You launched your site and filled it with the best content and business information that potential customers could want. Now that you’re noticing regular visitors, it’s time to plan for online lead generation. Online lead generation is a method of transforming your one-time readers into loyal site followers and potential shoppers.
Repeat views are golden. You want to cultivate a community of devoted readers who will return to your site regularly, engage with the quality content you’re posting, and share it with others. According to Salesforce, a repeat visitor is much more likely to become a happy shopper after they interact with your business at multiple touch points and learn to trust you and your business. It could take up to eight visits for someone to qualify as “sales-ready” for a specific purchase. This is where acquiring page leads becomes all-important.
One of the best ways to increase your online lead generation is with a newsletter. You can educate your visitors, inspire and inform them, and move them to action — whether that action involves purchasing a service from your business or becoming a dedicated reader of your blog. But how do you compile the list of names and email addresses to include on your newsletter’s mailing list? The most efficient way is to build a fan base of visitors who choose to receive updates from your page via email. Let’s look at a few methods that will help transform your visitors into loyal readers and even potential shoppers.
Build a following
If you’re churning out quality content, you’ll want to secure consistent readership. A simple way to connect the community with your content is by using the WordPress.com Follow Blog Widget. It’s not quite a newsletter, but clicking this button will automatically register a site visitor to receive your juicy content. Every time you write a new post, an update is automatically sent to the inboxes of those registered. This allows your viewership to grow each time you click the Publish Post button.
When users click the Follow button, they are making a statement — they’re saying that they like what you’re posting and want to see more of it. Adding a Follow button to your page offers your fans a simple, effective way to keep up with your site content. It also helps you grow a repeat visitor base, which is needed to build deeper connections and tangible results.
Keep in touch
If you want to connect with top-quality prospective shoppers and answer relevant questions without providing your own email address, consider offering a Contact form. Your visitors can reach out directly to connect, and you can curate their questions and comments while building a list of email addresses. You can also add subscribers’ email addresses to your email server and send newsletters from there. Through your newsletter, you can provide updates about what you’re up to, allowing those who’ve shown interest and support to connect with you in a more meaningful way. It’s important, however, to get permission before including email addresses submitted via a contact form on a newsletter distribution list (MailChimp has a helpful guide for this).
Call to act
You want to propel your readers into action. An engaged, dedicated reader is more likely to want more of what you have to offer. That’s where implementing a Call-to-Action button can be a big help. As a visitor views your content and feels drawn into it, a clear call to action gives them something to do once they’ve finished reading: in this case, continue connecting with your site. A button that states “Yes! I’d love to subscribe to your newsletter!” keeps readers up-to-date with your offerings and ensures they see the best of your daily, weekly, or monthly writing selections. Not only does a call to action drive lead generation, but it engages the hearts and minds of your visitors, as they’re saying “yes” to receiving more content from you, learning about products or services, and becoming active parts of your community.
Bring in help
Services like MailChimp let you integrate an email list into your WordPress.com site so your lead captures feed directly into your email platform. Adding the MailChimp form requires a bit of effort, but once completed, it will save you from having to manually enter each email address into an external document. When you embed a popup form within your WordPress.com site and a visitor clicks to Subscribe, their email address goes directly into your newsletter mailing list. You can grow your blog or business with a newsletter to stay in touch with visitors, host a marketing campaign for sales, or just share your art and writing with the community you’re building.
Whatever your ultimate website goal might be, online lead generation is an invaluable strategy to connect with the loyal visitors and potential shoppers who can help you reach it!
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