When is the last time you updated or created a new free lead generation offer (gift) for your website visitors? If you’re not getting many sign ups on your current offer, it could mean that it’s time for an upgrade.
First, to be clear about what a “lead” is, here’s a definition from HubSpot:
A lead is a person who has indicated interest in your company’s product or service in some way, shape, or form.
And lead generation:
Lead generation is the process of attracting and converting strangers and prospects into those leads…
It had been a few years since I had created a new lead gen offer and it was stale. I had put off developing something new because it takes time and energy. You need to know what your ideal client wants, create it and then deliver it. I can be lazy sometimes, but I finally took action.
Creating a New Lead Generation Offer
In a nutshell, below is what I did and what you can do too, to build your list – a community of people who want to get to know you better.
Capitalizing on my popular Online Visibility Challenge program, I crafted a free 7-day Visibility Challenge with the goal to give people a taste of what they could expect and learn during the paid 30-day Challenges. The on-demand email drip campaign launched recently and I’m pleased with the results to date. The real proof of success will be when I begin promoting my next paid Challenge!
1. Knowing that repurposing content is a big issue and challenge for people, I wrote a blog post about 13 ways to repurpose content. I included a content upgrade – a checklist – that required opting in to get.
2. Next, I did a short 4 question poll about repurposing content – where do people repurpose, challenges, what stops them, etc.
3. Then, I took the results and wrote two more blog posts addressing the top two challenges: not enough time and fear of getting duplicate content penalties.
4. From there I created 7-day Visibility Challenge, delivered via email, on demand, that guides people through five different ways to repurpose their content.
5. Even though it can be time-consuming to manage and moderate, I decided to set up a private Facebook group for the Challenge participants.
Currently, groups are one of the best ways of engaging with your peeps on Facebook since most never see the content you post on your business page. My goal and desire is to make sure that everyone who goes through the 7-Day Challenge gets the support to complete it and create a new habit for leveraging their content. Plus, I love getting to know everyone who is taking action and seeing results. It makes my heart sing! 🙂
Note: the opt-in and thank you pages were created with LeadPages and my email management system is Infusionsoft.
Once everything is set up – content reviewed and edited, the delivery system tested – then, it’s time to launch the new freebie (lead gen gift) to the world.
Initial Promotion Tactics
1. For those who are on my email list, I invited them to get the new content. It’s not just for new people. The first surprise was how many people reengaged with me. Clients and students I hadn’t heard from in awhile joined both the Challenge and the Facebook group. They’re also sharing it with their own followers. The Facebook group is working really well for getting back into conversations with people I had not connected with in awhile.
2. I shared the Challenge all over my social networks and new people on are signing up. At the moment, it’s about 30% new subscribers vs. the rest are people who’ve been on my list for years.
3. The content in the free Challenge has invitations throughout to sign up to get my blog posts (that list is growing too), join my live video show, and get on the Early Bird list for the paid challenges. As people get to know me, they are more willing to opt-in to get more information from me. That’s a good sign.
4. So far 27% of those who signed up have jumped into the FB group where they are encouraged to post links to the content they’re repurposing as part of the Challenge. I’m contemplating ways to get a higher join rate because a lot of magic happens in the group. In particular, I and other participants are inclined to share each others’ posts which also helps to boost visibility!
Now you know how to kick-start the optins with your current email list.
Long Term Promotion Tactics
Once you create and launch your lead generation gift, you’ve got to promote it. Don’t fall into the “set it and forget it” mentality.
Not only do you have to announce it to the world, you have to keep reminding followers in your social networks why and how they can benefit from getting your gift. To prepare for ongoing promotion, implement the steps below.
First, create images for each social network you use: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and your blog. Canva is my graphic tool of choice so I can use their templates and easily resize images for each social network.
- Facebook: new cover image for your page
- Facebook: If you create a tab for your opt-in, then you’ll need an image for that as well
- Facebook: for ads [remember you cannot have more than 20% text on images for ads – test your images here]
- Facebook: for posts you may want to boost to your followers
- Twitter: new cover image
- Twitter: for tweets
- Pinterest: for tips and promo image
- Instagram: for tips and a promo image
- Blog: for your sidebar
- Blog: to add to the footer of your blog posts
- Google+: for posts you can use the image you create for tweets
- Google+: new cover image
- LinkedIn: for status updates you can use the tweet image
I created many different sizes and shapes of images to promote the 7-Day Visibility Challenge.
Once you’ve created the images you want to use in your promotions, then move on to your social profiles:
- Update the About section on your Facebook Page, Twitter Profile and other profiles to include the URL to your new gift
- Post an image on Twitter and pin the tweet to your profile (more visibility for the tweet!)
- Queue a series of tweets to publish at various intervals for a week or so. Make sure you hit the time zones of your followers.
- Post an image with a link on the sidebar of your blogsite (you can see my example in the sidebar on the right)
- If you use a popup on your site, update it for your new gift. I’m experimenting with an exit popup (opens when someone leaves my site). It’s too soon for me to know how well this works. You’ll see it when you leave this blog post!
- On Instagram, post your promo image and update the URL in your profile so it takes curious viewers straight to your optin page
- Follow up on Instagram with tip images from your gift and a call to action to click the link in your bio
You probably get the point I’m making. Wherever you’re active on social media, share that you have a new free gift. Once and done is not enough. Repeat with new images and new tips for several weeks to ensure your followers see your offer.
Finally, remember to send follow-up emails with an invitation to those on your list who did not open the initial email. That will usually increase your optins.
What’s Next?
Just like your products and services, there are hundreds of ways to promote your free lead generation gift. What tactics have worked for you to create and promote a new lead gen offer? Post in the comments below! [And see that image below this paragraph? That’s added to the footer of all my blog posts!]
Also published on Medium.
Hello, yeah this piece oof writing is actually good and I
have learned lot of things from it on the topic of
lead generation. thanks.
Thanks for this Denise! I recently launched a 7 Day challenge as my lead generations, and reading this I realise I was not as thorough as I could have been. Time to start tweaking things 🙂
You’re welcome, Francine. I get pretty crazy with my promotion. No stone unturned. How do you promote your challenges?