Graeme and Chris discuss traffic, how to make the client care about what you're selling, and how to develop conversion copy for closing freelance clients.

Began w traffic acquisition
Dabbled in design
Enjoyed delivering the end business result
Taking a solid offering & tuning it up is enjoyable

Started in seo & ppc
Wanted to make sure users take the right action when they arrive

Inquiral* Colona, BC
* lots of B2B ans buyer research
* wrote the Buysphere
* eye tracking on search results (golden triangle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Triangle_(Internet_Marketing))

Believes in delivering on user intnet
* match the intent with the page they land on
* the right action for THEM, not the business owner
* multiple micro-conversions before the big conversion happens
* the customers story comes from their numbers

Right now, word of mouth
* networking is the most direct route to client acquisition
* if they're not a prospect, they know a prospect
*

High volume, low quality content marketing is useless

Freelancing seems like a passive label* more consulting today

Network exploitation

Expanding network via clear positioning
* expand personal network
* outreach (podcasts)
* conference (Unbounce conference)
* be visible, be a good resource
* have lots of conversations

Bitten by the recurring revenue bug
* Golden age of Saas
* productized consulting
* on the CRO side orgs don't know where to start
* instead of selling a big 12 month program, sell the research first
* some orgs don't want another person in their code
* sell the research & let them diy

I want to be small by design
* I'd rather be boutique and raise rates then grow by adding customer

"I'll be the bumper lanes as you do your first round of testing."

Conversion for freelancers
* segment audience, position against target segments
* segmenting too narrow from an seo perspective isn't a concern
* top of funnel keywords vs resource keywords
* not the same volume, but higher-quality, more appropriate traffic
* biggest driver is the copy you use
* adjust words, adjust flow
* it's hard to explain what you do to someone outside your business
* dictate your copy, don't write it* explain the problem and how you solve it
* talking through it is often a better starting point than writing it
* check your IA; the info may be there but not in the right order

1) what do you do
2) why should they care
3) what to do next

• cognitive burden* be careful of those clever headlines that don't say anything


• don't be nervous about niching down too soon


• 1 landing page per segment of your niche


• optimizing for conversion rate is the worst thing you can do


• optimize for outcomes


• lead-gen percentages may go down, but qualified leads, contracts & profits can go up

Solve specific problems, not general ones