You can spend thousands of pounds in advertising and hundreds of hours on social media driving traffic to your website, but if you haven’t got a way to qualify and capture those visitors you’re wasting a huge opportunity and potentially leaving money on the table. This article is about attracting and nurturing leads, the smart way.

You can find a huge amount of articles about different techniques to drive traffic to your website. They include SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), content marketing, email marketing, blogging, social media, paid ads (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, Instagram to name a few).

And if you’re trying to get more customers from online marketing then doing any of the above will work to getting people to visit your website.

But if you haven’t got a lead gathering and nurture system then your efforts are a complete waste of time, money and energy.

Through social media you give valuable and useful content. You can do that by linking a social media post through to a blog article on your website.

Having got a visitor to your website, they read your article, then what? These days it’s highly unlikely for first time visitors to pick up the phone and place an order with you (there are exceptions – emergency plumbers are one).

They are usually shopping around, researching what’s available, checking reviews perhaps. So how do you get their contact details when they’re not ready to buy?

Quite a few years ago it was popular to provide a newsletter signup. You still see them on some websites. But here’s the thing. How many newsletters have you signed up for in the last 3 months? Zero? Yep. Same here. Same everywhere. No one signs up to receive newsletters into their already overflowing inboxes anymore. We’ve all become guarded with our precious inbox.

However, people will reveal their email address in exchange for free useful information that solves an immediate problem that they’re suffering from and looking for immediate relief.

So instead of providing a newsletter sign up, you need to provide  ‘incredibly useful information/guide that solves a specific problem that’s keeping them up at night’.

Typical ‘incredibly useful information’ can take many forms, from a document, resource file, templates, webinars, videos.

They all have one thing in common.

It’s information. It’s produced once for many people. It solves a specific problem. Because it solves a specific problem, you attract people with that specific problem – your ideal client!

So now you might be thinking, but if I give my information away, they won’t buy from me. Actually the reverse is true.

There’s a few interesting things happening. First, they’re getting value from your information. It’s enlightening them to a better way for them that’ll take them away from their pain. Second, they’re being educated in your philosophy which might be that to solve their initial problem permanently is going to take some further action (which would be a paid programme with you). Third, they’re getting a taste of you, your language and how you work/explain stuff. Fourth, you’re positioning yourself as the go-to expert who will be able to help them take the action your philosophy advocates.

People signing up to your guide are getting information, but they’re not getting action. They get action when they buy a product, service or online course from you.

But you need a system to get their details in the first place so you can nurture them with further information and education about how things can be different if they work with you, so that when they’re ready to buy, they buy from you.

The system needed is a lead gathering and nurture system. It gathers the data of leads who want and need your solution to their problem, through a sign up form. That sign up form feeds their details into an email marketing tool (e.g. Constant Contact or Mailchimp) which provides them with information about solving their immediate problem. Then the relationship is nurtured further along with more emails of useful relevant content so that eventually they become a paying client.

If you haven’t already got a lead gathering and nurture system set up, then this is something I can help you with. Either me doing it for you or showing you how in my Biz Website Course (module 10).

So in summary, make sure you have a lead gathering and nurture system in place before you spend £hundreds (or £thousands) on paid advertising and your social media efforts.

Want help setting up your lead magnet? Schedule a are we right for each other call with me veesmith.com/diary