How to Create Content That Generates Quality Leads
We all want our content to work, right? And a quick Google search revealed this simple straight-forward step-by-step fail-proof process:
- Research your customer avatar
- Choose your content types
- Choose your content distribution channels
- Map out your content plan
- Create an irresistible lead magnet
- Write high-converting blog posts
- Optimize your blog for lead generation.
Why Generic Content Marketing Advice Fails Small Businesses
Wow! Glad I looked it up, lol. Does that clarify anything for you? Any ONE of these steps is a world to explore in and of itself. But I just wanted the ANSWER. In truly “do this…” fashion. Something that would move me in the direction towards success. I don’t have MONTHS! I need to get this done in a few hours to a few days and get things moving!!
Don’t you?!
I get it – so I created this simple process (with an available download) so you can start creating content that generates quality leads.
Step 1: Know Your Perfect Potential Customer
I won’t lie – without getting this nailed down and clarified, creating content that will generate quality leads for you will be a hit-or-miss situation and frustrating experience. The key is targeting perfect prospects from the very beginning, which forms the foundation for all successful content marketing efforts.
Two Proven Methods for Customer Research
There are TWO ways you can approach this:
Path A: The 5 Golden Questions Interview Method
Ask people who are your perfect potential customers a few questions – it’s a 15 minute live conversation with each of them. Record it (easy with Zoom or Skype). Get it transcribed. I label these The 5 Golden Questions – download the 5 questions and get started
Path B: Four Key Questions for Self-Assessment
Answer these Four Key Questions for Irresistible Offers (see button below) – the benefit of this approach is that you don’t need to interview people, and can use your knowledge and expertise of your market to generate the ideas.
If you do both, even more awesome will be your results.
What You’ll Learn From This Step
What does this yield? A clear understanding of the challenge, and the content that will move them forward that you can provide, that applies to their situation.
If you take path “a” – you will also have the language of your perfect potential customers and likely have a host of ideas that will help you create content over a longer period. It is DEFINITELY the road less traveled, because I’ve learned that you likely don’t want to take the time to do this – or you can’t find anyone in your target marketing who will talk with you for 15 minutes (definitely worrisome).
If you take path “b” – you will likely move a bit faster, utilizing what you know about your market, but focusing and framing it up in ways that you can get things out there potentially faster.
Step 2: Create an Irresistible Lead Magnet That Converts
Use the insights to pinpoint your perfect Attractor – it can be a checklist, quick start guide, eBook (keep it brief, not a novel), assessment, infographic, etc. Before diving into creation, it’s worth exploring lead magnet strategy considerationsto ensure your approach aligns with your overall goals. Something that can be consumed in no more than 15-20 minutes max, and then applied.
Three Tips for a Lead Magnet That Works
Here are a few quick tips on your Attractor:
- Use Canva to design it so it looks FANTASTIC. You can get someone on Fiverr or other freelance sites to do this for you if you aren’t able to or don’t have the time. If you have them use your Canva account, then you’ll be able to make edits and mods as needed – and then export a PDF that you can easily use.
- Don’t boil the ocean. In other words, what will move someone forward – without overwhelming them (like the 7-steps did from my Google search). The 7 steps weren’t helpful to me for what I wanted NOW… What might seem straight-forward to you may not be to your perfect potential customers – so go at THEIR pace, not yours.
- Make sure your attractor achieves the promised outcome – so you generate leads, AND build trust and authority with your new leads. This foundation of credibility becomes even more powerful when combined with other strategies for building trust and authority across all your online touchpoints. Making sure you give true value, has leads come back for more.
Step 3: Build Your Lead Capture Opt-In Funnel
There are three things that make up an Attractor Opt-In Funnel (aka a Lead Magnet or free gift Funnel):
- A Landing Page with a lead capture form.
- A Thank You page.
- A fulfillment email that is sent automatically when the form is submitted.
How to Drive Traffic to Your Lead Magnet
Now you’ve got the first part done – the ability to attract and capture a high quality lead. But now you’ve got to create interest, and drive traffic to that landing page. Of course, generating quality leads is just the beginning—maintaining the quality of your growing list through proper list hygiene and maintenance ensures your efforts continue to pay dividends over time. What are your options? The key is focusing on driving traffic to your content through multiple channels to maximize your lead generation potential.
Step 4: Create Blog Content That Attracts Quality Leads
If you’ve not realized this yet, content is EVERYTHING – and it’s FOREVER. So coming up with content that works and engages your perfect potential customers is critical (and why it’s #1 on Google’s list as well as ours). One of the BEST ways to do this is with a blog. Top marketers and businesses that want to grow, all have one – it’s what allows your site to work for you… even while you sleep, because Google will index those posts. A good blog can be your greatest asset.
To set yourself up to engage and drive interest, you will write some blog posts that answer questions. These are questions that your perfect potential customer has – and that you can help them think through.
Top-of-Funnel Content: Addressing Problem Awareness
If you’re attracting leads at the top of the funnel – then these are questions people have who are realizing they MIGHT have a problem. They’re doing research to clarify whether they do, and how they would know. They might want to understand the impact of the issue, so they can gauge how important it might be to solve it.
Mid-Funnel Content: Solution Research and Comparison
If you’re attracting leads mid-funnel – they are engaged in research and gaining more information about how to solve the problem – what others have done, and looking for different perspectives on the issue/challenge confronting them.
These are the two best places to focus when creating content that will generate quality leads.
Add a Call-to-Action in Every Blog Post
In your blog post, you’ll want to have a call-to-action that leads to your Attractor / Free Gift opt-in page, or to a pop-up with a lead capture form, like we did above.
Step 5: Automate Email Marketing for New Blog Posts
Setting Up Your Automated Email Heartbeat Series
In our Email Engagement Blueprint, we call this your “Heartbeat” series – where a new email is generated based on your new blog posts – with a target of once per week. You’ll be surprised that as you start to add value for your perfect potential customers, they also share and forward these emails to their colleagues and others who will benefit – helping to drive more engagement and generate MORE quality leads for your business.
Ready to Generate Quality Leads with Content?
So – get started with the steps outlined above. Stay tuned for our next post that will give you options for driving traffic and leveraging your Attractor / Free Gift.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the three components needed to build a lead magnet opt-in funnel?
There are three things that make up an Attractor Opt-In Funnel (aka a Lead Magnet or free gift Funnel): A Landing Page with a lead capture form. A Thank You page. A fulfillment email that is sent automatically when the form is submitted.
What makes a good lead magnet that actually converts?
Use the insights to pinpoint your perfect Attractor – it can be a checklist, quick start guide, eBook (keep it brief, not a novel), assessment, infographic, etc. Something that can be consumed in no more than 15-20 minutes max, and then applied. Make sure your attractor achieves the promised outcome – so you generate leads, AND build trust and authority with your new leads.
What are the two methods for researching your ideal customer to create better content?
Ask people who are your perfect potential customers a few questions – it's a 15 minute live conversation with each of them. Record it (easy with Zoom or Skype). Get it transcribed. [Or] Answer these Four Key Questions for Irresistible Offers – the benefit of this approach is that you don't need to interview people, and can use your knowledge and expertise of your market to generate the ideas.
What types of blog content should I create to attract quality leads at different funnel stages?
If you're attracting leads at the top of the funnel – then these are questions people have who are realizing they MIGHT have a problem. They're doing research to clarify whether they do, and how they would know. If you're attracting leads mid-funnel – they are engaged in research and gaining more information about how to solve the problem – what others have done, and looking for different perspectives on the issue/challenge confronting them.
How can I use email marketing to generate more leads from my blog content?
In our Email Engagement Blueprint, we call this your 'Heartbeat' series – where a new email is generated based on your new blog posts – with a target of once per week. You'll be surprised that as you start to add value for your perfect potential customers, they also share and forward these emails to their colleagues and others who will benefit – helping to drive more engagement and generate MORE quality leads for your business. Ideally, you want this process to be automated – so you only have to focus on creating the blog post, and the rest takes care of itself.