Since the pandemic started, you've probably been thinking more about how to get leads online. You're not alone.
Because of the social distancing measures put in place, one of my clients set about planning how to get leads for an upcoming online workshop.
I put together a simple campaign that centered on a landing page and Facebook ads.
A landing page is a web page created to convert website visitors into subscribers or paying customers.
On the landing page, 25 persons signed up (10 more than my client's original goal of 15.)
Our content was a huge element of our plan. So in this post, I'll walk you through how to get leads by showing you exactly how to pull together the key pieces of content you need for a landing page.
This is a detailed post so if you want to jump straight into a specific section, here's the Table of contents:
Why I built a Mailchimp landing page
When my client decided on the date for their online workshop, we had just about 9 days to get persons signed up.
That simply wasn’t enough time for their web developer (who happened to have another very important deadline to meet on their website).
Since they already had a Mailchimp account, the next best option was to build the landing page in Mailchimp. So in planning how to get leads for their workshop, this is where we started out!
The pros of using a Mailchimp landing page
Now, besides the client already having a Mailchimp account, there are few plusses to building your landing page with Mailchimp.
The cons of using a Mailchimp landing page
When you're focusing on how to get leads online, it's important to take into account the instances where a Mailchimp landing may not work for you so you don't waste time going down the wrong path.
So there I was hastily putting the Mailchimp landing page together with the information I had. Time was against me.
But then I hit the brakes.
In analysing the performance of a previous campaign we’d done using a landing page that had been built on their website, my client and I came to a very important realisation:
Their conversions (the number of persons signing up after coming to the landing page) suffered from a leaky landing page.
Normally, you shoot for a 1-3% conversion rate.
Thanks to information coming from my client's Facebook pixel ( Facebook code that allows you to collect certain data), we knew that we had gotten 846 page views to that particular website landing page.
So in theory, they should have at least gotten 8 sign-ups.
But as it turned out, none of the conversions they got were directly attributable to the Facebook ads.
Why was that?
How to get leads online: What you first need to know
Too many times, we put all the effort into ads and drop the ball when it comes to the landing page itself.
If you want to know how to get leads online, the first thing you have to understand is that it’s the copy and content (words, images, video etc.) on the page that matter most.
You can have a great-looking page that isn’t persuasive. So if you have limited time, put more time into your copy or pay someone to do it well.
This is especially important if you're looking to attract cold audiences (persons who've never heard of you) and audiences who haven't had multiple interactions with you.
In the rush to finish, I had started laying out my client's landing page with basic information about the workshop. That's when I caught myself again.
I was just sharing information.
Wait, I know what you're thinking... what's the problem with sharing info???
Again, if you want to know how to get leads online, then understand this: Your landing page shouldn't just be informational.
Remember, you don't have the opportunity to greet your potential client face-to-face so you have to let your landing page do all the talking.
That's why you can't just create an informational landing page. You need to create a persuasive one.
When you're in a rush, it's easy to forget simple things like this.
So without being specifically asked to by my client, I took the initiative to optimise this new Mailchimp landing page so that it could be more persuasive...more effective.
And working through the night, 12 hours later, I finally felt that my client had a much better product!!
This brings me to the next key point in learning how to get leads with a landing page.
The 4 Pillars of a Persuasive Landing Page
I've been a writer for as long as I can remember. I've done lots of copywriting but that doesn't stop me from continuous learning and sharpening my skills.
I got some really practical but effective copywriting advice on how to get leads with a persuasive landing page from Ramit Sethi's Growth Lab.
A persuasive landing page is built on 4 pillars.
Pillar 1-Hopes and Dreams
Come up with 3 or more statements in your clients’ own words about what they want to achieve above all else (as it relates to your service).
Pillar 2-Fears and Pains
Write down 3 or more statements in your clients’ own words on what they want to avoid/get away from at all costs (as it relates to your service).
Pillar 3-Barriers
List 3 or more statements in your clients’ own words about what is getting in the way of them achieving or fulfilling their hopes and dreams.
Pillar 4-The Offer
And for the Offer, state how your service will help people overcome the exact fears and barriers you listed above.
Note very clearly how much emphasis is placed on using your clients’ own words.
For you to be persuasive, you have to speak the language of your target audience. They must feel like you understand them through and through.
To get the information in your client’s own words, you have to actually talk to them or at least survey them.
Fortunately, a key part of my client’s marketing strategy revolved around getting video testimonials after each engagement.
They supplied me with 2 video testimonials that fit the bill for the workshop they were promoting.
So what did the 4 key pillars of information look like for them? Here’s a snapshot to illustrate:
Hopes and Dreams
"I want to move forward with the things rooted deep within me."
Fears and Pains
"I want to stop living for people...doing everything for people."
Barriers
"I allow other people to put thoughts...in my head and take my purpose away from me."
The Offer
Learn proven techniques to energize your mind and stay positive.
So using these 4 pillars of information plus Ramit's outline for creating a persuasive landing page, I was able to come up with copy to improve my client's landing page.
Now, moving from the 4 pillars to a persuasive landing page is easier said than done. But is the last key idea in helping you understand how to get leads with your own landing page.
You make the transition by incorporating 6 key elements on your landing page.
The 6 key elements of a persuasive landing
A persuasive landing page has these 6 elements:
- The Myth-Busting Headline
- The Barrier-filled Introduction
- The Laser-Targeted Offer
- The Enticing Price Offer
- The Bold Call-to-Action
- The Compelling Testimonial
Element 1: The Myth-busting Headline
Let’s start with the first element, The Myth-busting headline.
Remember the barriers you had to list in the 4 pillars? Here's where you begin to apply them.
The first thing visitors should see when they hit your landing page is the headline (and, if you want, a sub-headline).
The purpose of the myth-busting headline is to neutralize, right away, the barriers people have about achieving a specific goal.
You don't need to get too fancy. Just be specific.
In my client's case, I used the sub-headline to directly counteract myths or barriers people have about pressing on with their life goals.
Element 2: The Barrier-filled Introduction
The 2nd key element is the Barrier-filled Introduction.
Here is where you pretty much repeat all the barriers and issues you listed within the pillar exercise.
You write them in the exact language you’ve heard your clients say them because you want to show them that you intimately understand their frustration.
Here’s an example of what it looked like for my client. The words in quotations are actual words from testimonials. The rest is an elaboration on the thoughts being expressed.
Element 3: The Laser-Targeted Offer
The 3rd key element is the Laser-Targeted Offer.
Here you state EXACTLY how the service you’re offering helps persons overcome their fears and barriers.
That's right. For each barrier you noted, line up the benefits of your offer that directly speak to it. You've got to be specific.
In my client's case, there were 4 that matched up best with issues 2, 4, 5, and 1:
Element 4: The Enticing Price Offer
The 4th key element is the Enticing Offer Price.
Now, in communicating your price, you can use a few strategies.
People don't like parting with their hard-earned money easily that so you've got to make it easier for them to justify the spend.
For example, you could break the price down by time as I did for my client:
You could also offer payment installments for higher-priced programs like what SEO expert, Brian Dean did for his course on how to create a course from scratch:
You could set an anchor price to give people a sense of the true value of your program but then offer them your program at a lower price so they feel like they're walking away with a deal.
That's what Budgeting expert, Bob Lotich, did for his budgeting course:
You can see, too, that Bob Lotich offered different price points for different levels of access to his program. That's yet another strategy you could use.
You can offer a time-based discount where the price goes up before a certain date. Lots of people do this so I'm sure you're familiar with that strategy.
And of course, you could offer a guarantee. The most popular is a money-back guarantee where you offer a full refund if the client isn’t satisfied.
If you're super confident in your offer (and you should be) go for it!
Click funnels creator, Russell Brunson does so all the time:
Element 5: The Compelling Testimonial
The 5th key element of a persuasive landing page is the Compelling Testimonial.
The higher the perceived cost of your program, the more testimonials you should have.
You can opt for text-based or video testimonials.
Like I said before, my clients are great at capturing video testimonials after each engagement. The powerful thing about video testimonials is that you actually get to see the happy client talking.
Not all testimonials have the same level of impact though. That's true even for videos. The key is to shoot for testimonials that reflect the hopes and dreams of your target audience. For example, here are two testimonials that I got from a previous client:
The first is ok-ish; it emphasizes my attributes as a service provider.
But the second is much more powerful. Look at the language. It really reflects what people in my target audience would be looking for: "Keep business page alive", "meaningful content", "timely advertising"
For a landing page offering social media services, I’d naturally opt for the second testimonial since it’s more specific and closely tied to the output that people would be looking for in social media management.
Sometimes, your own story is the best testimonial you have. Everybody has one. You just have to learn to tell it well. Here's a snapshot of Ramit Sethi's story:
Element 6: The Bold Call-to-Action
The 6th and final element of a persuasive landing page is the Bold Call-to-Action.
Define the single, most important action that you want the landing page visitor to take.
When people are faced with too many choices, they end up choosing none so it’s important that you define the main action you want persons to take.
Be bold about asking them to take it. Let them know how unattractive the alternative would be.
Here’s what the call-to-action looked like on my client’s landing page.
Conclusion
There you have it! I showed you how to get leads with a landing page by showing you how to pull together key pieces of content.
On a landing page, the goal is to persuade, not just give information! You do that mainly through your copy. You have to put in a big effort to get the copy done right on your landing page. Start with collecting 4 key pieces of information:
Your clients’ hopes and dreams
Their fears and pains
Their barriers (all expressed in their own words), and
Your offer.
Those are the 4 key pillars of a persuasive landing page.
Next, make sure your landing page covers these 6 elements:
A myth-busting headline
Barrier-filled introduction
Your laser-targeted offer
An enticing offer price
Compelling testimonials, and
A bold call-to-action.
The more expensive your program is, the more you have to work at communicating these elements as clearly and as extensively as you can.
So what do you think?
Do you have anything to add on how to get leads with a landing page and Facebook? Let me know in the comments below.
*Be sure to read my companion blog post on how to build better Facebook ads to bring potential leads to your landing page.
I’m a content marketing specialist and owner of C.D BLACKMAN SOCIAL REBELLION MARKETING, where I make it easy for professional service-based business owners to create content marketing strategies that attract leads and clients more predictably.