Did you know your blog post can bring you paying customers? Here’s how
Blog posts targetted at your audience can be used strategically to draw potential customers from social media sites like Facebook to your site
Imagine you’re scrolling through your Facebook feed and you see a post from a company that is clearly an ad. Do you click on it? Probably not.
Now imagine you’re scrolling through your feed and you see a link to an article about a topic you are interested in or a problem you are having. Do you click on it? Yes!
We have become accustomed to recognising ads and often avoid clicking on them as we know we are going to be asked to buy into something when we do. This is why content marketing is such an important strategy now. Blog posts targetted at your audience can be used strategically to draw potential customers from social media platforms like Facebook to your website.
1. Create a blog post and syndicate it
The first step in this process is identifying a problem your audience is having and creating a blog post that will help them overcome this. For example, if you are a gym owner you could create a post about getting fit for summer. Remember you can create one blog post in a variety of forms, increasing the chances of it being picked up by other blogs.
When we think about blogs we often automatically assume it has to be written, but why not create an audio podcast, YouTube video or Instagram infographic on the same topic? Using different mediums will allow you to reach different audiences.
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2. Get your reader to opt in
A lot of businesses know how to create content and draw visitors to their site, however they fail to see results from this traffic. This is because they are failing to capture the details of the people who are visiting.
To ensure this doesn’t happen to you, establish a clear incentive for content consumers to give you their email address. An effective way to do this is to develop a lead magnet that is congruent with the blog post.
A lead magnet is a free offer, often in the form of a download, that visitors receive in return for giving you their email address. Make sure the opt-in option is clearly visible in your blog post – both in the middle and at the end.
Using the example of a gym again, if your blog post is about ‘getting fit for summer’ the lead magnet might be a free 30-day meal planner. In general, people are more likely to provide their email address if they’re getting something of value in return.
Once you have captured an email address, you have turned the web visitor into a lead and are in position to develop a relationship with them that can result in a paying customer.
3. Convert from consumer to customer
So you’ve created the content, you’ve drawn someone to your website and you’ve captured their email in return for a free download.
What’s the next step?
Once a consumer has opted into your lead magnet you can direct the web page to a ‘thank you’ web page. This is where you get the chance to turn this visitor into a paying customer by offering a clear next step.
How?
You use what we call a ‘tripwire’ to do this. A tripwire is a low-cost offering, usually between US$1 and US$10, that gives consumers a taste of your core product.
Using the gym example again, if you provided a free food planner as your lead magnet, your tripwire could be a two-week gym membership that only costs US$1.
Offering your leads something at low cost means that it is low risk for them as little commitment is involved. The significance of this for you as a business is that you have now changed the relationship. They are no longer a content consumer or lead, they are a paying customer.
4. Sell your core product
Once a lead has bought a tripwire, you are in a better position to sell your core offer to them as you have established a relationship of trust with them already. The tripwire of a two-week gym membership would get them through the door and you’re then in a position to sell them your core offer which might be a year-long membership or personal training sessions.
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Action steps
We have used the example of a gym, but this model can be adapted to any business. Think about how you could incorporate this model into your business.
What problem-solving blog post can you create to draw people to your site?
What can you offer as a lead magnet to encourage people to opt in?
What can you use as a tripwire to convert leads to paying customers?
The article CONVERT WEB VISITORS INTO PAYING CUSTOMERS USING THIS 4 STEP PROCESS first appeared on The Entourage.
The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, please send us an email at writers[at]e27[dot]co
The post Did you know your blog post can bring you paying customers? Here’s how appeared first on e27.
