Blogging for Window Shoppers and Tire Kickers

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by


“Many of the folks who come to see me aren’t necessarily looking for a new plan or a new planner,” financial advisor Zach Fox, AAMS®, says. “They may just be looking for confidence in their existing plan.”

Diane Wingerter, certified grantwriter and owner of GrantWriting for Goodness™, agrees. “Yes”, “no”, “maybe”, or “not now” are all possible responses by people who are seeking funding – or, indeed, by funders themselves, she notes.

Blog marketers need to approach readers with a similar mindset. Will blog marketing “close deals” in the same manner as a face-to-face encounter between a prospect and a sales professional? Of course not. Hubspot blogger Corey Wainwright lists some of the indirect selling benefits of blogs and their place in the sales process:

  • If you’re consistently creating content that’s helpful for your target customer, it’ll help establish you as an authority in their eyes.
  • Prospects that have been reading your blog posts will typically enter the sales process more educated about your place in the market, your industry, and what you have to offer.
  • Salespeople who encounter specific questions that require in-depth explanation or a documented answer can pull from an archive of blog posts.

Blogging is what marketing firm pardot.com calls stage-based, meaning that prospects move through different stages of the sales cycle. In one study, Pardot found that B2B consumers started their research with Google, then returned two or three times for more specific information. For prospects at the top of the “funnel”, the most effective content will be light, educational and product-neutral. Later in the cycle, readers who are already sold on your industry, just deciding among vendors or providers, need more specific information.

The “maybes”, the “not nows”, and readers looking only to bolster their confidence in their existing plans or product choices will come away with a positive experience and valuable information. On the other hand, readers who have reached the final decision-making stage might just be ready to consider your unique value propositions and to follow one of your Calls to Action.

In blog marketing, don’t ignore the window shoppers and tire-kickers!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Don’t Just Blog There – Engage!

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

 

Kudos for the most-watched Netflix series used to be based on how many households had watched a particular movie or show, Mental Floss magazine explains. But watched is a loose term. Anyone who who clicked “play” on a title would be counted, even if they made it only 10 seconds into the material, the authors explain.

When Netflix’s switched its popularity model (where only subscribers who’d watched a show for at least two minutes (and only then within the first 28 days of the show’s release) were counted, there were dramatic shifts in the popularity rankings, Mental Floss authors explain…

When it comes to blog marketing, getting found is most certainly a primary goal, but even after searchers have “found” your blog site and clicked “play”, the job of engaging those readers has just begun.

Steve Mehler of Techsling names things blog readers “really want from you”, including:

  • timely topics
  • a simple read
  • information
  • problem solutions
  • entertainment
  • visuals
  • emotional connections

“The definition of engagement has changed slightly over the years.” Jim Henshaw of Raventools explains. While early measurements focused on Bounce Rate and Pages per Session, that’s not enough (users may keep clicking on different links because they can’t find the content that interests them!) Truly engaged readers continue reading through to the bottom of the article.

Online publishers have spent the last few years trying to attract as many visitors to their website and apps as possible, but were later forced to rethink their online strategy and to put greater focus on maximizing loyalty and engagement, Jorrith Schaap observed in Crowdynews. Enhancing audience engagement is important, Schaap explains, because engaged users:

  • are more likely to trust the publisher’s brand
  • return more often to the website
  • visit more pages during a session
  • are more inclined to sign up a newsletter or RSS blog feed
  • are more likely to become customers and clientsAbove all, do not annoy your readers, Nick Stamoutis of BrickMarketing warns, with:
  • Slow loading
  • Cluttered design
  • Confusing navigation systemSo, don’t just blog there – engage!
Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

In Blogging, Keep Functional Alternatives in Mind

/0 Comments/in , , /by

They aren’t really the same as your product or service, but it’s important to analyze how your product or service compares to them, Jeanette McMcMurtry reminds entrepreneurs in Marketing for Dummies, referring to functional alternatives.

What are functional alternatives?
Let’s face it – there are products and services out there that aren’t exactly like the stuff you sell or the services you perform, but which lead to the same, or at least some of the same, outcomes for clients and customers.

Examples:

  • For a health coach focusing on weight loss, functional alternatives potential clients might choose include diet meal delivery, dietary supplements, cosmetic “fat freezing” procedures, and personal trainers.
  • For an orthopedic surgery practice, functional alternatives for potential clients include nonsurgical kinetics, psychological pain management clinics, and cryoanalgesia (using cold to block pain).
  • For a fitness studio, functional alternatives include home exercise equipment sellers, yoga or pilates studios, and online fitness course providers.
  • If you own a hotel, AirBnb and dimilar businesses are functional alternatives.

You need to decide how you compete with functional alternatives to your business or practice, McMurtry explains, then build action items into your marketing plan.

In blog marketing, as we know at Say It For You, content creation must be built around a thorough understanding of your target market. What are their goals? What choices do those prospects have in achieving those goals? In what way are your products/services substantially different?

Years ago, I met Jeff Bowe, owner of a private equity group called Actum. I remember him saying “When you walk into a room, everyone should know you for one thing, and that one thing needs to be very, very clear – to you and to your target audience.” In blog writing, it is crucial for business owners and professional practitioners to differentiate themselves from their functional alternatives.

Do you…do things faster? Operate at a lower cost? Make fewer errors? Offer greater comfort or less pain for the customer? Provide a more engaging experience?

In blogging, keep functional alternatives in mind!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Introduce Referral Partners in Your Blog

/0 Comments/in , , /by

 

“By establishing yourself as a source of assistance, you train others to come to you with referral opportunities,” Chuck Gifford and Minesh Baxi advise in the book Network Your way to $100,000 and Beyond. “Learning to promote to those in your sphere of influence is hundreds of times better than buying from a referral partner. You must learn to talk about your referral partners often, asking questions to uncover leads.”

At Say It For You, I’ve always taught that reading competitors’ blog posts is a great form of market research for business owners launching their own blogging strategy.  Even repeating what established bloggers have said (of course in each case properly attributing the material to its source) forces “newbies” to think about what they might add to the discussion.

But, rather than merely summarizing what others are thinking, or ways competitors have chosen to handle problems, why not invite “thought competitors” to express their ideas on your blog site? That can be a way to use blog content to present conflicting views about a particular subject (your guest blogger’s view and your own), leading readers to think more deeply about a topic.

A guest blog post, of course, needn’t be about a controversial topic, but might serve as enrichment content for the host’s readers. A realtor might invite an interior designer to comment on “staging” a home for sale. An estate planning attorney might invite a long term care insurance agent to contribute content. “Guesting” can take the form of interviews or of actual content by the referral partners themselves.

“The most powerful phrase in marketing,” Gifford and Baxi assert is “I have a friend in that business. Would it be okay if I have them give you a call?” It’s interesting to note that the book was published in 2007, a year before Say It For You was started. Fourteen years later, it could be that one of the most powerful forms of referral marketing is introducing your referral partners to your audience of blog readers!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Brand Names and Blog Post Titles

/0 Comments/in , /by

When naming something, it is human nature to want to describe what you are naming, entrepreneur.com states. Examples of well-known company names that describe what they do or make include International Business Machines, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Despite that logic, there’s no denying non-descriptive names have value. In fact, Statistica lists the leading U.S. brands for 2021, showing brand value in the millions of US. dollars for companies whose names do not allude to their products and services:

  • Apple 262.38
  • Amazon 254.19
  • Google 191.22
  • Microsoft 140.44
  • Walmart 93.19
  • Facebook 81.48

Those startling performance statistics for non-descriptor names notwithstanding, at Say It For You, we advise making clear in the title of each blog post – to both searchers and search engines – exactly what that post is going to be about. Here are three important reasons why:

  1. A blog post title in itself constitutes a set of implied promises to visitors. In essence, you’re saying, “If you click here, you will read information about…..”
  2. Since an important purpose of marketing blogs is attracting online shoppers, blog post titles are a crucial element in the process.
  3. The keyword phrases in the title are the way you “get found” by search engines; one keyword phrase is your brand name.

 

All that is not to say titles can’t be true to their topic and still be creative enough to entice searchers to want to read the content. You can, for example:

1. Create a title with an “agenda”, so readers have a clue as to your point of view on a topic before reading the article

2. Create an emotionally grabbing title “How Exercise Keeps You Young”

3. Create a how-to title

4. Create a “truth about” title with a hint of mystery

SEO company Yoast questions to ask in creating a brand and then executing a keyword phrase strategy:

– What does your brand stand for?
– What values does it represent?
– What’s the main message of our business?

While non-descriptive brand names such as Apple and Amazon have value in the billions, in titling blog posts, we’ve found at Say It For You, it’s best to tell ’em what you’re going to tell ’em and then – deliver!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail