3 Steps To Generate Leads For Free Using Quora

If you’re not using Quora to boost your content marketing efforts then you’re missing out on an opportunity to get more traffic, acquire more leads and cement your expert status.

What Is Quora

In case you are not familiar (don’t worry, you’re not the only one), Quora is a question and answer site. Much like Yahoo answers or Reddit, the community has the power to upvote answers based on quality and accuracy. Unlike its predecessors, the quality of answers is often superior (I’m looking at you Yahoo) and the platform is much more relaxed on self promotion (that’s right, calm down Reddit).

Why You Need To Know Quora

First, let’s talk about traffic. Would you turn your nose up at the opportunity to get your brand represented on a website that sees nearly half a billion visits a month?

Quora Traffic Stats.jpeg

And we’re talking quality traffic here. Engaged visitors seeking genuine knowledge come to Quora because you can find bonafide experts answering questions.

For instance…

Let’s say you want to know the difference between NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), who would be the best person to ask?

How about 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

Barack Obama Profile.jpeg

If anyone is going to know that answer, it’s probably going to be him.

Quora Seamlessly Integrates With Your Content Marketing Funnel

Quora is the first step or the first phase of your content marketing funnel. This is where potential customers are first introduced to your brand. They may be intrigued, inspired, or experience some sort of connection. Regardless of the emotion inflicted, as long as it’s positive, they will likely begin to follow you.

From this point it will be your job (and the job of your content) to get the potential customer to organically flow to the next phase of the funnel. And while there is no hard rule on what content marketing looks like, there are basically 5 steps in the process.

  • Micro-commitment (Quora, Facebook, Twitter)
  • Blog Post/Video (Often hosted on your website/blog)
  • Authority Piece (Something that says you’re on the top in your field)
  • Quiz/White Paper/Lead Magnet/Ebook/Opt-In
  • Sales Page

Quora not only helps your brand cast a wider net (we already talked about the traffic), it also helps you cast that net in a place where you know fish are swimming.

Readers come to Quora to find answers. Many times they are seeking the answers to their problems. And we all know one of the easiest ways to get someone’s money is to solve their problem.

Wouldn’t you rather sell to someone already looking for the solution you’re offering?

Quora Drives Traffic to Your Brand

It’s one thing to hop into a pool of prospects and start handing out flyers.

It’s another to jump into that same pool and start bringing people home with you.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a tremendous benefit in introducing yourself to potential customers on Quora. But like any third party platform, you must rely heavily on your content.

Once a potential customer visits your website, then they are formally introduced to your brand. This is the point (assuming your branding is strong & your content is on par with the information on Quora) that you can turn “interest” into “like.”

And once a prospect likes you, you’re halfway there.

That’s the advantage Quora holds over many alternatives. Wishpond invested in beefing up their Quora content and now drive 24.6% of their total Social Referral traffic from the Q&A site. That’s second only to Facebook at 29.9%.

Quora Social Via Wishpond.png

How To Leverage Quora In 3 Steps

The first step in creating a following, and ultimately sending traffic to the location you desire, is creating the perfect bio.

Unlike other social options, on Quora, your bio will not be your only chance to lure readers your way (more on that later) but it will go a long way in establishing your loyal reader base.

Let’s break down the profile page of one of the most well known content marketers, Neil Patel.

Step 1. Create the Perfect Profile

Quite possibly the most important aspect of your profile will be…

1. Your Credentials – This will act as your personal headline. Your first opportunity to tell the reader, “Hey, I’m better than the rest.”

Neil Patel Quora.jpeg

Your credentials should relate to the specific question you are answering. Once again, this is your headline.

Say you’re a nuclear physicist who happens to be a cat fanatic. I think most would argue that the former is a more impressive title, however, would you trust what a nuclear physicist tells you is the best cat food?

Be relatable. Luckily Quora allows you to…

2. Create Multiple Credentials – You can create different credentials ahead of time to cover your niche. But Quora makes it very easy to create new credentials after you answer a question.

Remember, your credentials are your title. They should be clickable. You are striving to be interesting, intriguing and credible in as few words as possible.

And finally…

3. Your Bio – This is where you brag about yourself. Really sell yourself here. If a potential customer is reading your bio, you have them on the hook. Now is the time to reel them in. Now is not the time to be humble. After you give them the good stuff, finish with a link to a place where they can learn more.

Continuity is key. If you’re bio talks about how great YOU are, don’t send them to your brand’s home page. Send them to a page that tells them more about YOU and what you stand for.

Don’t forget. It’s still too early to sell.

Step 2. Find Questions

Let’s be honest, crap answers are going to return crap results. You will benefit from providing the best and most thorough answers.

Yes, this will take time. For this reason, if you want to get the most bang for your buck, it’s a good idea to answer the correct questions.

Take advantage of Quora’s predictive search feature. Start with a question word (i.e. what or how) and see what it gives you. Continue to add words (related to your niche) one at a time until you find something you can work with.

If you are selling a course that teaches people how to start a business, you could get yourself in front of people who want to start a business by answering the question “What books should entrepreneurs read?”

Predictive Search.jpeg

After you find your first question, Quora will help you out by providing you with a list of related questions.

Related Questions.jpeg

And finally, make sure people actually care about the question. Find questions that people are not only following, but passionate enough about to comment on and share with others.

Follows.jpeg

Another clue that you may have found a question worth answering is the high number of views and upvotes.

views and upvotes.jpeg

This is not a time to look for low hanging fruit. Go after the whales and answer the question better than anyone else can. Succeed and you will be handsomely rewarded.

Step 3. Answer the Question

The most important rule is actually two rules.

  1. Don’t Sell
  2. Provide Actual Value

In addition to the first set of rules, which I’ll call non-negotiables, you can do some things to increase your chances of getting people to read, like, and upvote your answers, which will result in more readers reading, liking, and upvoting.

  • Catch The Eye – Images work very well.
  • Demand Attention Immediately – While your credentials (your title) can cause the reader to pause, the first line of your answer is what will (or will not) hook them in.
  • Be Relevant – While it’s always beneficial to get creative when searching for questions to answer, if you cannot easily and naturally relate your brand’s purpose to the answer it’s best to move on to the next question. Stay on topic.
  • Write Like A Blogger – We’re not writing a novel here. Use a conversational tone. Subheadings and bullet points break up the text and make your answer more readable. If you’re writing longer answers, it’s probably a good idea to incorporate an image every 300-500 words.

Follow these steps and success can come quickly. Even a new Quora profile can start getting views (and driving traffic) relatively quickly. Charles Chu shows how he was able to amass 1.18 million views in his first 30 days on Quora.

The Quora Rocket Fuel – Links Within Your Answer

Earlier in the article I mentioned that your bio was not the only opportunity to drive traffic to your website or blog.

That’s right, you can place links right within the content without facing a “ban hammer” or “spammer” accusation.

Bonus Tip: If you link to a YouTube video, Quora will automatically pull the video’s thumbnail into your answer. Talk about attention grabbing.

Where Should I Link?

As Brian Dean suggests, content upgrades work very well. This could be as simple as driving traffic to one of your related blog posts. Or perhaps you might even find success sending readers directly to a lead magnet/quiz, as long as it’s relevant.

Josh Fletcher, a top Quora writer, was able to capture 3,000 emails and received 6,000 Facebook Group requests in 5 months, for free using Quora.

There’s no traffic like targeted traffic. In my opinion, the potential of Quora is worth the investment.

This guest blog written by Brian Brewer.

Build Your Email List By 100K This Year Using Quizzes

Get Started

Build Your Email List By 100K This Year Using Quizzes

Get Started