People use the term “hack” to describe nearly anything today. From meal delivery services to new iPhone apps — the term has strayed far from its definition and has become a muddled mess.
But in the online marketing world, hacks — or shortcuts, if you prefer — still have a very important place. Here are a few tricks that can help you generate leads through content.
Capture Leads Before They Leave
So you’ve driven tons of traffic to your blog through organic search, referral sources, and other sources such as word-of-mouth advertising. Congratulations! But most of these visitors won’t subscribe to your blog, download any of your offers, or fill out any forms. That’s bad news because, aside from retargeting, it’s hard to get these people back.
Enter the pop-up subscribe box. You can set up this nifty tool to display as someone’s leaving your site. Ours looks like this:
In case you’re wondering whether it actually works to capture leads, it does. Since implementing this tool on our site, it’s produced a 2.4 percent conversion rate, which means we’re bringing in approximately 75 additional leads per month.
Want to try it on your site? We use a custom implementation of Ouibounce, but you can get started with a simple plug-and-play tool called SumoMe. Make sure your offer is compelling enough to someone leaving your site, and don’t ask for too much information. Typically, just asking for the person’s email address works best. You can (and should) A/B test different variables to see how you can increase subscription rates using this form.
Use ‘Smart Content’ to Boost Conversion Rates
“Wait — shouldn’t all of my content be smart?” That’s very astute. However, I’m referring to content that either directly applies to the content a person is already reading or is tailored to a specific person using marketing automation software.
In the first example, it all comes down to logic and levelheaded strategy. When we publish content in external publications, we always tie it to a relevant content offer on our site. When the tie-in is exceptionally high-quality, it’s obvious.
For example, our vice president of brand management, Don Broekelmann, wrote an article entitled “4 reasons leaders need to share their knowledge” for SmartBlog on Leadership. The article linked to an offer we’re promoting called the Knowledge Management Template. As a result of this natural connection, the conversion rate of traffic coming from this source has reached 22 percent to date. This is astounding, considering our typical conversion rate from referral sources this year is 7.5 percent.
In the second case, it pays to have marketing automation software that will help you deliver fresh, relevant content to repeat visitors. We use HubSpot to help with this. The platform offers a tool called Smart CTAs, which automatically changes a promotion after a contact downloads a piece of content. Below is an example of a call to action we put on our thank-you pages. It changes as visitors download different pieces of content so it doesn’t send duplicate offers.
You can also customize these offers by persona, location, funnel stage, or any variable you want. By making sure people never see an offer they’ve already downloaded, you’re promoting increased engagement and repeat visits.
Skip CTAs Altogether
In case my previous point made you lose interest in CTAs, I have the solution for you. Simply include a form for a gated piece of content at the bottom of your blog post. Why waste time directing someone to a landing page when that person can convert on the spot?
We recently wrote an article called “How Leggett & Platt Reinvented the Bedding Industry Through Content Marketing.” Instead of including a CTA at the end, we added this form:
Within 10 days, we had 26 downloads, which is more than the number of clicks our gated content typically receives within that timeframe. By using forms, you can decrease barriers to downloading content and capturing leads.
Maybe hacks aren’t dead, after all. But still, it’s tough to defy conventions and best practices and experiment with new marketing strategies. I challenge you to try out one of these tactics, all of them, or something new altogether. Let me know how your test goes in the comments section!
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