What is Lead Capture & 7 Conversion Techniques for 2024

We’ve all heard it: Grab their attention, hold it tight, make the clock count.

But when the rubber meets the digital road, what does that even look like?

But you are not making clickbait videos.

You are selling stuff. Usually much more boring than a snake around your head in a cage…

So how do you craft that knockout offer?

In the jungle of the internet, how do you get your voice heard above the roar?

What are the surefire tactics to make ’em stop, read, and willingly hand over that golden nugget of information—their contact details?

That’s exactly what this guide is about. Here, we’ll be sharing our years’ worth of knowledge on:

• How to properly and strategically capture a lead?
• How to develop a robust lead capture system?
• What technical and psychological factors smoothly draw web visitors into your offer?

In short, you’ll find out what makes this landing page stand out and capture more leads than average.

By the time you’re done reading, you’ll have battle-tested lead capture tactics in your hands – ready to deploy and potentially 2X the output of your lead gen efforts.

Let’s go!

What is Lead Capture?

In simplest terms, lead capture is the act of collecting contact information from people who show an interest in your product or service.

They could be showing an interest by:

• Visiting your website
• Clicking on a specific element on your website
• Interacting with a social media post or ad

You can view this as getting your potential prospect’s permission to stay in touch.

Given this, a typical lead capture form collects the prospect’s name, email address, or phone number.

But a high-conversion lead capture form goes beyond the basics and collects other relevant details as well.

It may collect:

• Demographic information (age, gender, location, etc.)
• Company information (job title, company size, industry, etc.)
• Interests and preferences with respect to what you offer
• Social media handles
• Budget and purchase intent
• Preferred communication channels
• Referral sources
• Opt-in preferences
• Challenges and pain points

These details help qualify a lead effectively.

Now, of course, you can’t throw a series of questions and expect your web visitor to answer them all without losing patience.

And so, you must collect all the details you require strategically — using interactive quizzes perhaps.

We’ve shared a detailed guide on how to create a high-conversion quiz here.

But before you dive into that OR any other lead capturing activity – you need to be very clear on why are you doing this in the first place.

What’s the point of collecting their information when the prospects are NOT buying your product/service in the first go?

Well, here’s why you need to do this:

• Builds a Targeted Audience: It allows you to build a database of potential customers who are more likely to be receptive to your offerings.
• Nurtures Relationships: You can establish a direct line of communication and nurture the prospect via emails, blog posts, or other types of content until they turn into a paying customer.
• Personalized Marketing: Lead collection empowers you to personalize your marketing efforts. You can tailor your marketing messages to resonate with your lead’s preferences, interests, and pain points. This helps you connect with them 1:1 and develop an intimate connection.
• Improved ROI: Lead capture helps you allocate resources wisely. Instead of casting a wide net, you can concentrate on warm leads who have already expressed interest. This saves time and money and also improves the chances of conversion.

In a nutshell, even if the web visitors weren’t immediately won over by your product/service, lead capturing gives you the chance to win them over gradually.

Lead capture VS Lead generation: What’s the difference?

A lot of people confuse lead capture and lead generation. Some even use the terms interchangeably.

The truth is there’s a huge difference between the two.

Lead generation refers to the entire process of attracting your target audience, capturing leads, converting, and nurturing your relationship with them to generate recurrent sales or foster strong brand advocates.

Here’s a visual representation of all these steps:

Now, as evident as it is in the image above — lead capture is a part of the lead generation process. It is a specific step. And quite an essential one.

Here are some more differences between the two terminologies:

Aspect	Lead Generation	Lead Capturing
Purpose	Creating a pool of potential prospects	Gaining permission for future engagement, i.e., utilizing the pool of prospects.
Conversion Focus	Higher funnel activities	Mid to lower-funnel activities
Methods	Content marketing, ads, SEO, etc.	Pop-ups, landing pages, forms, etc.
Role in Relationship Building	Initiates relationship with the prospect	Deepens relationship with the prospect

How to create a lead capture system?

By now, we’ve got all our basics clear. We know what is lead capture, why we need to invest time and effort into it, and how lead capture differs from lead generation.

Now, it’s time to learn how to develop a robust lead capture system and capture leads like a pro.

To kick off, it’s essential to know that the mechanics of lead capture —think forms, pop-ups, etc—merely constitute half of the equation.

The remaining half depends on elements that have a psychological impact.

Such as:

👉 The allure of your lead magnet (offer)

👉 Landing page’s design

👉 Persuasive copy

And an array of factors that we’ve outlined below.

Think of it this way: If your lead capture method is the table, these factors represent chairs that invite prospects to take a seat and indulge in the tempting lead magnet you’ve placed on the table.

If you mess up in either part of the equation, the prospects will be hesitant in grabbing that lead magnet.

They’ll doubt whether your free resource or quiz results are even worth their time and contact information or not. They may choose to leave…

So, gear up as we uncover some silent but powerful psychological triggers that win confidence immediately. And encourage the web visitors to share their details with you.

1. An Offer They Can’t Refuse (neatly packaged)

Your offer is the foundation of your lead capture system. Without this, it’s impossible to get your prospect’s attention, let alone capture their details.

So, the first thing you need to work on is the offer.

How to do that?

Think of something valuable you can give to your target audience for FREE. It could be:

• Free analysis
• Trial of your product/service.
• A discount coupon
• An eBook
• Cheatsheet
• Personalized advice
• Exclusive content (like newsletters, case studies, webinars, etc.)

But it cannot be:

• Outdated reports
• Generic templates
• Workbooks disguised as eBooks
• Access to publicly available content (like blog posts)

You need to offer something high-value and tempting. Something they won’t get elsewhere.

If you can arrange your ‘offer’ without spending time, money, or effort — there’s a high chance your competitors can do it too. Why would your target audience prefer you over the others? Or why wouldn’t you end up as one of their options instead of being their ultimate go-to solution?

So, simply put: low-quality offer = poor lead capture and vice versa.

Given that, here are some attributes you must check off to ensure your offer is absolutely irresistible for your target audience:

• Exclusive (for them, by you)
• Gives instant benefit to the prospect
• Aligns with your core product’s offering

To check off the last point, you need to have a thorough understanding of your target audience, their pain points, and the solution you sell to address those pain points.

For example, it makes more sense for the solar panel installation services website to offer energy-saving estimations as a lead magnet rather than house-planning guides or monthly budget calculators.

Remember, even if your offer is high-value but doesn’t solve or nudge the prospect’s problem in any way, they won’t interact with it. So, make sure you know your target audience well. There’s a section about defining the ideal customer profile in our Pay Per Appointment guide — give it a read for a quick headstart.

…Or if you’ve got time, consider reading this 7-Step Guide to Get a Strategic Marketing Edge for Building a Longer Lasting Stable Business. It’s a complete mini-course on how to accurately identify your target audience and create a customer magnet for them.

Take the Free Mini Course

Some businesses (like eCommerce stores) can also add a ‘limited time’ factor to their offer. It generates quicker responses.

Landing Page Layout

Now, note that this offer needs to be presented to your audience in a certain – systematic – way.

You can’t just randomly throw it on the page.

You need to build a momentum that swiftly takes the reader from one section of the page to another – slowly winning their trust, assuring them you are THE solution they’ve been looking for – and finally pushing them to click that button or fill that form.

But, how do you build this momentum?

Well, everyone has their own theory.

And at LeadsHook, we have our own.

We’ve come up with a marketing trifle landing page design. It is derived from the most successful lead generation campaigns we’ve run so far.

It looks like this:

We recommend this landing page design to all our clients. And anyone who implements it, witnesses instant improvements in traffic retention and lead-generation.

Now, read on as we explain how to create and incorporate different elements of this marketing trifle onto your actual landing page.

2. Add Numerical Proof Under the Logo

This psychological trigger is a part of your landing page – the one where prospects land, interact and leave their contact information.

Ideally, it should be at the top of the page. Either above the hero section, in the hero section, or below the hero section. That’s totally your choice.

You can also disperse the numbers in the hero section like this:

But the numerical proof — this should be a large number that speaks for your success. For example:

• 50,000 Americans have reduced their mortgage payments
• 100,000 Americans have lost over 1M pounds

If you do not have a clientele that big yet, you can simply use a number that depicts the impact of the solution you’re offering.

Here’s a sketched example:

• 10000+ enjoying 50% reduction in bills after solar panel installation

The point? It creates feelings of FOMO.

Prospect lands on your website, sees everybody is taking advantage of your offer, fears missing out on the benefit, and then, they’re instantly considering giving you a try.

3. Time to Completion & Benefit

This trigger should be around your lead capture form, quiz, pop-up, or whichever lead collection method you’ve settled for.

Here’s how:

Source

The idea here is to let your audience know:

• How much time will the quiz or form take? This is the time to completion.It shows you value their time. And it significantly reduces friction if the quiz is less than a minute.
• How much time will you take to deliver the promised benefit? This is the time to benefit.It builds up expectations, keeps them around, and instills an edge of trust.

Both these elements ease the process for the prospect. They know what they’re investing and they’re clear on what to expect.

4. Make a Lead Capture Form

The lead capture form is the skeleton of your lead capture system. Without this, you cannot perform the desired function (i.e., contact capture) even if you’ve managed to capture your target audience’s attention.

There are different types of lead capture forms, such as multi-step forms, pop-ups, quizzes, etc. We’ve covered all of these in detail in the next section.

But essentially, it is a smooth Q&A session where you gather details about the prospect. And the prospect only agrees to attempt this Q&A session because you offer them something valuable in return.

Even when structuring this form, there are some techniques you can use to enhance your prospect’s experience. These are:

1. Text Fields

Say you’re asking for your prospect’s zip code. Now, instead of saying:

Please enter your zip code: _____________

You can say:

Please enter your zip code, we’ll locate finance agents nearest to you: ____________

This explanation (i.e., the text field) shows the benefit of sharing that piece of information, eliminates friction, and motivates them to fill it out.

Similarly, you can add such motivating and explanatory copy throughout the form or at the top/bottom. Don’t make it too wordy though!

2. Question Helper

This technique is also related to the copy of your lead capture form. When asking complex questions (like some expense calculation), add 1-2 lines below the question that explain:

• What to do?
• How to answer the question?

Similarly, when inquiring about super personal details (like physical address, age, gender, net worth, etc), add a few words below the question explaining why you need that info.

It makes filling out the form easier for the prospect and maintains transparency.

3. Humanize the Experience

This technique is related to the visual part of your lead capture form. Add an image (NOT a graphic) featuring humans, right next to the question/step in the lead capture form.

Ideally, the image should feature people smiling and having a good time. It should radiate positivity.

Now, you need to be careful with the relevancy of this image. Opt for a family, individual, kids, or couple’s smiling photo wisely.

For example, it would be offensive if you choose a happy couple’s picture for a lead capture form that generates leads for divorce attorneys. The prospects are probably going through a tough time when filling out the form. They don’t want to be reminded of their pain. Instead, you can opt for an image that features a single person enjoying a serene and free life.

Show them a visual representation of how happy they would be if they opt for the solution you offer.

5. Match CTA to Immediate Outcome or Emotional Outcome

Most CTA buttons at the end of lead capture forms say:

• Next
• Submit
• Finish

We recommend replacing this non-emotive text with something action inspiring, like:

• Reduce my power bill
• Increase my cashflow
• Value My Injury Claim
• Qualify My Claim

If you use quality lead capture software like LeadsHook, you can even use custom fields for CTA buttons. You can add the prospect’s name to the button or some info that personalizes the CTA button for them.

For example:

• Ethan’s Weight Loss Plan
• Find Sellers Near Ethan
• Find Agents in Greenwich

We recommended this hack to our client and they witnessed a significant rise in their website lead capture.

6. Testimonial Near Site of Interaction

We recommend placing this trigger either on your landing page, right next to the button that takes the prospect to the lead capture form. Or next to the final CTA button in the lead capture form where you’ve to push the web visitor to submit the form and share their information with you.

It’s a no-brainer. And a lot of people already do it. Check out Canva’s implementation:

But here’s something that can make it even more effective; Use language that supports and reinforces the outcome of the form as well as the end outcome (i.e., the impact of your product/service).

For example, say you offer HVAC services. You can embed a testimonial next to your lead capture form in which the client:

• Confirms the form/quiz helped them figure out the exact services they needed (reinforces outcome of the form)
• Expresses gratitude and satisfaction regarding the overall output of service. (reinforces end outcome)

It settles the worries and concerns brewing in the prospect’s mind.

7. Match Hooks from Ad to Lander

This one’s more related to your customer engagement journey. Let’s say you see an ad on Facebook that says:

Find Your Perfect Pug Today

But when you click on that, you are directed to a landing page that says:

Adopt a Rescue Cat Today

Source

The intent, the copy, the design — nothing on the landing page matches the ad. This will be highly confusing and disorienting for you if you’re someone who really wanted to get a Pug and that hook is what drew you in.

As a result, you’ll exit the page immediately.

And that defeats the whole purpose. If the prospect doesn’t stay, you have no chance to convince them or capture their contact info.

So, make sure you align the hook of the ad with the lander.

Here’s a good example:

Source

Similarly, if you’re promising, airfare calculations in your ad, direct the visitor to the calculator page – not to the home page. And so on.

The Other Half: Lead Capture Tactics

As mentioned earlier, a robust lead capture system has two parts; the mechanical framework that’s fit for your audience and the psychological triggers that actually help the framework function.

We’ve covered emotional triggers in deep detail above. Now, let’s check out the options you have to set up your perfect lead capture form:

Popups

Popups are attention-grabbing overlays or windows that appear on a website to capture the visitor’s attention and encourage them to take a specific action. They are highly effective for capturing leads, especially when they offer high-value resources in exchange for just an email address.

There are different types of popups:

• Entry Popups: These appear when a visitor first arrives on a website. They aim to capture attention immediately but can sometimes feel intrusive.
• Exit-Intent Popups: These are triggered when a visitor is about to leave the website. They attempt to retain the visitor’s attention by offering something valuable.
• Timed Popups: These appear after a set amount of time has passed since the visitor landed on the website. They can prevent overwhelming visitors upon arrival.
• Scroll-Triggered Popups: They appear when the visitor scrolls down a certain percentage of the page and indicates engagement & interest.
• Click-Triggered Popups: These are activated when a visitor clicks on a specific element, such as a button or link.

Multi-Step Forms

Another valuable addition to your lead capture toolkit is the multi-step form.

These forms divide the information collection process into smaller, manageable sections. In this way, you can ask several questions from the prospect, without tiring or annoying them.

These forms boost user experience and enhance lead conversions by 87 percent!

Chatbots

Chatbots are automated messaging tools that engage with website visitors or users through conversations.

You can program these to answer questions, provide information, and guide visitors toward desired actions.

Chatbots enhance the user experience by offering real-time interactions and can capture leads by collecting contact information during the conversation.

Live chat

Live chat involves real-time, one-on-one interactions between website visitors and customer support or sales representatives.

It allows visitors to ask questions, seek assistance, and receive immediate responses.

Live chat can capture leads by providing opportunities for visitors to share their contact information while engaging in a natural conversation.

Tools

Offering valuable tools, calculators, or software applications can also entice visitors to provide their contact details.

These tools should address a specific need or problem that your target audience has. Examples include budget calculators, ROI calculators, keyword research tools, etc.

Quizzes

Survival IQ Quiz Example – LeadsHook Template

Quizzes add a gamification element to your lead capture system.

You can create reward-based interactive quizzes to engage visitors. Or you can even provide personalized insights or recommendations based on their responses.

At the end of the quiz, you can request the user’s contact information to send them the results or further relevant content.

The informative and entertaining nature of quizzes has made them one of the most effective ways of collecting tons of lead information without trouble. In fact, interactive quizzes can boost conversions by 35 percent!

LeadsHook: Your 2-in-1 Lead Capture Powerhouse

Before we sign off, let us introduce you to that one lead capture tool that offers proficiency in both:

• Setting up the mechanical framework of a lead capture form
• Natural incorporation of psychological drivers throughout the form

Presenting you: LeadsHook.

LeadsHook is the ONLY lead capture software that offers unbelievable flexibility and customizability. It doesn’t limit you on:

• Mechanical Frameworks: From pop-ups to multi-step forms, chatbots to tools – the choice is yours! Experiment and discover what resonates best with your audience through A/B testing using LeadsHook’s integrated analytics.
• Psychological Mastery: Shape your lead capture experience with utmost control. Customize copy, layout, and structure at will. Personalize every step of your form or even the entire customer journey — across pages!

That’s not all.

Team LeadsHook can also help you develop a deeper understanding of your target audience simply by studying the data you’ve collected so far. Using this, we can help you come up with an offer your audience cannot resist.

And if you’re unsure about your current traffic’s nature, don’t worry! Our free 14-day trial not only reveals your traffic reality but also kickstarts your journey into reverse marketing — and if there are any queries along the way, you can always reach out to Nik (LeadsHook Founder).

He often gets back to each user’s query with a super detailed answer and makes sure everyone’s extracting the best value…

The best part? The trial is risk-free. If LeadsHook doesn’t align with your needs, you can cancel anytime. Plus, you can keep all the valuable traffic data that you collect during the trial period. 🙂

THAT data alone has helped many raise their monthly figures by at least one more digit if not four. It’s a raw, honest insight into your business’s current standing and can help improve your marketing efforts ten folds.

Ready to experience the difference yourself?

Yes, start my free trial