No-Cost Leads For Web Designers

How We’re Generating Leads With A 10-30% Conversion Rate For Free

If you’re not getting as many leads as you want, you’re certainly not alone. Getting leads and landing clients is incredibly hard for everybody. For people like us, it is even harder because web design is inherently technical and abstract, which makes it difficult to talk about. Here’s a three-step formula that can make a huge difference.

Clear and Measurable Offer

The first problem is also the most overlooked. If you’re not getting the leads you want, take a look at your offer. Most web designers either don’t have an offer at all or their offer isn’t clear and compelling. If the offer doesn’t resonate with potential clients, even the best marketing strategy won’t bring you the leads you need.

It’s sort of like in fitness. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. You can’t out-market a bad offer.

To fix this issue, ask yourself these questions:

Does your offer have a clear outcome that is easy to understand?
Does your offer address a specific business problem your clients face?
Can the result you are offering be measured?

If you can say yes to those three points, you’ve got an offer that will stand out and pull leads right in the face of cheaper alternatives.

Proactive Outreach Strategy

The second problem with finding clients is not having a structured outreach system in place. Generating leads requires a proactive approach and a well-defined process. Relying on word-of-mouth referrals and organic search discovery isn’t enough.

First, make sure you fixed the first problem above so that you have a solid offer. Then, to solve the outreach problem, identify the first thing you would do for a paying client. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, but it does have to be a complete first step that helps people, even if that’s all they get.

Turn this service into a lead magnet to attract potential clients. For example, you could help them set up their Google Business Profile, optimize their LinkedIn Profile, or get them set up on Yelp. Any of those things will give your client more visibility, it doesn’t take very long, and it leads seamlessly to suggesting other ways you could help.

Now, all you have to do is tell people about your lead magnet and invite them to book a call with you if they’d like your help.

Onboarding Cold Leads

The third issue web designers face is trying to onboard cold leads as if they were referrals. Referrals come with “borrowed trust” from the person making the referral, making it easier to convert them into paying clients. Cold leads, on the other hand, have a higher perception of risk and lower levels of trust.

To overcome this obstacle, build trust with cold leads by providing value upfront, demonstrating your expertise, and showcasing your past successes. If you are getting leads as described above, you’re already on the right track.

For me, the big breakthrough was the attitude I had toward my clients. I started to take the attitude that I was on the management team of my client’s business. In other words, I started recommending things that I would do if I were in their situation. I’d put the highest priority things first even if those things were not the highest paying for me. For example, I’ll start helping the client get more leads with the website they already have. Then, once results start coming in, we can update their branding with the new revenue.

Simply changing the copy on their existing homepage, adding a lead magnet to build an email list, and then nurturing those leads with follow up emails are low-cost/high-return ways to start a client on a monthly plan.