Blogging is popular among companies now and has become one of the best ways to generate leads. By publishing valuable content on your blog, you become a resource and an authority in your field. With the authority, you can then raise the bar and turn your audience into valuable customers. You can achieve this by capturing your audience, calling them to action, and converting blog traffic to sales.
According to statistics, companies that utilize blogging as a marketing means generate 67% more leads than those who don’t. So, why not tap into this and build a better customer network and garner more sales for your business? You will find in this article, the 7 different and unique ways for companies and entrepreneurs to generate leads from their blogs.
1. Sprinkle call-to-action within your blog posts
A call-to-action (CTA) is a simple and easy way to convert blog traffic into leads. A CTA is usually an offer that includes useful content for your readers. It can be a link to an eBook, webinar, social media page, free assessment sheet such that once clicked, readers can fill out their information and receive their offer. A CTA can be as simple as a link to help your reader share your content through their social media pages, email, or other sources.
The aim is to get your visitors to take relevant action; sign up for a newsletter, install an app, subscribe, download, read another post, contact you, etc. All these can significantly increase your contact base, so you can present readers with new offers and updates on things they have shown interest in. Each time you put out a blog post without a compelling CTA, you lose a likely customer. You have to move beyond customer awareness and engagement to lead generation and ultimately to sales.
The CTA must be as relevant to the topic of the post as possible. For example, in this post about how to generate leads from your blog, a relevant CTA can be a link to an eBook about lead generation. To make the most of CTA, you can include CTA buttons on several locations on your site, but you don’t have to make the page crowded and use them all.
- At the top of the page
- At the end of blog posts,
- In the sidebar
- Within the post itself, as in-text links.
- As a scrolling, sliding, or floating pop up
- As a full-screen overlay
Also Read: Lead Generation: 10 Tools For Generating New Business Leads
2. Leverage opt-in pop-ups on your blog
You might be thinking that pop-ups are a nuisance and not many people like seeing them appear when they are reading a post. But the right pop-ups at the right time can double your list. Opt-in pop-ups are easy to set up and rarely ignored by readers. They force readers to make a yes or no decision to subscribe to your list.
The key to avoiding the interruptions readers experience with pop-ups is to write great content readers can relate to and then control the timing of the pop-ups. People tend to be irritated if they are enjoying a read, and then pop-ups appear. The two ways you can use opt-in pop-ups are as simple and bribed opt-ins. The difference is that you are putting out an offer or incentive for your reader to click the sign-up button in the latter.
This is more effective, especially when the incentive provides a solution to the reader’s problem and consistent with your overall message. As important as timing is, it is not the only consideration in using pop-ups efficiently. Using advanced pop-up technologies, you can trigger pop-ups based on:
- Time on page or site
- When a user is about to exit your page
- Based on the number of pages viewed
- Click to trigger pop-ups.
- Readers past behaviour
3. Offer content upgrades
As a business owner, your goal for blogging should not just be about readers but customers. Your blog can be the first step in a reader’s journey towards becoming your customer. You can do this by utilizing content upgrades. A content upgrade is extra content that your readers get as a bonus offer in exchange for their email addresses.
It serves as a lead magnet or marketing offers about the blog post the reader is reading. It is even considered to be the single most effective way to generate leads. Content upgrade offers additional value to readers about what they are currently reading. For example, in a blog post about setting up an online invoice, a content upgrade can be a PDF guide or an exclusive video that shows your reader how to do it.
Another popular content upgrade is to host a webinar. Webinar is fast growing and has been proven to generate more leads compared to other forms of marketing. Other things you can use for content upgrades are; worksheets, templates, ebooks, checklists, organizers, and the list goes on. When creating content upgrades, it is crucial to align them to the interest of your readers. Help them solve a problem or educate them about specific steps to take in achieving something.
Here’s a checklist of qualities of a valuable content upgrade:
- Address a pressing pain point of your audience
- Relevant to your post as much as possible
- Provide an easy guide your readers can follow to get an immediate result.
- Inspire readers curiosity
- Reward readers who provide information such as email with what others don’t get.
Also Read: 4 Reasons To Make Content Marketing Your #1 Marketing Priority
4. Guest blog on other blogs
Writing as a guest blogger in other industry-related blogs or business niches presents you as an authority figure in your industry. Since people inherently trust authority figures, you can become a resource person within your industry.
By writing a guest post for an authoritative blog, you are positioning yourself as an expert in your field. People will trust you and, in turn, your product or service. Consequently, you get more traffic on your page, which you can then convert to leads and a means of generating more sales.
Guest blogging can also help you increase awareness for your brand, products, or services. You get to create links to your site, improve SEO rankings, and drive more traffic to your page. The following tips will help you maximize guest blogging for lead generation:
- Write great guest post outreach emails
- Choose a relevant topic
- Choose the right site
- Write great and engaging content
- Create appropriate links
- Promote your content
- Make full use of the bio section
- Track your success
5. Display social proof
By demonstrating that your product is already widely accepted, you can earn the trust of new visitors to your page. Many a time, all the convincing a visitor needs to subscribe to your newsletter or make a purchase are testimonials and reviews from other similar customers. You should make the most of this.
Utilizing social proofs to generate leads is based on the common notion of safety in numbers. As humans, we are usually sceptical of what people tell us about themselves. But when others affirm the qualities of a person or the products he offers, we tend to trust and take the right action.
Social proofs help you build trust, add to your credibility, and simplify customers’ buying decisions. Although the list is not exhaustive, you can use the following social proof markers on your blog. Place them on strategic pages on your blog where visitors can easily see them, and you can watch your sales grow in leaps and bounds.
- Social media following
- Testimonials
- Rating and Reviews
- Certification badges
- Clients or companies you have worked with
- Subscription numbers
- Celebrity endorsement
- Media mentions
- Experts stamp of approval
- Business credentials
6. Have multiple landing pages
Another fantastic method on how to generate leads for your business is using well-optimized, highly targeted landing pages. According to statistics, companies with 30 or more landing pages get 7X more leads than those without.
The key to generating viable leads from multiple landing pages is to ensure that each page provides specific information about your brand, contains the appropriate call-to-action, and is well optimized for all devices. By adopting multiple landing pages on your blog, you can showcase different facets of your business and specific services you offer. You can then direct your audience to take several actions such as:
- Reach out to you via chat
- Buy your product
- Subscribe to your newsletter or email list
- Register for an event
- Make a call to you
- Fill in and submit a form.
Also Read: How to Start a Blog Business That Makes Money In Nigeria (in 2021)
7. Ads retargeting
Not all visitors to your site will complete a call to action on their first visit. Due to several reasons, a sizable number of visitors will leave without taking any lead-generating action. Your offer may not be compelling enough then; readers may be in a hurry or miss your CTA. With ad retargeting, you still have a chance with such readers. Each time a new visitor comes to your page, a piece of code called a pixel attached to your site drops an anonymous cookie on the reader’s browser.
This follows your audience all over the web and allows you to present ads to them again even when they do not visit your page. This ensures that ads are only presented to people who have previously visited your page. Ads retargeting is vital in lead generation because it lets you focus your marketing and advertisement on people who are familiar with your brand and have previously shown interest.
You might have also experienced this before. You will notice that some products from a site you previously visited just pop up on your Facebook or Instagram page. That is retargeting at work. To use ad retargeting, you need the services of providers like ReTargeter, or AdRoll.
Final thoughts
In conclusion, nothing generates more leads for you than quality content. Offer easy-to-read blog posts that your reader can use to solve their problems. Your blog should be a means to educate buyers of your product. So, think like your buyers and write what interests them. Only then can you use the various tips in this blog post to generate leads and convert traffic to sales.
About the author
Khris Steven is a content marketer and the founder of Khrisdigital. He blogs about sales funnels, webinar marketing tools and trends, and how business owners can make more from their business by serving and impacting lives.