Lead generation's deadly sins

The secret to generating leads successfully lies in the reader's emotional state as they approach the close in your ad copy. The prospect has to experience a sense of excitement sufficient to overcome the tried and trusted strategy of putting it off.

Most of us tend to put off making a decision for as long as possible. We learn the benefit of doing this throughout our entire lives. The words and phrases used in your advertising have to overcome our natural tendency.

There are many copy writing techniques you can use to overcome human inertia, and plenty of things you should avoid. In particular, it's essential that you avoid lead generation's deadly sins. They are...

No punch
No passion
No urgency

Make your copy short, sweet and punchy. Here's why...

You're more likely to get a response from 'Don't wait. Click here now' than you are with 'Please don't delay this decision any longer. As you've seen, it's in your best interests to click this link and respond to our offer now'.

These two examples say the same thing, but the first makes the point in 5 words, so the message gets into the reader's head 400% faster.

Advertising has to work a whole lot harder than almost any other form of writing. Nobody wants to read an ad. They have to be seduced. This is where passion comes in.

Rather than describe your product as 'great', find a word that communicates a specific meaning. Is the product red? Perhaps it can be described as fiery? Is the product black and glossy? Maybe you can call it sexy?

In online lead generation, your goal is to turn a visitor into a serious business enquiry. Once again, that natural human strategy of putting things off comes back to haunt us. This is where urgency has a part to play.

Your aim must be to build excitement in the mind of the reader as they move through your copy. This should come to a head at the point where you ask the reader to respond. You're much more likely to get the response if you give him/her a reason to respond immediately.

The odds are, anyone who doesn't respond immediately is lost forever. That's why it's worth investing time into thinking through the close, and how you're going to inject urgency.