WHY & HOW TO BLOG.What You Need to Know to Get Started with Business Blogging.

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1WHAT’S A BLOG?

2BUSINESS BLOGGING PLATFORMS: AN

OVERVIEW.

3DOES BLOGGING WORK?

4HOW DO YOU WRITE GREAT BLOG POSTS?

5WHERE DO YOU FIND BLOG POST IDEAS?

6ADDITIONAL BLOGGING RESOURCES.

CONTENTS.

WHAT’S A BLOG? 1

A website with frequently updated

content about a specific keyword-

or topic-oriented subject.

A blog is housed on a content

management system, or CMS,

which we’ll talk more about later.

WHAT’S A BLOG?

Citrix’s Workshifting.com is a business blog.

HubSpot’s Inbound Hub at blog.hubspot.com is a business blog.

River Pools and Spas in Virginia has a business blog at riverpoolsandspas.com/blog.

COMPANIES BLOG BECAUSE IT’S ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO ATTRACT POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS TO YOUR SITE.

• Search Engines: Reading for

keywords, links, and context.

• Existing and Potential

Customers: Reading for helpful

content.

• Sharers and Influencers: Reading

to add value to their networks.

WHO READS A BLOG?

• Anyone who wants to drive site

traffic.

• Anyone who wants to establish

thought leadership.

Blogging solves for traffic,

authority, and relevancy.

WHO SHOULD BLOG, AND WHY?

BUSINESS BLOGGING PLATFORMS: AN OVERVIEW.

2

REMEMBER WHEN WE MENTIONED BLOGS WERE HOUSED ON A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS)?

A stand-alone content

publishing, editing, and

management platform.

WELL, WHAT’S A CMS?

A CMS is different in that:

•It’s hosted on your domain, so SEO visibility benefits your site

(as opposed to Blogspot.com, WordPress.com, or Tumblr.com);

•It’s more customizable; and

•It has a broader feature set.

HOW IS A CMS DIFFERENT FROM FREE, HOSTED BLOGS OFFERED BY WORDPRESS, BLOGGER & TUMBLR?

Hosted Blogs: •username.Wordpress.com

•username.Blogspot.com

•username.Tumblr.com

Lack robust features ideal for

businesses.

NOT ALL BLOGGING PLATFORMS ARE CREATED EQUAL.

Self-Hosted CMSs: •HubSpot

•WordPress (.org)

•Joomla

Can be customized for

company goals and branding.

Blogging is only one tool businesses have

at their disposal to attract strangers to their

site to convert into happy, paying

customers.

That’s why blogging works best when

it’s integrated with other marketing

tools.

WHAT’S EVEN BETTER THAN A BLOGGING PLATFORM (CMS)?

Unlike other CMSs, HubSpot isn’t just a CMS. It’s a suite of integrated inbound marketing weapons.

WHAT KIND OF MARKETING TOOLS?

1. Built-in Social Publishing and Email: Google+ authorship

support, subscription emails, and social sharing.

2. Built-in SEO: On-page keyword integration and recommendations

as you type.

3. Out-of-the Box Responsive Design: No need for heavy mobile

design investment. Your blog posts are consumable no matter the

device.

4. Integrated Analytics: Understand what content converts.

4 REASONS IT MAKES SENSE TO BLOG ON HUBSPOT.

NO MATTER WHICH CMS YOU CHOOSE, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ACCESS TO QUALITY CUSTOMER SUPPORT.

DOES BLOGGING WORK?3

BlogSocial Media

KeywordsPages

Calls-to-ActionLanding Pages

FormsContacts

EmailWorkflows

Lead ScoringCRM Integrations

Social MediaSmart-Calls-to-

ActionEmail

Workflows

Attract Convert Close Delight

Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters

BLOGGING IS OFTEN THE FIRST STEP IN TURNING STRANGERS INTO PROMOTORS OF YOUR BUSINESS.

BlogSocial Media

KeywordsPages

Calls-to-ActionLanding Pages

FormsContacts

EmailWorkflows

Lead ScoringCRM Integrations

Social MediaSmart-Calls-to-

ActionEmail

Workflows

Attract Convert Close Delight

Strangers Visitors Leads Customers Promoters

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL. BLOG CONTENT SUPPORTS EVERY STAGE OF THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY.

HOW DOES BLOGGING SUPPORT THE ENTIRE CUSTOMER JOURNEY, YOU ASK?

Organic traffic converts:

•5X better than referral traffic.

•2X better than paid traffic.

BLOGGING DRIVES ORGANIC TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE.

Source: HubSpot

Once visitors arrive at your blog,

they have calls-to-action, additional

blog posts, site navigation, and

featured offers, products or

services to lure them into exploring

more of your site.

BLOGGING HELPS CONVERT THAT TRAFFIC INTO LEADS.

Source: HubSpot

Educational, helpful, or otherwise

useful content positions your

company as an industry expert and

engenders trust in your company.

BLOGGING HELPS ESTABLISH AUTHORITY.

Blogging is gift that keeps on

giving.

If the HubSpot marketing team

stopped blogging, we’d still

generate 70-75% of our blog traffic

from old posts!

BLOGGING DRIVES LONG TERM RESULTS.

The average company that blogs

generates:

•55% more website visitors.

•97% more inbound links.

•434% more indexed pages.

SERIOUSLY. IT WORKS.

Source: HubSpot

COMPANIES THAT BLOG GENERATE 126% MORE LEADS THAN THOSE THAT DON’T.

Source: HubSpotSurvey N = 2,300

Source: HubSpotSurvey N = 3,339

BLOGGING IS REGULARLY LINKED TO HIGHER ROI.

• 57% of marketers who blog

monthly acquire customers

from their blog.

• 82% of marketers who blog

daily acquire customers from

their blog.

THE MORE YOU BLOG, THE MORE CUSTOMERS YOU GENERATE.

AS LONG AS YOU BLOG TO HELP YOUR AUDIENCE ON A CONSISTENT BASIS, YOU’LL SEE RESULTS.

HOW DO YOU WRITE GREAT BLOG POSTS?4

• Title: Up to 70 characters with

keywords.

• Image: With Alt text.

• Length: Typically between 300-800

words.

• Keyword Density: Natural.

• Calls-to-Action: Primary and

Secondary.

• Social Buttons: Follow and Share.

WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF A BLOG POST?

EVERY BLOG POST YOU WRITE SHOULD HAVE A PURPOSE.

• Drive a ton of traffic?

• Generate better qualified leads?

• Garner social shares?

• Establish yourself as an industry leader?

• Keep your readers engaged in your blog?

WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR POST TO ACHIEVE FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

• Learn how to do something.

• Think about something in a new way.

• Be entertained.

• Have their curiosity piqued.

• Advance their skill set.

WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR READER TO GET FROM YOUR POST?

1. Keyword alignment.

2. Persona alignment.

3. Good writing.

4. Scannable formatting.

5. Data or research.

THE ANATOMY OF A GREAT BLOG POST.

1. The topics people care about.

2. The keywords people use to

find those topics.

3. The fact that readers scan.

GOOD BLOG POSTS CONSIDER:

Most people only read 60% of your blog post.

• Writing captivating titles.

• Hooking ‘em in the intro.

• Using proper grammar and spelling.

• Using clear, jargon-free language.

• Being helpful.

• Being accurate.

• Being succinct (edit, edit, edit!).

THAT MEANS YOU NEED TO GET GOOD AT:

• Use humor.

• Get personal.

• Shock them.

• Show empathy.

• Make a promise (then

deliver on it in the rest of

the post).

WRITE INTRODUCTIONS THAT TAP INTO READERS’ EMOTIONS.

WRITE TITLES THAT DRAW READERS IN.Preview a content “offer” associated with the blog post.

Use specific and dramatic, yet accurate descriptors.

Use lists and visuals [SlideShare] to convey the content will be easy to consume.

1. Write to communicate a message, not for word count.

2. Creating content interesting to your audience. 

3. Write posts people will want to link to.

4. Don't be self-promotional. 

5. Think like a teacher: Teach your audience something

useful.

6. Use visual differentiators.

6 BLOG POST WRITING TIPS.

• Short paragraphs.

• Headers and sub-headers.

• At least one image.

• Internal links.

• Bullets.

• Numbered lists.

• Bolded or italicized terms and phrases.

BY “VISUAL DIFFERENTIATORS,” WE MEAN:

1. Support and add validity to your points.

2. Help you convey your message more clearly and

succinctly.

3. Break up the monotony of written content.

4. Help readers glean your message faster (while scanning).

DATA & VISUALS ARE THE CHERRY ON TOP OF AN EXCELLENT BLOG POST. THEY CAN:

FORMATTING CAN CHANGE THIS TO …

THIS.

IN SHORT, WRITE BLOG POSTS THAT ARE HELPFUL TO YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE.

WHERE DO YOU FIND BLOG POST IDEAS?5

CONTENT IDEAS CAN COME FROM ANYWHERE.

1. Your idea backlog (if you don’t have one, start one).

2. Interviews.

3. Reading the news.

4. Talking to coworkers.

5. Brainstorm meetings.

6. Customer questions.

4 CONTENT ANGLES ALREADY RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE:

1. Write a post for every question a prospect or customer has

ever asked you.

2. Ask your customers and prospects what problems they’re

trying to solve.

3. Take a look at what content your competitors are

publishing.

4. Write about the latest industry news story.

NOT EVERYTHING YOU BLOG ABOUT HAS TO BE BRAND NEW CONTENT.

PULL FROM CONTENT THAT ALREADY EXISTS.

• Pull from your company collaboration tool (wiki, social

network).

• Excerpt from existing content.

• Reformat written and visual content.

• Transcribe videos.

• Turn presentations into SlideShare presentations.

• Compile compelling data.

INTERVIEW SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN YOUR FIELD.

• Ask your Sales team what questions they often hear over

the phone.

• Same goes for Customer Service.

• Interview industry pundits and authors.

• Tap guest bloggers in your industry.

You can also use HubSpot’s free Blog Topic Generator to get more than a handful of ideas.

Click Here to Get Ideas

ADDITIONAL BLOGGING RESOURCES.6

RESOURCES ABOUT BUSINESS BLOGGING IN GENERAL.

Blog Post: The Benefits of Blogging

Blog Post: How Long Will It Take to See Results?

Blog Post: 8 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started

Blogging

Click to view or download the resource.

RESOURCES TO HELP WITH WRITER’S BLOCK & GETTING STARTED.

Blog Post: How to Get Past Writer's Block [SlideShare]

The Marketer’s Pocket Guide to Writing Good

Blog Post: The Foolproof Formula for Writing a Solid

Post

Click to view or download the resource.

RESOURCES TO HELP WITH CONTENT IDEAS.

Tool: Free Blog Topic Generator

5 Free Blog Post Templates Every Marketer Needs

Blog Post: 7 Content Angles to Unhitch You From

a Rut

Click to view or download the resource.

RESOURCES TO HELP WITH BLOGGING EFFICIENCY.

Template: Blogging Editorial Calendar

How HubSpot Does Inbound:

Creating a Content Machine

Blog Post: 100 Tips & Tricks Professional

Bloggers Use

Click to view or download the resource.

QUESTIONS?

Grow Your Business with HubSpot’s Blogging Tools

What is ? All-in-one inbound marketing software.

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THANK YOU.