So this relatively new “internet marketing term” is being used a lot lately.
But what exactly does Inbound Marketing entail and how can you use it to build a successful website and grow your existing audience?
By definition, inbound marketing is a way of attracting prospects and customers to your business by providing content that they find valuable.
It requires you to first grab their attention, spark their interest, build desire and get them to act. But the key to doing it ‘Right’ is to avoid interrupting that potential customer.
Sounds tricky, don’t it?
So how are you suppose to get people’s attention online, without annoying them? These 17 ideas will get you on the right track.
We’ll look into the 3 major inbound marketing strategies that I use on all of my blogs.
Content Always Comes First
1. Inbound marketing is about attracting your target market to you. The way you do this is by creating content that they’ll find useful. If you’re a personal trainer, create articles that will help your audience lose weight and get fit.
2. Don’t worry about giving away too much for free. This content will pay for itself many times over as new people find your articles and videos online. The more information you can provide to your market, the more authority and credibility you will gain.
3. There are many different types of content you can create. Here’s a few of them:
White papers
Blog Articles
Audio podcast
Online Video
Downloadable Ebooks
Newsletters
Flow Charts
Worksheets & Workbooks
4. Stay consistent with your content marketing plan. If you’re going to start a blog (which you absolutely should), keep it updated with new articles. If you’re going to start a podcast, record new episodes for your listeners regularly. Give away downloadable PDF’s every now and then to increase your likability and trust in the marketplace.
5. Get ideas from other content producers. Stay in tune with what your market wants by reading other blogs, listening to other podcasts and staying in the trenches. ie. Fitness bloggers will have a better and much deeper connection with their audience if they talk about what’s working for them right now.
6. Think long term. What can you create now that will still be relevant a year from now. Those are your big money ideas. Those are the articles that will help you grow your site and authority.
Don’t Ignore Email
7. Email is NOT dead. I still use it and I’m sure you do, too. Your visitors aren’t any different so ask for the email to stay in contact.
8. You need permission. Permission based marketing is probably the best way to go if you want your audience to give you their undivided attention when you’re making offers and launching a new product or service. By giving you their email, they’re saying it’s OK to send them marketing messages.
9. Make it a priority. I do this on every single one of my blogs. I make sure that two things are easy to do once they get to the site. (1) They can find the content, and (2) they can subscribe to my email list without jumping through any hoops.
10. Make it good. The idea is to entice your visitors to sign up to your email list by offering something in return for their email address. Don’t just say, “sign up for free email updates” – offer them an exclusive interview with an industry expert, or a downloadable ebook or an 8part marketing course.
11. Try different content offers. Not every offer will work. So if they’re not signing up for the fitness ecourse, they might want a downloadable “muscle building” ebook or a step by step workout plan. (Yea I’m sticking with the fitness bloggers)
12. Study the market by visiting other popular blogs. Go through their email marketing process and (if you like it), model what they do. Don’t steal their content, that’s not cool. But you can model their process and create your own unique offering.
13. Don’t use crappy tools. I use Aweber because it’s awesome and easy to use. I’ve tried other email marketing services and Awebers seems to be the best one out right now.
Blogging Makes Your Social & Search Engine Friendly
14. So you’re creating content people want to read and have an email marketing process in place to grab visitors email addresses. What’s next? – Optimize your content. Make sure that your content is easy to read and easy to find. People will be searching for your content online, you’re job is to make sure you get found.
15. Promote your stuff. Don’t expect a big name blogger to pick it up and share it with their audience. Be proactive. Tweet your content. Post it on Facebook. Social Bookmark it. If you want a step by step plan, check out this post.
16. Interact with people who retweet your articles and comment on your posts. Engagement is the key to building a community around your blog and brand.
17. Have fun with it. These ideas should get you on the right track, but don’t be afraid to construct your own track. Experiment with blogging, email and content. You can model others or create a new way of marketing that other will one day model.
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