Hey everyone. Jason here, digital marketing consultant. And in this lead generation guide,
we're going to go through the best software solutions out there for generating leads online.
Go ahead and check out that timestamps below,
along with some other helpful videos to actually building out your funnel.
Once you decide which tools and software is best for you and your business.
So here is a quick little rundown of the type of lead generation funnel we're going to be
going through. We'll go through some tools for traffic generation, of course, your landing pages,
your lead magnets, what to do with your emails. And of course, actually what software to use when
booking strategy calls as well as pre-qualifying people so you don't get on the phone with a bunch
of unqualified prospects. Again, timestamps below. Let's go ahead and jump right in the very first
step in any lead generation process is of course collecting the leads. Right. And to do that,
we're going to need a landing page. Well, I guess the first step would be getting
the attention that people getting your landing page, but we'll get to that in the last step.
So here let's go and talk about what's the best type of landing page software to use
if you're simply trying to generate leads online, and that is going to be lead pages. Now we have
tested a lot of different funnel building solutions from ClickFunnels Kartra Kajabi,
groove pages and we've gone the other route looking at Unbounced and Insta page and lead pages
in terms of just building and testing, landing pages has come out to be the best solution. It is,
of course not the cheapest by far. And when you compare the cost of lead pages to some of the
funnel building softwares out there that seem to offer more services, if your goal is.
Optimize conversions, especially from paid traffic. Lead pages is the best way to go.
Despite the higher price tag and the less features you seem to be getting when you compare it to
some of the other funnel builders out there, because lead pages really is just a landing page
builder. Now, the second tool on our list here for creating landing pages is going to be mailer Lite.
Now I know MailerLite is not actually a landing page builder. It's an email autoresponder. We'll
get to auto responders. But the reason I'm going to include it here as a very distant second
is because for a lot of service providers and businesses who are trying to generate
leads online, you don't need a really fancy landing page.
And some of what Lee pages offers is just downright overkill,
especially if you're not running a lot of pages. So I'll link up in the cards,
in the description to a video that takes a much deeper dive on this diagram,
where we go through the four key components of a landing page using the ADA framework.
And this is an example of a landing page. We put together in less than
20 minutes using the mailer Lite builder. It's not going to win any design awards, but
it does do the most important thing you need a landing page to do, which is collect that contact
information. Both lead pages and MailerLite are going to allow you collect that contact
information and both lead pages and mailer light will allow you to add custom fields.
So you can ask for more information, if you want things beyond just the basic name,
email, and or phone number. So the next step on our funnel building journey is going to,
of course be the lead magnet, how we actually get people to opt in after all,
we want to provide something of value in exchange for that contact info.
Because people aren't just going to necessarily sign up directly for a strategy call,
although that is a very viable option. So there are three different types of lead
magnets I recommend making, and there are some very specific softwares you can use in order to
maximize your conversions. And of course create actual value from your
lead magnet and the first piece of software I recommend for creating your lead magnet.
Whether you're doing an audit, a report, a template would be canvas. So canvas is a
free tool, although you can upgrade for Canva for work and the main advantage to
upgrading to canvas for work versus just using the free version is number one,
you're going to be able to use graphics and icons. Not everyone else is using.
So your lead magnet will look a little more unique.
And then number two, you're going to be able to do some advanced things like remove backgrounds
and actually have longer PDFs. And so we use canvas a lot for our own PDFs.
Here's an example of a couple of lead magnets we've actually created using Canva.
And if you want to see how you can use Canva to create your lead.
With whatever type of PDF you're making, whether it's a report,
a template or an audit, go and check out the link in the cards and the description
to a full blown video that shows you how to do that. We recently did a video on how to make an
ebook in canvas, and that will cover pretty much any type of lead magnet that you want to make.
Now, following up, if you're doing any. Audit or template, you might want people to
actually interact with your lead magnet. And this is where PDF escape comes in.
This is actually a a hundred percent free tool. And so what you can do
is you can export your design from Canva and then upload it into the PDF escape software.
And then what you're going to be able to do
is create, fill in the blank. So you're going to be able to create drop-downs
and check boxes. And so someone can actually go through your template or your audit.
They can make check marks, they can add their own notes. And this allows you to essentially.
Editable fields inside your PDF. And it's something a lot of other business
owners who are trying to generate leads, aren't doing with their lead magnets.
And after all, most people aren't going to print out your ebook, your template,
or your audit. Anyway, they just want to go through it on their computer.
So might as well take the extra effort and allow them to just type in their
answers. Again, Lincoln, the cards in the description to that. For a canvas video
that walks through exactly how to do this. Now, the other type of
lead magnet that I really like making is a Excel sheet or Google sheet based one.
And so of course, Google drive is going to be our next tool on this list.
Now, even if you're not using Google drive for business, you can still create a spreadsheet
and actually share it and allow people to make a copy and put it in their own Google drive.
This is a really, really valuable. To quickly create some great meaningful lead magnets.
I'll link up in the cards, in the description to a video that goes through four different types of
Excel or Google sheets based lead magnets,
tons of examples in that video. So once you have your lead magnet, of course, now we need to start
sending some emails to hopefully get someone on the phone or check out your sales message.
And there are. Of autoresponders out here. We definitely have not tested all of them,
but we have tested a lot. And so these are the four that I recommend you actually pay attention
to when it comes to deciding. And first up on our autoresponder list is going to be mailer light
again. Now, the reason I put mailer light first is because for nine out of 10 business owners,
MailerLite is going to have every automation solution that you.
For generating leads. Now, if you want to do some really complex automations and funnels, where if
someone clicks one button, they get one email, they click another button. They get another email
MailerLite is definitely not for you. I'll get to some other solutions for that. But when it comes
to basic lead generation where you need to collect contact information, Automatically send emails out
and drive them to either a sales page or booking page to start a strategy call with you.
Mailer light has all of the functions that you need without all of those extra
bells and whistles that are just going to make it more complex to put together your funnel
more features is not always better. So what's great about mailer Lite is with the free plan
you can apply for one, you do need to already have a business and a website.
They don't like affiliate money. You can apply for a free account and on the free plan, you
can actually send automated emails. So a Webber and MailerLite are the only two that I know of
as of the recording of this video, that allows you to build landing pages and send automated
emails. The only reason I'm not putting a Weber first is because we are still testing them.
Although they recently came out with a free plan as an, a couple of months of the recording
of this video. So we're still testing it and comparing it to MailerLite make sure you hit
that subscribe button to learn which one actually wins because right now it's pretty dang close.
We're still using Miller light and you can make free landing pages and send automatic emails.
And of course those emails can drive traffic to whatever your sales message
or your booking page for your strategy calls may be. Now the second one on our list is actually
going to. Get response. And the reason get responses here is while they don't
really have a free plan that you can try out, they do have a free trial.
And if you're looking for those advanced automations
and you want a lot of you want to build a fully functioning sales funnel.
You want a checkout page? You want some upsells and you want a sales page and do some more split
testing and have some automated sequences. Then get response definitely is for you.
It goes well beyond what you need for lead generation, but that's why it would be number
two on this list. And then the next two are just honorable mentions when it comes to
automation. I personally liked the way convert kit handles advanced automation.
So if you want to do anything with advanced email automations and you already have your
webpages for your funnel handled through some other software convert kit is number one.
They do not allow. Automatic emails on their free plan. And I'm not a huge fan
of their landing pages as of the recording of this video, but when it comes to just
handling email automations without any other features, I still think convert kit is number
one. And then then honorable mention number two, here is going to be a Webber,
which seems to be on the path to be a real contender with convert kit and mailer light.
Because I'm still testing. I can't say that you should use it,
but there they do have a free plan. So you can go ahead and check them out. Although
I think MailerLite is still number one in this category. So once you've collected that email,
you probably want to get people on the phone with you to actually book a strategy or sales call.
And of course, That lead. And so to do that, there are two pieces of software I recommend using
either Calendly or book like a boss. And here the goal is to automate the scheduling process because
I can tell you from personal experience, it is no fun to have back and forth emails
with multiple leads at the same time saying, okay, I'll talk to you on Friday after.
Three o'clock and then you have to remember, oh my gosh, I forgot to ask them what time zone it is.
And then by the time you're back and forth, you're double or triple booked. Right? So
go ahead. Use an automated system. I recommend using Calendly here or book like a boss. I
recommend you go through Calendly first, because while it does have a little less features, when
you start paying for the software, I think it's going to be more than enough for actually booking.
Your strategy calls and integrating with whatever systems you're already using,
of course, do double and triple check the integrations and features of both before you
wind up signing up for any sort of annual plan, because you definitely don't want to get 40 to
five days in and realize. I actually don't have the features that I need, but when it comes to
just booking your strategy calls, Calendly is more than enough and they also have a free plan.
So you can easily get started. Now the final step of this booking process, you probably want to have
something in between when they schedule a call with you. And when you actually jump on the phone,
because you want to make sure that you have actually qualified people
on the phone, because it's no fun to get 10 minutes into a sales conference.
You're on the hook for 45 minutes and you realize this person is never, ever going to be a good fit
for us. Right? So I recommend using something like Google forms to ask a couple of pre-qualifying
questions so that you have a better understanding of who you're about to hop on the phone with. And
it gives you a little information, so you can be better prepared for the call.
This has been really, really helpful to us and cutting down on the number of sales conversations
we have started. And then you get that 10 or 15 minute mark marketing. Wow. If I just know that
one piece of information, we could have skipped all of this headache. And then you just go through
the sales call, even though you know, that it's not really a good fit for either one of you.
So I highly recommend that. And of course you can use
Google forums with the free version of drive. You don't have to have G
suite for business. So that does it for the tools for your actual funnel software itself.
Let's go and talk about how to actually get traffic to your funnel with traffic software.
Now, there are. Of traffic management tools out there, keyword research tools
and tracking tools. And when it comes to running Google ads or YouTube ads,
you definitely do not need a software to help you optimize. Now I could get on a
soapbox and talk all day about why most of those softwares out there don't really help.
But unless you have multiple clients or you are spending more than 10 K a month in ad spend on
Facebook or Google, you do not need to use any sort of software to help you optimize
your campaigns. Just spend the time. I know it's time-consuming and it can be tedious and annoying,
but you're going to be very thankful that you yourself go into your campaigns.
See what's. What's not working and make the adjustments yourself as opposed to using some
sort of software as a crutch, trying to tell you what is or is not working in your ads account. So
I'll get off that soap box. But when it comes to running paid traffic or
doing organic via a blog, there are some tools out there that can be very helpful.
The first one is going to be answer the public for organic. So if you're trying to rank blog posts,
answer the public can be a really valuable tool to help you understand all of those.
What and how to searches that go into Google and can give you some money. For content now,
when it comes to more advanced keyword research or keyword research beyond the keyword research
tool for paid ads with Google, then Uber suggest by Neil Patel is a great tool to start with.
There are some limitations now on the free version that is offered and there is a paid version.
But even if you go with the paid version, it's significantly less expensive than a
lot of other keyword tools out there before we move on to the next two. I just want to
quickly mention SpyFu is a helpful tool when you're just getting started with Google ads.
Although it's not a huge recommendation, especially if you're not spending more
than five K a month on ads, you'll find that SpyFu actually does a really good job of pulling
keywords from your competitors, but just because your competitors are using the keywords doesn't
necessarily mean you should. And most of the time, what we found using SpyFu and tools like
SpyFu is that a lot of our competitors are using keywords that wound up being really, really bad.
So just keep that in mind. You definitely don't want
a tool. That's just going to copy what your competitors are doing.
You want to do your own research. You want to be inside your own traffic campaigns. Okay.
I'll get off that soapbox. These next two tools are going to be helpful and no ranting here.
Number one is going to be Google analytics. On the brakes. I know you're like, ah, I
already have Google analytics on my site and it doesn't do anything.
Hold on. There is something that's incredibly valuable with Google
analytics that a lot of people don't use and that is UTM parameters. So I'll wake up in
the cards and the description to a video that goes deep, dive into UTM parameters.
I won't bore you with it now, but essentially what you're able to do is you're able to create
special tracking links that allow you to see the exact. Content and organize all of your links by
campaign. So you have a very detailed breakdown on exactly what content or ads are working
and maybe more importantly, what exactly what ads and content are not working now,
as of the recording of this video, the new version of Google analytics,
what we're calling Google analytics for does not actually have this information.
So if you haven't set up Google analytics,
you still need the universal code and you need the measurement ID. So you need both until Google
analytics. Catches up and actually provide you this information. So just a quick tidbit, if you
just set up Google analytics, go ahead and do some research on how to set up the old version as well.
You still can you need you AE on your site in addition to
the measurement ID. So you need both until Google analytics. Catches up and really,
I think just fixes a bug because you should be able to see that information.
Okay. I promised I wasn't gonna read, so this last one on the list is going to be pretty links.
And so if you're doing anything with content marketing,
this is an absolute lifesaver and game-changers. You probably have some
links that you share over and over and over again. And so what this pretty links allows
you to do is create a short link using your domain. And then you can share that link.
Now, obviously that's not really revolutionary. You've probably heard of link shorteners before,
but what's great is number one, it puts the traffic through your domain.
Not some other softwares. And so you can actually get a tremendous amount of information from that,
but more importantly, number two, it's very easy to update the destination URL.
So let's say for example, you're doing a series of blog posts or YouTube videos,
or you're posting on Facebook and you are linking to your strategy call page or your
landing page. Well, if you blinked directly to one of those pages, What happens when you
need to change the URL in the future, you'd have to go find every single post, right?
Whereas with pretty links, because it is a link shortener and forwarder, you're going
to be able to just go into pretty links. You change the landing page to your booking page or
your new landing page or some other page on your website that you want to drive traffic to now,
instead of the old one. And because it is forwarding, pretty links is able to
take all the links that you've already made and send them to that new destination.
And the old one is like, it never existed. So I highly recommend, even if you're only sharing
once or twice a week, use pretty links for all of the key pages in your funnel,
because it's going to be invaluable when it comes time to switch softwares or switch landing pages,
you just update the pretty link and then you don't have to go find.
Facebook post or tweet or YouTube video or blog posts that you shared that particular
landing page, your booking page on. So thank you so much for watching. Sincerely hope you got some
value out of this video. Most importantly, you have some ideas on the type of software
you can use to better generate leads online, and of course, make it a whole lot easier.
So again, links in the description to some deeper dive videos that go into
actually building this funnel and how to use some of these software.
There are no affiliate links in the description. So make sure you hit
that like button subscribe for more deep dive reviews and break downs, just like this one.
And until the next keep building the business you love.