Givers are Gainers and how to get qualified leads from your website.

March 3rd, 2006

“Givers are Gainers” as my previous employer and friend used to say.

One of the most important things you should have on your site is a method to generate leads for your business. Your website should not only be a pretty face, but a hard worker that will grow your business.

Having a contact form page on your website is one method of generating qualified leads. However getting your visitors to fill out the forms is another story. Today’s web surfers are more savvy than ever and are more reluctant to give out information. One method to overcome this is to give something in return for their information.

Create a “whitepaper” or article in PDF or other format that your potential customers would find interesting. For example, If you have a computer services website, you might want to write a short article on the importance of internet security. You would then put a link on your website to the effect of “Get a free whitepaper on Internet Security”. Your visitors now see something that has value to them. However, in order to get this white paper they must fill out a short form after which they receive an email with a download link to the whitepaper. You have now received a qualified lead that is more likely to turn into a future customer than a random cold call over the phone.

Blogs can also be used to bring value to your website for potential and existing customers. Writing articles that are relevant to your business can increase traffic to your website and generate leads.

Write articles your customers would want to read. Post to them everyday, once a week or once a month. Customers can subscribe with third party RSS feed readers or use the ones integrated into Firefox or Opera. However, the big news is that the new version of Internet Explorer due to be released in the next couple of months has a built in RSS/Blog reader.

Customers will see a small box light up when they are on your blog that will allow them to subscribe with the click of a button. Every time you update your blog they will get a notification telling them about the update. Before you know it, you will have many subscribers to your blog that will increase traffic to your website and improve your search engine rankings with the added benefit of these subscribers being potential customers for your services.

In summary, Let your website work for you. Give a little information to your customers and get a lot back. Givers are gainers.

www.tuenidesign.com

Entry Filed under: Everything and Nothing