Writing a business blog is fast becoming an essential tool in online marketing. The benefits of this to both large and small organizations include
- Growing and promoting your company brand.
- Growing fresh and relevant content to attract search engine traffic.
- Establishing yourself as an expert in your business area.
- Establishing dialogue with your customers and encouraging them to engage with you about key issues.
- Linking your social media activities into your online marketing.
When you combine your blog with some best practice email marketing techniques, you have a powerful marketing tool. The following are some ideas that will help you successfully combine your blog with your email marketing campaigns.
1. Promote Your Newsletter with Your Blog A well written blog is a great way to attract new visitors to your business. Some will come by way of search engines that refer your content in search results if you optimise the pages, some web traffic will come by way of direct links from related blogs or authority web sites that reference your articles. Either way, this is free, targeted web traffic, which is there to be converted into paying clients. Positioning a straightforward newsletter subscription form prominently on your blog will provide an easy way for visitors to stay in touch beyond their initial visit.
2. Respond Quickly – Strike While the Iron is Hot If someone has left feedback or a testimonial message in response to your article, send them an email thanking them and pointing them in the direction of your latest promotion – research shows that buyers are highly motivated immediately after instigating correspondence.
3. Cross-Platform Content Sharing Summaries and links to your latest and greatest blog posts make excellent content for your newsletter. This strategy works the other way around too – use a segment of your blog template to feature existing promotions from your most recent email campaign. Not only will this strategy save time with content creation, it will also help maintain message consistency and bring greater emphasis to your promotions.
4. Request Feedback and Invite Testimonials Use a combination of your blog and email campaigns to encourage your website visitors to engage with you by leaving comments and provide product reviews. A coordinated approach to feedback and testimonials will not only increase your reach, but also enable you to successfully “join the social media conversation.”
A consistent approach to your marketing communication will help drive home your most important messages, grow your audience and establish you firmly as an expert in your field.
