by Katrina Cromwell |
Congratulations! You’ve run a successful Facebook contest or a boatload of people just signed up to receive your e-newsletter.
You’ve built a solid opt-in list.
So – What comes next?
It’s time to turn those online leads into conversions. Here are a few of the best ways to turn your online leads into sales.
E-mail Marketing
To some people, this proven form of Internet marketing may not seem as sexy as the newest mobile app or social platform. But email packs conversion power that can’t be ignored.
While social media presents an awesome way to engage with your customers, you’re simply far less likely to convert social interactions into sales.
Email marketing is such a strong opportunity to convert leads to sales, because you’re getting your message in front of warm leads. That is – people who have signed up or “opted-in” to receive messages from your company. Another great thing about email marketing is the variety of platforms that are available that make it easy for anyone to create and manage email campaigns.
It’s easier than ever to create and send emails that drive response. Let’s say, for example – you own a restaurant and you’re running a lunch special for the Monday-Friday business crowd. You can easily create an email using a platform such as Constant Contact that promotes your special to customers on Monday, mid-morning – right as they may be starting to consider where to lunch.
No matter what business you’re in – An email with a well-crafted subject line, and compelling content and graphics, arriving straight to your customer’s inbox(es) can be an extremely powerful way to boost sales.
Try running an email campaign to highlight your next sale or a specific product or event you’d like to promote. It’s an easy way to turn the leads you’ve gathered into sales.
Newsletter Marketing
If you aren’t creating and sending newsletters to your customers – the time to start is now! Along with keeping your audience updated and engaged with your content, newsletters can also help you turn leads into sales.
And newsletters can be created and distributed with many of the same platforms that facilitate email marketing. So newsletters really pack a double punch: converting leads into sales, while also fostering customer engagement.
One way that newsletter marketing can differ from email marketing, is that while emails are generally all about promoting a specific event or sale, newsletters aren’t always hyper promotional in nature.
Where an email blast may be crafted just around an upcoming 50% off sale your company is running, a newsletter could also mention the sale, but may include other content to keep readers engaged with your company.
Items such as links and a blurb from your latest blog post, information about upcoming events, pictures of a new product that will soon be available, etc. all work very well in newsletters, because they keep your customers engaged with your brand, giving them an inside look at the cool things your business has going on.
For example, if you run a non-profit organization such as an animal shelter, you may send out a newsletter promoting an upcoming dog adoption event, sharing photos from a day a great group of volunteers came in and hung out with cats, and you may also include a button asking for donations.
When done effectively, newsletter content can keep readers engaged with your organization, and can also act as a tool to get funds in the door.
If you haven’t already – get on crafting and sending a newsletter to your opt-in list right away.
Tailored Facebook Promotions
Facebook now has a tool that allows you to send messages targeted only at your opt-in list. You can actually sync your email list up with people on Facebook, giving you the ability to reach members of your opt-in list outside of email. This presents a great opportunity for turning leads into sales.
For example, say you own a housekeeping business. You could use Facebook to connect with your opt-in list with a promotion for a free window washing with purchase of a one month house cleaning package. The only people who would see this promotion on Facebook would be your opt-in list, so you could really build up the exclusivity aspect of the offer.
Since the ad would be seen by warm leads, you could be looking at some awesome conversion.
No matter what tactic you use to convert leads to sales, if you want to increase conversion, you have to engage your opt-in list. What are some of the ways you’ve turned online leads into sales? Share your ideas in the comments!
[via TakeFlyte Blog]
