Fishing & Lead Capture - Part Three of Three

In parts one and two we overviewed fishing for leads, then went into detail on baiting, presenting and setting your hook on new leads for your business. Of course, the purpose of your lead generation is to sell a product, service, or opportunity. That's your number one priority - to make contacts and turn them into customers. You've gotta land that fish. Now that you have set the hook with subscription confirmation and delivered the bait you promised on your lead capture page ... How do you get him in without snapping the line? Well, you have to get your emails read - or all the previous effort is wasted. Consider the subject of each email as a headline. If it's not interesting enough to be opened you will probably lose your fish. Keep your (head)line tight. Short and sweet, and usually presenting a benefit - a darn good reason to open the email. If you don't keep the line tight he will throw the hook - and throw your email in the trash. Some fish fight harder than others. Many potential customers are quite defensive. Why should they trust you? They don't even know you. To earn their trust, and to have the best chance of landing your fish, use high quality line - VALUE. Give of yourself. Give of your time. Give something of value to earn the respect and trust of your subscriber - and don't allow any slack in your line. You offered the right bait. You set the hook with confirmation. You keep your (head)line tight so they don't throw the hook (in the trash). You use strong line by providing valuable information. ...and you keep reeling up the slack. You use your email to guide your customer to the sales page - and ultimately to the sale. You can't force it or something will break - the line (reads but no clicks), the hook (thrown in the trash) - something will go wrong and you will go hungry. Guide, offer, help, inform, entice... Closer and closer he gets until you finally grab the net. ...and the net profit. Above all, treat your lead with respect. There is a person behind that email address. Do you prefer a mailbox full of ads? ... or useful information and related links? Do you prefer an honest review? ... or a hard sales pitch? When you DO offer a product, service or opportunity ... offer something of value - not junk for easy money. Your reputation won't stand up to it. Treat your lead, your subscriber, your new friend like a person. Give them a good reason to do business with YOU. ... and stop treating them like fish. Ok, so maybe fishing and lead capture don't have THAT much in common after all. Sorry. My bad.