Lead Nurturing—The Machine That Turns Leads into Customers

Lead nurturing is part of a process that, when executed correctly, increases the effectiveness of your inbound marketingcampaigns . The problem companies face when implementing a lead nurturing program is not knowing exactly how to set up the campaign structure properly.

Lead nurturing is a tactic that allows you to leverage content to “court” your target audience, making it easier to convert leads into customers.

For example, your company may be struggling to figure out how to generate qualified leads through online channels. You may be having trouble segmenting your leads to improve the effectiveness of your email marketing.

Whatever the case may be, in this article we’ll help you put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Premium Content

Before “courting” leads—that is, before implementing a lead-generation program—we first need to generate leads.

So, here’s the million-dollar question: “How do you generate qualified leads?”

Welcome to the world of premium content .

Premium content can include:

• e-books
• white papers
• infographics
• webinars
• videos

And much more.

Premium content is a type of digital content with high educational value that aims to attract and convert potential customers. Unlike blog posts, which can be read without providing personal information, premium content offers give you the opportunity to turn website visitors into marketing leads by requesting their information in exchange for something.

For example, create an ebook as a free download on your website.

You’ll offer this free ebook to people in exchange for their information, such as their name, email address, and other optional fields (e.g., phone number, demographic information).

It’s a give-and-take.

Through premium content, your company can capture the contact details of people who are interested in the content you’re creating. That’s how you convert visitors into leads.

→ But where do these leads enter their information to download the premium content?

Landing Pages

What is a landing page?

A landing page is a page that allows you to capture visitor information through a form, with no escape routes (such as links to other pages).

Most companies have at least one landing page, which is usually some kind of “Contact Us” form. Visitors can enter their contact information to learn more, ask a question, and be contacted by the company.

If this type of landing page is the visitor’s only point of contact with your website, you’re likely not meeting your lead generation goals.

This premium content should be placed on landing pages that are well-designed and developed to facilitate the conversion of visitors into leads—that is, to encourage visitors to fill out the form with the incentive of downloading the content.

By offering premium content, you’re creating more touchpoints to generate leads (convert visitors into leads).

→ But how do visitors get to the landing page to download the content?

CTAs

CTA stands for call-to-action. A CTA is a button, banner, or any other type of image or text on a web page, social media post, or email message that prompts the user to take a specific action, such as “click here,” “download now,” “sign up,” and so on.

CTAs are the best way to grab your visitor’s attention and direct them to your landing page.

CTAs and landing pages work in tandem to promote your premium content .

A call-to-action directs the user’s attention to the offer on the landing page, which clearly presents the benefits to the visitor and explains what they will receive when they submit their information via the form to claim the offer.

If you want to see a CTA in action, take a look at the end of this article. The CTA in this case is a button, but it could also be a text link.

Note that the design and placement of calls to action must be carefully considered and implemented so that they fulfill their purpose of lead generation and lead nurturing.

→ But how do you communicate with leads after they click the CTA, visit the landing page, and download the premium content?

Email Marketing

Your strategy for “courting” leads doesn’t end when a visitor becomes a lead (by filling out the form to receive the offer).

That’s just the beginning of the “courtship.”

From here, you should create a program of personalized email marketing campaigns to follow up on the premium content that people have downloaded.

To do this, you can create a multi-channel email marketing campaign tailored to each piece of premium content you offer on your website.

This way, any leads who download a specific type of content will be placed in the email sequence for that specific campaign.

For example, if a visitor downloads our inbound marketing guide, that visitor is placed in a nurturing program associated with the “inbound marketing” campaign and will receive content related to that topic over time.

This approach allows you to present your content via email in a personalized way, based on people’s interests, increasing relevance for the subscriber, which in turn boosts conversion rates.

Keep this in mind when creating email nurturing campaigns:

1. Quantity —avoid bombarding your newly acquired leads with a barrage of emails. The goal is to build a long-term relationship with people, so 3 or 4 follow-up emails are sufficient.
2. Frequency —consider the timing of the emails you send. Don’t bother people with multiple emails in a short period of time. A simple thank-you email can be sent after they download your content, and future follow-up emails can be spaced out over the next few days and weeks.
3. Content —Your emails should add value for your leads and not just promote your product or service. Each email should include links to content that provides value to the subscriber and complements the original premium content they downloaded.

The goal is to guide people through your sales funnel using your content so that, through this “courtship,” you can convert leads into customers.

Keep in mind

For this process to be successful, each element must be executed correctly. Measure your results and see what you can do better. Only then can you refine your efforts to increase conversion rates and grow your business.

To learn more, watch the recording of the free webinar “What Is Lead Nurturing?”

Watch the recording of the free webinar: