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Getting Leads (and More!) from Your Blog:10 Tips for Higher Blog ROI
Howard J. Sewell, PresidentSpear Marketing Group
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Navicure► SaaS-based medical claims management (Atlanta)► $30MM, 150+ employees ► Target audience: physicians and office managers at
small- to mid-sized medical practices
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The Problem► “CEO blog” was generating no measurable return:
low traffic, few subscribers (RSS), no comments► Irregular content with no editorial plan or defined
set of contributors► Standard Wordpress template with standard
widgets: tags, archives, popular posts► No stated objective, no internal champion► Question: are blogging and social
media worth the investment?
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The Process► In order to be worthwhile, the blog needed to do to
do more than just promote thought leadership► Goals:
► 1. Generate new sales leads & measurable ROI► 2. Create content that can be used for nurturing
& customer marketing► 3. Increase awareness of “next generation
clearinghouses” but not be too Navicure-centric
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The Process► In order to be worthwhile, the blog needed to do to
do more than just promote thought leadership► Goals:
► 1. Generate new sales leads & measurable ROI► 2. Create content that can be used for nurturing
& customer marketing► 3. Increase awareness of “next generation
clearinghouses” but not be too Navicure-centric
► Steps:► 1. Design the blog with demand generation in mind► 2. Create an industry blog: make the Navicure
brand secondary► 3. Create an editorial strategy and gain firm
commitment from contributors
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Branded “Daily Practice”
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Branded “Daily Practice”
Mix of Content: Practical Advice, Thought Leadership, Promotional
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Branded “Daily Practice”
Mix of Content: Practical Advice, Thought Leadership, Promotional
Prominent subscription options: Email, Twitter, LinkedIn, RSS
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Branded “Daily Practice”
Mix of Content: Practical Advice, Thought Leadership, Promotional
Prominent subscription options: Email, Twitter, LinkedIn, RSS
Links to Webinars, events, and gated content in the sidebar
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Monthly Email Newsletter
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The Results► 60 net new leads in first 30 days► 500 net new leads in first 9 months► 22 percent of new prospects requested
sales contact► 778% ROI in first year
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Customer Blog
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10 tips for higher blog ROI
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Prominent subscription options► Capturing new subscribers is one of the most
efficient ways to convert visitors into readers that you can nurture over time
► Offer as many subscription options as possible► At minimum: Email, RSS, Twitter► Don’t rely on icons alone; include
simple text instructions that “sell”the various options
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Promotional content► Don’t be afraid of promotional content► Consider the “4-1-1 Rule” (designed for Twitter)
► “For every one self-serving tweet, you should re-tweet one relevant tweet and share four pieces of relevant content”
► Blog version: 1 promotional post, 1 post commenting on content written by others, 4 pieces of original content
► Include a call to action at the end of relevant posts► “For further reading on this topic, download a
copy of our free white paper … (link)”
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Gated resources in sidebar► Highly effective technique for converting casual
blog visitors (people interested in the topics and issues addressed by your blog) into measurable sales leads
► Include text link + visual “icon” (shown to improve response by making offer seem more tangible)
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Use links for SEO, offer content► 2 linking techniques to drive improve search
rankings, boost Web traffic, and drive sales leads:► Link keywords within blog posts to Web pages
that you want to rank highly for that keyword► Link names or descriptions of content (white
papers, Webinars) to gated landing pages for that content
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Make every new offer a blog post► Post excerpts, highlights, or reviews of every new
white paper, case study, or Webinar► Close the post with a link to the original or
complete content (preferably gated)► “View the complete Webinar on our Website: (link)”
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Social Sharing: Easy & Visible► Include social sharing options at the end of every
blog post, and in the blog sidebar (for sharing the blog as a whole)
► Popular sharing services: AddThis, ShareThis► Tip: Use options that display individual options
(Facebook, Twitter, +1) vs. one button
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Write post titles for Google► When writing post titles, think about the reader
seeing the post as a search result or a tweet, NOT the reader viewing your blog
► Use search-critical keywords, but don’t overdo it (keep the title engaging)
► Using numbers (“5 Ways to Improve …”) is a cliché but it WORKS
► Ask the question: does this title stand by itself?
“Wow, that looks interesting.”
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Make your blog a newsletter► Leverage your blog investment by pushing blog
content monthly to your prospect database► Drives blog traffic, increases subscribers► Less labor-intensive than the traditional “write
it all at once” newsletter model► Go the extra step and design an attractive
newsletter template vs. using an “automated” email service like Feedburner
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Tags are your friend► Tags are primarily a navigational tool for finding
related posts, but they’re also a highly effective way to increase search rankings
► Don’t display tags in the sidebar (wasted space!)► Use the same tags over and over again
► Increases the number of related posts (and traffic to those posts)► Increases the value (and search ranking) of “Tag Pages” (“Tag Archives”)
that contain excerpts of all posts that use the same tag
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Start with a plan► Choose a goal and stick to it (a blog can’t be
everything to everyone)► Choose your audience► Brainstorm all possible topics and narrow them
down to 5-6 categories (e.g. industry trends, best practices, offer content)
► Assign 1 or more contributors to each category (reduces the demand on any one individual)
► Create an editorial calendar with deadlines for each category and contributor
► Good luck!
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Resources► Questions? [email protected]► Twitter: @hjsewell► www.spearmarketing.com/blog► dailypracticeblog.com