Great question!
And that’s because referrals are some of the most targeted and warm leads you can generate.
Think about it for a moment…
If a complete stranger tells you to try out a new restaurant, do you?
Maybe, maybe not. But the stranger’s opinion isn’t going to sway you all that much.
But what happens when your best friend raves about the restaurant and tells you that you’d love it too?
Yep, in that case you’re going to rush out and try that restaurant as soon as possible. Because when someone you know, like and trust refers you to a product or service, you’re simply more likely to try it out.
So the same goes for your business. If you can get your existing customers (and even prospects) to make a referral, then you’re going to have some warm leads flooding your site. Here’s how to get these referrals…
Ask For Referrals
This is simple yet very effective. Here you simply ask your existing customers to tell their friends and colleagues about your products or services.
TIP: This works particularly well for service businesses, but you can use it for ANY type of business.
Now, what you need to do is create a specific call to action. Here are five examples:
- Do you know someone else who’d love to [get a benefit]? Then be sure to tell your friends to visit us online at [your domain name]!
- Be a hero and help someone else to [get a good result]. Tell your friends to check us out at [your domain name]!
- Don’t forget to tell your friends about us!
- Do you like [product or service]? Then please share our link with your friends!
- I bet your friends will love [product or service] as much as you do! Be sure to share this link with them right now…
If you want to kick this strategy up a notch, then check out the next idea…
Offer “Bribes” To Share Links
Instead of merely asking people to tell their friends about your business, you might consider “bribing” them to do so. In other words, give them a bonus product or other incentive.
For example, you can give your customers a free app if they share your link on their social media pages. (Hint: You can use a tool like SocialShareMonkey.com to automate this task.)
Here’s another way to offer incentives for referrals…
Start a Referral Program
The idea here is to create a program where your customers get discounts or free products in exchange for their referrals. Even better, you can offer discounts to the new referral as well.
For example, let’s say you have a membership site which sells for $20 per month. You can give your existing customer a free month for EVERY customer they refer.
You can then offer the new customer a special incentive as well, such as the first three months of their membership for half price.
Next idea…
Set Up An Affiliate Program
Instead of offering bonus products or discounts to your customers, you can offer them cash for their referrals by setting up an affiliate program through ClickBank.com, JVZoo.com or another platform.
If you already have an affiliate program set up, then be sure to tell your customers about it.
Create Viral Content
The final way to drum up some referral traffic is to create viral content and then encourage people to share it with their friends on social media. This viral content might take the form of:
- Infographics
- Videos
- Memes
- Motivational quotes
- Short reports
To increase the chances that your content will go viral, follow these tips:
- Make it easy to consume. People have short attention spans, so give them content they can consume in a glance (such as a meme), or within a few minutes (such as a short report or video).
- Make it easy to pass along. Don’t put hoops between your prospects and your content. Post it on social media, which is built for sharing content.
- Create something unique. It doesn’t need to be brand-spanking-new. Instead, it can be a new twist on an old strategy, or even time-tested information that’s presented in a fresh way.
- Evoke emotion. Content that is humorous, motivational, produces joy, or even elicits controversy tends to get passed along among friends. Need an example? Just check out all the cute and funny cat videos floating around online.
- Offer a call to action. In other words, specifically tell your readers and viewers to pass it along. E.G., “Click here to share this with your friends!”
And to wrap things up…
Last Thoughts
Getting traffic and referrals from other people usually results in you getting some very warm and qualified leads.
However, you don’t have to limit yourself to getting traffic from your existing visitors, prospects and customers.
You can also get traffic from other marketers, blogger and small business owners in your niche.