Still struggling to generate leads for your small business? One of the easiest ways to attract new leads is to start blogging. It allows you to connect with your target audience on a more personal level, instilling the trust and confidence necessary to capture their contact information.
Avoid ‘List’ Blog Posts
Don’t get me wrong, list, e.g., “Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid,” are a highly effective and engaging form of web content, which of course is why you see so many of them online. They naturally capture readers’ attention, enticing them to read through the items. But lists aren’t particularly effective at capturing leads. According to Neil Patel from QuickSprout, lists and other “informational posts that contain tips and tricks” do not generate leads.
When crafting content to generate leads, think about what your target demographic is interested in. Sometimes a short “teaser” blog post is enough to attract leads. Rather than showing all of your cards in a post, give just a little bit of information while asking visitors to submit their info for the rest.
Include a Call to Action in Your Posts
If you are blogging with the goal of capturing more leads for your small business, you should include a large and prominent call-to-action (CTA) button somewhere in your posts. This can be something as simple as a large hyperlinked “CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED” text, or you can design an actual graphic button complete with mouse-over effects. The bottom line is that you need some type of CTA to guide your blog’s readers through the lead conversion process.
Be the Authority
What does it mean to “be the authority?” Well, you want to present yourself in the most professional, positive manner — especially when attempting to generate leads for your small business. Unless visitors trust your blog, they will be reluctant to submit their personal information. So give them a bit of encouragement by establishing yourself as THE leading figure for your respective niche. You can boost your credibility by including customer testimonials, using a professional-looking blog template/theme, and producing high-quality content. These otherwise small steps will go a long way in creating the perception that you are the leading authority figure.
Set Up a Newsletter
If you haven’t done so already, consider setting up a newsletter signup form on your blog. When a visitor is interested in your posts and what you have to say, he or she may subscribe to your newsletter for updates. In addition to sending standard content and blog posts to your subscribers, however, you can also send marketing emails in an attempt to capture more leads. Just remember to diversify your emails with both standard content and promotional content.
Tip: WordPress bloggers can use the Newsletter Signup plugin to automatically include a signup form on their blog.
Have any other blogging tips that you would like to share with our readers? Let us know in the comments section below!
These are great suggestions. I’m not sure that people realize that they need to create and implement a blogging strategy, rather than just blogging. As you suggest, lists can grab attention, but they aren’t appropriate ways to generate leads.
I’m frequently amazed by how many people omit the CTA. The CTA is crucial!
My company’s getting ready to launch our new site that includes a blog. This is great information for me to share with my team. I was initially skeptical about the blogging portion because of our industry, but am now pretty confident it will be a worthwhile investment.