The MarCom Strategist: A Free B2B Marketing E-Newsletter

June, 2010
Published by Dianna Huff
Volume 10, Number 6

Welcome!

A business owner emailed me recently to say he was disappointed with his new B2B blog. No one was reading it nor were people leaving comments. What could he do to change this situation?

It's true that due to Twitter, blog commenting has gone down. Twitter, I like to say, has made us all "drive by readers." You click on a link in a Tweet, quickly skim a blog post, and then go back to reading your Twitter stream.

However, you can get people to your blog -- and get them to leave comments -- by using the following seven steps. Let me know if they work for you!

And for those of you who remember when my son was just an infant, he's now a strapping 13-year old . . . and we're celebrating his bar mitzvah this month. Woot! Thanks for being with me all these years.

Regards,

Dianna Huff

7 Tips for Getting People to Your Blog

I love having a blog. It's less formal than an e-newsletter and lets me express a more "authentic" voice. I'm also not bound by a publishing schedule and can post when the mood strikes me.

Building a blog readership, however, is a little more difficult than building an e-newsletter subscriber base. This is because the e-newsletter subscription process is automatic -- you hand over your email address and viola, an e-newsletter shows up in your email inbox.

A blog, however, requires the reader to set up the RSS feed in a feed reader (i.e. Bloglines or Google Reader) -- and sometimes those feeds don't work -- and then you as the reader have to make the time to go read all those blog posts.

In short, even with a blog reader you still have to go to the blog whereas an e-newsletter comes to you. To get people to your blog you have to work a little harder. I'm using the following tips with my own blog and have seen pretty good results:

1. Write remarkable content -- As Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah write in their best-selling book, Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media and Blogs (full disclosure: I edited this book), you want to write content that others will want to comment on and pass around.

This means you can't write product pitches or publish press releases or talk about your company or post any of that other corporate dreck that puts people to sleep.

Instead, you have to think of yourself as a journalist and write content that's interesting, insightful, humorous, and maybe even off the beaten track.

2. Publish regularly -- Notice I didn't say "establish a regular publishing schedule." The beauty of blogs is that you can post stuff all day long, the way Mashable does, or you can post twice a month.

The important thing is to develop content on a regular basis. If you can't post for a few weeks or even a month or so (i.e. you just had a baby), explain why so that your readers don't think you've abandoned your blog.

When I was developing my new Website and did not have time to post, I explained why. I was pleasantly surprised when people left comments.

3. Include an email subscription option -- I still don't understand why people would want to subscribe to a blog via email, but some people do. So include this option on your blog (you can easily add it via FeedBurner).

4. Include social media buttons -- Make it easy for people to repost your blog content on the various social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google Buzz, by prominently displaying the various icons or buttons to each platform.

Don't forget to include the new Facebook "I Like" button, too. (If you use WordPress, you can download the "I Like" plugin.)

5. Market your content -- Once you publish your content, you have to market it by publishing links to it via Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Don't be afraid to ask a few of your favorite followers or your friends / colleagues to RT (retweet) or repost your content.

You can publicize your content via your e-newsletter, too.

6. Respond to comments -- Once you start getting comments, always respond to them. This lets people know you're reading comments and that you appreciate someone taking the time to leave a comment.

If you use WordPress, consider adding the "Get Recent Comments" plugin to your blog. The most recent comments will show up in your sidebar, which shows that your blog readership is active and paying attention.

7. Leave comments on others' blogs -- If you want people to read your blog and leave comments, then it pays to leave comments on other people's blogs. I've made it a goal to try and read two or three blog posts a day and then leave a comment on at least one of them.

Once you start leaving comments, your fellow bloggers will be so happy they'll start leaving comments on your blog -- as will other readers who find your comments.

Bonus tip: Add a call-to-action -- At the end of each blog post, ask people what they think about your post and to leave their comments / ideas / insights.

What strategies have you used to get people to your blog? Post your ideas / tips below -- and thank you!

I'm Looking for Examples of B2B Facebook Fan Pages

I started a DH Communications Facebook Fan Page for the sole purpose of learning how B2B companies are using Facebook. Does your company have a Facebook Fan page? If so, how are you using it and what have you learned?

I'd love to feature successful B2B Fan pages on my blog, so please email me with your examples -- or post them in the discussion area of my Facebook page.

Get More Leads with the Marketing Assets You Already Have

• Are you overwhelmed with trying to figure out which marketing tactics are best for your business?
• Do you wish someone would just show you how to use your e-newsletter, blog or LinkedIn profile more effectively versus developing something completely new?
• Do you want to spend less money on marketing -- and get better results?

If you answered, "Hell, yeah!," then my new Marketing Opportunity Audit package is for you.

I'm really excited about this new package because I've had such great feedback on it. Clients simply love it as it gives them easy marketing fixes that often don't cost a lot of money but pay huge results.

Here's how it works:

Let's say you're thinking about doing a lead generation email campaign.

After talking with you about your campaign objectives and learning more about your company, I'll go through all of your marketing assets to determine how you can more effectively drive leads using what you already have.

I then deliver a full report that includes:

• Recommended changes to existing marketing assets (i.e. revamping an existing e-newsletter or blog)
• Ideas for developing new methods of attracting prospects (this is what my clients love best!)
• A marketing strategy that's based on your goals, budget, existing resources, and timeline

You get a complete roadmap on how to proceed -- which helps ensure campaign success. Once the Audit is complete, you can either have me implement your campaign or do it yourself.

Either way, it's a win-win-win for you as you get my expert analysis of your marketing and how you can make it better.

To learn more, give me a call at 603-382-8093 or send email to info@dhcommunications.com.

“In my search for Internet marketing professionals, I found many that had niche specialties, but NONE had expertise in all the programs my business needed the way Dianna did. Not only did she make my job easy, but all of my programs were consistent with our master strategy and delivered the same message.

"Today my business enjoys a steady pipeline of business thanks to Dianna. She never rests on her laurels and continually updates, tweaks and evolves with new technology and changes in the way people do business. I could not have enjoyed all my business successes without all of her creative talents, expertise and passion for results.”

Jeff Brooks
President
Brooks Brokerage

Contact DH Communications

Telephone: 603-382-8093
Email: info@dhcommunications.com

Keep up with the latest B2B marketing news at Dianna Huff's B2B MarCom Writer Blog.