Inbound Marketing: How to Actually Make Your Blog Profitable

inbound marketing

Want to hear something shocking?

Your blog is not your diary.

Seriously, though.

If you’re in real estate your blog is never the place to do a gigantic “brain dump”. You don’t want to let your thoughts run wild. And, never hit “publish” once you’ve “gotten it all out of your head”. Not a chance! (Note: this is true even if you’re not in real estate!)

Sure, writing can feel therapeutic for some, but I see SO many people getting into blogging without a clear strategy. And, that’s a colossal mistake. They start writing the first thing that pops into their head that morning. Then, they can check it off their list and get to the real money-making parts of their business.

Well, I’m here to tell you that that’s the absolute wrong way to do it. Blog posts, and blogging in general, can be enormously profitable… if you have the right approach. And, we think you’ll be happy with the results from an inbound marketing strategy. 

Here’s the 4-step process to ensure your next blog post actually makes money for your business (instead of letting it rot in your archives, collecting dust):

Step 1: Get Specific

Make sure your blog post drills down on one specific need, pain point, or question that your audience has (yes, just ONE).

You’ve got your buyer persona, and you know the problems your audience is facing, so pick one specific need and make sure you’re addressing it thoroughly in your blog post.

For your real estate blog, for example, you DON’T want a blog post about “everything you need to know about real estate” (good luck ever getting that one finished).

Your target audience doesn’t want to know everything there is to know about real estate. BUT, they do want to know the most important factors to consider when getting their home ready for a sale. They’d also be interested in the most common mistakes first time home buyers make.

Craft your blog post with the reader in mind, and answer one concrete question for them.

Step 2: Pick a Relevant CTA (Call to Action)

Now you’ve got your specific, customer-focused content, so it’s time to make sure this post will actually generate revenue for you.

Create a call to action that’s highly relevant to the content of the post. Maybe it’ll be to get in touch with you immediately. Maybe it’ll be to download a free resource or eBook (so you get that lead into your database).

Whatever it is, you want to make sure you have a CTA that feels like the next logical step for your reader to take after they get through your blog post. You’ve answered their question– just tell them what to do next to get them another step closer to solving their overall problem!

Step 3: Craft an Engaging and Eye-Catching Headline

Yes, it’s true: you can have insanely valuable content and a killer CTA, but unless your headline grabs hold of your readers’ eyes, you’ll never get them to look at the blog post itself.

The best way to make sure your headline knocks it out of the park is to steal the words right out of your prospect’s mouth!

For example, if you just heard a first-time home buyer say “I have no idea how to get pre-approved for a loan… do I need to do that first?” you might create a blog post titled: “Have no idea how to get pre-approved for a loan? Here’s how (and why you should do it first)”.

Let them do the heavy lifting for you, and you’ll get it right every single time.

Step 4: The Icing on the Cake

At this point, you’ve got a solid blog post in place. But to really knock it out of the park (for you AND your readers), don’t forget the final details.

Considering longtail keywords and SEO is important to rank high in Google search results over time. Higher rankings will get as many eyes on your blog post as possible.

Now that you know how to craft the perfect, profitable blog post for your business, it’s time to download our FREE Marketing Campaign Checklist to get your marketing strategy on par with your newfound blogging skills.

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