Create Prospect-Friendly Online Marketing Forms – Stop Losing Leads!

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Create Prospect-Friendly Online Marketing Forms – Stop Losing Leads!

How many times have you clicked on a link to download content that interests you only to be faced with a form approaching the length of your IRS tax return? What most folks do next, according to my informal personal survey, is to hit the browser’s back button. Your prospects are eager to read your content and they’re even open to learning more about your products. They may or may not be interested in purchasing anything today but you’ll never know because your ominous form asking for everything except your mother’s social security number scared them away. That’s one less lead and one less sale. Technology companies, especially software vendors, are frequently the biggest culprits of “form over-kill.”

An example of online forms gone bad

Let’s look at a hypothetical company with a standard approach to online forms in their marketing. Software Company, Inc. has a reasonably professional web site where they host whitepapers, demos, webinars and free trials of their software. Software Company Inc.’s web guy (we’ll call him Bob to protect the innocent) insists that forms are tricky to build and insists that the marketing manager (we’ll call her Laura to protect anyone called Mary) must create just one form for each call to action. The marketing manager is feeling pressure from the sales team to provide highly qualified leads. The marketing manager is no dummy and knows that the more prospect information she can gather, the happier they will be, right? (Stay tuned for the nuanced correct answer to that question).

So, what does Laura’s form look like?: First Name, Last Name, Title, Company, Address Line 1, Address Line 2, State, Zip, Email, Phone. But that’s not all. The more information on the lead, the happier sales will be, right? So, she adds a survey, which she figures will also impress the Executive team when she sorts the data to create a snapshot of prospects and existing customers me who raise their hands. These are the survey questions that Sue believes would provide valuable company data for sales: What industry? How many employees? Annual Revenues? etc. etc. ad nauseam. The cherry on the cake is that Bob makes all the fields forced – meaning the prospect or customer MUST answer all the questions before hitting submit to get to that piece of content, demo or trial software.

In the age of 140 character attention span, what percentage of prospects who reach Software Company Inc.’s form are likely to complete it versus hit the back browser? The scientific answer = not many.

Of course, that was a slightly exaggerated and worst-case scenario for how- not- to manage your online forms. You are undoubtedly more cognizant than Sue that the use of forms and how to construct them for different calls-to-action plays a vital role in your interaction with prospects as well as effective lead generation.

The reality is that there are different approaches to online forms depending on the call-to-action or content and how each of them is marketed. The golden rule is to consider who you are trying to reach, how you are reaching them and then customize your forms to meet your goals.

If I were consulting for Software Company Inc., I’d sit down with Laura and Bob and ask them to diligently assess the goals of their online calls-to-action. Who specifically are you trying to attract and what are your expectations for lead volume? Based on their feedback I would offer specific recommendations on how to customize their approach to online forms for a better user experience and more qualified leads.

The key elements you need to consider when you’re creating online forms

Value of the content/call-to-action

High value: High value content is typically proprietary and involves a monetary investment, such as development or conducting research. It provides significant benefits, or higher perceived value to your target audience. An example is a whitepaper that is extremely timely in providing critical information to help your prospect or customer improve their business or do their job. For instance, a whitepaper on new Federal, state or local government legislation that is directly allied with your software solution. In my personal corporate experience in a variety of software and services categories, there is always an opportunity to create such high-value whitepapers, whether it is a horizontal or vertical industry message.

Low value: Product specific whitepapers, product demos, webinars and podcasts are typically lower value content most of the time. Although you may have invested money and resources to create them and they are invaluable tools to help you create interest and generate leads, they are not of intrinsic high value to your prospects.

High or low value: Trialware and promotional offers or discount can be either high or low value depending on what you are offering.

Expected Lead Volume

Develop forecasts on what you expect in lead volume from each call-to-action, even if it’s a generic whitepaper. Forecast by month and don’t be afraid to share your expectations with your sales team. If you’re offering a webinar on a regular monthly basis you will be able to predict responses over time and adjust lead goals if you make changes in how you market the webinar, e.g. if you do an email campaign drop in addition to just promoting the webinar on your web site. Here’s the nuanced answer to the question about sales wanting as much information as possible on a lead: they do but not if you can show them how many prospects are frightened away by a litany of questions on a marketing form.

Desired quality of lead

Not all leads are created equal. It is OK to balance your marketing between calls-to-action that will create a few very high quality leads and others that will provide a lot of responses but a lower proportion of highly qualified leads. You certainly want to weed out as many tire-kickers as possible but you also have to factor in your sales cycle and the lifetime value of a converted lead.

When to use a long form, short form or no form at all

Long forms have more fields for contact and profile gathering, more forced fields and may include a survey.

Short forms require the minimal fields necessary to meet your objectives for a specific call-to-action.

No form requires no definition.

I have spent several years accumulating wisdom on the usage of online forms and seen new trends emerge. In my real-world experience managing corporate web sites and being deeply involved in all response mechanisms including tailored online forms, here are some general rules of thumb when it comes to the use of long forms, short forms or no forms at all.

Long form: Use a long form for high value content. If you’re offering this content to both new prospects and customers through separate marketing activities or mediums use a pared down long form for your customers. Customers will be offended if you’re asking for contact information that you should already have. In either case, be judicious on forced fields. Consider requiring only name, company name and email from prospects. Some people will fill out some or even all of the optional fields. The plus side is that you get an indicator of a high level of interest when more voluntary fields are filled out. You can then flag these as “A” leads for your sales team.

Short form: This is ideal for the bulk of your low value content downloads, demos and webinars. It is also the best form to use for most online calls-to-action in email or direct marketing campaigns. First Name, Last Name, Title, Company Name and Email is a reasonable threshold for most prospects. Be careful about asking for a Phone Number and never force that field on a short form. Leave it optional. People will back out of even a short form if they believe that you’re going to harass them with calls. When promoting content on your Facebook business page I recommend the skinniest of forms (email only – for subsequent marketing but don’t forget opt-out regulations) or no form at all.

Note: If you’re promoting a download in an email campaign you can pre-populate a hidden field in the form with a unique marketing tracking code (sometimes referred to as media code or promo code).

No form: I am a big believer in allowing a content download for low value content without asking any questions at all. You may not get a tangible lead for sales to follow up on immediately but you will be able to track effectiveness by monitoring download volume. Try using no form at all for a content download from your web site where you previously used a form. Check the before and after download counts. A landing page tied to a specific email marketing campaign is an ideal opportunity to do an A/B test on using no form versus a short form, especially since you can track activity if you are using a unique URL. At first it takes some faith to not use any form for a call-to-action. Remember that, in addition to download stats, you will have sales feedback on the origin of a lead that will be part of your measurements.

Tracking the effectiveness of your online forms

Whether you use a long form or a short form, check your open rates and compare with form completes. This will give you an indication if you need to shorten your long form or reduce the number and type of forced fields. Conversely, test adding more fields to your short form if you have a very high completion rate and have an interest in gathering some additional data – but only if it is truly meaningful data that expands your marketing opportunities.

Testing, tracking and analyzing the results you are getting from your online forms is critical to ensuring you are keeping the right balance of interest in your content along with leads for actionable follow up. Match the results against your objectives and adjust the forms when you can clearly see trends in response rates and quality of the leads.

If prospects are backing away from your online forms, you’re needlessly losing leads. Engaging with your customers and prospects extends to every communication and interaction. That includes your marketing forms. Taking the time to create the most appropriate and least invasive forms demonstrates that you value your prospects’ interest in your products and services more than just grabbing their contact information. A pleasant online experience builds credibility, trust and ultimately generates more leads and more customers.

7 Lessons I Learnt Whilst Losing Thousands Internet Marketing

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7 Lessons I Learnt Whilst Losing Thousands Internet Marketing

SEVEN LESSONS I LEARNT WHILST LOSING THOUSANDS INTERNET MARKETING

By Alan Cutler – alan@leadershiptalks.com

This is the story of a novice internet marketer who has spent a
miserable, frustrating and expensive twelve months learning the
lessons of selling on the internet – the hard way! However, he
believes that he has turned the corner and is now looking
forward to, at least modest, future profits. That person is me,
and I would like to share my experiences with you in the hope
that your journey will be less painful than mine. I am certainly
not suggesting that the lessons I learnt are definitive, nor
will they apply to every one else who embarks on a campaign of
internet marketing. I am merely recounting what happened to me
and the problems I encountered.

My journey started in November 2004 when I attended a conference
with a speaker who was, by his own admission, an internet
millionaire. He, like me, was a professional speaker but he had
diversified into selling his products and services to this
world-wide market. Like many of my colleagues, I had previously
heard bits and pieces about internet marketing and I was hungry
to learn more. It is true to say that I was captivated by his
story and, especially, by the rich pickings that he said were
out there on the net, for relatively little time and expense.
‘Make money in your sleep’ was a phrase he used. I was inspired
- well, who wouldn’t be by the prospect of working at home for a
few hours a day whilst watching the money flow in 24/7! I bought
his pack of tutorials, ebooks, CDs etc for 0 – my first
investment in this Brave New World.

Interestingly, I write this article the day after attending
another meeting that had a speaker again telling us how easy it
is to make serious money on the internet. Whilst I do not doubt
that such people indeed do make a very good living for
relatively little effort, believe me, it is not easy! Making
money selling products or information on the net is not a quick
fix! Like any new business (for that is what it is), it takes
time and effort to learn all its intricacies. Unless you have a
product that people want to buy; a web site that sells it
effectively; and a means of driving lots of people to it, you
will end up throwing good money after bad. Hence my first lesson

Lesson No 1. Do not believe all you hear from internet experts
who tell you how easy it is to make your fortune. It isn’t!

Let me continue my story. So, off I went on my new venture. I
eagerly read the information that I had just bought, along with
lots of other advice and guidance from internet marketers. Many
recommended additional software that would make selling on the
web more effective. I took their advice and bought some of the
products they championed, for example a programme for making
attractive website banners, and another that promised to produce
amazingly effective sales pages for the website that I was to
produce. However, the banners I made were far from attractive
and when I sought advice from the company I bought the software
from, they failed to reply. As for the sales page generator, it
did teach me some good lessons but was far too inflexible and
restrictive so I soon reverted to writing my own copy.

What I did not realise at the time was that the internet
marketers who were recommending these products were affiliates:
they received a commission from every sale resulting from their
recommendation. I now know that affiliate marketing is big
business and can produce significant income flows. In fact, let
me put my cards on the table: I am going to recommend two
products to you later in this article and I will gain a
commission if you take my advice. However, these are products
that I truly believe in and have been extremely helpful to me. I
believe that they are worth every cent to someone serious about
making money. You can, of course, take my word for that, or not.
At least I have been up-front about it!

Lesson No 2. Beware of advice from ‘experts’ who may be more
interested in making money as an affiliate than in helping you.

Of course, to make money in any business you have to have a
product that people want to buy. What was I going to sell? Well,
I have always been fascinated by quotes – words of wisdom from
those who can add so much meaning in so few words. Indeed, my
first book is entitled ‘Leadership Quote Unquote’ and contains a
host of quotes from, as my publisher added to the book cover,
‘world figures – the famous, the infamous and the downright
dastardly!’

Imagine my excitement when I researched how many people were
looking for quotes on the internet. Google estimated that over
5,000 people every day searched for an appropriate quote. I
estimated that if I sold my book for and one in a hundred
people who clicked on my website bought my book, I would make
9,014 profit a year. Wow! Even if only a modest one in three
hundred bought it I would still make ,684. Wouldn’t you be
excited by that income earning potential?

To cut a long story short, whilst lots of people do regularly
seek out appropriate quotes, I now know that very few are
prepared to pay for them! Why should they, when they can get
them for free on other websites? I am now just about breaking
even with this particular campaign – a situation I am prepared
to accept for the time being as the website does provide me with
other spin-off benefits. However, I have subsequently
diversified and am now selling a number of other information
products, using a different website for each – some more
successful than others. Inevitably, not all sales campaigns will
be initially successful, hence you have to continually fine-tune
several aspects of the marketing process to gradually improve
their effectiveness.

Lesson No 3. It might sound obvious – but make sure that you
sell something that people want to buy.

Note: The purpose of this article is for me to share my
experiences with you. It is not designed to be an internet
marketing tutorial. I am not, therefore, going to go into detail
about technicalities such as website design, Google AdWords,
Google AdSense, market testing, copy writing etc. That said if I
have whetted your appetite and you do want to learn more, email
me at alan@leadershiptalks.com and I will send you a free ebook
all about creating successful sales websites, entitled ‘The
Three Page Site Builders Manual’ ( I make no money by doing
so!). Also, if you are really serious about creating a
profitable internet marketing campaign consider checking out the
specialist guidance of Perry Marshal, especially his ebook
entitled ‘The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords’. This is one
of the two products that I really believe in and that I
mentioned previously. A link for you to learn more about him is
provided at the end of this article.

The next step on my journey, having deciding that selling quotes
was to provide the basis of my pension fund (!), was to design a
website to sell my ebook. The most well-known website design
software, and the one that was recommended to me, was Microsoft
FrontPage so that is what I bought. Unfortunately, I found it to
be extremely confusing, frustrating – not at all user-friendly.
I did make a website but it was far from professional. In fact,
a friend of mine who is a successful internet marketer politely
commented that he would certainly not buy anything from a site
like mine!

He went on to tell me that he had recently discovered a new
website design programme called XSitePro that is two thirds the
price of Front Page and infinitely easier to use. In fact, he
was in the process of redesigning all his many sites using it.
Having faith in his advice, I shelled out 7, bought the
software and was absolutely blown away by it! XsitePro is
designed specifically for people who sell on the internet. It is
so easy to use that I am now churning out professional-looking
websites in less than half a day – and they work. In fact,
having not sold one of my ebooks for weeks beforehand on my
FrontPage site, I launched my new site, using XSitePro, and sold
one within half an hour. I could hardly believe it!

Hence, my fourth piece of advice. I make no apologies for being
so direct – if you want to produce easy websites that sell,
click on the link at the end of this article and check out
XSitePro. The link takes you to a web site that I have made to
tell the world about, what I believe to be, the best web site
design software available today.

Lesson No 4. Don’t waste you time with other website design
software, buy XSitePro.

So, once you have designed your website, you will need to
ensure that your potential customers can find it. Essentially,
you have two choices: work hard at driving it up the search
engine rankings or pay for the privilege by using Google
Adwords. Perry Marshall’s ebook ‘The Definitive Guide to Google
Adwords’ goes into great depth about making the most of Adwords
but, essentially, you bid to have an advert promoting your
website featured on the right-hand side of a Google search page
as a ’sponsored link’. However, you only pay when people click
on your ad.

Most experts will argue that using Pay Per Click (Google
Adwords) is the best way to promote websites of limited size
like the ones internet marketers use to promote their products.
And that is what I did.

Unfortunately, though, I did not pay sufficient attention to
setting up my sites. I accepted Google’s recommended daily
budget; set my pay-per-click rates too high; advertised in too
many countries and advertised in its content network as well as
its search network. Perry Marshall’s ebook explains all these
settings in fine detail. I only wish I had bought it in the
early stages because I ended paying much more than I needed to.

So, I had set up my Google AdWords campaign and was up and
running – but was not selling any products. I was, however,
getting hundreds of clicks a day, so was ever hopeful. My wife
and I then went away on holiday and I put my internet marketing
campaign out of my mind, in the confident knowledge that when I
returned my In Box would be full of orders.

Imagine my horror when I returned to find no product orders but
a 0 Google AdWords bill. It doesn’t take much time to
accumulate those costs when you are getting hundreds of clicks a
day; you are selling no products; and your daily Google budget
is set at !

The lesson here is crucial. In the early stages at least, you
MUST keep a close, daily eye on your Google Adwords account. As
time goes on and you have fine-tuned your account you can leave
it for a day, or two, but initially you must not let it get out
of control.

Lesson No 5. Keep very close control of your Google AdWords
account in its early stages

I mentioned previously that you must fine-tune your ad campaign
if you want to maximise its sales potential. The critical factor
here is the Click Through Rate (CTR) – how often people click on
your ad when it is displayed on a page of Google search results.
If your ad features 100 times when people enter, for example,
‘inspirational quote’ as a Google search term and two of them
actually click on your ad the CTR would be 2%. Improving the CTR
is important to maximising your sales potential.

This is a very detailed process where specific changes, for
example trying out different ad formats or even using capital
letters in certain areas of your ad, can make a real difference
to your CTR. Perry Marshall is an accomplished expert on using
Google Adwords and I have, personally, learnt a great deal from
his ebook.

Lesson No 6. Work hard at fine-tuning your Google Adwords
campaigns to maximise their CTR and, if your website and your
product are attractive, your revenue will gradually increase

And so to the last lesson that I have learnt. Going back to
where I started, I have realised that making money on the
internet is not, as I told my wife, ‘the pot of gold at the end
of the rainbow’. However, I do believe that there is serious
money to be made by people like me who are prepared to work hard
at ensuring the three essential elements are in place, namely:

* A product that people are looking for and are prepared to buy
* A website that is effective in selling that product * A sales
campaign that directs people towards your website

Personally, over the last twelve months, I have struggled on all
three counts, and have thus paid the price. However, I have
learnt my lessons and am confident that I will now begin to reap
at least some of the riches that definitely are out there on the
World Wide Web.

I have been told that my experiences are not unusual. Surprise,
surprise: contrary to what some internet experts tell us, very
few people strike gold immediately. It takes time and a lot of
hard work and determination. It does not surprise me, therefore,
that many people who embark on the journey as I did, fell at the
early hurdles. My final lesson, and piece of advice, is
therefore to ensure that your internet strategy is sound and
then work hard at making it successful.

Lesson No 8. Don’t give up – make it work.

Here are the links for the two products that I am happy to
recommend. To see the website I made to promote XSitePro, please
go to www.diy-websitedesign.org. To check out what Perry
Marshall can teach you, please see
http://perrymarshall.com/cmd.php?pg=305720 .

Being a professional speaker, should you wish me to deliver a
presentation developing the content of this article to your
colleagues or company, please contact me on
alan@leadershiptalks.com

Copyright Alan Cutler 2005

This article is written by Alan Cutler. Permission is granted to
copy and use it for any purpose as long as it is not amended in
any way.

SEM Blueprint Reviews – A Winning Plan or a Losing Battle

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SEM Blueprint Reviews – A Winning Plan or a Losing Battle

There is a review for everything nowadays, but if you took the time to read every review, you would have no time to work on your business. However, it is extremely important that you know what others have experienced with a particular product. Let’s take SEM Blueprint for example.

Let’s face it, not all products are created equal. Some creators mean well, but just don’t have what it takes to create a winning product. Some have every intention of taking your money and heading for the hills. Then there are some who take their work seriously, who really want you to succeed, and two of these individuals are Steven Clayton and Tim Godfrey.

SEM Blueprint is as close to a no-fail product that you can get. The only way you can fail is if you don’t follow the plan. This course will teach you everything you need to know to help offline businesses take their presence online–and make yourself a good paycheck in the bargain!

This course is compromised of separate power packed modules where you will learn what makes this business model works so well, how to set up Pay Per Click campaigns, how to set up and operate SEO management services, how to create campaigns for your customers, real examples of how this business model works, and how to locate local customers that will pay you for your services.

There are also bonuses beyond belief:

-Google AdWords formulas (the same ones used by Steven Clayton).

-Complete website templates.

-A plan to build links and get top Google rankings.

-A professional PowerPoint presentation that you can use.

-A business proposal and statement of work.

-A radio commercial sample that you can revise for yourself.

I don’t think there’s no more to be said. SEM Blueprint reviews –a winning plan or a losing battle? You make the call. I’m glad I did.

Losing your Social Skills? : Online Marketing Business and Technology Uh-ohs

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Losing your Social Skills? : Online Marketing Business and Technology Uh-ohs

Starting, growing, and maintaining an online marketing business is something billions of people worldwide are trying to do as one of the ways to stay hip with technology. If you don’t have a PC, notebook, ipod, Utube video, Facebook profile, MP3 player, and the whole shebang, you are just not with the program.

I guess that means I’m out of it, even though I am an online marketing business owner, because I only own a PC, and don’t even have a cell phone or text messaging. In fact, text messaging has become my number one pet peeve lately, with the cell phone being a close second.

People love cells and text messaging to the point that the person they are with in the current moment is less important than checking for, or writing messages to someone else! Uh-oh! There’s no better way to make someone feel like an object rather than a person than to tune her out in favor of that cell or text message.

Trust me folks, this is not a handy social skill in your personal life, or your online marketing business life! Are you losing it because of technology? If you are trying to win over new prospects and customers, you better not be thinking your incoming cell or text message is more important than who you are with!

This is a sure way to lose business if you are not giving your potential customers 100% of your attention when trying to make a deal, sign up a new member, or just get someone’s feet wet with your online marketing business programs and services.

If you think this is petty information from an opinionated online marketing business owner, then think again! Do you remember being a kid and watching TV with someone, and asking a burning question only to be told, “Shhhh! I’m watching this!” or “Shhhh! I want to hear this”? How did that make you feel?

It probably made you feel less important than a piddly piece of technology! If you run a business, you can’t afford to let it zap you of your social skills. Yes, you have to spend time working on the PC or notebook to get your work done. But you can’t expect to run a healthy online marketing business when you shut out the rest of the real world and real people in it!

Have you ever gone out for a nice dinner and the person you’re with pulls out their text messaging? How embarrassing is that!? As your potential customer, that tells me that you are an online marketing business owner who finds me boring, and you don’t care, or think I am at all important compared to the technology you have to attend to. Uh-oh!

Now you may think that communicating online in discussion forums, chat rooms, MSN, and this whole cell phone and text messaging thing is still interacting with others. But wait a minute! You are still losing an essential component of human interaction here!

The human brain is capable of sending a piece of written text over the phone, but only when you are face-to-face with someone and in their presence, can the human brain release neurons that feel what the other person is feeling, sense what they are sensing. You only get a gist of this online.

Empathy is something we can all have but it’s developed by being with people, not by having a relationship with your computer. If you know that human relationships are the essence of all our online marketing businesses, then you will realize the importance of in-person contact with others.

The point of this article is to make you aware that your online marketing business and other techno-gadgets of this new techno-internet age may be ruining your social skills. These skills are so important in building our business and personal relationships.

Remember that your online marketing business is about relationships, not about technology. If you have well developed social skills by being around other people, your business will attract more customers.