Sep 09 / 2013
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Articles, Blogging for Business, Inbound Marketing

Havasu Graphic Design-How to Get More Subscribers, Part III

Hi there readers!

Welcome to the final part of our series featuring Hubspot’s, “How to Convert Casual Blog Visitors Into Dedicated Subscribers“. Read on for more awesome information on turning your blog into a success!

“How to Convert Casual Blog Visitors Into Dedicated Subscribers

…continued…

4) Create a Blog Subscription Landing Page

Now that you’ve got all these great subscribe CTAs, you need somewhere to point them to. Sure, you already have your subscribe module on your blog’s homepage (at least you do now after our second tip, right?). But if you start promoting subscription to your blog via other marketing channels like social media and email (more on that later), it will start to get a bit complicated to direct visitors to that module. You’d have to say something like this:

“Go to blog.hubspot.com, and … see that little field on the top, right-hand side of the blog? Enter your email address there to subscribe.”

That isn’t exactly the optimal way to promote blog subscription, is it? And can you imagine trying to fit that into a 140-character update for Twitter? Furthermore, you’d be adding a lot of friction to the conversion process, meaning you’re guaranteed to lose out on some valuable subscribers along the way.

So what’s a more effective way to convert blog visitors into subscribers? Think … you know the answer. It’s the same way you convert website visitors into leads. That’s right — a landing page!

Create a blog subscription landing page to convert those blog discoverers into dedicated blog subscribers. This will become the heart and soul of your blog subscriber conversion efforts, allowing you to more easily promote blog subscription through your other marketing assets. So instead of that convoluted message directing people to the little module on your blog’s homepage, you can just link your CTAs directly to your landing page and say things like, “Visithttp://blog.hubspot.com/subscribe to subscribe to the HubSpot Marketing Blog!” in your social media and email promotions. So much simpler, right?

Tips for Optimizing Your Subscribe Landing Page

Optimize your subscription page using the same best practices you would for any other landing page on your website. Include descriptive headers/subheaders that capture visitors’ attention and summarizes what they’ll get, demonstrate the value of subscribing in your landing page copy, include a high-quality image, and emphasize email subscription by placing the form above the fold. You can also incorporate other elements — like social proof — to help boost conversion rates. Speaking of boosting conversion rates, don’t be afraid to do some A/B testing like you would for any other landing page (here’s a great article on landing page A/B testing to get you started).

Last but now least, if your blogging software gives you the option, offer your prospective subscribers frequency options so they can choose how much (or how little) email they want to receive for their blog notifications. (HubSpot Customers: If you’re using the new Blog COS, you can provide instant, daily, weekly, and monthly email frequency options to your subscribers.)

5) Add a Blog Opt-In Check Box to Your Landing Pages

I’m really excited to share this tip with you, because it caused us to increase our blog subscribers by 128% in just 3 months’ time. I kid you not. And all we did was add a new check box field to all our landing page forms so people could subscribe to our blog with just one click. Here’s what I mean:

If your blogging software is integrated with the rest of your marketing software, this trick is very easy to implement. At the simplest level, you need to have control over the fields on your landing page forms as well as the ability to export a list of people who opt in to your blog through these forms so you can add them to your blog subscriber list. And HubSpot users who use the new HubSpot COS (note: this will not work on HubSpot’s legacy CMS), will be able to easily start boosting their email subscribers with this little trick without any manual maintenance once it’s set up. To learn how to set it up, we have detailed instructions in this blog post. Check ’em out!

Just keep in mind that the new blog subscribers you generate through these landing page check boxes won’t impact new lead generation directly. Because these people are subscribing to your blog because they’re filling out forms for your lead gen offers, they’re already leads. However, they do have the potential to increase the readership and help you reach new audiences through mechanisms like social sharing and email forwarding. You’ll also benefit from using your free blog content as a way to nurture existing leads.

6) Do Some Email Marketing

In addition to promoting blog subscription through social media and CTAs on your website,email marketing can serve as another effective channel for driving blog subscriptions. Here are two great email marketing methods through which to promote blog subscription:

In a Dedicated Send

Promote blog subscription to different segments of contacts in your marketing database. Tailor the messaging and language you use in your dedicated send to the interests and needs of that segment. For example, you could segment your list by people who recently converted on a particular offer, and promote subscription by providing examples of articles related to topic of the offer they downloaded as a way to demonstrate the value of subscribing.

Within Lead Nurturing Workflows

Not every email within your lead nurturing workflows needs to promote a lead gen offer. Switch it up by featuring some of your big hit blog articles targeted at the types of people you’re emailing in your segmented workflows.

In what other ways can you turn your casual blog readers into dedicated subscribers? Share your tactics in the comments!

And to learn about the other critical steps to blog marketing that can help you increase the reach and ROI of your business blog, download our ebook, How to Grow & Scale Your Business Blog.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in October 2012 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.”

Contact us if you want a website or inbound marketing campaign that will rock your business’s world. Until next time, stay classy!

Aug 21 / 2013
0

Uncategorized

How These CEO’s Made it to the Top

Big dreams of being a bigwig business owner? Check out mashable’s article below!

“How 12 Business Leaders Got to the C-Suite

Facebook‘s Sheryl Sandberg worked for the U.S. Department of Treasury. IBM‘s Virginia Rometty was president of her sorority. Virgin‘s Richard Branson didn’t fancy school.

We may not know what it’s like to be worth billions of dollars or be chosen as Fortune‘s #1 most powerful businesswoman, but we can certainly learn from these C-suiters’ paths to the top — and hey, at least dropping out of college doesn’t preclude you from immense success.

Check out the infographic below to learn what these 12 business movers and shakers did to get to the C-suite. What do you think of their paths, and how do they compare to yours? Tell us in the comments.

Path to the C- Suite

Mashable Infographic, images: Andrew Burton/Getty Images, Peter Foley/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Will Ollver/AFP/GettyImages, Kim White/Getty Images, Mario Tama/Getty Images, Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Images, Brian Ach/Getty Images for TechCrunch, Jordan Naylor/WireImage, Fernando Leon/Getty Images for TIME, Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images, Kris Connor/Getty Images, and Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Contact us if you need IT consulting, a fresh website, or inbound marketing. If you want to be a bigwig, you’ve gotta get the word out. Until next time, stay classy NSquared readers!

Jul 31 / 2013
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Websites

Why Real Estate Agents Need Websites

Good morning NSquared readers!

Is it necessary for real estate agents to have websites? Absolutely! Check out, 3 Reasons Real Estate Agents Need Their Own Website, below:

“3 Reasons Real Estate Agents Need Their Own Website

Real estate is a field that is defined by you as the agent, but more specifically, by the way you conduct your business. It’s about individuality and making yourself both relevant and an important resource to your client base and the community as a whole.

With so many agents out there vying for a piece of the prospect pie, it’s easy to get overlooked by potential clients. In order to overcome this obstacle, you need to find a way to market yourself effectively. If your plan entails sending out mass mailers, or doing magazine ads, think again; the days of effective outbound marketing are fading fast.

Today, you need to turn your focus to inbound marketing and create an online presence with your website, social media marketing and blogging so you can naturally attract your target market.

1. Become A True Client Resource

The first step is to create your website, where your current, and prospective, clients can go to learn more about you and the services you offer. However, most agents make the mistake of doing only that and no more; in today’s competitive marketplace, you need to go beyond displaying your services. You need to use your website, blog and social media to become a valuable resource.

Your real estate website needs to embrace the technology available today and create a truly value-based experience for your visitors. They have to come away feeling that you are a true partner that can be counted on for the information they need to make the best decision. Adding online mortgage calculators, information about loan programs and access to all MLS listings (not only yours) will allow your website to become a valuable tool.

2. Solidify Your Personal Brand

You may argue that you do not need the added expense of a website since your broker or agency supplies you with one as part of employment, but nothing could be further from the truth. What happens if you leave that brokerage to branch out?

Personal branding in real estate is important. You need to set yourself apart from the competition. You don’t want to be lumped in with everyone else in the office on some generic website, otherwise what’s the benefit of the prospect choosing you over another agent in your office?

When you create your own website, you begin to brand yourself online. Your website is a direct reflection of you, your goals, and your services. No matter where you go, your name is your brand, and your clients will be able to find you.

Your real estate web design should include highlights of everything you personally bring to the table, in addition to other bits of information and services that directly tie in to your field of expertise. If you make your website a one-stop shop, why would your clients need to go anywhere else?

3. Become the Local “Go To” Agent

Having your own website also gives you an awesome advantage when it comes to targeting specific geographic areas. If there is a certain area of town that you are trying to focus on, you can easily integrate targeted keywords that represent that area of town into your website elements (url structure, page titles, content, etc.).

By integrating these specific keywords into your website, you are giving yourself a distinct advantage over your competition who is probably focusing on broader keyword targets. When a potential client begins to look at real estate in your target area of town, their is a greater chance that they will discover you. What’s even better is that your site will have information specifically about that area, so you will look like the “go to” agent.

In today’s real estate world, it’s all about becoming a resource for your clients, solidifying your personal brand, and staying relevant to your area of focus. Creating your own real estate site is the best way to secure all of these areas and maximize your potential to grow your business.”

Jul 24 / 2013
0

Websites

The Importance of a Professional Website For Your Business, Part II

Good morning!

Monday we showcased an article explaining why it is so important for your business to have a high-quality website. Today’s featured article is along those same lines, but focuses specifically on the importance of an aesthetically-pleasing website. Check out, Why it is Important to Have a Good Looking Website, below:

“Why it is important to have a good looking website

When it comes down to the visual principles of a website design, you have to make sure that your website’s aesthetics reflects the way you want your business to be showcased.

Having a website that reflects a negative image of your business can remove any chances of your website’s future success. If your website looks remotely un-appealing to the user, it’s highly unlikely that the user will remain optimistic and not judge the rest of the content your website has to offer. In other words, they will probably move onwards to other websites; most likely your competitor.

Take this comparison as an example.

Imagine that your website is a rental property due for inspection. The tenants have made sure that their entire property is free from mess, clutter and looks overall rather neat. They do this in order to give the notion that they are reliable and decent tenants that can handle the responsibility of looking after a property. The inspector judges and makes an evaluation whether they make the cut.

This goes the same for website design.

The owner of the website (tenant) must make sure that their website looks professional, clean and, overall, is functional for the delivery of its content. The user (inspector) makes an evaluation on your site from the very instance they click on the link to get there. This can take a matter of seconds before the user decides to stay and browse your website or to check out other sites (your competition).

The ways to avoid this conundrum is to simply make your website reliable, professional and easy on the eyes. Remember that your website is an online portal for your users to experience an insight to your business. This experience is what it all comes down to. If an Inspector has a negative experience evaluating a rental property by witnessing messy lounge rooms, cluttered dishes in the sink and perhaps native wildlife eating leftovers from the bin; it’s a no brainer on what the inspector will do next.

You simply have to give your users a pleasant experience as they view your website. If you provide your users entertainment through relevant content, supply comfort with an overall attractive aesthetic and offer an ease of use functionality, you will see your online business become a grand future success. Catering for your users through these methods is the only way to guarantee this, after all your users are doing you the favour by initially clicking your link; it’s only polite to give back.”

Make sure your website makes people want to stay! Be a good business tenant, contact us, and ensure that your potential customers and clients get to look at an eye-pleasing website. Until next time!

May 17 / 2013
0

Articles, Social Media

12 Tips for Social Media Success

Use Social Media Like a Boss

Hey there folks! This week we have been covering social media, what it is, and how it can do wonders for your business.

Not only is it important to know how social media can help your business, but you need to be able to utilize it properly.

Check out this nifty article by Emily A. Hay, 12 Social Media Quick Tips for Your Business, for a fast, easy read that will keep your social media skills up to par!

“12 Social Media Quick Tips for Your Business

Facebook – Are you a page admin? While the insights reports can be confusing and the weekly page update emails can make you see red, a metric to explore is “reach.” Per Facebook, “Reach measures the number of people who received impressions of a page post.”

Twitter – stumped on what to tweet but want to be sure your business is interacting on twitter? Get some “R&R!” Retweet and be sure to reply to people’s tweets.

Pinterest – No product? No problem! Service based businesses can also leverage Pinterest with some out-of-the-box thinking. Push your creativity when naming pinboards, think about how you can tell a story visually and remember, it shouldn’t only be about your business.

YouTube – A vlog (video blog) for your small business can be as easy to create as writing a blog post. Grab your handheld video camera or iPhone and say “action!”

LinkedIn – your company page is as important as your personal profile. Update your followers with helpful information by sharing content for your business on this professional social network.

Google+ – Since this network is by…well, Google, it certainly plays a role in search engine optimization. Be sure all elements of your page are leveraged to help your search. Quick tip: the “About” page allows you to embed hyperlinks back to your company website.

Yelp – Does your business have a brick and mortar location? Have you claimed your page? Be sure to…this is the first step towards learning when reviews are posted.

Instagram – don’t think a social media campaign stops with Facebook posts and tweets. Engage your audience via fun filtered photos! PS Don’t fret if your instagram photos no longer appear in actual tweets; you must now click the instagram photo link to view (as of 12/10/12).

Email Marketing – Let’s face it, we all experience inbox overload. Limit your Mailchimp/GetResponse/Constant Contact emails and make them worthwhile!

Blog – Think of your business’ blog as a powerful platform to share your expertise. You can give away really valuable info without compromising your potential to gain paying clients…we promise!

Website – simplify and declutter! Make your site easy on the eyes and quick to navigate to the info people need.

Myspace – keep an eye out for this one…they are revamping their image!

There you have it, our social media week. Hopefully you learned a bit more about how social media can seriously help your business!

Posts Tagged / success