Driving traffic to your website is a lot of work, and more than 90 percent of most website visitors bounce. That’s a huge source of untapped leads that you can mine — if you have the right tool set.
Increasing the number of opt-in processes on your website (when done correctly) will also boost the number of visitors that fill out your forms and turn into a lead.
Here are my top five tools to help convert visitors into leads:
1. Pop-ups
Pop-ups typically convert about around 5 percent of visitors all by themselves. Some people don’t think that pop-ups are “right” for their website, but if you want a 5 percent lift in leads, this is without a doubt the easiest way to do it.
Best free solution:
SumoMe comes with a range of tools that are very easy to install, and all but one is free. To get started, it’s the perfect tool set to add to any real estate website and will increase your conversions right away.
Best paid solution:
Picreel is just a pop-up manager, unlike SumoMe. We just installed it on our blog and saw an immediate increase from 5 percent with SumoMe to almost 10 percent with Picreel — it was almost a 100 percent improvement.
This pop-up allows you to test different headlines, has a much better design than SumoMe, and is just awesome. If you’re prepared to pay for a tool, go with Picreel for your pop-up. They also have a free 30-day trial to test it and see if it’s for you.
2. Calls to action
Including calls to action in your content while people are reading through your blog is another quick win to increase conversions. On average, these convert another 1 to 2 percent of visitors coming in through your blog.
Best free solution:
Call To Action is a WordPress plug-in that comes with premade templates that look good and don’t distract the reader from the content — while still increasing your conversion rate.
Best paid solution:
SumoMe Leads can attach offers such as PDF checklists that your visitors can download right away in return for their email address. It’s easy to use and worth checking out.
3. Sidebar offers
Here is another quick win you’ve probably seen on almost every website you’ve ever been to (to the right of this post, you can see Inman’s sidebar opt-in). A sidebar widget can convert another 1 to 2 percent or more of visitors into leads.
Best free solution:
Simple Subscribe is a simple sidebar opt-in box you can add to your WordPress site that gets the job done.
Best paid solution:
OptinMonster also happens to be a pop-up solution, but it has some great designs for your sidebar widget, too.
4. Top bar offers
Top bar offers aren’t always practical in terms of conversion because often people ignore them. However, what’s great about them is that they are not very intrusive and on average still convert around 1 percent.
Best solution:
Hello Bar is a free solution that lets you test different colors, copy writing and other material on your top bar that all contribute to getting higher conversions. (This app also has paid options.)
SumoMe also comes with a top-bar manager similar to Hello Bar, but it’s not as intuitive.
5. End-of-content opt-ins
When someone finishes reading your post, if they enjoyed it, that’s the moment they’re most likely to opt in. For that reason, it’s always a good idea to have an opt-in box where visitors can subscribe at the bottom of every post. These convert, on average, another 1 to 2 percent of visitors into leads.
Best solution:
Optin Forms is a free app with paid features. You can effectively use the plug-in without upgrading and only upgrade when it’s necessary.
Don’t stop there
The numbers I included with each opt-in are averages. It’s possible to get your blog converting at around 20 percent with just these tools. The key is to implement them and always be looking for ways you can improve your copy writing.
The bottom line: Learn what your visitors really want and build offers that will get them interested enough to give you their email address.
Andrew Gale is the founder of FlyerCo.
