Many things have changed in the marketing world over the past few years, but here’s one point you need to remember: content is still king.
For this reason, it’s imperative to publish fresh, high-quality content to your business blog on a regular basis.
With 60 percent of marketing professionals noting that blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority, now’s not the time to take a break from blogging. Instead, it’s time to ramp up your production.
Of course, there is more to blogging than meets the eye. There is more to this than throwing some words together, publishing the content, and hoping for the best.
To achieve great success, you must create targeted content with the idea of providing value to your readers. Furthermore, your content should be geared toward generating leads.
Below, you’ll find five tips for generating more leads from your blog. Maybe you’ve implemented some of these strategies in the past. Maybe you’ve overlooked each one. Regardless, these tips can help you achieve greater success in the future.
1) Optimize Your Content for Search Engines
From the title to the content itself, don’t hesitate to optimize each blog post for the search engines.
This shouldn’t be your primary focus, as your readers always come first, but it’s something you can do with ease.
For example, the title of each post should contain your primary keyword. Along with this, use the keyword throughout your content, including multiple variations in your headings.
Tip: it’s not 2009, so you shouldn’t stuff keywords unnaturally into your content. Instead, focus on quality above all else.
By optimizing your content for search engines, you’ll gain more organic traffic in the future. Subsequently, you’ll have a greater chance of generating more leads from your blog.
2) Go Above and Beyond
Do you remember the days when 250-word blog posts were more than enough to generate search traffic? Do you remember the days when this was all your audience expected?
Well, a lot has changed since that time. In today’s day and age, if you want to generate leads via your blog, it’s essential to go above and beyond in regards to the quality of your content.
Content length impacts your blog in two ways:
- The longer the post the more value you can provide your audience.
- The longer the post the greater chance it has of ranking at the top of the search engines.
This serpIQ blog post makes it clear that content with a minimum of 2,000 words has a better chance of ranking on page one – and that’s exactly what you want.
If you’ve found it difficult to “go above and beyond” in the past, it’s time to implement the Skyscraper Technique. With this approach, you’ll soon find yourself creating better content than your competitors.
3) Use an Email Subscription Form
There is nothing better than generating traffic to your website. However, you may find yourself asking this question: what is the best way to engage with these people in the future?
Unfortunately, unless they return to your website, you’re out of luck. This is why you should implement an email subscription form (somewhere above the fold).
While content marketing continues to receive the bulk of attention from B2B marketers, don’t overlook the fact that email is every bit as powerful now as it was in the past.
With approximately 75 percent of companies saying that email offers an excellent return on investment, you won’t be alone if you use this form of marketing on your blog.
Tip: as you grow your email list, take the time to create a weekly or monthly newsletter that provides additional value. This helps to keep the leads in your pipeline interested in what you have to say.
4) Make it Simple to Get in Touch
Simply put, there is no way to generate a lead if you don’t give your readers the ability to connect with you.
This is why it’s so important to provide your contact information in as many places as possible. For example, you may want to include your email and phone number in your blog’s header. Of course, you’ll want to create a robust contact page with all the necessary information.
Another thing you can do is share links to your social media profiles. Start with Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. This provides the opportunity to connect with your audience on social media, with the idea of eventually turning some of these people into leads.
When you make it simple to get in touch, you’ll be surprised at how many people actually do so.
5) Use a Call to Action
This isn’t to say your blog posts should be filled with “sales language.” However, you can definitely benefit by adding a call to action at the end of each piece.
Here’s a basic example of what this can look like:
“If you enjoyed this blog post, don’t hesitate to contact us for more information and advice. We’re more than happy to answer your questions, provide guidance, and help you reach your goals.”
Tip: link out to your contact page.
This is anything but a “hard sell.” Instead, you’re simply providing a call to action that gives the reader a better idea of what you can do for them.
By altering your call to action from one post to the next, you’ll get a better idea of what works and what doesn’t. Once you find the language that provides the best response, stick with this (or something similar) in the future.
Final Thoughts
Even if you’ve achieved success with your blog in the past, there’s always room for improvement.
With the five tips above, you’ll find it easier to generate leads that can turn into additional revenue for your company.
Let’s face it: there’s nothing simple about creating, maintaining, and growing a blog. By taking the right approach, you can use this form of marketing to generate leads, grow your network, and hopefully close more deals.