How Big Brands Use Urgency to Drive Conversions During the Holidays

Hurry! Holiday shopping is upon us, which means big conversion opportunities await. Image via Shutterstock.

What's worse than not being able to find the perfect Christmas gift for someone you love?

How about finding it, then realizing it's sold out? Sold out.

The thought alone is enough to cause a pre-Christmas meltdown, but while we're all fretting over the perfect gift, big-brand retailers and ecommerce site owners are off singing carols, waiting for the dollars to roll in. But how do they do it? How do they make us want to buy so feverishly every year? It's not as if holiday marketing differs significantly from one year to the next.

Holiday marketing is - and always has been - all about urgency, about creating a real (or at least semi-real) timeframe in which people need to act, or they'll miss out.

In this post, we're going to look at how brands including Apple, Toys R' Us, Target and Starbucks use the power of the 'limited time only' offer, to turn browsers into customers, who combined will spend billions of dollars online and in-store over the holidays. Then, we're going to show you how to apply those same principles to your landing pages, so that you can create high-converting offers in time for the Christmas sales.

Urgency: Nothing new at Target

If anyone knows when these Target ads are from, please drop a comment below. They certainly predate the internet, but look at the copy; it wouldn't look out of place on landing page made today.

The ad features a catchy headline with a clear CTA (“Charge it!”), a descriptive subheader (“Open to midnight! Every weeknight till Christmas.”) and a few simple visuals to show the reader exactly what to expect.

This ad may be decades old, but the principles that made it a success then still ring true today. Image via Target.

It might be a print ad from the 1950s or 60s, but this Christmas ad from Target has almost everything a great landing page needs. Let's examine it a bit more closely.

We talk about headers and headlines a lot at Unbounce. They're the first port of call for visitors to your landing page, and if you're not pitching something worth their time, they're going to bounce.

Your headline creates intrigue, suggests benefits and, especially in the case of holiday campaigns, creates urgency.

Target's “Be gifty, be thrifty” approach is cutesy and memorable, but also totally appropriate for introducing a holiday sale - it's about gifts and savings. But “Be gifty, be thrifty” isn't strong enough on its own. Adding 'but hurry!' turns the appreciative smile that comes with a good rhyme, toward a sense of urgency. Better hurry, this ad says, or all the best deals will be gone. It's a technique that's been used since cavemen first scratched ads for saber-toothed tiger skins onto the walls of their caves, and it works every time.

Show 'em what you've got

Here's something else we see on modern landing pages - show the people what you've got. It doesn't matter whether it's an ad, a landing page or an overlay, it's a pitch. You're showing people what you've got, and at Christmas time, the best way to show people what you've got, is to literally show them what you've got.

Make it easy

There's another key tactic at play here: Make it easy. That means, make it clear that shopping with you is going to be simple and straightforward (more so than if you were to shop with the competition). Time is short, and you need gifts - we're here to help. Target makes it easy by telling its customers that their Dayton's credit cards are good there.

Apply it: Target's four simple rules for creating urgency

1. Create an attention-grabbing headline which mentions gifts, savings and timeframe.


2. Ramp up the urgency by getting specific about limited availability.


3. Show the people what you've got.


4. Suggest to the people how easy the shopping experience can be.

Buy one get one free at Starbucks

For Starbucks lovers, the BOGOF on holiday drinks offer is legendary. And so is the three-hour window in which you can redeem that offer. You'll rally your friends, you'll take a half day if need be, but you're getting to Starbucks between the hours of 2:00 and 5:00.

One for me, one for you… or maybe two for me, none for you. Image via Starbucks.

The variety of holiday drinks on offer is actually secondary in this ad. The focus here in on getting you into the store at a very specific time (between 2:00 and 5:00, when Starbucks is likely to be less busy because everyone's at work.)

Where's the urgency? It's unlikely that they'll sell out of your favorite, unless they run out of gingerbread syrup. The urgency lies in getting in before the offer closes. You can always come back tomorrow, but Starbucks has us by the brain and we want it now.

The BOGOF offer is so effective, and not just on Starbucks holiday drinks, it almost doesn't matter what you're giving away, because one of them is free. That's evidenced here by the headline and subheader, which are literally a statement of the what/when/where of the offer - no frills required!

Use images that resonate

You go to Starbucks for one reason and one reason only - coffee. Starbucks creates urgency with its visuals by showing customers what they want to see - red cups.

Apply It: Create urgency using limited time offers

Whether it's a countdown, an end date or a specific timeframe during which people can redeem your offer, or sign up for your webinar, create urgency on your landing page by guiding visitors towards not only what they can get, but also when. Making your countdown highly visible, with either a static image or an animated countdown, only adds to the sense of urgency, too.

Super crazy Christmas cracker bonanza!

If it looks urgent, it'll make people feel urgent. Most of us are highly receptive to design elements such as color, font, font size and the shape of various elements. Seeing lots of different sized fonts on an ad can be distracting, but it can also create a sense of urgency and liveliness. Look at this example from Toys R' Us:

Only a toy store at Christmas could get away with design this over the top. Image via Toys R' Us.

Most of this is just branding - it's the way Toys R' Us does its thing - but around the holidays, the mixing of lower and upper case letters, the bouncy font and the enlarging of certain words has the effect of creating a sort of… hysteria. That's perhaps not the right way to describe it, but you get the idea, right? It's all SAVE! SAVE! SAVE! THOUSANDS! TOYS! SHOP EARLY! BIGGEST EVER! QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED!

Apply it: No holds barred

Let's just go ahead and list every bit of urgency and sale-related copy in this ad:

• Biggest Cyber Monday Sale Ever!


• Online only!


• Save up to 60% on THOUSANDS of items!


• Quantities are limited, so SHOP EARLY!


• Shop now

Liberal use of the exclamation mark, capital letters in the middle of sentences and restrictions on when and where you can shop, turn this ad into an assault on your sense of urgency. You know what they say: Go big, or go home. When you've got product to move, and if you've got the confidence to shout about it from the rooftops, then you go all in.

Stuff, stuff stuff: Shop now for some stuff

What was true fifty years ago is true now; people love stuff, and if you show it to them in a thoughtful way, they'll buy it.

Apple might have all the budget in the world, but the principles they leverage are free for the taking. Image via Apple.

This ad from Apple is actually for the Black Friday sales, but it works just as well as a Christmas sales ad. Remember in our first vintage Target ad where they showed us what was on offer? Apple doesn't just show us what's on offer, they base their entire design on it.

Normally, it'd be pretty crude (and difficult) to sneak your logo into the same ad five times, but don't forget, when it comes to Christmas sales and ecommerce, as with your landing page, those who dare, win.

Ready. Set. Shop.

How many times do we need to say this? There's nothing subtle about creating urgency in Christmas sales ads. Apple's “Ready. Set. Shop.” headline pulls no punches. This is a race, son, and if you're not quick, all the best stuff will be gone, gone, gone before grandpa nods off after his second cup of eggnog.

And, like old-school Target wanted you to know that your Drayton's credit card was ok with them. Apple wants you to know that you can shop online or in-store, it's totally your choice.

Apply It: Leverage your products

There's a theme running through most of these Christmas ads, and it's that your product is your greatest asset when it comes to creating urgency.

There will be people who want what you've got, and those people are your target audience. The Christmas sales are not a time to pitch for new customers, necessarily. What they are, is a chance to ride the wave of urgency and raise both awareness and revenue. If that means pushing your product more than usual, now is the time to do it.

As quick as a kiss underneath the mistletoe

There certainly is plenty of room for festive cheer, and we encourage you to Christmas up your landing pages as much as possible. But the fact is, people respond to urgency, we don't want to miss out. It's why the same techniques work year upon year, and why creating a high-converting holiday landing page really isn't so complicated.

Still not sure how to build high-converting holiday landing pages?

Download Unbounce and Campaign Monitor's free guide: The Ultimate Holiday Email Marketing + Landing Page Guide

By providing your contact information, you're authorizing Unbounce and Campaign Monitor to contact you with marketing materials. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Netflix Now Lets Mobile Users Download Content for Offline Viewing

Netflix released an update for its iOS and Android application that allows users to download certain content to watch even when they don't have an internet connection.

With this update, a selection of movies and television shows are now available to download for offline viewing, and Netflix said additional content will be made available in the future. Users can download content by going to the information page for a TV series or film and tapping the download button.

This download feature is included in all of Netflix's subscription plans. Users can download the Netflix app for free on the iTunes App Store and Google Play.

Pause Your Holiday Playlist. It's Time for Content Pros!

The holiday season is in full swing. For those of you in the States, we hope you're pleasantly stuffed, rested, and back to work in preparation for some well-deserved downtime. To get you back in the swing of things, Randy Frisch and I invited Joanna Wiebe, Mark Masters, Ruth Carter, and Amanda Nelson to share their marketing experience. Put your Christmas music on pause, grab a steaming mug of cocoa, and start listening to these Content Pros guests.

The Problem with Content's Squiggly Line to the Yes

Metrics on clicks and shares are pushing aside financial aims, resulting in the goal of content becoming more and more about generating interest rather than direct dollars. The thought is that if you draw people to your site often enough, they will eventually buy your product.

Joanna Wiebe finds this roundabout way of closing deals through content cumbersome and unnecessary. It is also undercutting the educational and value aspect of content, leading to short fluff pieces with no truly measurable purpose or impact.

A fan of long-form content and pop-ups, Joanna has made the business case for meaty content that educates, engages, and, most importantly, converts your readers. By embracing the sales aspect of content and using it as a tool for conscious, immediate conversions, she has repurposed content and made it an active part of the funnel.

In this episode, Joanna shares the following with us:

• Why measuring the success of content doesn't mean looking at shares or clicks


• How lengthy, in-depth content leads to holding customer attention better in a crowded marketplace


• Why paying for content means pop-ups, whether you like it or not

How Disruptive Learning Keeps Content Relevant

Anybody can start a blog or podcast these days. But how does a content marketer stand apart from these hobby-bloggers? Furthermore, how do they gain momentum and keep it going over time in a diluted market?

In Mark Master's extensive experience it's deceptively simple. Start with finding the value in your content by asking why. Why are you creating this content? What is it you're trying to do? Once you understand the value that you are bringing to the table, you create content that fulfills one of three conditions: it entertains, it challenges, or it comes from genuine experience.

A few highlights from our conversation with Mark:

• Why developing actionable content means taking a step back and asking “why” first


• How cutting down on content leads to valuable, relevant, and consistent messaging


• How being ok with being bad at something leads to confident momentum

How to Safely and Legally Curate Content

As the volume of content published online continues to explode, navigating the legal rights and wrongs of this content has become increasingly complex. Curation tools make it all too easy to accidentally plagiarize content, and it's hard to keep track of current copyright rules.

Ruth Carter's experience in creating content while working as a lawyer has provided her with the skills and knowledge necessary to share insightful information to help you stay on a safe path while keeping your materials profitable. When it comes to being safe online, the fine print is your friend! Carefully reviewing terms and conditions, citing original sources, and liberal use of disclaimers can help steer you out of harm's way.

Learn from Ruth about:

• How using the tools of content curation can lead to shaky copyright ground


• Why determining legal ownership of content means examining the who and what of it first


• How the incorrect order of words when it comes to FTC disclosures can lead to a possible five-figure fine

What Content After the Funnel Really Looks Like

Most content marketers' journey begins and ends with the sales funnel. They draw prospects in, convert them to customers, and leave it at that.

Amanda Nelson focuses on content that comes after the funnel. She sits in the space after the sale with a goal to engage and retain customers through targeted, responsive content.

One unique aspect of her approach is to join forces and brainstorm with customers on what is important. By talking to them, hearing their stories, and putting them at the center of everything she does, she lets the customer become the voice of the product.

Not only does this keep customers after the sale, but it also feeds information back to the company as to what consumers are looking for in their products. So while Amanda's content starts after the sale, it has a ripple effect throughout all stages of the funnel.

Listen in on our conversation to gain insight on:

• How content does and does not change after a sale


• Why curating the best content means interviewing customers


• How regular internal check-ins lead to efficient and relevant content across platforms

This monthly round-up of the weekly Content Pros podcast shares some takeaways from recent episodes. If you like what you've read (and heard), please subscribe to the show on iTunes or wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.

5 Ways Your E-Commerce Business Can Recover From A Growth Setback

Facing growth setbacks is part of the risk of doing business.

While most companies may only highlight their successes to the public, it's important to understand that every business has its own group of challenges. The key is to recognize the issues and take the necessary actions to move forward.

“You may be facing your share of woes from financial problems to employee shortages to increased competition. Just because those setbacks are occurring and you are struggling to survive, doesn't mean you can't turn your circumstance around,” says Inc. contributor Carolyn Brown.

Let's explore how your team can bounce back from a growth setback.

1. Reassess Your Business Strategy

When major issues arise, reevaluating your strategy is essential to realizing what happened. Moreover, your team can pinpoint the mistakes that stunted your ecommerce business growth.

So, where do you start? Begin with the problem.

Learn why the setback occurred, when it began, where it originated, and how it flourished into a setback. Dive deep into your analytics to assess your sales and reveal any gaps in your system.

Senior management recognizes that failure isn't caused by a singular event. Instead, it's usually a series of activities that slowly lead up to a business disaster. So, examine your current procedures to set up safeguards.

“The way we win business has changed radically, largely thanks to the internet and social media. Companies that are not up to speed digitally won't exist for much longer, so make sure the business is using all the technological tools it can to build momentum,” states Andrew Morris, CEO of the Academy for Chief Executives.

Nike reworked its international expansion strategy. Rather than spending an exorbitant amount of money on sponsorships to gain a global audience, the athletic apparel company initiated the NikeID co-creation platform. Allowing customers to design their own products helped the business deliver unique products that align with different cultural preferences and styles.

Upgrade your business strategy. Keep what works well and toss the rest to the side.

2. Deliver Customer Value

Research shows that “for every customer complaint there are 26 other unhappy customers who have remained silent.” In a market full of competitors, it's easy for consumers to try another brand.

To deliver remarkable customer value, start by analyzing your consumers' purchasing habits. Learn what they like and how specific brand interactions make them feel.

For example, if you know consumers prefer assistance via live chat rather than by phone, your team should take steps to be available online.

Collect this data by instructing your sales representatives to jot down notes during customer conversations. Or simply ask consumers to complete a short suggestion form.

Think of customer value as a cycle. You must discover the opportunities, create the offering, deliver the value, and communicate it to your audience. Then, the process starts over again after receiving the customer feedback.

Image Source

Peepers, an eyewear company, offer shoppers more value by customizing the checkout experience. With personalized messages, customers trusted the brand and believed their credit card information were safe. As a result, Peepers received a 25-30% increase in its organic traffic conversion rate and 15%-20% increase in its average order value.

Offer unprecedented value that your consumers can't receive anywhere else. They'll be happy and your ecommerce company will reap the revenues.

3. Differentiate Your Product

Sometimes, your team must do things differently. And it might just include changing the product.

In today's economy, consumers possess a wide variety of choices. They don't have to settle for products that fail to solve their problems or fall short of satisfying their needs.

Product differentiation is a marketing technique to make your product more attractive than the alternatives in the marketplace. This difference could include customer value, design, price, or even quality.

“Don't focus on features alone, then. Instead, emphasize the benefits of those features. Your advantage lies in how your product or service ties into the emotional needs of your target audience. People make decisions on the basis of either logical reasoning or emotional impulses,” writes Entrepreneur contributor Ray Beharry.

Conduct market research to learn if you should modify your product or change the way you sell your product. To find pertinent data, host a focus group or invest in heatmap tools to monitor website interactions.

Oscar Health Insurance offers customers transparency and only focuses on a small, niche network in four U.S. states. The brand separates itself from the competition by presenting health plans in common language without the jargon.

It may be time for a product change. Find out how to fulfill your customers' desires through differentiation.

4. Hire Employees With Diverse Skill Sets

During tough times, employees are the best assets for your business. And as your company begins to change directions, you will need people invested in your brand values.

In a recovery transition, recruit talented workers with skills that complement your current workforce. Experts claim that future work environments will need people who know how to work with data, understand virtual reality, and can apply the Internet of Things to industries.

Beyond technical skills, interpersonal character traits matter, too. Focus on hiring individuals who know how to develop connections, work on multiple cultural teams, and make creative decisions. Personal finance writer Erika Rawes agrees:

“Your ability to engage in conversation, get to know someone personally, and develop meaningful relationships will provide a competitive edge over the future.”

In addition, retrain your current employees by informing them about new business strategies and expectations. It's a chance re-engage employees and to develop people professionally.

Image Source

Revitalize your workforce during growth challenges. Let your business experience new talent with different possibilities.

5. Continue to Seek Growth Opportunities

Whether your company is undergoing a setback or not, your team should always continue to seek ways to expand. A proactive plan prepares your brand to handle challenges better.

Opportunity is a subjective term. What's great for one business may be a disaster for another.

Therefore, before making any hasty decisions, work with your team to know what your business needs to recover. Do you need more qualified traffic to your website? Or more skilled sales reps to close deals?

And refrain from relying only on your own experience. Your company may benefit from building ongoing partnerships with other brands.

“Don't limit yourself by your own knowledge base and expertise when your back is against a wall. Find partners who can help you implement the new strategy that makes the most sense, not the one that's easiest to execute,” writes Fast Company contributor Carson Tate.

Below is a brand partnership example from Adidas and Spotify. The companies teamed up to offer their consumers a new product called Adidas Go. The app lets customers who exercise with their iPhones listen to music through Spotify that is automatically linked to the pace of the workout.

Image Source

Growth is a continuous process for companies. Uncover new opportunities to respond to infrequent difficulties.

Did you know? With Kissmetrics, you can track the effectiveness of your online advertising. Optimize your marketing by knowing which campaigns perform and which don't. Check out our infographic to learn more.

Aim to Recover

Challenges are inevitable in business. It's vital to understand how to handle setbacks when they occur.

Reevaluate your strategy to ensure it fits your desired outcomes. Deliver unmatched customer value that competitors can't duplicate. And continue to seek partnership opportunities that will benefit your brand.

Push through setbacks. Grow your business.

About the Author: Shayla Price lives at the intersection of digital marketing, technology and social responsibility. Connect with her on Twitter @shaylaprice.

India Unveils the World's Largest Solar Power Plant

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Kamuthi in Tamil Nadu, India is now home to the world's largest solar plant that adds 648 MW to the country's generating capacity.

Previously, the Topaz Solar Farm in California, which was completed two years ago and has a capacity of 550 MW, held the title. Aljazeera reports:

Facebook Pulls Facebook Live API Access From Prisma

Photo- and video-editing application Prisma announced earlier this month that iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 users could stream live on Facebook with the iOS app's visual effects applied to their streams, but not anymore.

Natasha Lomas of TechCrunch reported that Facebook revoked Prisma's access to its application-programming interface, telling the app's developers:

Your app streams video from a mobile device camera, which can already be done through the Facebook app. The live video API is meant to let people publish live video content from other sources such as professional cameras, multicamera setups, games or screencasts.

Lomas pointed out that the frequently asked questions page in the Facebook Live API documentation for developers does not explicitly state that streaming is prohibited from smartphone cameras, and it also says the API can be used to apply special effects to videos, which is what Prisma does.

Prisma co-founder Aram Airapetyan spoke with Lomas, saying there are still big plans for Facebook Live at Prisma, and adding that a new social-focused release is slated for mid-December. He said:

We were trying to fix the issue, but Facebook has a strong policy. It only lets us broadcast to different cameras, drones. Our app is no drone or camera. So this means we cannot do it.

The priority is the social feature coming soon. But after we launch it, we'll seriously consider giving our users an alternative for Facebook Live.

Readers: What are your thoughts on Facebook's action against Prisma?

Stop Building Traffic, and Start Converting It. Here's How

I'll let you in on a little marketing secret.

In the grand scheme of things, building massive amounts of traffic doesn't really matter. What matters is converting that traffic.

Everyone talks about building traffic. That's fine, but it's not the end of the story. If you don't convert your traffic, building it is pointless.

Building traffic is like building a shopping mall. You can easily get people to come through the doors, but if you have only a few lackluster stores, none of those people will turn into customers. You have to give them a reason to stay.

I've seen tons of sites fail miserably because they didn't convert their traffic. A site can have the best idea in the world, but if it doesn't focus on conversion, it'll flop.

Funnily enough, that's what happened to me with my first website experience.

The first site I ever built was a job board called Advice Monkey. I spent over $5,000 to create it and hired three lousy marketing firms. In the end, I learned how to market it myself, but the site still failed because it wasn't set up to take payments.

Had I spent less time marketing and more time optimizing the site for conversions, the site would have done much better. Sure, I probably wouldn't have made millions, but I would've converted more of my traffic and made more than $0.

Take a lesson from me: don't worry much about getting people through the doors while forgetting to build the stores.

Here's how to take all that traffic you worked so hard to build and successfully convert it.

Getting the right mindset

I firmly believe that conversion is an attitude, not just an action. It takes focus and dedication. You have to internalize your goals until they're second nature.

I realize this sounds a little philosophical, but stay with me. You need to see conversion as more than just a bunch of numbers. Why? If you become obsessed with converting, you'll fail.

Here's an example. Say you're hyper-focused on converting. You include a few popups and some social buttons, and before long, your site looks like this:

Okay, it's probably not that bad. But you get the idea.

It's easy to go overboard, and I get that. But as Social Triggers's Derek Halpern points out, going too far can actually become your conversion rate's worst enemy.

You should definitely focus on conversion, but don't get a death grip on it. Conversion is a long-term strategy, not a short-term win.

Now that you've understood the conversion mindset, let's take a look at how to convert all your traffic.

Publish the right content

If I had to pick a favorite form of marketing, it'd be content marketing.

Great content is wildly powerful. The converse is true too: horrible content is wildly destructive.

In fact, your blog can (and will) fail if you get the content wrong. If you create too much content, you'll fail. If you create content that's not relevant to your readers, you'll fail.

So it's imperative you get the content right.

First, you have to decide on the type of content you'll provide. There are many options to choose from: blog posts, webinars, and podcasts, to name a few.

How do you know which type of content is right for you? You have to know your audience. I know my readers are looking for thorough guides, and that's one of the many reasons I use blog posts.

On the other hand, there are people like Tim Ferriss who use podcasts as their medium of choice.

Tim knows his audience loves interviews with experts, and that's what he gives them.

The lesson: Study your audience until you know them as well as you know your friends. Find out what type of content they respond to the most.

You also have to get the length right. I've found that longform content works best. You might be surprised to know that 3000+ word blog posts get more traffic than shorter posts.

Make conversion easy (but not annoying)

If you want people to convert, you need to make that process easy. If your readers love your content but can't find an easy way to sign up for your list or buy your product, you'll lose out.

There are a few elements you have to get right if you want to boost your conversion rate:

1. Make an irresistible offer

First things first: If your offer itself doesn't amaze your readers, you'll get zero conversions.

To create an irresistible offer, you have to know what your readers want. Delve into your psychographics to find out what drives your audience and why they behave the way they do.

SumoMe's blog post called “The Definitive Guide to Content Upgrades” adds a sweet offer:

Everyone who's reading this post wants to learn more about content upgrades, so SumoMe offers a free e-book. It's specific, relevant, and valuable.

On the other hand, if your offer is not specific, relevant, or valuable, your readers will have no reason to take you up on it. Don't beat around the bush with general offers like a cheat sheet on being a better marketer. Your offer should be targeted specifically to your readers.

When you're working on creating an irresistible offer, make sure it's specific, relevant, and valuable. Your offers build the foundation on which you'll build your conversion.

2. CTAs (calls-to-action)

If your CTAs are boring, your conversion rate will be low.

One of the best ways to write a great CTA is to be specific. “Buy now” could refer to anything, but “download your free e-book” reminds the reader what they're getting.

Your CTA needs copy that's exciting. It should feel like you're inviting the reader on an adventure. It should not feel like you're selling something.

Optimizely uses a straightforward and effective CTA:

There's no hard sell here. It's an invitation to test out the software free. Plus, it's a breeze to fill out.

Design matters too. Your CTA needs to be highly visible so people can find it and click it. It's so simple, right? But many blogs get this wrong.

Brian Dean from Backlinko uses a yellow box for his CTAs:

The yellow box works because your eye is naturally drawn to it. For Brian, that means higher conversion rates.

Find out what your yellow box is. Don't forget to A/B test to figure out what's working the best (and what you should ax).

Put in the time and effort to create an eye-catching CTA that engages your readers, and you'll be rewarded.

3. Popups

Quiz time: How are popups like Justin Beiber?

As Hunter Boyle of Aweber puts it,

You either love 'em, or hate 'em, but lately you see 'em everywhere-because they still pull in big crowds.

You might find popups annoying, but they work wonders. We successfully used popups on Kissmetrics to double our conversion rate.

Popups play a vital role in converting your traffic, but you shouldn't go overboard. By tastefully using popups, you can skyrocket your conversion rate.

First, you need to decide which type(s) of popups to use. The days of random popups are gone. Instead, opt for triggered popups.

Let's talk about two of my favorite types of popups:

1. exit intent overlays


2. scroll-triggered scrollboxes.

You're probably familiar with exit intent popups that appear when your mouse moves to close the tab. An exit intent overlay is a full-screen popup that appears when a user gets ready to leave the site.

Smartblogger uses an exit intent overlay with a cunning strategy:

This popup immediately engages the reader. Instead of being presented with just one option, you get two. And one of them has to be applicable to you. At the very least, it raised your eyebrows, right?

And here's the best part: There are two different lead magnets for the two answers.

You don't have to copy this popup, but I hope it gets you thinking about using exit intent popups. They perform well, but you have to put the work in.

Next up is scroll-triggered scrollboxes. These are the little boxes that pop up on the lower right-hand side of the screen. Usually, these popups appear after you've scrolled down the page.

For example, when you scroll to the bottom of any Crazy Egg post (like this one), you'll see this:

These are great because they're not intrusive. They take up a small amount of real estate, and they're far less annoying than random popups that cover up half the screen.

The most important takeaway here is that popups should not distract from the user experience of your site visitors. Don't cover up the content or make closing the popup difficult. Respect your readers.

Conclusion

You're probably drawing in plenty of traffic.

Remember, however: what matters most is what you're doing with that traffic.

Create an irresistible offer, and make it accessible to your visitors. People are willing to check out your offer, but it has to be worth their time. So, add as much value to your offer as possible.

I won't lie. Conversion optimization isn't a walk in the park. But it pays off.

And if you nail conversion, you'll have a bunch of satisfied customers in no time.

What are your biggest problems with converting traffic?

How to Get 100,000 People to See Your Blog Post

What would more traffic to your blog post mean to you? Image source.

What would 100,000 views on a blog post mean to you?

Depending on the goals of your blog, it could mean thousands of new subscribers and fans.

But it could also mean new customers - big traffic means big exposure and big exposure means big growth.

We've been publishing content at Groove for the last five years. We've messed up a lot, we've learned a lot more and we've grown from nothing to over $300,000 in monthly recurring revenue through content marketing.

Today, our blogs are the single biggest driver of growth (as in, real money) for our business.

A couple of years ago, we published a post about how we successfully drove traffic to our blog. It outlined the step-by-step system that we used for influencer outreach.

That post, not surprisingly, has become one of our most popular. We still use the basic foundation of that old system today, but it's come a long way.

This is the updated version.

Below, we'll go through the entire “lifecycle” of a blog post, from idea generation to writing to publishing to promotion, to show you how to generate lots of traffic.

We'll use another one of Groove's most popular posts - “We Deleted Our Facebook Page. Here's Why.” - as an example.

Let's dig in.

1. Picking a topic: Go big

If your goal is to get 100,000 people to see your post, then you need to pick a topic that a lot more than 100,000 people are interested in.

What that includes:

• Painful problems that lots of people or businesses have


• Aspirational goals that lots of people or businesses have


• Controversial issues that lots of people or businesses are divided on

What that doesn't include, from a content perspective:

• Your product, service or sales pitch


• Hyper-niche problems or goals that tiny corners of your market have

There's huge potential in writing insanely targeted pieces, but if you want lots of traffic, start with a topic that already gets lots of traffic.

Think of a highway with thousands of cars on it. It's a lot easier to build an off-ramp and siphon some of that traffic off of the highway than to build a whole new unconnected road and try to get cars to drive to it.

How do you know you're picking a big enough topic?

Start with the problems that you know your market has (if you're lost, here are some questions to ask to get you started).

Then validate the idea by searching for it

Start with simple Google searches, trying different terms around your topic (think like your reader, and use the exact language that you've heard your market use).

It'll become clear to you pretty quickly whether it's a crowded market with tons of content written about it (good), or something that very few people write about and, therefore, care about (bad).

Validate further by using Keyword Planner

Just log in to Google's Keyword Planner tool and select “Search for new keywords.”

You don't need expert-level Keyword Planner skills here. Type some topic ideas into the “Your product or service” box, and click “Get ideas.”

This is what you're looking for:

Keywords around the exact topic you want to write about should add up to a lot more than 100,000 searches per month.

This is what you're NOT looking for, as you'll have a hard time scrabbling together 100,000 views:

Again, we're not going into advanced SEO here, and there's lots more you can do with tools like this.

But you don't need to be an SEO expert to get lots of traffic. This step is all about getting practical validation about the audience size for your topic.

You've got the traffic - now how do you convert it?

Here's a little inspiration: 10 overlay examples to turn your blog traffic into leads.

By entering your email you'll receive weekly Unbounce Blog updates and other resources to help you become a marketing genius.

2. Writing the post: Be bold

Once you've picked a topic you want to write about, you can write your post.

There are three things that every post needs to be if you want to succeed in content marketing:

1. Valuable: Can readers take your post and DO something with it to improve their current condition?


2. Interesting: Does your content make reader want to keep reading from beginning to end?


3. Unique: Does your content stand out from the rest of the content being written about that topic?

All three are “table stakes” for effective content marketing. But for the purposes of this post, where we're focusing on traffic, let's assume that you can handle making your post valuable and interesting… so let's focus on the third: being unique.

Imagine a choir singing a melody; everyone looks the same and sounds the same, so you can't really tell the difference between any two voices.

That's what most content markets look like. Homogenous. Image source.

Now imagine Kool-Aid Man busting through the brick wall at stage left and belting out a tune that nobody in the choir had ever even considered before.

Kool-Aid Man turns heads. Kool-Aid Man is impossible to miss. Don't join the choir. Be Kool-Aid Man. Image source.

How can you be bold like Kool-Aid Man?

Approach the topic in a way that nobody else has before

The first step of which includes looking at how everyone else is approaching the topic.

In our case, there were hundreds of articles about how to write for your business' Facebook page, tips for promoting it, how to make sure that people saw it, what kinds of content to produce for it and so on. Everyone was part of the choir, talking about the best ways to approach Facebook for business.

We decided to be Kool-Aid Man and give our readers permission to not spend time on Facebook at all. Here's the post title we chose:

Facebook simply hadn't worked for us for lead generation as well as other channels had, so in the spirit of focusing our very limited resources on only the highest-ROI efforts that we knew would work, we decided to delete our Facebook page and not spend any more time on it.

We were happy that we did, and we thought that others could benefit from a bit of focus, too. And beyond that, we wanted to offer a reality check to remind readers that just because all of the “experts” talk about something, doesn't mean you have to do it.

And so we wrote the post, the one that busted through the brick wall and didn't look or sound anything like the choir.

Of course, when you write a post like this, a lot of people will disagree with it. Many will even be offended.

But a lot of people will agree, too. And the more worked up someone gets about your post, whether they agree with it or not, the more likely they are to share it with others.

So pick a side. The more contrarian, the better. And defend it vigorously.

3. Find distribution channels: Identify the gatekeepers

If you had 100,000 people on your email list, then getting 100,000 views wouldn't be that hard. But let's assume that you, like most people, don't have a list that big (yet).

Well, there are lots of people out there that do.

This step is driven by simple math: it's a lot more time-consuming to get your post in front of 100,000 people, one by one, than it is to put it in front of 50 people who will each want to share it with 2,000 others.

That's distribution strategy. It's the “influencer marketing” that has become a bit of a dirty word because so many marketers are doing it poorly.

Let's go over how to do it well.

First, identify the influencers (the gatekeepers to your 100,000 people)

This is the most time-consuming part of the strategy, but it's critically important. Skip it or skimp on it and you can kiss your traffic dreams goodbye.

This used to be an extremely painstaking process for us that involved hundreds of hours of Google research. Now it's just a pretty painstaking process that involves several hours of Google research, plus a few hours using BuzzSumo.

Here's what you do:

First, find as many content pieces as you can that have done well and that relate to your topic using BuzzSumo's topic search:

Next, click on “View sharers” for each post.

You'll get a list of influencers that shared the post:

This makes for a terrific place to start your outreach.

Get as many influencers as you can, cutting out the obvious dead ends (bots that curate content, fake accounts), and put them into a Google Sheet (here's the one we use - just make a copy and steal it).

Try to get your list to at least 100 great leads whose total audience exceeds 5 million people (that means that you just need to get in front of 2% of them successfully to get 100,000 readers!), and add to your BuzzSumo-sourced list with:

• Google research (search for the topic you're writing about, and see who's already written about it)


• Twitter search (same approach: see who Tweets about the topic you're covering)


• Quora (if the question that you're asking has been asked on Quora, see which influencers posted opinions)


• Influential members of online communities and platforms related to your market

Quick side note:

Content marketing is a long game, and you'll be a lot more successful if you view it that way. Nowhere is that more true than with influencer outreach.

You're a lot more likely to have success with influencers who know and trust you because you've put in the time to follow and read their content, share it with others and contribute thoughtful perspectives in their comments sections. These are efforts that pay off dramatically over time, and I recommend you begin blocking off an hour or two each week to do that with everyone whom you see as an influencer in your market.

That will increase your success with this next tactic exponentially, though it will still work if you haven't done this yet (it'll just be harder).

4. Tell influencers about your post: Stand out

The next step is to tell influencers about your post.

The approach that we've used (something we originally saw in a Derek Halpern video many years ago) rests on three key pillars:

1. Take the time to make every outreach email deeply personal and honest: Mass emails are annoying and, often, useless. Nobody will want to build a relationship with you when it's obvious that you're sending them a canned outreach email. Personalize each email with an authentic reason as to why you're reaching out to this person.


2. Never send your content in the first email: Almost everybody does this (“Here's my post, please share it”). Not only is it rude, but it makes you look like everyone else. If you don't understand why this is rude, read Permission Marketing.


3. Ask for feedback, not promotion: Again, everyone asks influencers to promote their posts. Remember: don't be the choir. Ask them for something that's not only more valuable, but that they're probably more willing to give: their feedback.

Here's a script we use:

The “authentic” in “authentic reason” is key. Find a post that they've written before, and actually do something with it.

Example:

“Hey Len,

I loved your post about email marketing myths; I had no idea that Tuesday isn't actually the best day to send. Just shifted an upcoming campaign to Friday to see what happens :)

I know you're an expert on this, and I'd love to get your thoughts on a post I'm working on about some surprising results I found when A/B testing subject lines.

Do you mind if I send you a link?”

Now, one of a few things will happen:

1. They'll ignore you. Cool, move on.


2. They won't give you feedback, but they'll respond. In some cases, because you didn't do what 99% of marketers do (ask them to promote your post), they'll do you a solid and share your content.


3. They'll give you feedback.

#3 is the absolute best outcome you could hope for, because not only do you get helpful feedback from an expert on the topic, but now they've invested time in the creation of your post. Now it's their post, too.

So when you incorporate your feedback and come back with a request to share, they'll be more than happy to help:

5. Find what works: Have fun with it

If you repeat this process across 100+ influencers, you will eventually get big traffic. In the example above, the post hit 100,000 unique page views around 80 days after publishing.

If you do this across 10+ different blog posts and different influencer markets, you'll get even more traffic over time. And if you do it for a long time, you'll turn your content into a significant and dependable source of new leads for your business. Because the first step to converting on-site visitors is getting them there in the first place.

You've got the traffic - now how do you convert it?

Here's a little inspiration: 10 overlay examples to turn your blog traffic into leads.

By entering your email you'll receive weekly Unbounce Blog updates and other resources to help you become a marketing genius.

But you'll get the best results if you have fun with the process. Play with it and test different things at every step of the strategy:

• Choose topics that seem weird to you (but that have big audiences)


• Experiment with making your argument in different ways and formats (infographics, videos, etc.)


• Try different scripts and calls to action for your outreach emails

You won't break anything, I promise. The worst that you'll do is get a negative data point that you learn and grow from.

Viral content marketing is both art and science

As you can see, getting 100,000 readers takes both art and science.

On the art side, writing is important and you have to make an interesting, useful and unique case. And you have to pitch it to influencers in an empathetic and honest way.

But ultimately, the art gets you nowhere without understanding that achieving your 100,000-reader goal can be broken down using science: start with a much larger pool of readers, test different ways to build relationships with the gatekeepers, track what works and what doesn't and keep experimenting until you get there.

And don't forget that you won't win by joining the choir.