The data is conclusive. Blogging rules! With 329 million people reading blogs at any given time, studies show that 70% of readers would rather learn about your product or service through blogs rather than ads. (Corporate Executive Board). Let’s face it…329 million people can’t be wrong.
Don’t Just Blog…Blog for Results
We already know that blogging is an effective tool for driving traffic to your website, generating leads, and acquiring clients. In fact, Hubspot, my favorite marketing software, tells us that those “who write just three to four blog posts per month get 20 more monthly lead submissions, 800 more monthly site visits, 60 more Twitter followers, and 50 more Facebook likes than customers who only write two blog posts per month.” We like those odds.
What makes those numbers work, of course, is an effective blogging strategy. In a recently published article written for Zane Benefits, Small Business Tip: A Step-by-Step Guide to an Effective Blogging Strategy for Results, I’ve laid out the elements required that make a blog purr.
- Desired outcome: Don’t blog just to be blogging. Decide, in advance, what you want to achieve with your blog. Be purposeful with a clear goal.
- Buyer Persona: A clearly defined buyer persona definitely improves your blogging payoff as it distinctly characterizes your reader.
- Keywords: Did you know Google receives over four million search queries per minute? Yikes! With keywords relevant to your buyer personas search probe, the odds of your blog being found at the top of the informational heap are much greater.
- Resources: Blogs don’t write themselves. It takes resources beyond a blogging platform, such as time and talent. Know your needs ahead of time to make sure your blogging strategy succeeds.
- Frequency: Is six enough? Is ten too many? Companies who increase blogging from three to five times per month to six to eight times per month double their leads. That’s a good fact to keep in mind.
- Distribution: If you blog, will they come? Not without a plan for where, when, and how often to distribute your content to various platforms.
- Metrics: Metrics matter. Without measuring the outcomes of your efforts—and using the data to improve your results—what’s the point? Decide what is most important to measure, track, and analyze to reach your goals.
Blogging truly is one of the most powerful marketing tools in any small business arsenal…especially when built upon an efficient blogging strategy.
The full article can be accessed at Zane Benefits.
Are you ready for results like this from your blogging efforts? Let’s chat!
