How to Build a Lead Generating Website: Part 2

websites Nov 06, 2014

In Part 1 of this article on how to build a lead generating website, we looked at some first steps that must be in place in order for you to create a solid inbound marketing framework for your page. I hope you took some time to review your page(s), taking what steps are necessary to tighten up any loose ends.

Now, let's get into the heavy lifting of functionality, getting new prospects to gain trust in our message, provide some authority in our space and deliver massive value to our loyal students.

Before we dive in. You might feel really overwhelmed, but don't. In fact, you find yourself spending hours trying to figure out one little step on your site that seems to be screwing everything up. Don't let this be a wrestling match you just can't win. There's a community of people here, including myself, who can help so don't be afraid to reach out. Also, look to signing up to our Online Studio Mastery program and put it all on autopilot (yes, shameless pug).

Let's dig in.

Design for Lead Generation

Now that we’ve mapped a strategy for targeting specific sets of people and how this is done, we will need to launch this from a properly designed website that is built specificly for lead generation.

I’ve laid out for you a list of the most important elements you must have for lead generation.

Lead Magnets

Lead magnets are high value content pieces, specifically targeted to your persona, that are offered to your visitor in exchange for their email address. Basically, it’s a tripwire that starts the sales sequence, followed by a smart and targeted email campaign.

Lead magnet examples can include:

Checklists
Info graphics
Case Studies
Links to short video instructionals

Or anything that allows you to begin the buyer’s journey. You should also consider if the content piece is appropriate for where the persona is in their buyer’s journey. An example might be that a fitness studio would not send a 9 part video micro-course on dead lift safety tips to someone who is in the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey, possibly a middle aged woman who is realizing her struggle with weight and wants to slim down and feel better about herself. Wrong content piece, right?

In fact, that video course is not even appropriate for someone wanting to get started in lifting! It would be an ideal content piece for an existing student, pre-framing them for an upcoming dead lift contest of seminar.

Wherever this offer is being made, be sure to make your call to action prominent on your page and use a verb in the CTA. In other words, “Free eBook” is no good. Instead, “Click Here To Download Your Free Ebook”

Lastly, make certain that your lead magnet has alignment with your content piece and the solution it has provided.

The CTA

CTAs are call to action graphics buttons or text that are strategically placed on your landing pages, blog or social media articles that lead visitor to the contact point for promise delivery.

Huh?

So let me break it down. You made a promise in promoting a lead magnet to a visitor. To get them to take action they will click a button or link that directs them to a page where they will receive your content piece in exchange for their email, thus making a point of contact. There is alot of science behind CTAs, but let's keep it simple for now.

Targeted Content

I’ve already mentioned this, but it’s worth mentioning again here. The content of your lead magnet must be highly targeted and delivered to the right lead, prospect or customer - at the right time. Time and relevancy are critical, as they are considering their steps to purchase or are ready to purchase. Your content cannot assume they are buying, when they are simply considering. As well, your content cannot serve someone who’s wallet is open when the content is not specific to their immediate need.

Site layout

Arranging specific elements to your site is critical to conversion. While alot of marketers invest enormous amounts of time and resources in split testing different pages, CTAs and more - there are some basics that should be adhered to before anything else. Get the following in order on your own site, then consider testing different layouts to measure your conversion results:

Do not create a single content piece without a CTA. Following every message you must have a next step for your visitor to take.
Design your content so that it’s easily understood and very specific.
Place your CTAs through out content such as blogs, guiding visitors to take immediate action.
Provide enough negative or white space on your pages so that CTAs stand out.
Place customer testimonials that align with your targeted persona, this increases social proof and will increase your conversion.
Use quality graphics that relate directly to the benefit of your message, not just the message itself. How will your prospect benefit from taking action, what is their desired outcome? Put it to image.

Once your site has included these elements built to generate leads, convert prospects to students and serve as an ongoing resource for your existing students, test it … that’s right, put it in front of people who will give you honest feedback and discover if the message they are getting from your site aligns with the message you are trying to convey.

Let’s wrap this up with the silver bullet of lead generation, the landing page.

Landing page

Vistors can land on your landing pages through many different destinations such as social media and advertisements, so they may completely bypass your site. What’s important is that this page can often times be the first and last point of contact a visitor has with your studio, meaning - they can bounce and never come back as there is not real path to other pages from the landing page - or - this is where they will submit their contact details to you, providing you with permission to contact them with your stuff. So as you can see, it’s pretty important, therefore critical to optimize correctly. You want them to stick and contact you here.

Fundamentally, a landing page will follow the same user interface as the rest of your pages, but there are some differences you’ll need to pay attention to for best conversion rates and new student acquisition.

When it comes to your landing page, simplicity wins. Keep it simple.

Do not have your site’s top navigation, you want them to take action now, not browse around. Limit their distractions, get better conversions.
Keep your form requirements short and relevant, first name and email usually works well. Later, on the back end you’ll begin building their profile. Forms should be on the right side of the page.
Be sure to use verbs and a detailed action step in your button. Don’t use single words like “Submit” or “Download”. “Get Your Free Video Course Now”.
Follow the F-Pattern of how the human eye reads most websites. It starts on the upper left, then along the top of the page to the right, then down the left side and across the mid center from left to right. Therefore, place your kick-ass lead magnet image on the left, textual content midway through - using less than a paragraph and bullet points, then the form on the right side of the page.
All landing pages should be above the fold, meaning that on a typical laptop or desktop, the visitor should not have to scroll down. All content and forms are present when the page first opens.

So there you have it, from fundamental set up of a solid website to scaling it into a student generating machine. I’ve laid out the core steps to building a website that grows your business.

Remember, there are many different functions your site should be providing your students, so go one step at a time. If you try to add too much functionality at once, nothing gets done right and your site will break. Focus first on building your lead generating system, test it and get positive results. Then, move onto building your next functionality.