Use your blog to get more leads and drive sales. In this presentation, we walk you step-by-step through the blogging fundamentals, and we'll show you how to start reaping the benefits of this important marketing channel. You'll find out exactly why blogging is good for business, and you’ll learn how to: - Find content to blog about. - Optimize your blog posts. - Promote your blog. - Measure your blog. - Use business blogging best practices.

1. Blogging for
Business
5 Secrets to More Leads and Sales

2. Brendon Dennewill
Partner & Co-Founder
brendon@denamico.com
@Brendon_D
Kristin Dennewill
Partner & Co-Founder
kristin@denamico.com
@KristinLD
Donna Arriaga
Content & Social Media Strategist
donna@denamico.com
@DonnaArriaga
denamico
We are a team of professionals specialized in Inbound Marketing. We help
businesses increase the quantity and quality of leads, by creating and sharing
relevant content, in order to ensure maximum ROI on marketing dollars invested.
presenters

3. Agenda
Intro & Opening
● Why business blogging is important.
● Start strong.
Business Blogging: 5 Secrets to More Leads & Sales
1. Generate quality content your audience will love.
2. Optimize your blog posts to maximize SEO.
3. Promote your blog to drive visitors.
4. Measure and fine-tune your strategy for greater ROI.
5. Make best practices to work for you.
Q&A and Additional Resources

4. Companies that blog have
55% more website visitors.
B2B companies that
blog get 67% more
leads/month than
those that don’t.
B2C companies that
blog get 88% more
leads/month than
those that don’t.
Proof in Numbers...
source: Hubspot

5. 5 Big-Value Benefits
1. Drive site traffic through organic
search (SEO).
2. Improve visibility on social media.
3. Convert traffic into leads.
4. Establish your business as an
industry thought leader.
5. Drive long-term results.
Why business blogging is
important...

6. Case Study
River Pools and Spas
About
River Pools and Spas is one of the largest in-ground
pool construction companies in the country, serving
Virginia and Maryland. Marcus Sheridan, the
company’s owner and blogger at TheSalesLion.
com, has successfully used inbound marketing and
blogging to attract a loyal following and generate
new leads for his business.
Why business blogging is
important...

7. Case Study
River Pools and Spas
Increased Organic Traffic
● Increased organic traffic 120% in three months
● Reduced PPC spending 50% compared to 2009
● Expanded blog readership to over 6,400 visitors and
260 subscribers
Why business blogging is
important...

8. Case Study
River Pools and Spas
Blogging Pays Off
River Pools and Spas blog post called "Fiberglass Pool
Prices: How Much is My Pool Really Going to Cost?",
received 20,359 page views and 84 inbound links, the
highest numbers for both categories in River Pools'
blogging history.
Even though Marcus Sheridan first wrote the blog post in
2009, the post is STILL bringing in leads and sales. To
date, that 1 post has brought in near $3.0
MILLION in sales. Remember, that doesn't include
other posts on his site, that's just one single post.
Why business blogging is
important...

9. Start Strong
Identify your goals and
target audience.
● Blogging Goals: What do you
want to achieve through blogging?
● Target Audience: Who are you
trying to reach?
Your blogging goals will inform platform
selection, content strategy and metrics.

10. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #1
Generate Quality Content Your
Audience Will Love.
Think about your audience
first. Then brainstorm ideas.
Blog post ideas can come from:
● Customer questions and needs
● Interviews (staff or customers)
● Client success story
● Informational how-to posts
● Holidays and/or special events
● Repackaged existing content
● Guest blogging
● Curation
Brainstorm content ideas that answer questions
and meet the needs of your target audience.

11. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #1
Generate Quality Content Your
Audience Will Love.
Find that sweet-spot for
blog post frequency.
Consider:
● Team members who can contribute
content.
● Internal capacity (time, skill).
● External capacity (guest bloggers,
outsourced support).
● A realistic benchmark.
Blog as often as you can post quality content
on a consistent, ongoing basis.
How often
should I blog?
As often as you
want people to pay
attention to you.

12. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #1
Generate Quality Content Your
Audience Will Love.
Create an editorial calendar.
Include:
● Blog topic/title
● Content details or notes
● Author
● Due date/publish date
● Target audience
● Call-to-action
An editorial calendar is a vital tool that will keep
your content plan and blogging strategy
organized and moving forward.

13. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #2
Optimize Your Blog Posts to
Maximize SEO.
Title Optimizations
● Include one of your target
keywords in the post title, and
place it near the beginning.
● Keep your post title short and
captivating.
Having a short title can help prevent it
from being cut off in search engine
results pages, or SERPs.

14. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #2
Optimize Your Blog Posts to
Maximize SEO.
Body Optimizations
● Include target keywords in your post
(think long-tail keywords).
● Don’t overuse your keyword.
● Link to other related blog posts or pages
on your website.
● Include a CTA to help convert readers
into leads (not directly relevant to SEO, but vital to
lead generation).
Write content for users, not search engines.
If your content flows naturally and addresses
the needs of your audience, you’re on the
right track.

15. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #2
Optimize Your Blog Posts to
Maximize SEO.
Image Optimizations
● Include at least one image in your
post.
● Add alt text to your images.
Keep your alt text brief, clear and simple.

16. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #2
Optimize Your Blog Posts to
Maximize SEO.
What exactly is “alt” text?
HTML for alt text looks like this...
<img src="seo-graphic.jpg" alt="SEO
Tips, Infographic" />
You can easily add alt text using
image tools in your blog.
In WordPress, for example the edit
image option provides an easy to use
“alternative text” field.

17. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #2
Optimize Your Blog Posts to
Maximize SEO.
Meta Optimizations
● Include at least one keyword in
the URL.
● Add a meta description, and
keep it between 150 to 160
characters.
● Include one or two keywords in
the meta description.
Meta descriptions appear in SERPs
and in some social media shares like
Facebook and LinkedIn.

18. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #2
Optimize Your Blog Posts to
Maximize SEO
Title & Meta Descriptions on SERPs,
Browsers and Social Media
1
2
Search Engine Results Page
(SERP)
1. Title and long-tail
keyword
2. Meta description
3
4
Web Browser
3. Title appears in
browser tab
4. Title is in page URL

19. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #2
Optimize Your Blog Posts to
Maximize SEO
Title & Meta Descriptions on SERPs,
Browsers and Social Media
7
Social Media (Facebook)
5. Featured Image (not directly
relevant to SEO, but a powerful
tool to boost engagement)
6. Blog Post Title
7. Meta Description
6
5

20. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #3
Promote Your Blog to Drive Visitors.
Don’t just blog.
Promote your content.
Share through:
● Business social media channels.
● Brand advocates who are willing
to promote content to their
followers.
● CTAs and subscription promos
on your website.
“Content is king, but distribution is
queen and she wears the pants.”
– Jonathan Perelman, BuzzFeed

21. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #4
Measure and Fine-Tune Your
Strategy for Greater ROI.
What gets measured gets
improved.
Here are metrics to track:
● Visitors
● CTA clickthrough rate
● Leads (pay attention to which posts are
generating the most leads)
● Subscriptions
● Inbound links
● Social Media Shares
● Sales
Metrics indicate level of goal achievement
and can illuminate a need for adjustments.

22. BUSINESS BLOGGING SECRET #5
Make Best Practices Work for You.
4 Winning Practices to
Use for Your Blog
1. Think like a vertically integrated
publisher.
2. Focus on long-tail, non-branded
keyword content.
3. Ask readers what they want.
4. Connect your blog with your
website.

23. Q&A

24. Your toolkit contains:
● An 81-page ebook on business blogging fundamentals
● Blog post SEO checklist
● A reusable blog post template
● Blogging editorial calendar template on Trello (with free
tutorial video)
info.denamico.com/business-blogging-toolkit

25. Thank You.
Brendon Dennewill
brendon@denamico.com
@Brendon_D
Kristin Dennewill
kristin@denamico.com
@KristinLD
Donna Arriaga
donna@denamico.com
@DonnaArriaga