free
As mentioned above, newsletter sign-ups and advice are a great way of generating new leads. But so are freebies. When you give away something for free, such as knowledge, an ebook or even a ticket to your next Zoom event, you’re not asking for anything in return and thus will likely get something back. This is called the rule of reciprocity. It’s simple, but it works. It’s also worth mentioning that giving away something for free can be simply a brand awareness exercise. And when it’s not, you can open up your sales funnel and see a different path of collecting leads and converting them into paying customers.
