In part one and part two of this series, we showed you how to create a lead magnet to get started generating online leads. Last month, we described how to build a landing page. This month, we’ll show you how to drive traffic to your landing page by enticing them with your lead magnet. But first, if you haven’t read the first two articles, I suggest you complete those before you tackle the ideas in this article.
Now that you have something valuable to share with people, and hopefully future clients, it’s time to get the word out. Your valuable content is your lead magnet – a free report, video, how-to, article and more.
First, you’ll need to put together a short description, with a call-to-action focus about what they’ll get when they sign up for the lead magnet. If your lead magnet’s title is enticing, you can start by promoting it by title. An example is “Grab your free copy of ‘5 Steps to Accounting Nirvana.’”
Next, let’s decide on where we should place your message by determining the sources you will use to get the word out and generate traffic. Here are a few to consider:
Increasing traffic to your landing page:
- By doing organic SEO work
- By placing ads
Sending traffic via:
- Social media posts
- Social media group notifications
- Encouraging social media sharing
- Speaking to groups
Being newsworthy by:
- Submitting articles to news sites, blogs, magazines, and more
- Being mentioned by name in an article
- Posting a press release
Partnering with others who can send traffic to you:
- Building partnerships and affiliates
Let’s expand a bit on each one:
Organic SEO work. Your landing page should be optimized so that when people enter certain words in a search engine, your site will be more likely to appear in search results. This is called SEO (search engine optimization), and the organic part of it means it’s done without paying for ads. One option to get this done is to have your SEO-savvy Webmaster optimize your page.
Paid Ads. You can bring in traffic by placing an ad, either in Google, Facebook or another online ad company. Make sure you have an enticing headline and description and that you use your landing page, and not your home page as your destination URL. With Facebook Ads, a great graphic can make all the difference.
Social media posts. Share your landing page link with your social media connections by posting about your free offer. Social posts also boost search engine rankings, so it’s a double win. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube are some of the best social media apps on which to have a presence.
Social media group notifications. Do you belong to any groups in social media? If so, you may be able to post your free offer in the groups. Be careful, though; some groups ban advertisements, so check with the guidelines before you post.
Social media sharing. When your followers share or retweet your posts, it’s like pouring gasoline on the fire. Encourage sharing by simply including, “Please share this with others you feel will benefit,” in your posts.
Speaking to groups. This method combines offline and online marketing. If you give presentations to prospects, be sure to invite them to sign up for your free offer from the stage.
Submitting articles to news sites, blogs, magazines and more. If you write articles, submit them to local or national news sites, or sites that have the same audience of people, that you are trying to attract as clients. Make sure you get a byline, and at the end, make sure your bio blurb includes, “Get your free copy of … at www.yourdomain.com.
Being mentioned by name in an article. Be available for reporters who are writing about your area of expertise, so that they will quote you and mention your business in the article. You don’t have much control in this case, but the exposure can be worth it.
Posting a press release. If you have business news or tips, you can write a formal press release about your free offer and post it to your website. You may also want to pay to have it distributed on a wire service, such as prweb.com or prnewswire.com.
Building partnerships and affiliates. Do you have peers with a different expertise from you and that have a large list of clients? If so, you may be able to partner with them for mutual benefit.
That gives you 10 ways to send traffic to your free lead magnet. Your list of subscribers will grow, and the next step is to begin nurturing that list for future sales. We’ll cover that next month in part four of this series.
Editor’s Note: Editor’s note: Check out part 1, part 2 and part 4 of Sandi Leyva’s series on generating online leads.
