If there’s one question I get more often than any other, it’s “How can I get more leads?” Which of course does not have a quick and easy answer.
This is the marketing equivalent of asking a remodeler “How much does it cost to remodel a kitchen?”
There are dozens of various tactics you could use, across literally hundreds of delivery channels. From Facebook to email. From Print ads to t-shirts.
But, regardless of what channels you select and what tactics you use to find the perfect customer, there’s one lead capture tool that every successful marketer uses.
It’s called the squeeze page.
You may have heard of it referred to as a landing page though this is technically incorrect. A landing page is any web page you set up to receive visitors and prompt them to take action. That action can be anything from scheduling an appointment to filling out an application to making a purchase.
A squeeze page is a type of landing page. It’s designed with one very specific purpose—to get visitors to fill out the opt-in form, providing you with their critical contact information.
In other words, it’s purpose is to capture leads. The amount of information you capture can be as little as an email address or as in depth as a full profile.
The reason it’s called a squeeze page is because it’s part of the marketing funnel. It’s where the funnel starts to “squeeze in” and only let qualified leads through.
Squeeze pages are a critical component of your lead generation program. They can (and should) be used in any marketing channel you use — including offline channels like direct mail and print advertisements.
At any given time I have over 20 squeeze pages live on the web. And there’s no reason you can’t too.
How you can do it yourself
So you’re probably thinking “I can’t build web pages so this isn’t going to work for me.” Well, don’t worry my friend. Even though I’m proficient in CSS and HTML and can build a web page in my sleep, that doesn’t mean I do. All things being equal, I always prefer the fast and efficient option.
There are a few tools out there that make it possible for anyone to create their own squeeze pages, regardless of technical acumen.
The one I use is LeadPages. I find it incredibly easy to use. Plus it integrates with a slew of software platforms (including the ones I use) and the customer support has been superb. Other platforms include Unbounce, ClickFunnels, and Instapage.
Why squeeze pages work
One of the biggest marketing mistakes I see remodelers make is to send everyone to their homepage. Especially in their advertisements. But, unless your homepage is built specifically with lead capture in mind, you should not send people there.
Actually, even if it is built for lead capture, it still might not be the best choice. Like I said, I have dozens of squeeze pages and our homepage is most certainly built for lead capture.
So why is the homepage a bad place to send people?
Well, let’s look at your homepage for a moment. Odds are it looks something like this:
Your logo is in the upper left-hand corner and your phone number is in the upper right. There are five or more navigation links across the top — and when you hover over them, you probably get a dropdown menu of additional choices you can make.
Below the navigation links is a large picture of an amazing project you’ve done (this is called the hero shot). It may even be a rotating slideshow of the different types of projects you have done.
Now, depending on the size of your hero shot, we may need to start scrolling down “below the fold” to get to some text-based content.
Ah, there it is. It possibly starts with “Welcome to our website!” but either way, I expect I’d find some variation of this:
We specialize in whole house renovations, additions, exterior improvements, basements, kitchens, and bathrooms.
There’s also some pictures down here and links to “learn more” about these various specialties of yours.
How did I do? Am I close?
The reason I’m close is that this a typical homepage layout that supports the typical homepage purpose: to impress visitors and tell them what services you offer.
So do you see the problem? It’s choice.
Your homepage is littered with choices. Links upon links of places to go and things to see. Click here. Learn more. Our services. About us. Check out our portfolio. And on and on and on.
Choices distract the visitor from engaging with you. Choices are a barrier to capturing the lead.
A squeeze page, on the other hand, has only one choice: provide us with your information. Period.
A well built squeeze page is laser focused and gives your prospect something useful in exchange for their information.
The real beauty of this tool is you can publish dozens, even hundreds of these pages and distribute them everywhere: Share them on social media, add an offer on your blog posts, and run highly targeted pay per click (PPC) ads.
And you should be using them offline as well. For example, do you ever run Job Radius Direct Mail campaigns? Build a squeeze page for that particular neighborhood and send people to the squeeze page instead of your website. Because the content is tailored specifically to their neighborhood, you should see a significantly increase in the leads generated from this campaign.
Worried?
Does the thought of not sending them to your website make you quiver? Don’t worry about it! Remember, the number one goal is to capture leads. Does it really matter what webpage the leads are coming from?
Still, I can hear you saying, “But Mark, our website is beautiful and I’ve spent tens-of-thousands of dollars on it.”
Again, don’t worry. You can still get them to your website. Just send them there AFTER they’ve submitted the form.
For example, after I give you my email address on your squeeze page, I’m redirected to a page that says “Thanks! Your free idea guide will be in your inbox in 15 minutes. While you wait, take a look at these amazing award-winning kitchens we’ve done.”
The possibilities are endless. But they all begin with a squeeze page.
What about you?
Are you using squeeze pages? What have been your results? Please share your stories with our community in the comments below!