How to Use Your Creativity to Convert Site Visitors into Leads

To be creative means using your imagination in developing ideas for a work of art. For web developers, art is the website we create. Creativity is your greatest tool to express your message to your target audience. Those who produce unique, compelling websites have the ability to hook and persuade people to buy their goods and avail their services.

Hey, a lot of Web Developers (and their teams) are doing this already, right?

Totally. 🙂

This time, I’d like you to think deeper on how you’re going to use creativity outside and in your website to gain more leads.

On ad placements

Websites are oversaturated with content that wants people to buy, subscribe, click, register, and so on. In a web page, you put call to actions, banners, ad blocks, pop-ups, and sign-up forms in order to persuade people and to keep them connected to you.

I want to show you this photo of an article I previously wrote on the LivePlan blog:

As you can see, they have a tiny ad block of their service located beside the article I wrote. Whenever I share the article on my end, my readers also become their audience (and a potential customer).

According to a study from Smart Insights, the clickthrough rate of these ads are only 0.05%. This means that most people don’t click these types of ads regardless of where they are on your website. But that doesn’t mean that advertising you own service in your own platform is useless. Putting up a small ad like that beside each article in your blog section can add to your conversion rates.  It makes people aware of your brand regardless of where they land on your website. It’s a link back to the landing pages where the majority of the conversion happens.

The challenge is… how can you make people click these ads and convince them to make a purchase later?

This is where creative juices pump in. The following are the best practices in using creativity to leverage your brand:

Be Original, Be Yourself

In the world of digital marketing, businesses obsess about being different. They strive hard to make their brand rise against their competitors.

What you can do is to advertise yourself to make the people aware of your business’ existence. After hooking people on a clickbait advertisement, you must show them something memorable. If you leave a mark on people, they’ll remember you when they need you.

Take the website which we created for Shunji Matsuo, one of the leading and most famous hair stylists based in Singapore:

There are a lot of elements which make the new Shunji Matsuo website compelling, but the one which makes the brand look sophisticated are the photos. The images didn’t look like stock photos—it looks like it’s shot for a magazine. That helps creates a story of how good this hairstylist is inside a potential customer’s mind. If you follow the thought process of a person who wants a makeover, there is a higher chance that he/she will trust his brand and probably get their hair fixed here in the future.

Then, here’s Radium Medical Aesthetics who aim to sell their line of skincare products:

At first look, we’re drawn to their golden catch phrase “Pursue Confidence”  which stands out from the dark background. But what’s more exciting about their web design is the how they broke the norms. Most of the e-commerce sites which sell skincare use a lighter background on the product’s images so the people can see it clearly. Here, the web designers put a product with black packaging in a black background. The design is unusual hence, people take time in scanning the products they sell.

“The first step towards becoming extraordinary is of course, to stop being ordinary,”  – Seth Godin

Aside from web design, content also plays a part in the conversion of a site lurker to a customer. If you’ve noticed, the Shunji Matsuo website and Radium skincare e-commerce website have their ways of touching a person’s emotions. Who doesn’t want a crowning glory that looks like it’s done by the hairstylist of the stars? Who doesn’t want a youthful, glowing skin as they age? Our feelings contribute to our decision-making process. Support your images with a copy that strikes the people’s emotion, you’ll win this game called digital marketing.

Your words matter

An uninspired copy turns potential clients off. I won’t call it a bad copy—another copywriter must’ve spent hours or drank three cups of coffee to finish their work.  This happens to everyone and I believe it only takes a little nudge for it to get the readers going:

• It’s gotta punch – You have to choose your words carefully. It must look and sound pleasing to the person
• It’s a clickbait – Like Buzzfeed’s headlines but please make the content worthwhile. I’ve learned that Singaporeans don’t like it when you waste their time.
• It’s relatable – As if you know what their problem is (and TADAAA! You’re a solution to this problem!)
• It’s authoritative – People should trust what you say and believe in what you do.
• It’s informative – They should know how to work with you. If they see that you make the process easier, they’ll come to you.

Use the above standards to create your company’s motto, the headlines of your blog, call to actions, and the product descriptions. Write interesting copy, be weird, be you, and be memorable!