Sometimes, when clients ask us to help them build a lead generation “machine”, we often wish there was indeed some kind of machine that could actually churn out prospects from the pool of online traffic. Given that lead generation is a result of long and arduous effort, a lead generation machine may seem clearly fictional, but that’s not entirely true.
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| Source: bloggingtips.com |
What if we say, “Yes! We do have a lead generation machine, and it was lying right under your nose all this time!” Are you still scratching your head wondering where it is? Log on to your website and click on “Blog”. Yes! The Blog. That’s what we are talking about.
You already know from the title of this post that we would be talking about blogging, and you may wonder why the whole drama above. It is because, with this post we not only want to emphasize on the importance of blogging, but also bring your attention to how potent and how hilariously underutilized business blogs really are on a majority of websites. You spend a huge capital on SEO and other online marketing efforts, but barely recognize the beauty and efficiency of the amazing lead magnet - The blog.
Now you may ask, “We have been updating our business blogs regularly, but we don’t see any unusual influx of leads as you claim. How so?” It is because you have been doing it the wrong way all this while. Experts at social media agencies in Mumbai and other cities in India have long realized that there are ways to build momentum with the readers so that they become customers, and not remain mere passersby.
Here is the 10-step formula to transform your business blog into an amazing lead magnet for your brand:
1. Show your Blog as a Child of your Website
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| Source: BloggingTips.com |
A blog might be the only place that your reader would find something interesting apart from your repeated sales pitches. Often, your visitors may land directly on one of your blog posts from the links on SERPs. Your website can take the advantage of this incoming traffic by keeping your blog as a sub directory of your website. For example, if your website is example.com, you can maintain your blog as example.com/blog or as a sub domain like, blog.example.com.
2. Make your Blog a Solutions Portal for your Customers
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| Source: Mass |
Have you ever started a fruitful conversation by talking only about yourself? If you did, then you would still remember how the other person nodded so politely to everything you said, and left you in between to attend a mysterious phone call, never to come back again. Nobody is interested to know what you have and the usual sales pitch like all other sellers. Every potential customer only wants solutions to their existing problem. When they visit your site they only want to know how you can help make their lives easier. You can present your products, but not in a one-sided conversation. You should understand what the customers would be looking for when they reach your website and present your products as the best possible solutions to their problems with supporting facts and statistics.
3. Be Active, Be There for them
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| Source: KeepCalmPosters |
Have you ever had a friend who would only show up once a while saying “Hey, guess what..” and then blabber about some stuff you are least interested in? You would want to avoid him or her somehow. You would hardly call such a person a friend! Be your customer’s darling. Be there for them. Build conversations. Respond to their comments promptly and do not hesitate in thanking even a tiny comment like “Nice post”. Form ideas for future posts from the conversations you have built through the various comments on your previous posts. Such posts would keep your readers interested and engaged at all times.
4. Convey the Core Message ASAP
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| Source: 1minutemailer |
Suspense is something your visitors will have no time for. If you try to pull off a dramatic introduction but not converge onto the core matter within the first few sentences, the reader would simply ignore the post and bounce back to the search results. With the rising speed of Internet access and the falling attention span of online users, doing the Shakespeare with your blog may result in poor readability. When you start a post, you may use some drama, but make sure you come to the matter ASAP! Let your reader know what you will be focusing on throughout your post beforehand or he or she will be too bored to read through a wall of text.
5. Have an Irresistible Headline
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| Source: PredictableProfits |
You should invest more time in finding the right headline for your post, because it is the headline that gets the attention of the visitor and encourages him or her to click through. The headline should be such that the visitor would want to know more about what it is. Although it gives a hint of what it is about, a good headline would always leave the reader in suspense till he or she actually reads the content. For example, take a look at the following two headlines for a blog post on Internet Marketing tips:
1) 10 Useful Internet Marketing Tips
2) The 10 Internet Marketing Secrets that will Blow your Mind!
Which of the two titles will you click on? Obviously, the second one would get most clicks, because it inspires curiosity in the mind of the reader. The hot words and phrases like “Secrets”, “Perfect”, “Blow your mind”, etc. would always get the maximum attention. An irresistible headline guarantees click through.
6. Flaunt Quality Links from Other Pages of Website
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| Source: MintBlogger |
What do you do when some guests come to see your new home? Wouldn’t you show them around the house explaining the vaastu and other aspects of each room? Similarly, your website too has a number of pages you would want your potential customer to see. When you write a blog post, write it in a way so that you can link a few keywords to some pages, especially the landing pages of your website. For example, if you are writing a blog for the digital marketing agency The Brand Saloon, you should have keywords linked to the homepage or other landing pages. This way you can keep the doors open for visitors to explore your website and sign up for your resources like eBooks or newsletters.
7. Include Calls-to-Action
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| Source: oneillinstituteblog.org |
The real-estate around your blog also comes in the readers’ field of vision. Have you noticed how advertisers scramble to bid for ad space on popular websites? Make maximum use of the space around your post by including calls-to-action that link to the landing pages of your services. The space below each post is very powerful, because a reader reaches this area only when he has scrolled through the entire content in the post.
8. Offer Freebies for Signing up
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| Source: crossreads |
Who doesn’t like a freebie? Everybody loves to get something of value free of cost. You may now wonder what you can give away for free on your business blog. The answer is simple- Information! You may say, “Isn’t my blogs already giving away information?” Yes, you are right, but you can actually give out more information in the form of e-books, white papers or newsletters, which imparts knowledge in more detail than your posts. If your visitor is keen to know more about your services, he or she would truly appreciate these free souvenirs from your website.
9. Decorate the Posts with Attractive Social Buttons
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| Source: ThatsBlogging |
The next step is to get your visitors to market your brand on social networks. Isn’t it an ingenious way to get the word out to your target audience? People tend to pay more attention when a visitor who is not related to your business shares your posts on social networks. To encourage the visitor to share your stuff, include visually appealing and easy-to-use social buttons on your website.
10. And Finally, Don’t forget to Promote Yourself
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| Source: Deliweb |
In a hurry to play the Good Samaritan for your customers, providing them with useful information and other resources, do not forget to promote your brand. Provide a brief description about a product or service you offer wherever appropriate within your posts, and provide links to the respective pages. This would help the readers narrow down their search for your services and as a result boost your conversion rate.
By following the above steps, you can build a kickass online presence before your target audience, but if you do not take the effort to update your blog regularly with useful information and keep up the momentum, your blog may soon lose its lead generation quality and be just another bunch of pages on your website. Keep your eyes open and be active to maintain your business blog as the perfect lead magnet for your brand.
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