Do you ever look at your blog analytics and feel downright discouraged? You’ve been putting so much time and effort into writing high-quality posts, promoting them, and engaging with your tribe. So why isn’t your blog bringing you more leads and customers? Why won’t your blog convert better?
If you’re having trouble getting conversions from your blog now, it doesn’t mean that you’re doomed to failure. So don’t give up just yet. Instead, take some cues from the people who’ve learned the secrets to building a successful blog. Check out these 8 ways the pros make their blog convert like crazy.
Want more subscribers or sales from your blog or website?
Download our cheat sheet on the 8 key places to insert opt-in calls to action on your blog or website.
1. Using multiple opt-in forms
As we’ve told you before, if you aren’t already building your email list, you should be. And how do successful bloggers build their email list to make their blog convert? They don’t use just one opt-in form on their blog. They use many of them. What’s the lesson here? Don’t limit yourself to placing an opt-in form just at the bottom of your blog pages. Make use of your home page, sidebar, and even the middle of a post page.
2. Adding welcome mats and notification bars
Pro bloggers don’t make their blog convert by sticking to just static opt-in forms. They also use welcome mats and notification bars to catch extra leads.
Welcome mats are full-screen call-to-action (CTA) boxes that display on a site when a visitor arrives on your blog. If you scroll down or close the window, the welcome mat disappears. Welcome mats help you focus people’s attention on your call-to-action by removing all other distractions. So they can be a great tool if you want to make sure visitors won’t ignore your call to opt in.
Can’t stand the thought of adding a full-page CTA that pops into place when visitors arrive on your blog? Use a notification bar instead. Notification bars like HelloBar allow you to display a thin coloured CTA bar at the top of your blog page. They can help your blog convert without annoying your readers or driving them away.
3. Using smart CTAs
Want to make sure you don’t irritate current subscribers with annoying opt-in elements on your blog? The pro bloggers sure do. That’s why they use smart CTAs to make their blog convert like crazy.
Smart CTAs show up only for visitors who aren’t already subscribed to your email list. So they’re a great way to target nonsubscribers while letting those who’ve already bought in just be.
4. Displaying social proof
Why will you read restaurant reviews before checking out the new Thai restaurant down the road? Because you base your dining choices on other people’s opinion. Your readers do the same thing when deciding whether to read your blog and opt-in to your email list.
That’s why the pros make their blog convert by displaying social proof (e.g., testimonials, authority endorsements, media mentions, and subscriber numbers).
Want more subscribers or sales from your blog or website?
Download our cheat sheet on the 8 key places to insert opt-in calls to action on your blog or website.
5. Maximizing impact “above the fold”
Another tactic the pros use to make their blog convert is to use the area “above the fold” wisely. The area “above the fold” is the portion of a page users see without scrolling down. Most visitors to your blog won’t scroll down the page they land on unless they see something that speaks to them in the area above the fold. That’s why you want to be smart about what you include at the top of each page.
What do pro bloggers place in the area above the fold? If you guessed that they include information about the purpose of their blog, you’re right. But that’s not all. Remember, how we talked about opt-in boxes and social proof? The pros don’t just include these elements. They place them above the fold to maximize their impact.
6. Using the footer
We mentioned above that readers won’t scroll down your blog pages if they don’t like what they see at the top. But this doesn’t mean you should ignore your footer. After all, the visitors who see your footer were motivated enough to scroll all the way down a page on your blog. So why miss out on an opportunity to keep them engaged?
Pro bloggers make their blog convert like crazy by using their blog footer strategically. What do they place in it? There’s no set formula. But recent posts, top resources, social proof, and contact info are common components.
7. Making sharing easy
Want to make your blog convert better? The pros do it by making it easier for readers to share their content.
Your readers don’t want to copy and paste content from a browser into a social media update. They want you to do the work for them. That’s why pro bloggers place share buttons on their blog that make sharing easy as pie. Some bloggers even limit the number of sharing buttons they include so that their readers don’t become paralyzed by too many choices.
8. Creating specific landing pages
Want to make your blog convert? Don’t send visitors to your home page. Why? Because most home pages are distracting. They contain images, text, buttons, forms, and a whole lot of other jazz.
Data from HubSpot shows that brands can increase their leads and conversion rates by 55% when they increase their number of landing pages from 10 to 15. So instead of sending visitors to your home page, direct them to a specific landing page based on who they are and the offer or content you’re trying to promote.
Use these strategies to make your blog convert better
Just because your blog isn’t converting at the rate you want it to doesn’t mean that a better conversion rate isn’t within your reach. Implement the pro tactics we’ve described above to make your blog convert by capturing more leads and turning more visitors into customers. The pros are doing it, so why shouldn’t you?
Want more subscribers or sales from your blog or website?
Download our cheat sheet on the 8 key places to insert opt-in calls to action on your blog or website.
