Best Lead Generation Tips and Tricks from Conversion Experts https://optinmonster.com Fri, 09 Aug 2024 20:01:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://optinmonster.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cropped-archie-1-32x32.png Best Lead Generation Tips and Tricks from Conversion Experts https://optinmonster.com 32 32 18 Landing Page Tips to Boost Conversions (+ Examples) https://optinmonster.com/landing-page-design-tips/ https://optinmonster.com/landing-page-design-tips/#respond Fri, 09 Aug 2024 17:30:00 +0000 https://optinmonster.com/?p=132105 A landing page is a powerful tool for any marketing campaign. With a laser-focused goal, you can remove all distractions and get your visitors to take action. In this article, I’m sharing landing page tips to help you convert more visitors. I’ll show landing page examples that demonstrate how to apply the design tips. When …

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A landing page is a powerful tool for any marketing campaign. With a laser-focused goal, you can remove all distractions and get your visitors to take action. In this article, I’m sharing landing page tips to help you convert more visitors. I’ll show landing page examples that demonstrate how to apply the design tips.

When you implement these strategies, you can create a landing page design to skyrocket your conversions.

OptinMonster: The Ultimate Tool for Website Conversions

Are you already driving traffic to your website and landing pages? Your next step is to convince more of those visitors to become subscribers and customers. If a visitor doesn’t convert on your landing page, use an Exit-Intent® popup to sweeten the deal and land the sale.

Why You Need a Landing Page

A landing page is a standalone page on your site created for a specific offer or campaign. Its main task is to attract people who are interested in your offer and convince them to take a single action.

That single action is what sets landing pages apart. They’re different from your website’s homepage, which has many different options for visitors to choose from.

You can create a landing page for many different purposes, like:

  • Offering a lead magnet in exchange for contact information
  • Promoting a specific product or service
  • Selling tickets for a one-time event
  • Getting registrations for a webinar
  • And much more

When visitors arrive on your landing page, there are no other options or choices to distract them. Instead, they can focus on taking your desired action.

18 Best Landing Page Tips (With Examples)

The most basic of landing pages have the following elements:

In addition to these basics, landing page best practices can turn your page into a lead-generation machine.

Here are some landing page design tips to help you create the highest-converting landing pages.

1. Stick to a Single Goal on Your Landing Page

The whole purpose of a landing page is to be laser-focused on a single goal. When there are too many options and choices to make, visitors will be less likely to take the desired action.

So, you need to make sure your landing page message is clear and focused.

Here is a focused landing page example from Taboola:

focus landing page on one idea

It has 1 single offer on it: Download a free ebook to learn more about creating content for native campaigns.

If you have more than 1 ebook you want to offer as a lead magnet, create separate landing pages for each.

When you keep your landing page focused on a single goal or offer, you can increase conversions easily.

2. Keep Your Landing Page Design Distraction-Free

When designing your landing page, make sure there are no distractions that will cause users to leave.

For example, if you include a navigation menu on your landing page, visitors can easily click away without opting in to your offer.

Remove any external and internal links from your landing page. These include like navigation menus, footer links, and so on.

remove navigation menu from landing page design

After removing all of the unnecessary links, the only one left to click will be your CTA button.

A distraction-free landing page will help you increase conversions and reduce your bounce rate.

3. Consider Using a Landing Page Template

Designing a professional landing page yourself can be difficult. That’s why we often recommend using a landing page template.

Landing page templates are created by professionals, so you can ensure your page is well-designed. Plus, you can customize them to match your brand and particular offer.

SeedProd is the best landing page builder on the market. Here’s an example of creating a landing page with SeedProd:

Image of SeedProd's drag-and-drop landing page builder

SeedProd comes with 180+ professionally-designed landing page templates.

You can get ready-made designs for:

  • Sales pages
  • Webinar pages
  • Video landing pages
  • Coming soon pages
  • Squeeze pages
  • Thank you pages
  • And more
landing page templates from seedprod

With the drag and drop builder, you can easily customize any template. Click on any existing element to edit it, delete it, or move it. And to add new elements, drag landing page-specific blocks and drop them into place.

seedprod drag and drop builder and templates

SeedProd offers conversion-focused landing page blocks like optin forms, contact forms, countdown timers, testimonials, and more.

You can create the highest-converting landing page in no time by starting with a SeedProd landing page template.

4. Pick the Right Colors

Did you know that the colors you choose for your landing page can have an effect on your conversion rates? I have another article called Which Is the Best CTA Button Color? 3 Proven Ways to Get More Clicks. While researching, I discovered that there’s no right or wrong color to use for conversions. Instead, contrast is what matters most.

Here’s an example of one of our own landing pages for OptinMonster:

Landing page example from OptinMonster. The background is white, and the text is black. The CTA button is bright green.

We use a white background and black text. The only pop of color on the page is the bright green CTA button.

When choosing colors for your landing page, use your brand colors or colors that work well with them. Then, focus on readability and directing attention to your CTA.

5. Be Mobile-Friendly

People aren’t going to visit your landing page from just their desktop browsers. They’re also going to visit it from their smartphones and tablets.

Because of this, you need to make sure your landing page is responsive so that it looks great on all devices.

Luckily, if you use SeedProd to create your landing page, you don’t have to worry about it being difficult to read on a small screen. Here’s an example of how a SeedProd landing page adjusts for mobile screens:

responsive landing page design seedprod

Any page you create with SeedProd is fully responsive and mobile-friendly. Simply click on the mobile preview button to see how it looks on smaller devices.

You can even edit your page right from the mobile preview. So, if a headline is too small on mobile, you can make it bigger without having to go back to the desktop view.

Any changes you make will be automatically applied to both versions of the landing page.

6. Attract Attention With a Compelling Headline

Your headline is often the first thing a visitor sees when they land on your page. So, you need to make it good.

With a compelling headline, visitors will stick around to learn more. With a bad headline, they’ll leave.

Here’s an example of a great landing page headline from Airbnb:

landing page headline from airbnb

It’s simple, to-the-point, and tells the benefit to the visitor.

There’s no need to be metaphorical with your headlines or come up with some unique play on words.

The best way to inspire your visitors to take action is by telling them exactly how they’ll benefit from the offer.

7. Make your Text Copy Easy to Read

The text on your landing should formatted so it’s easy to read and scan.

Keep these tips in mind:

  • Avoid any long paragraphs
  • Use plenty of white space
  • Use bulleted or numbered lists when possible
  • Use simple, easy-to read fonts

For that last tip, SeedProd comes with a ton of ready-made font pairings, so you don’t have to spend a lot of time make sure your text looks clean.

use font pairings for landing page design

This makes it easy to use multiple fonts on your landing page while maintaining a clear and cohesive look.

8. Offer Value Above the Fold

The best landing page structure is one that keeps all of the most important landing page content above the fold.

Above the fold refers to the section of your landing page that is immediately visible. In other words, it’s what visitors see before scrolling.

Here is an example from Bluehost:

bluehost landing page

Anything below this section is below the fold, and users have to scroll to see it.

You don’t have very much time to convince visitors to take action. So, you don’t want to waste that time by having visitors scroll through your page to get to the good stuff.

Put your most important content, like your offer and call-to-action, above the fold so it’s the first thing they see.

9. Make Your CTA Persuasive

The call-to-action (CTA) is the most important element of your landing page. It’s the button that visitors click when they’re ready to opt in.

Your CTA button should be big, have a contrasting color to draw the eye, and it should be persuasive.

Making your CTA button more persuasive is as simple as changing the button text.

For example, your CTA button could read:

  • Download the Ebook Now
  • Claim Your Discount Today
  • Get “Product Name” Now
  • Try “Product Name” For Free

Instead of having a CTA that reads something boring like “Submit” or “Contact Us,” you can make it more persuasive by demonstrating the value of opting in.

You can get even more creative, like this CTA from Radical Design, which reads “Let Me Buy It!”

A landing page example with a black background. There's a large graphic that reads "Radical Design: A Rebellious Life-Changing Design Course by Jack McDade." A bright teal CTA button reads "Let Me Buy It!"

If your brand voice is more light-hearted and humorous, try out funny CTA text.

10. Add Video to Explain Complex Information

Adding a video to your landing page is a great way to boost engagement and drive more conversions.

In fact, 82% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video. Learn even more benefits in our list of video marketing statistics.

Plus, you can use video to explain more complex information about your product or service, instead of crowding your landing page with difficult-to-read text.

We have an embedded video on our OptinMonster University landing page:

The top of the video is above-the-fold, which signals to visitors that they can scroll down to watch the video.

11. Integrate with Social Media

Imagine if everyone that visited your landing page shared it with their family and friends online. Having your landing page go viral would be an awesome way to get more traffic and conversions.

But, most people won’t share your page on their own accord. You need to encourage them and make it easy by adding social sharing buttons to your landing page.

increase shares of landing page with social share buttons

With social share buttons, visitors can share your content with 1 click.

12. Display Social Proof to Increase Trust

If you want to convert visitors into leads or customers, then you need to gain their trust.

That’s where social proof comes in. Social proof is a psychological and social phenomenon where people look to the actions of others to decide what to do.

Learn How to Win Customers with Social Proof

What Is Social Proof in Marketing? Definition, Benefits & Examples

For example, customer reviews are a form of social proof. If a user is unsure about buying a product, they’ll read the reviews. Just a few glowing reviews can convince them to buy.

So, be sure to add social proof to your landing page. You can add:

Another way to add social proof to your landing page is with TrustPulse.

TrustPulse homepage

TrustPulse is a social proof notification software that displays recent activity notifications across your website.

These small messages let visitors know how other people are currently interacting with your business.

Here’s what they look like:

social proof notification from trustpulse

You can display social proof notifications when someone signs up for your email list, purchases a product, leaves a review, and more.

These messages not only help you gain trust with visitors, but they also help you create FOMO (the fear of missing out).

When visitors see notifications about the awesome experiences others are having with your brand, they’ll be more likely to convert so they don’t miss out on the fun.

It’s a powerful way to boost your conversions.

Want to add social proof notifications to your website? Sign up for your free TrustPulse account today!

13. Keep Your Forms Short

There’s nothing that will turn off visitors to your landing page more than a long form. With too many fields to fill out, visitors will abandon your page before they even get started.

That’s why it’s important to keep your forms short.

keep your landing page forms short

Only ask for the information you really need from your visitors, like their email addresses.

When your form takes less than a minute to complete, visitors will be much more likely to take action.

14. Use a 2-Step Optin

On most landing pages, people can sign up for your offer in 1 of 2 ways:

  • Clicking the CTA button
  • Filling out a form

Many people will be scared off by seeing a form right away, no matter how short it is. So, using the CTA button method is better for conversions.

But, the issue with using a CTA button is that it redirects visitors to a different page, which can cause friction in the user experience.

That’s why we recommend using OptinMonster’s MonsterLinks™ 2-step optin technology.

This technology lets you display an optin campaign when people click on the CTA button. The form will display on the same page, instead of redirecting people to a different one.

monsterlinks 2 step optin from optinmonster

A visitor that clicks on your CTA button already has an interest in your offer, so they’ll be more likely to complete the form.

This landing page design tip also takes advantage of the Zeigarnik effect, which is a psychological principle that says that people are more likely to finish a process once they’ve started it.

Take a look at this tutorial to learn how to create a 2-step optin form.

15. Create Urgency with Countdown Timers

Instead of having visitors to your page mull over whether they should opt in or not, you want them to act fast.

And you can get users to make a decision faster by creating a sense of urgency.

You can do this by using urgency words in your headlines, copy, and CTA that implies urgency, like:

  • Now
  • Today
  • Fast
  • Don’t Wait

But an even more powerful way to create urgency is by using a countdown timer on your landing page.

With a limited-time offer and a timer that’s counting down the minutes until it expires, visitors will rush to make a purchase before it’s too late.

You can easily add a countdown timer to your page with SeedProd.

adding a countdown timer to landing page with seedprod

Simply drag the ready-made countdown timer block and drop it into place on your landing page. Then, click on the block to customize the style, set the end date, time, and more.

16. Answer Questions With an FAQ Section

Most people have questions before they sign up for something or make a purchase. If these questions aren’t answered, they’re unlikely to convert.

So, this landing page tip will help you ease the concerns of your potential customers and move them closer to conversion.

Adding an FAQ section to your landing page is a great way to answer common questions like how your product works, what’s included in the deal, or how to cancel/return the product.

Here’s how Netflix does it:

FAQ section on netflix landing page

With SeedProd’s built-in landing page sections, you can easily add an FAQ section to your landing page.

pre-built FAQ sections from seedprod

Simply click on the style of FAQ section you like and SeedProd will automatically add it to your page.

SeedProd also offers pre-built sections like Features, Hero, Footer, and more, so you can create a helpful and beautiful landing page layout in minutes.

17. Do A/B Testing

Wondering whether a green CTA button works better than a red CTA button? Not sure which version of your landing page headline results in more conversions?

You’ll never know how well your landing page design works, unless you do A/B testing.

A/B testing is when you compare 2 different versions of a webpage against each other to find out which one works better.

For example, you can test which CTA button phrase converts better:

landing page CTA ab testing example

A/B testing is an important step of designing your landing page. Even the smallest of changes can result in more conversions.

So, make sure you A/B test each element of your landing page.

You can check out this article to discover more A/B testing examples.

18. Add an Exit-Intent® Popup to Recover Abandoning Visitors

If a visitor abandons your landing page, they might never come back and you’ve missed your shot at converting them.

Luckily, there is a way to recover abandoning visitors on your landing page. Just use Exit-Intent® campaigns from OptinMonster.

With Exit-Intent® technology, you can track when a visitor is about to leave your landing page and send them a targeted message at exactly the right time.

Target abandoning visitors with Exit Intent

A campaign like this will re-engage your visitors’ attention and give them another opportunity to convert.

In fact, InternetSuccesGids used this tactic to convert 24% of visitors and grow its email list by over 250%!

You could see similar results if you add Exit-Intent® to your landing page.

Create an Exit-Intent® Campaign Today!

That’s a wrap! With these landing page design tips, you can easily create a landing page that is beautiful and high-converting.

If you found this article helpful, you may also enjoy the following resources about landing pages:

These articles will guide you through each step of designing and creating a successful landing page.

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63 Lead Magnet Examples to Boost Your Email List Growth https://optinmonster.com/9-lead-magnets-to-increase-subscribers/ https://optinmonster.com/9-lead-magnets-to-increase-subscribers/#respond Wed, 07 Aug 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://optinmonster.com/?p=91782 A lead magnet is your golden ticket to high-quality lead capturing and nurturing. Good lead magnets are one of the most effective strategies for businesses to attract potential customers and convert them into loyal clients. But what exactly is a lead magnet, and how can you create one that resonates with your target audience? Let’s …

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A lead magnet is your golden ticket to high-quality lead capturing and nurturing.

Good lead magnets are one of the most effective strategies for businesses to attract potential customers and convert them into loyal clients.

But what exactly is a lead magnet, and how can you create one that resonates with your target audience?

Let’s dive in!

Exclusive Bonus Download the 69 Irresistible Lead Magnet Ideas to grow your email list.

What Is a Lead Magnet?

A lead magnet is a free, valuable resource offered in exchange for a visitor’s contact information. It’s a marketing tool used to attract potential customers and build an email list.

The primary goal of a lead magnet is to entice visitors to engage with your brand, thereby increasing the chances of converting them into paying customers.

Consider it a win-win situation: your audience gets something valuable, and you can nurture and communicate with them.

This makes lead magnets one of the most important parts of your content marketing strategy.

Here’s an example of an OptinMonster campaign offering a lead magnet:

leadmagnet-2

Right away, users can see they can get 12 proven strategies for converting abandoning visitors. All they need to do is enter their email address.

Lead Magnet Ideas You Can Try Today


In this section, we’ll learn about several different types of lead magnet content you can create. You can deliver these lead magnets in a variety of formats: PDF download, video, Notion template or other digital file, or even as a gated content page on your website.

1. Checklist

Let’s start with our favorite lead magnet example: the checklist.

Checklists convert the best out of all the lead magnets because they’re so easily consumed. They condense the user’s knowledge into one actionable list.

They’re also super quick to create. For example, you can summarize your popular blog posts as a checklist and turn them into a content upgrade. Then combine that content upgrade with a 2-step optin form, and you’ll see a big conversion boost.

Here are two examples of checklists we’ve created for users like you:

Ultimate Optin Form Checklist: This checklist contains a list of all 63 elements that you need to create the ultimate optin form.

Ultimate Optin Form Checklist

On-Page SEO Checklist: How to Fully Optimize Your Posts: You can print this out and consult it whenever you want to optimize a page for SEO.

Download the OnPage SEO Checklist

2. eBook

For it to work, what you need is a solid benefit. Why should someone take the time to read your eBook?

Derek Halpern’s free eBook Get 5,000 Subscribers features an irresistible benefit to their target market.

leadmagnets-9

Still, if someone can achieve the same result from a simple checklist, then, by all means, give them a checklist instead. It’s not worth spending weeks writing an entire eBook when you can get better conversions from a PDF that took you 20 minutes to create.

You may also want to check out this post on how to make an ebook popup to get even more leads from your ebook.

3. Webinar

Like video and audio lead magnets, webinars also have high perceived value. They’re even more irresistible because they have another component: urgency.

Since live webinars only occur at specific times and may have a limited run, they play on the “fear of missing out.”

Heck, webinars work so well for lead generation that Neil Patel turned their entire homepage into a webinar registration page!

Neil Patel's homepage

If you use WordPress and are looking for an LMS plugin for WordPress to launch a webinar easily or an online course, check out our top picks!

4. Template

A template can provide an outline, or some starting point, so all the user has to do is fill in the blanks.

The Magic Email Template is a great lead magnet template example– it’s something entrepreneurs and small business owners can copy and paste, customize a few words, and then send off to connect with influencers and VIPs in your industry instantly.

leadmagnets-7

To take your lead magnet game one step further, create a collection of lead magnet templates, like Digital Marketer’s Ultimate Facebook Ad Template Library.

5. Product Demos

If you’ve ever shopped for an app or a software tool, you’ve probably seen many of these lead magnet examples without realizing it.

Most software companies will have a big call to action to sign up for a free trial or demo on their homepage. Why? Because that’s how they get your email address.

leadmagnets-56

But you don’t have to be a software company to benefit from a free trial lead magnet.

SnackNation offers a free sample box of their product. They ask for your work email address (no credit card required). Now that’s an irresistible offer!

leadmagnets-57

6. Case Studies

Prospects at the bottom of the funnel love to read case studies. This lead magnet idea could give them the last push they need to buy your product.

Back when Upwork was still oDesk, they had a lead magnet called “Make It Work: Smart Advice From Real-Life Clients Who Found Success Using Online Work.” This was a compilation of case studies from people who used their service, packaged in PDF format.

leadmagnets-19

7. Exclusive Discount Codes

It would be best to offer an early bird discount to sweeten the deal of getting on your waitlist. This is a great way to reward your most enthusiastic prospects at the bottom of your funnel.

8. Email Course

Email courses are easy to assemble because they don’t require creating anything fancy or downloadable. It’s a simple email autoresponder series that teaches users to accomplish something specific.

The best part about email courses is that they can be used to turn prospects into customers.

Rick Mulready uses their email course called 4 Facebook Ad Mistakes That Are Losing You Money to convert leads into customers for their FB Ads for Newbies course.

leadmagnets-22

9. Podcasts

Podcasts have surged in popularity and can be an excellent lead magnet, especially for audiences who prefer auditory content.

By offering exclusive podcast episodes or a unique series as a lead magnet, businesses can attract subscribers keen on absorbing content on the go.

Whether it’s an interview with an industry expert, deep dives into specific topics, or behind-the-scenes content, a podcast can provide valuable insights and knowledge. Plus, with the added benefit of voice and tone, it can help in building a deeper connection with the audience.

Like other content forms, it’s crucial to ensure the podcast offers genuine value, is well-produced, and resonates with the target demographic.

How To Create a Lead Magnet

Step 1. Define the Buyer

Step 2. Identify the Problem You’re Solving

Step 3. Position Your Lead Magnet

Step 4. Create Your Lead Magnet

Creating a lead magnet that resonates with your audience requires a strategic approach. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Step 1. Define the Buyer

how-to-create-a-concrete-buyer-persona-with-templates-and-examples

Thinking strategically about your lead magnet before pulling up your graphic design software or building a signup form would be best.

First, you need to decide what kind of buyer persona you hope to pull in with this lead magnet.

Ask yourself:

  • What product or service are you hoping to sell?
  • Who wants this offer?
  • Why do they need it?
  • What pain points are they experiencing?

It would help if you also considered the customer’s level of awareness. They may be:

  • Unaware: They need to learn or describe what their problem is.
  • Problem Aware: They know there’s a problem but need to know if there’s a solution.
  • Solution Aware: They know of ways to solve their problem but need the specific tools or processes to do it.
  • Product Aware: They know your company, product, or service exists but need to be made aware of everything you can do for them or aren’t convinced it will work for them.
  • Most Aware: They know all about your offer and how it can help them but are yet to buy.

New leads typically come in unaware, problem-aware, or solution-aware. The next step will be defining the problem your lead magnet will solve for them and how much awareness it will build.

Step 2. Identify the Problem You’re Solving

Man using ballon to escape a maze

As I mentioned earlier, effective lead magnets will solve specific problems. These may be incomplete solutions, but they will give the subscriber a quick win to build trust in your brand.

It may be easier to start by thinking about the problem your paid product solves. Then, work backward to define a problem your lead magnet can solve.

For example, a company may be selling an SEO plugin for WordPress. That paid product solves the problem of creating SEO-friendly content more easily. Before a customer is ready for that product, they need to know how well their site is performing on search in the first place.

Their lead magnet could be a quick SEO audit checklist, which would solve the problem of understanding their current SEO performance.

Your goal is to build awareness with your lead magnet and throughout your sales and marketing funnel. Most steps in the funnel will make just 1-2 awareness levels at a time.

Taking someone from unaware to most aware with a single download can be a stretch, but it would be relatively easy to take them from problem-aware to solution-aware.

Going back to our SEO plugin example, prospects may be completely unaware they have any SEO issues that need to be solved before using the lead magnet.

After completing the audit checklist, they become aware of the SEO problems on their site. They are then ready to receive more marketing material about the plugin.

Step 3. Position Your Lead Magnet

organic content funnel

The last bit of strategic planning you should do is to position your lead magnet appropriately in your sales process. In other words, think through what should happen before and after new subscribers download the lead magnet.

First, consider how they’ll find your lead magnet. Will you send Facebook ad traffic to it? Will it be on a landing page or blog post that comes up in search results? Will you link to the lead magnet from other sites or your own email signature?

Check out our list of places to add signup forms for higher conversions to get some ideas.

Next, figure out where their contact information goes.

You might send those email addresses to an email service provider (ESP) like Constant Contact or a customer relationship management (CRM) software like HubSpot. There’s no point in offering a lead magnet if you leave those email addresses in the Internet void!

Finally, think about what happens after the new subscriber gets their lead magnet. Do you follow up with a welcome email sequence or SMS message? Do you reach out personally by email to schedule a 1:1 consultation? Do they start receiving your weekly email newsletter right away?

It can help your lead magnet to give a hint about what will happen next. You can include this in the lead magnet itself, on the signup form, in the email delivering the lead magnet, or all of the above.

Step 4. Create Your Lead Magnet

Now, it’s time actually to create your lead magnet.

First, pick a format. This can affect the type of content you write. For example, an interactive quiz differs significantly from a PDF report.

Also, consider your target audience when creating your lead magnet. Would they have time to watch a 10-minute video or prefer a PDF download they can look through at their leisure?

Next, write the content. Start by reviewing the benefits of the lead magnet. What will your checklist help them do? What will they know after reading your report? How will your template make their lives easier?

Then, lay out your process or insights step by step. Finish with a call to action (CTA) describing the next step they can take to work with you or purchase your products.

Once you have your content ready, pick a title. With the title, you can be as clever as you want as long as it clearly explains the lead magnet’s value proposition. One simple formula to use is [Solution] for [Buyer]:

  • 12-Step Website Audit for Creative Business Owners
  • Meal Planning Template for Busy Parents
  • Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing: A Report for Agency Owners
  • Beginner’s Guide to Website Design for Authors

Let’s also read about a lead magnet platform called Beacon.

Beacon.by

Beacon.by is a comprehensive platform designed to help users create and manage lead magnets. It offers a range of features that simplify the process of creating, capturing, and managing lead magnets.

Key features of Beacon.by include:

  • Lead Magnet Creator: Allows users to create professional-looking lead magnets using a drag-and-drop builder. Users can start from scratch or use one of the many templates available, tailored to various industries.
  • Lead Capture Forms: This tool helps users design engaging forms to gather customer information, enhancing the website’s lead generation capabilities.
  • Resource Library Builder: Users can compile and manage a collection of valuable resources such as documents, videos, and links, making it easier for their audience to access and interact with content.

Beacon also provides a “Lead Magnet Academy” that offers lessons on creating effective lead magnets, promoting them, and nurturing leads once they have engaged with your content.

Pricing options cater to different needs, from a free plan suitable for new businesses and hobbyists, to more advanced plans that offer additional features like custom domains and increased lead management capabilities.

For more information and a deeper dive into what Beacon.by can offer, you can visit their official site: Beacon.by.

Now, you can design your lead magnet! A complete design or technical tutorial is too much to include in this article, but here are some helpful links you can use to get started:

63 Irresistible Lead Magnet Examples

Ready to create your lead magnet? Let’s dive into the 63 highly effective lead magnet examples to increase your subscribers.

1. Cheatsheet

Cheatsheets are essentially the same as checklists, but they give users a list of guidelines or processes they can repeatedly follow to achieve a specific benefit.

They’re irresistible to people because they remove the need to think.

Here’s an example of a cheat sheet created for bloggers: 52 Headline Hacks: A Cheat Sheet for Writing Blog Posts That Go Viral.

leadmagnets-2

Bloggers want their blog posts to go viral, so this is a benefit-driven lead magnet for them.

It also removes the need to think: no more racking your brain about how to get your blog posts to go viral when you have this cheat sheet!

2. Template

A template can provide an outline, or some starting point, so all the user has to do is fill in the blanks.

The Magic Email Template is a great lead magnet template example– it’s something entrepreneurs and small business owners can copy and paste, customize a few words, and then send off to connect with influencers and VIPs in your industry instantly.

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To take your lead magnet game one step further, create a collection of lead magnet templates, like Digital Marketer’s Ultimate Facebook Ad Template Library.

3. Swipe File

Swipe files are arguably even more irresistible than templates because all you have to do is copy them in their entirety.

For example, The Ultimate Social Media Swipe File includes 72 headlines for social media posts that you can simply, well, swipe!

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4. Examples

Examples work well as lead magnets because people are searching for examples all the time in all different industries.

For instance, Bidsketch (a proposal software) uses a Sample Client Proposal as a lead magnet.

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You could turn one of your popular posts into a lead-generating machine by optimizing it for “[your keyword] + examples” and then adding an example lead magnet as a content upgrade.

5. Script

Scripts are great lead magnet examples if your buyer persona needs something to help them speak or write.

For instance, if they need help prepping for a job interview, you could offer a script for pitching themselves to a potential employer.

Another great lead magnet example is this popular lead magnet created by Marcus Krieg: 3 Persuasive Video Scripts You Can Steal.

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6. Toolkit

A trendy type of lead magnet idea is the toolkit. Why? Because everyone wants to know what tools the pros use!

Syed’s Toolkit for Growing Your Online Business is no exception. It’s a huge hit!

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The best part about toolkits is that you can usually become an affiliate for those products. Not only does the toolkit provide a handy resource to your visitors, but it can also generate additional revenue for your business.

7. Web App

A web app is a free tool that lives on your site and requires a login. Of course, users have to sign up by email to get the login.

For example, Bryan Harris created a web app called ListGoal, which is free to use. However, Bryan gets your permission to email you when you sign up for it.

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8. Resource List

Lists of free resources are valuable because they’re huge time savers. Whenever you pull all of the best stuff together, you save your users a lot of research time.

My Giant Guest Blogging Index has been a massive hit for that reason. All the research has been done for someone looking to write guest posts.

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9. Calendar

Calendars can also be helpful in a variety of industries.

For example, if you’re in the fitness industry, like Blogilates, you could offer a workout calendar. That way, your users don’t have to think about what exercises to do daily because you’ve already mapped it out for them.

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10. Plan/Planner

Similar to a calendar is a daily, weekly, or monthly plan you’ve mapped out for someone.

For example, 5 Free Meal Plans is a great lead magnet for a busy mom who is struggling to find the time to figure out what’s for dinner every night.

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Your lead magnet could be a blank planner the user fills in with their plan. These blank planners are also useful because they make organizing easier for people.

Mayi Carles sells these attractive planners, but they could just as easily give away a digital sample as a lead magnet to whet your appetite for more.

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11. Worksheet/Workbook

A worksheet (or workbook) is similar to a planner, except that it usually helps people to complete a specific exercise or figure something out.

A perfect medium for this is an editable workbook that someone can download and fill out on their computer. Teachable has a great, in-depth tutorial on using Adobe InDesign to create a workbook lead magnet.

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12. Printable

A printable is especially great if you’re in a creative field and your users want something attractive that they can print out.

Or, your user needs to print something out to be handy when they need it, such as a shopping list or a grocery list, like this one from Rustic Redhead.

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13. Inspiration File

Does your user need inspiration? People always search the internet for inspiration, so why not give it to them as a neatly packaged lead magnet?

This Logo Design Inspiration eBook, for example, is perfect for designers seeking inspiration for their next logo.

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14. Prompts

While inspiration files generally offer visual inspiration, prompts help to inspire by giving you ideas to think about.

60 Journal Prompts is a self-help lead magnet that helps users with “self-love, self-discovery + a spot of self-coaching.”

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15. Calculator

If your users need to deal with numbers, why not create a calculator and gate it as a lead magnet?

VWO has some great calculators on their site which could also be a great lead magnet idea. For example, this A/B Split Test Significance Calculator is handy for any marketer looking to see whether they have enough traffic to collect important data.

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16. Generator

People often search for generators to create something quickly without thinking. If a generator is useful for your audience, consider gating it.

HubSpot has a useful blog topic generator on its site. They aren’t using it as a lead magnet, but they certainly could if they wanted to.

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17. Spreadsheet

Spreadsheets can be used to create all kinds of valuable resources. They’re a programming tool right at your fingertips!

DebtHelper uses a free budget spreadsheet to collect email subscribers. They even include a bonus video guide on how to use the spreadsheet.

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18. Recipes

Many recipes are freely available on the internet, so you might consider this a bad lead magnet idea. However, you’d be surprised how many people will optin for your curated recipes.

EatingWell knows this, and that’s why they use an exit-intent popup to offer their best healthy recipes and nutrition tips delivered straight to your inbox.

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19. Gated Content

Gated content is simply a blog post or part of a blog post that is hidden behind your lightbox popup. This is one of the easiest lead magnets to create because it uses your existing content!

One thing you can do is to gate the second half of a long blog post. You can do this easily with OptinMonster by using one of our inline optin lead magnet templates + our Content Lock feature.

Optin Monster Content Lock

If you go with gated content, you may also want to learn how to create a paywall. That will reserve premium content for paying subscribers and generate more passive income for your site.

20. Tutorial

A tutorial is any content that teaches how to do one specific thing. It could be a video or a PDF download with a numbered list of steps.

David Siteman Garland’s 7 Proven Steps to Creating, Promoting & Profiting from Online Courses seems to work well for him– he’s been using it for quite some time now, although it was probably quick to create.

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21. Guide

A guide is similar to an eBook because iit’s a lengthier lead magnet to create. However, guides can work well when you use them as the nurturing part of your sales funnel to educate prospects on why they should buy from you.

Here’s an example of a guide from HubSpot: The Definitive Blueprint for Lead Management.

This works because it educates their users on why they need a lead management product like HubSpot.

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That said, I’d encourage you to create some un-gated guides on your site. At OptinMonster, we like to call these “mega guides.”

We’ve used mega guides on OptinMonster and our other web properties with great success because they generate a ton of organic search traffic. Check out our Definitive Guide to Email Marketing as an example; it’s freely available with no email optin required.

22. Whitepaper

Whitepaper or reports are perfect lead magnets for B2B businesses, but they can also work in any industry that relies on data, statistics, or research.

You can either research and collect the data yourself or pull together data from various sources into one comprehensive report.

Here are a couple of whitepaper lead magnet examples:

2016 Gartner Magic Quadrant for CRM Lead Management: the great thing about this report is that it has been “updated for 2016”, so at the time of this writing, it’s fresh and new.

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The YouTube Traffic Report: this report pulls together the statistics on YouTube traffic, so it didn’t require any in-house data collection to create.

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23. Infographic

Infographics are the content you’d likely use to drive website visitors since they do so well on social media. However, they also work well as educational lead magnets.

Think about it: many people need to visualize a concept before fully understanding it. Instead of giving users a bunch of boring text to sift through, why not illustrate your point with an infographic? This extra detail will make your lead magnet stand out so much more.

Here’s an example of an infographic explaining successful and unsuccessful people’s habits.

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Does this infographic make the concept more memorable and easy to digest than a plain text PDF?

24. Educational Video

Create a video to take your lead magnet further than an infographic!

Videos not only include a visual component, but they have an audio component as well. Plus, you can put real people in front of the camera (or come on camera yourself) to boost your brand.

But the best part is videos have a higher perceived value, making them more irresistible.

QuickSprout has a video course on Double Your Traffic in 30 Days. In their sidebar optin form, they’ve included a DVD mockup to drive home the high value of their lead magnet.

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25. Educational Audio

Downloadable audio might make the perfect lead magnet example depending on your target audience.

For example, if your ideal customer rarely has time for reading or watching videos, they might prefer to have something to listen to in the car on their commute to and from work.

Remember: you can always repurpose a video by stripping out the audio and turning it into a lead magnet!

Here’s an example from Marie Forleo: a motivational, free audio training to learn “how to get anything you want.” I especially love the rose gold iPhone mockup with earbuds, which perfectly depicts how one of Marie’s users would listen to their audio (e.g., they may download it to their phone and take it to the gym).

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26. Webinar

Like video and audio lead magnets, webinars also have high perceived value. They’re even more irresistible because they have another component: urgency.

Since live webinars only occur at specific times and may have only a limited run, they play on the “fear of missing out.”

Heck, webinars work so well for lead generation that Neil Patel turned their entire homepage into a webinar registration page!

Neil Patel's homepage

If you use WordPress and are looking for an LMS plugin for WordPress to launch a webinar easily or an online course, check out our top picks!

27. Event Tickets

Like a webinar, you can offer free tickets to a live event in exchange for an email address.

The best way to do this is by using social media ads to push targeted traffic to your optin form. Your target audience would be people who are interested in your offer and live near your in-person event.

I highly recommend using Facebook ads for this because Facebook has the most powerful targeting features out of any other social media advertising channel. Make sure you follow these 7 steps to optimize your Facebook ads for conversions.

28. Free Book + Shipping

If you have a bunch of physical books you’ve written lying around, consider giving them away as a lead magnet. All you have to do is collect a small fee to cover your shipping costs.

Want to know why this offer works so well? Well, physical books generally have higher perceived value than eBooks do. When you offer a physical book for free, it’s an irresistible deal.

However, because the user has to pull out their credit card to pay for the shipping, this lead magnet idea pre-qualifies the best leads.

In other words, you’ve not only acquired a new lead, but you’ve also effectively acquired a new customer—and existing customers are so much easier to convert to a higher offer than people who’ve never bought anything from you.

Here’s an example of a free book plus shipping from Russell Brunson.

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29. Sample Chapter

If you want to avoid going the free book route, you could pull out one chapter and offer it as a free sample.

Make sure the sample is digital and instantly downloadable so your users can get instant gratification.

30. Sample Video/Clip

If your product takes the form of a video or video, pull out a sample video or a sample clip and exchange that for an email address.

In the case of an information product called The Copy Cure, you can access their Copywriting Class Free Sample by entering your email address.

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31. Sample Audio Clip

A sample audio clip works well as a lead magnet, too (even if your product is a video).

Erin Stutland’s product includes workout videos, and their lead magnet offer is a free audio workout.

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32. Free Coaching Session

If you’re a coach or offer a service, you could provide a free coaching session in exchange for an email address.

The great thing about coaching sessions is that they get your prospects on the phone with you, and those people usually expect to hear your pitch at the end. This can be an effective way of acquiring high-end clients.

Chris Lema charges per minute for their coaching sessions, but he could offer them for free for a limited time if he wanted to push more signups.

33. PDF Version

This is one of those lead magnets that is so underutilized yet straightforward to create.

All you have to do is find your most popular blog posts, save a PDF version of the blog post, and then offer it as a content upgrade.

You’d be surprised how many people will optin to receive the same thing they just read in PDF form! The value-add here is that they get to own your blog post.

For example, our 12 Proven Ways to Convert Abandoning Visitors into Subscribers download could just as easily have been a blog post that we turned into a lead magnet.

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34. Transcript

While we’re on the subject of repurposing content, why not repurpose a video by offering a transcript?

Although many people prefer video for learning, many others prefer reading. Making sure you have both learners covered is a great way to provide more value with the content you’ve already created.

35. Audio Version

Similarly, you could offer an audio version of a written piece of content.

UX designer Paul Boag regularly records an audio version of their blog posts. However, he could just as easily gate the audio version behind an optin form and generate more leads!

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36. Summary/”Cliff Notes” Version

Do you have a long, in-depth guide that your users love? Package a summarized version of that into a lead magnet.

You can also share what you’re learning from other influencers in your industry by offering your “cliff notes” version of their presentation or book.

37. State of the Industry

This is another great lead magnet idea for B2B businesses. It’s the same as a report, except that it focuses on new industry trends.

Just keep in mind that you’ll need to come out with new or updated versions of your state of the industry report regularly (usually annual).

38. Predictions

To become a leader in your industry, make some predictions about your industry and publish them as a downloadable lead magnet.

People love to hear predictions about what to expect so they can jump on upcoming trends.

For example, if you’re in the fashion industry, you could come up with a list of fashion predictions for the following year. Or, if you’re a marketer, you could predict what the state of email marketing will look like next year.

39. Mind Map

Mind maps explain a complex subject in a digestible way. And because they are essentially an outline and don’t require too much detail, these lead magnet examples are really quick to put together.

When creating mind maps, we like using a free MindMeister tool. Their drag-and-drop builder makes mind maps super easy to create, and they always look clean and professional.

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Delivering one of these lead magnets with OptinMonster is simple. You must paste the mind map URL into your optin form’s success theme.

40. Recording/Replay

Are you presenting any live webinars? You can repurpose those webinars by saving the recording and using that as a lead magnet.

Kissmetrics offers a library of recorded webinars you can choose from in exchange for your email address.

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41. Audio Book

Have an eBook that your audience loves? Repurpose it by recording an audiobook and gating it behind an email optin form.

Remember how I said that un-gated mega guides are powerful assets you can create to drive traffic to your site?

Well, here’s an idea for you:

  1. Turn your eBook into a traffic-generating mega guide by transferring it to one big long page on your site.
  2. Generate leads by adding a call to action (CTA) to download your audiobook version.
  3. Win and win!

42. SlideShare

Did you know that you can turn one of your SlideShare presentations into a lead magnet?

SlideShare has a built-in lead generation tool that allows you to convert your SlideShare audience into email subscribers. All you have to do is follow our step-by-step tutorial here (see #7).

SlideShare lead gen

43. Roundup

If you’ve ever written a roundup blog post, you’ll know that these are popular and easy to put together. Plus, you can create a lead magnet from it.

A roundup post is a list of tips or techniques from other experts in your industry. To write one, you need to interview people and pull all quotes into one big post.

For example, we wrote a popular roundup post asking eight seasoned SEO experts for their best advice. Now, we could have interviewed a lot more than eight people. It’s easier than you think to get influencers to respond to a request like this because you’re offering them exposure, which is what they want! So, we could have interviewed even more experts and then offered the complete roundup as a “freebie” download.

Or, we could have summarized all the expert responses into actionable takeaways and packaged that as a lead magnet.

Either way, it would make for a great content upgrade to an already high-performing post.

44. Newsletter

Sometimes your email newsletter is so irresistible that it’s the lead magnet.

A great example is a business called The Hustle. The Hustle sends you a funny, entertaining email each morning with all the day’s top tech and business news.

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The best part about this lead magnet example is that the subscriber already expects the emails.

Although we need to find out how low their unsubscribe rates are, we would assume that The Hustle is doing pretty well in that department.

45. Vault/Library

Do you have lots of different educational lead magnets? Give your users the option to access them all at once by putting them together into a “vault” or a virtual library on your site.

All you need is one big page on your site with the links to download each of your lead magnets and put that page behind an optin form. It’s a simple way to give more value to your users with the lead magnets you’ve already created.

46. Quiz

A quiz is the most entertaining lead magnet idea on this list, and that’s why it converts so well!

A quiz has the user answer a series of questions and then spits a result. But to get the result, you’ll have to enter your email address.

Rachel Ray had a quiz on what type of clutterer you’re.

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Hostel Bookers created a quiz about what type of traveler you’re.

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Forbes had a quiz that helped prospective college students find the perfect college.

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To create a quiz like this, you can use a tool like Qzzr. Qzzr also allows you to drive social traffic to your quiz and generate leads.

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47. Survey

A survey is mainly for your benefit/market research. However, a survey can be used as a lead magnet with a compelling call to action.

For example, you could ask users browsing your site for a while to give you feedback on their experience and help you improve your website. You’d be surprised how many people enjoy taking the time to provide you with their feedback!

Make sure you use a tool like OptinMonster to present the survey only to users who have visited at least four pages on your site. It would be weird (and annoying) to ask a brand new visitor to rate their “experience” on the first pageview.

48. Giveaway

One of the most effective lead magnet idea is the giveaway. Who doesn’t love the opportunity to win free stuff?

If you want your giveaway to be effective, however, make sure it does two things:

  1. Qualify your leads by offering a relevant prize (something that only your ideal customer would want– not something like an iPad or a laptop that anyone and their brother would want)
  2. Incentivize participants to share (you can do this by offering additional entries for each social share)

49. Manifesto

A manifesto is a simple declaration of your values. Its a great lead magnet idea because your ideal audience will naturally be drawn to it.

Jeff Goins wrote The Writer’s Manifesto: Stop Writing to Be Read & Adored, resonating with their audience and becoming an effective lead magnet.

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50. Comic Strip

Ever thought of using a comic strip as a lead magnet?

When CopyMonk released its first comic strip, it went viral in the copywriting community.

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And when something is that popular, it’s easy to see how people would sign up to get more.

51. Quotes

People love quotes from influential people or quotes that inspire.

Mastin Kipp created an entire business by delivering inspirational quotes via their “daily love” email newsletter.

Their business has evolved a lot since then, but they still offers daily inspiration/tips as their lead magnet.

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52. Desktop Wallpaper

Are you an artist, designer, or photographer? If you’re in a visual/creative field of business, consider giving away some of your work as a desktop wallpaper download.

The best thing about desktop wallpaper is that it constantly reminds you of your brand. This can be a great way to make sure a lead thinks of you when thinking about who to hire for their next photoshoot or design project.

53. Mobile App/Game

A free mobile app or game offers the perfect excuse to ask for an email address.

Ask users to create an account with you to use your app. Then, you can send them emails to help increase their engagement and encourage them to buy your premium product.

54. Challenge

One of my favorite lead magnet examples is this 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge from Simple Green Smoothies.

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There are several reasons why this lead magnet idea is so genius and you should consider doing a challenge as a lead magnet too.

  • Anyone who takes them up on this offer will be a highly qualified lead. They raise their hands and say, “I want green smoothies!”.
  • Challenges with a start and an end date have urgency. This makes the offer that much more compelling.
  • Challenges build brand awareness by fostering a sense of community– everyone is doing the challenge together at the same time.
  • Challenges make it much easier to elicit desired behavior through peer pressure. Most people wouldn’t have the discipline to drink one green smoothie a day for 30 days, but they’re much more likely to jump on the bandwagon when challenged to do so.

55. Membership Site

Are you thinking about creating your membership site? Consider offering free registration.

My Copyblogger Membership is an excellent example of using a membership site as a lead magnet.

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I especially love their use of social proof and their fear of missing out. This community contains “over 334,000 smart online marketers”, and all those people “have a head start” on you. Better sign up now, so you can stay caught up!

Plugins can make it super easy if you’re a WordPress user interested in setting up your membership site. Check out our top picks for WordPress membership site plugins!

56. Facebook Group

I’ve personally used Facebook groups as lead magnets with great success. It just goes to show that people do value communities.

For example, we used to offer a private Facebook group + a free fitness challenge for pregnant women who wanted to stay healthy and fit throughout their pregnancy.

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I tested a few offers instead, such as a checklist of exercises every pregnant woman should avoid. However, the Facebook group/challenge offer outperformed the other lead magnets, resulting in 43-cent leads on average!

57. Slack Group

Depending on your target market and where they hang out online, there may be other options than a Facebook group. However, you could offer a Slack group instead.

If you’ve never heard of it before, Slack is an app that allows you to send instant messages to groups of people. This can be a fun and powerful way to build a community around your brand.

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58. Coupon

A coupon works well at the bottom of your funnel because most people who make online purchases like to shop around for deals. Your brand should be there to give those people what they’re looking for (in exchange for their email addresses, of course).

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59. Waiting List

Do you have an upcoming product launch? You can use a waitlist to collect the emails of prospects at the bottom of your funnel.

For example, an online course called “B-School” is only available once per year. If you want to buy it right now, you can’t! Instead of a “buy” button on the product page, you’ll find a “tell me more” button next to an email optin form.

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This way, they can collect the email addresses of bottom-of-funnel prospects throughout the year and build anticipation for the program.

60. Free Shipping

Free shipping is one of those things that everyone wants when it comes to shopping online. If someone is close to making a purchase, free shipping might be the offer that seals the deal.

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61. Free Consultation

Many lawyers offer free consultations as lead magnets. This could also be a great bottom-of-funnel offer for you if you offer a service.

The best thing about a free consult is that it gives you a natural excuse to ask for the email address, phone number, and other relevant information. If you need to close someone over the phone, this is a natural opportunity.

62. Free Quote

Instead of a free consultation, you could offer a free quote. Here’s how Liberty Mutual does it.

First, you’ll be asked to enter your zip code and click on the “Get a Quote” button.

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Then, you’ll be directed to another page where you’ll be asked to enter the rest of your information.

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With most lead magnets examples, you would only be able to ask for a little information upfront. However, because a free quote is at the bottom of your funnel, these prospects are more willing to give out their detailed information.

63. Catalog

Finally, if you have a product catalog, remember to offer it as a lead magnet at the bottom of your funnel! Just remember to ask for their email address on the order form.

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7 Key Takeaways To Create Irresistible Lead Magnets

There are seven things that your lead magnet should do if you want it to be irresistible.

The best lead magnets:

  1. Solves a real problem – if your lead magnet doesn’t solve a real problem that your customer avatar has, or if it doesn’t give them something they want, it won’t work at all.
  2. Promises one quick win – your lead magnet should promise (and deliver) one quick win for your avatar. In other words, it should help them to achieve something quickly.
  3. Super specific – don’t create a lead magnet about something general. The clearer you’re about the benefit of your lead magnet, the better it will convert potential customers (and if you can personalize this lead magnet to a specific landing page, that’s even better!).
  4. Quick to digest – PDF checklists tend to convert well because they’re so quick and easy to digest. eBooks or lengthy reports may make your prospects feel overwhelmed.
  5. High value – your lead magnet should have both, high perceived value and high actual value.
  6. Instantly accessible – your lead magnet will work best if it can be delivered immediately. People love instant gratification.
  7. Demonstrates your expertise or UVP – when someone consumes your lead magnet, it should show your expertise or unique value proposition. This helps turn leads into customers down the road.

If you can nail these qualities, conversions will dramatically rise across your website.

How To Distribute Your Lead Magnet

Creating the right lead magnet template for your audience is only half the battle. The other half is getting it to the right people, in the right places, and at the right time in their customer journey.

That’s where a tool like OptinMonster comes in:

optinmonster new homepage

OptinMonster is the world’s #1 lead generation toolkit. It allows anyone to quickly and easily create “optin campaigns” to distribute their lead magnets in a highly targeted way.

“Optin campaigns” are things you’re already familiar with, like popups, floating bars, gamified wheels, and much more.

With these campaigns, you can narrow in on your target audience, improve their customer journey, and increase your conversion rates simultaneously.

Here’s how it works:

Everything starts with selecting one of OptinMonster’s 50+ pre-made lead magnet templates:

optinmonster templates

These designs are ready to use out of the box and will save you time, money, and headaches in the campaign creation process.

From there, you’ll likely want to make a few modifications to showcase your lead magnet.

OptinMonster has an inline text editor that allows you to customize your unique message, so you can better resonate with your target audience:

inline editor with shopping template

And if you want to add new features, you don’t need coding or tech skills.

Everything can be done with a drag and a drop:

Drag an drop builder basic dark template

This lets you add new features like:

  • Images
  • Video
  • HTML
  • Chatbots
  • Icons
  • Buttons

And much more

And since all the features are made up of “blocks,” everything falls neatly into place every time.

But once the campaign is ready and your lead magnet looks good, you still need to target these messages to the right people.

You’d use one of OptinMonster’s many targeting rules. Some examples include:

  • Exit-Intent® Technology: Recover abandoning users as they’re actively leaving your site for good.
  • OnSite Follow Ups®: Avoid ‘popup fatigue’ by showing new messages to returning users.
  • Geolocation: Target people based on their physical location.

Though many others exist, these are just a few examples of OptinMonster’s targeting rules. And these are the same ways that companies like Crossrope exploded their list by 900%.

Or how Shotkit adds 40+ NEW leads to their site every single day.

From there, you can leverage the full power of automation! By that, I mean OptinMonster integrates with 50+ 3rd-party tools like email service providers, Zapier, webhooks, and more.

That means you can create a lead generation system that works on autopilot.

Ready to get your lead magnet in front of your audience? Click below to start your 100% risk-free OptinMonster account today:

Create High Converting Optin Campaigns Today!

BONUS: Done-For-You Campaign Setup ($297 value) Our conversion experts will design 1 free campaign for you to get maximum results – absolutely FREE! Click here to get started →

If you’re curious about how many of your subscribers download your lead magnets, here’s how to track downloads in Google Analytics and WordPress.

And that’s all for today! Now it’s your turn.

Go ahead and pick one of these high-converting lead magnet ideas, and then tweak it to create your own. This will drastically improve your digital marketing efforts.

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you did, you’d want to check out the following resources:

These posts will give you more information on tracking the success of your lead magnet campaigns and retaining customers once they’ve converted.

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How to Create a Customer Journey Map (& Convert MORE at Each Step) https://optinmonster.com/roadmap-to-capturing-leads-throughout-the-customer-journey/ https://optinmonster.com/roadmap-to-capturing-leads-throughout-the-customer-journey/#respond Fri, 02 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://optinmonster.com/?p=101435 You’ve created a great product, and your digital marketing efforts are starting to get noticed. But how do you turn more of those leads into loyal customers? A customer journey map can help you understand how to move leads through your sales funnel. Here at OptinMonster, we’ve been helping our customers convert their website traffic …

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You’ve created a great product, and your digital marketing efforts are starting to get noticed. But how do you turn more of those leads into loyal customers? A customer journey map can help you understand how to move leads through your sales funnel.

Here at OptinMonster, we’ve been helping our customers convert their website traffic into sales and revenue for over 10 years.

Medstar Media, a digital marketing agency, used OptinMonster to increase their clients’ conversions by 500%. As a result, those clients saw millions more in revenue.

Today, I’m going to share what we’ve learned about the customer experience journey, so you can grow your business.

In this guide, I’ll cover the essentials of customer journey mapping, including its benefits and a step-by-step tutorial for creating a customer experience journey map.

What Is a Customer Journey Map?

A customer journey map is a visual representation of your customers’ interactions with your brand. It starts with initial awareness and moves through the purchase decision and brand loyalty. By understanding their goals and emotions, you can enhance user experience and drive conversions.

Essentially, customer journey maps help you move your leads through the stages of your sales marketing funnel:

Graphic of the stages of the sales marketing funnel. The stages are Awareness, Consideration, Decision, Action, and Loyalty.

Customer journey maps plan out exactly how each lead interacts with your company during each stage. They typically include key touchpoints, such as website visits, social media interactions, email communications, and customer service engagements. By mapping out these interactions, you can pinpoint areas where customers may encounter obstacles or frustration. Then, you can address them proactively.

Journey mapping takes a lot of time and effort. It involves gathering data from various sources, including customer feedback, analytics, and internal insights. This comprehensive approach helps you fully understand the real experiences of your leads, so you can create targeted strategies to win and retain more customers.

6 Benefits of Customer Journey Mapping

Customer journey mapping is more than just an exercise in understanding customer behavior. In fact, it offers tangible benefits that can jumpstart your business’s growth.

1. Improved Customer Understanding

First, the obvious: customer journey mapping helps you gain a deeper understanding of your customers’ needs, motivations, and pain points at each stage of their journey. By visualizing their experiences, you can identify what drives them and tailor your marketing strategies to better meet their expectations.

2. Enhanced Customer Experience

By identifying and addressing potential obstacles or frustrations within the customer journey, you can create a smoother, more enjoyable experience for your customers. This proactive approach can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

3. Increased Conversions and Sales

With a clear map of the customer experience, you can optimize each touchpoint. In doing so, you can guide leads more effectively through your sales funnel. This targeted approach helps you convert more prospects into paying customers.

4. Better Resource Allocation

When you understand your leads’ pain points, you can allocate resources more efficiently. For instance, you might decide to redesign your website’s user interface (UI), provide more training for your customer support team, or refine your marketing messages. In short, journey mapping helps you focus your efforts where they are needed most.

5. Alignment Across Teams

Once you have an accurate map of your customer experience, you can share it across your organization. When your entire team understands your customers’ journey, you can work together towards the same goals and deliver a more consistent message to your prospects.

6. Data-Driven Decisions

As I’ll cover later, journey mapping is based on in-depth research. With this information, you’ll be able to make informed, data-driven decisions. This comprehensive approach helps you identify trends, measure performance, and adjust your strategies based on real customer interactions.

7 Steps to Create a Customer Journey Map

Creating a customer journey map involves several detailed steps, each requiring careful thought and data collection. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you create an effective customer journey map to enhance your customer experience and drive sales.

Step 1: Set Clear Objectives

Before you start mapping, you need to define what you aim to achieve. Clear objectives will guide your efforts and ensure your journey map serves your business goals.

To set clear objectives, you’ll need to do the following:

  • Identify Your Goals
  • Define Success Metrics

I’ll explore each part more closely.

Identify Your Goals

Start by defining why you are creating the customer journey map. Here are a few common objectives:

  • Increase Sales and Conversions: Pinpoint where potential customers drop off and implement strategies to keep them moving through the sales funnel.
  • Improve Customer Satisfaction: Identify pain points and positive experiences within the customer journey, so you can enhance overall satisfaction.
    • Example: A brick-and-mortar business might discover that customers have trouble finding the products they want. By mapping the customer journey, they can find ways to better organize their store.
  • Enhance User Experience: Reduce friction points and ensure customers can easily find information.
    • Example: A software company might find that users struggle to navigate their online help center. Improving the layout can enhance the user experience.

Define Success Metrics

A goal is only useful if it’s measurable. That’s why you need to define which metrics you’re going to track to measure success. Gather your current data for these metrics, so you can monitor your progress as you develop and implement your journey map.

These metrics may come from the analytics for your website or marketing platforms, or they might come directly from your customer feedback. Here are just a few examples of metrics you might use:

  • Conversion Rates: Track the percentage of visitors who convert to leads or customers.
  • Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSAT): Measure customer satisfaction at various touchpoints.
  • Net Promoter Score (NPS): NPS is the score customers give to the question “How likely are you to recommend our company to a friend or colleague?”
  • Customer Effort Score (CES): CES measures how easy it is for customers to complete key actions, such as making a purchase, using your product, or getting help from customer support.
  • Customer Retention Rate: Monitor how well you retain customers over time. This could be a measurement of customers who maintain a subscription or who make repeat purchases from your brand.
  • Email Unsubscribe Rate: Work to lower the number of email marketing subscribers who opt out of getting emails from you.
  • Email List Growth Rate: How many of your website visitors sign up for your email marketing newsletter?

By setting clear, actionable objectives, you ensure that your customer journey mapping efforts are focused, effective, and aligned with your overall business goals.

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Step 2: Create Buyer Personas

An example of a Buyer Persona (for creating a customer journey map) by OptinMonster. It's for a woman named Jane and it outlines her bio, behaviors, goals, pain points, demographic info, and preferred channels.

Understanding your customers is essential. Buyer personas represent your target customers and help you understand their behaviors, needs, preferences, and goals.

To build an accurate persona, you need a lot of data. You’ll need both quantitative metrics and qualitative data, so you can understand your customers’ motivations. Here are a few ways to gather this information:

  • Customer Surveys, Interviews, and Focus Groups
  • Website Analytics
  • Email Marketing Analytics
  • Customer Support Data
  • Sales Team Insights

Once you have collected sufficient data, you can start building your buyer personas. Each persona should include the following elements:

  • Demographic Information: Age, gender, income, education level, job title, and location.
    • Example: Jane is a 39-year-old marketing manager living in Chicago with an annual income of $95,000.
  • Behavioral Traits: Purchasing habits, brand loyalty, product usage, and online behavior.
    • Example: Jane frequently shops online, values convenience, and regularly reads product reviews before making a purchase.
  • Pain Points and Challenges: Specific problems or frustrations that your product or service can solve.
    • Example: Jane struggles with finding reliable tools to streamline her marketing efforts and often faces time constraints.
  • Goals and Motivations: What your persona hopes to achieve and why they might be interested in your product or service.
    • Example: Jane aims to improve her team’s efficiency and is motivated by tools that offer easy integration and user-friendly interfaces.
  • Preferred Channels: Where your persona is most likely to interact with your brand, such as social media, email, or in-person.
    • Example: Jane prefers receiving updates via email and engages with brands on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Create a Buyer Persona With Our Complete Guide!

Go in-depth with templates, questions, and examples.

Step 3: Define Your Buyer Personas’ Goals In Each Funnel Stage

Now that you have personas for your ideal customers, the next step is to break down their goals for each stage of your customer journey. Here’s an example:

  • Awareness: What would make the persona discover your brand?
    • Example: Jane needs content that highlights common marketing inefficiencies and introduces potential solutions.
  • Consideration: What criteria will the persona use to compare different solutions?
    • Example: Jane looks for case studies, product reviews, and detailed feature comparisons.
  • Decision: What final push does the persona need to make a decision about a product?
    • Example: Jane requires a demo or free trial to see the product in action.
  • Purchase: What convinces the persona to take action to complete their purchase?
    • Example: Jane will make a purchase when she’s certain she’s getting the best price available.
  • Loyalty: What will encourage your persona to continue being a customer?
    • Example: Jane will remain a customer if the product successfully helps her reach her goals. She may need effective onboarding or responsive customer support

This information will help you determine how to nurture your leads through each stage of your customer journey map.

Step 4: Identify Customer Touchpoints & Channels

Customer touchpoints are the specific interactions between your company and your leads and customers. Your customer journey map will plan out the strategy for these touchpoints, so you can be more effective in nurturing your leads.

Here are the 3 main types of touchpoints, with examples of each:

  1. Awareness Touchpoints:
    • Social Media: Where potential customers discover your brand through posts, ads, and influencer partnerships.
    • Content Marketing: Blog posts, videos, and articles that provide valuable information and establish your brand as an authority.
    • Paid Advertising: Online ads, such as PPC campaigns, that drive traffic to your website or landing pages.
    • Referrals: Recommendations from existing customers, affiliates, or third-party review sites.
  2. Purchase Touchpoints:
    • Website: The main hub where customers browse products, read reviews, and make purchases.
    • Email Marketing: Offers and deals sent to website visitors who were interested enough to subscribe.
    • Product Pages: Detailed pages about each product, including descriptions, specifications, and customer reviews.
    • Checkout Process: The steps customers take to finalize their purchase, including payment and shipping options.
    • Customer Service: Interactions with support staff through live chat, email, or phone to resolve questions or issues before completing a purchase.
  3. Post-Purchase Touchpoints:
    • Order Confirmation: Emails or messages confirming the purchase and providing shipping details.
    • Delivery: The experience of receiving the product, including packaging and timeliness.
    • Follow-Up Communication: Emails or messages asking for feedback, offering additional products, or providing customer support.
    • Loyalty Programs: Engagement through rewards programs, exclusive offers, and personalized recommendations.

Step 5: Map Your Current Customer Journey & Analyze It

Next, you’ll use all of the data you’ve gathered to create your current customer journey map. There’s no single best way for your map to look, but here’s one useful format:

Customer Journey Map by OptinMonster, displaying stages (Awareness, Consider, Purchase, Loyalty) with corresponding touchpoints (e.g., PPC ads, reading reviews, seeing coupons, receiving good customer support), motivations (e.g., needing a solution, finding the best product, wanting the best price, product solving the problem), emotions (e.g., intrigued, curious, excited, eager), and barriers (e.g., competition, no demo available, price, poor onboarding).

Your map should be more detailed, especially in the Touchpoints section. Carefully add every point of contact between you and your lead for each stage. Include your social media campaigns, website popups, coupon offers, email marketing, ads, sales team conversations, customer support interactions, and more.

Once you’ve completed your current journey map, analyze it to find gaps and missing opportunities. Look back at the objectives you set in Step 1 and make a plan for how to get there. Which brings me to the next step.

Step 6: Create Your New Customer Journey Map

You have your current journey map in hand and a thorough analysis of gaps and opportunities. Now, it’s time to create your new, optimized customer journey map. Your new map will refine how you interact with your customers and include more opportunities to convert them.

To accomplish this task, identify areas for improvement throughout your sales funnel. Look for stages in the current journey where customers drop off or express frustration. These are prime opportunities for optimization.

Example: If your data shows high cart abandonment rates, consider implementing strategies like abandoned cart emails and a simplified checkout process.

Or even better, use OptinMonster’s Exit-Intent® Technology and Page-Level Targeting to display a popup when visitors try to exit from your cart and checkout pages. Use your popup to offer an extra discount to encourage shoppers to complete their purchase.

Popup with a photo of a woman holding shopping bags. "Want to get an extra 5% off your order?" CTA button says "Yes please!" and linked text below says "No thanks, I don't like saving money.

With our 700+ templates and easy drag-and-drop builder, you can have a coupon popup running on your site in minutes.

You can then add this popup as a touchpoint in your customer journey map. And if the visitor doesn’t convert the first time, you can use Onsite Retargeting® to offer an even better deal the next time they visit.

Step 7: Take Action and Analyze

The final step is implementing the changes and continuously analyzing their effectiveness:

  • Implement Changes: Put your planned improvements into action across relevant touchpoints and channels.
  • Monitor Performance: Use the success metrics defined in Step 1 to track the impact of your changes.
  • Gather Feedback: Continuously collect customer feedback to understand how the changes are affecting their experience.
  • Update the Map: Regularly update your customer journey map based on new data and insights to keep it relevant and effective.

By following these steps, you can create a comprehensive customer journey map that both visualizes the customer experience and provides actionable insights to improve your marketing and sales efforts.

Want even more tips on improving customer journeys? Check out these resources:

Are you ready to use popups, floating bars, and other onsite campaigns to optimize your customer journey?

Get Started with OptinMonster Today!

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Best Website Builder for Small Business: Here Are the Top 8 in 2024 https://optinmonster.com/best-website-builders-for-small-business-compared-pros-and-cons/ https://optinmonster.com/best-website-builders-for-small-business-compared-pros-and-cons/#comments Thu, 01 Aug 2024 13:00:36 +0000 https://optinmonster.com/?p=111399 Over the years, working as a professional SEO, I have had the opportunity to create websites from the ground up for several clients and small businesses.  Thanks to website builders, I could create and run a website without requiring professional help or knowledge of coding. In this article, I share my expert opinion on the …

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Over the years, working as a professional SEO, I have had the opportunity to create websites from the ground up for several clients and small businesses. 

Thanks to website builders, I could create and run a website without requiring professional help or knowledge of coding.

In this article, I share my expert opinion on the best website builders for small businesses I have worked with.

If you’re interested in a specific builder, click the links below to go straight to it:

Best Website Builder for Small Business

  1. Self-Hosted WordPress: Best Website Builder for Small Business Overall
  2. Hostinger Website Builder: Best AI-Powered Website Builder
  3. HubSpot Website Builder: Best for Marketing Automation
  4. Wix: Best Quick Business Website Creator With Simple Templates
  5. GoDaddy Website Builder: Best for Simple Websites
  6. Gator Website Builder: Best Affordable Website Builder
  7. Weebly: Best for Beginners
  8. Squarespace: Best for Design-Centric Businesses

How We Do Reviews at OptinMonster

OptinMonster reviews are based on in-depth testing and unbiased analysis. Our experts thoroughly evaluate plugins for features, usability, and performance. We value transparency and trust, so our recommendations are impartial and reflect the author’s experience.

Overview of the Top 5 Website Builders for Small Business

Website BuilderBest ForProsConsPricing
1WordPress.org (Self-Hosted)Best OverallFlexible, scalable, SEO-friendly, large communityRequires manual backups and updatesFree (requires domain name and hosting)
2Hostinger Website BuilderBest for AI-Powered CreationQuickly create website with AI, drag-and-drop editorLimited customization compared to WordPress.org, fewer integrationsStarts at $2.99/month
3HubSpot Website BuilderBest for Marketing AutomationMarketing automation tools, CRM integrationSimpler than WordPress.org, might not be ideal for complex websitesFree plan with limited features, premium plans available
4WixBest for Quick & Easy CreationDrag-and-drop builder, many templates, SEO toolsAbsolute positioning (not ideal for all screen sizes), difficult to move site away from WixFree plan, premium plans start at $16/month
5GoDaddy Website BuilderBest for Creating Simple SitesEasy to use, drag-and-drop editor, built-in marketing toolsFewer features than some builders, not ideal for content-rich websitesStarts at $10.99/month

The best website builders for small businesses are discussed in detail below.

With OptinMonster, boost your small business store’s conversion rate.

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1. Self-Hosted WordPress: Best Website Builder for Small Business Overall

I’d be remiss not to mention WordPress. While not technically a website builder in the same vein as the others, it’s an incredibly popular platform for a reason. With WordPress, you have near-infinite customization options and a vast ecosystem of plugins and themes. However, it requires more technical know-how compared to other options.

There are two versions of WordPress: WordPress.org and WordPress.com. WordPress.org is self-hosted and free, while WordPress.com has a variety of pricing levels.

Tons of brands use WordPress. Some big names include TechCrunch, The New York Times Company, and Microsoft News.

I’ve seen WordPress work wonders for clients with complex websites or those who need a high degree of control over their online presence. But for those who just want a simple, hassle-free site, it might be overkill.

Pros:

Cons:

  • Requires manual site back up, updating WordPress and plugins. One way to solve this is with managed WordPress hosting. This option lets someone else look after the technical aspects of running your site.

Pricing:

Self-hosted WordPress is free.

That said, registering your own domain name and using shared hosting come with fees, and this is the way most truly professional websites go.

I recommend Bluehost, where you can get started for $1.99 per month with a free domain for the first year. It also comes with professional email, free SSL certificate, and more.

Get started with WordPress today!

2. Hostinger Website Builder: Best for Automatically Creating a Website

Hostinger Website Builder has impressed me with its affordability and ease of use. If budget is a primary concern for your small business, this is definitely a contender. The drag-and-drop interface is intuitive, and the selection of templates is decent for basic websites.

The AI-powered website builder will automatically build you a website, including SEO-friendly content and relevant images, based on your answers to a few simple questions.

It’s a great option for startups or businesses just getting started online.

If you need to make customizations, you can easily do so with the drag-and-drop editor. Hostinger is also one of the top web hosting providers with affordable pricing.

Pros:

  • AI-powered website builder and an easy drag-and-drop editor to make customizations.
  • Built-in library of ready-made website templates designed by professionals.
  • Powerful ecommerce tools to manage an online store and sell up to 500 products.
  • The cheapest plan includes web hosting, a free domain name, free business email address, and more.

Cons:

  • It’s difficult to switch to a different website template after you’ve chosen one.
  • Compared to website builders like WordPress.org, it lacks 3rd-party integrations and addons.

Pricing:

  • Premium: $2.99 per month ($7.99 per month upon renewal)
  • Business: $3.99 per month ($8.99 per month upon renewal)
  • Cloud Startup: $8.99 per month ($19.99 per month upon renewal)

Get started with Hostinger Website Builder today!

3. HubSpot Website Builder: Best for Marketing Automation

HubSpot Website Builder is more than just a website builder; it’s a comprehensive marketing platform. If you’re looking to grow your business beyond a simple website, HubSpot could be a good fit. The platform offers robust features for SEO, email marketing, and CRM.

A unique feature of the HubSpot website builder is its adaptive testing. This lets you choose up to 5 different versions of a web page. HubSpot monitors and determines the best website for your small business.

I’ve implemented HubSpot for clients in the B2B space and seen positive results. However, the learning curve can be steeper compared to other options, and the pricing can be higher.

Pros:

  • Integration with its CRM. This lets you use customer data to create a personalized experience for each visitor.
  • All content is on one platform. So, you don’t need to jump around to different places to make everything work.
  • Though HubSpot is simple, it’s also comprehensive. It has features like email marketing, live chat, and adaptive testing, which many don’t.

Cons:

  • If you want an online store or a complex business website, a platform like WordPress.org could be better. HubSpot is a bit simpler.
  • Beginners might find the extra features a bit intimidating. Decide if you need marketing automation features before buying.

Pricing:

Begin your journey with the free website builder from HubSpot! They provide a range of packages, including free options with limited features and premium plans offering advanced capabilities and dedicated support.

For pricing plans, feel free to contact their sales experts.

Get started with HubSpot Website Builder today!

4. Wix: Best Quick Business Website Creator With Simple Templates

Wix is probably the most well-known website builder on the market and arguably the best free website builder for small business. It offers a wide range of templates, a flexible drag-and-drop interface, and a decent app market. I’ve used Wix for numerous clients, from restaurants to online stores.

While Wix is user-friendly, I’ve found that the design customization can sometimes be limited. Additionally, switching templates after building a site can be challenging.

Wix made my list of the top website builders because of its Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI). ADI digs through the web for information on your business.

Pros:

  • Offers over 800 templates, clip art, icons, and an app market in the free version. You can add access to more apps, videos, and more at higher levels.
  • This platform also has SEO, email capture and marketing, social posting, and Facebook ad tools.
  • Hundreds of customizable templates available. These templates let you create your own website in minutes.
  • Some versions of Wix also allow you to translate your site into different languages.

Cons:

  • Wix uses absolute positioning (as opposed to responsive design). This means elements don’t always adjust to different screens. So, it isn’t the best for different sizes of screens or SEO.
  • If you move your site away from Wix, it can be pretty complicated to make it happen.

Pricing:

Wix offers a free plan and 5 different premium plans:

  • Lite: $17 per month
  • Core: $29 per month
  • Business: $36 per month
  • Business Elite: $159 per month
  • Enterprise Plans: Customized to your needs

Get started with Wix today!

5. GoDaddy Website Builder: Best for Creating Simple Sites

GoDaddy has made significant improvements to its website builder in recent years. It’s a solid choice for small businesses looking for a straightforward solution. The interface is user-friendly, and the pricing is competitive.

I’ve used GoDaddy for several clients in the local service industry. While it’s a good option for basic websites, I’ve found that the design flexibility is somewhat limited compared to other builders.

Pros:

  • No technical knowledge needed, pick one of their ready-to-use templates, fonts, and graphics and use the drag-and-drop editor to customize it.
  • You can add contact forms, videos, and social media links.
  • Also includes built-in marketing tools, including SEO and email marketing functions.
  • This business website creator works on any screen, including your phone or tablet.
  • The GoDaddy InSight tool gets insights and recommendations based on data from millions of users. You get an Insight Score to help you make your small business website even better.

Cons:

  • Compared to some business website builders, GoDaddy Website Builder offers fewer features.
  • It’s also not the best for content-rich websites. It’s better for building a simple site with a few pages.
  • If you want to move your site from GoDaddy to a different platform in the future, it’s not easy to do.

Pricing:

  • Basic: $10.99 per month ($12.99 per month upon renewal)
  • Premium: $14.99 per month ($22.99 per month upon renewal)
  • Commerce: $20.99 per month ($26.99 per month upon renewal)

Get started with GoDaddy Website Builder today!

6. Gator Website Builder: Best Affordable Website Builder

As a HostGator product, Gator Website Builder offers a similar level of affordability and ease of use. It’s a good option for small businesses that need a basic website without breaking the bank.

While I haven’t used Gator extensively, I’ve seen positive reviews from users. It seems like a solid choice for those who prioritize simplicity and cost-effectiveness.

Pros:

  • Gator Website Builder boasts no learning curve, with a library of themes and layouts to choose from. The drag-and-drop software makes it easy to add images, videos, Google Maps, and more.
  • This platform includes free hosting, a domain name, analytics, and an SSL certificate. Those certificates keep your site secure and more SEO-friendly.
  • If you already have a website, Gator Website Builder doesn’t make you start from scratch. They make transferring your site as easy as possible.

Cons:

  • Gator Website Builder doesn’t have a ton of advanced features. If you want to open an ecommerce site or have lots of bells and whistles, this wouldn’t be the best choice for you.
  • Additionally, you sign a 3-year contract up front. You can cancel before renewal, but there may be a fee. (That said, it’s still cheaper than many hosts when you add up the yearly prices.)

Pricing:

  • Starter Plan: Starts at $3.46 per month
  • Premium Plan: Starts at $5.39 per month
  • Ecommerce Plan: Starts at $8.30 per month

Get started with the Gator Website Builder today!

7. Weebly: Best Freemium Website Platform for Small Business

Weebly is another popular website builder with a strong reputation. It offers a clean interface and a good selection of templates. While it’s not as feature-rich as some other options, it’s a reliable choice for small businesses.

I’ve used Weebly for a few eCommerce clients, and it handled the process well. However, I found the customization options to be somewhat limited compared to other platforms.

Pros:

  • Allows you to use SEO and lead generation features. But, you may have to upgrade to a paid plan to gain full access.
  • This platform allows your small business website to be mobile-friendly with responsive templates.
  • Upgrading lets you use Weebly with your domain. Otherwise, you’ll have a domain including Weebly in the URL.
  • You get site search, HD audio and video, and membership options with different plans.

Cons:

  • The basic, free level has some rudimentary ecommerce functions. Still, the paid versions are likely to make customers far happier.
  • Not everyone finds Weebly’s drag-and-drop builder easy to use.
  • If you want to change website platforms later, you may have to re-create your site from scratch.
  • It has an excellent app store.

Pricing:

  • Personal: $10 per month
  • Professional: $12 per month
  • Performance: $26 per month billed

Get started with the Weebly Website Builder today!

8. Squarespace: Best Business Website Creator for Modern Designs

Squarespace is known for its stylish templates and high-quality designs. If visual appeal is a top priority for your business, this could be the perfect platform. While it’s more expensive than some other options, the investment often pays off in terms of website aesthetics.

I’ve used Squarespace for clients in the creative industries, such as photographers and designers. The platform excels at creating beautiful portfolios and online stores.

Pros:

  • Squarespace aims to be manageable if you’re creating a website for your business for the first time.
  • Its basic plan lets you set up a 20-page website.
  • You can use Squarespace with a custom domain for free for the first year. Plus, it’s hosted, so Squarespace keeps your site updated.
  • You also get free SSL certificate, analytics, and ecommerce features with that package.
  • It also lets you sell unlimited products and accept donations.
  • Other plans offer inventory management, accounting, checkout functions, cart recovery, and ecommerce reporting.

Cons:

  • Some people find a learning curve, though Squarespace’s support can help solve issues.
  • If ecommerce is essential to your business, you need one of the more expensive plans.

Pricing:

  • Personal: $16 per month
  • Business: $23 per month
  • Basic Commerce: $28 per month
  • Advanced Commerce: $52 per month

Get started with Squarespace today!

Note: There are many web builders not included in the list, such as Square, WordPress.com, Shopify, and others because I did not want to put our readers into decision paralysis. Rest assured, the tools mentioned are the best website builders for small businesses.

Key Features To Consider in a Website Builder

When selecting a website builder for your small business, several key features should be on your radar, but I highly suggest prioritizing the following four as the most important:

  1. User-friendly interface ensures fast and smooth navigation
  2. Customization options let you tailor your site to your brand
  3. Ecommerce capabilities are essential for online sales
  4. Responsiveness ensures your site looks great on mobile devices

Don’t forget the search engine optimization tools that boost your visibility on search engines.

What Comes After Picking a Website Builder?

Even if you’re still working on your business website, I recommend building your email marketing list and audience before launching your site.

The sooner you start building your list, the more leads and conversions you can see.

OptinMonster, a premium WordPress plugin, has advanced targeting features for effective marketing. Regardless of which website builder you choose, I want to help your business grow.

OptinMonster’s targeting features include:

OptinMonster also integrates with major ecommerce platforms and industry-leading email marketing services.

With its range of templates and themes, you can create a unique website for your business. OptinMonster lets you build high-converting marketing campaigns matching your company’s design.

Start Your OptinMonster Account Today!

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FAQs

Q1. What Is the Best Website Builder for Small Business?

WordPress is my pick for the best website builder for small businesses. It’s flexible, scalable, and easy to use.

With four out of ten websites running on WordPress, there’s a huge community with resources and tutorials to provide help.

Q2. Can I create a business website for free?

Free business website creators often have limitations and don’t look professional.

Plus, many “free” website creators aren’t free when you look deeper. Using a free website platform for small businesses usually means:

  • You can’t use your domain
  • Your website has ads you can’t control
  • You may have to pay for templates and add-ons
  • You don’t have complete control over your site
  • Having to pay for things you weren’t expecting

That said, I did include a few free options in my list of business website builders because “free” doesn’t always mean “bad.” Pay attention to what’s on offer and make sure your chosen business website creator fits your needs.

Q3: How much does it cost to build a website for a small business? 

The cost of building a website for a small business owner can vary widely depending on factors like complexity, features, website design, bandwidth and the platform you choose. Using a DIY website building tool can start as low as $5 to $20 per month, while hiring a professional web developer might range from $1,000 to $10,000 or more. Remember, investing in a quality website is an investment in your business’s online presence.

Q4: What is the best free website builder for small business?

Wix is generally considered the best free website builder for small businesses. It offers a great balance of user-friendliness, design flexibility, and features.

Resources for Your Small Business Website

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Best Affiliate Marketing Tools: Top 15 Tools Every Affiliate Needs https://optinmonster.com/best-affiliate-marketing-tools/ https://optinmonster.com/best-affiliate-marketing-tools/#comments Thu, 25 Jul 2024 13:00:17 +0000 https://optinmonster.com/?p=178789 Which affiliate marketing tools are worth the hype? While the affiliate marketing model looks relatively simple, it is an incredibly competitive industry. It’s no longer enough to join an affiliate program and occasionally post some good content. But there is no better and easier way to gain a competitive edge than having the best affiliate tools …

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Which affiliate marketing tools are worth the hype?

While the affiliate marketing model looks relatively simple, it is an incredibly competitive industry. It’s no longer enough to join an affiliate program and occasionally post some good content.

But there is no better and easier way to gain a competitive edge than having the best affiliate tools at your disposal.

Choosing the right affiliate tools can be overwhelming, with so many options available. But don’t worry! I’ve done the hard work for you. After extensive research and testing, I’ve compiled a list of must-have affiliate tools that every affiliate marketer should consider.

Let’s take a look!

How We Do Reviews at OptinMonster

OptinMonster reviews are based on in-depth testing and unbiased analysis. Our experts thoroughly evaluate plugins for features, usability, and performance. We value transparency and trust, so our recommendations are impartial and reflect the author’s experience.

Best Affiliate Marketing Tools

Here are the top affiliate marketing tools for supercharging your campaigns:

1. OptinMonster: Email List Tool

OptinMonster is the best list-building tool for affiliate marketers. Your email list is an essential part of your affiliate marketing strategy because it’s the easiest way to reach your website visitors directly. You can even run an affiliate marketing business entirely through an email newsletter if you want.

With OptinMonster, you can create email signup forms in minutes. Once subscribers join your list, you can share affiliate offers in your email newsletters.

OptinMonster has lots of different templates and campaign types you can use to grow your email list:

  • Lightbox popups
  • Floating bars
  • Slide-ins
  • Fullscreen campaigns
  • Coupon wheels
  • Inline campaigns
  • Content lockers
  • and more!

You can also use A/B testing to find which campaign designs and copy give you the best conversion rates. OptinMonster won’t slow down your affiliate site and works with all major website platforms.

OptinMonster integrates with a wide range of email service providers, including Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Aweber, and more. This makes it easy to sync your email list and automate your email marketing campaigns.

Overall, OptinMonster is a versatile and powerful tool that can help affiliate marketers grow their email list and generate more leads and sales. With its user-friendly interface and extensive customization options, it’s easy to create engaging and effective campaigns that drive results.

Pricing: OptinMonster plans start at just $9.97/month

2. Constant Contact: Email Marketing Tool

Constant Contact is an excellent email service provider you can use to send email campaigns promoting your content and affiliate products. It also has a wide variety of other digital marketing tools including SMS and CRM features.

Constant Contact offers a drag-and-drop email builder that allows you to create professional-looking emails quickly and easily. You can customize your email template with your brand colors and logo, and choose from a variety of pre-designed templates to get started.

Constant Contact’s email segmentation and marketing automation features allow you to target specific groups of subscribers. You can create personalized campaigns based on subscriber behavior, such as past purchases or website activity, to increase engagement and conversion rates.

Constant Contact also offers social media management features that allow you to schedule and publish posts to multiple social media platforms from one place. This can save you time and help you maintain a consistent brand presence across all your social channels.

As a bonus, Constant Contact integrates easily with OptinMonster so you can grow your affiliate marketing email list quickly.

Pricing: Constant Contact plans start at $12/month based on the number of contacts

3. Google Analytics: Website Traffic Tool

Google Analytics is a treasure trove of information about your website traffic. The more you understand your web performance, the better you can optimize your content and improve lead generation.

Google Analytics event tracking can show you who’s clicking on your affiliate links. You can also see how much time your visitors are spending on your site and which posts are generating the most traffic. With this data in hand, you can try different campaign strategies to see what works best.

Google Analytics can also help you optimize your website for search engines by providing data on keywords that visitors are using to find your site. This can help you identify opportunities to improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and drive more organic traffic to your site.

Pricing: Google Analytics is free to use

4. ShareASale: Affiliate Network

ShareASale is an affiliate marketing platform you can use to search for new partnerships. It would get pretty boring to keep promoting the same few products constantly. So most affiliate marketers participate in more than one affiliate marketing program.

The ShareASale network is easy for bloggers and influencers to use. The platform offers a range of tools to help affiliate marketers find and promote products, including a searchable merchant database, customizable product links and banners, and deep linking options that allow you to link directly to specific pages on a merchant’s site.

ShareASale also handles payouts for you so you don’t have to set up accounts with too many different merchants. You can use ShareASale’s advanced reporting and analytics tools to track your earnings and commissions, monitor clicks and conversions, and optimize your campaigns for better performance.

Pricing: ShareASale is free to join for affiliates but you may need to pay transaction fees and taxes on your commissions

ShareASale Alternatives: CJ Affiliate, Amazon Associates, Rakuten Marketing

5. Semrush: Keyword Research Tool

Semrush is one of the top SEO tools in the industry. To do well with affiliate marketing, you will need to boost your traffic and search engine rankings. You can use Semrush to improve your search engine performance through:

  • Keyword research: Find the best words to use in your content
  • Backlink profile: Check how many other websites are linking to your site
  • Competitor analysis: See what terms your competitors are ranking for
  • Site audit: Find and fix problems with your website

Semrush provides insights into how well your content is doing and identifies opportunities for growth. You can also manage your social media profiles by scheduling posts, tracking engagement, and monitoring mentions of your brand. Another way to use SEMRush is to research competitors’ ads to get ideas for your own campaigns.

Pricing: Semrush plans start at $117.33/month when paid annually

SEMRush Alternatives: Ahrefs

6. All-in-One SEO (AIOSEO): On-Page SEO Tool

AIOSEO Homepage

All in One SEO is a helpful SEO plugin you can use on your WordPress website to make sure your content is easy to find on search engines like Google. This can help more people find your website, which can lead to more sales for your affiliate marketing business.

With AIOSEO, you can quickly check your website to see if there are any problems that need to be fixed. Then, you can use the plugin’s On-Page SEO checker to make sure your content has the right keywords and phrases that people might search for on Google.

AIOSEO also has a feature called Link Assistant that helps you find opportunities to add links to your content. These links can be internal links to other pages on your website or affiliate links that lead to products you’re promoting. By tracking the performance of these links, you can see what’s working and what’s not, and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Overall, AIOSEO is a great affiliate tool for optimizing your website and improving your affiliate marketing strategy. You can read our full AIOSEO review for more info.

Pricing: AIOSEO starts at $49.60/year

AIOSEO Alternatives: RankMath, Yoast

Pretty Links is a useful WordPress plugin for affiliate marketers who want to make their links more readable and easier to share. When you promote affiliate offers, it’s important to make sure that the links you share look professional and match your brand.

With Pretty Links, you can create customized links that are easy to remember, read, say, and type. You can also manage all your links in one place from your WordPress dashboard, which makes it easy to keep track of all your promotions.

In addition to shortening your links, Pretty Links can help you automate your affiliate marketing efforts. You can set up rules for when and where your links should appear, and the plugin will do the rest. For example, you can set up Pretty Links to automatically add affiliate links to specific keywords or phrases in your content.

Pretty Links also has several redirection options. This means that if a link you’ve shared changes or becomes outdated, you can quickly redirect it to a new link without breaking the connection. Overall, Pretty Links is an excellent affiliate tool that can help you streamline your affiliate marketing efforts and increase your conversion rates.

Pricing: Pretty Links starts at $99.60/year

8. ThirstyAffiliates: Affiliate Link Cloaking Tool

ThirstyAffiliates is a useful link management plugin for WordPress. Affiliate links can be long and difficult to remember, so ThirstyAffiliates lets you create short, easy-to-remember links. This process is called link cloaking, which helps protect your affiliate links from hacking and ensures that you get the commissions you earned.

ThirstyAffiliates also provides enhanced redirect features to make sure your links work correctly. You can also use ThirstyAffiliates to insert affiliate links into your posts or pages without any coding knowledge. The plugin also offers automatic keyword linking and geolocation-based link redirects to help your audience find the right products.

Additionally, ThirstyAffiliates integrates with popular link shortening services like bit.ly and goo.gl to make sharing your links on social media easier. This plugin is very beginner-friendly and requires no coding knowledge at all. If you ever have any questions or issues, ThirstyAffiliates’ support team is available to help within 48 hours.

Pricing: ThirstyAffiliates starts at $99.60/year.

9. AffJet: Affiliate Dashboard Tool

AffJet is an affiliate network dashboard that combines data from hundreds of affiliate networks. If you’re part of multiple affiliate networks, AffJet is a must for tracking your campaign performance.

AffJet is not only great for tracking your earnings, but it also provides insights into your campaigns. You can use AffJet to see how your campaigns are performing across different networks and analyze your top-performing campaigns to optimize your affiliate marketing strategy.

Additionally, AffJet lets you create custom reports based on your preferred metrics. With this feature, you can quickly generate reports that show the information you need to make informed decisions about your affiliate campaigns.

AffJet also provides robust analytics, including tracking for clicks, impressions, conversions, and earnings. These analytics help you to understand the performance of your campaigns and identify areas for improvement.

Pricing: AffJet has a free plan limited to 75 transactions per month with paid plans starting at £5/month.

10. Voluum: Affiliate Ad Tracking Tool

Voluum is an advanced affiliate marketing tool that lets you track, optimize, and automate your ad campaigns. With its powerful tracking capabilities, you can monitor every aspect of your campaigns, including clicks, conversions, and revenue.

Voluum also provides a wide range of reporting and analysis features, giving you insights into the performance of your ads, keywords, and landing pages. The platform’s Automizer tool allows you to set up automated rules that adjust your campaigns based on their performance, saving you time and effort.

Additionally, Voluum supports integration with many popular ad networks, such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads, as well as with third-party tools like Zapier and WordPress. Its intuitive user interface and customizable dashboards make it easy to use and navigate, even for beginners.

Pricing: Voluum has individual and business plans starting at $149/month

11. AdEspresso: Affiliate Ad Campaign Builder

If you’re running Facebook or Google Ads for your affiliate products, you definitely need AdEspresso. From the makers of Hootsuite social media scheduler, this affiliate marketing tool puts all your ad creation and management in one place.

One of the most useful features of AdEspresso is its ad creation tool. With this tool, you can quickly and easily create high-quality ads that are optimized for the Facebook, Instagram, and Google ad networks. AdEspresso also provides a library of pre-built templates and ad images, making it easy to create professional-looking ads without any design experience.

You can also set up automatic post promotion, campaign cancellation, and budget allocation. If you use a customer relationship management (CRM) software or email marketing tool, you can sync your leads, contacts, and audiences automatically.

In addition, AdEspresso offers detailed reporting and analysis features that allow you to see how your campaigns are performing. You can view metrics such as clicks, impressions, conversions, and ROI, and use this data to make informed decisions about your advertising strategy.

Pricing: AdEspresso plans start at $49/month

12. SeedProd: Landing Page Builder

SeedProd is the best WordPress landing page builder plugin for affiliate marketers who need to create landing pages. These landing pages receive traffic from search, social media, email newsletters, ads, or other sources. Then they drive clicks and conversions on affiliate links.

SeedProd is super easy to use with its drag-and-drop page builder, premade blocks, and extensive template library. You can preview changes to the site in real-time on desktop and mobile. There’s even a no-code theme builder you can use to create custom headers, footers, sidebars, and other WordPress elements.

In addition to its user-friendly interface, SeedProd also offers powerful features that can help increase conversions. You can add lead capture forms, countdown timers, and social proof to your landing pages. You can also integrate your pages with popular email marketing services like Mailchimp and Constant Contact.

With SeedProd, you don’t need to worry about your landing pages slowing down your affiliate website. Its code is optimized for fast loading times and it’s fully compatible with popular caching plugins like W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache. And if you ever run into any issues, SeedProd’s friendly customer support team is always ready to help.

Our complete SeedProd review has more details if you want them!

Pricing: SeedProd plans start at $31.60/year

13. Buffer: Social Media Marketing Tool


Buffer helps you grow a social media audience you can then share your affiliate links with. It has a dashboard for social media posts that lets you plan and publish all in one spot.

Buffer also has an AI functionality that can brainstorm ideas, rewrite copy in different styles, and repurpose existing content. You can engage with comments from your audience and even set up smart alerts to prioritize important conversations.

In addition to scheduling and publishing social media posts, Buffer also has analytics features that help you understand how your posts are performing. You can see which posts are getting the most engagement and use that data to inform your social media strategy.

Buffer also has a feature called “Buffer Reply,” which lets you manage all your social media conversations in one place. This includes comments, direct messages, and mentions across multiple platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Pricing: Buffer has a generous free plan and paid plans that start at $5/month for 1 channel; additional channels and users cost more

14. CoSchedule: Marketing Calendar Tool

CoSchedule helps serious affiliate marketers manage their full publishing workflows. Manage your email marketing and social media campaigns from one streamlined calendar.

Key features of CoSchedule include:

  • Customizable color coding
  • Project tagging
  • Calendar views and filters
  • Integrations with popular marketing tools
  • Task management

There’s also an email subject line tester, social message scheduling and analytics, and team member access.

Pricing: CoSchedule has a powerful free plan; paid plans with priority support, higher social posting limits, and more powerful automation start at $29/month

15. Grammarly: Spelling and Grammar Checker Tool

Grammarly makes it easy to create high-quality content free from mistakes and typos. Affiliate marketing relies on your credibility as a creator, so you don’t want to undermine yourself with basic errors.

Whether you’re writing social media posts, email campaigns, or blogs, Grammarly can help you communicate with your audience better. In addition to checking grammar, punctuation, and spelling, Grammarly’s paid plans also offer content suggestions about inconsistencies, unclear wording, readability, and more.

All these features make Grammarly an important affiliate marketing tool in your arsenal.

Pricing: Grammarly has a free plan that gives basic writing suggestions; paid plans with full rewrites and other suggestions start at $12/month

Conclusion: Best Tools to Boost Your Affiliate Marketing Efforts

We hope this list gave you some ideas for growing your affiliate marketing business. To recap, here are the top tools we recommend for experienced and new affiliates alike:

  • OptinMonster to build your email list
  • AIOSEO to optimize your website content
  • ThirstyAffiliates to manage your affiliate links
  • SEMRush to understand your search traffic and opportunities

To grow your affiliate marketing email list, get started with OptinMonster risk-free today!

Affiliate Marketing Resources

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Here Are the 6 Best WordPress Form Plugins in 2024 https://optinmonster.com/best-wordpress-form-builder-plugins/ https://optinmonster.com/best-wordpress-form-builder-plugins/#comments Wed, 17 Jul 2024 13:00:23 +0000 https://optinmonster.com/?p=122401 I’ve spent countless hours testing numerous form builders to find the perfect WordPress form plugin for my website. Let me tell you, it wasn’t a walk in the park. To save you the same struggle, I’m sharing my experience to help you choose the right form plugin for your WordPress site. In this article, I …

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I’ve spent countless hours testing numerous form builders to find the perfect WordPress form plugin for my website. Let me tell you, it wasn’t a walk in the park.

To save you the same struggle, I’m sharing my experience to help you choose the right form plugin for your WordPress site.

In this article, I will mention 6 WordPress form plugins, their key features, pricing, USPs, and for whom they would be most suitable.

Let’s begin.

  1. WPForms – Best overall
  2. Formidable Forms – Best for advanced users and developers
  3. HubSpot – Best for small businesses
  4. Gravity Forms – Best for creating custom forms
  5. Ninja Forms – Best for simple drag and drop form building
  6. UserFeedback – Best for collecting customer feedback

How We Do Reviews at OptinMonster

OptinMonster reviews are based on in-depth testing and unbiased analysis. Our experts thoroughly evaluate plugins for features, usability, and performance. We value transparency and trust, so our recommendations are impartial and reflect the author’s experience.

Overview of the Best WordPress Form Plugins

Best ForKey FeaturePricePrice
1WPFormsBest overall900+ pre-built contact form templatesStarts at
$39/year
✅
2Formidable FormsAdvanced users and developersIncludes an app builderStarts at
$39.50/year
✅
3HubSpotSmall businessesPlugin includes forms, live chat, CRM, email marketingStarts at
$800/month
✅
4Gravity FormsCreating custom formsTons of add-ons to customizeStarts at
$59/month
❌
5Ninja FormsSimple drag and drop form buildingTons of add-ons to customizeStarts at
$99/year
✅
6UserFeedbackCollecting customer feedbackGather feedback directly from the websiteStarts at
$49.5/year
✅

Best WordPress Form Plugins

How to drive traffic to your contact form?

OptinMonster is the best way to get more people to fill out your web forms. With the help of OptinMonster’s advanced targeting rules, you can show your contact forms to the right visitors at the right time.

1. WPForms – My Go-To Form Builder

wpforms is the best of the best wordpress form builder plugins

Out of all the WordPress form builders I’ve tested, WPForms became my instant favorite. It’s incredibly user-friendly, even for a non-tech person like me. The drag-and-drop builder is a game-changer. I was able to create professional-looking forms in no time.

What I love most is the flexibility. Need a simple contact form? No problem. Want to build a complex survey or job application form? WPForms can handle it. I’ve used it for everything from collecting email subscribers to processing online payments.

The pre-built templates are a fantastic starting point, but the real power comes from customizing them to match my exact needs. I’ve played around with conditional logic, multi-page forms, and even geolocation features. It’s amazing how much you can do without writing a single line of code.

Plus, the integration options are top-notch. I’ve connected WPForms to my email marketing service, CRM, and payment processors with ease. It’s saved me countless hours of setup time.

While the free version is great for basic forms, I opted for the premium plan to unlock its full potential. It’s been worth every penny.

Is WPForms Free? There is a free version, called WPForms Lite.
Premium Pricing: Starts at $39/year

Resource: How To Create a Contact Form with WPForms

2. Formidable Forms – Power Under the Hood

Formidable Forms is a different beast altogether. While WPForms is great for most users, I found myself needing something more robust for a complex project, so I turned to Formidable Forms.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as user-friendly out of the box as WPForms. There’s a steeper learning curve, but the payoff is immense. If you’re comfortable with a little technical tinkering, Formidable Forms opens up a world of possibilities.

I was blown away by its flexibility. Creating complex forms with conditional logic, calculations, and user-specific views was a breeze. I even built a custom directory using Formidable Forms! The possibilities truly feel endless.

However, it’s not for everyone. If you just need a simple contact form, WPForms is probably a better fit. But if you’re looking to build something truly custom, Formidable Forms is worth the investment of time to learn.

Is Formidable Forms Free? There is a free version, called Formidable Lite.
Premium Pricing: Starts at $39.50/year

3. HubSpot – All-in-One Marketing Solution

HubSpot was a pleasant surprise. I was initially skeptical about using an all-in-one platform, but their form builder is actually pretty solid. It’s definitely geared towards a slightly different audience.

If you’re a small business owner looking to grow your email list and nurture leads, HubSpot is worth considering. The form builder is easy to use, and the integration with their CRM and email marketing tools is seamless.

I found the drag-and-drop interface intuitive, and the pre-designed templates were a good starting point. While it might not offer the same level of customization as Formidable Forms, it’s perfect for most businesses.

The real value of HubSpot lies in its overall marketing platform. Being able to manage your contacts, send emails, and track your website performance all in one place is a huge time-saver. However, if you’re only looking for a WordPress form builder, WPForms is a specialized option out there.

Is HubSpot Free? Yes, there is a free version of the HubSpot WordPress plugin.
Premium Pricing: Starts at $800/month

4. Gravity Forms – A Developer’s Dream

Gravity Forms is targeted towards developers and those who crave maximum customization. I wouldn’t call it user-friendly in the same sense as WPForms, but the power it offers is undeniable.

I spent a good amount of time exploring its features, and I was impressed by the depth of customization available. Once I got the hang of it, building complex forms with conditional logic, multi-step flows, and even creating user-generated content was a breeze.

It’s clear that Gravity Forms is designed for those who want to build highly customized solutions. If you’re comfortable with a little coding or have a developer on your team, it’s a fantastic option. However, for simple forms, it might be overkill.

The lack of a free version is a drawback, but considering its capabilities, it’s understandable.

Is Gravity Forms Free? No, there isn’t a free version.
Premium Pricing: Starts at $59/month

5. Ninja Forms – The Swiss Army Knife of Form Builders

Ninja Forms surprised me. It’s like the underdog that packs a punch. The free version offers a solid foundation, and the add-on system lets you customize it to your heart’s content.

I started with the basic form builder, and it was straightforward enough. The interface isn’t as polished as WPForms, but it gets the job done. Where Ninja Forms really shines is in its flexibility. Need more advanced features? Just grab an add-on.

I experimented with a few add-ons, and I was impressed by the range of options. From payment processing to user management, there’s probably an add-on for it. The pricing model is a bit different, too, allowing you to pick and choose the features you need.

While it might not be the most glamorous option, Ninja Forms is a practical choice for many users. If you’re looking for a good balance of features and cost, it’s definitely worth considering.

Is Ninja Forms free? Yes, there’s a free version.
Premium Pricing: Starts at $99/year

6. UserFeedback – A Focused Solution

UserFeedback is a niche player in the WordPress form builder world, but it does one thing exceptionally well: collecting user feedback.

I was impressed by its simplicity. Setting up feedback forms is straightforward, and the customization options are sufficient for most use cases. The ability to embed feedback forms anywhere on your website is a huge plus.

While it lacks the breadth of features offered by the other form builders, such as WPForms, it’s perfect for its intended purpose. If you’re primarily interested in gathering user feedback, UserFeedback is definitely worth considering.

It’s a great option for gathering insights from your audience and improving your website based on their input.

Is UserFeedback free? There is a free plugin, UserFeedback Lite.
Premium Pricing: Starts at $49.5/year

There you have it! My top picks for the best WordPress form plugin.

Wrapping Up: Which Is The Best WordPress Form Plugin?

After putting these form builders through their paces, it’s clear that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. The best WordPress form plugin depends on your specific needs, technical expertise, and budget.

For most users, I recommend WPForms because it offers a great balance of features, ease of use, and affordability. If you need more advanced features or are a developer, consider Formidable Forms owing to its unparalleled customization and power.

If you’re focused on collecting user feedback, UserFeedback is a specialized tool that does the job well. And if you’re looking for a broader marketing solution, HubSpot offers a solid form builder integrated with other marketing tools.

Remember, the best way to choose is to experiment with different options. Many of these plugins offer free trials or lite versions, so you can test them out before committing.

Do you have any specific questions about a particular plugin or feature?

Discover the Missing Piece to Your Forms Success

Whenever you add a form to your WordPress website, you still have a big problem: how do you drive traffic to that form?

But by adding them to your OptinMonster campaigns, you can bring your forms directly to your site’s visitors (rather than the other way around).

You’d do this using OptinMonster’s advanced targeting rules. These rules allow you to show your forms to the right people, in the right places, and at the right time in their customer journey.

Some popular targeting rules include:

These are just a few examples, though there are many others.

You can use any targeting rules to present your web forms and get more users to engage with your forms.

And OptinMonster integrates with all popular email marketing services so you can automate adding subscribers to your email list.

Get More Engagement From Your Forms Today with OptinMonster!

BONUS: Done-For-You Campaign Setup ($297 value) Our conversion experts will design 1 free campaign for you to get maximum results – absolutely FREE! Click here to get started →

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45 Best Digital Marketing Tools to Boost Your Business https://optinmonster.com/45-best-free-online-marketing-tools/ https://optinmonster.com/45-best-free-online-marketing-tools/#comments Sun, 07 Jul 2024 13:00:22 +0000 https://optinmonster.com/?p=97466 Boost your marketing in 2024 with these top digital marketing tools! Are you feeling overwhelmed by the flood of marketing options? We’ve analyzed dozens of tools and tested the best ones to bring you this curated selection. Whether you need SEO optimization, social media management, or AI tools, we’ve got you covered. In this article, …

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Boost your marketing in 2024 with these top digital marketing tools!

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the flood of marketing options?

We’ve analyzed dozens of tools and tested the best ones to bring you this curated selection.

Whether you need SEO optimization, social media management, or AI tools, we’ve got you covered.

In this article, discover the best digital marketing tools to skyrocket your marketing efforts!

Here’s a table summarising the top digital marketing tools in each category:

CategoryTop ToolDescription
SEOAIOSEOComprehensive SEO plugin for WordPress to improve search engine visibility.
Lead GenerationOptinMonsterHelps grow email lists and increase conversions with customizable opt-in forms and pop-ups.
Social MediaBufferAllows scheduling, publishing, and tracking social media content across platforms.
Email MarketingBrevoProvides email marketing, SMS campaigns, and CRM capabilities for small and medium-sized businesses.
Content MarketingLumen5Transforms text content into engaging videos using AI-driven capabilities.
Affiliate MarketingShareASaleConnects merchants with affiliate marketers for campaign management and performance tracking.
CROOptinMonsterSpecializes in conversion rate optimization with engaging opt-in forms and pop-ups.
Influencer MarketingBuzzSumoIdentifies influencers and tracks content performance for strategic partnerships.
AIDALL·EGenerates creative images from textual descriptions for innovative visual content.

Explore the following categories to begin:

Best SEO Tools (Search Engine Optimization)

Here’s an overview of the top 5 digital marketing tools for SEO, each offering unique features to enhance your search engine optimization efforts:

1. AIOSEO

AIOSEO - Digital Marketing Tools

All-in-One SEO (AIOSEO) is a comprehensive SEO plugin for WordPress websites designed to improve search engine visibility without requiring extensive SEO knowledge. It offers a user-friendly interface and powerful features to optimize website content for search engines.

Key functionalities include automatically generating meta tags, sitemaps, and social media integration, which help enhance the website’s SEO. AIOSEO also provides tools for on-page analysis, giving users actionable insights to improve their content’s SEO friendliness.

The plugin supports advanced features like schema markup, breadcrumb navigation, and the ability to edit .htaccess and robots.txt files directly.

It’s particularly beneficial for website owners, bloggers, and small businesses looking for an easy-to-use yet effective solution to boost their site’s search engine ranking and online visibility.

AIOSEO’s versatility and comprehensive set of features make it a popular choice in the WordPress community for achieving better SEO results.

Recommended Reading: All in One SEO (AIOSEO) Review: Is It the Right SEO Plugin?

2. SEMrush

SEMRush - Digital Marketing Tools

SEMrush is a comprehensive digital marketing toolkit widely used for SEO, PPC, content marketing, and social media analytics. It offers extensive features for keyword research, site audits, competitor analysis, and tracking search engine rankings.

SEMrush’s strength lies in its ability to provide detailed insights into the strategies used by competitors, including their search traffic, backlink profiles, and advertising activities.

The platform includes tools for identifying valuable keywords, optimizing on-page SEO, and uncovering technical issues that may affect website performance. SEMrush also offers features for content analysis, helping users create SEO-friendly content that resonates with their audience.

Additionally, it provides social media tracking and PPC analysis, making it a versatile tool for a broad spectrum of digital marketing tasks.

Renowned for its depth of data and user-friendly interface, SEMrush is a valuable resource for businesses and marketers seeking to enhance their online presence, understand their competitive landscape, and refine their digital marketing strategies.

3. Ahrefs

AHREFS - Digital Marketing Tools

Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO toolset widely used by digital marketers, SEO professionals, and content creators. It specializes in competitor analysis, keyword research, backlink analysis, content research, and rank tracking. Ahrefs stands out for its extensive web crawler, second only to Google, which provides users with rich and up-to-date data.

Key features include the Site Explorer, which offers insights into any website’s organic search traffic and backlink profile, and the Keywords Explorer, which provides detailed keyword suggestions and search volume data. Ahrefs also includes a Content Explorer for finding popular content in any niche and a Rank Tracker to monitor search rankings over time.

The platform is renowned for its depth and data accuracy, making it invaluable for SEO strategies aimed at improving website visibility and outranking competitors. Ahrefs is favored for its user-friendly interface and the actionable insights it provides, making it a go-to tool for anyone serious about SEO and content marketing.

4. Moz Pro

MOZ PRO - Digital Marketing Tools

Moz Pro is an all-in-one suite of SEO tools designed to help businesses improve their online visibility and search engine ranking. It offers comprehensive features for keyword research, site audits, web page optimization, rank tracking, and link analysis.

Moz Pro’s standout feature is its ability to provide detailed insights into both on-page and off-page SEO elements, helping users understand and enhance their website’s performance in search results.

The platform includes tools for identifying the best keywords to target, analyzing competitors’ strategies, and uncovering technical SEO issues impacting site performance.

Moz Pro also offers a robust link analysis tool, Moz Link Explorer, which provides data on backlinks and domain authority, which is crucial for building a strong link profile. Additionally, Moz Pro’s user-friendly interface and educational resources make it accessible for both SEO beginners and experts.

It’s particularly valued for its accurate and actionable data, making it a key tool for anyone looking to execute a successful SEO strategy.

5. Yoast SEO

YOAST SEO - Digital Marketing Tools

Yoast SEO is a widely used WordPress plugin that helps website owners optimize their content for search engines. Renowned for its user-friendliness and comprehensive features, Yoast SEO improves website visibility and ranking in search engine results.

Key functionalities include real-time page analysis, which provides recommendations for optimizing content, meta descriptions, and image alt tags, as well as ensuring proper keyword usage.

The plugin also focuses on technical SEO aspects, like creating XML sitemaps, managing site breadcrumbs, and setting canonical URLs to avoid duplicate content issues. Yoast SEO’s readability analysis feature helps enhance the content’s structure and readability for both search engines and users.

Ideal for both beginners and advanced users, Yoast SEO is a vital tool for anyone looking to optimize their WordPress site for better search engine performance and user engagement.

Recommended Reading: Discover the Best SEO Plugin for WordPress: Expert Picks!

Best Lead Generation Tools

Here’s an overview of the top 5 digital marketing tools for lead generation, each designed to help businesses attract and capture leads more effectively:

6. OptinMonster

OptinMonster - Digital Marketing Tools

OptinMonster is a powerful lead generation tool designed to help businesses grow their email lists, increase website conversions, and boost sales. It specializes in creating eye-catching opt-in forms and personalized pop-ups that are strategically displayed to website visitors based on their behavior.

OptinMonster’s key features include exit-intent technology, which captures visitors’ attention just as they are about to leave the site, and various types of campaign triggers like scroll-triggered forms and timed display controls.

The platform offers a wide range of form types, such as lightbox popups, floating bars, slide-ins, and fullscreen welcome mats, all customizable with its drag-and-drop builder. OptinMonster also provides A/B testing capabilities and detailed analytics, enabling users to refine their strategies for maximum engagement.

It integrates with numerous email marketing services and web platforms, making it a versatile choice for marketers and business owners seeking to enhance their website’s conversion rate and engage more effectively with their audience.

7. Thrive Leads

Thrive Leads is a WordPress plugin designed for lead generation, offering a suite of tools to create and optimize various types of opt-in forms on a website. It’s known for its flexibility and range of customizable templates, including pop-up lightboxes, in-line forms, slide-ins, and more.

Thrive Leads stands out for its user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, making it easy to design forms that match the look and feel of your site without needing coding skills.

Key features include advanced targeting, A/B testing capabilities, and detailed analytics, allowing users to tailor their lead generation strategies to their audience and continuously improve their effectiveness. The plugin integrates with a wide array of email marketing services, facilitating seamless lead capture and nurturing.

Thrive Leads is particularly popular among bloggers, small business owners, and digital marketers who seek a powerful yet accessible tool to increase their website’s conversion rates and grow their email lists effectively.

8. HubSpot

HubSpot - Digital Marketing Tools

As a lead generation tool, HubSpot is a central part of its comprehensive inbound marketing and sales platform. It’s designed to attract, engage, and convert leads through various integrated tools and methodologies.

HubSpot offers features, including content creation tools, SEO optimization, social media marketing, email marketing, and landing pages, all aimed at generating high-quality leads.

One of the key strengths of HubSpot is its ability to create personalized customer journeys through marketing automation, ensuring that potential customers receive relevant content at each stage of their buying process.

The platform includes powerful lead capture tools like forms, pop-ups, and live chat, which work seamlessly with its customer relationship management (CRM) system to track and nurture leads effectively.

HubSpot’s analytics and reporting tools provide in-depth insights into lead generation performance, helping businesses understand what strategies work best for their audience. This makes HubSpot ideal for businesses of all sizes looking to implement a cohesive and data-driven lead generation strategy that aligns marketing and sales efforts.

9. Marketo

Marketing Automation Tools - Marketo

As a lead generation tool, Marketo is a prominent component of the Adobe Marketing Cloud, offering robust capabilities for B2B and B2C marketers. It excels in automating and streamlining the lead generation process, from initial capture to lead nurturing and scoring.

Marketo provides a comprehensive suite of tools for creating and managing targeted marketing campaigns across various channels, including email, web, social media, and more.

Key features include dynamic forms for lead capture, personalized email marketing campaigns, and automated lead nurturing workflows that guide prospects through the sales funnel.

Marketo’s lead scoring system allows marketers to prioritize leads based on engagement and fit, ensuring that sales teams focus on the most qualified prospects.

The platform offers detailed analytics and reporting functionalities, giving marketers insights into campaign performance and lead behavior. Integration with CRM tools and other digital marketing tools ensures a cohesive approach to lead management.

Marketo is particularly favored by businesses looking for a scalable, data-driven solution to enhance their lead generation efforts, improve lead quality, and drive sales growth.

10. Salesforce Pardot

Salesforce Pardot - Digital Marketing Tools

Salesforce Pardot, as a lead generation tool, is a highly influential component of the Salesforce B2B marketing automation suite. It specializes in generating, nurturing, and qualifying leads for sales teams.

Pardot provides comprehensive tools for creating targeted marketing campaigns, including email marketing, landing pages, and lead capture forms. Its lead scoring and grading features enable marketers to prioritize leads based on their engagement and fit, ensuring that sales team members focus on the most promising prospects.

The platform also offers advanced segmentation capabilities, allowing personalized marketing efforts tailored to specific audience groups. Integration with Salesforce CRM ensures a seamless flow of lead data between marketing and sales, enhancing lead management and follow-up processes.

Pardot’s analytics and reporting tools give marketers deep insights into campaign performance and lead generation effectiveness.

This makes Pardot an invaluable asset for businesses looking to enhance their lead generation strategy, improve lead quality, and drive more sales.

Recommended Reading: Best Lead Generation Software and Tools

Best Social Media Management Tools

Here are our top 5 picks for the best digital marketing tools for social media management:

11. Buffer

Buffer - Social Media Management Tools

Buffer is a widely used social media management tool that helps businesses and individuals plan, publish, and track the performance of their content across multiple social media platforms.

Known for its intuitive interface and straightforward functionality, Buffer allows users to schedule posts, analyze engagement data, and manage all their social media accounts from a single dashboard.

It supports various platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest. Buffer’s key features include creating a posting schedule, tailoring content for each social media platform, and getting detailed analytics on post-performance.

This tool is particularly useful for marketers, small businesses, and content creators who seek to maintain a consistent online presence, engage with their audience effectively, and optimize their social media strategies based on data-driven insights.

12. Hootsuite

Hootsuite - Social Media Management Tools

Hootsuite is a comprehensive social media management platform that enables businesses and individuals to oversee and coordinate their social media activities across multiple networks from a single dashboard. It supports various platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

Hootsuite’s key features include scheduling posts in advance, monitoring social media conversations, and analyzing social media traffic to understand audience behavior and preferences. The platform also offers tools for team collaboration, allowing multiple users to manage social media tasks efficiently.

Hootsuite’s robust analytics capabilities provide valuable insights into social media performance, helping users refine their strategies and improve engagement.

This makes it an essential tool for marketers, social media managers, and businesses of all sizes looking to enhance their online presence and effectively engage with their digital audience.

13. Sprout Social

Sprout Social - Social Media Management Tools

Sprout Social is a sophisticated social media management tool designed for businesses and organizations to manage and grow their social media presence effectively.

It offers a comprehensive suite of features, including content scheduling, post publishing, engagement tracking, and in-depth analytics across social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Sprout Social’s standout capabilities include advanced listening tools that track brand mentions and industry trends, and collaboration features that facilitate team workflows and communication.

The platform also provides detailed reporting tools, offering valuable insights into audience engagement and campaign performance. This makes Sprout Social particularly useful for marketers, social media managers, and teams seeking a centralized solution for their social media strategy, focusing on data-driven decision-making and efficient community management.

14. AgoraPulse

Agora Pulse - Social Media Management Tools

AgoraPulse is a comprehensive social media management tool designed for businesses and agencies to manage their social media accounts effectively. 

It supports various platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

AgoraPulse offers a range of features, such as scheduling and publishing posts, monitoring social media conversations, and engaging with audiences directly from its dashboard. 

One of its key strengths is the robust analytics and reporting tools, providing detailed insights into social media performance and audience engagement.

The platform also includes unique features like competitor analysis and social listening, enabling users to stay ahead in their social media strategy. AgoraPulse’s user-friendly interface and CRM capabilities make tracking and managing user interactions easy, helping build stronger relationships with followers.

It’s particularly favored by social media managers and marketing teams looking for an all-in-one solution to streamline their social media activities, enhance engagement, and gain actionable insights from their social media efforts.

15. Tailwind

Tailwind - Social Media Management Tools

Tailwind is a comprehensive social media scheduling and analytics tool focused on Pinterest and Instagram. It offers a range of features designed to optimize the posting schedule, increase engagement, and grow followers on these platforms.

Tailwind’s key functionalities include smart scheduling, which suggests the best times to post for maximum engagement, and detailed analytics to track the performance of pins and posts.

The platform also provides tools for discovering content, monitoring conversations, and analyzing trends.

Tailwind’s unique features, like Tailwind Tribes for Pinterest and hashtag suggestions for Instagram, further enhance its utility.

It’s trendy among marketers, bloggers, and small businesses looking to streamline their social media strategy and gain insights into their audience’s preferences.

Tailwind’s user-friendly interface and robust capabilities make it a valuable tool for effectively managing and growing a brand’s presence on Pinterest and Instagram.

Recommended Reading: Best Social Media Management Tools To Win

Best Email Marketing Tools

Here’s our list of the top 5 digital marketing tools essential for achieving impactful results in email marketing:

16. Brevo

Brevo - Digital Marketing Tools

Brevo is a dynamic digital marketing platform, primarily known for its robust email marketing solutions.

Originally known as Sendinblue, it has evolved into a comprehensive tool catering to small and medium-sized businesses.

Brevo’s cloud-based interface is user-friendly, offering a range of features, including a detailed campaigns dashboard, CRM capabilities, and marketing communication tools.

With options for email marketing, SMS campaigns, and a suite of other digital marketing tools, Brevo is designed to support businesses in their growth and adaptability in the ever-changing digital landscape.

17. MailChimp

MailChimp - Marketing Tools

MailChimp is a widely recognized email marketing service that provides businesses of all sizes with powerful tools to create, send, and analyze email campaigns.

Known for its user-friendly interface, MailChimp simplifies the process of designing professional-looking emails with its drag-and-drop email builder and a vast array of templates.

It offers advanced features like audience segmentation, automated campaigns, and detailed analytics to help users tailor their messaging and track the effectiveness of their campaigns.

MailChimp integrates with many other services, making it a versatile tool for integrating email marketing into broader digital marketing strategies.

18. GetResponse

GetResponse - Marketing Tools

GetResponse is a comprehensive digital marketing platform that offers a range of tools primarily focused on email marketing.

It is designed to cater to businesses of various sizes, from small enterprises to larger organizations.

GetResponse provides an intuitive interface for creating and managing email campaigns, featuring customizable templates and a drag-and-drop editor. Its automation capabilities allow for effective targeting and personalization of messages, enhancing customer engagement.

Additionally, GetResponse offers detailed analytics to track the performance of campaigns, helping users refine their marketing tactics. Known for its ease of use and comprehensive feature set, GetResponse is a popular choice for businesses seeking to streamline and enhance their digital marketing efforts.

19. Constant Contact

Constant Contact - Email Marketing Tools

Constant Contact is a popular email marketing platform known for its simplicity and effectiveness, particularly suited for small businesses and nonprofits.

It offers a range of user-friendly tools for creating, sending, and managing email campaigns, including a vast selection of customizable templates and a drag-and-drop editor.

Beyond basic email marketing, Constant Contact provides features like contact list management, automation, social media integration, and real-time tracking and reporting. This allows users to send professional-looking emails and segment audiences, schedule targeted messages, and analyze campaign performance.

Its emphasis on ease of use and customer support, along with various integrations, makes it a go-to choice for those new to email marketing or with limited technical expertise.

20. AWeber

AWeber - Marketing Tools

AWeber is a well-established email marketing service provider renowned for its ease of use and efficiency in helping small to medium-sized businesses execute effective email marketing campaigns.

It offers a suite of tools that includes customizable email templates, a user-friendly drag-and-drop email editor, and autoresponder functionalities that enable businesses to automate their email communications.

AWeber stands out for its high deliverability rates and robust analytics, which provide insightful data on campaign performance.

Additionally, the platform supports list segmentation, allowing for more targeted and personalized email marketing strategies. With its integration capabilities with various web services and a strong focus on customer support, AWeber is a reliable choice for businesses looking to enhance their email marketing efforts with a straightforward and feature-rich platform.

Recommended Reading: Best Email Marketing Tools For Saving Time and Increasing Conversions

Best Content Marketing Tools

Here are our top 5 picks for the best digital marketing tools for content marketing:

21. Lumen5

Lumen5 - Marketing Tools

Lumen5 is a video creation platform designed to make it easy for businesses and individuals to produce engaging video content, especially for social media and marketing purposes.

It stands out for its AI-driven capabilities, which help users transform text content like blog posts or articles into compelling video narratives. The platform offers a user-friendly interface with a range of customizable templates, stock photos, video clips, and music tracks.

Users can easily drag and drop various elements to create videos that align with their brand identity and message. Lumen5’s emphasis on simplicity and speed makes it particularly appealing for content creators who need to produce high-quality videos quickly and without the need for advanced video editing skills.

It’s an effective tool for enhancing digital marketing strategies with visually appealing content that can increase engagement and reach on various online platforms.

22. Grammarly

Grammarly - Marketing Tools

Grammarly is a widely used digital writing assistance tool that enhances the quality of written content by checking for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, punctuation, and clarity issues.

It goes beyond traditional proofreading tools by offering suggestions for style and tone, making it useful for a broad range of writing tasks, from emails and reports to academic papers and creative writing.

Grammarly uses advanced algorithms and natural language processing to provide real-time feedback and corrections, helping users improve their writing skills and communicate more effectively.

It integrates seamlessly into various writing platforms as a browser extension, desktop app, and mobile keyboard, making it a convenient and valuable tool for writers, students, professionals, and anyone looking to polish their written communication.

23. Hemingway App

hemingway

The Hemingway App is a writing enhancement tool designed to improve the clarity and readability of written content.

Named after the renowned author Ernest Hemingway, known for his concise and straightforward writing style, the app analyzes text and highlights complex sentences, overuse of adverbs, passive voice, and other potential issues that can make writing less clear.

It offers suggestions to simplify and strengthen prose, making it more accessible and engaging for readers. The Hemingway App provides a readability grade level and color-coded feedback, allowing users to identify areas for improvement easily.

This tool is handy for writers, editors, and content creators who aim to produce clear, concise, and impactful writing for blogs, articles, reports, or any other written communication.

24. Headline Analyzer

Headline Analyzer - Marketing Tools

Headline Analyzer is a specialized tool designed to help writers and marketers create more effective and engaging headlines for their content. It evaluates headlines based on several key factors, such as length, word balance, sentiment, clarity, and SEO effectiveness.

By analyzing these elements, the tool provides insights and scores that guide users in optimizing their headlines to capture attention, drive traffic, and improve search engine rankings.

Headline Analyzer is particularly useful for content creators looking to enhance the impact and appeal of their articles, blog posts, email subjects, and social media posts. Its user-friendly interface and actionable feedback make it a valuable asset for anyone aiming to increase the effectiveness of their written communication in the digital space.

Want to try another free headline analyzer? Check out OptinMonster’s new headline analyzer to make sure you’re writing the best headlines possible!

25. Canva

Canva - Marketing Tools

Canva is a user-friendly graphic design tool that has revolutionized how individuals and businesses create visual content. Known for its simplicity and extensive range of features, Canva allows users with little to no graphic design experience to create professional-quality designs.

The platform offers a vast library of templates, images, fonts, and design elements for creating graphics, including social media posts, presentations, flyers, and more. Its intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to customize designs for specific needs.

Canva also facilitates collaboration, allowing team members to work together on projects in real time. With its versatility and accessibility, Canva has become a popular tool for marketers, educators, entrepreneurs, and creatives who seek an efficient and cost-effective way to produce high-quality visual content.

Recommended Reading: The Ultimate Content Marketing Toolbox: Tools You Need to Know

Best Affiliate Marketing Tools

Here’s an overview of the top 5 digital marketing tools, each designed to streamline and enhance various aspects of affiliate marketing strategies:

26. ShareASale

ShareASale is a prominent affiliate marketing network that connects merchants with affiliate marketers, facilitating partnerships that drive online sales. It serves as a platform where businesses (merchants) can offer their products or services, and individuals or companies (affiliates) can promote these offerings in exchange for commissions on sales or leads generated.

ShareASale is known for its vast and diverse network of affiliates, user-friendly interface, and reliable tracking technology. It provides tools and features for both merchants and affiliates to manage campaigns, track performance, and analyze results.

With a wide range of products and services across various industries, ShareASale is a popular choice for businesses looking to expand their reach and for affiliates seeking profitable opportunities in affiliate marketing.

Its reputation for transparency, efficiency, and support makes it a trusted platform in the affiliate marketing community.

27. Pretty Links

Pretty Links - Digital Marketing Tools

Pretty Links is a popular WordPress plugin that allows users to manage and shorten URLs using their domain name easily. Primarily used for affiliate marketing, it enables users to create clean, simple links that are more visually appealing and trustworthy than long, complex URLs.

Pretty Links offers features like link redirection, click tracking, and detailed reports, which help users track the performance of their links and understand their audience’s engagement.

This tool is particularly useful for bloggers, marketers, and businesses who want to maintain brand consistency and improve the effectiveness of their online marketing efforts.

With its straightforward interface and powerful functionalities, Pretty Links simplifies the link management process and enhances the overall marketing strategy by providing more control over how links are shared and tracked.

28. ThirstyAffiliates

ThirstyAffiliates is a WordPress plugin designed for affiliate marketers to manage their affiliate links efficiently. It allows users to cloak long, unwieldy affiliate URLs into shorter, more branded links that are easier to manage and more appealing to click on.

This plugin offers features like link categorization, automatic keyword linking, and detailed click reporting, which aids in organizing and tracking the performance of affiliate links. ThirstyAffiliates also provides security features to protect links from theft and ensures compliance with Google’s SEO guidelines.

It’s particularly beneficial for bloggers and online marketers who require a reliable and effective tool to streamline their affiliate marketing efforts, maintain the aesthetic of their links, and gain insights into their link traffic and conversions. The plugin enhances the affiliate marketing experience by offering a blend of simplicity, control, and advanced functionality.

29. AffJet

AffJet is an affiliate marketing tool designed to consolidate and analyze data from multiple affiliate networks in one place. It caters to affiliate marketers and agencies who manage various affiliate programs and need a unified platform to track and evaluate their performance.

AffJet provides features for aggregating sales, clicks, and commission data, allowing users to generate comprehensive reports and gain insights into the effectiveness of their affiliate marketing campaigns.

This tool simplifies monitoring multiple affiliate networks by offering a centralized dashboard, saving time and enhancing decision-making. AffJet helps optimize affiliate marketing strategies, comparing performance across different networks and identifying the most profitable campaigns and partnerships.

Its focus on data integration and analysis makes it a valuable asset for maximizing the efficiency and profitability of affiliate marketing efforts.

30. Voluum

Voluum is a comprehensive, cloud-based ad tracking and analytics platform for affiliate marketers and digital advertisers. It provides advanced tools to track, manage, and optimize advertising campaigns across various channels and platforms.

Voluum stands out for its real-time analytics, detailed reporting, and data-driven insights, enabling users to monitor campaign performance and make informed decisions closely. The platform supports a wide range of ad formats and traffic sources, making it versatile for different marketing strategies.

Key features include conversion tracking, A/B testing, traffic distribution, and fraud detection, all aimed at maximizing ROI and campaign effectiveness.

Voluum’s user-friendly interface and powerful automation and optimization capabilities make it a popular choice among professionals seeking to streamline their advertising efforts and achieve better results in the competitive digital advertising landscape.

Recommended Reading: Best Affiliate Marketing Tools: Top 15 Tools Every Affiliate Needs

Best Conversion Rate Optimization Tools

Here’s a concise summary of the top 5 digital marketing tools, each expertly crafted to boost your website’s effectiveness and elevate conversion rates:

31. OptinMonster

OptinMonster Home Page 2023

We cant help but mention OptinMonster again as it is a powerful conversion rate optimization tool designed to help businesses grow their email lists, increase website conversions, and boost sales. It specializes in creating engaging opt-in forms and personalized pop-ups that are strategically displayed to website visitors based on their behavior.

With its user-friendly drag-and-drop builder and a wide range of templates, OptinMonster makes it easy to design compelling offers and calls-to-action without needing coding skills.

Key features include exit-intent technology, which triggers forms when a user is about to leave the site, A/B testing to compare different strategies, and detailed analytics to track the effectiveness of campaigns.

OptinMonster integrates seamlessly with a variety of email marketing services and web platforms, making it a versatile choice for marketers and business owners looking to enhance their website’s conversion rate and engage more effectively with their audience.

32. WPForms

WPForms WordPress Form Plugin

WPForms is a user-friendly conversion optimization tool designed to create custom website forms easily.

Known for its drag-and-drop form builder, it allows users to quickly design and implement a variety of forms, including contact forms, survey forms, order forms, and more, without any coding knowledge.

WPForms offers a range of pre-built templates to streamline the form creation process, along with features like responsive design, instant notifications, and integration with popular email marketing and payment services. Its intuitive interface and powerful functionalities, such as conditional logic, file uploads, and entry management, make it suitable for both beginners and advanced users.

WPForms is particularly favored for its simplicity, flexibility, and reliability, making it an essential tool for website owners looking to enhance user engagement and gather valuable data through custom forms.

33. SeedProd

SeedProd - Digital Marketing Tools

SeedProd is a powerful conversion optimization tool designed for creating high-converting landing pages on WordPress websites. Its user-friendly drag-and-drop page builder stands out, enabling users to design custom landing pages without coding skills.

SeedProd offers a wide range of templates and blocks tailored explicitly for various marketing goals, such as sales pages, opt-in pages, webinar registrations, and thank you pages. Key features include built-in subscriber management, popular email marketing services integration, and real-time previews.

The tool also supports advanced functionalities like A/B testing, access controls, and responsive design, ensuring that web pages look great on all devices and effectively drive conversions.

SeedProd is particularly useful for marketers, business owners, and bloggers who want to quickly create and deploy optimized landing pages for lead generation, sales, and overall user engagement.

34. Optimizely

Optimizely - Digital Marketing Tools

Optimizely is a leading experimentation and digital experience optimization platform that enables businesses to conduct A/B testing, multivariate testing, and personalization strategies on their websites and mobile apps.

It’s designed to help marketers, product managers, and developers make data-driven decisions by testing different variations of their digital properties to see which performs best.

Optimizely’s robust platform offers tools for creating and running experiments, analyzing results, and implementing winning strategies to improve user engagement, conversion rates, and overall customer experience.

With its intuitive interface and powerful analytics, Optimizely is widely used by companies looking to optimize their digital experiences and drive innovation through experimentation.

Its focus on ease of use and comprehensive testing capabilities makes it a go-to solution for businesses aiming to enhance their online presence and performance.

35. TrustPulse

Trustpulse - Digital Marketing Tools

TrustPulse is a conversion optimization tool that leverages social proof’s power to boost website trust and engagement.

It displays real-time notifications of user actions, such as purchases, sign-ups, or reviews, to website visitors. This tool capitalizes on the psychological principle that people are more likely to engage in an activity if they see others doing it.

TrustPulse can be easily integrated into websites and offers customization options to match the look and feel of the brand. Its features include setting up targeted notifications for specific pages or actions, tracking real-time user activity, and providing analytics to measure the impact on conversions.

TrustPulse is particularly effective for e-commerce sites, online courses, and subscription-based services, where building trust and credibility is crucial for converting visitors into customers.

By showcasing live activity, TrustPulse helps businesses increase conversions, reduce bounce rates, and enhance overall user engagement.

Recommended Reading: Conversion Rate Optimization Tools That Pros Can’t Ignore

Best Influencer Marketing Tools

Here are the top 5 digital marketing tools, perfectly suited for digital marketers, agencies, and business owners aiming to maximize their influencer marketing strategies:

36. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo - Digital Marketing Tools

BuzzSumo is a powerful influencer marketing tool that specializes in content research and influencer identification. It enables users to discover trending topics, track content performance, and identify key influencers in specific industries or niches.

BuzzSumo offers comprehensive search capabilities to analyze what content is most shared on social media and who is sharing it, providing valuable insights into content strategy and influencer partnerships.

Users can search for influencers based on keywords, topics, or domains, and get detailed data on their reach, authority, and engagement levels. Additionally, BuzzSumo facilitates the monitoring of competitors’ content and social media performance, allowing for strategic planning and execution.

This tool is particularly useful for marketers, PR professionals, and content creators looking to create impactful content and build relationships with influential figures in their industry to amplify their marketing efforts.

37. Upfluence

Upfluence - Digital Marketing Tools

Upfluence is a comprehensive influencer marketing platform that streamlines the process of identifying, contacting, and collaborating with influencers across various social media channels. It offers robust search capabilities to find influencers based on specific criteria such as industry, location, engagement rate, and audience demographics.

Upfluence’s extensive database and analytics tools provide in-depth insights into influencer performance and audience compatibility, enabling brands to make informed decisions when selecting influencers for their campaigns.

The platform also facilitates the management of influencer relationships and campaign execution, from initial outreach to payment and performance tracking.

Upfluence integrates with e-commerce platforms, allowing for seamless influencer collaboration in promotional activities and affiliate marketing. Its ability to automate many aspects of influencer marketing makes it a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes looking to leverage influencer partnerships effectively.

Upfluence is particularly favored by brands seeking a data-driven approach to influencer marketing, ensuring that their collaborations are aligned with their marketing objectives and target audience.

38. Aspire (formerly Revfluence)

AspireIQ - Digital Marketing Tools

Aspire is a sophisticated influencer marketing platform designed to help brands build and manage meaningful relationships with influencers. It streamlines the process of identifying, connecting with, and collaborating with influencers across various social media platforms.

Aspire stands out for its robust database of influencers, equipped with detailed analytics that allow brands to find influencers whose audience and content align with their brand values and marketing goals.

The platform offers tools for campaign management, including communication, content approval, and tracking campaign performance. One of its key features is the ability to automate repetitive tasks, enabling efficient workflow management.

Aspire also supports content creation, allowing brands to co-create authentic and engaging content with influencers. This collaborative approach not only enhances brand visibility but also fosters genuine connections with target audiences.

Ideal for businesses of all sizes, Aspire is particularly beneficial for those looking to leverage influencer marketing to its full potential, ensuring that each collaboration is strategic, data-driven, and results-oriented. It’s a go-to tool for brands aiming to enhance their online presence and engage with consumers through trusted influencer partnerships.

39. Heepsy

Heepsy - Digital Marketing Tools

Heepsy is an influencer marketing platform designed to assist brands and marketers in discovering and connecting with influencers across various social media channels.

It offers a comprehensive search engine that allows users to find influencers based on specific criteria such as location, audience demographics, engagement rates, and niche categories.

Heepsy’s strength lies in its detailed analytics, providing insights into an influencer’s audience quality, authenticity, and overall influence, which helps in making informed partnership decisions.

The platform facilitates influencer collaboration, from initial outreach to campaign execution and performance analysis.

Heepsy’s user-friendly interface and efficient search capabilities make it easy for users to identify the right influencers for their brand, ensuring that collaborations are both relevant and impactful.

This tool is particularly valuable for businesses and agencies looking to streamline their influencer marketing efforts, focusing on data-driven strategies to maximize the effectiveness and ROI of their influencer campaigns.

40. Klear

Klear - Digital Marketing Tools

Klear is an advanced influencer marketing platform that provides comprehensive tools for identifying, analyzing, and collaborating with influencers across various social media networks.

It offers in-depth insights into influencer profiles, including their audience demographics, engagement rates, and content effectiveness.

Klear’s robust search functionality allows users to find influencers based on specific criteria such as location, interests, and level of influence.

The platform stands out for its detailed analytics and reporting capabilities, enabling brands to measure the impact of their influencer campaigns accurately.

Klear also facilitates relationship management, campaign tracking, and influencer communication, streamlining the influencer marketing process. Its user-friendly interface and extensive database make it a valuable resource for brands and agencies seeking to develop targeted, data-driven influencer strategies.

Klear is favored for its ability to provide actionable insights and effectiveness in helping users build successful, authentic influencer partnerships.

Best AI Tools For Digital Marketing

Here are the top 5 picks for the best AI tools for digital marketing:

41. DALL·E

DALLE - Digital Marketing Tools

DALL·E is known for its ability to generate highly creative and detailed images from textual descriptions, providing marketers with an innovative way to visualize concepts, products, and campaigns.

Its ability to blend styles, concepts, and elements into cohesive and often imaginative visuals makes it particularly useful for creating eye-catching graphics, advertisements, and social media content.

For digital marketing, where visual appeal is crucial, DALL·E can help rapidly prototype design ideas, generate custom illustrations, and even create personalized content that resonates with specific audience segments.

This tool opens up new possibilities for creative storytelling and brand representation, allowing marketers to push the boundaries of conventional visual content.

DALL·E’s efficiency and creativity can significantly enhance a brand’s visual communication strategy, making it a valuable asset in the digital marketing toolkit.

42. ChatGPT

ChatGPT - Digital Marketing Tools

ChatGPT is an advanced language model, designed to generate human-like text based on the input it receives. It offers transformative capabilities for enhancing customer engagement and content creation.

Its advanced language processing abilities enable it to generate compelling marketing copy, create personalized email responses, and develop creative content ideas.

ChatGPT can interact with customers in real time, providing instant support and information, which enhances the customer experience and fosters brand loyalty.

Additionally, its ability to analyze and interpret customer queries and feedback can provide valuable insights into consumer preferences and behavior. This can inform more targeted and effective marketing strategies.

ChatGPT’s versatility also extends to social media management, where it can assist in crafting engaging posts and responses, helping maintain an active and appealing online presence.

Overall, ChatGPT is a powerful assistant in the digital marketing toolkit, driving efficiency and innovation in various aspects of marketing communication and content strategy.

43. Descript

Descript - Digital Marketing tools

Descript is a versatile digital marketing tool that revolutionizes how marketers create and edit audio and video content. Known for its intuitive interface, Descript allows users to edit media files as easily as text documents.

This is achieved through its advanced transcription technology, which converts spoken words into written text, enabling users to edit their audio and video by simply editing the text.

This feature is handy for creating podcasts, video content, and marketing materials where precise editing and fast turnaround are crucial. Descript also offers features like overdubbing, multi-track editing, and automatic removal of filler words, enhancing the quality and professionalism of the content.

Its ability to streamline the editing process saves significant time and resources, making it an invaluable tool for digital marketers, content creators, and social media managers who need to produce high-quality audio and video content efficiently.

44. Clearscope

Clearscope - Marketing Tools

Clearscope is a sophisticated digital marketing tool designed to enhance content optimization for SEO.

It assists content creators and marketers produce highly relevant and search engine-friendly content. Clearscope achieves this by providing detailed keyword and content analysis, suggesting relevant terms, readability scores, and content structure recommendations.

The tool integrates seamlessly into content creation workflows, offering real-time insights and guidance on improving content for better search engine rankings.

Clearscope’s strength lies in its ability to analyze current search trends and competitor content, ensuring that the created content is optimized for search engines and resonates with the target audience.

This focus on data-driven content optimization makes Clearscope an invaluable asset for digital marketers, SEO professionals, and content writers aiming to increase organic search visibility and drive more website traffic.

Its user-friendly interface and actionable insights help in crafting content that is both engaging for readers and effective in meeting SEO goals.

45. Zapier Chatbots

Zapier - Marketing Tools

Zapier, known for its powerful automation capabilities, extends its functionality to digital marketing through Zapier Chatbots. These chatbots are an efficient tool for automating customer interactions and leads on various digital platforms.

By integrating with a wide range of apps and services, Zapier Chatbots can capture lead information, schedule appointments, respond instantly to customer inquiries, and even conduct follow-up communications.

The strength of Zapier Chatbots lies in their ability to streamline customer engagement processes, ensuring timely and personalized communication. This enhances the customer experience and frees up valuable time for marketers to focus on more strategic tasks.

The chatbots can be customized to suit specific business needs and workflows, making them a versatile addition to any digital marketing toolkit.

For businesses looking to improve their customer interaction and lead management with minimal manual intervention, Zapier Chatbots offer a practical, scalable, and effective solution. They are particularly useful for small to medium-sized businesses seeking to automate their digital marketing efforts and enhance their online customer service.

Which Is the Best Digital Marketing Tool?

While we’ve explored various tools for digital marketing across multiple domains, OptinMonster stands out significantly.

Its versatility in impacting key areas like email marketing, lead generation, and conversion rate optimization makes it a standout choice. These areas are crucial for success in the digital world.

Therefore, it’s fair to conclude that OptinMonster is the best digital marketing tool available.

Get Started with OptinMonster Today!
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34 Clever Scarcity Examples to Skyrocket Your Conversions https://optinmonster.com/scarcity-examples-to-boost-your-conversions/ https://optinmonster.com/scarcity-examples-to-boost-your-conversions/#respond Sun, 07 Jul 2024 11:32:04 +0000 https://optinmonster.com/?p=103968 Have you ever seen a countdown timer on a sale or an “Only a few left!” message on a product page? That’s scarcity marketing in action. Scarcity marketing works because it increases the perceived value of a product. When something feels rare or exclusive, we tend to want it more. This can lead to higher …

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Have you ever seen a countdown timer on a sale or an “Only a few left!” message on a product page? That’s scarcity marketing in action.

Scarcity marketing works because it increases the perceived value of a product. When something feels rare or exclusive, we tend to want it more. This can lead to higher sales and a competitive edge for businesses that use it effectively.

In this article, we’ll share 34 scarcity examples to help you boost conversions.

What Is Scarcity Marketing?

Scarcity marketing is a marketing strategy that creates a sense of urgency and excitement around a product or service by limiting its availability. It preys on our fear of missing out (FOMO) and our desire for things that are rare or exclusive.

Here’s how it works:

  • Limited Supply: This could involve limited quantities of a product, exclusive collections, or limited-time offers.
  • Time Pressure: Countdown timers, flash sales, and “only a few left” notifications create a sense of urgency and encourage people to buy before it’s too late.
  • Exclusivity: Making a product or service feel exclusive can make it more desirable. This could involve VIP access, limited edition releases, or high-end products.

By using these tactics, scarcity marketing aims to:

  • Increase Demand: When something feels scarce, people are more likely to want it, leading to higher sales.
  • Boost Perceived Value: Limited availability suggests a product is more valuable or desirable, making people more willing to pay a premium.
  • Drive Action: The fear of missing out encourages people to make a purchase decision quickly before the opportunity disappears.

Scarcity marketing can be a powerful tool, but it’s important to use it ethically. If done wrong, it can come across as manipulative or inauthentic.

Let’s take a look at 34 examples of scarcity marketing.

Scarcity Marketing Examples

We have curated these scarcity examples from real-life brands that have used the scarcity principle in their online campaigns. The examples offer several ideas on how to apply the scarcity principle in your marketing.

  1. Cracku: Urgency Through Countdown Timers
  2. Wildist: 50% Discount for 2 Days
  3. Tinder: Fear of Missing Out
  4. Booking.com: Book Before It’s Too Late
  5. Chemical Guys: Beat the Clock Sale
  6. Bud Light: Limited Edition Pack
  7. JACK1T: Only 2 Pieces in Stock
  8. Clubhouse: Invite-Only Sign-Ups
  9. Amazon Prime: Discount While Supplies Last
  10. Bed Bath & Beyond: Top Deals Are Scarce
  11. BookMyShow: Seats Filing Fast
  12. Netflix: Only On Netflix
  13. Tesla Apparrel: Notify When Available
  14. MasterClass: BOGO Meets Limited-Time Offer
  15. Coke: Share a Coke
  16. Airbnb: Rare Find
  17. Float: Request Access
  18. Moto Z: Limited Time Offer
  19. HappySales: Join the Waitlist
  20. Nokia: Black Friday With a Twist
  21. Amazon: Today’s Lightning Deals
  22. Ninety9: Happy Hour Deals
  23. Best Buy: Flash Sale
  24. iHerb: 13 Sold in 24 Hours
  25. Fleet Feet: Clearance Sale
  26. Thread Up: End-of-Year Sale
  27. Pulp & Press: Abandoned Cart Email
  28. Asos: Black Friday Deal
  29. Catalina Crunch: Early Access SMS Marketing
  30. Jeffree Star: A Different Take on Scarcity
  31. G Fuel: Giveaways Worth $10,000
  32. Eightvape: Christmas Holiday Offer
  33. Udemy: Sale Ends Today
  34. Growth Marketing: Last Chance to Register

1. Cracku: Urgency Through Countdown Timers

Countdown timers are the best scarcity examples in marketing. Cracku, an online student coaching portal, used OptinMonster to create countdown timers on its website.

They combined it with a limited-time offer and increased conversions by 300%.

scarcity examples

2. Wildist: 50% Discount for 2 Days

scarcity marketing examples

Wildist offers people to sign up for its workshops at half price, but only for 2 days.

Notice the testimonials from past customers on the top-right of the page. Social proof earns you trust and improves website conversions by 34%.

Pro-Tip: Check out this list of social proof notification apps you can use to add credibility to your site! We recommend TrustPulse. It’s the best social proof notification tool out there.

3. Tinder: Fear of Missing Out

examples of scarcity marketing

Tinder uses a push notification for its mobile app users to improve product adoption. They notify inactive users that their profiles won’t be visible to possible matches if they don’t start using the app.

The clever use of scarcity triggers fear of missing out (FOMO) in buyers. Research suggests that about 69% of millennials experience FOMO, and 60% make impulsive purchases because of it.

In other words, FOMO works wonders in convincing people to take action.

Pro-tip: Want to create push notifications like Tinder’s? Take a look at PushEngage. It’s the world’s best push notification software that’s easy to install and set up.

4. Booking.com: Book Before It’s Too Late

Scarcity examples are more common in marketplaces with fluctuating supply and demand of goods and services. For instance, the travel and hospitality industry.

Booking.com is a master at scarcity marketing. Take a look at how they imply that this deal on a hotel won’t be available for very long.

scarcity principle

5. Chemical Guys: Beat the Clock Sale

Car detailing company Chemical Guys creates urgency for website visitors with multiple limited-time offers.

The sooner buyers book a service, the more discounts they get.

scarcity principle examples

6. Bud Light: Limited Edition Pack

scarcity marketing examples

Bud Light collaborated with the Philadelphia Eagles to launch a special edition commemorative beer pack to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl victory.

The beverage company produced 20,418 packs to honor the victory date: 02/04/2018. Special edition marketing also allows brands to sell products at higher prices. Fans don’t mind buying limited quantities of special merchandise at a premium.

7. JACK1T: Only 2 Pieces in Stock

what is scarcity principle

JACK1T lets you know when they are running low on a particular item. This is a good scarcity example that highlights how creating urgency in marketing can improve conversions.

8. Clubhouse: Invite-Only Sign-Ups

what is scarcity marketing

Remember when Clubhouse was a rage? One of the reasons it became so popular in such a short time was because it created an illusion of exclusivity.

Only people who had an invite from existing Clubhouse members could join the social audio platform. This drove a huge demand for Clubhouse sign-ups.

Clubhouse had another level of scarcity baked into its platform. Initially, it was available only in iOS. A year later after its launch, it was launched on the Android platform.

Although the craze for the platform has died down, it remains a shining example of how to use a sense of scarcity and exclusivity to increase sign-ups.

9. Amazon Prime: Discount While Supplies Last

Amazon Prime Now has a weekly ad with a time-sensitive discount.

For more examples like these, read our post on how to use discount codes to increase conversions.

10. Bed Bath & Beyond: Top Deals Are Scarce

scarcity marketing tips

Bed Bath & Beyond uses a unique promo offer for each product category in its website’s Top Deals section. All deals have footer text to create urgency in buyers:

  • Limited time
  • Valid thru 2/2
  • While supplies last

This is to let the buyers know they’ll get the most value for their money if they buy sooner.

11. BookMyShow: Seats Filing Fast

scarcity marketing ideas

India’s largest online movie and events booking platform BookMyShow uses a popup to convert movie lovers to buy its most expensive tickets.

Let’s see how it works.

The most expensive seats have better reclining, extra leg room, and the best view of the screen. The booking page suggests that people might lose out on the premium experience if they don’t act fast.

They also use ember color text for the fast-selling seats. This is an example of demand-induced scarcity. What color you choose for CTA buttons can impact conversions.

12. Netflix: Only On Netflix

netflix scarcity marketing

Netflix knows that movie lovers will go to any extent to watch their favorite movies and shows. It buys the copyright of high-demand content like Kill Boksoon and Money Heist.

It even has an entire genre called Only On Netflix for non-subscribers to browse. Netflix drives new subscriptions by making high-demand content available only on its platform.

13. Tesla Apparrel: Notify When Available

how to use scarcity in marketing

Tesla has an eCommerce shop that sells vehicle accessories, battery chargers, and apparel. The website has a functionality for buyers to receive an email notification for out-of-stock items.

This is a genius scarcity marketing example on many levels.

  • First, it implies that out-of-stock products are scarce resources. People are more likely to opt in for notifications if they think it’s going to fly off the shelves.
  • Second, it’s also a lead generation technique. Buyers who optin for a notification will also start getting marketing emails from Tesla for other products in the future.

Pro-tip: Want to target and convert website visitors based on their past interactions? Use OptinMonster’s Onsite Retargeting®. It lets you optimize campaigns for returning visitors and boost your eCommerce sales.

14. MasterClass: BOGO Meets Limited-Time Offer

how to use scarcity marketing

Buy one get one (BOGO) is a great way to convert customers and increase your average order value.

In this scarcity example, MasterClass offers 2 memberships for the cost of 1. It combines the discount with a holiday offer that’s ending soon.

Product bundling like this gets buyers to convert faster because they get a 2x return on investment (ROI) on their purchase.

15. Coke: Share a Coke

how to use scarcity technique

The world-famous beverage company Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke campaign was a hit when it came out. The campaign allowed customers to buy Coke bottles with the names of their friends and family members.

The campaign sold 1.25 million drinks in the U.S. and improved sales by 11% in a year.

Coke ran the campaign at the expense of replacing its brand name from the bottles. It’s a classic example of scarcity advertising coupled with emotional intelligence.

Depending on where you live, you can still order personalized Coke bottles from their website. Notice not 1 but 2 website notification bars on the website.

scarcity examples in marketing

The company sure knows how to create multiple sale opportunities on a website!

16. Airbnb: Rare Find

airbnb scarcity

Airbnb makes its customers feel lucky to find properties that aren’t sold out. It’s the company’s way to highlight resource scarcity for their premium property listings.

17. Float: Request Access

scarcity marketing hacks

Float asks new users to request access to the app instead of handing out free signups. This means their platform isn’t easy for everyone to sign up for.

The message is clear: you might not be allowed if you don’t fit the bill. The scarcity of access makes it immediately appealing.

18. Moto Z: Limited Time Offer

limited time offer

Moto Z offers its customers a scarce opportunity to buy its new smartphone for only $200.

Limited-time offers convert like crazy.

An online clothing company ran an experiment offering one of its products with and without a limited-time next-day shipping offer. The one with the relative scarcity offer increased sales by 226%.

19. HappySales: Join the Waitlist

happysales ai

HappySales is a business-to-business (B2B) sales technology software that’s yet to launch. Its website allows users to join the private beta. When you click the CTA button, it takes you to a sign-up form.

But instead of asking users to sign up for free, Happysales encourages joining privately. This implies that they don’t entertain everyone. It’s an exclusive circle of users.

20. Nokia: Black Friday With a Twist

scarcity principle tips

Nokia sent this marketing email to its customers a few years back. Instead of offering instant discounts or pre-orders, Nokia made it easy for customers to create a personalized wishlist.

This is among the best Black Friday-related scarcity examples.

21. Amazon: Today’s Lightning Deals

amazon scarcity examples

Amazon’s “Lightning Deals” are offered daily for only a few hours.

22. Ninety9: Happy Hour Deals

what is scarcity

Protea Hotel in Kampala uses happy hour discounts to drive traffic to its retro bar. You can get amazing discounts on a limited variety of drinks, but only between 5-7 pm.

23. Best Buy: Flash Sale

what is an example of scarcity

Best Buy’s flash sale offers multiple scarcity examples rolled into one.

The sale is live only for 48 hours. The website notification bar lets users know the exact time and date when the sale will start and end. This heightens the sense of scarcity.

Best Buy also reminds buyers of the limited availability of products. And that they won’t accept rainchecks.

24. iHerb: 13 Sold in 24 Hours

what is an example of scarcity in marketing

iHerb’s website has multiple cues to convert visitor traffic. It uses a notification bar to offer a 20% discount, While also reminding buyers that the offer ends on a specific date.

Further down, iHerb lets people see the number of products other buyers have bought in the last 24 hours. If you don’t act on time, the product might run out of stock.

The limited availability of resources is one of the causes of scarcity.

Pro-tip: Are your customers dropping off of your website due to out-of-stock products? Read our guide on how to win more sales with out-of-stock pages.

25. Fleet Feet: Clearance Sale

best examples of scarcity marketing

A lot of online retailers use clearance sales to sell surplus products at reduced prices. Online apparel stores especially have clearance sales because they are closing down or need to clear old stocks to make room for new product inventory.

In any case, a clearance sale implies that the discounted offering is going to run for a short time. Here, Fleet Feet has an entire product category called Clearance with discounted products.

26. Thread Up: End-of-Year Sale

best examples of scarcity principle

End-of-year sales are similar to clearance sale campaigns. Thread Up, a second-hand apparel store, combines its year-end sale with multiple other promotions.

The copy on the website offers a discount code and free shipping. It also reminds customers about the sale ending date and time to trigger buyers’ scarcity mindset.

27. Pulp & Press: Abandoned Cart Email

Pulp & Press sends buyers a limited-time discount on their orders to reduce cart abandonment. This is a great way to create artificial scarcity and convert lost opportunities into sales.

28. Asos: Black Friday Deal

examples of scarcity marketing online

Asos offers a Black Friday discount code. It follows its promotion by reminding people to stay safe and be ahead of the surge.

This is among the best scarcity examples that explicitly communicate the limited resources and time.

29. Catalina Crunch: Early Access SMS Marketing

scarcity marketing technique

Catalina Crunch offers users early access to its Black Friday deals. When visitors click on the signup button, the website asks them to enter their phone number.

These kinds of optin campaigns are trade-offs between what buyers want and what sellers can offer.

30. Jeffree Star: A Different Take on Scarcity

scarcity examples online

Jeffree Star has a different take on creating scarcity.

Instead of creating scarcity with limited-time offers or discounts, they do it with delivery times.

Jeffree Star uses a website alert banner to let customers know that orders after 12/19 will be delivered after Christmas. This means the earlier people place their orders, the earlier they will receive them.

Nice way to evoke scarcity!

31. G Fuel: Giveaways Worth $10,000

tips for scarcity marketing

G Fuel runs a giveaway contest on its website for visitors to enter a chance to win 1 grand prize. Or, they can enter to win 10 runner-up incentives.

Either way, G Fuel’s scarcity example is not based on time. It’s built on the probability of winning by participating in the sweepstakes and answering a simple question.

Pro-tip: Do you want an easy way to run giveaways in WordPress? Get RafflePress. RafflePress is the best plugin that lets you run successful giveaways in WooCommerce.

32. Eightvape: Christmas Holiday Offer

how to use scarcity principle in marketing

Eightvape displays a banner on its website hero section, offering customers tempting Christmas offers for a limited period.

The website also uses a Yes/No campaign to convert visitors into leads. Yes/No campaigns offer people a no-brainer choice: to choose an easy option or skip it for an opportunity cost.

scarcity examples of brands

33. Udemy: Sale Ends Today

scarcity examples inspiration

Udemy has a one-day flash sale for visitors to enroll in one of its online courses. The website also offers a discount code and has a notification bar with a countdown timer.

34. Growth Marketing: Last Chance to Register

scarcity marketing for lead generation

Growth Marketing’s email uses an image of a clock to suggest the need to act fast and create urgency. The CTA adds to the sense of scarcity further.

These CTAs work well both on your site and in your email marketing copy. Read our guide to creating the perfect call to action for more tips to improve conversions.

Time Is Running Out: Use These Scarcity Marketing Examples Now

See what we did there? Scarcity can be a great incentive for buyers to act sooner. Take inspiration from the examples in this post to apply in marketing your business.

If you’re new to marketing, you may also want to check out our comprehensive lead generation guide. Lead generation is the starting point for most things in marketing.

If you’re already running lead generation campaigns on your website, get started with OptinMonster. OptinMonster is the #1 lead generation tool that helps you build marketing campaigns to capture leads through popups, floating bars, sidebar optins, and more.

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What Is Bounce Rate and How You Can Improve It https://optinmonster.com/12-tips-to-reduce-bounce-rate-and-boost-your-conversions/ https://optinmonster.com/12-tips-to-reduce-bounce-rate-and-boost-your-conversions/#comments Sun, 30 Jun 2024 13:00:36 +0000 https://optinmonster.com/?p=89548 Ever felt like you’re pouring your heart and soul into your website, but visitors just aren’t sticking around? A high bounce rate might be the culprit. In this guide, we’ll break down what bounce rate is and why it matters. We’ll also equip you with actionable strategies to keep visitors engaged and lower that bounce …

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Ever felt like you’re pouring your heart and soul into your website, but visitors just aren’t sticking around? A high bounce rate might be the culprit.

In this guide, we’ll break down what bounce rate is and why it matters. We’ll also equip you with actionable strategies to keep visitors engaged and lower that bounce rate.

Plus, we’ll show you exactly where to find bounce rate in the new world of Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Let’s get those visitors sticking around and exploring all your website has to offer!

Table of Contents

What is Bounce Rate?

A bounce is when a visitor lands on your website, checks out a single page, and then disappears. In Google Analytics terms, a bounce is a visit where someone only triggers one request to the system. This basically means they viewed one page and didn’t click anything else or navigate further before leaving.

A bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who check out a single page and then leave, without clicking anything or exploring further. These quick visits are counted as sessions lasting zero seconds because there’s no additional activity for Google Analytics to track.

Bounce rate is a key metric for understanding your website’s effectiveness, and here’s why:

  1. Conversions: High bounce rates often mean missed opportunities. When visitors leave after just one page, they’re not converting into leads or sales. By lowering your bounce rate, you can increase conversions and get more value from your website traffic.
  2. Search Engine Love (Maybe): While the exact impact is debated, some studies suggest search engines like Google might favor websites with lower bounce rates. This means bounce rate could be an SEO ranking factor and better bounce rate could potentially boost your search ranking.
  3. Website Health Check: A high bounce rate can be a red flag for issues with your website. It might indicate confusing content, poor user experience, or unclear calls to action. By analyzing bounce rate, you can identify areas for improvement and make your website more engaging for visitors.

Does a high bounce rate mean trouble? Not always!

Bounce rate matters when your website thrives on visitors exploring multiple pages. Think news sites with in-depth articles or eCommerce stores with product categories. If people are bouncing from your homepage, it might indicate that you are missing the mark.

Bounce rate is less concerning when your website is designed for single-page engagement. This applies to blogs with self-contained articles or landing pages with clear calls to action. In these cases, a high bounce rate is simply visitors finding what they need quickly.

What is a Good Bounce Rate?

You may be wondering what a good bounce rate is, which is a valid question. Here’s a baseline to start:

  • 26-40% is optimal
  • 40-70% is average
  • 70-90% is poor
  • 90%+ is very poor
  • 80%+ is very bad

Don’t get too excited if your bounce rate is lower than 20%. This is likely because of an error like duplicate analytics code, incorrect implementation of events tracking, or third-party addons such as live chat plugins.

While the above metrics are good starting points, bounce rate varies across industries, your content type, and even the device used. These bounce rate patterns give us a clue about why visitors bounce and what, if anything, to do about it.

Average Bounce Rate by Industry & Website Type

Take a look at the chart below to see an average bounce rate by industry:

Retail and eCommerce sites have the lowest bounce rates because there are so many webpages on a typical shopping site. Most shoppers will visit one page, then see another product that interests them and click there. Or they’ll purchase that item, which will take them to the checkout page. There’s a clear pathway for visitors to follow.

On the other hand, landing pages, dictionaries, portals, and blogs typically have much higher bounce rates. But this doesn’t mean all these websites aren’t converting. It just means that they serve a specific purpose that is usually filled in a single page.

Someone looking for the definition of a word will leave as soon as they’ve found that definition. Portal websites, by definition, link to content on other sites, so visitors likely only spend one session on the portal itself. And landing pages are often specifically designed without navigation or internal links so that visitors don’t get distracted from the one desired conversion event.

Average Bounce Rate by Channel

Next, let’s look at the average bounce rate by channel or traffic source:

As you can see, display and social have the highest bounce rates. That’s because visitors from those channels are likely to just be clicking casually on a banner ad or social media link, and then leaving to get back to their originally intended action.

On the other hand, referral and email tend to have the lowest bounce rates. Visitors coming in through a link from a similar website are more likely to already be interested in your content. Email subscribers are even more invested in your business, since they opted into your email list. As you’re thinking about how to reduce the bounce rate on your site, make sure to look at which channels bring in most of your traffic.

Average Bounce Rate by Device

Finally, another factor that affects bounce rate is device. Unfortunately, you don’t have any control over what devices your visitors are using, but you can still use this data to improve bounce rate.

As you can see, mobile users have a higher bounce rate across all industries. This makes sense, since people browse on their phones while waiting in line, riding the bus, and doing other things that might pull their attention away at any time. If you get a lot of mobile users, your bounce rate may appear higher than a site with mostly desktop users. This is just good to keep in mind as you work to reduce your bounce rate.

So the definition of a good bounce rate is complicated. Perhaps more important than comparing your bounce rate to other websites is monitoring your own bounce rate over time. If you have a content-heavy site like a blog, your bounce rate may always be higher than your neighbor’s eCommerce site. That’s okay! Bounce rate is not the only metric of how well your site is converting, and it’s definitely not the most important one.

How to Find Bounce Rate on Google Analytics (GA4)

GA4 redefines bounce rate by focusing on engagement. It considers a variety of factors beyond mere page interaction.

A session in GA4 is considered engaged if it:

  1. Lasts longer than 10 seconds,
  2. Triggers a conversion event,
  3. Generates at least two page views or screen views.

In GA4, the bounce rate is essentially the inverse of the engagement rate. A lower bounce rate in GA4 indicates higher engagement, meaning more sessions meet the engagement criteria.

This approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of how users interact with a site. It acknowledges that engagement can take many forms, not just clicking through to another page.

Here’s how to find bounce rate on  Google Analytics 4 (GA4):

Step 1: Navigate to Engagement » Pages and screens

Step 2: Click the pencil icon in the upper right of your screen; a sidebar will open

Step 3: Click on Metrics

Step 4: Click on the bottom Add metric option, then type “bounce” to find and select Bounce rate

Step 5: Once it’s been selected, you’ll see Bounce rate added to the list of Metrics. Click Apply.

Step 6: Click the Save button. A dropdown will appear – choose Save changes to current report.

Step 7: A popup will appear asking if you’re sure you want to save your changes. Click Save

Why Do People Bounce?

Website visitors bounce for a variety of reasons, but some of the most common reasons are:

  • Unrelevant Content: If the content on your page doesn’t match what the visitor was searching for, they’ll likely bounce to find a better fit.
  • Poor User Experience (UX): A confusing or cluttered website layout, slow loading times, or difficult navigation can frustrate visitors and lead them to bounce.
  • Mobile Unfriendliness: In today’s mobile-first world, a website that’s not optimized for smartphones and tablets will quickly lose visitors.
  • Technical Issues: Broken links, error messages, or website crashes will send visitors scrambling for the exit button.
  • Misleading Headlines and Descriptions: If your page title and meta description don’t accurately reflect the content, visitors might feel deceived and bounce.
  • Slow Page Speed: People are impatient! If your website takes too long to load, visitors will likely bounce before they even see your content.
  • Hidden Costs or Unexpected Information: If visitors discover surprise charges or unexpected requirements after clicking through, they might bounce out of frustration.

How to Reduce Bounce Rate

1. Suggest Other Content

Perhaps the content on a particular webpage really wasn’t what the visitor was looking for. Rather than just shrug your shoulders and let them go, you can use OptinMonster’s signature Exit-Intent® Technology to help them find what they need before they leave your site.

You can use a related post plugin to suggest other posts that might be more helpful. And because WordPress shortcodes work beautifully in OptinMonster, you could even create an exit intent popup showing related posts.

relatedpostpopup

You can also use exit popups to offer a content upgrade, discount, or free shipping code. OptinMonster’s gamified campaigns are a great way to recapture wandering attention.

discount wheel popup demo
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2. Show Targeted Content to Engaged Users

Remember, not all bounces are bad. A user may read your article, find exactly what they wanted, and then leave. This is normal and very common for blog posts and resource sections.

But that doesn’t help your bounce rate or conversions. In this case, you want to show these users with the most relevant offer.

For example, if a user lands on a blog post about cooking, then your offer should be a recipe book instead of fashion items.

Using OptinMonster’s page-level targeting, you can show visitors customized offers based on the pages they visit, traffic source, and more. You can even specify that a campaign only displays to visitors who have scrolled a certain distance down the page or spent a specified amount of time on the page.

Showing targeted content will help you reduce your website’s bounce rate, boost engagement, and conversions.

3. Give Users Something Else to Do

Every page on your website should have a clear call to action (CTA).

Some CTAs include purchasing a digital or physical product, opt into your email list, share your article, or fill out a contact form.

OptinMonster can serve all kinds of CTA campaigns to precisely targeted audiences.

For example, you could use WPForms to create a survey that displays right before visitors exit.

4. Display External Media Onsite

Many businesses embed feeds of their own social media or video content as a way to show the latest updates.

But this can unintentionally create too many opportunities for visitors to bounce. They might see an interesting image from your Instagram feed and click on it. If this was the only page on your site they visited, this counts as a bounce even though they’re going to your social media.

You can use Smash Balloon plugins to build beautiful social media feeds right on your site. With Smash Balloon, visitors can click on an image or video to see the caption, description, and comments, all without leaving your site.

Another major cause of bouncing is from search engine result pages (SERPs). When a visitor clicks on a search result, they’re looking for something specific. If they don’t find the answer or solution quickly, they’ll bounce.

MonsterInsights can help you understand what visitors are searching for.

Then you can use a premium SEO plugin like AIOSEO to optimize your content for the most-searched keywords.

6. Improve Your Site Speed

One of the easiest ways to improve bounce rate is to improve your site speed.

Users are in a hurry and decide whether to stay on a site within the first few seconds. If your site doesn’t load quickly, they might assume it’s broken, or simply run out of patience and leave.

You can measure your site speed with tools like Pingdom and Google Page Speed. These tools also give you recommendations for boosting your site speed.

Use speed tests like Pingdom to help reduce the bounce rate on your website

To speed up your site, you should optimize your images, use a Content Delivery Network (CDN), add better caching, and consider switching to a faster hosting provider like Bluehost.

One of the quickest and easiest ways to keep your website speedy is by using a CDN. Find the right one for you on our list of the best CDN providers to speed up your website.

7. Optimize Your Site for Mobile Users

Many users are browsing on mobile devices while on the go. If they see a full desktop site squashed into a tiny screen, they won’t stick around trying to figure out a way to access your site.

Make sure your site is easy to use on a smartphone. Consider creating mobile-only landing pages or using click-to-call and click-to-scroll buttons to make the mobile user experience better. You can read other best practices for mobile landing pages here.

8. Make Your Text Readable

While images and video capture the attention, most of the important information on a website is still communicated with text. Don’t pay so much attention to pretty visuals and fancy design that you ignore basic readability.

For example, this site looks nice but is very difficult to read. The navigation links are low contrast and lightweight. There is even a banner that says the site is best viewed on desktop, and that banner itself is low contrast and hard to read. This all creates a poor user experience, especially for mobile users!

You need to make sure that the text on your website is easily readable on all devices. It shouldn’t be too small or else users will have to squint or zoom in to read it. Use font sizes that are large enough on smaller screens.

Choose fonts that are clear and easy to read. Cursive or handwritten accent fonts are fine when used sparingly. Use contrasting colors and enough line spacing, font weight, padding, and margin for the text to be clearly readable. This example does a good job balancing high contrast body fonts with accent fonts, and also uses a high contrast button call to action.

Another important point to consider is the language and style you choose to use on your website. Use easy-to-understand language in a normal conversational tone.

9. Split Test Headlines and Page Design

It’s possible that your content does match the visitor’s intent, but the headline or call-to-action doesn’t make that clear.

That’s why A/B testing different elements on your site is important. A/B split testing is when you create 2 versions of the same page with different headlines, copy, imagery, social proof, or CTAs. Then you see which version performs better.

You can also create different landing pages targeting different audiences, regions, or keywords. If you are serving an international audience, then you can detect a user’s location and show them a localized landing page. Showing users content in their own language, currency, and cultural background greatly improves user experience and can help improve page bounce rate.

10. Help Visitors Find Their Way

Your webpage may actually be exactly what your visitor is looking for, but if they have to scroll 80% of the way down the page to find it, chances are they’ll bounce.

Make sure your content answers the question or gets to the point quickly. If your blog post or webpage has multiple sections, consider adding a table of contents or button that jumps to the most interesting part.

For example, many recipe blogs include a long explanation of the recipe development process along with step by step photos. Some visitors may find that content interesting, but many just want the recipe to cook from. Recipe bloggers often place a Jump to Recipe button on all their posts. This lets the visitor who needs something to cook right now find the most helpful part of the post.

11. Match CTA to Intent

You always want make sure that your CTAs are clear and that they match the intent of the visitor.

User intent can fall into 4 categories:

  • Informational: they want a specific answer or general information
  • Navigational: they’re looking for a specific website or webpage
  • Commercial: they’re investigating products or brands with future intent to purchase
  • Transactional: they’re intending to purchase or complete an action

A user wondering how to clean sneakers is unlikely to appreciate an intrusive popup selling new shoes. Instead, perhaps at the end of your sneaker-cleaning tutorial, you could link to your post reviewing a brand of machine-washable sneakers. On the other hand, someone searching for that same review might be interested in your affiliate coupon for that brand. It all comes back to understanding your visitor’s intention and making sure all your content aligns with that intent.

12. Optimize Call to Action Placement

Most users decide whether or not they like a website in the first couple of seconds. So the content in the very first part of your webpage is important. You can optimize this area to immediately describe what you are selling and include a prominently visible call to action.

Make your call to action clear and honest. Misleading users will create a bad user experience which is the number one reason for high bounce rate and low conversions.

There you have it, our favorite ways to reduce website’s bounce rate. When you match your content with the visitor’s intent, you can keep your visitors happy and your bounce rate low.

If you’re looking for other ways to capture more traffic and boost your conversions, check out this article on how to Create a Promotional Strategy for Higher Conversions.

What are you waiting for? Start increasing pageviews with OptinMonster.

More on Conversion Rate Optimization:

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13 Proven Marketing Hacks to Generate Guaranteed Leads https://optinmonster.com/clever-digital-marketing-hacks/ https://optinmonster.com/clever-digital-marketing-hacks/#comments Mon, 24 Jun 2024 10:15:07 +0000 https://optinmonster.com/?p=113991 Do you want to grow your business rapidly? Want to learn how to use digital marketing hacks to generate more leads? Marketing has become extremely competitive in recent years. In every niche, you’ll find brands that sell similar products and lookalike features within a similar price range. And if you do what others are doing …

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Do you want to grow your business rapidly? Want to learn how to use digital marketing hacks to generate more leads?

Marketing has become extremely competitive in recent years. In every niche, you’ll find brands that sell similar products and lookalike features within a similar price range.

And if you do what others are doing in your industry, you won’t achieve your brand’s true potential.

With all the noise and competition around you, finding new and creative ways to capture your audience’s attention can be extraordinarily challenging.

So how do you build a healthy lead generation pipeline to ensure rapid business growth?

In this post, I’ll share 13 digital marketing tips that will give you a leg up over the competition and help you improve your lead generation.

You can click on any of the hacks linked below to jump directly to that section.

  1. Use Various Growth Marketing Tactics to Get Leads
  2. Leverage Video Marketing
  3. Spread the Word With Influencer Marketing
  4. Use Ads to Reach Goals Faster
  5. Focus on the Data
  6. Always Test Your Campaigns
  7. Be Informed About the Latest in Marketing
  8. Use FOMO to Improve Lead Generation
  9. Introduce a Freemium Pricing Model
  10. Host Webinars and Online Workshops
  11. Start an Affiliate Marketing Program
  12. Go All Out with Content Marketing
  13. Give Out Lead Magnets for Free

1. Use Multiple Tactics to Get Leads

Generating quality leads is the #1 priority for most small business owners. If you aren’t generating leads for your website, metrics like website traffic or ranking on the search engine results page don’t mean anything.

Here are 3 marketing hacks that you can use to capture leads on your website.

Use Popups to Entice Visitors

On average, popups convert between 1-8%. Some OptinMonster customers report improving their conversion rate by as much as 600%.

With popups, you can convert casual visitors into leads before they decide to drop off. OptinMonster offers powerful triggers and targeting features to help you personalize your popups for higher conversions.

For instance, triggering an Exit-Intent® popup can help you recover customers who are about to leave your website or abandon their shopping carts.

Here’s an example from Rich Page, a conversion rate optimization (CRO) expert, who used OptinMonster to create an interactive popup. The campaign improved his website conversions by 225%.

marketing hacks

Run Giveaway Contests

Giving away a freebie that your audience wants or running an online competition is an excellent growth marketing hack to help you generate leads in bulk.

At OptinMonster, we have witnessed this first-hand. When we were preparing to launch our annual Black Friday marketing campaign in 2020, we wanted to get more people to participate in the sale and improve our revenue.

We decided to use RafflePress to run an online giveaway contest. RafflePress is the best, beginner-friendly giveaway plugin for WordPress websites.

Here’s a quick summary of the social media campaign we created to promote the Black Friday sale:

  1. First, we created an offer we knew our audience would love: a chance to win a brand-new 13-inch Macbook Pro.
  2. To enter the giveaway contest, people had 2 options:
    1. They either had to share the contest on social media platforms.
    2. Or, they could refer a friend from their network.

As a result, we achieved amazing results with the campaign:

  • 24,372 contest entries
  • 3,500 new users
  • 3X increase in our email list
digital marketing hacks

Running giveaway contests or online quizzes is like managing your lead generation in automation. You just have to set it up once and see the leads flow through the website.

You too can create a giveaway like this with RafflePress. It also has bonus entry actions you can use to increase your leads.

For example, participants can get extra giveaway entries for completing specific tasks like signing up for your email list, referring a friend, or liking your page on Facebook.

Make Use of Gated Content

Do you have high-quality long-form content, such as an ebook, white paper, or other downloadables published on your website? If yes, you can use them as a marketing hack to generate qualified leads.

You simply have to put them behind a lead capture form that requires visitors to sign up with their contact information in exchange for the download.

The content that you behind sign-up forms or paywalls is called gated content or lead magnets. We’ll cover how to create lead magnets in more detail in just a bit.

HubSpot uses its buyer persona templates as a piece of gated content in its resource library. Marketers have to sign up with HubSpot to download the templates. Then they can easily develop buyer personas from one of the templates instead of starting everything from scratch.

growth marketing hacks

To create a great offer like this, you first should know your audience and where they are in the customer journey.

For more ideas like these, read our guide about proven growth hacking strategies. Or, check out how to create a paywall to reserve premium content for paying subscribers.

2. Leverage Video Marketing

Video is one of the most popular forms of media across the board. Over 90% of marketers admit that using videos helps their brands increase website conversions and generate more leads.

Video marketing is a powerful tool that’s growing in popularity. Research shows that 68% of people would rather learn about a new product or service from a short video than other mediums.

Here’s a great video marketing hack from Marketo. One of its landing pages offers visitors the option to watch demo videos in exchange for a sign-up.

growth hack

This is great not only for lead generation but also will make the follow-up and closing of the sale more personalized.

But have you wondered what makes some videos more successful than others? The key differentiator is visual storytelling.

Animoto provides the following tips that can help you tell your business’ story more effectively:

  • Craft an easy-to-understand script with a simple call-to-action (CTA).
  • Use a character in your video to make your storytelling more effective.
  • Break up the video into a beginning, a middle, and an end to make it easy to follow.
  • Conclude it with a clear CTA for the viewers to act on.

This short video ad from Barbie uses storytelling to enforce that the viewer ‘Can Be Anything.’

3. Spread the Word With Influencer Marketing

According to Nielsen’s Trust in Advertising report, 71% of buyers trust ads, opinions, and product placements from influencers.

Influencer marketing is a great way to earn your audience’s trust by using a face and name that they recognize and admire.

But it’s crucial that you identify the right influencer for your audience. For example, if you’re running a makeup business like Revlon, a celebrity such as Emma Stone could be a convincing influencer to your audience.

growth hacks

On the other hand, it makes more sense to use Seth Godin or Gary Vaynerchuk as influencers for your enterprise-focused software startup.

To help you identify the ideal influencers for your campaign, you can leverage growth hacking tools such as BuzzSumo, Tagger, or Afluencer.

Related Content See our ultimate guide to growth hacking to find out the shortcuts Groupon, Airbnb, and Dropbox used to skyrocket their success.

4. Use Ads to Reach Goals Faster

Advertising doesn’t have to be expensive, especially if you invest in pay-per-click (PPC) ads.

PPC ads or ‘paid search’ lets you place various ad formats on search platforms, such as Google or Bing, paying the platform each time someone clicks the ad.

Search engine optimization (SEO) can take a long time to get you the organic results you want. But if you run targeted Google ads, for example, you can keep down your marketing costs and get faster results.

Here are a couple of marketing hacks to use paid search to your advantage.

Create Your Search Ads

You’ll lose a lot of money if you don’t have a proper PPC campaign strategy. While the exact steps to create a PPC ad campaign vary by the platform, here are the most common steps you can follow to create ads on search engines such as Google:

  • Set goals on what you want to achieve such as brand awareness, website traffic, or lead generation.
  • Include the right keywords to attract the right audience. Use a keyword research tool to identify the best keywords.
  • Write your ad copy, use suitable images or videos, and craft a compelling CTA.

For more tips on crafting the best PPC ad campaign, read our guide on PPC best practices to get the most out of your marketing budget.

Create Conversion-Optimized Landing Pages

Once visitors click your ad, the page that they land on can either make or break your campaign. A landing page is often one of the first impressions your prospect will have of your brand.

Optimizing your offer, messaging, and CTA on this page is very important for maximizing your ad ROI.

You’ll lose your time and money if there’s a mismatch between your paid search ads and the landing page that it links to. Consistency and message match are essential characteristics of an optimized search ad.

Justin Rondeau, a PPC expert, suggests the following:

“Make sure your copy (on your landing page) answers these 3 questions within the first 5 seconds of a page load:

  • Who you are
  • What you’re offering
  • Why that matters to the visitor

If you can do this, then most of the heavy lifting is done.”

Want more tips on creating the perfect landing page? You can go through the following resources to improve your landing page conversions:

5. Focus on the Data

Being data-driven in marketing is important, especially when you consider that leading marketers are 58% more likely to use analytics compared to others.

As a start, you can use SeedProd to build your campaign-specific landing page. SeedProd offers native integration with Google Analytics, major email service providers, and Zapier which makes it easy for you to track your landing page performance.

digital marketing tips

Other tools such as Google Analytics, Heap Analytics, and Mixpanel can help you understand your real-time and historical website data, traffic attribution, and the ROI from your ongoing marketing efforts.

6. Always Test Your Campaigns

A/B testing is a crucial part of an effective marketing strategy. It allows your brand to bank on data to make important business decisions.

You’ll need to always test and optimize your campaigns to offer a delightful user experience and yield the best results. A/B testing allows you to compare multiple versions of a page to determine which one converts better.

You can test only one element within a campaign, such as longer copy versus shorter copy, images versus videos, and red versus blue CTA button. Or, you can test between 2 campaigns to track which one gets more views, clicks, and signups.

You should run the test until you reach conclusive evidence on what works best. A/B testing works not just on your website, ads, or landing pages, but also for your popup campaigns.

The importance of A/B testing is indisputable. In most cases, changing something as small as the placement of your popup or the headline copy gets you drastic results.

Here’s one such example from Escola EDTI. The Brazilian management firm used OptinMonster to split test their popup’s color variations and increased their conversions by 500%!

marketing tips

Similarly, Logic Inbound split tested its free trial optin copy which improved its conversions by 1500%.

marketing tricks and hacks

7. Be Informed About the Latest in Marketing

Staying up to date with relevant marketing trends in your industry is a digital marketing hack that doesn’t get talked about much.

But have you heard about Facebook’s new Creator Studio? How about the latest with Amazon programmatic advertising?

The above are growth hacking examples that are popular among marketers. It’s helpful to stay on top of them if you don’t want to miss out on something that may help you generate more leads.

At OptinMonster, we publish blogs that offer practical tips to boost your site’s conversions. You can subscribe to OptinMonster blogs to get free conversion optimization tips and resources directly in your inbox.

email marketing hack

There are plenty of other resources sharing the latest and greatest in marketing. Here are 8 growth-related blogs to get you started that regularly share valuable information and insights as it breaks:

To know more about the latest marketing trends, you might want to read the mind-blowing digital marketing statistics to learn from.

8. Use FOMO to Improve Lead Generation

‘FOMO’ stands for the fear of missing out, a psychological trigger that compels people to take action when faced with scarce or fleeting opportunities.

In marketing, FOMO taps into people’s emotional responses triggered by the potential loss of a valuable opportunity by creating a sense of exclusivity, scarcity, and limited-time offers.

FOMO works like a charm when you use it right. According to research:

If you want to improve your lead generation with FOMO, you need to create urgency-based campaigns, such as:

  • Flash Sales
  • Social Proof
  • Exclusive Access
  • VIP Memberships
  • Limited-Time Offers
  • Influencer Partnerships
  • User-Generated Content

Here are 3 examples of real-life brands that have used FOMO in their marketing campaigns to generate more leads.

Human Food Bar generates 1800+ monthly email subscribers by using countdown timer popups like this:

content marketing hack

DateID offers its users a chance to upgrade their subscription plan to a Gold Membership, but adds a sense of urgency with the countdown timer. Their campaigns built on OptinMonster have yielded a 175% email list growth.

clever marketing hack

And at OptinMonster, we use social proof in our optin campaign to grow our email list.

lead generation hack

Want to learn more about how to leverage FOMO to create urgency in customers? Here are 3 resources to help you get started:

9. Introduce a Freemium Pricing Model

Freemium is a pricing model that online businesses use to offer products with basic features for free while charging money for products that have more advanced features.

The best freemium products give customers enough features that they can use to get hooked on and make them want to upgrade to higher plans with more advanced features.

For example, HubSpot gives the basic version of its CRM completely free for users. But users feel the need to upgrade once they start to see results and exceed the limitations in the freemium product.

free trial hack

Freemium is not just great at improving your free trial conversion rates, but it’s also a genius marketing hack that can help you improve your free-to-paid conversions.

10. Host Webinars and Online Workshops

Hosting webinars and workshops can establish your brand as an authority in your niche, attract a targeted audience, and generate leads in bulk.

Research shows that webinars are highly effective in improving brand awareness and generating leads. According to the findings:

To make your online event successful, identify topics that your audience will be interested in. You can use platforms like Zoom or GoToWebinar to host your events.

Promote these events through email campaigns, social media, and partnerships with influencers in your industry.

At OptinMonster, we host live free webinars every Wednesday on topics ranging from lead generation to email marketing, topics that are relevant to our target audience.

webinar hack

Pro-tip: Want to know how to create a webinar marketing strategy? Here’s everything you need to know about leveraging webinars for lead generation.

11. Start an Affiliate Marketing Program

An affiliate program is a marketing strategy that lets online businesses partner with 3rd-party partners, known as affiliates, to promote their products. Investing in an affiliate program for your business means letting your most loyal customers share your success.

The return on investment (ROI) for an affiliate marketing program is also great because you only have to pay your affiliates if you actually make a sale.

For businesses that haven’t dabbled with an affiliate program before, starting one sounds a bit complicated. But setting up an affiliate program is easier than you think.

You can use affiliate tracking tools such as ThirstyAffiliates, AffiliateWP, or AffJet to manage your affiliate partners, track your campaigns, and handle payments.

For an in-depth understanding of how to create an affiliate program from scratch, read our guide on what is an affiliate program and how to create one.

12. Go All Out with Content Marketing

Content marketing means promoting your business with content, such as blogs, ebooks, podcasts, videos, or even social media marketing.

Content is one of the most popular marketing tools because of how effective it is. According to research by Content Marketing Institute, 57% of businesses they surveyed use content to generate more sales while 64% of them leverage it to nurture leads.

Content marketing can help you elevate your online presence and generate a steady stream of leads. But for your brand to succeed with content, you first need a thought-through content marketing strategy.

With a good content strategy, you can:

  • Improve Brand Awareness: Quality content can increase organic traffic to your site, exposing your brand to a wider audience.
  • Build Trust with Your Audience: Regularly posting valuable content makes your brand a thought leader in your industry.
  • Boost SEO Efforts: Search engines favor brands that publish high-quality content consistently since content is a powerful ranking factor in SEO.
  • Generate Leads: Content marketing helps generate leads by providing potential customers with the information they need to make informed decisions.

13. Give Out Lead Magnets for Free

Many businesses use lead magnets on their websites to grow email lists. They are also one of the best ways to acquire more leads online.

A lead magnet is a valuable piece of content that businesses provide to potential customers in exchange for their email addresses. It can be an ebook, a template, an infographic, or other downloadable that you have published on your site.

Generating leads is a breeze when you have the perfect lead magnet. And Beacon is the perfect lead magnet tool that can help you do exactly that. Beacon is a user-friendly tool that offers 3 products to help you acquire more customers:

  • Lead Magnet Creator to create ebooks, checklists, or workbooks without hiring an expensive designer.
  • Lead Capture Forms to build highly customizable lead-gen forms on your best-performing landing pages.
  • Free Resource Library to create a library of gated content without any technical setup.

The Lead Magnet Creator comes with a drag-and-drop builder and multiple templates to save you time. The Lead Capture Forms also handles the content delivery to customers and lets you track conversions from Beacon’s dashboard.

And you can use the Free Resource Library to create a library of lead magnet content within 23 seconds!

Want to learn how to create the perfect lead magnet for your business? Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating a lead magnet (with examples).

If you aren’t sure about what lead magnet ideas to offer, check out our guide of lead magnet ideas to grow your email list.

What Marketing Hacks Will You Try?

These marketing hacks are only half the story if you never apply them to your campaigns.

Take a look at your ongoing marketing efforts that aren’t giving you desired outcomes. Replace them with one of the hacks we discussed in this post. Or look for ways to incorporate new ideas to hack your marketing for generating more leads.

Want to start with the simplest marketing hack to get more leads on your website? Create engaging popups that grab people’s attention and make them want to sign up for your email newsletter. Get started with OptinMonster today.

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