How to Blog; The Essence of Content Marketing
Let’s take some time to understand how to blog; the essence of content marketing and what its main features are. As business has shifted more and more online, marketing has begun to come into its own online. We now tend to make a difference between outbound and inbound marketing. It is the latter which is the principal domain of the web.
Content marketing / inbound marketing / blogging begins when our prospect searches the web.
They are looking for information. They can be very specific about what they are searching for and so it becomes important to first determine the ‘key words’ they are using in their search.
Once we know what they want, it’s our job to give it to them and therein lies the critical first step in inbound marketing: educational content is where the transformation takes place between outbound and inbound marketing. We are giving our prospect some of what they looking for. We are providing them with valuable information. This gives them the chance to decide whether we are trustworthy, whether they are willing to take the next step with us to get more of what they want. We want to write educational/informational content in the blog utilizing “How To” or “7 Steps To …” formats to attract attention. And this must be useful information. We want our prospect to gain value from their interaction with us.
The best blogs are the simplest ones.
Organize your content around a primary subject. Do not allow your writing to meander away into interesting side topics. Stay focused. In creating your blog, use “long-tail keywords” or more complete phrases entered into search engines by our prospect in their hunt for information. Remember, the beauty of content marketing is that our prospect is telling us very specifically what he is looking for.
Writing for the web is no different from any other writing; the same rules apply, with one difference. Keep in mind that today’s web visitor selected our site from a whole page of choices and will only spend seconds evaluating if this is the best place for him to find what he is looking for. What can we do to further engage him, to so involve him on our page that he forgets about all his other choices because he is getting his answers with us? This is where traditional formatting and graphics come into play. Make your copy presentable. Do not intimidate your reader with a whole page of text. Allow his eye to scan from the headline to a graphic image or picture. Break up the copy with catchy sub-heads.
Some people like to think of blog writing as a way to drive traffic to your site. I prefer to think of it as luring customers into our store. Either way, we need to provide enough information that they will find us first and we do that by blogging at least two times per week. Content marketing services are available to the busy business owner. Ignorance is bliss, and knowledge is power. No excuses here. Get it done. As we build our presence on the web by repeated blogging, our prospect increases his chances of finding us. It is as though with each blog our storefront becomes bigger and attracts more customers.
Okay, so we have written our blog and done a good job of sharing information of value and earning the trust of our prospect. Now it’s time to remember the main purpose of the blog: to increase our participation with our prospects i.e. to engage them in the buying process. At the bottom of the blog, place a link to an offer of more substantial value. This is where we involve them more specifically by encouraging them to exchange their online information for a white paper, ebook, or additional item of value that we can transmit electronically.
Remember, the essence of content marketing is to know how to blog effectively and to do it regularly!