Nicole Blanckenberg — February 1, 2018 — February 1, 2018
Is it just me who is starting to feel like I am being punched in the face by offers and information? With some 30% of all online users now reported to be using ad blockers to help limit this bombardment, I have a sneaky suspicion that I am indeed not the only one!
But for us online store owners, lead capturing can make and break our business. In the eCommerce game by lead capturing we mean popups… And boy are there lead capturing galore out there. So how do we get through the noise?
For lead capturing strategies to work, they should:
- Not be annoying such as a repeat popup that comes up multiple times on the same page despite the user having minimized it.
- Should offer the online shopper something in return: a VIP discount, valuable content, a promotion code.
- Not all be in one place. You can have the best lead capturing strategies on your page, but if the user is bombarded by all of them at once, on the same page, it’s easy for them to be put off your site altogether.
- Adhere to Google’s rules to ensure you’re not damaging your SEO at the same time. This comes down to design and timing, which we will discuss later in the post.
We know that when used correctly, popups are a key lead tool for online stores to make content and build lead that can increase your average monthly sales by 33% and grow your follower base by 25%.
In the post, we will look at 4 popular lead capturing tactics and rate them either hot, or not.
Hot or Not? Do these 4 Lead Capturing Tactics Actually Work?
Hot: Social Follow Lead Capturing
We know that when used correctly, popups are a key lead tool for online stores to make content and build leads. Social follow popups, that offer additional discounts are a big lead capturing hit right now. Why? Because online shoppers who are reluctant about giving out their email, may find social follow a lot less invasive.
Social media has become more than a marketing tool, but it is now used by many brands as a customer service tool too. A report found that a whopping 71% of consumers who have had a good social media service experience with a brand are likely to recommend it to others, you can easily see the benefit of turning web traffic into social followers.
Pro Tip: Find out the best timing of your lead capturing to ensure it is appearing at a time when it is:
- Not as disturbing
- At a time when your visitor is more likely to click
You can do this by analyzing your traffic to see their behavior: Things such as where they are spending the most time on the site and for how long. This will help you time your lead capturing popups perfectly for max result.
Not: Invite-a-Friend Lead Capturing
It’s true that word of mouth advertising is a coveted goal for any business. It’s also true that ‘tell a friend’ or ‘invite other’ reward and loyalty programs work well for apps. But when it comes to eCommerce specifically, “invite a friend’ lead capturing popups are not your most successful choice. Instead, offer share bonuses to promote UGC content on social where you give users who share your content an extra discount or invest your time and money in influencer marketing.
Hot: Freebie and Giveaway Lead Capturing
Who doesn’t love free stuff? Giveaways and freebie tactics do work and make our ‘hot’ list. The key to any lead capturing strategy success is what you’re giving customers in return which is why giveaways and freebies are so successful. This tactic is particularly worth testing when you’re in the digital product game, with many eCommerce entrepreneurs gaining momentum by offering free online courses in their niche.
Pro Tip: Time your popups for better results. For instance, an Exit Pop once someone has spent some time on your store and has become emotionally invested could help boost your results.
Not: Newsletter Email Lead Capturing
Yes, I said it: Plain old no incentive email address capturing is not hot. You know the kind, that prompt you within 2 seconds of being on the store to sign up to a newsletter. As I mentioned, people are less and less inclined to share their email address. For me, the only time I hand over my email address is when I actually buy something from a site and need to give my details, or if they make it very worthwhile for me to do so and more often than not the fear of being spammed by ‘newsletters’ by a store I haven’t even browsed yet is not a good incentive. But, you can make it hot by adding a reward as shown in the above and below examples. Giving the online shopper something in reward and/or VIP status for handing over their precious email address.
Not: Newsletter Email Lead Capturing
Yes, I said it: Plain old no incentive email address capturing is not hot. You know the kind, that prompt you within 2 seconds of being on the store to sign up to a newsletter. As I mentioned, people are less and less inclined to share their email address. For me, the only time I hand over my email address is when I actually buy something from a site and need to give my details, or if they make it very worthwhile for me to do so and more often than not the fear of being spammed by ‘newsletters’ by a store I haven’t even browsed yet is not a good incentive. But, you can make it hot by adding a reward as shown in the above and below examples. Giving the online shopper something in reward and/or VIP status for handing over their precious email address.
Lead Capturing Strategy Best Practices
We can have the best strategy but if not executed correctly your lead capturing tactic can go from hot to not, and actually do your business harm. Here are 3 must-do tips to ensure your lead capturing tactic is actually working.
1. SEO Musts
Having spammy popups, or interstitials, can hurt all that SEO work you’ve been doing. These are those mobile site popups that cover page content or standalone pages or blocks that need to be closed before the shopper can view the page content they came to see. Here’s a visual from Search Engine Land.
The above examples are of popups that you will be penalized for by Google and below are your best practices that will not negatively affect your SERP results.
2. Design Musts
Besides the design implications that affect SEO as mentioned above, the visuals of your popup and how it is designed can make-or-break the success of your lead capturing tactic. You want to use a well-designed, visually appealing popup. You can do this easily be ensuring you’re using a good popup builder such as Coupon Pop.
3. Copy Musts
A good lead capturing popup should have clear, to the point copy that tells the online browser what they will be getting in return for giving them a share, a follow or an email address. Like all good marketing copy you need: An enticing title, a short (because less is more with popups) description and a call-to-action button.
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There you have it, lead capturing tactics that actually work. It’s important when laying out your strategy to not only plan the objective and design as outlines, but in timings. Put yourself in your shoppers’ shoes.
Have some questions? Post them in the comments below.
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