How To Generate Leads for Your SaaS
Business With Content Marketing
Earlier in 2022, Semrush performed a survey on 1,500 businesses that had content marketing campaigns.
They launched the survey in order to establish some statistics that would give us a glimpse of what content marketing looks like nowadays. That includes benchmarks, trends, and even challenges.
And can you guess what the biggest challenge in content marketing is?
Around 41% of the survey’s respondents said that they have difficulties in generating actual leads using their content.
Sadly, that makes sense, given that most content marketing practices are really about attracting people by educating them about topics relevant to your niche.
It doesn’t involve a lot of persuasive copy. But that’s what makes it work in attracting a potential lead.
No sales talk. Just some honest-to-goodness information.
But then again, it can be pretty difficult to make the leap from merely giving them information to capturing them as leads.
Thankfully, “difficult” doesn’t necessarily mean “impossible.”
Otherwise, what’s the point of content marketing, right?
That being said, the ability to turn content viewers into leads is your make-or-break skill in content marketing.
In this article, we will discuss how to generate leads with content marketing.
Let’s dive right in.
1) Create Reliable and Engaging Content
This should be a no-brainer.
The very first step in leveraging content marketing to generate leads is to create great content that your prospects can trust.
Remember that what makes content marketing work is its focus on building trust with your prospective customers. And that can only happen if you’re consistently providing them with high-quality content.
But what exactly makes for “high-quality” content?
For one, it must be reliable. That is, your audience must be able to trust that the information you’re giving them is accurate and up-to-date.
They should also find your content engaging. Engaging content is the kind that holds their attention from start to finish.
What’s more, your content marketing strategy should include practices that make your content pieces more readable and visible online.
2) Use Content As A Lead Magnet
A lead magnet is a piece of content that you offer for free in exchange for your audience’s contact information. You may also know it as gated content.
You can offer various types of content, such as:
Ebooks: Using ebooks as lead magnets is a classic move in lead generation. With an ebook, you can discuss a topic more comprehensively. This, in turn, helps build your authority on the subject.
On-Demand Video Courses: Online courses can also be effective lead magnets. Just like ebooks, they allow you to dive deeper into a particular topic. And since they’re in video format, they can be more engaging than ebooks.
Toolkits: Toolkits are another great way to generate leads. By offering a collection of resources that may be valuable to them, you can encourage your audience to sign up for your email list.
Quizzes & Questionnaires: Quizzes and questionnaires can be fun and interactive ways to generate leads. They can also help you segment your audience based on their answers.
What’s more, you can design the quiz to give them personalized recommendations.
For example, let’s say you have a B2C SaaS solution that has something to do with music.
Your quiz could ask your target audience about their favorite artists, genres, or anything about their music preferences.
Then the quiz would recommend an underrated artist that they might love. But it would only show the recommendation if the person taking the quiz gives you their contact information.
This way, even if you’re the one doing the asking, you’re still providing value to them based on their answers. And in exchange, they’re giving you their consent to contact them as leads.
Webinars: Like on-demand video courses, webinars can help you generate leads by giving them an exclusive opportunity to learn more about different topics in your industry.
What would make these webinars more attractive is inviting a popular industry expert or thought leader as a guest speaker.
And when you offer access to that webinar for free, your prospects would be more than willing to give you their contact information.
Whatever type of content you’re offering as a lead magnet, the key is making sure that it is something that your audience will actually find useful.
Even better, make it irresistible.
Your ebook, video course, or webinar should be so good that it would make people happy to exchange their contact information for it.
And when they do, that’s when you capture them as leads. You can add them to your email list or other sales processes you are doing.
3) Leverage Content Upgrades
A content upgrade is a piece of additional gated content that supplements your existing blog post or article.
Technically, it’s still a lead magnet. But the difference is in how you offer it.
With a content upgrade, you offer a more valuable piece of content along with an existing free-to-access type of content.
For example, let’s say you have a blog post about how to improve a sales team’s performance.
At the end of the article, you could offer a free ebook that contains even more actionable tips on how to increase sales productivity.
This is how you turn a one-time reader into a lead that you can nurture over time.
The key here is to deliver so much value with your blog post that your reader would want more of it.
4) Use Pop-Ups Wisely
Pop-ups are one of the most controversial tools in online marketing. There are those who swear by them and those who can’t stand them.
It’s understandable, given how interruptive they can be when you’re enjoying a piece of content on a website.
The truth, however, is that pop-ups can be effective if used properly.
But how do you even use popups wisely?
Here are some tips:
Time Your Popup With Your Content Upgrade Offer
A great way to use pop-ups is to offer a content upgrade at the end of your blog posts or articles.
This way, you’re not interrupting their reading experience with an offer too soon.
And when they reach the end of your article and see a relevant content upgrade offer, there’s a higher chance they’ll take you up on it.
Use Only One Popup
Using multiple popups on your website can come across as desperate and could turn people away from your site.
Instead, use only one popup and make sure it’s properly targeted to your audience.
Avoid Using Exit-Intent Popups
I know. I know. this can be the subject of many heated debates in the digital marketing world. But hear me out.
Exit-intent popups are those that show up when someone tries to leave your website without taking any action.
While they could be effective in getting some people to take action, they can also come across as intrusive and could cause visitors to leave your site for good.
So unless you’re sure that your exit popup won’t annoy your visitors, it’s best to avoid using them altogether.
Make Your Popup Easy To Find Again
This is important, especially if someone isn’t ready to take your offer the first time they see it.
Remember that popups can easily come across as annoying to a lot of people. As a result, clicking the close button on a popup has become an instinct or a reflex.
And even if you provide a popup with a legitimately great offer, people with those reflexes may find themselves closing your popup without even thinking about it.
But some of them may think, “Wait. That offer was actually good. Where can I find it?”
That’s why it’s important to make it easy for them to find your popup again. Instead of having it disappear altogether, you can have it minimized into a bar at the corner of the screen.
That way, your website visitors can go back to it if they realize that it is actually beneficial for them.
Use A Compelling Call-To-Action (CTA)
Your CTA is what’s going to get people to take action on your popup. And it needs to be compelling enough for them to do so.
Here are some tips you can use to create an effective CTA:
Make It Actionable: Your CTA should tell people exactly what they need to do. For example, “Download our free ebook now.”
Use Power Words: Use words that evoke emotion and create a sense of urgency. Examples include “free,” “now,” and “exclusive.”
Keep It Short And Simple: Don’t try to cram too much into your CTA. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point.
5) Improve Your Landing Pages
Your landing pages play a crucial role in your lead generation efforts. After all, this is where you’re going to send people who click on your CTA.
And if your landing page isn’t up to par, you could be losing a lot of potential leads.
Here are some tips you can use to improve your landing pages:
Keep It Simple
The goal of your landing page is to get people to take action. So don’t distract them with too much information or too many offers.
A visually cluttered landing page will only serve to confuse people and could cause them to leave without taking any action.
But if you keep it clean and minimalistic, you can highlight what matters most — your CTA or sign-up form.
Use Images That Support The Offer
The images you use on your landing page need to illustrate the offer you’re making. For example, if you’re offering a free ebook, use an image of the book cover.
If you’re offering a free course, use an image that shows people taking the course.
Images are a powerful way to communicate what your offer is and how it can help people. So make sure you use them wisely.
Make Sure Your Sign-Up Form Is Easy To Fill Out
Your sign-up form is how you’re going to get people’s contact information. So make sure it’s easy for people to fill out.
The last thing you want is for someone to click on your CTA, only to be put off by a long and complicated sign-up form.
So keep it short and sweet. The fewer fields there are, the better.
And if you’re asking for too much information, you could be losing potential leads.
So only ask for the bare minimum. Name and email address should be enough to capture them as leads.
Make Your Landing Page Responsive To Mobile Screens
With more and more people using their mobile devices to browse the web, it’s important to make sure your landing page is responsive to smaller screens.
If your landing page doesn’t look good on a mobile device, your potential leads may get frustrated and may decide not to proceed with the signup.
So make sure you test how your landing page looks on different screen sizes before you start driving traffic to it.
Have A Thank You Page
Once someone has signed up for your offer, you should take them to a thank you page.
And even though people have already taken action by this point, that doesn’t mean you can’t include another CTA on this page.
This is a great opportunity to provide additional offers or resources that they might find helpful.
For example, if someone signs up for your free ebook, you could give them the option to buy the print version.
Or you could simply add a share button so that they can share your offer with their friends and followers. That way, you get to have more engagement with them and reach a wider audience.
Win-win.
A/B Test Your Landing Page
Once you’ve created your landing page, it’s important to test how effective it is.
The best way to do this is to create two different versions of the same page and then see which one performs better.
You can test different elements of your landing page, such as the headline, copy, images, CTA, or sign-up form.
Then, once you’ve found a winning combination, you can implement it on your live site.
6) Target Long-Tail Keywords
If you’re not familiar with long-tail keywords, they are simply keywords that are more specific and usually longer than the traditional one or two-word keywords.
For example, instead of targeting the keyword “content marketing,” you could target “how to generate leads with content marketing.”
Long-tail keywords can help you generate high-quality leads in a few ways, including the following:
Less Competition
While long-tail keywords may not get as much search volume as traditional keywords, they can be much easier to rank for.
This is because there is less competition for these keywords. So if you can rank for a long-tail keyword, you could get a lot of traffic from it.
More Targeted Traffic
Long-tail keywords are also more targeted than traditional keywords. This means that the people who are searching for these keywords are usually further along in the buyer’s journey.
They know what they want and they’re looking for a specific solution. So if you can target these keywords, you’re more likely to generate high-quality leads.
Improved Quality Score
Another benefit is that it can improve your quality score. Quality score is a metric used by Google to determine how relevant and useful your ad is to the people who see it.
The higher your quality score, the less you’ll have to pay per click. And one of the factors that determine your quality score is the relevancy of your keywords to your ad.
So by targeting long-tail keywords that are relevant to your offer, you can improve your quality score and get your ads in front of more people for less money.
7) Optimize YouTube Videos For Lead Capture
YouTube is a great platform for content marketing. Not only is it a powerful search engine, but it’s also a great way to build relationships with your prospects.
You can do this by creating helpful and informative videos that solve your target audience’s problems. And once you’ve built up a relationship with your viewers, you can start to promote your offers.
But how do you actually capture leads from YouTube?
There are a few ways you can do this:
Add Annotations To Your Videos
Annotations are clickable links that you can add to your videos.
You can use annotations to send your viewers to landing pages, sign-up forms, or other offers.
To add annotations, simply go to the “Edit” tab on your video and click “Annotations.” From there, you can add text, links, and other calls to action.
Leverage End Screens
Another way to capture leads from YouTube is to use end screens. End screens are the last few seconds of your video where you can promote other videos or channels, as well as calls to action.
Include Links In Your Descriptions
The third way to capture leads from YouTube is to include links in your video descriptions. When you upload a video, you can add a description of the video.
This is a great place to include links to landing pages, sign-up forms, or other offers.
Add Verbal CTAs In Your Videos
The fourth way to capture leads from YouTube is to add verbal calls to action in your videos.
A call to action is simply an instruction for your viewers to do something, such as clicking your annotation or the link in the description.
You can add a call to action at any time during your video, but the best time to do it is near the end. That’s because people are more likely to take action after they’ve been engaged with your content.
8) Send A Follow Up Email To Your New Leads
Okay, this actually counts as one of the earliest steps in your lead nurturing efforts. But nevertheless, this is something you need to know when you’re generating leads with content marketing.
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “The money is in the follow-up.” And that’s true.
But how do you actually follow up with your new leads?
Well, one of the best ways to do it is with email.
Email is a great way to stay in touch with your leads and build relationships. You can use it to send them valuable content, offers, and even just personal messages.
And when you do it right, email can be a powerful tool for nurturing leads and converting them into paying customers.
So what do you need to include in your follow-up email?
Here are some tips you can follow:
Personalize Your Message
Don’t just copy and paste the same message to everyone. Take the time to write a personal message that speaks to their specific needs.
With the right email marketing tools, you can even use merge tags to automatically include personal details like their names.
Include A Call To Action
Your follow-up email should have a clear call to action. Whether you want them to buy your product, sign up for your newsletter, or download your ebook, make sure they know what you want them to do.
And don’t forget to include a link to whatever it is you’re promoting.
Use A Credible From Name
The “from name” is the name that appears in the “From” field of your email. This is one of the first things people see when they open your email, so it’s important to choose wisely.
Ideally, you should use the name of a real person from your company. Maybe the CEO or the founder of the company.
But if that’s not possible, you can use your brand name.
Just make sure it’s something that people will recognize and trust.
Final Thoughts
Content marketing is a great way to generate high-quality leads.
By creating valuable content and promoting it to your target audience, you can attract new leads and build relationships with them.
But if you want to make the most of content marketing, you need to know how to actually capture your content viewers as leads.
Moreover, what’s even more important is your lead nurturing efforts. After all, no matter how good you are at generating leads, if you can’t convert them into paying customers, it would be all for nothing.
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