In this post, we’re talking about what to do to get more leads from content marketing. This will make your time spent on marketing more productive and more effective.
After all, one of your most important content marketing goals is to generate leads. Because leads turn into sales. And sales are necessary to keep your business going.
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
[00:55] Introduction
[02:10] Remind People About Your Lead Magnet
[03:53] Choose Content Topics that Focus on Buyer Intent
[06:43] Incorporate Copywriting into Content
[08:47] Increase Traffic
[10:23] Pro Tip: Work Backwards to Get More Leads
[12:12] Bloopers
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Content Strategy from Scratch workbook
Copyhackers
Copyblogger
Enchanting Marketing
Funnel Scripts
Automatic Script
Closers Copy
Introduction
[Meghan] Okay, so today we’re talking about content marketing and lead generation. These two things go hand in hand. After all, a primary reason that you’re using content to market your business is to get leads so that you can get more sales.
[Theresa] Leads are super important! You’ve got to turn the people who find and browse your content into people who give you their contact information. This gives you the opportunity to follow up and nurture them into a buyer over time.
[Meghan] But here’s what happens with content marketing. A lot of times it’s all consuming. You get overwhelmed since you’re focusing on too many priorities at once. The goal of lead generation falls off the radar.
You don’t necessarily forget about it. But, it isn’t necessarily at the forefront of your marketing either. And that can lead to unproductive time and marketing. And we don’t want that!
[Theresa] No, we certainly do not! We want to keep your marketing productivity optimized so that you’re not wasting time or effort. That’s why we’re sharing a few very practical ways to get more leads from content marketing.
1) Ask! Consistently Remind People About Your Lead Magnet
[Meghan] One really simple way to use content marketing to generate more leads is to ask. In other words, present your free offer to people and ask them to take you up on it. And do this consistently as well as repeatedly.
That free offer—or lead magnet as we marketers call it—could be a free checklist, product sample, webinar, free trial, or even a demo or a 15 minute consultation call. Whatever it is, you gotta incorporate the free offer into your content and mention it frequently. That’s the tip here.
Simply creating blog posts, videos and social media posts alone won’t generate nearly as many leads as asking people to take you up on your free offer. Use call-outs, pop-ups, email P.S.’s, and verbal cues to mention your lead magnet.
[Theresa] I want to point out that there’s nothing wrong with reminding people of your lead magnet. But, if you find yourself hesitant about promoting it, you may need to assess why you’re not wanting to talk about it.
Make sure your lead magnet is something you’re confident about and that it really does deliver value in that it solves or resolves a pain point.
Once YOU perceive your freebie as truly beneficial or transformational, it’s easier to reframe your beliefs. You won’t feel icky promoting your lead magnet if your mindset around it is positive.
View your free offer as what it is: an opportunity to solve a struggle for someone at no cost to them. Then you’ll want to get it into the hands of as many people as possible!
2) Choose Content Topics that Focus on Buyer Intent
[Meghan] As we’ve discussed before, mindset, beliefs and attitude make an enormous difference in marketing! So, I’m happy you mentioned that.
Another way to get more leads from content marketing is to choose topics that are targeted to people who have buyer intent. In other words, people who are farther along in their buying journey. People who are not browsing the aisle but really considering what to buy. This person is a warmer prospect.
This is very strategic! What your content is about is SUPER important to successful lead generation. The broader your content topics, the less targeted the leads. The more buyer-intent focused your topics are, the warmer your leads.
An Example
Let’s say you’re a web designer who is looking for new web design clients. And, let’s say you create a video on “10 Features Your Website Needs in 2021.”
This topic is informational. It’s broad and appeals to lots and lots of people. Really, anyone curious about improving their website. And, that’s the problem. The topic will catch the attention of many people who have no INTENTION of hiring a web designer. The video will attract people who want information rather than your web design services.
But, let’s say you create a second video and this one is about “7 Traits to Look for in a Web Designer + a Free Downloadable Checklist.” This topic has buyer intent. It appeals to someone who is displaying interest in hiring a web designer. Yes, the topic is still informational. But, it’s information aimed at helping someone make a purchase decision.
[Theresa] The second topic is much more specific. It targets people who aren’t just looking for generic website guidance. They’re entertaining the idea of hiring a web designer and researching before they buy.
So, that also means the people who consume the second video and download the checklist are a much better lead. You’re using content topics strategically to attract warmer leads. And, that’s brilliant!
The time consumed on creating this content is wisely spent. Your marketing is more targeted and intentional, which means it’s more productive too.
Plus, you can also segment your leads based on which free offers they take you up on. So, this is a win in many ways.
[Meghan] The content topic determines to some extent WHO consumes the content. And that’s powerful.
So, create some content with a buyer intent in mind. This applies to lead magnets, blog posts, videos, podcast episodes, social media posts—really all and any aspect of content marketing.
3) Incorporate Copywriting into Content
[Meghan] So you’ve got a good free lead magnet to catch the attention of your potential customer. How will you convince them to give you their contact information and become a lead?
The answer is good copywriting. High converting copy persuades people to take action. It takes the right words, emotions and psychological triggers to motivate people these days. Let me tell ‘ya: this stuff isn’t easy!
Copywriting isn’t typically a task that anyone can do. You’re going to need to:
- learn some copywriting skills or
- hire a copywriter or
- invest in tools like copywriting templates or apps where you fill in the blanks based on your business to come up with copy
[Theresa] Yeah, copywriting is an art and a science! It takes skill, knowledge and practice.
To get more leads, apply copywriting techniques to your landing pages and some of your emails, blog posts, and website pages. We’re not suggesting you need copywriting everywhere!
But, copywriting focuses on conversion and action. So, that transforms your content into a more powerful lead generation tool. It’s that extra step to make your content more persuasive at times rather than just informational.
Recently, I hired a copywriter to help me create the landing page for my group program, Plan To Achieve. I hired a copywriter to ensure that I would have an effective landing page that converts into sales. That’s the goal of a landing page. So, it was a smart use of my time and resources.
But there are other good resources available to help you if you want to DIY your copywriting. Check out our copywriting tips!
Copywriting is not content marketing, but it’s part of content marketing.
[Meghan] There are websites like Copyhackers, Copyblogger, and Enchanting Marketing that provide some tips. And there are apps like Funnel Scripts, Automatic Script, and Closers Copy that can help you with copywriting if you don’t want to hire a professional.
4) Increase Traffic
[Meghan] Once you’ve done the three things we just talked about, you’ve already done a lot to get more targeted, better leads from content marketing. Now it’s time to attract more people to your content.
It’s not enough to just have the right content. You need more people seeing your content. This is called amplification.
[Theresa] It’s a numbers game. More eyeballs mean more leads.
If 5% of the people who visit your site turn into leads, then you know it’s better to have 1,000 visitors than 100.
We’ve already done an episode on how to promote your content. Check it out for good ways to generate more interest in your content.
[Meghan] Promotion is important. I mean, you aren’t Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t apply here. It’s up to you to get the word out about your content.
Content promotion takes either time or money—and sometimes both, especially since time is money! Search engine optimization can work, but it takes a long time to see results.
Now, when you’re promoting—especially with any paid promotion—drive traffic to high converting content where you promote your lead magnet. Don’t pay to send ads to your home page. And, don’t target everyone and anyone.
The key point here is to get more of the right target market consuming your best performing content—content that you know will result in lead generation.
This is about getting more ideal prospects to your high converting lead magnets by way of related content, like a video, blog post, or presentation.
PRO TIP: One of your most visible pages is your homepage, so be sure to use the right messaging to increase your leads!
Pro Tip: Work Backwards to Get More Leads from Content Marketing
[Theresa] You probably won’t knock it out of the park initially with all of this. You have to do it to figure it out since you don’t know what you don’t know. So, there’s failing involved. But don’t let that discourage you!
It’s about trying and seeing what works. Each thing mentioned here for lead generation has trial and error involved. Like we always say, the journey is messy, and it’s normal to experience bumps along the way.
[Meghan] This is fact! In the beginning I created all of these informational lead magnets. You know me, I love creating content! But my lead magnet topics didn’t attract warmer leads. So that was a pain point for me personally.
Here’s a tip: work backwards from the end goal. The end goal being someone buying your service or product. So, map out the buying journey content.
Work backwards from the purchase to identify what customers often need to know before buying. This helps create the right content—both to attract warmer leads and to align your content with what you sell.
And figuring out the right content always starts with strategy! So, don’t forget to pick up my free Content Strategy from Scratch workbook and mini course to help with that.
[Theresa] Definitely download the workbook! It will help you improve your content marketing efforts. And, in the process, you’ll optimize your productivity so that you’re not wasting time on things that don’t support your business goals.
[Meghan] Okay, that’s a wrap! Please share this episode with a fellow solopreneur who you think will appreciate this information.
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