The average opt in rate* for lead magnets is just under 2%. If you’re looking to match that average (or blow it out of the water) then there are two things you can do to optimize for it.

One idea is to change up the type of opt-in you use. We’ll talk more about that next week. 

This week I want to hone in on the other optimization technique, segmentation. Segmentation is just a fancy way of saying grouping, or categorizing. 

Buyers vs non-buyers is the most obvious segmentation, but there are hundreds of other ways to slice and dice your prospects and customers. And catering to those segments in the ideal way to increase your opt-ins (and ultimately your revenue.)

Let’s talk about the three general types of segmentation, and then how to apply them to lead magnet optimization.

TYPES OF SEGMENTATION

There are three primary types of segmentation when it comes to opt in forms: Geographic, Content-specific, and Behavior-specific.

Content-specific segmentation allows you to group prospects based on what pages they are viewing on your website. This gives you a little insight into what products they are more interested in, especially if you can track whether those visits were all made within one session or over the course of multiple sessions.

Another easily-tracked segmentation option is Behavior-specific segmentation, which is all about the way the lead comes to your website and what they do once they get there.

Did they get to your site through a specific UTM**? Are they a new visitor to your site or a returning visitor?

Did they poke around your site, looking at multiple pages or were they focused on just one specific page? Were they a referral from a specific social channel like Instagram or Facebook?

Knowing this type of data allows you to act on that data specifically for your prospect, so they can’t resist the urge to share their email address with you… allowing you to court them into booking their next adventure.

Finally, Geographic segmentation allows you to divide your customers based on geography. Local vs non-local is the first grouping that comes to mind, but not the only one.

One that many tour businesses overlook is the location that the prospect is currently visiting, using geolocation technology.

Next, let’s look at how to leverage these segmentations types for your lead magnet, to boost your opt-in rate.

LEAD MAGNETS AND CONTENT-SPECIFIC SEGMENTATION

This is the easiest segmentation option and the place where we encourage our customers to begin.

Consider your tours and the target customer for each. Sometimes, the target customers are the same. For example, if you rent kayaks and canoes… chances are the same “type” of person rents both.

But, consider a company offering food tours AND history tours.  While there may be a little similarity between these offerings, your target customer for these tours can be very different.

The lead magnet you offer for your food tours may include a recipe from your favorite local restaurant, or a list of the best rooftop bars in the area. 

While your history tour lead magnet might share the story of a prohibition kingpin from your city or a walking tour that doesn’t compete with your tours.

When someone comes to your site and selects one of these lead magnets, it tells you what type of customer you have in front of you… how to talk to them when you reach back out… and what tours to offer them.

LEAD MAGNETS AND BEHAVIOR-SPECIFIC SEGMENTATION

If someone is returning to your site a second or third time, you can use that information to initiate a browse abandonment sequence… but you can also use the information in your lead magnet campaign.

Maybe you check to see if it’s the first time that person has ever visited your website.

Let’s say you’re a museum or aquarium. You might display a lead magnet titled, “10 things to see on your first visit” for people who are visiting your site for the first time. After that, they might get the lead magnet, “5 best places to grab lunch after your visit.” (Remember, after they complete the lead magnet sign-up form, they see any pop up unless you specify it’s necessary.)

If you run Facebook or Instagram ads, your lead magnet might be different based on where someone navigated from. Maybe you display a special lead magnet for those that visit from Instagram if you’re running IG ads… something more aligned with the ad campaign you are running.

If you have a partnership with the tourism office, you can display a special lead magnet just for people who came from the tourism office website (based on a UTM.)

These options allow you to target each new prospect with an offer that correlates with their interests and awareness.

LEAD MAGNETS AND GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION

Knowing where someone is located when they click to your site is invaluable for tour operators. If someone is in your city, it might be the right time to offer a discount code.

If someone is not yet in your city, your lead magnet might convert better if it’s about planning a trip that incorporates one of your tours.

If you offer tours in multiple languages, you might cater the language of your lead magnet (and the pop up) to the county from which the person is browsing. 

It’s not a fail-proof option, but showing your lead magnet pop up and deliverable in French to someone who is browsing from France (especially if you offer tours in French within, say, the US) can go a long way.

Finally, if you’re servicing EU countries, you might decide to include a double opt-in just for those countries.

Are your wheels churning? Can you begin to see how segmentation and lead magnets can allow you to get in touch with and speak to your ideal clients before it’s too late.

Newsletters don’t work for everyone in the tourism space… but email marketing does!

Schedule a call with us today to discuss if TourAdvantage is right for you.

* Opt in rate is defined as the number of people who entered their email address in a form, divided by the number of times the form was presented.  

** A UTM is a piece of code in a URL that allows you to track where the URL was clicked on – or the source.  UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module, named after a software company Google acquired.  Weird, right?

Lesli Peterson
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