Getting Leads (and More!) from Your Blog:10 Tips for Higher Blog ROI

Howard J. Sewell, PresidentSpear Marketing Group

Navicure► SaaS-based medical claims management (Atlanta)► $30MM, 150+ employees ► Target audience: physicians and office managers at

small- to mid-sized medical practices

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?

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

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

Branded “Daily Practice”

Branded “Daily Practice”

Mix of Content: Practical Advice, Thought Leadership, Promotional

Branded “Daily Practice”

Mix of Content: Practical Advice, Thought Leadership, Promotional

Prominent subscription options: Email, Twitter, LinkedIn, RSS

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

Monthly Email Newsletter

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

Customer Blog

10 tips for higher blog ROI

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

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)”

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)

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

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)”

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

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.”

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

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

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!

Resources► Questions? howard@spearmarketing.com► Twitter: @hjsewell► www.spearmarketing.com/blog► dailypracticeblog.com