Are you trying to write better lead generation copy?
Getting new and highly qualified leads is one of the hardest parts of growing any business. But the better your copywriting skills are, the easier the entire process will be.
That’s why, in today’s post, we’re going to share 9 lead generation copy tips that you can use to get MORE leads right now.
Before we do, though, let’s get clear on what we mean by “lead generation.”
Lead generation is simply a term that means adding new potential clients to your sales funnels. When used in the context of online marketing, this most often starts with getting someone’s email address. Though there are many other outcomes, too.
In B2B marketing, for example, brands get new leads by collecting information like:
…and other demographic qualifiers that can help a sales team understand where this person currently is in your funnel.
For that reason, the term “leads” can be a bit misleading (see what I did there? 😉). That’s because not all leads are created equal.
Some leads are at the very top of your funnel, meaning these people are mildly curious about your brand or services and not ready to buy anything. Others may have their credit cards out and in-hand and are just waiting for an excuse to buy what you’re selling.
For obvious reasons, you want to attract as many of the latter as you possibly can. The good news is, you can (it’s not rocket science).
All you need is the right copy. So without further ado, let’s turn to our 9 lead generation copy tips.
You’d think this would go without saying, but you’d be surprised how many people miss the mark on this:
If you want your lead generation copy to work, you need to target the right audience.
It’s why I’ve always thought SEOs and copywriters should work more closely together. Sure, your blog is bringing in thousands of visitors each month, but that doesn’t mean these are people who are likely to become customers.
So let’s be crystal f***in’ clear on this:
Website visitors ≠ leads.
You need those visitors to hand over their email address (or other type of personal contact information) so you can begin to nurture the relationship.
But how do you find the right audience? Well, that depends on a lot of factors.
The biggest thing is understanding who your ideal audience is, what they love and, more importantly, what problems they’re trying to solve. From there, your copy needs to tap into those problems to highlight how your product or services will solve it.
This is one of the most fundamental aspects to lead generation copy: you’ll never find the right words if you don’t understand who you’re speaking to.
(For all you grammar sharks, I think it was supposed to be “if you don’t understand with whom you’re speaking to,” but that sounded lame when I read it back).
Once you feel like you understand your audience, the next (and most important) part is to create a reason for that audience to engage with you.
This is usually referred to as a “lead magnet.”
A lead magnet is a free resource of some kind that gives your visitors and incentive to hand over their personal contact information.
You’ve probably seen opt-in campaigns offering lead magnets. They looks something like this:
This is from ActiveCampaign and offers readers a pack of 6 email templates that can be used for a welcome series.
Common examples of lead magnets include:
But make sure that whatever you’re giving away is worth an email address. A good rule of thumb here is to over deliver.
For example, say someone signs up to get an ebook. But it turns out that your “ebook” is 3 pages long, 42 pt font, and loaded with affiliate links designed to sell a bunch of garbage products. How long do you think your new “lead” will want to engage with your brand?
Now imagine that someone signs up for an ebook, and you hit them with an in-depth look into some aspect of your niche. And a few weeks later, you follow up with an added infographic that sums up the takeaways from that ebook. From there, you send them your monthly newsletter with even more information that can help this subscriber solve their problems.
This person would more likely stay engaged with your brand and ultimately convert to a paying customer.
And – at the risk of sounding cliche – it all starts with a solid lead magnet.
But how does this tie into lead generation copy? While it’s not technically part of the writing, your lead magnet works with your copy to be effective.
Putting great copy over a crap lead magnet is just putting lipstick on a pig.
Now you’ve got a great offer and you understand the audience. But how do you get your messaging to resonate with people enough to get them to opt-in?
You need to immediately show users what’s in it for them.
I know… I know… this point has been covered a million times. But there are so many companies that start their copy with things like “We work hard to…” or “we want to share…” or “come check out our really cool…”
And it doesn’t work.
You can’t start copy with “we” and expect the reader to care about any of it. Instead, start with them emphasis on the main benefit for THEM.
Your headline, email opt-in form, email body content, and every other piece of copy should immediately relay why your reader should care.
Here’s a great example by GrowthTools:
Right away, they make it clear that they understand their customers’ core problems (feeling “stuck”) and provide the solution in the sub-heading.
Notice that GrowthTools doesn’t mention anything about themselves.
They focus completely on what the reader will get if they engage with the brand.
As a quick disclaimer: this is something I struggle with, especially in long-form writing.
But good copy should be short, sweet, and razor sharp.
‘Nough said.
This one is less about copywriting and more about making your copy more successful. The idea is simple: the more you can demonstrate that your product/services have worked for others, the easier it will be for you get new leads.
This shouldn’t be surprising.
Though it’s not totally clear where this stat came from originally (I honestly think most stats aren’t super accurate online), there’s a common idea that testimonials can increase conversions on sales pages by 34%.
You can get social proof in many forms, such as:
Here’s a great example of social proof on a landing page (from Copy.ai):
You’ll see sections like this on most landing pages. But most of your campaigns should have some sort of social proof for your audience displayed in places where you hope they convert.
One trick is to make sure that each of your CTA buttons has a bit of social proof somewhere nearby (so it can be seen by the reader without any scrolling).
Again, it’s unclear to what extent this really factors in getting more conversions, but one thing is clear: it does get more conversions.
Should you use templates when creating lead generation copy for B2B?
*Yes. (But note the *asterisk*)
Templates can be great for creating a baseline of your audience if you’re in a total slump, don’t have time to write anything original, or your current campaigns are flailing.
That said, templated copy never performs as well personalized copy. Here’s what you can do:
Step i) Grab a template for the campaign you’re writing for
Step ii) Launch that template nearly “as is”
Step iii) Create a split test with another version of the copy that’s more personalized to your audience
Step iv) Determine the winner, make that the new baseline, and test a second optimized version
Step v) Rinse & repeat until you’re seeing the results you want
This can help busy marketers or new copywriters break through that “stuck” feeling you get when you’re not sure how to craft the right conversion copy.
But it’s important to remember that copywriting templates should be seen as the starting line and never the end result.
This is something that most marketers know but only a few actually do consistently.
You need to A/B test all of your copy.
The truth is that writing copy for any campaign is essentially a shot in the dark, even for professionals. You an do all the audience research on the planet, but you can’t be positive whether your messaging will resonate until the stats are in.
Fortunately, most marketing tools come with powerful analytics dashboards that let you test everything.
For emails, this is pretty straightforward. You should A/B test all of your subject lines, sending times, and email length to get started. It’s a tedious process, but after a while, you’ll really start to get a more accurate feeling of what type of copy works best with your audience.
Landing pages are a bit different. You should A/B test loads of things, such as:
There are tons of paid tools that you can use to run “multivariate tests.” This essentially lets you A/B test multiple aspects of your page at the same time. That way, you can get more accurate results for what’s working on your page in less time.
Personally, I think Google Optimize is a great tool to get started. It’s as easy to set up as Google Analytics and the free version lets you run a handful of tests to start.
For email opt-ins, many tools allow you to A/B test campaigns to see which version gets more emails. OptinMonster, for example lets you run an A/B test on campaigns and randomly shows users the different versions.
Then you can simply see which ones get the highest conversions.
Finally, social media is something that you can’t really A/B test, but you can A/A test–pushing out two separate pieces of copy that are distinct in one unique aspect.
Say you post on LinkedIn, for example. You might A/A test sending times. For one month, you post on Mondays at 10:00 AM. Next month, you try Monday’s at 1:00 PM.
Then you tediously rinse and repeat until you spot trends in engagement. You can also do this by testing which pain-points resonate most with your audience or the length of an ideal social post.
Though it sounds exhausting, remind yourself: you’ll still be using these strategies in a year, anyways. The sooner you get strategic with your campaigns and test what your audience loves, the sooner you’ll experience the growth you’ve been looking for.
If you’re serious about getting the most from your lead generation copy, consistently A/B testing is an absolute must.
This is yet another rule that most digital marketers know but fall short of.
Jargon is the absolute worst thing you can do to copy. Yes, your audience is chalk-full of professionals in your niche. But they’re also people.
And people don’t speak in jargon to the people they’re truly comfortable around. Think about the last time that you explained your job to a friend or family member. You probably threw in some jargon, saw their eyes gloss over, and had to rephrase everything in simpler terms.
Keep that in mind when you’re writing copy for every campaign you’re working on. In fact, here’s a good tip:
Imagine that you’re writing to a friend that you want to help.
Make your copy conversational in a way that lets the reader feel human. This doesn’t mean you need to go the total opposite direction and load your copy with slang (though many marketers break out of the noise this way).
Instead, write copy in a clear, concise, and jargon-free style that you’d use with someone you know.
Last, but not least, there’s one other aspect to writing copy that can’t be shirked:
Write a clear call to action.
One of the worst mistakes a copywriter can make is assuming that people will read their message word-for-word. The fact of the matter is that most people are skimmers.
Emails, landing pages, blog posts, books… we skim nearly everything we read simply because we have so much reading to do and our attention spans are shot.
If you want someone to take action, you need to bluntly tell them exactly what to do.
Here’s a great example of the difference in an unclear call to action vs. a clear call to action. Compare this email CTA:
“I’d love to connect this week. Are you around for a 1:1?”
It’s not bad, and I see this type of CTA in cold outreach emails all the time. But what if we made a few slight changes:
“Got 15 minutes for a strategy session this week? Click here to schedule your call.”
In that first example, the person may want to connect. But you’ll lose a fair amount of leads in that split second it takes the reader to ask, “Ok, but how do I book?”
The second example clears this up. It lets the reader know…
a) how long the call is (15 minutes)
b)…how much it costs (free)…
c) …& how to book (click here to schedule).
The reader knows exactly what to expect and how to take action. Keep your CTAs clear, and you’re bound to see conversions go up.
And that’s all for today! These have been 9 lead generation copy tips that you can use to help load your sales funnel.
I hope you enjoyed this post and, if you did, feel free to check out these other related resources:
These articles will have even more tips, tricks, and battle-tested strategies for getting more mileage from your copy.
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