The Four Stages of Conversion

The art of conversion has been studied for years. What makes people say yes? What lures a person gradually from being completely unaware to completely obsessed? 

Although the mediums have changed (from newspaper to Facebook ads) and the products are different (digital courses rather than conference tickets), the psychology behind conversions remains.

Over the next four weeks, I’m going to walk through the four stages of conversion and help you build a website that converts your ideal clients from interested to committed!

Specifically, here’s what I’ll cover:

1. What are the four stages of conversion?
2. Which platform should I use to appeal to each stage (social media, email, website, etc)?
3. How do I optimize my website for each stage?

Let’s start today with the first stage: The Attention Stage. 

This stage is like the very first night of The Bachelor. Each woman gets out of the limo and tries to capture the Bachelor’s attention — tries to make a lasting impression that will leave him looking for her later in the evening. 

The Attention Stage is all about capturing the attention of your audience and leaving them wanting more. This is when your audience knows very little about you, but something has caused them to click your link or visit your profile.

When your audience is in this stage, your focus should be on their needs. What are their pain points? What are the specific problems they have and need solutions to? 

At this point, you don’t have a solid relationship with your audience nor do you have trust established. Therefore, it’s crucial that you provide value and focus on how you can serve them. 

On your website, this may look like a pop up opt-in form that gives them the opportunity to join your email list to get a free resource or promotion code. 

When your audience is in The Attention Stage, you want to gently take their hand and escort them over to The Interest Stage. 

How do you do this? Follow these tips to help you build a website that converts:

First, make it very clear what you do and who you serve. On your instagram, put your Who & What statement in your bio (what do you do and who do you do it for?). On your website, include this above the fold so your guests see it right away. See mine here!

Next, and most importantly, include a call to action! If you want people to engage with you beyond The Attention Stage, you need to invite them in. Welcome them, introduce yourself and tell them where to go next!

This is an ongoing process through social media; once someone follows you, you will be calling them into action daily and weekly through posts and stories.

On your website, you should have a call to action button big and visible that shows your audience where to go next based on what they need. Check out my home page to see how I do this and segment my invitations audience from my small business branding audience 

Lastly, provide value! Don’t just spend all of your time and energy selling. Create freebies, downloads, blog posts, do giveaways, etc. Create content that educates, entertains, or adds value to peoples’ lives. This type of content will lead to shares, referrals and your ideal clients stepping into The Interest Stage. 

Want to know more about The Interest Stage? Check back next week, when I’ll share all about The Interest Stage and how to walk people through to The Desire Stage.

In the meantime, use this worksheet to start mapping your website. Where are people starting and where do you want them to end up? This will be an important piece as we put together your ideal customer journey and work toward a website that converts!