Every marketer’s dream is to see several hundred leads pouring in from their blog, boosting site traffic 10% and creating thousands of dollars in sales. The numbers are in: blog marketing can be a very lucrative way to drive business.
Achieving this end result is much harder than it seems, mostly because it’s a tough balance to cultivate a casual relationship with your readership, all the while never losing sight of the prize at the end of the tunnel: the sale.
The most important thing is to know your readers and what they’re looking for. Use your blog marketing in conjunction with your search engine optimization. Embed the top keywords that people are looking for related to your products and services, craft witty titles and use the appropriate keyword density. Don’t skimp on research! It pays to hire an SEO company in this case.
Remember that readers are more in search of information they can use, rather than an instant purchase. (If you’re reading this blog marketing post, you likely fall into that category.) These advice-seeking readers want your generous help and expertise. They will probably try some of your suggestions on their own for a while — but in the end, when they have the desire and resources, they’ll be back.
Link to other people’s blogs. Usually you’ll get a community of regular readers who are also bloggers themselves. Linking is always a good blog marketing trick. Don’t be afraid to establish yourself as a “go-to” resource. Sometimes you’ll read something so good, it warrants a link, rather than you attempting to rewrite it. One of the most interesting blogs is Neatorama.com — which is, in essence, just a collection of interesting posts from other blogs. If the people like it, they will come back.
Promoting your blog via email is a good reminder to keep your blog marketing traffic pouring in. RSS feeds are useful too, but more people actually prefer email reminders in newsletter format. Place some of your recent post titles in the body of an email and you’ll get the traffic you desire. Social networking sites are an amazing resource as well — blogs and bulletin reminders will serve you, as long as you provide a teaser and a link to your blog.
