The term “cornerstone content” has been talked and written about a lot recently although the concept is really not that new. Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger, wrote a guide about how to create cornerstone content that Google loves 11 years ago this month.
A conversion funnel, also known as a sales or marketing funnel, describes the process you create to attract potential buyers to your website and guide them to take some desired action. The actions can range from signing up for your email list to buying your products and services.
It’s no surprise that customers and visitors to your website have questions about your business, product or service that need to be answered. And we try to answer those questions through our blog posts and page content. But often the visitor needs a simpler way to find the answer they are looking for.
Inbound marketing is an effective strategy designed to draw your ideal client to you when they are already actively looking for a solution. If you are implementing inbound marketing and are curious as to why you are not seeing the results you expect, you may be guilty of making some (or all) of the following inbound marketing mistakes.
Email marketing and marketing automation are terms that are used somewhat interchangeably, causing confusion for small businesses who are trying to decide which solution they need. This confusion stems from the fact that both solutions are based on using email as a primary way to communicate with your leads in the hope that some leads will convert into customers.
Providing valuable lead magnets as part of your inbound marketing activities can maximize the number of targeted leads you get for your offer by providing an incentive for them to sign up. But how many sign up forms have you seen that simply ask you to “sign up” to receive their email updates?
You finally have a powerful website and blog that you are proud to show off, with messages that clearly explain how you help your clients and the value you provide. Now you need to increase website traffic in order to gain visibility, grow your email list, sell your product or offer your services to the right audience.
The most frequent question I get asked by small business owners is how to simplify inbound marketing when faced with limited resources. Inbound marketing seems so overwhelming with all the effort that needs to go into creating great content, sharing it on social media and optimizing that content for search engines.
People spend most of their marketing efforts driving visitors to their websites. It’s absolutely an important task. But getting people to come to your website is just the first step. Once they arrive at your website, you need a strong website call to action to ensure your visitors don’t leave without establishing some type of connection with your company.
But when someone comes to your website, what type of first impression does it project? Is your site welcoming and professional? Can visitors quickly find what they are looking for? Or does your website turn away prospective business because it doesn’t make your visitor feel as if you understand their needs? To make your website attract, educate and encourage visitors to learn more, avoid the following website design mistakes that keep your visitors from connecting with your business.
Having an inbound marketing strategy is the core to your online marketing efforts. Inbound marketing is the art of attracting our customers to us by providing valuable information, rather than pushing our products and services on them. Creating and sharing useful content helps the buyer move through the purchase process and makes your business more credible, trustworthy, and visible in the process.
When I ask the question “How Will You Find Your Next Client — or Will They Find You?”, it is a direct challenge to business owners to define an inbound marketing strategy to encourage those who are ready to buy to contact you.
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