Two weeks ago, I joined a rounders team.

"What's this got to do with education marketing?" Sit tight and you'll likely benefit from my embarrassing mistakes...

While basking in the distant, sweet memories of yesteryear (when I was known for my keen eye for catching; my mesmerising ability to throw far; and a waistline that was a little firmer), I headed out to town to buy myself a snazzy new rounders kit. Complete with a rather brazen, embroidered nickname of ‘Twinkle Toes’ (I’m now astounded by the inflated sense of sporting prowess I have), I headed to the game, 100% sure that my shiny new appearance would make up for me not having played the game in almost two decades.

I was rudely jolted back to reality during our first game, when a stampede of athletic goddesses caught me out in my first run, and with that I learned the harsh truth about ‘The Journey’.

In marketing, there are two types of journey: at Sprint we call them the ‘WGC’ (Wild Goose Chase) and the ‘HHR’ (Habitual Home Run).

The Wild Goose Chase:

As the name suggests, this journey leads the reader from the email to your website with multiple methods of attracting attention, but with no clear, linear direction; sending them on a wild goose chase. You may be shocked to learn that placing multiple offers on your landing page can decrease your conversion rate by as much as 266% (BLULEADZ). The WGC journey detracts from the key focus of your message, similar to: “Look at me, I haven’t played rounders since The Stone Age, but check out my new glistening outfit, listen to my top sporting banter, and succumb to my ‘grade A’ distraction techniques as I give you a preview of my ‘Twinkle Toes’ victory dance (that I will almost certainly not be showing you on merit alone).

Unfortunately, this journey is the road most traveled.

The Habitual Home Run:

This journey is clear and uncluttered. Even streamlining the amount of form fields in a lead capture form from 11 to 4 can increase your conversion rate by 120% (Wordstream). Practicing this minimalistic approach guides the reader down a single path, without distraction, to conversion - one that may have helped me convert a rounder or two during my debut for the Nora Battys (yes, that’s the name of our team). Had I spent more time honing my batting technique, than perfecting my rounder-ready top knot, I might have been more helpful in securing my team their first win.

So why does this matter?

If you are investing your valuable time and money in a marketing strategy, you’ll likely be one of many missing a substantial chance to convert those perfectly prepped leads. To reach your desired ‘end game’ and convert your leads into sales, you need to be crystal clear about the path you want your readers to take, but this isn’t the only reason! Yes you want to convert the lead that is right in front of you, but think about the bigger picture. There are heaps of other short and long term benefits to using landing pages, from lead intelligence to boosting your site ranking with SEO.

Want to learn ways you can boost your conversion rate and continue to do so with an HHR landing page?

Access your free eBook with heaps of lead generating tips and actionable steps here >

Here's to batting it out of the park!

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Inbound Marketing

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