The Basics of Blog Marketing

Initially referred to as a weblog or weblog, the term blog was shortened to just "blog."

Bloggers first began blogging in the 1990s as an online diary, where people provided personal details about their lives. They have since grown to include writing and media on topics such as news, politics, music, food, business, and much more—even blogs about blogging.

The blog format was recognized as a marketing tool by visionary entrepreneurs, just like so many new resources popping up these days, and they used it to provide their customers with information and updates, as well as to attract new customers. As a result, blogging became an effective marketing strategy that had never existed before.

Blogging: What It Is

Through the use of a blog, you can reach your home business' target market. The first thing a business owner did was maintain a separate blog from their website, but now you can easily integrate the two to make managing them easier as well as making them more accessible to your visitors. As both a website and a blog, many business owners use a blogging platform, such as WordPress.

Furthermore, as blogging has grown in popularity, more people are creating businesses purely on the basis of blogging. Some food blogs, for example, are businesses in their own right.

Blog marketing has many advantages

In addition to providing new content to draw people in and allowing businesses and consumers to interact, blogs are also ideal for marketing. Here are a few advantages:

Starting and running a blog marketing campaign is extremely affordable. All you need is a domain name and web hosting.
It's easy to use: Most blogging platforms make it easy to create a professional-looking blog by copying, pasting, typing, dragging, and dropping.
Builds website traffic: Sharing new tips and updates on your business website encourages people to return, which allows them to buy from you.
The popularity of blogging among entrepreneurs is largely due to the fact that it improves search engine rankings. Google is particularly guilty of playing favorites when it comes to finding new content and ranking it.
Establishes Trust and Credibility: People like to know who they're doing business with. By creating a blog, you can demonstrate your expertise and provide consumers with helpful tips and other valuable information—all of which makes them feel comfortable buying your product.
Engage Your Market: Many businesses use Twitter and other social media platforms to engage with their markets, but blogs can still serve as a means of communicating with them. In addition to building trust and rapport, you're able to get feedback and provide customer service by doing so.
Increases Revenue Opportunities: You can accept advertising, promote affiliate products, and get sponsors, resulting in more revenue for your business.

Using blogs for marketing has its cons

It is true that blogging has its downsides, just as everything else in life does.

Hiring freelance writers and a virtual assistant can help ease the burden of creating new content and updating your blog.
The blogger faces a constant stream of challenges, including thinking of new content ideas.
Getting Traffic to Your Blog Can Take Time: Building an audience can take time—you won't necessarily see traffic right away.
The Blog Must Be Marketed As Well: The blog is meant to market your business, but it must be promoted, which means you must find your target market and create an enticing blog.

Blog Marketing: How to Make It Work

The trick to promoting your business with a blog is to manage it and market it consistently. Setting up a blog is easy. Making it successful requires ongoing management and marketing.

Develop a blog marketing strategy: What will you post on your blog? News, tips, resources, etc? How often will you post new content? (Daily, weekly, etc.)
Establish Your Blog: Decide on your blogging platform, and customize it according to your business needs. Be sure to use the same logo on both your blog and your website (if you have a separate website) to maintain consistency. To make it easier for consumers to find your site, have a domain name pointed to it if you use a free blog platform (not recommended for business blogging).
You should post ten or more posts as soon as possible: Readers don't like to visit a blog with only one or two posts. Start with ten or more posts, and then switch to regular posts.
Promote Your Blog: It's easy to integrate social media into your blog so that your posts are shared with your followers. Make your blog prominent on all of your marketing materials.
Respond to comments: Blogs should be social, so you should be prepared to receive questions, feedback, or opinions from your readers. Delete spam messages.
Make It Easy for Visitors to Sign Up for Your Email List. Email signups give people who are interested in your business more chances to spend money with you in the future.

Landing Pages: How They Work

Any effective inbound marketing campaign needs landing pages. You can think of landing pages as landing pads for the numerous prospects who visit your website. The landing page is the place where a visitor converts, whether you want to generate leads, sell products, or collect data. Use these tips to optimize your landing pages.

Through a lead form on a landing page, you can collect the information of a visitor. The landing page is where visitors land when they click on a call-to-action button on your website, blog, offer, or social media pay-per-click advertisement. Your landing page has a form for visitors to fill out to get an offer. When they submit their information, you receive a new lead.

Converting Leads and Selling Through Landing Pages

In order to achieve your conversion goals, you need landing pages. If someone clicks on the image in your email that leads them to your latest ebook, do you want them to go to your homepage? When they get there, what should they do?

Designing landing pages to facilitate this conversion can be done once you have a solid conversion path. Keeping relevant, focused, and important information on one page can increase conversion by 55% by making it easy for your visitors to follow the path you have just laid out. Therefore, it is common to have a dedicated page for each step of your conversion path (or series of similar steps).

You direct your visitors to a targeted landing page so that they can fill out your form and complete the conversion by sending them to the right place. You can simplify the process by making this so prospects don't have to meander through your website looking for the offer or content you promised them.

In order for you to produce leads and sales, as a marketer, you need to deliver the right information at the right time to the right person.

What's In The Title

We are going to take a closer look at the individual elements of a landing page now that you understand what it is. When your visitors land on your landing pages, they usually see your headline first. With an average online attention span of eight seconds, your headline must be clear and concise so that they don't miss out on anything. As soon as they "land" on your page, you need to make sure your viewer understands what you're offering.

The Copy And Content Of The Landing Page

A landing page should build on the headline and provide your visitors with a comprehensive explanation of the offer. You want to convey the value of your offer through clear, concise language on your landing page so that your visitors are incentivized to convert. Highlight the benefits of your offer with a few bullets or a short paragraph. If you want to attract your target audience, your copy should emphasize how it addresses a particular problem, need, or interest.

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Use relevant images to reinforce your landing page's benefits and entice visitors. Visuals process faster than text - keep that in mind when creating your landing page. It will entice visitors and explain why they should download your offer.

Button Call-To-Actions

The last piece of your form - the button - is one of the main components when getting visitors to send you their information. Try to place an opt-in form or a call-to-action in several places on your landing pages. You'll find that most forms are titled "Submit", but research indicates that landing pages with buttons labeled "Submit" have lower conversion rates than landing pages without them. The buttons you use should be engaging and relevant to your offering.

Consider the wording of your buttons carefully and make sure they are enticing to visitors instead of scaring them away. You can substantially improve conversion rates by being more creative with the verbiage you use.

Optimize Your Content For Search Engines

Search engine optimization can also be done with landing pages. All you need to do is write a well-written description and headline that contain keywords. Use a well-coded hierarchy and content that emphasizes your keyword. Provide links to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ so visitors can connect with one another.

Hierarchy Coded Properly

When it comes to your landing pages, a correctly coded hierarchy refers to your headline, subheading, and first subsection. You should use ‘heading 1’ for your headline, ‘heading 2’ for your subheading, and ‘heading 3’ for your first subsection.

Online Social Networks

You can increase traffic to your site by building a community and then communicating with it through social media. In addition, you can use social media to make your brand more recognizable as well as build loyalty. Your distribution efforts will greatly increase when you utilize social media. You can reach a larger group of your target audience this way.

Keep your brand consistent throughout. Keeping your brand consistent will lend credibility to your landing pages and increase the likelihood that your visitors will take the actions you desire. Make sure the look and feel of your products and services are conveyed throughout.

Got questions? Visit us @ www.sirkle.com and we’re happy to help.