There are a lot of steps to creating the perfect offer, and figuring out where to start isn’t easy. In case you didn’t know, working backwards is most effective. Think about it: if a call-to-action (CTA) is a door to the buyer’s journey, it’s just not practical to build a door before the rest of the home is constructed. By starting at the end process of the offer, such as creating the downloadable content, all the pieces that guide a lead to the content will come together afterwards. The key to a successful lead generation strategy is to build a strong connection between your offer, CTA, landing page and thank you page, and the most effective way to achieve that is to start at the end of the line.

Step 1: Start By Developing the Offer

Be sure to create compelling content — it’s one of the most important components of a lead generation strategy. You should have an understanding of who your buyer is so you can make sure to offer them something that hits a pain point and works to solve a problem for them. If you are having trouble with content engagement, consider trying some new tools to really hone in on who your customers are and what content would appeal to them most wherever they are in the buying cycle. If you take the time to focus your content, you’ll attract more valuable leads.

Step 2: Build a Thank-You Page

The thank-you page gives your content a home, and leads don’t see it until they’ve agreed to download your content and have filled out a form on your landing page — remember, we’re working backwards here. Thank you pages are where you deliver the offer, show leads that what they want to download is valuable and express your appreciation for them taking the time to check it out. Here are some tips to make your thank-you page really shine:

• Use an attractive preview image to create a good impression
• Include a simple, brief message that leads them to download and open the offer
• Keep the ball rolling by creating a section of related offers on they may want to additionally download

Step 3: Craft the Landing Page

When leads click a CTA, they are immediately taken to a landing page. It should have a simple design with no distractions so visitors are only focused on what you’re asking them to download — avoid the hype and focus on the message. Tell the visitors about the offer and how it will benefit them so they are prompted to move forward in the download process. Keep in mind that the landing page acts as a gate — it should always have a form the visitor must fill out in exchange for the offer. This way, you’ll gain their contact information to put them into an e-mail nurture campaign. Make sure contacts are taken to a thank you page when they click the “Submit” button on your form.

Step 4: Design a Stellar CTA

It’s the CTA that visitors click to get to the landing page, so you have to strategically design it and grab their attention. For it to be most effective, make it fit into the theme of your website but stand out just enough to garner a click. Also, don’t be misleading with your message — you’ll lose leads if your CTA doesn’t align with the offer on the landing page.

Work Backwards to Move Your Lead Generation Strategy Forward

Generating leads is dependent upon how strong your strategy is. If you use smart tactics to get leads to your content, you can move them through your funnel smoothly. Developing your content, thank you page, landing page and then CTA is a great way to make sure they’re all connected and focused, which boosts your chances of visitors providing their information on a form. In the end, you can improve your ROI and showcase exemplary strategy on your website.