Generating Leads from Your Blog

Entrepreneur.com has ten tips for increasing your company's digital presence and converting blog traffic into qualified leads.

"Make your blog an extension of your main website"
For many visitors, your blog might be their first and only experience with your company. As such, have your blog as a sub-domain of your main page and make sure it mirrors the design of your main site.

"Solve or share, don't shill"
Focus on helping your customers to solve problems instead of trying to sell to them.

"Show up"
Blog on a regular, sustainable schedule. Use an editorial calendar to plan a posting schedule. Encourage engagement by responding to comments.

"Avoid 'War and Peace' posts"
Focus on single ideas in your posts and be concise. Set up the key idea in the beginning of the post.

"Pen a killer headline"
Titles matter, as they represent a chance to boost your search rankings for one of your targeted keyword phrases. An intriguing headline can also make the difference between someone reading the post or not.

"Link to other resources"
Link keywords in your post to landing pages or other resources on your site.

"Embed companion calls to action"
Include a call to action in the page real estate around the post, especially at the end of the post and in the top of the sidebars.

"Offer subscription services"
Make your posts available via RSS and email subscription. This will also allow you to build email lists.

"Trick out with social bling"
Include social-sharing icons, particularly the big three: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. This will encourage visitors to share your content.

"Remember one final thing"
For a blog to be a valuable source of lead generation, you'll need to promote the blog itself in other marketing materials like newsletters and packaging materials.

View Original Article