Creating great content for your subscribers and readers, (and the search engines) is one of the most important things you can do to be successful with your blogs and websites. It may not be the most important though... One of the other major components is the "Call To Action" or the "Opportunity To Connect" buttons. At the end of the day, aren't you trying to "connect" with your target audience?
I've discovered that if your great content cultivates eyeballs and traffic, but you have no way to capture and convert those inquiring visitors, then not all but much is lost. That's why I'm sharing these Top 5 contact Widgets and tools. I've researched and used these and know they can increase your chances or at least the potential of capturing connecting with those whom you're trying to reach.
#1 - Google Voice
Google voice allows visitors to contact you over the phone and for FREE. If you miss their call, the message is conveniently converted to text and sent to your mobile device via email if you choose to set it up that way. The voice-mail recordings can be forwarded quickly to expedite specific requests, and multiple phone lines can all lead into one easy to use FREE phone number. I Love Google voice and I really love that potential clients can call you from their computer screen.
#2 - SMS Text Widget
RETechBlog has one of the greatest text widgets I've ever seen. This allows your readers and visitors to text you right from the sidebar of your Blog or website. Heck, you can place this little widget just about anywhere and start receiving text messages before you even have the chance to save it to your site. When I had this installed on my AR Blog, the first day I received hundreds of text messages from members and had to take it down. (I know others who experienced this as well...)
#3 - Zopim Chat
Now chat might seem like a thing of the past to some of you, but having access to a real person when you need one can be priceless. The larger companies online these days offer this service to their customers because they know the importance of getting their clients the answers they need in a more than just timely manner. Customers want it NOW, and they want it from experienced and real people. I installed this "Chat" for my webinars and it has worked wonders and provided great value to those visiting or just stopping by to check in.
#4 - Contact Me Form
Zillow's "contact me" form/widget can be totally customized and personalized to tap into your target or niche audiences' needs. Try adding a bit of emotion or something that truly creates a significant call to action, something that your reader can really relate to and you'll be surprised how often this old fashioned but classic form of contact will work for them and for you. Out of the 30 or so widgets available on the site, this is one of my favorite and most powerful in my opinion. (my opinion is subject to change everytime a new one comes out...lol )
#5 - Google Me
Now this one is a little tricky but VERY cool.
Google me is simply a link to any graphic or image that intrigues your reader enough to click on the image. Everything else happens automatically. There is a site known as "Let Me Google That For You" which you'll find at LMGTFY.com. Just type in your name, specific keywords, or a phrase where you show up at the top of Google, and watch the magic work. This is also very useful when you don't want your competition to show up anywhere on the Google search results page.
- Go ahead, click on the card above and see what happens???
VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION:
Would you keep on fishing in a lake if you only had bait but no hooks to catch the fish? You may be #1 on Google, you may get 1000 views on your site per day, but if you're not making a few trips to the bank once in a while, you may want to consider adding some tools like these to your tackle box. Contact Widgets really are the unsung heroes and they can pack a pretty powerful punch. I hope these will bring you closer to that trip to the bank.
Hey Brad thanks for the great stuff. I am bookmarking you so that I can implement this. I have a "Brad wing" in my bookmarked library herfe at ActiveRain
Hi Brad .... That is some great information ....always need a good way for people to contact me
Thank You
Great post, Brad. I'm going to give the LMGTFY a try. You're right, that IS very cool. Suggested.
Brad, great information, sadly I forgot how to put the widgets on the side board, do you have a link to one of your old posts that shows how to do it? Thank you in advance:))
Hi Brad - Sweet collection of widgets here. I will have to try them out - probably skip the SMS Text one however!
Great post. I really like the look of that chat widget. Much better than the AOL IM widget I'm using now.
Brad, as always, so many cool tips!
Spectacular info Brad! There are a few here I wasn't aware of...until now! Thank you as always my friend.
Thanks Charlie - I'm honored! BTW - Love that photo on your AR Profile...
Robert - the "connect" is really what it's all about.
Roger, thanks. It is really cool... a fav of mine for sure.
Endre - here ya go: http://activerain.com/blogsview/170783/widgets-how-to-add-them-to-your-blog
Andre - you may want to reconsider the text widget, that's how the next "buying" generation communicates.
Justin - it works great too. Come on by and test it out anytime: It's "Live" Here and I'm there...
Thanks Connie - I really do try to make these posts worth your while... :)
Craig - it's the least I can do after all you've done for me my friend. Thanks.
Brad ~ So many toys to play with and thanks for sharing them with all of us here in Active Rain ~ This is bookmarked for the brain to work on ~
Hey Brad, I thought you had joined up with Zillow - but now I see that you have! I've not been around the Rain much lately, but getting back into the swing of things. I always love how you provide us with such great information!
Thanks for more great info Brad! i have you book marked too so I can go back and learn how to implement these techie ideas.
I am still working on getting my blogs to look interesting and using pictures and text. I forgot how to get the text to word wrap but I'll figure it out. Practice, practice, practice!
Frank and Karen - be careful with these toys, they can actually get you business. :-)))
LADY IN RED!
OMG~ It is so great to see and hear from you. Welcome back, hope to see more of you now. You've been missed <3
Marti - I'm not worthy, but a feature in "your group" is just as good as on the AR feature board so thanks!!
Susanne - there's a tool you can use when you import the picture, it looks like below. Just use the pulldown and select "Left" then type in the #7 in the "Horizontal" box so your text doesn't run right up against the photo. Let me know if you need some help.
I'm typing this text
so you can see how
it looks when you type
next to a picture.
Brad, I have seen some of these widgets but do not have any on my website, at least, not yet ;-)
Bookmarked, Brad. Thanks. I like the different ideas you come up with. Thanks.
I use some of the Brad but need to use more...many thanks!
I already use Google Voice and will be adding Google Me to my websites and blogs.
Thank you Brad, I also bookmarked this so I can refer back to it easily. Very interesting and intriguing. I am going to check it all out. Thanks again.
Brad great info I have not known about. Love some of the widgets you show. I have missed your tech updates.
Brad you are becoming quite the curator for tools. I should buy you a true value hardware apron. This is the second reference to "google me" I have seen today, by the way. Excellent stuff.
Brad, Great info. I already have google voice but I will be adding more widgets thanks to you info!
Hey Brad! Still trying to catch up with your last list of goodies! One day...
Thanks, as always, for everything you do for us!
On another note, I heard from Rachel and I truly appreciate the quick response.
Hugs...
You can take Brad out of the Rain, but you can never take the widgets out of Brad.
Did I just see The Lady in Red in a comment above? I have missed her! Gotta go say hi on her blog ...
Everybody comes here. :)
Oh, yeah. Nice widgets.
Hey Brad! Great tools you have listed! Will put a few of these to work (actually the txt widget has been in use for over a year).
Thanks for the share and I'm actually going to go back and see what other useful tid-bits of information you posted previously.
Cheers!
great widgets and tools Brad! I am thinking about adding the chat btton again so I bookmarked this!
Hope all is well!
Pretty cool widgets there Brad. I have the first one.. May check out some of the others as well.
Hi Brad - There are many great widgets out there. One important thing to remember is to select widgets that do not have a slow loading time due to slow or unresponsive widget servers as this will cause your page to be equally slow to load.
Thanks Brad for the great widgets! I always learn so much from you...really appreciate it!
Brad:
You always come up with great information. I have used Google Voice and Google Me, but I didn't know about the others. I'll have to try these widgets. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Brad - Hi! Thanks for these great widgets!! I'm gonna start to incorporate them into my stuff. They sound great!
It was really wonderful to meet you and talk at RainCamp. Thanks for all the info & for all you do!!
Great ideas Brad! I have bookmarked AND emailed it to myself I am adding these hooks to my tackle box! I also love that first comment-- everyone should have a Brad wing in their library!!
Hi Brad,
Great, useful post.
You will start to see these widgets pop up all over the place.
I certainly intend to put them on my blog.
thanks
Phil
Thanks so much for this post. I am not using many of these features but feel its time I did. Going to try the text me widget first.
Am using the Google me thingy now, pretty cool. I am drooling over what I hear about Google Voice. What worries me is that although I have unlimited data, messaging and cell to cell, I heard that GV might cost me extra $$$ as it eats away at the "other" minutes on my Sprint account. I am trying to get the scoop on that one.
Love the text wiget. I was thinking of adding one, you just made my life easier... thanks!
Brad - thank you for this information!! I have forwarded it on to my web guru! Also thank you for the link on how to add widgets to my blog. Unfortunately I have to learn those on my own. My blog is off-limits to the web guy!
Hey, gadget guy, I sure wish you didn't keep adding items to my To-Do list! LOL.
Thanks Brad, you are the best! We can always count on you for the latest, greatest information!
Just added Google Me yesterday. I'm gonna Bookmark this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brad: Thanks. I think I need to update my blog. My widgets are very tired ;-)
Very cool, Brad! I’ll have to check these out… and add them to my sidebar. Thanks!
Brad- I featured this early yesterday in Realtors Group- these widgets are really cool- have been experimenting with some of them.
Thanks Brad, great info. i knew about a couple of them, of course one of those things that I should do but haven't gotten to yet.
Now this is quality information.
Brad, I have Google Voice set up on my blog. I will take a look at the others. Thanks and bookmarked.
Very nice! I never thought of using these widgets but i will surely give them a try! It definitely adds something to your marketing... thanks for sharing!
Thanks. I am bookmarking the page for tonight's reading. Plan to move on these widgets.
Great post Brad! Thanks for the info!
Sheldon Neal did a nice video tutorial that walks you through how to create and use a "Google Me" as a contact tool.
http://activerain.com/blogsview/2240839/how-to-set-up-a-google-me-link- Thanks Sheldon :-)
Chris - you might want to consider at least one of them.
Eric - thanks, I like sharing these ideas bt only if they help your Blog or business.
Ginny - just use what works best for you and your clients
Alan - I love the Google Me, no competition shows up on the results page... gotta love that!
Hi Brad, thank you for the info. I'm glad someone asked how to add widgets on the side. This is my next blog assignment.
Mary - hopefully you'll find these useful in connecting with your visitors and prospects.
Larry - lots of travel lately, I try to post at least 2-3 times a week... key word there is "try!" lol~
Phil - I'll be watching the mail for my apron! lol~
Nona - each widget appeals to a different audience, test them out and see which works best.
Debe - always here to help anyway and everyway I can.
Yet another good post today. Thank you Brad.
It's appreciated.
Patricia/Seacoast NH & ME
Great stuff, Brad. I really enjoy reading your posts as there is so much to discover. Thanks !
Thanks Brad
Just added TEXT ME to my site
Carmel Westfield Homes
Bookmarked!
As always, irrefutable and invaluable information I shall incorporate within my Reputation Architecture, thank you.
James
Hi Brad, you have such invaluable information. I will bookmark this post. Thanks for the great tips and insight.
Brad - Per usual. you always post great stuff. I just added a contact form on my AR blog and had to take it down because it made the page load VERY slow. Any thoughts on that? BTW, it worked great!
Fabulous ! We always were on the same page ;o)
Thanks for the backlink !
Cheers mate !
Sheldon
These are some neat widgets. I will see about posting some of them on my site. Thank you!
Great advice Brad. Checking it out right now.
As ALWAYS Brad - You continue to Rock My World with your tips, tools & general all around helpfulness. Many Thanks my friend!
Google me is cool.
I am so blessed to have someone on my team that can think about this post - it looks interesting, thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for the tips. I learn something new everyday.
Great information but too much to absorb all at once. Thank god for bookmarks. You always offer great material and tips to help us be more successful. I was just thinking about this subject when your blog jumped up and bit me. Thanks for your helpful ideas.
Brad - This is such an important component of making contact with potential leads, and one I still need to work on more.
Hi Brad - Love the "Contact Me" and am totally intrigued by the "Google Me". Thanks so much for keeping us informed!!!
awesome tools, especially Google Voice, which I'm going to set up right now. Thanks!
Brad - cool. I like the Google Me box, as well as Google Voice, will have to set that up. Thanks.
As usual Brad some very useful tools. I really like Google Voice and am a huge fan of free tools.
Everytime I write a post, I tell myself I'm going to comment back to every single person, because I believe it's very important to do so. I always #FAIL! I start off with the best intentions, get side-tracked or busy, next thing I know I just can't catch up.
I sooooo appreciate every comment and all the love and support here, but I also need to balance my time and get over to your Blogs and comment as well, another area in which I seem to struggle and always #FAIL.
I WANT TO BE SUPER-HUMAN!!! But I'm not, so thanks for reading, following, commenting and being so understanding and supportive of my ActiveRain blog. I'm not worthy, but very very appreciative. Thanks everyone!
Listingfree.com great real estate search engine. also has a software package from realtores to manage the day to day business
please let me know your thoughts
Great widgets. I'll be looking seriously at them. I will check out listingfree.com, as well.
Hey Donna - Thanks!
I've never heard of that site above so I'll check it out too. Normally we consider comments like that to be spam but every once in a while I've actually seen them add some value to the thread. Again, not sure about this one...
Brad - That Google Me thing is cool! Thanks for the tips.
Hi Brad - I'm working on upgrading my site right now...these are GREAT ideas! I especially like the Google voice one and the one where people can leave you text messages....definitely going to ask Inna and Jon to install either/both for me.
You are AWESOME. Thanks for sharing such helpful info with the rest of us minions. :)
Jeffry - most people who have never seen that really get a kick out of it. The best part is you get to control what gets searched in the search engine always landing them where you want or need them to be.
Coleen - Both TechSavvyAgent (Chris Smith) and I had to delete the text message widget because we got so many text messages from our readers that it made our mobile devices go "crazy off the hook!" They do work very well and in your case will be very efficient and effective for your readers and targeted audience.
Thank you for these. I only had one of them & really wanted the others too, just wasn't sure which to pick. You helped me make up my mind.
WOOT! That was one awesome little post, sir! Here's my Google thingamadoober!
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=tech+savvy+lender+chris+sanderson
Thanks so much!
Thanks Brad for the great tips. I had google me on my list, and, this was a reminder. I also bookmarked this post.
Hello Brad,
Thank you so much! I always look for something new to add to my website. Great post.
Tatyana.
Brad, you are "the man" once again! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Haha~ Thanks Ed... No, YOU the man!!! :-)
Brad,
Thanks for sharing this great information. I will definitely be checking out a few of these widgets.
John Gall
Brad the information is very useful and I will get on it right away.
I did not know about the google voice widget. I have a google voice phone number. Thank you for that info. You give so much GREAT info!
Hi Michelle - It's one of my favorite widgets for sure!! :-)
Cool widgets. I'd only use #5 with caution though. lmgtfy was originally developed as a prank website to use when someone asks you a "dumb" question. If you hit the "about" button it says: "This is for all those people who find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than google it for themselves." So just be aware that lmgtfy is putting a sarcastic spin on googling and anyone who might already be familiar with the original purpose of this site (like me) might think you are brushing them off or even be offended!
Torgie - good point, I thing it's all in the positive delivery that creates the perceived positive outcome though. I was aware of the site and it's original intentions, but I have also seen MANY use this as a tool to drive more visitors and traffic to their google indexed sites.