The Polite Way to Get High-Quality Leads: Proven Strategies & Tips

You’ve heard it before: there are tons of ways to get high-quality leads. If you’re willing to pay a ton for them or be obnoxiously loud. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

In the ever-expanding world of online businesses and blogs it’s becoming more difficult to convert your website visitors to subscribers.

The sad reality is that most people who stumble upon your website are unlikely to return, unless you are able to capture their name and email and provide them with a great user experience. leaving them desperate to come back for more.

It’s like this…

If I give you a dollar but I ask for $.80 back… that’s not really fun, is it? Wouldn’t you much rather keep the whole dollar?

That’s essentially what most of us do as business owners with our website traffic.

We have all of these visitors coming to our site day in and day out.

However, if we don’t have a well-thought-out strategy for capturing the attention and email addresses of these visitors, we’re letting the dollars slip through our fingers.

Sometimes literally.

So in this article we’re going to go over 3 ways that you can increase your site’s opt-in conversion rate to obtain high-quality leads.

In return, you’ll be able to keep more of the visitors you do get, and start to build a great relationship with them over email.

3 Ways to Get Quality Leads

Don’t let unsuccessful past attempts to get high-quality leads slow you down… with just a few tweaks to your strategy, you’ll be well on your way.

Screenshot of popup example

1. Use a clear call to action

When it comes to your email opt-in, the more clear and to the point you can be, the better.

Most people understand the concept of joining an email list or receiving email updates, but they don’t always know where to click… or what will happen after they join your email list.

The more that you be clear upfront about what they can expect, the better. (This includes details like how many emails they’ll get, how quickly they’ll have access to your free gift, etc.)

In addition, make it really easy for people to understand what they need to do next, by using a call to action. Use words like “click here” and “get free instant access” to give people something concrete to do and look forward to.

It also helps to have a strong headline or title for your opt-in offer. Don’t be vague or focus too much on the format, most people don’t mind if they’re getting a free PDF or an MP3. They just want the information that you’re promising in exchange for the ability to follow up with them!

Sign up for the free 30 Day List Building Challenge to learn more about crafting the perfect opt-in for your ideal clients and customers.

2. Blend Your Call To Action With Your Content

One common mistake that I see newer business owners make is that they have their call to actions stand out like ads. Lots of people do it.

If you’re just looking at what your competitors are doing you might fall into this trap, too.

But please, don’t make all your call to actions stand out like ads. Blend them into your content and into your site design so they look organic. It helps if you’re offering a lead magnet that ties into your published content, too.

If it flows with your site’s layout and feels like it’s meant to be there, then people are a lot less likely to ignore your opt-in box.

Similarly, think about how someone uses your website.

They likely read from left to right and top to bottom, so have your opt-in box appear where their eyes “land” after they’ve read some of your content. That usually means your right-hand sidebar or at the bottom of your blog posts.

3. Use An Opt-in Popup and Ask For The Opt-in Before They Leave

Now, even though you have a strong call to action and you’re blending your opt-in offers with your site’s design… People are still very ad-blind and might not see your offer in your sidebar or at the bottom of your blog posts.

So what’s the solution? It comes in the form of a tactful lightbox popup. You can get started with this free WordPress popup plugin, or this one. The main thing that you’ll want to look for is something commonly referred to as “exit intent tracking”. This basically means that you’ll display the popup only when it looks like someone is about to click away from your website by using the back button or closing the browser.

This is one of the least obtrusive ways to get people to see your opt-in offer, and to ask them to join your list. After all, they’ve just finished reading or watching your site’s content, and they’re feeling good about you. You’re not interrupting their browsing, and you catch them just before they’re out the door.

These types of popup plugins have been shown to increase your site’s subscription conversion rates by 5 to 10 times. Pretty impressive, and definitely worth testing for your own website and business.


With these simple tips on increasing opt-in conversions in place, you’ll be well on your way to building an email list of happy potential clients and customers. Fun!