Building systems for capturing leads is a huge part of a marketer’s day-to-day job – whether they work in the brick and mortar world or engage in internet marketing. The marketing world revolves around constant tweaking, testing and mistake-making in order to figure out what doesn’t work, what works and what works better. There is nothing wrong with making a mistake or two along the way, because it is simply a result of learning how to market more effectively. Some mistakes, however, have little to do with your skill level and may just be the result of negligence or ignorance on a subject. Below, we’ll discuss four mistakes that can cost you valuable leads through your online brand’s website and social media hubs.

Your Site Is Ugly

Believe it or not, this is perhaps the single biggest deterrent for potential customers and can crush your ability to collect leads. Much like in real life, half of the sell revolves around the ambiance and atmosphere: if your website or blog is poorly-formatted, pinging noise in the form of visually conflicting elements or otherwise lacks proper design elements, then few will take you seriously. This lack of a professional projection can cut your ability to generate leads by anywhere from thirty to seventy percent, depending on the severity of the design’s negativity.

You’re Not Teasing

Whenever you generate leads, you’ve usually succeeded because you convinced someone to provide information after they understand what you’re pitching. All too often, many will put the lead capture in front of the reader’s eyes at the same time or even before they have had the opportunity to explain what is being offered and why they should be trusted. Without this information, users will not be ready to give you their information. Even if they are interested, they may simply forget to subscribe or engage if you try to elicit this reaction before they’ve had a chance to learn more.

You Haven’t Been Clear

Just as common of a mistake as jumping the gun to get them to engage early on, some brands fail to clearly convey what they would like their readers to do. Modern content management systems allow users to quickly add multiple ways to capture leads – pop-ups, traditional text and social integration are just a few. Without several different points at which you try to encourage the person to act, you’ll fall short of your lead goals. Even more important is that without telling people exactly what it is they need to do, you’ll just be pinging noise into the vast reaches of the internet.

Your Targets Are Off

Understanding the consumer habits of your target audience is crucial in securing their trust and obtaining leads. If you do not have the target audience understood in a way that explains when and how they like to engage in consumer behaviour, then you are probably not targeting these individuals with the most effective persuasion models. By verifying the likely tendencies of your traffic, you can build lead generation solutions that will work best for your particular demographic.