10 Website and Blog Mistakes that Cost You Sales Leads
Sheila presents a comprehensive list of reasons why your website isn't bringing you leads - all tied to the call to action.
So often marketers (and fundraisers) believe that just putting good informtion out there will cause people to respond. Unfortunately, that's not usually true. Instead, you need to invite them with what the marketing industry calls a "Call to action."
And it's not enough to just insert a call to action. Quite often its necessary to sell your visitors on responding to that call to action.
So don't just say "Subscribe to my newsletter." Tell them about the useful information they'll get in return.
If you invite them to leave their information for listing updates, remind them that they'll be first to know about new listings.
If you're offering a special report, sell them on the value of the information in that report.
And, since nearly everyone gets too much mail, you might want to tell them how often they'll hear from you. Many of us won't opt in if we think we're going to start getting twice daily marketing messages.
Do you turn website and blog traffic into actual sales leads?
If you don't, or at least aren't getting the number of leads you want, you are NOT alone!
One of the problems may be that you don't spend enough time creating a great call to action..
A call to action is the most effective way to convert traffic into actual customers or clients.
The most profitable sites use a call to action to convince readers to sign up for a newsletter, download an ebook, sign up for email reports, etc...
This is the difference between a highly profitable website or blog and one that fails to create the leads you want.
There are many call to action mistakes that you could be making. Below are 10 of the most common for Realtors...
1. No Call to Action at all on your website.
You spend money and time on your website and blog for search engine optimization purposes only but your effort is wasted if you don't have a call to action at all. You may get traffic to your site, and they may even read your information, but without a call to action, most likely they will never come back and you will never know they were even there.
2. You Don't Speak with Authority and Confidence.
You must speak with confidence and authority, or readers won't have the confidence in you and therefore will not take action on your site. ( let alone stay on the site for very long)
You must have conviction when you speak and know what you are talking about in order for the customer to stay on your site and feel confident in answering a call to action..
3. You Have Too Much Self Proclaimed Hype.
The only really good "hype" on your site is from a third party.. If it isn't from a third party it is basically useless and you should leave it out! The last thing you want to do is look like a used car salesmen. I see a lot of Realtors that do this on their sites and blogs and just don't understand how they can't see that this is not what the customers and clients are looking for anymore...
4. A Call To Action That is Not Specific.
People today are busy and don't have time to think about what you are
asking them to do. You must be very specific and spell it out in easy terms and words!
For instance, if you want them to enter their email address, tell them "enter your email address here" or if you want them to click a link, then include the words “click here” in the link.
5. Your Call To Action Is 'Below the Fold'.
You should not have to scroll down at all to find your call to action. The top third of your page is the most important! Too many Realtors waste that space with a large photo of themselves or some random image that is only a distraction from your call to action!
Most of the time, a reader will not scroll down to view all of your content, missing your call to action if it is very far down on our page! To increase conversions on your website or blog, put your call to action at the top where every reader will see it.
6. Too Many Calls to Action.
If you have too many calls to action on your site, your readers will become
confused and may not do anything. You should pick one or two calls to action that you really want your readers to take and build around that.
For your blog, this is most likely to subscribe, and for your website it may be to sign up for email alerts for new listings.
7. Your Call to Action Is Too Small and Hard to Find.
If your call to action is too small and no one can find it, you may as well not have one at all. The same is true if it is hidden in some way on a sidebar. A call to action should not be able to be missed! In my opinion, there is no such thing as a call to action that is TOO big or TOO obvious.
8. There is No Benefit to Signing Up For Your Call To Action.
Your reader must be motivated to use your Call to action. If all you have are the words “free consultation” or "free CMA" most readers view that as a sale pitch only. You must highlight what you are going to give your reader when they take the action. How will they benefit from taking the action?
9. The Colors Of Your Site Blend Too Much.
If your call to action doesn't jump out at your readers the moment they arrive to your blog or website, then you may want to consider a different color combination for your site.
For example, if your blog or site have a blue background, you may not want a dark blue text. The contrast is too close and most of your readers will have a hard time reading your words and may not be able to immediately find your call to action. ( see number 7 again
)
10. Your Content is Loaded with Realtor Lingo.
Too many Realtors load their content with industry lingo that readers may not understand. Try to write using words that the reader actually uses and understands. You are not writing to other Realtors ( or not all the time anyway!) so you need to use simple language that can persuade the reader to take action.
Keep In Mind...Every time a reader leaves your site without subscribing, you've lost a sales lead.
You work hard to get the lead to your site, you need to have have it pay off for you!
If you can create a call to action that your readers just can't resist, you will have the successful website or blog you have always wanted!
Sheila Newton, CDPE
Sheila Newton TeamRE/MAX Realty Professionals
864-225-1205 (direct)
864-225-2424 (fax)
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