Bob Leonard of acSellerant is a WebFadds associate who I work with regularly. We work together on both WebFadds projects and on other “virtual marketing agency” teams. So I thought it would make sense to interview him… to get his thoughts on current client marketing needs and solutions. Bob is a career marketing services professional with significant experience in the B2B technology marketplace, and a deep skill set in content and online marketing including SEO copywriting and multi-media.

Scott: Bob – What’s your primary focus?

Bob Leonard – Content Marketing Strategist and WebFadds Associate

Bob: We work exclusively with mid-sized B2B technology companies. They typically don’t have the internal resources to consistently develop high quality content. Some have had bad experiences with ‘content farms’ that are low-priced, and deliver poor quality. As a result, many prospects come to us after they’ve suffered significant damage to their brands and reputations. Others have had bad experiences with advertising agencies that focused on branding and paid advertisements. The results there being large fees for the agency, but no increase in revenue for the B2B.

We fill the gap in between those two ends of the spectrum with high quality content that is relevant and useful to our clients’ prospects. Prospects consume the content because they want to, and in the process they learn how our clients’ solutions can help them. It’s a way to nurture leads without being intrusive. The quality reflects well on our clients… positioning them as trusted advisors.

What do you see as the current crucial requirement for B2B Marketers?

A blog post I wrote recently for the Content Marketing Institute titled ‘Crossing the Content Chasm’, struck a nerve. The basic premise, that there’s a significant gap between where most marketers are with their inventory of content and where they need to be, resonated with readers.

Along with the increasing demand for quality content, there’s also a shift away from traditional text-based content toward multi-media. Almost all business content is consumed online today. Busy executives won’t read, for example, a 12-page white paper explaining a complex technological solution. So we need to deliver that same information in a multi-media format that’s quick and easy to consume.

At acSellerant we’ve developed a process that helps us to do that. We call it: Strategy, Story, Storyboard, Sequence, Socialize. You’ll have to interview me some other time so I can go into the details around the process.

What are your thoughts about the new Google+ Social Network?

You know a lot more about it than I do. From my perspective, it looks like a Content Delivery platform. For the B2B marketplace, once Google extends the business aspects of the platform, it should be an effective tool for delivering the right content in the right format to the right people at the right time.

That’s a mouthful! We’ve come to the end of the interview, Bob. Want to leave us with a few B2B marketing tips?

Sure. Getting back to content… what’s relevant and useful to one person is irrelevant and useless to the next. So you need to know exactly who you’re target audience is. You should rework your content to make it appeal to different targets who may influence a buy decision. In other words, if both the VP of Sales and the CFO will have a say regarding whether to buy your solution, make sure you talk about how it will help generate leads (or close deals) when addressing the VP of Sales, and make sure your focus is on the payback and ROI of the solution when focusing on the CFO.

Also keep in mind that prospects will have different questions and objections at different stages in the buy cycle. For example, in the beginning they’ll want to know about your company’s reputation and experience with their industry. Towards the end of the buy cycle, they’ll be more interested in integration issues and terms of the contract.

How Well is Your Site Converting?

Business Blogging — A Paradigm Shift: I was working on a CMS development project last week for a company of technically savvy consultants, and so was very surprised when our team received feedback that blog links shouldn’t appear on the front page of their site, and that blogging was just for rambling. Hmmmmm. At first, I thought they didn’t get it — they didn’t understand how social media marketing was such a great opportunity for them to connect with prospects and make sales. Then, I realized I didn’t get it. I’ve been engaged with it for some time, so I assumed clients understood that nowadays, Marketing is Publishing, and Publishing is Sales. Yeah, yeah, I know about the “ass-ume” thing.

“… when I worked in Advertising for a Manufacturing Company, we produced “sales literature” and hired field sales people. Online, your blog is both. It combines the education of good marketing literature, with the entertaining, instructive, and persuasive conversation of good sales people. “

This just goes to show that in a time of rapid change you can’t assume people have caught up with the paradigm shifts. Shifts? Yes. You know, like, “The computer will never replace typesetting machines.” “Art will never be produced on a computer.” “Professionals will never use digital cameras” … Those kinds of shifts. To those we’ll add, “blogging cannot be a very good business tool.” Ready to make the shift?

Anatomy of a Good Business Blog Post: Remember, you are a “Conversion Blogger.” In those two words are the secret of your success. You “blog” to put your personality into it and engage your readers. You make “conversions” (get leads, downloads of whitepapers, make sales), by simply asking for them after your readers get to know you.

Above is a “strategic wireframe” of a good business post. Note, that I have added some SEO tips, since that is still another reason to make regular Business Blogging a primary marketing thrust.

Here are the essential elements of a good Business Blog Post:

1. Write a good headline using the “H1″ tag, and include a primary SEO phrase
2. Write friendly voice blog copy, that educates and entertains, and also include your primary SEO phrase.
3. Include a compelling photo or illustration that helps you put your point across
4. Include a call to action that asks your reader to convert to a prospect (download a whitepaper), a lead (fill out a form), or a customer (make a purchase).

Connect, Engage, Convert… people buy from those they know.

Can You Prove It? Can I prove this works?  Yes. Install Google Analytics. Set up a Sales Funnel from your blog to a conversion page. Assign an ROI figure per conversion. Then, analyze the results.

Some Common Reservations about Business Blogging:

“It Takes Too Much Time”: Yes, it takes time. So, for business purposes monitor your R.O.I. with a good Analytics tool. Done well, it will pay off.

“It Takes Too Much Time”: It takes time, yes, but it’s more efficent than writing individual emails to all your clients and sales leads.

“Our Competition Doesn’t Do It”: Opportunity for you.

“Isn’t a Press Release Good Enough?”: No. Press releases miss the opportunity for you to engage directly with your prospects and customers. Remember, people buy from those they know, and most press releases are cold, corporate statements. Put some personality in your posts. Entertain, Educate, then ask for the sale.

“We Don’t Know Good Writing Techniques.” Here’s a link to a series of articles on copy writing and blog writing.

“Blogging Isn’t Supposed to Be About Sales”: Two thoughts for those that say this. Why not? And, second, “all of communication is an attempt to persuade.” I quote one of my Communication Professors on the last point, and yes — I wanted to argue with him, but it would only have proved his point.

“Blogging is Only for SEO Juice.” Write blather filled with SEO phrases, and you’ll get traffic, until Google penalizes you. And even that short lived traffic will bounce away from your site and you’ll miss the sale. Use SEO phrases cleverly in copy? Yes. But don’t fail to engage and convert.

Remember… it’s not just about sales, because you also use your personality to entertain and provide education for readers. But it can and will definitely lead to sales.

In the 90′s, when I worked in Advertising for a Manufacturing Company, we produced “sales literature” and hired field sales people. Online, your blog is both. It combines the education of good marketing literature, with the entertaining, instructive, and persuasive conversation of good sales people. So… go make the sale.

And remember that the only thing constant is change, and with change comes inevitable paradigm shifts. Resistance is futile (any trekkies out there?).

Give me a call, or contact me and we’ll explore Business Blogging opportunities for your company, and how to make the paradigm shift.

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What is your Video Strategy? Video Strategy? Yes… get ready for it. I too held off, but WebFadds just received a new client as a result of my first video posted on YouTube in January.  I mentioned this WordPress 2.7 with conversion tip video in an earlier edition, but some of you said the video was not permitted in your email — so here’s a direct link: WordPress 2.7 Introduction – Using WordPress as Your CMS.

Whether you’re a service provider, or selling products… video is becoming a key component of good content. But, will sales result from any video you place on your site? Jon Quarto-vonTivadar, writes how that is NOT the case in his article: “Video Views Up, When Will Sales Follow?” Take a look — he has good advice.  And here’s a series of articles about producing videos.

The Most Important C’s of Successful Online Marketing: A while back, I wrote an article on the five C’s that contribute to your success online: Content, Community, Conversation, Connection, and Conversions. Note that at the original writing the final word was Convergence, though I am updating this strategy to change that to Conversions, for the best focus, from a business perspective. Which of the “C’s” are most important?

Content. Everything else is secondary.
Conversions. Everything else — except Content — is secondary.

Get Content… and you'll Get Customers.

What about the other three C’s? They’re important too, because even in these times of new technology… people will still buy from those they know. But they’re not primary.   Because you can chat people up and plant links here and there back to your site, doesn’t mean you’ll be successful… even if your Google pagerank increases. Unless you have persuasive content, and continually focus on improving your conversion rates, all else is just busy work with no pay off.

And yet, I often see many requests for SEO work, or social network linking projects with little consideration toward first making your Content compelling, on target, and persuasive — a discipline my colleagues Newt Barrett and Joe Pulizzi write about in a new book about, “Content Marketing.” You should get their book – Get Content, Get Customers.

I see even fewer marketing project proposals written with an eye toward Conversions. Why?

I’ll close with some interesting results from our LinkedIn poll on “How well does your website convert visitors to leads or customers?“  which point to the answer to that question:

Results by Job Function…

This result shows that some creatives actually focus on conversions — those are the ones you want to hire, because they begin with the end in mind (your strategic business goals).  Marketing types, so far in this poll, seem focused on sales (yellow), but not completely clear on the concept of conversions — they do not understand how “optimizing” (blue) landing pages (adding your value proposition, for example), can increase your conversions .

So… how well is your site converting? Stop by at LinkedIn and take the poll… and if you’d like to focus on, and increase your conversions — give me a call.

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WebFadds.com Conversion Marketing Program

How well is your website converting? If you can’t answer this question, or you don’t know what “conversions” are – you’re not alone. Conversions are when a visitor to your website takes one step closer to an important business goal for you.  That is, when a visitor a converts to a prospect (downloads a whitepaper), converts to a lead (fills out a form), or becomes a customer (makes a purchase).

We took a poll about conversions at LinkedIn.com, and while no one was brave enough to answer “Huh, what’s a conversion?” — 22% may well have answered that way.  They’re not tracking conversions and don’t know how well their site is performing. And what’s worse — they aren’t discovering ways to increase their conversions, and so their sales.

We recently optimized a lead form landing page for a client, and over the two following months they saw their leads increase by 43%.  The client values each lead at $100, since they close one in ten leads for a $1000 sale.  So, in a two month time period, after installing Google Analytics, optimizing the landing page, and running an Adwords PPC campaign to bring traffic for the test — they had 80 more leads worth $8,000 to the company — $48k more business per year. In national surveys, companies of all sizes focused on optimizing for conversions report gains ranging from 20% to 150%.

What’s makes a successful Conversion Site Marketing Program? It’s a process we’ve boiled down into three words:  Optimize, Connect, Convert. First, Optimize your site with a smart, SEO savvy CMS (Content Management System) solution, and install Google Analytics.  Custom configure it for SEO — Search Engine Optimization.  Optimize your landing pages for conversions.  Second, connect with your prospects and customers using a Business Blog, eNewsletters, and Social Marketing.  Use a good Google Adwords targeted PPC campaign to bring qualified prospects to your landing pages.  Third, make conversions, and analyze your statistics (particularly your “sales funnel” at your site) to continually test and optimize to increase your conversions. That’s the strategy for maximum R.O.I. for your web business mission.

Custom Design & Configuration of your WordPress Business Blog, or CMS.  This platform both saves you money (it’s Open Source — meaning free to use with frequent free updates), and is optimized for SEO out of the box.  We’ll design a blog to match our existing site, or upgrade your old-school side to a dynamic, automated CMS solution for your company.  Costs range depending on size and scope of project.  Simple Business Blog Set-ups average $499.

Max-SEO Configuration, for WordPress based Business Blogs and CMS solutions.  We research the actual terms people search on and weave them into your site, meta-tags, and titles using an installation of five major SEO plugins, plus we install ping services and coach you on blog copywriting.  Now, you’re optimized.  Starts at $489.

Analytics-MAX service. We’ll install Google Analytics at your site, help you set-up your conversion “funnel”, and site goals, then track and analyze results.  $199 mo. – 6 mo.

eNewsletter Service — we offer two options: An installed WordPress plugin for a one-time fee (includes custom template creation), and a pro-service through Constant-Contact that tracks open rate, provides 100’s of templates, tech. support, and an online control panel (set-up and monthly fees apply for this option).  WordPress is not required for the second option.

Adwords PPC campaigns. Bring targeted, qualified leads directly to your landing and conversion pages so you can analyze how well your site is performing, make adjustments, and increase conversions.  Management fee is 35% of your PPC ad buy ($1200 min. PPC buy), so figure $1620 for a minimum campaign ($1200 PPC ad buy, plus $420 management fee).

Landing Page Optimization: Want to increase leads at your website by 15% – 60% or more?  Make your site pay you back – WebFadds will track, analyze and adjust your key landing pages to increase conversion rates – Contact us for estimate.

Reach us: email:  sales@webfadds.com  •  phone: 360.566.2451

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Map out your Conversion pages: How do you keep score if you don’t know where your opportunities lie? Just like a football team seeks to “convert” on fourth down by executing a play with a flow toward the “conversion,” so should you map out your site the way a coach maps out the play.

Hey… yesterday was the Superbowl… so you know why I’m using football analogies. But, they fit. The coach draws a play for the team so they know what to do. Then coaches make adjustments as things unfold on the playing field. Plan carefully. Watch how things unfold and adjust. Right coach? And, all this so you can… convert  In football, convert a fourth down into a first down, and on the web… convert a visitor into a lead or a customer.

Above, two sitemaps are given in this downloadable (click it) pdf… along with some “secret sauce.”

So draw your play first — that is, make a sitemap. Just like a team would not go onto a field without knowing a play, you need to visualize your own “play” at your website. Especially if you’re designing or redesigning your site. But also if you’re well into a site that has grown and changed for a few years — time to step back and see the sitemap so you can reevaluate strategies and tactics.

I’ve attached a couple of sitemaps (I call them “Mission Maps”) that I recently produced for real clients (click to download it – PDF). Note that conversion pages are clearly marked. And, you’ll find a great formula on it that you can use at your own site. Remember to begin with the end in mind — that’s the only way teams get to the SuperBowl.

WordPress 2.7 Rocks: WordPress has really come a long way since its humble beginnings as a blogging platform. Nowadays, it’s a full-blown Content Management solution used by Fortune 500 companies from Ford to CNN. And you should be using it too, for dynamic websites, optimization, engagement with prospects and customers, plus easy editing. And now, version 2.7 makes editing even easier.

Using an older version of WordPress? Upgrade now. Older versions are security risks, and don’t work well with updated plugins.

I’ve made a video overview for you with editing tips as you migrate to 2.7 — and an Optimization tip thrown in for good measure:

That’s it for this edition — contact me to discuss how you can Optimize, Connect and Convert… at your website.

- Scott

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How well does your website convert visitors to leads or customers?: That’s precisely the question I asked in a new Poll at LinkedIn. The advantage of placing a poll on LinkedIN, is that mostly professionals, executives and C-level management will see it, they run it in a directory of polls on the site, and you can see some interesting demographic breakouts like results by Gender, Job Function, and Company Size. So, how many C-Level Managers said their sites convert well? Pop over to the poll to find out (and take it while you’re there). Oh, and if you’re new to tracking conversions (leads are good “conversions” for service companies to track, while sales are a primary conversion to track in ecommerce), Google Analytics is an excellent package, recently updated with enterprise level features, to use at your sites.

I’m being followed: It just started recently. There are several people following me, and I know it is true. Paranoid? Schizo? We’ll leave that debate for another time — but for now, I’m talking about being followed — on twitter. I confess to avoiding “twittering” for some time, but when I saw the “first twitter report live from a jet airline crash” appear on network news — I had to cave in and check it out. There are a couple of great plugins for your WordPress CMS that place your twitter stream in your sidebar, and also automatically twitter your latest posts. I’m using them at WebFadds.com, and also just installed them for Tom Hale, adwords specialist extraordinaire (see Tom’s twitter stream at ThomasCreekConcepts.com).

Newsletter Options: When you plan to integrate an enewsletter into you site, you have three strong options. And I strongly recommend an eNewsletter as a key tactic to Connect — the middle strategy in our “Optimize, Connect, Convert” solution (contact me to learn more). The three options? Use FeedBurner to create a “newsletter” sign-up that sends your RSS feeds to email, integrate a newsletter plugin into your WordPress CMS, or use a 3rd-party SAS newsletter provider to host and send your newsletters. The Feedburner option is the most efficient. The newsletter plugin is good for do-it-yourselfers, while a professional service like Constant Contact, can be great for companies requiring tech-support and a large list solution, off-loaded from their site hosting server. Learn more about the last two at our eNewsletter Service page, and visit Feedburner to learn about their service, then BestRatePlans to see an implementation.

Best of luck and success online -

Scott

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Optimize, Connect, Convert: These are the most important three words I can say to you about your website.  Your ROI depends on these three simple strategies.  Your business depends on it.  Optimize means best use of your time, and best return from your online business.  Optimize with an automated dynamic website that saves you time.  Optimize your landing pages to produce more conversions (a “conversion” happens when a visitor “converts” to a lead or a customer).  Connect with your propects by engaging them in conversation — on your blog, with your email newsletters, in comments, and in emails.  Do so persuasively with the goal of converting always in mind.  Conversion blogging.  That leads to the last word… but you’re already there — Convert.  How many businesses don’t focus on this?  Too many.  Your opportunity is to blast ahead of the competition by setting up conversion goals (Google Analytics facilitates this), then tracking and optimizing your site to increase conversions.  It’s simple, really, and Google has free tools to help you.  If you have a solid product or service and you focus on these three simple strategies… your business will grow.  Take a look at our “Analytics-MAX Site Goal Service” to help keep you on track.

You can download our new Services Overview PDF with a range of ways to help improve your SEO, your site optimization, and work on the essentials of connecting and converting… Here.

Consult with me for a Buck: I’ve been helping students get going with their BlogMastering over at Global Scholar, and there’s a Fall Special — 1 hour for 1 Dollar.  Save some gas money, and get your WordPress Business Blog and CMS Website solution questions answered.  It works best if you write down 5-7 questions before we meet, then we will go over them together and surf the web so you can lock in your learning.  Ask about SEO, Navigation structure, eNewsletters, Editing your site Stylesheets, etc.  For a Buck.  Not bad.

Free IT Magazines: Are you keeping up with the latest developments in IT?  It’s fast moving out there, and our sister site, WebHelperMagazine.com, has a list of popular IT and Web Development magazines available free:  http://www.webhelpermagazine.com/magazines/

Always be Testing: Here are the words your website designer hates to hear:  We need to test several revisions to our landing pages to see which versions convert better.  In fact, busy marketing managers tend to shy away from that at first… until they learn about how testing time, spent well, improves their conversions from 10% — 140%.  Yup.  That’s right.  And guess what?  Google (go figure) has a free tool to help you automate your testing.  Called the “Google Website Optimizer”, it rotates in different variables that affect conversions — like Headlines, Graphics, and calls to action — then determines the winning combination.  So tell your designer this isn’t print design where everything is frozen in place.  Moving a buy (or download, or contact) button just a few inches on your page can make a lot of difference to your bottom line.  Amazon has become very profitable using thise method.  Develop a culture of testing.  We can help you — contact me.