How to Structure Blog Posts to Convert More Leads

How to Structure Blog Posts to Convert More Leads

Blog Posts

Today’s connection post is brought to you by Joe Peters. Joe is a Baltimore-based freelance writer and an ultimate techie. When he is not working his magic as a consultant writing about blog posts, this incurable tech junkie devours the news on the latest gadgets and binge-watches his favorite TV shows. Follow him on @bmorepeters.

In today’s competitive digital landscape, blogging is more than just a way to share your thoughts with the world.

Your blog can be a valuable way to tell customers about the latest news happening in your company or develop a dedicated community. It’s also an opportunity for you to attract and convert leads.

Crafting the right blog posts that are carefully structured to speak to your audience and encourage action could be the key to earning better results from your business website.

Your blog could even improve your chances of gaining brand awareness, as companies who invest in blogging earn about 97% more links back to their site.

Create Relevant Content

The most important thing you can do to transform your blogs into lead generation tools is to ensure you’re creating the right content. What do your customers really need to learn from you, and how are you improving their lives with the posts you publish?

One way to get ideas is through competitor analysis.

Check out the kind of blogs your competitors have been posting lately. Is there anything you can explain better or provide more information about for your target audience?

You could also go directly to your audience for inspiration.

Look at the kind of questions your sales and marketing team gets from your leads. Could you create a blog that answers a specific series of questions or teaches customers how to use a service correctly?

Providing real, actionable, and relevant information for your audience is an excellent way to increase the traction of your blog. It also demonstrates your expertise and thought leadership in your field, making it more likely clients will want to buy from you.

Experiment With Lead Magnets

Usually, it takes several connections between your brand and your customer before someone is ready to purchase your product or service.

Creating a way to connect with your clients long-term is an important part of effective lead generation.

A lead magnet is an offer you use to convince customers to give you their email addresses and sign up for your newsletter or a “brand membership.”

Lead magnets need to be particularly engaging in a world where your customers already receive dozens of emails every day.

When producing each blog post, think carefully about the kind of freebies and deals your customers might be willing to share their email addresses for.

For instance, if your most popular blog is about the basics of social media marketing, maybe you could offer readers access to a full PDF version of the post or a social media eBook in exchange for their contact details.

Keep a close eye on your lead magnets to determine which ones perform best.

Leverage CTAs

It’s amazing to think that there are still some companies out there who fail to include Call to Action content in their blogs.

Remember, although your blog posts are there to improve your brand reputation and deliver value to customers, they’re also intended to encourage action from your customers.

A well-crafted CTA reminds your audience to take the next step in their relationship with your brand.

You can start with simple CTAs at the bottom of your blog posts that encourage customers to find out more or check out a product that’s connected to your blog.

It might also be worth experimenting with things like exit pop-ups that offer your customers a lead magnet and encourage them to click a CTA to take advantage of the deal before they click the back button.

Experiment with your CTA buttons and copy to ensure you’re driving the best responses from your target audience.

Something as simple as using different words in your button can make a huge difference. For instance, “Get my free eBook” is much more engaging than “download now.”

Write with a Specific Intent

For content to make the right impact in the digital world, it needs to have a specific focus.

Most companies use keywords in their content to attract the attention of the search engines and resonate with their target audience.

However, it’s important to remember that not just any keywords will do. Your terms need to align with the intent of your reader.

Using keywords and phrases that reflect search intent more accurately is an effective way to build a relationship with your audience and gradually direct customers to the bottom of the funnel.

You can align intent-based keywords with other SEO strategies to boost your position on the search engine result pages, too.

Optimizing your pages for user experience, sourcing backlinks from reputable companies, and more will ensure that you can strengthen your connection with clients and outshine the competition.

Give Readers Ways to Engage

Sometimes your customers will want to learn more about your company and connect with your brand before they’re willing to spend money.

One way to make customers feel more comfortable buying from you is to give them ways to engage with your brand.

Allowing people to comment on your blog or connect with you on social media is a great way to bridge the gap between your brand and your target audience.

By engaging with you through comments and social shares, readers can also help your business grow without spending any money.

A “share” on your social media post is a conversion, as it can help to make more customers aware of your brand.

Don’t forget to optimize your blogging strategy for those micro-conversions that might not lead directly to sales, but still offer significant value.

Create a VIP Community

Finally, if you’re eager not just to immediately convert more customers but to create long-term advocates for your brand, why not build a VIP community with access to exclusive content?

Allowing your customers to sign up for a membership with your website and offering them extra bonuses that they can’t get elsewhere is a great way to make them feel like part of the team.

You can use access to VIP content as a lead magnet to get more email addresses for your list or even encourage your VIP customers to refer people to your business for the chance to access additional deals and benefits.

If your content is valuable enough, some consumers may even be willing to pay for a membership if it means access to more information, PDF downloads, and bonus “extras.”

Get the Most out of Your Blog Posts

Blog posts are an extremely valuable asset for any company in the digital age.

However, just like any other tool for your company, it’s important to make sure you’re using your blogs correctly.

Optimize your content with the tips above, and you’ll see your leads increasing in no time.