Whether you are just getting started on your digital marketing journey or aiming to increase conversion rates, a lead capture page can vastly benefit your business by building a valuable database of interested customers, who you can later contact with information about a specific product, offer or service.
A successful capture page will help you to build your customer base and meet your digital marketing objectives by including elements that convert maximum leads. Use this guide to learn to create carefully optimised lead capture pages that will drive results.
What is a Lead Capture Page?
A lead capture page is a landing page that offers your audience something in return for their contact information. The sole purpose is to store information about your leads – typically an email address – that you can refer to and nurture down the digital marketing funnel.
Once you have built your customer base – you can begin to build and maintain stronger relationships with potential customers. A capture page could be anything from a contact page to an eBook download page that requires visitors to fill out a form.
How to create a lead capture page that drives conversions
Define your goal
Before diving into planning things like design, headlines and content – decide what you want to accomplish with your lead capture page. We already know the end goal is to drive conversions – but this can mean different things depending on where your brand is currently.
Start by thinking about your target audience for this page in particular – there are three primary types of users you may target:
1. Leads – Leads refer to any new users to your audience – who could be a potential customer. At this point, the role of your lead capture page is to start building a relationship.
2. Prospects – A prospect is slightly different, being somebody who has demonstrated interest in your product or service but has not yet converted.
3. Existing Customers – You can also create lead capture pages to maintain engagement with existing customers. You can offer things like special offers and promotions in exchange for a sign-up.
Once you have decided the type of users you want to target – you can determine how you are going to measure this.
For example, do you want to increase conversion rate by a specific percentage? Or perhaps generate over 50 new leads a month? Decide on your metrics, and you will find it easier to track how your page is performing with your audience.
Offer a reward
A lead capture page is an exchange between your business and consumers. Once users provide you with their information, they will expect content or another reward in return.
To succeed in collecting leads, your capture page will need to have the perfect balance between ‘ask’ and ‘reward’. The ‘ask’ is the form field you use, and the ‘reward’ is what you offer consumers once they sign-up.
Think of an incentive that will encourage more visitors to sign-up, for example:
- Product Demos – A product demo can attract interested prospects who may not be committed to buying yet.
- Free Trials – Similarly, a free trial lets your prospects and leads try your product for free before having to commit to paying. The length of your free trial will depend on the nature of your product or service.
- Ebooks – An Ebook or guide can help your leads and prospects learn valuable information whilst leading them closer towards conversion.
- Enewsletters – Enewsletters should ideally be sent out to your subscribers regularly. This is a way of inviting your subscribers to become more familiar with your brand, voice, and purpose. Make sure your ENewsletters have an engaging subject line, a clear theme and an actionable call to action.
- Templates – Many digital marketing platforms offer online templates as a reward for their customers or subscribers. For example, a social media template or a content marketing calendar template will all be valuable for users if this is your area of expertise. Or, a broader digital marketing template can be of great use to users who are just getting started.
Keep content clear and concise
When creating your headline, make sure it is highly relevant to the rest of your copy. The most important thing is to have copy that is clear, and benefit driven. Your visitors should feel as if they will genuinely gain something from filling out a form or subscribing.
Lead capture pages will typically create a slight sense of urgency whilst remaining clear – e.g. “sign up this week to receive your free Ebook” as opposed to “sign-up”. Users will be much more likely to sign-up if they know what to expect afterwards.
Include an actionable call-to-action
The CTA (call-to-action) is the button that invites visitors to complete your desired action and take the next step. It is an important element of your lead capture page because it’s your chance to tell the user what step you want them to take at that point.
Remember, the purpose of a CTA button is also to give users motivation to convert. To make sure this is the case, you should tweak your CTA depending on the goal we mentioned earlier.
Avoid being generic, instead, each offer should have a different CTA. For example, “Subscribe today to access your free template” informs the reader of what they will get and the timeframe they have, whilst leading you closer towards a specific objective (more sign-ups).
Is your page conversion-centred?
A conversion-centred design means that each aspect of your digital marketing funnel is carefully placed to encourage conversions. Everything from your ad to the form and content on your lead capture page should guide users towards conversion.
Make sure you are giving your prospects all the information they need to make a decision on your page. Your messaging, structure, and content should flow seamlessly from pre-click to post-click. Maintain focus on your page goal and limit any distractions to help direct users straight to your desired conversion.
Finally, are you showing credibility? Consumers will be more likely to take the next step in the process if you are trustworthy business. A great way to do this is to include sources of credibility on your lead capture page. You might want to include customer reviews and testimonials on to provide a sense of encouragement for more sign-ups.
What Next?
Creating a high-converting capture page can be a difficult task that will likely require a lot of testing – but following these actionable steps is a great starting point. If you have any questions, just drop us a call and have a chat with someone from our London-based digital marketing agency.