How to improve lead generation is often a challenge for many marketers. Establishing, growing and maintaining an email list remains important to improve lead generation as a business development strategy. With five generations online -- surfing, buying, clicking on ads, sharing with friends, and communicating directly with brands -- capturing emails is how you begin and maintain relationship building.

Because, after all, lead generation is about building relationships, right? When it comes to B2B marketers, according to Content Marketing Institute 2018, 79 percent credit email as the most effective distribution channel for demand gen efforts.

And, people know that their email is golden. It's the currency of the Interwebz (all the inter-connected platforms and channels) where your target audience plays. Before anyone gives up their email address, you, the marketer, need to give them a reason to opt-in.

7 Ways To Improve Lead Generation

1. Having an effective website. Obviously, Atlantic Webworks is all about websites. In addition to building effective websites that drive business, we consult with you to improve (and integrate) your lead generation strategy. The first step is publishing a website with invitations for your prospects to take action, i.e."Calls to Action" or CTAs.

2. Leverage a variety of CTAs. As stated in number one, Calls to Action are the clickable buttons that entice visitors to interact with your offers. Those buttons may say, "Call Now," "Learn More," "Subscribe," "10% Off," or another invitation. Without any CTAs, a website is one dimensional and lacks interactivity with visitors. The more you're able to entice people to engage with your site, the more opportunity you have to improve lead generation.

3. Offer something in return. It used to be that people subscribed to many lists without thought of getting something in return. That has changed for the good, however, and to improve lead generation you need to give away a freebie. This can be something downloadable like a whitepaper, e-book, or even an infographic people can use on their own website. This content is evergreen, simple and something enticing to your target audience. After someone opts in when they take advantage of a download offer, they are on your mailing list.

4. Consider using pop-ups. We know you know what a pop-up is because you've seen them, everywhere! Pop-ups appear in little or large boxes asking for your email address to sign-up, download, get a freebie, learn more, and "oh, wait, don't leave my site!" This conversation is a love-hate situation. As for how pop-ups improve lead generation, the average conversion rate for pop-ups is 3.09%, according to Sumo.

The top 10% highest-performing pop-ups in a Sumo study averaged a 9.28% conversation rate. Pretty decent, right?

On the other hand, pop-ups can sometimes feel spammy. Now, pop-up blockers are all the rage to alleviate users' frustration with the interference. Pop-ups are an important discussion point that Atlantic Webworks has with our clients. When done the right way, the benefits outweigh the complaints.

5. Publish a landing page or three. Landing pages go hand in hand with CTAs. Once a visitor to your website clicks on a call to action, the next obvious sequential step is to send them to a landing page with a detailed offer. We build landing pages directly within websites so the visitor isn't moving off your site to a vendor's site. The use of dedicated landing pages helps keep the message relevant to people interested in learning more. After all, they clicked on the call to action, right? Make sure your landing page is strong and oriented to your revenue goals. We can help you build tiered landing pages that invite prospects deeper into the funnel, as well. In addition, landing pages can be marketed independently and are also indexed by the search engines. They can serve as a great entry point to your site while also driving leads.

6. Diversify content. Blogging is the epitome of content marketing with staying power. Businesses with blogs get more gain to SEO traction than those that don't. But, what about businesses with more video? Video personalizes a brand and makes it easier for consumption. Yes, people are getting lazy and don't want to read as much text. Why not use video in your content strategy. Says HubSpot, marketers using video see 49 percent faster revenue growth than those not using video. What about images? You can tell stories with images, especially by adding captions directly to the picture. Get creative and do consider blogging, video and more pictures to keep people coming back to your website for more.

7. Integrate social media. Social media, still so critical to marketers, requires integration into the overall marketing strategy. It should never be considered a one-off; rather, posting and engaging on the various platforms allows marketers to share content, build relationships, point people to landing pages, blog posts, videos, and more. No one said social media is easy. Doing it right requires well-thought strategy and consistency. To earn reputation, your entire marketing strategy needs to be integrated, consistent, and comprehensive.

Let Atlantic Webworks help you build your strategy around any or all of the above. Are you ready? Let's refresh your digital marketing strategy to improve lead generation in your business.