I work with a lot of clients who want to keep the user on their website for long periods of time…
It is a falsehood to think that your audience should remain on your website for long periods of time. First of all, they don’t want to.
Secondly, if you are showcasing your products/services on a website, you actually want them to get off of your site as soon as possible, and into your sales funnel. We ARE trying to increase your business volume here.
Let’s think about the purpose of your website. It should bring you prospects in your sleep. It should not be a complex maze where someone gets stuck looking for information they cannot find. Once the user gets frustrated they will take the exit and go find another vendor who’s website will give them quick information. Prospects should quickly springboard off of your site and into your hands.
Here are 3 things to help increase passive hot lead generation.
1. PERSUASION.
Yes, THAT level of persuasion. You want the user to DO something on your site. To take action. The “call to action” on your site should be very persuasive, almost urgent.
Look at this blog and check out #2
“Users leave your site when they don’t know what to do“. That’s right, you need to guide them right OFF of your website, and into your sales funnel. This can be done by persuading them to call, fill out a contact form, subscribe to a newsletter, etc. Once they contact you, who cares how long they spend on your website? Mission accomplished. This is when a website “works”.
Don’t be wishy washy with the calls to action.
Don’t say “Ready for more information?” DO say “Call Us NOW!”
Don’t say “Contact Us” DO say “Contact Us NOW!”
Don’t say “Want to learn more?” DO Say “To Learn More, Contact Us NOW!”
Asking a question on the call to action leaves the decision up to the user. Make the decision for them. Most users are on the fence anyway about making that move, you’re just simply helping them along. You’re not threatening them, you’re just upping the urgency. I’ve seen small changes (like the calls to action above) cause influx of lead inquiries, as if someone turned on a faucet.
2. Assume the Lowest Common Denominator
In addition to holding a user’s hand, you should always assume the least intelligent, most impatient, most selfish and most narcissistic people are looking at your site. The reason being is that if you can hook them, you can hook anyone. Your language should be written on a 3rd grade level at best. Your content should be easy to understand. The flow of your site should be intuitive. Assume the person on your site is a complete idiot, and everyone will find your site and message easy to understand and fall willingly into your sales funnel.
3. Use The Rule of Three.
The Three Stooges, The Three Amigos, The Holy Trinity, The Three Blind Mice. Goldilocks and …how many bears? It’s as easy as 1, 2, …what? “The rule of three or power of three is a writing principle that suggests that things that come in threes are funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader or audience of this form of text is also thereby more likely to remember the information. This is because having three entities combines both brevity and rhythm with having the smallest amount of information to create a pattern. It makes the author or speaker appear knowledgeable while being both simple and catchy.” (Source: Rule of Three Wikipedia Page)
Since Aristotle, this rule has been a strong device for reader understanding and enjoyment. If you can organize your website into three categories, services, or otherwise focal points, your content will be easier to understand, and your users will connect with you.
Here are some examples of company websites, where somewhere prominent, content is grouped in 3s. Perhaps you’ve heard of them?
- https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us.html
- http://www.ge.com/
- http://www.ibm.com/us-en/
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/
- http://www.nbc.com/
- http://www.toyota.com
The goal of your website is not to invite people to come settle in for a while. You want them OFF your site and into your sales funnel. If your website is designed to look professional, is easy to use and understand with strong persuasion, you will see that it will bring you business passively. This is the ultimate goal.
Reversal: There may be times when a prospect will want to spend time on your site. This is usually someone who is seriously considering you for an expensive endeavor and wants to thoroughly research you. The persuasive calls to action are still important in this scenario. However, having a lot of relevant, easy to read content that boosts your credibility will make their research easy and gently guide them into the narrow end of your sales funnel.
Long Story Short:
- Be. Aggressive. B.E. Aggressive! …you know the rest.
- Cater to the dumbest, most ignorant possible user
- Use the Rule of 3 whenever possible in your content structure