If you are looking to grow your business, you are most likely already considering the benefits that a website can offer. A properly designed and marketed website can help you to generate more business, increase profit, and even expand your customer base. In this article, we will discuss ways that you can get your contact information from your website marketing so that you can begin to gain more traction.
Online Forms
One of the simplest and most effective ways to collect contact information is to use online forms. Although most businesses these days use online forms for their contact collection, not all of them are created equal. Make sure that you utilize the right forms to achieve your goals. For example, if you are looking to grow your email list, you should use an anonymous opt-in form, whereas, if you are looking to grow your business through social media, you should utilize a social media opt-in form.
Call To Actions
Another effective way to collect contact information is to incorporate call to actions into your website design. A call to action is a prompt or invitation to take action. For example, if you are selling something on your website, you could have the option of “subscribe to our newsletter” or “sign up for our email list” as a call to action. When a visitor clicks on one of these calls to actions, they will be presented with a form to enter their contact information. Just remember to make sure that these invitations are relevant to the type of business that you are in and the type of visitors that you are trying to attract. If you are speaking to potential customers, you may want to consider using a live chat function, as opposed to, a newsletter sign-up form or email list sign-up form.
One-Pagers
Another effective way to collect contact information is to use one-pagers. A one-pager is a short page or a short piece of content, typically no longer than two pages, designed to draw traffic to your website and eventually, convert that traffic into paying customers. A one-pager can be used to gain a potential customer’s contact information, verify their email address, or even just provide additional information about your business. If you have a one-pager on your website that is not functioning as intended, it could be very frustrating for the reader. To ensure that one-pagers are engaging and effective, you should follow the 7-step process discussed below.
Step 1: Determine the goal of the one-pager.
The first step in the process of developing a one-pager is to set the purpose of the page or content. This is more than likely going to be determined by your target audience and/or the product/service that you are selling on your website. If you are unsure of the goal of the one-pager, it can be helpful to think about the different purposes that it could serve. For example, a page about the history of your company may serve as an introduction to your product/service and may also be used to collect contact information from potential customers. Before you begin, it is important to make a list of all of the different types of information that you will need to include on your page.
Step 2: Identify the personas and the decision-makers.
Once you have set the purpose of the one-pager, it is time to move on to the next step. The first step in developing content for your website is to identify who your target audience is and what decision-makers are out there, who you can approach with your offer. With a little bit of research, you can learn a lot about the type of personas and the decision-makers that are out there. Start by looking at your website’s analytics reports and find the demographics of your average visitor. From here, you can begin to populate your persona and decision maker lists. If you are unsure of who your target audience is, you can always conduct demographic segmentation to find out. Don’t be afraid to get super specific here. For example, if you are a car dealership, you may want to target millennial car buyers or young suburban men who are looking for a new, exotic vehicle. These are all considered part of the same audience. Once you have your persona and decision maker lists, it is time to move on to the next step.
Step 3: Define the problem that the one-pager is solving.
The next step in the process of creating a one-pager is to define the problem that it is solving. The goal here is to use the one-pager to provide additional information that is helpful to the person that is reading it. The better your problem/solution fit, the more effective the one-pager is going to be at solving the problem. If you are following the 7-step process discussed above, you should be able to easily determine the type of problem that the one-pager is meant to solve. From here, you can move on to the final step.
Step 4: Craft the solution
Once you have determined the problem that the one-pager is trying to solve, the next step is to craft the solution. Your solution should be a combination of the following:
- An offer
- Something relevant
- A call to action
- Keywords
- Content that is easy to understand
If you are unable to come up with a solution after brainstorming with your team, it may be time to revisit the problem and try again. Sometimes, there is more than one solution to a problem and none of them are easy. In these cases, it can be helpful to display them all and let the customer decide which solution is the best. If you are selling a product on your website, you can provide different types of demos so that the customer can choose the one that works best for them. For example, if you are selling designer handbags, you may want to provide a link to an online store where they can purchase the bag that they are reading about. The key is to make sure that the solution that you provide is relevant to the person that is looking for it and that it is something that they want or need. If the solution that you provide does not solve the problem that your one-pager is meant to solve, it may be time to revisit the problem and come up with a new solution. Remember, the customer is always right, so if they are not happy with what you provided, it is your job to fix it. This is where the testing and iteration process begins.
Step 5: Create the buyer persona
The final step in the process of creating a one-pager is to create the buyer persona. A buyer persona is a character that you create based on the personas and the demographics that you identified in step 2. You should strive to make the buyer persona as realistic as possible, considering that you are writing this piece for people who do not yet know who you are or do not know much about you. Your buyer persona should possess the characteristics and qualities that are most relevant to your target audience. Once you have your buyer persona, it is time to move on to the next step.
Step 6: Create key compelling messages
In order to get the reader’s attention and have them want to continue reading, you need to have key compelling messages. A key compelling message is an important fact or piece of information, along with a compelling reason for the reader to act. Unlike a typical advertisement, which uses hype and hyperbole to get the reader to act, a great key compelling message will use facts and figures to back it up. In addition to key compelling messages, you should also provide supporting evidence or facts that back up your claims. If you are unsure of what to include in your key compelling messages, ask your team for help or do some research online. Ultimately, you want to write something that is both compelling and useful.