Consider the chargeable time you spend on LinkedIn posting daily, commenting, building connections? Building a lead generation activity into your website is the ideal marketing tactic for solopreneur and service businesses who needs to balance their workload. Connecting proactively lets you plan ahead for quiet times.
A successful lead generation form on your website allows you to proactively contact qualified leads when it suits you, instead of hoping and waiting for them to notice you on social media.
What do you mean “lead generation”?
Leads are individuals or organizations that have shown interest in your products or services and have the potential to become paying customers. It’s not just a list of email addresses – especially if people were tricked into giving their address with a “bait and switch”, or if you purchased a “harvested” list.
By continuously attracting and nurturing leads, you can rely on a constant flow of prospects to convert into paying customers. This steady stream is essential for maintaining and growing sales over time, especially if you don’t have a full times sales team cold-calling, networking and phoning.
Email leads are proactive
Reach your audience directly in their inbox – if you do it right, you creating an immediate personal connection that social media can’t match. There’s no algorithm limiting your reach—if you send an email, it lands in their inbox. Executives who are busy and successful, aren’t on social media – they are answering emails and taking orders!
Email Leads are qualified
When someone subscribes to your email list, they’re actively choosing to hear from you. This usually involves filling out a form and confirming their email address, a process known as double opt-in. This shows that they are genuinely interested in your content or products, making them more likely to engage with your messages and eventually convert into paying customers.
Email Is Targeted
If you can get your leads to answer a few easy questions, you can segment your audience based on their preferences and behaviours. You know what interests them, and you can make sure they only receive the right information! They are more likely to connect with you, and less likely to unsubscribe.
Ownership and Control
Unlike social media platforms, where algorithms and policies can change unexpectedly, you own your email list. This means you’re not at the mercy of another company’s rules. With email, you have direct access to your audience.
Private and Personal
People read emails in the privacy of their inboxes. This private, one-on-one communication encourages open dialogue and fosters trust. Subscribers feel more comfortable asking questions or sharing concerns directly through email rather than in a public forum.
People are staying off social media
Facebook and Twitter are losing users every month. People perceive these platforms as entertainment, there is no credibility any more. Email marketing has a far-reaching potential audience, and that audience is not browsing lightly, they are focused.
Challenges in Building an Email List
Despite the clear benefits, building an email list comes with its own set of challenges:
Convincing People to Subscribe
Getting people to add their names to your mailing list can be tricky. Users are often reluctant to share their email addresses due to privacy concerns and the fear of spam. To overcome this, businesses need to offer compelling incentives such as exclusive content, discounts, or free trials.
Maintaining List Quality
Ensuring that your email list remains clean and up-to-date is crucial. This involves regular maintenance to remove inactive subscribers and prevent email bounces. A high-quality list ensures that your messages reach an engaged audience, improving your overall ROI.
Regularly creating valuable content
To keep subscribers engaged, you need to consistently deliver valuable and relevant content. This requires a deep understanding of your audience’s interests and pain points. Without valuable content, subscribers may lose interest and unsubscribe.
Unlike social media, you don’t need to do this daily or weekly. One post a month, combined into a quarterly newsletter is often a good balance for both you and your prospect.
Why a website helps with lead generation
The three challenges above mean that to get people to sign up with a legitimate email address, you have to have a website.
- First, credibility. Who are you, and can you be trusted? Random emails from strangers are deleted.
- Then, a reason – a quiz, a problem, a download, a free webinar, a course, opportunities to sell their own products…
By combining your website with email lead generation, you can continuously engage your prospects at a low cost over time.
Ready to take your business development approach to the next level? Start thinking about how you can get prospects to give you their email address, and let’s brainstorm how we can make that work for you, by leveraging your website.