The goal of any content marketing initiative is to generate new potential client leads.
Julie Neidlinger, writing in Single Grain, explains that: “There’s a general misunderstanding among most bloggers: you think that simply getting people to read what you’ve written is the point. In an ideal world, they just read your blog post and immediately (and happily) sign up for your newsletter, download your “ultimate guide,” and head on over to your online store. Your amazing content leads to conversions which translates to cold hard cash in the bank. It’s as simple as that, right? Yes, that is what can happen. That is what should happen.
But if you hold on to that initial misunderstanding, that isn’t what will happen. The truth is, readers don’t automatically become customers. They tend to stay readers unless you make a concerted effort to convert them into a customer.” [emphasis added]
How to generate leads from blog posts?
Strong Social has detailed what is required to avoid the pitfall Julie Neidlinger details above — and create successful, lead-generating blog posts. Their recommendations include:
- Be clear and concise — “Clarity is the key to mutual understanding between you and your customers.” This requires removing excessive language in blog posts.
- Ensure your blog posts are client-centric.
- Break the blogpost up into subheadings and bullet points – They cite a Nielsen Norman Group study which “found that 79% of readers skim, while only 16% read every word on a page. Breaking up your page with subheads and bullets will make it easier for those 79% to digest the copy—and ultimately take a desired action—on your website.”
- Avoid buzzwords and industry jargon which can reduce the clarity of your message.
- Include a compelling call to action — The call to action (CTA) is one of the most important aspects of web copywriting. Ensure the reader knows what to do next. This is perhaps the most important element of a good blogpost, as well as perhaps the most overlooked.
- Be aware of the web copy your direct competitors are using as a means to keep fully up-to-date with the market.
- Know your audience — Understand their needs and address them in your blog posts. “Figure out why people buy your product or service, how they buy it, what they use it for, and what really matters to them.”
