June 13, 2023   |   Vol. 22   |   Issue 6
By Melanie Marcotte, MGI Senior Account Executive

Your Guide to a Successful Lead Generation Program

Is the top of your membership funnel starting to dry up? Looking to take your membership direct-join campaign to the next level? Then a lead generation program might be right for your association. With preparation, a successful program could be up and running within the next few weeks.

1. Identify a Valuable Offer: Take a look at the incredible digital content your association has already produced. Which among them is of high value to your current members? Great examples include a recent white paper or a relevant webinar. Recent campaigns we have run at MGI have included practice guidelines, access to a members-only webinar, and an executive summary of a popular survey.
2. Decide How To Acquire Leads: There are a handful of ways to send your unique offer out into the world. Does your association purchase lists for mailings? Try upgrading those lists for digital marketing touches and send your offer out via email! If you don't purchase lists, not a problem, you can use targeted digital ads to start garnering leads.
3. Create Your Cultivation Series: Your content offer will give hot leads a taste of what your association has to offer. Now, you need to get them in the door. I like to follow up a digital download with a few emails highlighting membership benefits and a strong CTA to become a member. Looking to add a bit more to entice those leads to join? Consider using a small discount to join in the final email of the series.
4. Build Your Landing Page to Collect Data: At minimum, you need to collect first name, last name, country, and email of every potential lead. Other potential considerations can include job title, company name, and phone number. Keep your form simple with as few sections to fill out as possible. And make sure you have the proper opt-ins to contact your leads in your selected cultivation series!
5. Launch Your Program with Strong Tracking: The most important part of any campaign is to launch with clear conversion tracking to determine the success of your campaign. Some questions to ask yourself are: How many impressions are you getting? How many warm leads is your program producing? Of those, how many leads are converting to membership? On average, how long is it taking those warm leads to convert to membership?

Remember, every successful lead generation program starts with a strong content offer. Choosing something of value to your current members will find you hot leads that align with your mission as an association. Looking for more information on starting and managing a lead generation program? Reach out to Jana Darling, Vice President, Account Services at jdarling@marketinggeneral.com or call 703-706-0349 to discuss strategies to boost your membership funnel today.