Your website should be treated than more just a brochure which, let’s face it, many professional service firms do.

Your website should generate leads, allow clients to book meetings, buy online (easily) as well as get valuable information to help them solve a problem.

If you want visitors to buy from you, then your website should allow that to happen.

90% of websites I look at, are confusing, full of jargon that no one outside their industry can understand and aren’t functional.

So, what is the point?

You can balance having a pretty website with one that actually works for you.

Let’s start with website 101. Every website should have Google Analytics installed on it. This essential tool captures all your website data that tells a factual story about who is visiting, how long for, what pages they visited and so much more.

One of the simplest ways to capture the contact details of your prospects is to offer some kind of incentive on your website or what we call (in marketing terms) a lead magnet. Here are a few simple ideas:

• Your Newsletter – (although please don’t call it a newsletter – ahh no one cares about a newsletter). This is usually a mix of stories, industry information or company updates that gets sent to your client list
• A fact sheet or ebook – They are typically educational, informative guides to particular topics that focus on sharing tips that solve a pain or issue for your clients. NB: It is NOT your company brochure
• White paper– White papers tend to be research or reports compiled by businesses and contain useful information and data. Usually longer and industry focused.
• Video Series – this could be a series of 1-3 videos that shares a how to or tips that help to educate your potential client. These are short 2-3 minutes in duration and can be delivered over 1-3 days or immediately.
• Free Webinar – on demand free webinars are a simple way to share your expertise

The Lead magnet needs to be linked to a sign up form in which they share a couple of personal details in return for the valuable information you are sharing. This adds them to your database which you can use to nurture them moving forward.

But before you start creating your lead magnet, here are some starters to consider:

• The incentive must be valuable – your prospects will only give you their details if they are getting something in return, so offer them an incentive that is interesting and valuable. The content MUST be relatable to your target market.
• Make the offer visible – the lead magnet needs to stand out on your website and can also be on multiple pages. Don’t make it hard to find and share it everywhere
• Make the form easy – don’t ask for too many details on the form. Keep it simple and limit it to name and email.

Once you have got the contact details of these prospects and added them to your own database, then you need to communicate with them consistently and add value to their life, so when they are ready to buy, then seek you out before a competitive.

If you want to know more about creating a Lead Magnet, read these two articles:

How to create a Lead Magnet Part 1

How to create a Lead Magnet Part 2

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