Introduction
I’ll assume that you understand the profitability of blogging and how many have used this platform to establish themselves within their markets, while driving consistent traffic to their advertisements and pages. You’re ready to start making serious money.
So, what is your next move?
Turning those visitors into qualified leads!
In truth, this is much easier than you may think. If you’re generating targeted traffic to your blog, half the work is already done for you. You have a steady flow of visitors who are interested in your content so all you must do now is convert that traffic into sales.
Thankfully, there are many different easy ways to do this quickly and easily, without a hefty learning curve involved – or a lot of time on your part.
This report will show you exactly how to do that while maximizing response rates, open-rates (because you should be building a newsletter) and ultimately skyrocket your sales.
Let’s begin!
The Sticky Factor
If you want to convert visitors into leads you ultimately need to get sticky. In publishing, the “sticky factor” is a term used when a book hits high in the rankings and remains there long after the initial launch.
When a book becomes sticky, it continues to generate money long after the first wave of marketing and promotions have ended. It becomes a passive money-maker while the author focuses on creating other books.
When converting visitors into leads, you want to implement the same mindset: becoming sticky. You want your visitor to enjoy your website so much that they bookmark it so they remember to return to it time and time again.
When you become sticky, you will need to put half as much effort into marketing your website because those you have already introduced to your brand will come back regularly.
Becoming sticky also means you will immediately increase your income. Those repeat customers will start to read more of your content, respond to your offers, and buy your products (or products you sell through affiliate marketing).
So, how do you become sticky?
You need to give visitors a reason to return to your blog!
You know the importance of quality information, right? Your blog can’t just rehash the same thing that dozens of other blogs are talking about. You need to put a fresh spin on currently hot topics so that you are providing a different perspective, something new; something unique – a reason for them to read your content and return for more.
This begins with crafting the best content machines possible. If you’re an experienced writer, this is easy for you. Just review the top 10 blogs in your market, paying close attention to the blog posts that receive the most feedback and interaction from visitors’ and then create similar content for your blog.
This kind of content is often referred to as: pillar content.
Pillar content is what essentially holds your blog together. It forms a strong foundation (just as the term implies) that encourages visitor interaction through comments and feedback, but also through sharing. These are the kind of articles and content that go viral. People just can’t help themselves – they want to share it with everyone they know.
If you aren’t a proficient writer you can easily outsource this to qualified professionals on sites like www.Upwork.com at affordable rates. Be sure to ask for 3-4 samples of writing on topics in your niche before hiring someone to make sure their voice and style matches your brand and fits your audience.
Aim for 5 hot pieces of content, to start. Then, build from there. These 5 articles (or videos, Infographics or other content formats) will form your pillar/foundation.
If you do your job of creating killer content that will appeal to majority of your audience, you’ll be that much closer to becoming sticky. This will require research!
You need to focus on THE hottest topics in your market such as: answering the burning questions from those in your niche, provide an alternative perspective on a topic or a new way to solve a problem/complete a task.
And unlike getting honey on your fingers, or pancake syrup on your face; this kind of sticky is a good thing. 😉
The Essential Component
In order to convert visitors into leads, you need to first identify your traffic sources and qualify that traffic.
What does this mean?
Too many bloggers are focusing on driving traffic to their website, regardless of the source. In reality, it’s the quality of your traffic that really makes a difference in your ability to convert that traffic into leads.
Think about it: If you are sending a swarm of untargeted, irrelevant traffic to your website that is comprised of people who aren’t interested in the kind of content you are offering, what’s the point? Those people aren’t going to be interested in your content, your recommendations or your products.
You won’t be able to convert this traffic no matter what you do.
So, the key is to start with pinpointing and evaluating your traffic sources. You need to identity the prime avenues of traffic in your market and tap into that targeted network of relevant leads.
For example, if your blog is within the Internet Marketing, entrepreneurship, or self-starter’s business niche, you might find qualified traffic from related business forums where new business owners and marketers go for help in getting started.
If your blog is focused on clean eating, LCHF, weight loss or fitness, you will likely find a strong source of traffic in self-improvement communities, social media sites searching for relevant keywords (#weightloss #lchf), and again, forums. (Forums are truly an incredible source of quality traffic in any niche because it’s basically a community of prospects hanging out, looking for and sharing very specific information).
By identifying premium traffic sources that you can funnel into your blog, you have cut your work in half. No longer are you trying to convert unknown traffic into leads. Instead, you already have identified that the majority of your traffic is coming from relevant sources, leaving you free to put your time and energy into providing exceptional value that will push those leads into becoming customers.
This also comes down to knowing your audience. When you keep a pulse on your market, you will not only know exactly what your prospects are looking for and most interested in, but you’ll also stay up to date with current trends and hot topics that you can feature on your blog in order to drive in even more traffic.
In the next chapter, I’ll show you a few fast and easy strategies that will help you flood your blog with highly-targeted traffic that will convert.
Fast & Furious Strategies
We know that it all begins by focusing on the highest quality traffic possible. So, how can you flood your website with traffic that will convert?
Here are a few ways pro bloggers get it done:
Guest Blogging
This is where you agree to post useful, highly informative content on someone’s blog. Why would you do this instead of posting it on your own?
Because by being a featured contributor on established blogs, you can not only piggyback off the authority and credibility of someone in your market, but you can siphon their traffic onto your blog for free!
The alternative is to approach leading blogs in your niche and ask if they offer paid advertisements or sponsorships, but in reality; this will never produce the results that guest blogging can.
Think about it: You are not only given the opportunity to transfer traffic from authority blogs onto your own, but by being featured on their website you are gaining traction in your market while establishing yourself as an authority in your niche!
Guest blogging also helps you expand your outreach via social media as quite often these posts will be shared through RSS feeds, twitter, Facebook and through newsletter updates.
There’s nothing quite like it. Guest blogging will catapult your efforts to generate premium traffic that will convert while also helping you develop powerful networking opportunities and partnerships in your industry.
So, you are like asking: “how do I find guest blogging opportunities?”
Easy. Search Google!
Use search terms like:
keyword “submit a guest post”
keyword guest blogging”
keyword accepting guest posts”
keyword “guest post by”.
You’ll be able to find countless opportunities just be using search operators. Here are a few others:
Keyword + “guest blogging”
Keyword + “write for us”
You can also find guest posting opportunities by evaluating the backlinks from competing blogs.
Use tools such as https://www.semrush.com or https://majestic.com/ to crawl through backlinks, and find other blogs that your competitors have written for.
Here is another useful resource to help you get started:
MyBlogGuest: http://myblogguest.com/
So, aside from guest blogging – what else can you to drive targeted traffic to your website?
Offer something for free!
The easiest way to make a lot of money and convert traffic into leads is by offering something for free that others would sell.
Everyone loves free stuff. It’s the easiest way to earn the trust of potential leads, and to encourage them to give you a chance to earn their business. Not only that but you can get incredible social media shares (can you say VIRAL?) by offering something extremely valuable at absolutely no cost.
Not to mention that when others start to share your offer you’ll generate massive amounts of inbound links to your blog – ultimately, increasing your traffic for FREE.
Create A Landing Page
If you truly want to increase conversions, you need to immediately stop sending traffic to your blog’s main page, if you are trying to capture leads and build a mailing list.
Instead, create a highly targeted landing page for that audience!
These landing pages can be easily linked and featured within your navigation menu so that even those who do land on the front page (or find themselves arriving within an internal page on your site) can still find the page.
The objective of a landing page is to outline clear value, engage a potential visitor and convert them into a lead. Landing pages aren’t designed to necessarily sell a product. It’s the front-line in your mission of converting a visitor into a lead. That should be its only objective.
Your landing page should feature your mailing list opt-in form up front and center, and a lead magnet.
Lead Magnets:
- Free report or digital book (eBook)
- Case studies
- Infographics
- Weekly newsletter
Basically, a free, yet valuable resource that will kick them into action and convince them to take a chance on you.
Tips, Tricks & Strategies
Here are some other tips, tricks and strategies to increasing conversion rates, and turning those visitors into qualified leads:
Cut down on the clutter:
You need to simplify the process of converting a visitor into a lead which starts by decluttering your blog’s interface. You don’t want it to feel too busy, or complicate a user’s ability to navigate throughout your website.
So, remove anything that isn’t necessary. Eliminate distractions so that your visitors are focused on where you choose to lead them (signing up for your newsletter, purchasing a product, sharing a piece of content).
I’ve previously mentioned how it’s important to create landing pages for your blog and this is yet another reason why. Landing pages keep your audience focused on your digital marketing and will ultimately increase your conversion rates.
Define individual page objectives:
Every page on your blog should have a clear objective. This means that if your intention is to convert leads into subscribers, your “OPT IN PAGE” should feature nothing but your opt-in box and relevant information such as the benefits of joining your newsletter.
It’s important to set an objective for every page so that your blog is not only easy to navigate, but that every single page and area on your website is focused on the task at hand. Doing this will also keep your blog organized and pages clutter-free, minimizing distractions and providing your visitor with a positive experience.
Know your audience better than they think you do:
No one blog is a one-size-fits-all. It’s important to know who your audience is before you even begin to create a blog, much less landing and product pages.
No one has ever managed to create a blog that appeals to all audiences or solves all problems, so don’t waste your time trying. Create a laser targeted blog that speaks to one specific audience, and learn everything you can about them.
Take advantage of the power of social proof:
Social proof can break down barriers and encourage people into taking action. In simple terms, social proof reinforces trust in your brand, showcases your ability to provide value and demonstrates that other people have faith in your business.
Social proof can include:
- Testimonials
- Case Studies
- Comments
- Likes (yes! Aren’t you more likely to LIKE a Facebook page that has hundreds of other likes?)
- Partnerships (logos of other blogs, etc)
Feature social proof throughout your blog pages whenever possible. If you have yet to generate any form of social proof consider asking an expert to comment on one of your articles, or offer to guest blog on authority websites and then ask permission to feature that blog’s logo or title on your blog as a place you have contributed to.
Go The Extra Mile
Do you really want to kickstart your efforts at converting visitors into leads? Consider taking things to the next level!
Here are a few other ways to do that:
Implement Live Chat:
Give your visitors a direct line of communication where they can ask questions or contact you. While this can be time-consuming, most live chat software will allow you to turn it on or off during specific times, so if you have an hour to spare here and there throughout the week, it could be the extra push visitors need to join your newsletter, service, etc.
Even better, live chat software typically comes bundled with powerful analytics which can help you better understand your audience.
From what pages’ your visitors spend the most time on, what website they have come from as well as where they go when they leave your blog, to what types of content they are most responsive to (or how often they share it!), you’ll be able to gain valuable insights to how your visitors interact while on your blog.
Tools: https://www.boldchat.com/
Conclusion
Transforming your traffic into qualified leads isn’t that difficult when you start with evaluating your traffic sources ensuring that you are focusing on driving relevant, targeted prospects to your blog.
Tapping into all forms of communication such as social media, forums, competing blogs and newsletters, are all powerful ways to funnel fresh, quality traffic to your blog that will easily convert.
Boost your exposure and set yourself apart from the competition by offering added incentive for visitors to subscribe to your newsletter and revisit your website.
Focus on the hottest, tightly-written content possible providing visitors with many different content formats (videos, infographics, content that is available in PDF format so they can download it for later use), and stay active within your niche by engaging with prospects and leads wherever they congregate.
Initially launching and getting your blog off the ground requires the most work, but once you have developed a network of premium, relevant traffic sources that will funnel prospects into your blog pages, you’ll be able to turn those visitors into highly qualified leads.
You got this!
