“Will I get better results if we change the call to action?”
“Is your sales page copy going to sell this thing?”
“If I optimize my website’s home page for better conversions, will that help?”
If this is the year to get more leads and convert more of them into paying customers you’re probably asking yourself “How do I do that?” The high-level answer is get clear on what you do, who you do it for, stand out in that market with a strong, clear message so you get known, then take it to market.
Sounds simple on the one hand and headache-inducing on the other, doesn’t it?
Let’s go deeper, where most of you want help.
Assuming you are:
- clear on what you do,
- can say it clearly so people understand it and see the value,
- and know who is most likely to want or need it,
It’s time to take a look at how you are marketing, i.e. what marketing pieces you have in place, and the complex reality of how results are produced. (I promise to keep it simple.)
Your website is your ambassador — it speaks for you. It is also the front door to your business and you must decide what job it is there to do. Is it an information-only page? Are you using it to generate leads? Are you an author looking to sell books, a speaker looking to get booked?
Each of these sites will speak differently to the intended audience, but one thing does not change: the best copy, images, layout and flow alone will not get you traffic, and traffic is where the gold is both in the form of data and results.
Let’s talk traffic. One of the first things I ask a new web copy client is, “how are people finding you now?” and “how many unique visitors do you currently get?”
Not a big deal if they don’t know; everyone is in a different place in their marketing knowledge and I’m here to coach as well as write copy.
The next question is where things get real. “How will you get people to your new site?” If I get crickets we have to do some planning, but the reason I ask is, a new face, freebie, or magnetizing copy will not new results produce. Why? People, or the lack of them, seeing all of these new goodies is what’s gets the results.
Then we can answer the question, “Will the copy/new look/new freebie get me results?”
Your webinar landing page is the portal through which you will create interest, excitement, and hopefully yeses, opt-ins for your upcoming presentation.
The copy does the heavy lifting here and the design ensures it is easy to read, engages with an image here and there, and the call to action is the clincher. (Calls to action are as important as titles and subject lines. Get smarter about them here.)
But the landing page is only the beginning, right?
- After they opt-in what do they see?
- Do you follow up with nurture emails if it’s a long time until the webinar?
- How good are your presentation skills?
- Can you make a strong ask or offer?
- Do you have a good follow up sequence for those who opted in but didn’t attend?
- Do you have a system that will tell you that?
When you ask, “Should I do a webinar to promote this product?” the answer isn’t a clear yes or no until you consider the other factors. Oh, and that one factor that is always a make-or-break part of the equation: traffic. Who are you promoting this to? Are they the right audience for this information? If your list is small, how else will you drive traffic?
Your freebie or lead magnet is one way to get new people on your list. If you’re asking, “should I change my lead magnet to get more subscribers?” answer this question first: “Is this one working?
If the answer is “no,” then ask, “how do I know it’s not working?” If that answer is “I’m not getting any new subscribers,” there are 2 new questions to ask:
“Did this lead magnet produce opt-ins at one time and it’s stopped working?” or “Do I need more eyeballs on it to really know?”
You can change a lead magnet for lots of reasons — you want to build a specific list for a new funnel, (in which case I suggest building a landing page for the new one rather than ditching something that’s working on your site,) you have new ideas or a new way of presenting your work, maybe it’s just time because you are tired of the old one. Don’t squash your creativity but do be realistic about why an existing one isn’t working.
Remember that a good freebie takes time, design, and a good follow up sequence. Will it be worth it if no one sees it?
Boiled down to a simple formula, how to get better results looks like this:
(Know your) Market
(Have a stand out) Message
(Learn how to write or invest in) Strong Copy
(Be realistic about how much) Traffic you’ll need
Get to know where your results are coming from now, so you can see exactly where the “not working” parts of your marketing efforts are.
There are many more factors to look at when you need better results in your marketing and it gets pretty crazy; button color on calls to action, changing one word in a subject line or opt-in tagline, even whether you use personalization or not. For most of us the better results will be found in the basics I’ve just covered. Take the temp on any or all of these in your business and pick one place you can improve on.
One other marketing tip for better results: always change only one thing at a time, track the new results, then tweak again or say “Hallelujah” and move on to the next project. You’ll be seeing better results in no time and can then weigh the potential benefits of orange over pink “Click the damn button” buttons for your next webinar.