Welcome to The Engaging Marketer, hosted by Darren Jamieson. This week, Darren explores a common issue businesses face in digital marketing: how many invest in SEO (search engine optimisation), email marketing and paid ads, yet still fail to convert website visitors into leads or customers. He delves into why this happens, and the importance of using lead magnets to turn traffic into conversions.
Here’s what Darren has to say…
Darren: I want to talk about how businesses often invest in digital marketing, and it absolutely fails. They try SEO, email marketing, or social media ads like Facebook or Google ads, they drive traffic to their website, but no one buys anything or even enquires. No leads, no sales.
The main issue is that the website simply isn’t converting. You’re getting traffic, but people aren’t calling, emailing, or filling in contact forms. And that’s because most websites just don’t convert effectively.
When I started in the industry in the ‘90s, it was much easier. There weren’t many websites, so if you were, say, a local joiner or woodworker with a website, you’d stand out because hardly anyone else had one. But nowadays, if you’re an accountant or financial adviser, there are millions of competitors. So, why should anyone choose you? Your website has to be compelling, and frankly, most aren’t.
Nowadays, when people visit your website, they don’t want to call or speak to you. They don’t want you chasing them with sales calls either. What they do want is the expertise in your head – the knowledge that will help solve their problems – and they want that instantly. They want that quick dopamine hit that tells them everything’s going to be okay.
But don’t worry, by giving them that initial help, you’re not doing yourself out of business. They won’t solve their problem themselves. They’ll still need you. And that’s where something called a lead magnet comes in.
If you haven’t heard of a lead magnet, you’re missing out. And if you know what it is but don’t have one on your site, you haven’t been paying attention.
We’ve worked with loads of clients across SEO, email marketing, and Facebook ads, but the key to getting real return on investment is ensuring that traffic converts. One particular client we worked with runs a local “what’s on” entertainment site, listing local restaurants, bars, and attractions. They get tons of traffic, but the problem was they weren’t capturing any data – no emails, no customer information.
They had a “subscribe to our newsletter” box on their homepage. It had been there for 14 months and only 151 people had signed up. That’s a terrible conversion rate, especially considering the number of visitors they had.
So, we created a lead magnet: a Christmas event calendar, with all the important dates for the local market and Christmas light switch-ons. To get the calendar, users had to enter their name and email address. In two weeks, they had nearly 600 signups – four times the number they had gathered in the previous 14 months.
So, why did this work?
It’s because the calendar provided real value. It solved a problem people had – they wanted to know when and where the Christmas events were happening. By offering something relevant and useful, we built a database that the client could then market to.
And lead magnets aren’t just for entertainment businesses. This strategy works in any industry. You could be a financial adviser, offering a free guide on “10 Ways to Save on Taxes,” or a marketing consultant offering a free checklist on how to improve a website’s SEO. Whatever it is, the key is giving your target audience something they truly want.
Another example: I run a website called BNI Education Slots, which helps BNI members (Business Network International) improve their networking skills. I created a lead magnet called “How to Be the Top Visitor Inviter in Your BNI Chapter,” offering tips on inviting guests to networking events. Since I launched it, over 1,500 BNI members have downloaded it, providing their name, email, and phone number.
This data goes into an email marketing sequence, sending them relevant content weekly, and helping us build a relationship with them over time. We’ve even converted some of these members into clients.
The lead magnet didn’t have to be perfect, but the title and landing page needed to be compelling, explaining why they needed to download it.
It’s not about making the lead magnet perfect – it’s about the title, the cover, and the landing page that convinces them to download it.”
Lead magnets are incredibly effective, and they also help filter out spam, which can be a problem with regular contact forms. When someone downloads a lead magnet, they’re genuinely interested. Every single person is a real lead, which is crucial for getting quality inquiries.
So, if you don’t have a lead magnet on your website, you’re missing out on valuable data and potential clients. It’s a mystery to me why businesses don’t use them more often.
To wrap things up, if you take one thing away from today’s podcast, let it be this: you need a lead magnet on your website. Make it relevant, solve a real problem for your audience, and they’ll come to you for help. Don’t waste money on SEO or Facebook ads without having a lead magnet in place – you’ll be throwing your budget away.
If you need help with creating a lead magnet or aren’t sure where to start, reach out to us for a chat. We’re happy to help.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll catch you on the next podcast!
About your host:
Darren has worked within digital marketing since the last century, and was the first in-house web designer for video games retailer GAME in the UK, known as Electronics Boutique in the States. After co-founding his own agency, Engage Web, in 2009, Darren has worked with clients around the world, including Australia, Canada and the USA.
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/engaging-marketeer/id1612454837
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenjamieson/
Engaging Marketeer: https://engagingmarketeer.com
Engage Web: https://www.engageweb.co.uk