6 Copywriting Strategies That Convert Cold Leads Into Buyers

Everybody wants the freebie, but nobody wants to buy.?

Is that really true? No way! Buyers are out there, and as a copywriter, you’re in the unique position of being able to help your clients find them.?

But how and WHERE do you find them? And does that mean you should skip the freebie and go straight to the sale instead? No way!

In this article, I’m going to give you six copywriting hacks you can use to help your clients?move audiences from the freebie list to red hot buyers list.

The best part is, these six hacks work at any stage of the client’s marketing strategy and can be used to move audiences from free opt-in to the tripwire and on up the value ladder to the main offer and beyond.??

AND you can even use these tips to get better results for your own lead generation and prospect nurturing.

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The Overall Strategy

There’s a common three-step digital marketing strategy that goes something like this:

Lead magnet (free opt-in) > Tripwire (low-priced offer) > Main offer (moderately priced offer)

It looks super simple on paper, but is it though? Is it really? It’s so frustrating to slave over a beautiful opt-in and a flashy tripwire, only to end up spending a bunch of ad budget generating leads that never become buyers.?

The first step to moving people into becoming paying clients and customers starts with the free lead magnet. Make no mistake - just because a lead magnet is free doesn’t mean it should be a throwaway resource. And that leads us to the first step to leading freebie seekers to become buyers.

Step #1:? Provide Value

If your clients tend to get a lot of leads that never turn into buyers, this could be an indicator that they are lead magnet is missing a vital ingredient - value.

A good lead magnet has to contain valuable information or services that the audience is willing to trade their email address for. In this day and age of spam-filled inboxes, people are less and less motivated to give away their email addresses. In other words, make sure everything you offer is GOOD.?

But just because the lead magnet needs to contain a lot of value doesn’t mean it has to be labor or time-intensive for you. A good rule of thumb to follow is to make sure the lead magnet doesn’t require you or your clients' time and energy beyond the initial creation of it.?

For example, offering a free strategy session may seem like a good idea, but you’ll either a) quickly burn out because that’s not sustainable or b) hit a revenue ceiling you can’t break through because you only have so many hours in the day.

Instead, good lead magnets should be things that are one-and-done for the business owner or entrepreneur. Some examples of good lead magnets are a downloadable guide or cheat sheet, e-book, or short training video. These items can be easily delivered to an email inbox over and over again without needing the client’s direct input.

Step #2:? Create a Measurable Result

The value was all there was to it, there would be a lot of buyers out there going from lead magnet to first purchase fast.

But it’s not all there is to it. There are a lot of lead magnets out there that contain a ton of value that still don’t do a very good job of moving people out of the freebie zone into the buying zone.?

Yep, there’s MORE. The lead magnet must be full of value AND create a measurable result for the user.?

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Let’s say your client has a lead magnet that has 16 pages of information on why dentists need online sales funnels. Is that information valuable? Sure. There are plenty of dentists out there who could benefit from understanding what an online sales funnel can do to help grow their practices.

But is reading a 16-page document about a sales funnel, something most dentists aren’t very familiar with what’s going to get the target audience charged up and ready to take action? Or will it become just another thing they’ll struggle to get through and be discouraged about how complicated and intense it is?

Probably the second answer, right? They may read it (or see that it’s 16 pages long and bolt), but they’ll struggle to get anything out of it. It’s a nice read, but it’s just information. That’s not going to keep them sticking around to see what else your client has to offer.

Do you know what will? A lead magnet that helps them get a measurable result. Something that will have them saying things like, “Wow, that’s amazing! Look at what that did for me! Because of this resource, I was able to XYZ! I can’t wait to see what else they’ve got!”

So what does that look like? How about a step-by-step website checklist that gives 10 steps a dentist can take right now to make sure their website is ready for traffic??

Now THAT’S a lead magnet with actionable steps and a measurable result. They read it, they do it and check things off the list, and when they’re done, they have a website that’s ready for traffic - something they didn’t have before.

Now your client is the expert in their eyes, and they’re going to pay attention the next time they see something your client puts out.

Step 3:? Agitate the Next Level Problem

This next step is probably the step people falter on the most. Most people do create lead magnets that are full of value and intended to help get a measurable result, but where they fall short is allowing the lead to walk away feeling like they’ve solved all their problems.

When that happens, the reader is lulled into a false sense of security. Why would they buy if they think everything’s taken care of?

They won’t. That's why step three is to agitate the next level problem.

Using our website checklist example, let's say the dentist has gotten the result. They've gone through the website checklist, and they feel like they're ready to start moving traffic to the site to see if they get better results.?

And if that’s all the further you take them, they’ll just carry on thinking everything is fine.?

Instead, stay one step ahead of them. Ask yourself, “What is the next-level problem this dentist is going to encounter that my client can solve?”?

You want to get that dentist thinking about what else happens when someone visits their website. What do they want that person to do, and what's standing in the way of that? Maybe they want to start getting more booked calls. Well, they’re going to need a call booking page for that and some reminder emails, and so on.?

You need to see those ideas in the lead magnet. Start talking about that problem and what they’re going to need toward the end of the lead magnet content and in the follow-up email sequences. That will shoot you right into step number four, which is present the next logical step.

Step 4:? Present the Next Logical Step

Mr. Dentist now has a value-packed lead magnet that helped him get a measurable result in his hand. Once you’ve agitated his next level problem – he wants more booked calls but people aren’t scheduling – NOW it’s time to put that tripwire in front of them.?

But before you do, you have to make sure the tripwire contains the next logical step to solve their next-level problem. Let me say that again in a different way. If you don’t offer the audience a tripwire that’s the next logical step to the lead magnet, they won’t buy. Period.?

I’ll illustrate this with an example many of us can relate to - ice cream.

A Tale of Two Ice Cream Cones

It’s a super hot day, and you’re outside walking your dog in the park. Fido needs his exercise, hot or not, but you’re dying. Then you hear the happiest sound in the world.

“Ice cream! FREE ice cream!”

You pivot towards the sound so fast that Fido gets whiplash. There, in the corner of the park, is a little ice cream stand. Sure enough, they’re handing out cones for free. YES! In about two seconds you’re in line with your hand out, and as your scoop of vanilla is made, the ice cream man asks, “Would you like a bowl of flamin’ hot chili for just $5 more?”

“Are you kidding me? It’s about a million degrees out here!” you exclaim. “A bowl of hot soup is the LAST thing I want!”

You thank them for the free ice cream, and you wander off with Fido at your heels, happily licking your ice cream cone. You never think about the hot soup offer again.

That’s how it feels to people when the tripwire doesn’t match the lead magnet. Now, let’s look at this example again, only a little differently this time.

Same day, same dog, same ice cream stand. Only this time as you watch the ice cream man scoop your cone, trying not to drool, he says, “For just $5 more you can turn this cone into a double scoop and have access to the add-ons bar.”

You look where he motions, and there, next to the ice cream stand, is a salad bar display set up with all kinds of toppings - crushed candy bars, fruit, whipped cream, sprinkles - you name it, it’s there.?

No brainer, right? You fork over your $5, doctor up your double scoop, and wander off with Fido at your heels, happily licking your (now enhanced) ice cream cone.

Now THAT’S an offer. See the difference? Although the bowl of chili and the toppings bar were both food items of the same price, one was a raging success while the other was a flop. Why?

Because when the freebie is valuable (ice cream on a hot day) and provides a measurable result (something yummy that cools you down) people WANT to take the next logical step to whatever the freebie is.?

When your client’s tripwire is the next logical step for the audience member, they will be MUCH more likely to buy it.

Step 5:? Follow Up

Of course, not everybody will go after the paid offer straight out of the gate. A number of people will walk away before taking the bait (even if it is as good as an ice cream toppings bar).?

Humans are skeptical, and this is a normal human reaction. Studies have shown it takes approximately seven unique “touches” to get people to take action. In other words, don’t give up too early!

Remember when you were a kid, and you really really wanted something? Like, REALLY really? You would bug your parents for days about it until you finally wore them down and they gave in, right?

I’m not suggesting that you do that to your client’s list. At all. But what I am suggesting is that sometimes our clients get discouraged and just plain give up too soon. So send the follow-up email. Engage the Messenger chatbot. Give those freebie fans one more chance to buy.?

Step 6:? Stay Visible and Present

Of course, the end goal is to continue to move the tripwire buyers up the value ladder so they’ll become main offer and potentially high-ticket buyers. Post-tripwire purchase is not the time to drop them. It’s time to turn up the heat, and by heat, I mean nurture them towards becoming red-hot buyers.

So make sure they’re added to the post-purchase email nurturing sequences. Have your client invite them to Like and Follow their Facebook page. Encourage them to keep up on their social?media posting.?

This is the long game folks, and so many business owners forget that. They take the sprint, then die out before they ever reach marathon status, thinking that’s just the way it goes.?

It doesn’t have to be like that. Continuity and longevity are possible, and it’s vital to the growth of any business. This is the perfect opportunity for your client to stay in the game and use that amazing lead magnet tripwire combo you’ve helped them create to keep people in their spheres and serve them better.

Conclusion

So what do you think? Are you ready to start looking at lead magnets and tripwires a whole new way? Give me a thumbs up if this article was helpful, and drop a comment below and let me know!

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