Post on 15-Jul-2015
Slides: SlideShare.net/HubSpot
Twitter: @rickburnesTwitter: @rickburnes
Advanced Business Blogging
Rick BurnesHubSpot InboundHubSpot Inbound Marketing Manager
Agenda
I. Why Blog?II. Five Keys to a Successful Blog
1. Pick Your Target Personas1. Pick Your Target Personas2. Create a Mix of Posts3 Write Great Posts3. Write Great Posts4. Sustain It5 Spread It5. Spread It
III. How to measure your blog
Outbound Marketing
800-555-1234AnnoyingSalesperson
Inbound Marketing
Content SEO Social Media
Rethinking MarketingOutbound Marketing• Telemarketing
Inbound Marketing• SEO / SEM
• Trade shows• Direct mail• Email blasts
• Blogging• Social Media• RSS• Email blasts
• Print ads• TV/radio ads
• RSS• Free tools/trials• Viral videos
Interruption Permission
Budget vs. Brains
Flickr: Refracted MomentsFlickr: Refracted Moments Flickr: Gaetoan LeeFlickr: Gaetoan Lee
Exponential Effects
S i l M diSEO
Social Media• Even More Traffic
Blog • More Traffic• More Links
• Even More Traffic• Even More Links• More Contentg More Links
More Content Drives More Visitors & Power
10,000,000
Average Pages per Website by Page Rank
1,000,000
pages
100,000
# of W
ebp
10,000Average
1,000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Page Rank (10 is best)
More Content Drives More Visitors & Power
1,000,000
Average Pages per Website by Alexa Traffic Rank
100,000 bpages
,
ge # of W
eb
10,000
Averag
1,000 > 10,000,000 (Extremely Low
Traffic)
5,000,001 to 10,000,000 (Very Low
1,000,001 to 5,000,000 (Low
Traffic)
500,001 to 1,000,000 (Medium
100,001 to 500,000 (High
Traffic)
< 100,000 (Very High Traffic)
Traffic) Traffic)
Alexa Traffic Rank
Earlier Webinar Covered the Basics
This webinar will not cover:• Why you should blog• Why you should blog• How to setup a blog• How to follow other bloggers• How to follow other bloggers• How to join blogging conversations
Blogging software you can use• Blogging software you can use
All th t’ i “Bl i f B i ”All that’s in “Blogging for Business”http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-webinars/blogging-for-business-webinar-archive/
Agenda
I. Why Blog?II. Five Keys to a Successful Blog
1. Pick Your Target Personas1. Pick Your Target Personas2. Create a Mix of Posts3 Write Great Posts3. Write Great Posts4. Sustain It5 Spread It5. Spread It
III. How to measure your blog
Key #1: Identify Target Personas
Kadient photo by: David Meerman Scott
Your Content Pulls in Your Personas
“Create the kind of online content that your buyers naturally gravitate to.”
- David Meerman ScottAuthor of The New Rules of
Marketing & PRMarketing & PRwww.webinknow.com
What Keywords Will Attract Your Personas?
• Fill posts with them• Fill posts with them• Build an archive of content full of them
How We Pick Keywords: Keyword Grader
A Word of Caution
• Writing for your personas DOES NOT mean writingDOES NOT mean writing about the products and services you sell themservices you sell them
• Write about the things they want to learn aboutwant to learn about
Key #2: Create a Mix of Posts
Flickr Photo: jek-a-go-go
Plan a Mix of Posts
NewsOpinion
FeaturehPhotos
Video
Many Types of Posts Get Traffic
PostPage Views
Post
Did You Graduate From Link Building High School Yet11,270
State of the Twittersphere ‐ Q4 2008 Report 8,768
You Oughta Know Inbound Marketing 7 498You Oughta Know Inbound Marketing 7,498
6 Tips for Making a Business Marketing Video 4,211
Twitter in Real Life: The Follow Back [cartoon] 4,137
Raisin Bran – Basic, Everyday Posts
• How to postsp• Rich in keywords• Get good at• Get good at
whipping them outout
• Make sure they’re sef luseful
Flickr Photo: greeneyesmilw
Spinach – Healthy, Thoughtful Posts
• Should establish ityour site as a
thought leader in th i d tthe industry
• Put time into them
• Don’t do too many
Flickr Photo: ulteriorepicture
Roasts – Big Blog Projects
• Lots of work• Lots of links,
discussion and attention
• Pick them well
Tabasco – Posts That Start Fires
• Make a bold statementstatement
• Be prepared to defend yourselfdefend yourself
• Lots of comments and links
• Too many of these posts could lose trust
Flickr Photo: ANOXLOU
Chocolate Cake – The Sweet Stuff
• These posts make your blog funyour blog fun
• A chance to poke fun at yourselffun at yourself
• Lots of traffic/links • Often video, images
Flickr Photo: scubadive67
Key #3: Write Great Posts
Flickr Photo: Olivander
No Need to Be Hemingway
Just follow a few simple rules.
Photo: Wikipedia
Tips for Post Structure
• Use Headings500 800 ords (or• 500-800 words (or shorter!)
• Lists are OK (just not too many)
• 1 idea per post
Always Add a Photo
• Flickr• iStockphoto• Shoot your owny
How to Search for a Flickr Photo
Go to Advanced SearchGo to Advanced Search
Then search for CC licensed photosThen search for CC licensed photos
Where Do You Get Ideas?
• EverywhereKeep a list• Keep a list
• When you learn something, flesh it out
• Check your email outbox!• Ask your readers
Write Great Headlines
How to Write Great Headlines
• Write the headline before the articleImagine the reader on’t see the article• Imagine the reader won’t see the article
• Surprise people• No spelling errors!• Use your keywordsUse your keywords
Key #4: Sustain It
Flickr Photo: michalo
Pick a Publishing Schedule
• Once a week? Every Monday and Wednesday?and Wednesday?
• Stick to it• The goal is to build up a body
of keyword-rich content (create an asset)
Different Ways of Doing Posts
• Email interviewsVideo inter ie s (conferences office isitors• Video interviews (conferences, office visitors, clients)
• Guest posts from people with similar blogs• “Best of” lists• “How we do it” posts
Should I Hire People?
It depends.ProsPros:
• You don’t have to do the work• You hire a “professional writer”
Cons:• Nobody knows your business like you do• You don’t build your personal reputation• You don’t participate in the conversation
Key #5: Spread It
Flickr Photo: felipearte
Think of Blogging Like a Job Search
Would you sit at home and wait for a call?
Take Comments Seriously
• Make sure you comment backFind o t ho the people are• Find out who the people are• Follow their links• Subscribe to their blog follow them on Twitter• Subscribe to their blog, follow them on Twitter
Use these links
Publish on Social Media
• Post directly• Post directly• Post via twitterfeed.com automatically
• Post to your status• Post automatically via a feed to your fan or
profile pageAlso consider LinkedIn, other sites.so co s de ed , o e s es
Where Do You Link to Your Blog?
• Your homepage• Press releases• Business cards• Email signatures• Email signatures
Engage People; Stay on Their Radar
• Write posts that link to or follow up on biggerfollow up on bigger bloggers’ radar screens
• Most people do Google or Technorati searches for their name, so they’ll see your post
Agenda
I. Why Blog?II. Five Keys to a Successful Blog
1. Pick Your Target Personas1. Pick Your Target Personas2. Create a Mix of Posts3 Write Great Posts3. Write Great Posts4. Sustain It5 Spread It5. Spread It
III. How to measure your blog
Metric #1: Subscriptions
• A measure of you blog’s total reach• A “sticky” number
Metric #2: Pageviews
Great for media sites selling display advertising• Great for media sites selling display advertising• Potential problems for your business:
• Doesn’t measure RSS• Weak measure of engagement• What’s the business value of a “view”?
Metric #3: Comments
Q tit ti l d i di t f t• Quantitatively, a good indicator of engagement• Qualitatively, a great way to listen to market
Metric #4: Inbound Links
• Measure the SEO impact of your blog• An indicator of your blog’s role in outside conversations
Metric #5: Conversions
What Does HubSpot Do?It’s a software system that helps you get found by more visitors, generate more leads online, and , g ,measure all your inbound marketing efforts.
Search Marketing Tools
Social Media Tools
Tools
Blogging & CMS Tools
Thank You!
Learn more about HubSpot:htt // H bS t /Dhttp://www.HubSpot.com/Demo
Free tools:htt //G d
Rick Burnes
http://Grader.com
Inbound Marketing MangerHubSpot
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Rick-Burnes/512433884LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rickburnesed p // ed co / / c bu esTwitter: http://twitter.com/rickburnes