marketing with a blog

Marketing with a Blog: Your BEST Marketing Tool!

What is the Goal of Marketing?

To reach the right customer at the right time with the right message.

Why Traditional Marketing Methods Fail?

TV -- Cable, YouTube (more views than all four major networks combined), and TiVo (people skip ads) Radio -- Satellite radio & iTunes/mp3 players Print -- Blogs & Social Networks, Online news sources Billboards -- Spray & pray!

Why Online Marketing Works83% of US households now use the Internet when shopping locally for products & services (The Kelsey Group - 2009). 82% of people who used local search later followed up their research with offline action (Comscore Networks Study). 61% of those using local search sites eventually made a purchase. Online Marketing Messages are available 24/7. Online Marketing Messages can be changed quickly, easily, and at little or no cost.

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Why Blogs Are Great for Online Marketing:

Positions you as an expert in your field. Enables dialogue with your audience. Inexpensive. Easy to manage. Ranks well in search engines. Flexible. Reinforces your brand.

Steps for Setting Up a Blog:

Embed it into your website. Use Wordpress. Structure it to attract traffic, using both articles & posts. Optimize it for search engines. Make it mobile friendly. Provide value to your readers. Capture leads -- essential to success!

Developing Your Marketing Game Plan

Constructing Your Blog

Determine your blog’s purpose

Pick your blog’s topic

Do Keyword Research

Register your domain name

Choose a hosting service

Install WordPress on your site

Select your blog’s theme/design

Write your first posts

Launch your blog

Build a Responsive Email List

List-building is the most important thing you can do

Use a free resource to trade for email addresses

Use a professional double opt-in program to maintain your list. I use & recommend Aweber.com

Develop a relationship with your list members

Provide incredible valueto your subscribers

Demonstrate Your Expertise

Use a professional-looking name & design

Research your topic (reference sources)

Make it easy to contact you

Make your site easy to use

Continue learningyour topic by reading top blogs

Update regularly

Avoid site errors

Grow Your Blog’s CommunityCommunity-building is an ongoing process

Reward referrals

Respond to your readers, both in comments & via email

Visit your commenters’ sites

Thank those who help you (retweets, diggs, etc.)

Provide Readers with Value

Magnetic Headlines

Compelling Content

Solve Reader Problems

Take-aways/Actionable Items

Be generous - give away your best stuff

Build Your BrandThe information highway is quickly evolving into the “referral” highway -- research your niche and become an expert

Determine your long-term objectives

Define the image you wish to portray to your audience

Communicate your brand message so readers will know exactly what you & your blog will deliver

Be consistent &persistent

Definition of Branding:

Influencing a memorable response in your target market. Before each blog post think: What message do you want to send to your audience? What is your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)? -- What makes YOU different from your competition?

Ways to Reinforce Your Brand:

Blog Email marketing One Sheet Sponsoring events Festivals/Trade Shows Webinars Cold Calls

Social Media Press Releases Traditional media (focus on content -- articles & interviews) Civic Club talks Networking/Partnering Advertising

Promoting Your Blog How to get more traffic

The Top 10 Ways to Drive Traffic -- from data released this month by a pro-blogger

#10 - Forum Signatures

At least it doesn’t take much effort to put your website link in a forum profile. :)

#9 - TwitterIt’s hard to be heard among all the noise out there. Twitter is best used for building relationships and customer service. Don’t depend on it as a traffic source.

#8 - Social Bookmarking

Like article marketing, the primary benefit of social bookmarking is to develop backlinks, not drive traffic, although you can get some traffic from these links.

#7 - Article Marketing

Article Marketing is still quite possibly the very best method for building backlinks, but it’s not so great for driving traffic. Unless your articles get picked up by a publisher, you wont’ get much traffic.

#6 - Blog Commenting

The biggest benefit from blog commenting is networking and building relationships with others in your niche. You may get some traffic, but it’s not a huge traffic generator.

Blog commenting isn’t a great way to get backlinks either because many use no-follow tags.

#5 - FacebookFacebook can be both a boon and a bane to marketers.

Over a half-billion people use Facebook.

The average Facebook user spends 16% of their time on Facebook -- BUT, if you’re not engaging them, they won’t even know your page exists!

Don’t forget Google+ or Pinterest - which happens to be thefastest growingsocial site today.

#4 - Video & Podcasting

YouTube and iTunes are, in effect, search engines

Video & Audio engage the audience -- excellent for content, backlinks & traffic

Video & Audio keep readers on your site longer & decrease your bounce rate

#3 - SEO and PPC Advertising

Search Engine Optimization still stands as the best way to bring consistent traffic to your site -- plus it’s FREE!

Paid advertising is probably the fastest way to bring traffic to your site, but if you do it wrong, you can lose a LOT of money very quickly!

#2 - Guest Posting

Boosts your credibility Brings in targeted traffic Builds relationships with others in your niche Some visitors will be one-timers, but you may gain new readers

#1 - Do a Product Launch with JV Partners & Affiliates Tip: Webinars are HUGE right now!

The Top 10 ways bloggers made money last year (2011)

Monetizing Your Blog: The best ways for bloggers

to make money

#10 - Site Flipping

Some people build blogs with the specific intent of selling them for profit.

#9 - Job/Ad Boards

Job and Ad blogs are growing in popularity. This blogging business model works best for blogs with a lot of traffic.

#8 - Paid Posts

Writing posts for pay is similar to freelance writing, only you’re hiring yourself out to write blog posts. Bloggers need lots of great content, so there is always plenty of work to do!

#7 - Ad Sales

Another opportunity for sites with a good amount of traffic is selling ads - either direct ad sales, banner ads, or sales of ads from services, such as Google Adsense.

#6 - Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketers introduce their readers to related products created by others. This can be a win-win-win situation, as it helps the product owner, the affiliate, and the customer!

#5 - Product Sales

Many bloggers create a good income stream by setting up shop right on their blog. Online stores can sell a variety of products - both digital and physical.

#4 - Speaking

Many writers make extra income by speaking at workshops, seminars, and conferences, and bloggers are no exception. If you know enough about a topic to blog well about it, you can likely earn money speaking.

#3 - ServicesFrom building websites, to content creation, to search engine optimization, to graphics design - chances are you can do something someone else needs. Not only is selling services the number three way to make money, it is probably the fastest way to earn money online.

#2 - Information Products

Creating and selling your OWN information products is one of the best ways to make money online. There are a variety of platforms to choose from - video, eBooks, training courses - there are LOTS of opportunities!

#1 - Membership Sites

Membership Sites were the NUMBER ONE way bloggers made money in 2011.

Tips for Successful Blog Marketing

Search Engine Optimization Tips:

Pick an SEO-friendly platform

Keywords -- what are people searching for? Which keywords have low-moderate competition?

Deep Linking

Create SEO-friendlypermalinks

Optimize for long-tail searches

Title Tags

Anchor Text

Develop a Linking Strategy

Article Marketing is the best way to develop quality backlinks

Use your target keywords as anchor text in your links

Create internal (or deep) links within your blog

Implement a social bookmarking plan

Remember -- links are not created equal

Establish Your Outposts

Video

Podcast

Social Media - especially Facebook & Twitter

Guest Posts

Article Marketing

Write for your Readers

First of all -- Research your audience so you KNOW what they want! Do thorough market research.

Make your blog a conversation, not a lecture

Keep your content fresh

Provide “insider” information

Let readers get to know you as a person

Provide Quality Content

Be Prepared

Be Precise

Be Personable

Produce Curiosity

Be Passionate

Be a Problem-solver

Promote Interaction

Permit Wiggle Room

Make a Commitment

Focus on your purpose for blogging

Develop a blogging system

Make your blog the hub of your marketing strategy -- don’t think of it as an afterthought

Have Fun!

So . . . We’ve discussed a lot of the WHAT --

How do we DO all this stuff?

Coming Soon -- CREATING BIZ BUZZ!

A step-by-step marketing course.

Creating Biz Buzz will cover:

Market Research Branding Website/Blog Development Content Creation Search Engine Optimization Geo-targeted Marketing

Social Media Email Marketing Offline Promotion Tactics Reputation Management Analytics & Tracking BizBuzz System

Go to CREATINGBIZBUZZ.com

and sign up on the notification list! PLUS - you’ll receive FREE marketing tips!