How to Convert Site Visitors into Leads and Customers for Your Business

How to Convert Site Visitors into Leads and Customers for Your Business

How to Convert Site Visitors into Leads and Customers for Your Business

Abhik Shome

Founder and Editor-in-chief
The Starting Idea

Your ideal customer just visited your site…

He goes through your homepage, likes what he sees, glosses over.

and then…

Then he leaves.

Congrats! You just lost a warm lead from your site who could have converted into a repeat customer.

So, what should have been done to not lose this valuable lead?

The answer: Lead Capture Forms

You need to power up your site with lead capture forms.

You can install lead capture forms (slide in pop-ups, exit intent pop-ups, welcome mats, countdown timers, inline forms, etc.) to get fleeing viewers signed up to your newsletter (from where you can nurture them to be a repeat customer).

Here’s a list of lead capture forms you can add to your site:

a) Welcome Mats

b) Exit intent Pop-ups

c) Slide in Pop-ups

d) Countdown Timers

e) Welcome Discounts

f) Inline Forms

g) Floating Bars

h) Lead Qualification Pop-ups

Some lead capture forms which usually convert great for us are slide in pop-ups and exit intent pop-ups.

Lead capture forms can be omnipresent on all your pages or be unique to your content for a specific page.

But having a lead capture form is not enough.

You need to double it down by powering it with great copy that offers something of value to your site visitors. 

A simple rule to follow for writing great copy is offering them something which solves their specific pain point and gives them instant gratification.

For example:

“How to do x (some instant solution solving a very specific pain point) in 15 minutes”

or

“How to do x (some instant solution solving a very specific pain point) without Y (something bad like expensive resources, length of time, etc.)”

Pro tip: Now let’s go all elite with this. One thing you can do to maximize your results from lead capture forms is to use countdown timers.

Have a countdown timer slide in form. The copy of the form can offer a free product/report giving an instant solution to their specific pain in exchange for them signing up for your newsletter.

The countdown timer works great for us as it instantly catches attention, adds excitement and urgency.

How to convert these leads into repeat customers?

Now that you got your lead, what should be the next step in converting them into customers for your business?

The key is to nurture your leads by demonstrating your expertise.

How to do you demonstrate your expertise?

By actually helping them solve a problem they have.

The idea is to take them from point A of pain (where they are currently at) to point B of relief from that pain (where they want to be).

You can do this in many ways. Some top ones are:

1. Give useful tips on how to get towards the solution and tying it up with your product.

2. Give detailed case studies with respect to their niche.

3. Give free trials and demos where you demonstrate in real time how you can help them.

and so on.

Next Step

Hope this lesson was a great starter kit for you in terms of getting leads for your business and convert them into repeat customers.

But how do you get these visitors to your site in the first place?

How do you convince them that you can help them?

How do you differentiate your brand from the noise in your market?

How do you automate your business growth without it sucking your time, life, and energy? (Business is about having fun and doing what you love right?)

Well, if you want solutions to all these pressing issues, then I think a consulting call with me will be the right fit for you.

In the consulting call, I will be solving all your specific business pain points and personally guide you through my proven roadmap for business success.

I will also equip you with exclusive tools and cheatsheets so you have a templated system for growth that is fine-tuned for your specific niche.

Book a consulting call with me.

Abhik Shome

Abhik Shome is the Founder of The Starting Idea, a solopreneur-focused business growth magazine. With The Starting Idea, he aims to share clever (and unconventional) content marketing strategies and untapped tools for solopreneur startups to seize profitable blue ocean opportunities rapidly before the competition. He has previously contributed to major publications like Inc Magazine, Business Insider, Thrive Global, Influencive, and YourStory. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

How to Turn Your Normal Website into an Automated Lead Generation Machine + Free Growth Consultation

How to Turn Your Normal Website into an Automated Lead Generation Machine + Free Growth Consultation

How to Turn Your Normal Website into an Automated Lead Generation Machine + Free Growth Consultation

Abhik Shome

Founder and Editor-in-chief
The Starting Idea

Are you a business owner looking to get leads from your website?

If you answer YES, you might want to stop and pay attention to this post.

As some of you may know, apart from The Starting Idea, I have a Web Design agency called Brand Bridge Solutions.

Now over the 5+ years of me being involved in web designing, I have created some winning growth recipes for a highly converting website that gets you leads on autopilot.

I use these very strategies every day, to get leads consistently for my different websites.

Here’s a screenshot of how I used these strategies recently to get 400+ leads for The Starting Idea in just 1 month.

So, without further ado, here’s the exact strategy for making a conversion optimized website based on 5+ years of data-backed results.

STEP 1

Discovery and Research Process

1. Discovery workshop – Sit down with your team and determine your goals and compare it with your site visitor goals.

See the gap and fill it by correcting your brand language, look & feel, and functionality.

Optimize it for the end result you want to achieve.

2. Evaluate data – Evaluate your existing data, your website metrics (if applicable) with respect to the number of sign-ups you are getting currently.

To accomplish this, use tools like Google Analytics & SE Ranking/Ubersuggest to understand which of your pages are more popular and analyze the reasons why.

3. Hotjar Tool installation – Install Hotjar CRO tool. This will help in understanding what users want, and how they behave on your site.

It will give you visual data on clicks, taps, and scrolling behavior, revealing the motivation behind user actions.

Use this data to optimize your site for more Call-to-action clicks and longer sessions on your site.

After both the initial steps are done, we move on to design optimization phase.

STEP 2

Design Optimization to build a Conversion-Optimized Website

1. HSTOC Homepage Create a homepage arranged with the HSTOC method: (Headline – Social Proof – Testimonials – Offer – CTA)

2. Blog Create a special blog section where you host all your blog posts.

3. Create a special subscribe page – Make a special subscribe page with name and email fields to turn leads into your avid subscribers.

4. Create Lead Capture Forms – Use lead capture forms (slide in pop-ups, exit intent pop-ups, welcome mats, countdown timers, inline forms, etc.) to get fleeting viewers into your email list.

They should be omnipresent on all your webpages, so you do not miss out on capturing any lead.

5. Live Chat Installation – Use Live Chat to chat with your website visitors and convert them into leads.

Assist them by proactively chatting with them and sending them targeted messages as they browse your website.

6. Quiz Tools – Create a Buzzfeed style quiz that engages your audience, generates leads or promotes your brand.

7. Email Marketing Automation Software Integration (Newsletter set up) – Integrate your website and email address with an email marketing automation software to send timely, relevant, personalized emails for individual contacts when they take a specific action on the website.

8. Social Media Integration Integrate social media sharing buttons to allow web visitors to share content from your site with their network on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

9. Viral Marketing Tool Installation – Use special “Thank You Pages” (web page a person sees when they sign up for your free lead magnet) and power it up with Viral Marketing Tools.

Here’s how it will work:

A person who sign-ups for your lead magnet will be led to a thank you page where he will be asked to share your website (or any other specific offer you want to promote) in exchange for getting a free gift (a free report/PDF/Digital Download).

This way your product/offer will go viral without spending money on expensive ads.

10. Usage of colors to trigger conversion – Use a combination of typefaces and color palettes to trigger conversion behavior. For example, make the CTA button stand out in contrast to the rest of the site.

Contact us if you want to use our 5+ years of performance data to create a conversion-oriented site for you.

11. Google Tag Manager Integration – Install Google Tag Manager, a system that allows you to manage and deploy marketing tags (snippets of code or tracking pixels) used for tracking and analytics on websites, without having to modify the code.

12. SEO optimization – Optimize the speed of the site, make it mobile friendly with user-friendly URLs.

STEP 3

Copy Optimization

1. Copy Mindset – Be ultra-specific about what people can expect when they sign up for your newsletter.

2. Lead Magnet that solves a specific problem – Create and promote lead magnets which solve a specific pain point of the customer.

3. CTA Text – Have very clear Call-to-Action text, which is driven by a clear value proposition that people can expect once they sign up.

STEP 4

Reiteration

1. A/B Testing – Compare every lead capture form and see which ones are converting better. Test headline, copy, CTA  text and images to maximize conversion. 

2. What to notice – Notice the value proposition, font styling, CTA button style/color, etc.

3. Reverse Engineer – Reverse engineer the formula of the winning forms and apply it on other areas of your site.

The Next Step

Hope by now you are getting a clear idea about how to supercharge your normal website and make it into an automated lead generating a machine that looks stunning and converts visitors into leads on a regular basis.

There are many other aspects & features that go into making a magnetic website, but it will go beyond the scope of this post.

If you need any help with it, I will be happy to offer you a free growth consultation along with the following bonuses:

  1. Free Web Design Checklist for your existing/planned site
  2. Free Website Audit for your existing site (or a competitors site)

Abhik Shome

Abhik Shome is the Founder of The Starting Idea, a solopreneur-focused business growth magazine. With The Starting Idea, he aims to share clever (and unconventional) content marketing strategies and untapped tools for solopreneur startups to seize profitable blue ocean opportunities rapidly before the competition. He has previously contributed to major publications like Inc Magazine, Business Insider, Thrive Global, Influencive, and YourStory. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

Use This 1 Business Model Generation Tool Before Creating Any Product or Service

Use This 1 Business Model Generation Tool Before Creating Any Product or Service

Use This 1 Business Model Generation Tool Before Creating Any Product or Service

Abhik Shome

Founder and Editor-in-chief
The Starting Idea

Have you heard of the guy who invented the helicopter ejection seat?

Well, it never really took off.

Moving on from this lame joke, the point I am trying to make here is that spending precious time on building a product no one wants is simply ensuring failure for your business.

Do not be that guy.

This is the reason, why I always use Alexander Osterwalder’s Value Proposition Canvas, and YOU should too.

This business model generation tool will help ensure that your product or service is addressing an acute customer need.

Alex Osterwalder is widely known for his creation of the Business Model Canvas – a tool that allows you to map out your company’s business model and test it against other alternative models.

By using this tool, you can verify whether your product or service will be a hit with customers, before even getting it out in the market.

How to use this business model generation tool?

Firstly, start from the side of the customer and ask yourself the question,

“What job is my customer hiring my product to do?”

This will compel you to look at your product from the point of view of customer needs.

Brainstorm the pain points that they’re looking to solve and the gains they’re hoping to achieve by using your product or service.

Next, put the focus on your product.

“How does your value proposition solve the customer’s pains?”

“How does your value proposition enable and ignite your customer’s gains?”

Finally, map the two canvases side by side and evaluate your product market fit hypothesis.

Are you solving a problem that makes your product a “must have”?

If not, how can you correct the product to address better the needs of your target customers?

Doing this exercise will lead you to build a product your target customers really want.

That’s it for today. Do this exercise and tell me how it went.

Like this tool? Want to find out 8 other free business model generation tools? Click here.

Abhik Shome

Abhik Shome is the Founder of The Starting Idea, a solopreneur-focused business growth magazine. With The Starting Idea, he aims to share clever (and unconventional) content marketing strategies and untapped tools for solopreneur startups to seize profitable blue ocean opportunities rapidly before the competition. He has previously contributed to major publications like Inc Magazine, Business Insider, Thrive Global, Influencive, and YourStory. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

How to Grow Your Brand on Social Media for Generating Leads and Customers

How to Grow Your Brand on Social Media for Generating Leads and Customers

How to Grow Your Brand on Social Media for Generating Leads and Customers

Abhik Shome

Founder and Editor-in-chief
The Starting Idea

How many of you reading this are posting regularly on social media?

Social Media right now is the hottest free source out there for growing a brand & generating leads/customers for your business.

Having said that, a lot of people are clueless about how to leverage it in a way so that you can get max ROI for your brand and business.

Here’s the key mindset to take note of when posting on social media:

Post on social media in a way that makes you behave like a human and is focused on providing value first and encourage real conversations through it.

In other words, act like a real person on social media. Act like a human being and not a robot who pushes a bunch of links out.

Post a variety of content that is focused on providing value and encourages others to have conversations with your brand.

My team and I have figured out a system of strategies and tools to get a lot of social media growth in a short time.

Here they are:

1. Deep dive in research

Research the best performing social media posts of your industry leaders/competitors in terms of blog links and images. Also for safe measure, see the weakest performing posts, so you know what kind of posts to navigate from.

Tools you can use for researching your industry leader’s/competitor’s social media profiles:

2. Post a variety of content

Create an assortment mixture of content pieces in the form of value bomb videos, inspirational videos, inspirational quotes, viral interactive posts, blog pieces, etc.

There are many ways to find viral content, but one easy way is to perform a Google search ‘viral inspirational posts’ and then choose the Images tab.

Here is a list of certain terms you can search for:

  1. Viral Engagement Posts
  2. Viral Inspiration Posts
  3. Viral Tweets
  4. Viral Quote Posts
  5. Viral Interactive Posts
  6. Viral Instagram Posts

and so on. 

3. Post at least 8-10 times on social media every day

A lot of people who miss out on your posts in the day will see you appear on their newsfeed at night.

Do not leave out a single time schedule/time zone of your target audience.

Always be visible for having an omnipresence effect on their lives.

4. Use recycling post feature

Create a minimum of 40 posts that is an eclectic mix of interactive posts, quotes, blog pieces, videos, CTAs etc., and then schedule them with recycled posts feature.

This constant and spanned visibility of same content through time will cause a mere-exposure effect.

What is the mere exposure effect, you ask?

Well, have you noticed certain songs you find distasteful and ugly in the beginning slowly start to grow on you to the point you eventually start liking them?

That’s mere exposure effect where we develop favorable feelings to things when we are constantly exposed to them.

Use this to your advantage by putting your best foot forward and constantly showing it off in front of your target audience in strategic bursts.

Note – Remember to schedule them in such a way that no post is repeated twice in a very short time.

Tools you can use for post recycling:

Want us to manage your social media growth for you?

Just shoot an email to abhik@thestartingidea.com

5. Use contrasting colors & patter interrupt images

Colors and images matter in terms of conversion.

Use a color contrasting to the platform on which you are posting. Since most major networks (FB, LinkedIn, Twitter) are some shade of blue, try posting colors that are in contrast to the various shades of blue, but not overdo it.

Mix and match it with pattern interrupt images.

Tools to design social media posts:

Websites to find pattern interrupt images:

6. Follow Jab Jab Jab Right Hook Approach of Gary Vee

Post valuable helpful pieces of content that engages, informs and entertains your audiences (called value posts) and mix it with the occasional sprinkling of an ASK post (where you ask them to commit to a Call-To-Action, i.e, sign up for your lead magnet, join your newsletter, buy your product, etc.).

The order of this can be VVVVA (V=Value post, A=Ask post).

7. Follow and add the people who are following other influencers in your industry

Tools to use:

  1. Socialbee for following competitor’s followers.
  2. Meet Alfred for adding people connected with your competitor’s LinkedIn profile.

8. Create a messenger bot

Double down by creating a messenger bot which delivers blog pieces and lead magnets to your audiences.

Tools to use:

Want us to manage your social media growth for you?

Just shoot an email to abhik@thestartingidea.com

Abhik Shome

Abhik Shome is the Founder of The Starting Idea, a solopreneur-focused business growth magazine. With The Starting Idea, he aims to share clever (and unconventional) content marketing strategies and untapped tools for solopreneur startups to seize profitable blue ocean opportunities rapidly before the competition. He has previously contributed to major publications like Inc Magazine, Business Insider, Thrive Global, Influencive, and YourStory. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

How to use your industry leader’s marketing budget for your own business success

How to use your industry leader’s marketing budget for your own business success

How to use your industry leader’s marketing budget for your own business success

Abhik Shome

Founder and Editor-in-chief
The Starting Idea

Today I want to share with you the super simple “Swipe and Deploy” trick that will help you leverage your industry leader’s marketing for your own success.

So here it goes.

STEP 1

Visit the websites of all your industry leaders.

STEP 2

Use a chrome extension called Full Page Screen Capture and take a full page screenshot of these companies websites.

STEP 3

Save them to a folder named: “Industry Leader Web Copy Swipe Files”

STEP 4

Next, it is more than likely that you will be retargeted on Facebook, YouTube, and Google by these companies.

Whenever you see an ad coming in your feed or stream, record it with a free tool like CloudApp.

If it’s a static ad, use CloudApp to take a screenshot.

After recording the ad, click the ad and visit the landing page. Screenshot it with Full Page Screen Capture.

STEP 5

Create a folder called “Ad swipe files” and under it name sub-categories based on names of your industry leaders.

Save all the ads pertaining to one company in their respective subfolder.

STEP 6

Now every time you need ad copy, take inspiration from these industry leaders.

See the kind of language they are using, how are they presenting the problem and the solution.

Since they are industry leaders, they are proven winners.

Most of the copy that you see will be market tested and coming up after a lot of tests, experiments, and refinement.

Take advantage of their research and hard work, and simply templatize the approach for your own marketing campaign.

STEP 7

Do the same swiping for emails sent by these industry leaders.

Simply search the industry leader’s name on the from field in the search mail section of your Gmail.

Search the name of your industry leader and see his emails.

Notice the subject line presentation, the copy, the time the mail was sent and the amount of time between two emails.

Copy paste the emails for future reference.

STEP 8

Additionally you can use some famous online swipe file sites like swiped.co and swipefile.com to take even more inspiration about marketing copy and campaign arrangement.

Did you like this hack? This is just one of the many advanced level hacks where you can literally spy on your competitors and take their best performing brand strategies, and swipe them for your business.

Not only that, but you can also see the worst performing strategies of your industry leaders and know the dangerous pitfalls to avoid.

All these strategies will be part of just the Marketing Vault in The Starting Idea VIP – A straight to the point no BS library of advanced level strategies covering every topic from Marketing, Entrepreneurship to Productivity.

Stick around for further details. It’s going to be awesome.

Abhik Shome

Abhik Shome is the Founder of The Starting Idea, a solopreneur-focused business growth magazine. With The Starting Idea, he aims to share clever (and unconventional) content marketing strategies and untapped tools for solopreneur startups to seize profitable blue ocean opportunities rapidly before the competition. He has previously contributed to major publications like Inc Magazine, Business Insider, Thrive Global, Influencive, and YourStory. Connect with him on LinkedIn.