Attracting Leads to Your Blog

Most businesses that want to increase their sales will do so by buying advertising with compelling, and creative content. This is how it has been done for years, and it seems to work. Current statistics show that over half of print ad material advertising is not profitable because most consumers do not take the time to read it. If the advertising campaign attracts leads into your business, and you generate some sales, and the advertising is not too expensive, then it kind-of works out in the end.

In fact, most print media advertising is a waste. If for every $1 you spend you don’t get more than $1 back into your business over the long term then it is a waste. If your current advertising campaign does not have a way to track the number of leads, or sales volume that is being generated for your business, then it is worse than a waste, it could actually be doing real damage to your business.

As entrepreneurs, we get conditioned into doing things that are established practices. We follow traditional methods, like Yellow Page ads, trade journals, perhaps an ad in a coupon book, or an ad in the local newspapers. What we forget as business owners is the viewpoint of the customer, what it is like to be bombarded with these messages. There is so much junk in the marketplace, so many sales messages, and so much interruption to our lives that we are blanking it out more and more from our collective consciousness in order to just get through the day.

The solution is to change our approach from selling to attracting.

Instead of using old traditional sales methods of getting in your leads’ faces, find ways to have them come to you, happy, pre-sold and credit card in hand.
Consider how people find products and services online. They turn to Google, they search for what they are hunting for, they do their research, make a decision, and either make a call or put in their credit card number.

Creative content answers your customers’ questions, and solves their problems. It gives them what they want and need using the words and language they want to hear. By listening to your prospective leads intently, you will be well placed to attract more leads that are looking for exactly what you have to offer.

Providing Content and Value

As entrepreneurs, we are not looking for just a one-time sale. We want a long-term relationship filled with happy, loyal customers. All too often we don’t get the sale on the first visit. Prospective leads need some warming up. They need to trust and believe that we can deliver on our promises, and perhaps they have been burned in the past.

This is a key reason why blogs provide an ideal business platform for building relationships with potential leads. Rather than plugging away at your prospective leads with sales pitches, you can offer them valuable tips, news, and information. Instead of hitting delete or hanging up the phone, they begin to look forward to hearing from you! The relationship changes and you demonstrate expertise and grow trust through regular, useful communication.

If you master the technique of attracting leads to your business, not only will you convert more sales, you will have ongoing sales and keep them loyal for a long time.

Be Real With Your Message

Your approach to blogging has to be natural and real. Your message has to come from the heart and not from the hype. Everything involved in posting a blog is not a walk in the park. If your followers believe in what you are preaching, you will attract more followers, and they will expect to see a continuous flow of information and content from you.

The web is littered with blogs that were started in a rush of enthusiasm and then abandoned. People forget that it takes consistent effort and sustained creativity to keep a blog going. This is why businesses often hire freelance bloggers or coaches to keep the momentum going and share some of the load. A successful blog doesn’t happen overnight, but then neither does a successful business.

Another aspect to be aware of is that anyone who puts his or her thoughts out onto the Internet is going to attract criticism. The Internet will increasingly be talking about any content you post to your blog. Make sure you can always back up the information that is posted to your blog with facts and solid content that you have collected over the years. It’s always best to be prepared to answer criticism early and effectively rather than let tempers and emotions take over.

Blog Checklist for Success

Here are some tips for establishing a better business blog:

· Put your customer first. Do not focus on the sale or what you want or need, what’s more important is what does your customers want and need. Do keyword research, talk to prospective leads, and answer their questions.
· Prioritize value and content over hype. People often say to me that they can’t blog because they are not brilliant writers. It doesn’t matter! What counts is offering something of value. People will forgive small writing issues if you do not waste their time, plus writing gets better with practice.
· Do not provide too much content. Blogging can get addictive or turn into a big time suck. Provide content on the subject matter that will cover approximately 5 to 6 paragraphs, and is of value to the customer.
· Find the social network sites where your prospective leads hang out. Discover where your leads and peers hang out, meet them there and bring them home to your blog.
· Internet Marketing experts that you follow will have a profound impact on your success, from their links, advice, and products and/or services they sell.
· Get your leads to subscribe. You want to keep hold of as many leads as possible, so get them to subscribe to your email list or blog feed! Give them good reasons why they should, perhaps with a freebie incentive, special offer, discount, or other goodies.
· Write your blogs with value and full of content Engage your readers with attractive headlines, draw them further in with introductions, be yourself and brand yourself, leave them with inspiration, with new knowledge and fresh ideas.