Content is the heart of the online world.

Without words on a page, voices on .mp3s and faces on video, there’s not much going on online.  Even the biggest CPA affiliates have content developed for landing pages.

How d’you learn how to market with content then?

Well, that’s where we can learn a few things from Neil Patel.  Neil’s a big noise in the online world, you may already know that, but he’s put out a rather cool guide on how content marketing works.

“The nuts and bolts of content marketing

Great content marketing does one thing very well… it attracts attention. Unless you’ve been online for ten years and are a minor social media celebrity, your main problem is that nobody knows who you are.

Good content delivered over time will change that. It will give you repeated, regular exposure that builds trust with your audience.

What kind of content marketing am I talking about? They include:

• Blogs – Probably the best known way to share content, blogs are really easy to operate these days. However, competition is stiff and you need to learn how to be unconventional when it comes to blogging.
• Podcast – If you like to talk, then why not start a podcast on a topic that you like and are really good at? And when you continually churn out great podcasts week-after-week, it won’t be long until you have the type of success podcasters like Duct Tape Marketing or Six Pixels of Separation have.
• Video – Gary Vaynerchuk wasn’t the first, but he was definitely the best, growing his offline business with his successful Wine Library TV. Besides, YouTube is the second biggest search engine behind Google. It’s a great way to grow your business.

Great content marketing can build your business to mythic proportions. When BlendTech founder Tom Dickinson dropped an iPhone into one of his blenders and put it online, the video became famous on YouTube.

That single video started an entire series of now famous episodes of Tom dropping all sorts of items into his blenders. Customers quickly learned how much stronger Blendtech blenders were than competitors.

What this taught his customers was how much more powerful his blender was than his competitors. And he did it in a simple way that didn’t cost a lot of money.”

Creating content can be in many formats then, written word, video, infographics, audio and podcasts…pretty much anything that can be a form of interaction between you, and the person you’re communicating with.

But why put so much into you content?  Let’s see what Neil goes on to say…

Building Trust Through Content Marketing

“You have to have this before you can sell

How often do you buy from someone you don’t know…whether it’s a stranger at your door or the salesperson at a car lot?
If you’re like me, then probably not very often… if at all!

See, people will only buy from people they trust, know and like. And content marketing will help you build that relationship with your readers so when it comes time to sell, it will be easy because people know, like and trust you.

The way you do that is to create really clear and compelling content. You can break this content down into three pieces:

• Cornerstone content – This is the content that will make up most of what you give your readers… it’s what defines you. If you’re a SEO, then you’ll write about SEO. If you’re a graphic designer, you’ll give content based on graphic design.
• Personal content – Most of your readers will be around to learn what you have to say about your area of expertise. However, you should not neglect to share personal information whether separately or as part of your content. This is a great method to building relationships with readers.
• Spicy content – Finally, you should occasionally write posts that are controversial and link bait worthy. Write about a high-profile figure that you disagree with or create a list of 53 resources first-time SEOs need like I did.

What you don’t want your content to turn into is a high-pressured sales pitch. Nothing drives readers away faster! The techniques of content marketing won’t work for you if you don’t build trust. Only when you provide high-quality content that trains your audience to pay attention to what you have to say can you expect to have success when it comes time to sell.”

Ah, so we’re building trust here.  Our content is like our voice then yeah?  It’s giving people a chance to suss us out, to decide what kind of a dude/dudette we are, and it moves them to form an opinion of us.  Now we’re getting somewhere.

“How to make selling WAY easier

Listen, you’re not trying to land that deal the moment you meet your reader. You’re not some sleazy, snake-oil salesman who won’t be satisfied unless you buy today. Like Gary Vaynerchuk said, put a ring on it and stop looking for immediate monetization.

See, you’re building a net with your content… a net built out of trust and permission that will support future sales. For example, your net will:

• Answer objections – Your content can be designed to answer possible objections readers may raise about your service or product. This way you are removing purchase obstacles out of the way early.
• Tell stories – People love stories and will read a story faster than they’ll read an explanation of your product or service. This is a safe way to build a relationship. Also, you share stories about how customers have had great success using your product. These includetestimonials and reviews.
• Solve problems – Any time you can help a reader fix a problem that he or she is struggling with you will build trust. How do you find out what problems they are struggling with? Ask them.

Before anyone will buy from you, they need to know you, like you and trust you. Effective content marketing will do just that. Great content is what you are giving your readers and prospects in exchange for their attention and trust so they’ll eventually give you their money for your product.”

Source

You’re getting the idea now I reckon, that your content wants to be fairly dynamic, not just in form, but also in it’s message and style.  You might have just had a killer day making a ton of sales, your amped, why not jump on the blog and tell people what led to this, how you got to nailing that big one…tell the story.

Some of your customers may be asking questions about your products and services, sounds like you need to model Marcus Sheridan, he took his pool business from the back of a beat-up truck to one of the one pool firms in the US.  How did he do it?  He built a blog answering peoples questions.

However you plan your content marketing strategies, bare in mind some of Neil’s words above, and remember that people don’t want to know about you, they want to know about themselves, how it will help them.

Let’s save you some time.

None of us like trawling the net to find out what plugins we 100% must have on our blog because there’s so many different opinions!

What plugins do I need?

Well, I’ve done a lot of research on this, listened to a lot of the big names out there, and I’ve done a lot of tinkering.  All this time and effort has helped me to help you…awesome

So here’s what guys like Ryan Kelly of Pear Analytics and other top SEO guys recommend…and why!

Must Have Plugin #1 – Platinum SEO Pack

Loads of people have heard of the All In One SEO Pack, which I used to use tons, but what about this bad boy.  Well, it does the same job as the All In One SEO Pack, but it has some neat extra features.  The point is, you need this to kick butt with WordPress SEO wise.  It helps you optimise your site and posts each and every time!  What does that all lead to?  Google love my friends…a great big smack on the lips from Google…niiice!

Get it here

Must Have Plugin #2 – Google XML Sitemaps

Want some more Google love?  Make it easy for there spiders to crawl your site using this sitemap maker.  Once you install it and activate it, it’ll update with each new post to your blog which will make it easy for the bots to see what’s fresh and happening.  Google have made it well known that they want this on peoples sites…so don’t be a duffus, get it installed now guys!

Get it here

Must Have Plugin #3 – Akismet

This is a time saver!  It’ll help you filter out spam which will save you the hassle of sorting out all of those pointless posts that find their way onto your site.

Get it here

Must Have Plugin #4 – Backup Buddy

Not the cheapest plugin around, but without some form of backup system in place you’re asking for trouble.  Why’s that?  Well, I made that mistake…no backups, my site crashed and I couldn’t find the code error as I’m hardly a php king.  I had all my content but the site had died…bad times.  So I had to stay up for the night re-doing all of my settings and design options etc…not good!  But hey, I have backups now…every day!!!  Don’t be a dumb ass like me then and get a back up system in place or use Backup Buddy!

Get it here

Must Have Plugin #5 – Google Analyticator

Analytics make the rockin’ world go round…or at least the marketing world.  Google Analytics is pretty much the go to platform for bloggers, at least to begin with.  But you have to whack some code in your site.  If you’re not used to handling code, then this plugin does the that for you…again time saved…nice hey?  All you have to do is follow the instructions it gives you and you’re rockin’ and rollin’!!!

Get it here

Must Have Plugin #6 – WP Subscribers

“The money’s in the list!”  Have you heard that before?  I reckon so.  But it’s true guys and girls, if you’re not collecting your visitors email addresses, you’re passing up major opportunity.  Every email you collect offers you the chance to talk to them, to build a relationship.  An email on your list represents traffic, money, fans…the lot.  With a list you can repurpose your traffic at the click of the email send button…and you work so hard to get the visitors there in the first place…why not do that little bit extra and help them come back again and again?!

Enough of the rant though…WP Subscribers is a killer plugin that I love using.  It allows you to create subscription forms all over your site, and track conversions!  Pretty handy.  You need to make your sign up forms stand out and this lets you do that!

Get it here

Must Have Plugin #7 – WP Clicks

Now this is just a cool plugin.  Google Analytics is a killer analytics platform…but how about actually being able to see what you’re using are doing every time they visit your site?

Well WP Clicks creates a screen cast every time a visitor hits your site.  You’re essentially looking over their shoulder and seeing what they click on, where they stop, where their mouse hovers over (and doesn’t click)…it’s the closest you’re gonna’ get to retina tracking any time soon for your site!  A massively powerful, and insightful piece of kit!

Get it here

Woah!  That about covers that really!

There are tons of plugins out there, and I’ll most likely add to these over time.  But I wanted to give you something that can help you across the whole blog…you’ve got SEO covered there, tracking, analytics, email sign ups, spam filtering and back ups…that’s a pretty solid foundation to start from people!

Don’t let me catch you asking “what plugins do I need?” again then!

I’m always on hunt for decent plugins though.  So if you’ve got any to share, or have any thoughts on the ones above, leave a comment below.

Part 2 of the Ultimate Blog Conversion tips series brings you even more stellar conversion tips!

We’re back with Derek Halpern, and we’re checking out more of his blog conversion video reviews.

Let’s jump right in…

Blog Conversion With Derek Halpern

1. “David Risley’s Blog

If you don’t know David Risley, here’s a summary. He built a massive tech site that absolutely CRUSHED it with regards to generating revenue. He then launched his personal blog, David Risley.com sharing some of the things he learned.

Now in this site review, you’ll learn about the importance of using images in your sidebar that DONT look like ads. You’ll also learn about the power of resource pages on teaching-centric blogs.

2. Jay Baer’s ConvinceandConvert.com

You might have heard of Jay Baer…

If not, he’s the content marketing genius behind Convince and Convert, and the author of the NOW Revolution. He can also be seen giving high-profile keynotes at conferences and corporate events.

In this video, you’ll learn about some common opportunities blogs have for higher conversion rates. Don’t miss it.

3. Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income

Pat Flynn is the popular blogger behind Smart Passive Income, a site that truly has a monstrous readership and hyper-loyal community.

In this blog site review, you’ll learn about the power of resource pages, the importance of limiting options for higher conversions, and much much more.

Just recently, Pat Flynn wrote a blog post about the results he received from implementing my advice. Needless to say, my advice worked  .”

Source

Blog Conversion Round Up

As with the first part of the series, keeping it simple and driving the sign up home is key.  A busy site won’t convert as highly as a site that’s had conversion thought about.  You’re leaving emails and sales on the table if you’ve not figured out a pathway to lead the visitor down for optimum conversion!

Have you managed to implement any of the blog conversion tips?  Or do you plan to?  Awesome, let us know what you’re thinking…leave a comment below!

Blog conversion is a massive topic!

There’s so many factors to take into account, to think about, to work on.  Ultimately it comes down to split-testing your site to see what works.

Have no fear though, I’ve found some great info from Derek Halpern, the pimp daddy of site conversion.  I’ve worked with Derek and he’s a great guy.

Blog Conversion Reviews By Derek Halpern

1. “Chris Brogan’s Kitchen Table Companies

Chris Brogan is the New York Times best-selling author of Trust Agents. In this video review, you’ll hear the advice I gave him regarding his small business training community Kitchen Table Companies.

More specifically, you’ll learn valuable conversion advice, the power of being clear on what you sell and what you offer, and how to entice visitors to take actions.

2. Denise Wakeman’s Blog

Denise Wakeman was one of the front-runners in the blogging space. She’s widely respected, and has been dispensing great blogging advice FOR YEARS.

In this video you’ll learn about the importance of simplicity. You’ll also learn about why you need to place opt-in forms in the right places.

 3. Lewis Howes’s Blog

Lewis Howes is a former pro-athlete turned internet entrepreneur. He’s widely known for creating Linkedin Training products, Webinar Training products, and more. He’s a good friend of mine, and you can often find him speaking at conferences all over the world.

In this video, you’ll learn about some common mistakes blogs make… even when blogs are run and created by experienced people. (I helped Lewis Howes get his current site together, and even I overlooked some things).”

Source

The Blog Conversion Round Up

There’s a ton of info in those videos alone.  Derek really knows his stuff though, and it’s clear that he’s respected amongst the online community as he’s working here with some huge names!

Short and curlies of it is, simple works.  Don’t clutter, don’t give your visitors too much to do.  Guide them down a path you want them to take.  Lead them down the road to the sign up, the sale, whatever your end goal is.  D’you see how I’ve got sign up boxes wherever possible with little else to distract you?

See part two in this series – Ultimate Blog Conversion Tips – click here