5 Ways to Turn Your Blog into a Lead Generation Machine

Blogs are a great way to increase your presence LeadGen 300×257 5 Ways to Turn Your Blog into a Lead Generation Machineand make your business more visible via search engines. They can also be helpful when it comes to lead generation, especially if you know how to promote your blog posts. Your blog functions as a triage for your sales team, fielding and replying to questions via the content you share.

Businesses are now in the minority if they don’t blog – the percentage of businesses with a blog grew from 48 percent to 65 percent from 2009 to 2011. However it can only perform that function if you effectively build momentum with readers who are likely to utilize your products or services. Here are some ways to turn your blog into a machine, boost your visibility and point more potential buyers to your site.

Make Your Blog an Extension of Your Main Website

You never know where a visitor may first experience your company. Many may learn of your business when they land on your blog page. Link your blog visually as well as technically. Blogging on the same domain that hosts your business website confirms that all inbound links to blog pages also boost the rank of your main website. You need to be certain if people land on your blog, they can easily navigate their way to your business website.

Be Present

For blogging success, half of the battle is consistency. You don’t have to blog every single day, but find a schedule that’s feasible for you. Hire a freelance writer to help keep you on track and to post regular content if it’s too much for you to manage. If you’re balancing a lot of tasks, develop an editorial calendar to create a posting schedule and don’t waver from it.

It’s also essential to consistently encourage conversation and engagement via your blog by responding to your readers’ comments. Ongoing care of your blog community is part of being present, so join in the conversation.

Think Before You Post

Good blog posts are punchy and succinct. They focus on a single idea, use brief paragraphs and display information clearly. Posts can also be a video, graphic or a powerful image. Just remember to tell stories that sell and make your point.

Declare a Sharp Headline

A catchy title might take you as much time to decide on as it takes to write your entire post. Why is that the case? It’s because blog posts create a new page on your site, and each new page is an additional chance to boost your ranking in a Google search. In layman’s terms: your title matters. A few intriguing words are what will attract people to your post. It’s not just a promise to the reader; it’s also a pitch to entice your readers to click…or not to click.

Solve or Share

Your blog should either solve your customers’ problems or share helpful resources. Posts aren’t the place for press releases or to talk about how great your products are. While it’s exciting to you, it’s not the way to attract and engage prospects. Make sure you write blog posts about what readers care about. Think about frequently asked questions as fuel for blog posts.

Blogging is a chance to connect with your prospective customers in a realtime way. Keep in mind that your blog needs to be a part of your business and a continual part of your lead generation efforts. Your blog won’t magically build your business without active and ongoing promotion and participation.

How have you used your blog to generate leads? Find a way to build a lead capture machine!

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.

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