10 Creative Ways to Generate Leads with Content and Beyond

Try these out-of-the-box ideas for content and other tactics that can help you generate leads.

Generating new leads and growing your business is imperative to a business’s viability. Referrals from current customers are a strong option for growth, but often they aren’t enough to keep a business thriving.

Generating leads is tough work. Creating cold emails can be daunting, and following up with cold calls can be even worse. Most of the time, these calls fall on deaf ears. People don’t want to be pulled away from their day to hear your sales pitch.

Content marketing is the process of creating content that prospects and customers want to consume to educate them about your business, your expertise in the field, and your products and services. Content is an excellent lead-generation tool. But it’s often difficult to create content that does all these things without being an overt sales pitch — which people definitely don’t want to read. And no read, no lead.

So we’ve created a list of 10 ideas for reaching your prospective audience and generating leads with content and more. They’ll appreciate the information, and you’ll help spread the word about your business. Enjoy!

10 ideas for generating leads

1) Interview an expert about success in the field.

Reach out to leaders in your industry to share their thoughts and tips for success. You’ll prove to potential customers that you are committed to discovering the latest and greatest in your field. Don’t be afraid to ask detailed questions and share real answers. The specific answers will enlighten potential customers and provide actionable items for them to walk away with.

2) Create a video.

Videos are a great way to take advantage of social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook. Create fun, entertaining videos that educate potential customers about issues or pain points your business helps solve. Remember to keep your videos short and to the point.

3) Make a quiz.

When visitors come to your website or social media pages, offer them a creative quiz to capture their contact information. Once they have completed the quiz, you get a lead, and they get the correct answers. You’ll learn about more about them as a potential customer, and they can learn more about your products and services.

Eastern International College created a unique quiz to help students choose a major. The quiz helped students learn about their interests and gave Eastern International College useful insight into counseling them on their class selection.

4) Offer content upgrades.

Content upgrades can be a very valuable lead-generation tool. For example, say you’ve written a blog post about the best time to post on social media. Add an offer for a downloadable guide to create a social media strategy at the end of your post. To get the download, customers must submit their contact information via a form. You get the contact info; the customer gets the content upgrade — it’s a win-win!

5) Show your tried-and-true tactics.

What is really working for your business? Write an honest post that allows potential customers the opportunity to see what has really worked for you, and what hasn’t. Your honesty will help cultivate trust with potential customers and benefit other companies looking to grow their lead base.

6) Host a giveaway.

According to Kissmetric Blog, giveaways can be one of the most successful ways to generate leads. The key is to find out what your customers actually want. You can leverage a giveaway to direct online traffic to a landing page, where you can capture new leads. It is important to find a giveaway that is directed at a specific audience. If your giveaway is too broad, you will be left with large list of dead-end leads.

7) Guest blog on a relevant website.

You’ve reached out to experts to put their tips and success stories on your blog — now you need to do the same. Research the sites that your key audience is visiting and offer to guest blog on their site. Create relevant and valuable content that can generate exposure for your company. You will not only come across as a leader in your industry, but you’ll reach a vast new audience.

8) Offer insight into prospects’ top questions.

Consider questions that you hear from prospects and create in-depth tutorials to answer them. Potential customers will find the step-by-step articles useful, giving you the opportunity for a lead. Oftentimes the companies that step up to answer tough questions or provide instructions in easy-to-follow formats are the ones that get the business.

9) Get involved in the community.

There has never been a greater call to get involved in community outreach. Companies that are committed to creating change and engagement in their communities create trust in their customers. Volunteer at local events, guest speak at schools, or help local student organizations. You can demonstrate your expertise while creating real ties to the community. This will help you stand out not only as a leader in your industry, but as a caring and involved brand.

10) Offer a free trial.

According to HubSpot, “free trials of a brand’s services help get a prospect’s foot halfway through the door.” Offering free trials of your services is a great way to demonstrate how your company can add value to your customers. Once they experience the benefits of your services or products, they’ll be more likely to purchase them in the future. The free trial can lead to sales in a low-pressure situation for the customer.