Lead generation in a continuous flow is the number one priority for any marketer. Creating and constantly adjusting your lead generation strategy is critical to the growth of your business.

Lead generation can be difficult. However, there are strategies that help you achieve your lead generation goals while providing real value to your prospects. By providing valuable information that helps prospects, you can push them to make a purchase.

If you can generate interest in your products or services, attract new customers and build brand awareness, your business will be successful.

In this guide, we will describe 16 of the best lead generation strategies that can be used by all kinds of online businesses.

What Is A Lead?

A lead is a person or organization that has expressed interest in the product or service a company is selling. Prospects who submit personal information for an offer, trial, or subscription are usually contacted by a company or organization after opening a communication.

When they purchase a product or service, prospects move from being a visitor to a customer and become part of the consumer lifecycle.

But not all leads are qualified in the same way.  Depending on how leads are qualified and what stage of the lifecycle they are in, there are different types of leads.

Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL)

Qualified leads are persons or organizations who have participated in your marketing efforts (e.g. fill out a form on a landing page for an offer) but are not ready to receive a sales call.

Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)

Sales Qualified Leads are persons or organizations who expressly indicate their interest (fill out a form to ask a question about your product or service) in becoming a paying customer.

Product Qualified Lead (PQL)

Qualified leads are persons or organizations who have used your product and indicate their interest in becoming paying customers. PQLs typically exist for companies that offer a trial product or a free or limited version of their product with upgrade options.

Service Qualified Lead

Service-qualified leads are persons or organizations who have indicated that they are interested in becoming a paying customers.

What Is Lead Generation?

Lead generation is the process of attracting and converting potential customers from your target audience into people who have expressed interest in the product or service you offer. In general, lead generation is a way to attract potential customers to your business and get them through the first step of your sales funnel.

To capture these leads, you can leverage a wide variety of lead generation strategies. Blog posts, coupons, and live events are all examples of lead generators you can use to attract potential customers and guide them to your offerings.

Why Do You Need Lead Generation?

You as an entrepreneur need customers to grow your business and to get your customers, you must first address potential customers and get their attention. Lead generation is part of the second stage of inbound marketing.

Once you have attracted an audience and are ready to convert those visitors into qualified leads, comes the lead generation marketing strategy. These leads can then convert into buying customers and this usually involves adding them to an email list for further follow-up.

What Is B2B Lead Generation?

B2B is a unique business model that requires a special approach to lead generation. The most successful marketing teams use a formal system to organize and store their leads. That’s where lead generation tools and software come in.

• How much do you know about the people who visit your website?
• What is their name or email address?
• What pages they’ve visited?
• How do they navigate?
• What do they do before and after filling out a lead conversion form?

16 Top Lead Generation Strategies

Online lead generation includes a wide range of strategies, depending on the platform you want to capture leads on.

Here are some of the best lead generation strategies you can implement in your business.

1-Create Great Content

Creating great content for your website is the best lead generation strategy. According to data researchers at Hubspot, businesses that blog generate 64% more leads than those that don’t.

If the content you create is well optimized, it will increase your search engine presence. The more quality content you produce, the more you are rewarded by search engines. This is because search engines give preference to websites that give the best answers to the public’s questions.

Having an up-to-date blog section on your website not only provides value to your customers but also continuously captures interested prospects. By taking the time to create in-depth, step-by-step articles that answer a burning question for your prospect, you have the opportunity to generate a lead.

2- Optimize Your Site for Search Engines

SEO is constantly evolving and is one of the most effective lead generation strategies, especially for online businesses. Interestingly, only 10% of search engine users make it past the first page of search results when looking for information.

Yet, it is difficult for any business to get their website in front of potential prospects. To use SEO to improve your lead generation strategies, try :

• Build a list of relevant keywords and consider using keyword research tools like Jaaxy.
• Optimize your existing content and if a piece of content has been created to target a specific keyword, make sure it meets the user intent behind that keyword. Keywords that generate high information intent are most likely the ones that represent users at the top of the funnel.

  Keywords that generate search results with high purchase intent are likely to be used by people closer to the bottom of the funnel.

•  Create new content on keywords you haven’t yet moved closer to. With quality content properly optimized for the people who need it most, your lead generation strategy could quickly succeed.

3-Use Social Media for Lead Generation

Gone are the days when your customers would see your ad in the local newspaper and call you to inquire about a particular product.

The expansion of technology and advertising platforms has allowed customers, including your target audience, to move from traditional media like newspapers and television to social media and digital websites.

Social media is one of the best and cheapest sources of lead generation for your business.  Your lead generation strategy should be as dynamic as the people you are targeting.

Social platforms offer tons of opportunities to listen to your current customers online and engage with potential customers.

They also allow you to send your visitors to your landing pages by adding direct links.

• Lead Generation on Facebook

Facebook has been a lead generation method since its inception.

With Facebook Ads, you can use outbound links in your posts and information in your bios to attract visitors to your website.

 Facebook also has a feature that allows you to place a simple call-to-action button at the top of your Facebook page, which allows you to send Facebook followers directly to your website.

• Lead Generation on Twitter

Twitter offers Twitter Lead Gen Cards, which allow you to generate leads directly in a tweet, without having to leave the site.

 A user’s name, email address, and Twitter username are automatically embedded in the card, and all they have to do is click “Submit” to become a lead.

• Lead Generation on LinkedIn

When it comes to lead generation, LinkedIn has created Lead Gen Forms, which automatically populate users’ profile data when they click on a CTA, making it easy to enter information.

• Another way to generate leads is to perform an analysis of your blog to determine which articles generate the most leads, and then make a point to regularly link to them in social media posts.

4- Create Helpful Video or Podcast

Creating helpful videos is a great lead generation tactic used by business owners who rely on the popularity of video and media consumption.

If you’re a subject matter expert or simply passionate about your industry, you can create useful videos that solve a real problem for your potential customers in an entertaining and easy-to-digest way.

You can then broadcast them on your online channels to capture potential leads.

Podcasts are another popular online lead generation strategy

Podcasts allow you to best address your target audience and focus your lead generation strategy on them to get your ads out and attract customers to your website.

5-Create A Newsletter

As with content and social media lead generation strategies, you can try email marketing as a tactic for your business.

A newsletter generates leads by connecting you with your readers and building trust between them. If you focus on lead generation, you will experience greater success with each newsletter you send.

This serves the same purpose of capturing leads through sign-ups in exchange for valuable content.

Lead generation requires a focused newsletter strategy. To make your newsletter work harder for lead generation try:

– To get the most out of newsletter lead generation strategies, it’s important to provide compelling reasons for people to sign up. Entice your website visitors to offer a perk for signing up for your newsletter, publish articles or infographics with valuable information, free white papers, or a sweepstakes entry.  Make it as unique as possible to keep your offer competitive.

– Offer a discount code if you run a retail site.

– You can also protect your content behind a password that readers only have access to when they sign up.

– Offer a newsletter sign-up form on your website. Take advantage of social media to direct visitors to your newsletter.

– Create a specific goal for each newsletter and craft your message based on how you want your recipients to respond.

For example, if you want readers to purchase a product or service using a discount code talk about a problem with the product or service, then explain in detail how your product or service solves that problem.

– Choose a catchy headline and dive right into the content of your newsletter without forcing your readers to scroll through long paragraphs.

– Share a customer success story or case study by telling your senders what you did for someone else; and that you would like to replicate those results for them as well.

6- Offer a free trial or freemium product.

A free trial of services allows your future customers to learn more about your product.

Generally, your customers won’t sign up or buy your product until they see a proof of concept. So you need to promote a free trial or demo to get their attention and capture that lead.

If the free trial helps them and provides great value, they will be more likely to buy the full product and become a customer.

By offering a portion of your product or service line for free, you are giving users a taste of your brand and building trust and awareness among your user base.

This will allow you to make your own sale and encourage purchase in a low-pressure way.

You can also offer free downloads of white papers, e-books showcasing your expertise and company to generate leads.

This allows potential prospects to acquire specialized knowledge or information on demand in exchange for their contact information.

Be sure to create offers for each phase and provide CTAs for those offers throughout your site.

7- Use Pop-Ups to Generate Leads

Having great content on your website is not enough to capture interested leads.

If you’re looking to increase subscribers and overall sales for your business, pop-ups are an invaluable tool.

You should use pop-up forms by sending a pop-up window on the page before your readers can continue.

If you don’t use them strategically, you are simply neglecting the potential of your business.

You can place a simple sign-up form on your site pages and ask interested visitors to fill it out in exchange for content such as an eBook, checklist, infographic, white paper, case study, how-to video, or a simple newsletter.

Always look to offer something of value to your qualified prospects in exchange for their contact information, i.e. their name and email address.

Email addresses are an invaluable source of data for marketers to grow their business and get the best return on investment.

Here are the most common types of pop-ups for lead generation:

Exit Intent Pop-ups

 This is a type of pop-up form that is usually triggered when someone hovers over the back button.

It can be assumed that after looking at your web page for a few seconds, users are very interested in your content.

When they hover over the back button, offer them your lead magnet with an exit-intent pop-up form.

 Make sure the lead magnet is related to the content they are currently in.

Scroll Boxes

Scroll boxes, also known as slide-ins, are a non-invasive way to capture leads without affecting the user experience of your website.

Slide-ins allow you to expand your email list, collect feedback, suggestions, or questions from your visitors.

Scroll boxes can appear at the bottom right or bottom left as the user scrolls through your website. They follow the user as they scroll down the page, making them highly visible and effective in terms of conversion.

The timing of your scroll boxes is very important. If your signup form slides in too early, your reader may not be ready to sign up yet, and if you wait too long, you’ll lose a new lead.

Inline Forms

Inline forms are very effective when integrated into your blog posts or content.

You can customize them and insert them seamlessly into the text where you want them to appear.

You can place them at the end of blog posts or somewhere in the middle of the text when engaged in content to maximize sign-ups.

Using inline forms in quality content can further engage your reader to sign up and bring them value since they will primarily see these forms when they read the content.

8. lead Generation  with Google Ads

You can run targeted ads around important keywords on Google that capture the attention of a sales-qualified prospect when they search for your company’s keywords online.

The user is then directed to your website or a landing page.

9- Create a list of best practices

It’s incredibly helpful to create a list of content or eBook in a particular area explaining what others are doing to succeed.

In exchange for contact information, you can add value to your readers who are trying to get insider tips from various expert sources.

This way you show that you value the success of audiences who are looking for solutions like yours, which has the potential to generate leads.

10- Host Events or Webinars

Hosting an event or seminar directly related to the field in which your company or service specializes allows you to build deep and meaningful relationships with potential clients.

If planning and funding an event or seminar is difficult for you, consider hosting a webinar. Recording a live video as a virtual meeting can also be a great tactic.

You can schedule webinars in advance and engage your target audience who will be happy to give you their information if you solve their business problem. Because of the live nature of this video, you can engage with your prospects to learn more about the problems they are facing.

 This will help you market your product better. Not only will participants learn from you, but they will also be able to network with other existing loyal customers.

11-Take Advantage of the Referral Power of Customer Reviews

You can leverage the power of online reviews to generate more leads. Review platforms typically have a strong presence in organic search, making them a great opportunity to expand your brand presence and get noticed by the right people.

In fact, star ratings encourage users to click through from the Google SERP and put you ahead of your competitors in high-value keyword searches.

When you encourage users to leave reviews on a third-party platform like Google, you increase your chances of being found by qualified prospects.

A good review can encourage someone to sign up for your newsletter, which opens the door to future sales opportunities. Reviews from your visitors also ensure that they are interested in your product or service and are more likely to leave feedback.

This also allows other consumers to learn more about your product or service, which piques their interest and builds trust. This way, not only will you gather valuable feedback, but you’ll understand the issues that are most important to your target audience.

For best results, try creating company profiles on multiple review sites rather than just one.

12. Provide A Questionnaire Or Evaluation

Another email knowledge exchange is a lead generation questionnaire. If your company provides a professional service, you can set up a quick questionnaire and then provide feedback, advice, or a quote based on the respondent’s answers.

It allows you to get information or an assessment quickly, making it one of the best lead generation strategies. A simple questionnaire can lead to the creation of several pre-made results that offer just enough information to be used in your company’s broader services.

13. Create Social Contests

Another way to generate leads from social media is to run a contest. You can offer fun and engaging social contests on your social channels or on your website by asking for your visitor’s contact information to go through the process, or in exchange for the quiz result.

14. Show What Works for Your Business.

Another effective lead generation strategy is to write transparent articles that lift the veil on something that has worked for you or that they are to avoid making the same mistakes. Conveying these kinds of experiences is very interesting for potential prospects and other businesses that are going through a growth phase.

15. Create Templates or Spreadsheets

Some templates, such as employee schedules, content calendars, market research sheets, or a simple fill-in-the-blank spreadsheet, can be difficult to create but are used daily in every business.

As a marketer looking for ideas to generate leads, creating these templates for your customers in exchange for a sign-up is the perfect way to build a strong relationship that can result in the prospect purchasing your product or service.

16. Create a Quality Course

A well-designed course can be extremely useful. The course works well for in-depth topics that are best learned in a classroom-type environment.

This type of offering allows people with different content consumption styles to get the same valuable information as on the blog, and it helps you generate new leads.

 Conclusion

The basics we’ve covered in this blog post are just the beginning. There are many effective lead generation strategies out there, but the important thing is to choose the right ones for your business. Finding the right lead generation strategies for your business can be difficult.

 Not only are there many choices, but strategies that work for other businesses may not work for yours. To determine the best strategies for your business, you need to think about your industry, the size of your business, what it does, and of course, what exactly you hope to accomplish with these strategies.

Finding the best way to generate leads for your business will likely require some trial and error to determine what will work for your business. Keep creating great offers, CTAs, making changes to the layout, landing pages and forms, design, UX, content, and promoting them on different channels until you find what works.

Finally, never stop testing. The more you refine and test each step of your lead generation process, the more you will improve the quality of leads and increase your revenue. Whatever lead generation strategy you experiment with, make sure your content is useful to your audience so they keep coming back to your website.

With these leads, you then have more opportunities to contact or retarget these people to encourage them to buy or work with your company.