Blogs are getting more common by the day. A few years ago it was rare for most companies to have some sort of blog. But today, the industry almost expects companies to have blogs where they share some information about their services, the industry they operate in, and establish some sort of relationship with their customers.
Writing blogs is something that most companies nowadays are doing because it’s a great way to support and increase their business. No matter the industry, companies can use blogs to show products and services as well as provide valuable information to their customers.
In recent times, lead generation blogs have become ever so popular, and most companies utilize them in some form or way to increase their audience size. But what are lead generation blogs, how does one utilize them, and what are the keys to writing successful ones? Keep on reading and you will find out the answers to all of these questions!
What Is Lead Generation And What Are Lead Gen Blogs?
In simple terms, lead generation is the creation of sales-ready leads that are ready to be handed over to the sales team. A lead is an individual who may potentially be interested in your product or service.
So generating leads is equal to finding new potential customers that might be interested in your products or services. If a blog focuses on creating and finding these leads, then we can say that that specific blog is a lead generation blog.
The purpose of a lead generation blog is to inform readers about your product or service. By providing useful information on topics related to your products, you are positioning yourself as an expert in the industry. This makes it easier for new customers to identify with you and lowers the barrier to entry. A lead generation blog also allows competitors more opportunities to cross-promote and extend their reach.
Are Blogs Good For Lead Gen?
Blogs are great ways of generating leads as they are mostly more informal and personal. The best blogs usually approach the audience in a friendly and knowledgeable manner. This means that people reading the blogs experience the articles as they were written by a friend who is talking about their personal experiences and insights about a specific topic.
Blogs should aim to help you build trust with your readers so that they will want to learn more about you, your company, and the products you provide. If done properly, blog readers will convert into leads and then later customers as they get more and more engaged in your business. And this is where lead generation blogs become invaluable.
The main objective of lead generation is to gather as much information as possible about the target audience and use it along with behavioral and demographic data to find out what motivates them. The key to a successful blog is the ability to capture and hold your target audience's attention. You need to offer unique information that they won't find elsewhere, to attract their interest and encourage them to follow you on social media. It should also provide enough value for them not only in the moment of reading the article but also in the future.
Usually, the best lead generation blogs manage to generate a lot of conversions. By some estimates, these numbers range somewhere from 2% to over 5% from visitor to lead conversion rate. Of course, your blog doesn’t have to follow these strict numbers to be good. Some blogs have higher CR’s while others have lower ones, but funding a consistent percentage and a tactic to improve that rate is key to success.
What Are Some Great Tips For Lead Gen Blogs?
Know Your Audience's Needs
When it comes to creating content, you must define your audience first because this will determine the type of language to use and the topics that are most relevant to them.
Your audience will determine the type of content that you need to include in your blog posts. For example, if your business offers technology products or services, your audience would be tech-savvy individuals.
It is important to understand the needs of your audience if you want them to get in touch with you. Ask yourself some questions about what your audience would be looking for when reading your blog posts before beginning this project.
Create Original Content
There are several ways that you can create original content. For example, you can interview industry experts and compile the information they give into a blog post that would appeal to your audience.
You could also write about what is going on in the industry at large and then offer insights into how it affects your business or organization.
Keep the content relevant to your product or service. If your blog is not relevant to what you offer, then people may question how it helps your business which could lead them to move on to other options. It might be helpful to hire an expert writer who can produce content that is relevant to your business.
Make Logging In As Simple As Possible
A great way to get some additional information and personalize your marketing efforts towards your audience is to create a simple login system that uses Facebook or Google as its base. Users who connect their accounts this way can give you valuable data that you can use to target similar people in your future marketing campaigns.
Draw The Attention Of Your Audience
You only get a few seconds of your audience’s attention before they stop looking at what you have to offer and start searching for other things. This is why you need to make sure that you capture their attention right away.
Usually, this is done by having eye-catching headlines and images that will bring the audience’s focus to your content. Your headlines should contain powerful words like strong verbs that will catch your audience’s attention. Headlines should also have an interesting premise, something that you want to know more about. In modern times, this is called clickbait. But make sure your content covers the topic from the headline.
The rest of your copy should build on to your headline and continue directing your reader further down your copy. This is often called the “slippery slope” and if you don’t know much about it, read a copywriting book or two to get a grasp on the concept.
Optimize Your Blog For Search Engines
Search engines are a big part of new users finding your blog. This is why it is important to optimize your SEO ranking as much as possible. This will help you rank higher, get more eyes on your content, reach a broader audience, and eventually get more leads and customers.
Different blogging platforms offer different optimization options, so check out what yours allows. You can also hire someone to do this for you if you aren't familiar with the different options that are available or don't have the time to learn how to use them. But one way or another, try optimizing your SEO as much as possible.
Add A Lead Form
If your goal is to create the best lead-gen blog you can, you should consider adding a lead form to your blog posts. These lead forms can be some sort of CTAs that helps push people to sign up for a newsletter, download something, or interact in any way with your blog so that you are left with their email or some data.
Have A Great Offer Available
At the end of the day, getting your audience to accept your offer and become customers is the main goal behind your whole marketing campaign. For lead generation blogs, this can be a goal that helps you convert your audience into leads.
One of the best ways to help this process start is by having a great offer available that your audience can act on right away. This will give them an incentive to convert right away and not miss out on an incredible opportunity you are seemingly giving them.
Final Words
Creating the perfect lead generation blog is not easy. It requires a lot of knowledge and experience to do right, but if you manage to properly do it, you can expect to see some incredible returns on your time invested and great results that can help propel your campaigns further in the future!
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you write your lead generation blog:
What do I want my audience to do after reading?
What would be the best way to engage my audience?
How can I keep my posts short and interesting?
How can I make this blog part of other online marketing efforts?
Who should write the posts for this blog?
Will you use an expert writer or will it be a collaborative effort?
Will you write the posts yourself?
What experience do you have writing blogs or similar content?
What are 5 recent developments in my industry that might be interesting to my audience?
Etc.
Go through these questions and you should have a better idea of what you should focus on and how to properly do lead gen blogs. Keep learning and improving and you should get the hang of it in no time!
Have you ever run lead gen blogs? What are your key takeaways from them? Share them with us in the comments below!
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