Converting Leads: Tips for Turning Website Visitors into Subscribers
It’s important to generate traffic to your website, and you should be doing so through SEO and perhaps advertising as well. But what if that traffic is not converting? If you want visitors to sign up to your email list, you will need to ensure you have optimized your site for conversions. Here are a few of the best ways to turn website visitors into subscribers.
Make Visitors Trust You
One of the first things you should do to increase conversions is to provide visitors with a good first impression so that they trust you. Winning trust is crucial online. If people don’t trust you, they are unlikely on your email list, nor want to be.
Moreover, the more important step is to have a professional website design because this is the first thing that visitors will notice. If your site looks like something you just put together yourself, it could hurt your image. But if you have a fast, beautiful website that has clearly been professionally designed, this will instantly win you trust.
As well as the design, use trust-boosting elements like testimonials (especially with photos or videos), case studies, and security symbols, and mention associations that you are a member of. All of these can help you increase trust.
Create Dedicated Landing Pages
If you are directing organic traffic to your website, landing pages are not as important. SEO traffic can still convert well, so optimizing for search engines is crucial (PosiRank is an SEO reseller who might be able to help with that). But if you are sending paid traffic to your site, make sure it goes to a dedicated landing page
A landing page is a page that you have set up for the sole purpose of collecting leads. It will usually have no navigation tabs to other pages on your site so visitors do not have an easy way to leave. You can also use a clear and simple design and pack the copy full of benefits to encourage conversions. If you use a dedicated tool to create your landing page, you can also test your conversion rate and then test changes to the page to optimize conversions.
Give People a Reason to Sign Up
If you want people to sign up to your list, you need to give a sufficient reason to do so. Just telling them that they will be the first to find out about new blog posts is not really enough momentum for most businesses.
Instead, create a freebie that you can give away in return for signing up. These are called lead magnets. There are many types you can create (here are a few options to consider), including ebooks, white papers, email courses, and discounts. So ponder different ideas about what you could give away to tempt more signups.
Use a Call to Action
A call to action (CTA) is where you tell visitors on your website what to do next. It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that it is as obvious for visitors what they should do as it is for you. But often they are unaware of where to proceed.
A CTA can be as simple as creating a form with a button and using copy such as “Download Your Free eBook.” This gives clear instruction to visitors so they know what they should be doing, and it can help increase the number of people signing up to your list.
Try Content Upgrades
Another tactic you can use to get more subscribers is to try out content upgrades. These let you create a lead magnet that is unique to a particular blog post and give it away to readers in return for signing up to your list.
For example, you could have a blog post about the top SEO trends. You could then create a checklist of the trends in PDF format for quick reference and offer this to readers halfway through the blog. Because they are already engaged with the content and the lead magnet is relevant to the topic, they may be more likely to sign up.
Boost Your Conversions
These are some of the tactics you can use to increase sign-ups on your website. Building a list is a fantastic marketing strategy because you will be able to increase engagement and build trust with your subscribers over time, which can turn into more sales. So make sure you are getting the most from the traffic you are generating to your website by using strategies that will help increase conversions to grow your list faster.
We hope you enjoyed the above post in cooperation with Socialnomics!
Chelsea Ingram is part of the marketing team of a large company and is always on the lookout for ways to convert people into customers and shake things up a little but in a good way! She shares her knowledge and her ideas online at marketing and business blogs.
