Collecting Leads on your Ecommerce Website: 4 Do’s and Don’ts

Leads are a very important thing for an online business. Without leads it is very hard to get new customers. This is because more than 90% of people are not ready to make a purchase when they visit your eCommerce website. While gathering leads is important for a lead nurturing program, what you do to gather them is also very important. Let’s go over 4 do’s and don’ts to help you get quality leads for your online business.

1. Don’t Purchase Email Addresses

If you are a business owner you’ve no doubt gotten an email advertising the sale of thousands of emails for a very small cost per lead. They usually come with “guarantees”, like the level of management in a company, or that the list of emails is deliverable by at least 95%.

Do not buy into these for a few reasons. First, these guarantees are almost never true. Some have reported numbers as low as 30% good emails. And if you’ve put these emails into your email marketing platform, one send like this is sure to get you barred from using that platform ever again. In fact, most email platforms explicitly forbid the use of purchased lists. Also, and more importantly, these contacts do not know who you are and any email you send them will come off as spammy, and that's if you make it in the inbox in the first place. Emails like these typically have low engagement numbers and high spam reports, which will send all of your emails, even the ones to your current subscribers, straight to the junk mail box.

Lastly, purchasing emails may be a violation of the GDPR and CAN-SPAM laws and could land you with a hefty fine for violating these rules if the company you purchase emails from was not careful in the way they collected them. The bottom line here is that purchasing emails is not worth the money, or the risk associated.

2. Do Grow Your Subscriber List

It is important to grow your subscriber list organically. This means you collect email addresses from actual subscribers. You can do this easily by continually writing interesting and informative content on your blog or by offering a larger piece of content, like an eBook or a case study, after someone has given you their email address.

For greater visibility you could even add a popup on your site with a form for this kind of content. Adding a visual really helps your visitor notice the content and if you are offering something valuable, they will download it. For example, check out our 7 Tips for Turning Website Visitors into Customers eBook for inspiration.

3. Don’t Be Spammy

What’s key here is to be authentic with your content without being desperate, or you will come across as looking like spam to a visitor on your eCommerce site. You’ll want to be sure that the content on your site not only speaks to the concerns your target market will have, but also builds trust and is reputable. Here’s some things to avoid:

Do Not Keyword Stuff

Not only is keyword stuffing a signal to search engines that your content is spammy, it also looks this way to any visitors that come to your online store or eCommerce website. You should still use keywords on your page, however be intentional about where and how you use them.

Check Your Grammar

It takes only one misspelled word, or misused plural/singular noun, to make you sound like you do not know what you’re talking about. Plural vs. singular nouns, the use of your or you’re, over/under or inconsistent use of commas, and sentence fragments are among the most common mistakes to look out for.

Do Not Make Obscene Promises

Have ever seen the ads for a magical drink that claims to make you lose 30 pounds of fat in 15 days without diet or exercise? What is your immediate reaction to that claim? If you’re like most people then you probably know this claim is highly unlikely and probably an outright lie. Similarly, you will want to ensure the content on your eCommerce website is honest and trustworthy.

4. Do Have an Offer They Cannot Refuse

Don’t be fooled into thinking an offer or a discount is spammy. If you want to offer a discount to increase conversion on your eCommerce website, first consider where they are in the buying cycle. Once you have an understanding of which type of visitor you are making an offer to, be sure to appeal to what matters most. An offer such as a percentage off a purchase can be highly relevant to a visitor in the conversion stage, while an invitation to download free content in exchange for an email address makes perfect sense for a visitor in the consideration phase.

Hot Tip: Be sure you are getting something in return, like an email address, so that you can follow up with them and nurture the lead towards buying your product or service. Use an easy form in your website marketing to help with this.

One thing is for sure, your work as an online business and eCommerce store owner is never finished. There will always be changes you need to make to increase conversions and make more sales online. By continually working on your website you will continue to make progress online. Check out POWR’s 60+ free website apps that can help you grow your online business. If you are just getting started, download our free eBook to help you get more new customers.