When you think your blog -- or any of your marketing & advertising-- isn't working
In a perfect world, we would post a blog and see an immediate result.
Like I will click "Publish Post" on this blog and 1K people will see that I have amazing knowledge about blogging, content, advertising, marketing, etc. and will email me, wanting my services.
That's a perfect world and maybe a little bit of a dream world, too.
Marketing & advertising, unfortunately, do not work that way.
"I ran my ad for a month -- it didn't get me anything."
"I haven't had anyone mention they read my blog."
"I've tried blogging, advertising, a website -- none of it works and isn't worth my time."
I've heard these and similar concerns before. No one wants to throw good money after bad (who came up with that saying anyway? I really dislike it...but it's the only one I can think of to make my point in this situation.) No one wants to think their money and efforts are going unnoticed.
And...sadly, when sales drop off for what ever reason, the first thing people want to cut when they tighten their budget is their marketing & advertising. But, is that the best thing to do?
Not necessarily.
When I was in advertising many years ago, many clients would tell me they didn't want to spend the money on advertising because they didn't know how to measure it. We want to see the ROI, right?
But how do you measure an intangible? What makes for valid measurement?
Not everyone is going to come into your business or call to place an order or even tell you online, "Hey, I read your blog (or web content) and thought it was so great that I just had to place a huge order!" More than likely, you won't even get one who tells you that.
Instead, you will see a lot of increased views on your website. A lot of clicks on links. And, if you use social media, maybe a few more followers and 'likes.' It can be more of a gradual process than an immediate one.
But how does that translate to dollars?
Well, for one thing, you keep sharing your story. You keep building your brand. You keep updating your blog, your web content, your social media content so you can engage with your customer.
Not everyone is going to be ready to make a purchase the instant they come across your website or read the blog or see your name.
Online marketing is a little bit different than the marketing of yesteryear.
A lot of people will be comparison shopping. Even if you don't sell a product, they will be comparison shopping in terms of who they feel they have a connection with, particularly if they are Millenials.
And customers/clients now are a lot more educated. With so many businesses being online now, your clients are able to research exactly what they want, know the price range (and know the price they are willing to pay), and know almost as much about the product as you do. This is where your blog, brand, and story telling can help you -- it helps them have that connection with you so they feel good about spending money with you.
"But that hasn't happened -- I had a blog for a few months and didn't get anything."
Then let's look at your frequency. When I worked in radio, we always talked about frequency -- how often the ad would play. We knew it took so many air times for something to 'hit' with the potential customer. They were distracted; they were doing something else; or they just didn't hear the ad because the radio wasn't on. So trying to buy a flight of 10 ads was not going to do much. The advertisers who went for the bigger flights had the best results because they had a higher probability of their ad being heard.
How can you increase your frequency with your blog?
Well, with how many times you have your blog updated per month. If you've been updating it bi-monthly, go for weekly. Especially if your website is new. And make sure your blog length (if you aren't hiring me to do it) is at least 600 words; the longer the better, actually. Go for as long as you can -- it keeps potential customers on your page and makes them want to poke around a bit more on your site.
Update the content on your website regularly, too. Fresh content keeps people interested and brings them back so they can see what you have new.
And don't forget to share your site, especially your blog, with your social media audiences. If they have "liked" you, they want to hear from you. So make sure you give them content.
Are you promoting your website?
Wait -- what? I have a blog, that's supposed to help my SEO and bring me tons of traffic.
Yes. And no. If you are doing things as you should (updating your content regularly, having a blog, getting your links in correctly, etc.) it can increase your SEO. But having a website without promoting it is like having a physical store front and not advertising...but with a lot more competition.
When you opened your store you advertised, right? You wanted people to know where you are, what you offer...all the good info that potential customers/clients need to know.
When you launched your website, you need to kind of do the same thing. You need to share it on your other marketing, in your social media, with your customers. Don't think of your website as something that will take away from your customers but adding to their experience. You probably have customers who would share your site with friends and family because they like it and think they will like it, too.
So share your website with everyone you can. Marketing and advertising are vitally important to your business but they are not passive by any means.
And marketing, advertising and blogging do work, They just take consistency and frequency. Don't give up just because you aren't seeing the numbers you'd like at first. It takes time. But your business and your brand are worth it.
It takes a lot of work, too. If you don't have time to do it all in between all the other duties you have as a business owner, that's where I can help. Send me an email
and let's get started today.