ultimate beginners guide to inbound marketing

briandownard.comPocket Your Shop

INBOUND MARKETING ULTIMATE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO

An easy-to-understand overview of inbound marketing.

by Brian Downard

Brian is an inbound marketing professional with over 5 years of experience in online marketing, including: strategy, social media, SEO, blogging, content marketing, website development, graphic design, analytics and more.

In 2011 Brian co-founded Pocket Your Shop, a full-service inbound marketing agency located in Southern California.

ULTIMATE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING

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WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

1. How Marketing Has Changed

2. What Is Inbound Marketing?

3. Why Is It Important?

4. Inbound Methodology & Tools

5. Tips, Tricks & Best Practices

HOW MARKETING HAS CHANGED

SECTION 01

TRADITIONAL MARKETING IS

BROKEN

86% skip television ads

91% unsubscribe from email

44% of direct mail is never opened

200M+ on the Do Not Call list

CONSUMER BEHAVIORS HAVE CHANGED, THEY ARE GOOD AT

TUNING OUT MARKETING !

it’s not all bad news.

BUT DON’T WORRY

90% OF INTERNET USERS BROWSE OR RESEARCH PRODUCTS ONLINE - Forrester Research

50% INTEND ON PURCHASING A PRODUCT OR SERVICE - eMarketer

YOU DON’T FIND CUSTOMERS ANYMORE

!

YOU DON’T FIND CUSTOMERS ANYMORE

!

THEY FIND YOU

THE WORLD HAS CHANGED…

YOUR MARKETING NEEDS TO CHANGE

IF YOU WANT TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS YOU NEED TO GIVE

THEM SOMETHING THEY WILL LOVE

SO HOW DO WE ACCOMPLISH THIS?

UU U

U INBOUND MARKETING

UUU

SO HOW DO WE ACCOMPLISH THIS?

WITH

WHAT IS INBOUND MARKETING?

SECTION 02

in·bound mar·ket·ing !

A holistic, data-driven approach to marketing that attracts individuals to your brand and converts them into lasting customers.

INBOUND MARKETING IS ABOUT ATTRACTING, NOT INTRUDING

BUILDING TRUST, NOT SKEPTICISM BEING LOVED, NOT IGNORED

TRADITIONAL MARKETING IS LIKE BEING A CHEETAH HUNTING

IN THE JUNGLE

(SOME CHEETAHS ARE LAZY)

GO WHERE YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE, STOP HUNTING IN THE JUNGLE

THE INTERNET HAS CREATED A DIGITAL WATERING HOLE

PEOPLE WANT ACCESS TO GREAT INSIGHT, PEOPLE & RECOGNITION

BEFORE PRODUCTS & SERVICES

VS.

NEW

INBOUNDOLD

OUTBOUND

Direct mail Prints ads Cold email (spam) Cold calling TV & radio ads Banner ads Trade shows

Social media SEO & blogging Content marketing Lead nurturing Landing pages Email marketing Analytics

INBOUND MARKETING IS

CONTENT


CONTEXT

CONTENT

&


BUILD YOUR MARKETING ASSETS (CONTENT)

Blogging Presentations & Ebooks

Visual Content Videos & Podcasts

Segmented Email Lists Customer Personas Personalized Messaging

RIGHT CONTENT, RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME (CONTEXT)

CONTENT + CONTEXT !

= !

MARKETING PEOPLE LOVE

WHY IS INBOUND MARKETING IMPORTANT?

SECTION 03

WE CONDUCT 131 BILLION SEARCHES PER MONTH ON THE WEB

Per Minute………. 2,900,000

Per Hour………… 175,000,000

Per Day………..… 4,000,000,000

70%

5%

25%

70% OF LINKS SEARCH USERS CLICK ARE ORGANIC - NOT PAID

Organic

Paid

Other

60% OF ALL SEARCH ENGINE CLICKS GO TO TOP 3 LINKS

SHA

RE O

F C

LIC

KS

RANKING ON SEARCH ENGINE PAGE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

3435

7910

13

20

27

more leads are generated by inbound than outbound.54%lower cost per lead when using inbound marketing.61%

INBOUND CONSISTENTLY YIELDS LOWER COST LEADS

Average Cost Per Lead Outbound vs. Inbound

100

200

300

400

2010 2011 2012

$135$143$134

$364$373

$332 } 61% lower cost per lead

INBOUND METHODOLOGY & TOOLS

SECTION 04

METHODOLOGY

Find Convert Keep

FansVisitors Leads CustomersVisitors

Use inbound marketing to generate visitors, turn them into leads, convert them into

customers and create life-long fans.

STRANGERS

VISITORS

LEADS

CUSTOMERS

FANS

YOU CAN ALSO VISUALIZE INBOUND

MARKETING AS A FUNNEL

GET FOUND & GENERATE VISITORS

Find Convert Keep

FansVisitors Leads Customers

STEP 1

Find

Visitors


Local Search Keywords & SEO Customer Personas Social Media Blogging Websites

STEP 1


!

Local SearchSearch engines automatically populate local business in search results,

this helps you get found by people who are searching for businesses just like yours in your local community.

Google Places

Bing Places for Business

Yahoo Local Listings

Yellow Pages

Super Pages

Yelp

RESOURCES:


!

Keywords & SEOShort or long phrases people use when searching online. Using these pre-determined keywords on your social networks, blog, content and website will help you get found by more people, drive new traffic and

increase your search engine ranking.

Google Keywords Planner

Hubspot Marketing Grader

Quick Sprout SEO

Open Site Explorer

Uber Suggest

RESOURCES:


!

Customer PersonasBuyer personas are fictional representations of your ideal prospect that

help create more targeted marketing. They are based on real data, behaviors, and demographics. Where do they spend their time online?

What language do they use when searching online?


!

Social MediaGrow, interact and engage with multiple online audiences that help your

business improve visibility, promote your content, generate leads and create brand advocates that help promote your business.

Facebook

LinkedIn

Google+

Pinterest

Twitter

Industry specific networks

RESOURCES:


!

BloggingDrive more traffic, build online marketing assets and establish thought

leadership by crafting insightful articles that solve your target audiences problems and helps them reach their goals. We recommend using

Wordpress unless you have a really good reason not to.


!

WebsitesThe is your digital store front, this is the place where it’s okay to promote

your products, services and business. Use your website as a place to educate leads and host your content. Remember to focus on value, not

features and be sure you’re not forgetting about mobile visitors.

Wordpress

Wix

Weebly

SquareSpace

RESOURCES:

TURN YOUR VISITORS INTO LEADS

Find Convert Keep


STEP 2

Find

Visitors Leads


Content Offers Calls-To-Action (CTA) Forms Landing Pages

STEP 2


!

Content OffersThe best way to start generating leads is to create content offers, this content should provide leads with real value. Content can come in the

form of ebooks, presentations, webinars or videos. You use this content to trade visitors for their contact information in order to generate leads.

Keynote or Powerpoint

Pages or Word

ISSUU

JooMag

RESOURCES:


!

Calls-To-Action (CTA)These are images that act like “road signs” for your blog and website visitors that entices them to check out your content offers. While they

can be used anywhere, you’ll find they are most effective at the bottom of relevant blog posts and website pages.

Keynote or Powerpoint

Vertical Response Button Builder

Button Optimizer

Photoshop

RESOURCES:


!

FormsIt’s likely visitors will not purchase from you the first time they visit your website or blog. Use forms to capture quick contact information about your visitors, most time a simple email address will do. Make sure it’s a worthwhile offer and they know exactly what they are signing up for.

JotForm

Form Stack

Email Me Form

RESOURCES:


!

Landing PagesDon’t let your visitors leave your website empty handed. Using landing pages you can capture lead information in exchange for a content offer you have. This helps you gather more lead information over time and

segment leads based on which content they are interested in.

Lander App

Unbounce

Ion Interactive

Instapage

Page WizLander

JotForm

RESOURCES:

CONVERT LEADS INTO CUSTOMERS

Find Convert Keep


STEP 3

Convert

Leads Customers

Product Content Case Studies Social Proof Email Marketing Lead Management

CONVERT LEADS INTO CUSTOMERSSTEP 3


Creating content that educates your leads about your products will help them make buying decisions. Not only does this generate qualified leads

for your business, it helps leads become more ready to buy.

!

Product Content


!

Case StudiesProving your product works with numbers and graphs will make leads

more comfortable converting. If numbers are not applicable, use a before/after, problem/solution approach for your case studies.


!

Social ProofSocial proof, also known as social influence, is a psychological

phenomenon where people assume the actions of others. Use testimonials and numbers to demonstrate the value others

find in your products and services to help leads convert.


!

Email MarketingIn sales, timing can be a big problem. Use email marketing to nurture

your leads by consistently sending them useful content. Be sure that you are segmenting email lists based on lead behavior, interest and their

place in your marketing funnel. Take advantage of automated emails to save your business time and resources.

MailChimp

GetResponse

Constant Contact

iContact

RESOURCES:


!

Lead ManagementSometimes called CRM software, this tool will help your sales team stay on top of your qualified leads, track where they are in the sales process,

know which have gone cold and much more.

Base CRM

Insightly

Zoho CRM

Free CRM

RESOURCES:

Find Convert Keep


KEEP CUSTOMERS & CREATE FANSSTEP 4

Keep

FansCustomers

KEEP CUSTOMERS & CREATE FANS

Online Reviews Social Media Value Add Content Analytics

STEP 4


!

Online ReviewsGenerating online reviews is the new word of mouth. As you learned,

your customers find you, not the other way around. This means you want customers to be saying good things about you around the internet.

Google Places

Yelp

Angie’s List

Facebook

TripAdvisor

RESOURCES:


!

Social MediaSocial media is not only a great place to find leads, it can also be used to engage influencers and brand advocates. Use these people to help

spread your content to a wider audience and generate more leads.

Facebook

LinkedIn

Google+

Pinterest

Twitter

Industry specific networks

RESOURCES:


!

Value Add ContentContent can be used for more than just generating and converting

leads. Give customers added value by teaching them how to get the most out of your products and services. This type of content also gives

you the chance to up-sell and re-convert old customers.


!

AnalyticsUnderstanding which aspects of your marketing are working and which

are not is crucial if you want to be sure you are using all of your resources efficiently. Analytics help you learn, make changes and grow.

Google Analytics

KISS Metrics

Piwik

StatCounter

RESOURCES:

Find Convert Keep

FansVisitors Leads CustomersVisitors

YOUR FANS HELP GENERATE NEW VISITORS

CLOSING THE LOOPSTEP 5

TIPS, TRICKS & BEST PRACTICES

SECTION 05

FOCUS ON HELPING YOUR AUDIENCE REACH GOALS AND

SOLVE PROBLEMS

#01

DO A CONTENT AUDIT AND SEE WHAT RESOURCES YOU ALREADY HAVE THAT CAN BE REPURPOSED

#02

KEEP A BACKLOG OF CONTENT AND KEYWORDS IDEAS THAT YOU CAN REFER BACK TO AT ANY TIME

#03

INCLUDE ALL RELEVANT SHORT & LONG PHRASE KEYWORDS WHEN

CREATING CONTENT TO OPTIMIZE FOR SEARCH ENGINES

#04

YOUR CONTENT SHOULD HAVE KILLER HEADLINES AND FOLLOW A PROBLEM/SOLUTION, DESIRE,

ACTION APPROACH

#05

CREATE CONTENT FOR LEADS IN DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE

BUYING PROCESS AND HELP THEM MAKE BUYING DECISIONS

#06

CONTENT PROMOTION IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS CREATION, IF

YOU SPEND 10 HOURS MAKING A PIECE OF CONTENT, SPEND 10

HOURS PROMOTING IT

#07

USE SEGMENTED EMAIL AND LEADS LISTS TO PERSONALIZE MESSAGING

AND SEND TARGETED OFERS

#08

FIND TOOLS TO HELP AUTOMATE PARTS OF YOUR MARKETING LIKE

SOCIAL MEDIA & EMAIL MARKETING

#09

FOCUS ON IMPORTANT METRICS SUCH AS COST PER LEAD ACQUISITION & COST

PER CUSTOMER ACQUISITION

#10

FINAL THOUGHTS

““ THE BEST TIME TO PLANT A TREE

WAS 20 YEARS AGO, THE SECOND BEST TIME IS NOW.

- Old Chinese Proverb

TO SUCCEED AT INBOUND

!1. UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE

2. ALIGN CONTENT WITH THEIR INTERESTS

3. PROMOTE VALUE, EMBRACE TRANSPARENCY

4. LEVERAGE BRAND ADVOCATES

NOW YOU’VE GOT THE TOOLS YOU NEED

!

BUILD YOUR INBOUND MARKETING MACHINE

THANKS FOR READING!

!IF YOU ENJOYED THIS CONTENT, HELP US SPREAD THE WORD

BY SHARING IT ON YOUR FAVORITE SOCIAL NETWORK.

TURN THESE TIPS INTO ACTION

REQUEST A FREE INBOUND MARKETING CONSULTATION FROM

POCKET YOUR SHOP !

!

www.pocketyourshop.com

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ultimate beginners guide to inbound marketing

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