Emails for Increased Web Site Traffic
After creating quite a few email lists I’ve found there are certain things you want to ask from your visitors and certain ways you want to ask them that will make it much more likely that they’ll fill out your form:
You want to ask for their name and email address, of course. Their first name is usually just fine.
Here’s the first rule of thumb: Unless you deal in such volume that personally contacting customers and site visitors is impractical, you want to ask for a phone number as well when someone fills out a form on your web site.
Here’s a subtle difference that will make you stand out…
First of all, when you ask for contact information make the phone number optional. If you require it then you’ll get a lot of fake numbers, and that’s not the way to begin a business relationship. Inform them that leaving their number is completely optional, but if they leave it then you will give them a call personally and be able to answer questions and offer advice tailored to their situation. Tell them that right there on the web site when they are deciding whether or not to leave their phone number.
If you ask for a number and give them a good reason why they should leave it, more often than not they will leave it. And they’ll leave it because they actually want to hear from you and they’re expecting your call. This beats the pants off of every other business web site I’ve seen where they require a phone number and then don’t even tell the person what they’re going to do with it.
When you actually call them you’ve automatically got a great opening line. You say to them: “This is (your name) from (your web site). You were on our web site yesterday and left your phone number so we could contact you about (what you offer). Do you recall that? Good. Do you have a moment right now?” and you continue the conversation from there and find out the particulars of their situation.
I’ll show you how to continue this conversation in the “funded proposal” section of this report.
The reason I’m straying a little bit from the topic at hand (email lists) is because 60% of the time you’re not going to get someone on the phone. People are hard to get a hold of. They don’t often answer numbers they don’t recognize.
So when you call someone you’ll probably be leaving a message. This is good for two reasons: #1 you get to show them that you’re a real live person that is there to assist them, and #2 you get to encourage them to look at the emails you’re sending them.
You’ll then, of course, invite them to call you back, and in the emails you send them you also invite them to contact you with any questions or comments they have.
Between the two modes of contact you’ll become a much more trusted source for help than if you just:
- shot them a bunch of emails or
- left them a single message or
- (heaven forbid) you call them repeatedly.
The phone call (just one!) is the personal touch, and the emails are the way you keep in contact over the coming days, weeks, or months.
Other questions to ask
There are a couple other things you can ask for besides a name, phone number, and email address. These questions are also very helpful:
- What is your interest in (whatever the topic of your site is)?
- What is your top question concerning (topic of your site)?
- How did you hear about us?
Strike a balance
The more questions you ask, the lower your conversion rate will be but the better your prospects get. If you’re getting too many leads of lower quality, adding a question to your sign-up form is a great way to gather useful information while giving your visitors one more small hoop to jump through. The more questions you have, the more serious they have to be to finish your form.
The “what is your interest?” question is great because you can repeat their answer back to them when you talk to them for the first time or while leaving a message. This helps create an instant connection because you’re using their own words and interest to establish the reason for your call.
The “top question” question is an instant way to cut straight to your visitor’s main interest in what you offer, as well as a chance to demonstrate your expertise by answering their question.
The “how did you hear about us?” question will let you know how they came to your site. Sometimes people say “internet” or something equally unhelpful, but often you get some insight into your visitor that will help you better connect with them and help you market your site more effectively as well.
For example, if someone says “I found your site while searching for a camera for my business”, not only does that give you some insight into their life (they’re a business owner) but it may give you ideas on how to find new lead sources. If you seem to attract business owners looking for cameras for business use, maybe there’s an untapped market that you can corner there.