5 Reason Why a Very Simple Blog Campaign Could Make You Money

I run a very simple blog and email campaign, and it consistently makes me money. I used to run it years ago using Outlook and my personal list of contacts. Now, it's mostly automated using Infusionsoft, with Hootsuite assisting on the social media side. The process goes something like this:

1. I pick a topic to blog about in my area of expertise. In addition to Internet marketing, Infusionsoft and website design, I'll write about other topics that are pertinent to entrepreneurs and small business owners, who are my primary target customers.
2. I post the article to my website's blog.
3. I write a short email with a few sentences introducing the article. At the end, I include a link to the page where people can read the entire blog post. That message goes out from my personal email address.
4. As a bonus, I post links to the article on my Linkedin account, Linkedin groups I follow, my Facebook profile, Facebook company page, and Twitter profile.

This process is responsible for around 35% of my business. Here are 5 reasons why it works.

Reason #1: People open emails from people they know.

Most people don't open the majority of the newsletters they get from companies, even if it's one they're familiar with. They open messages from people they know, so you can get the best results by playing into this tendency. As much as people say they hate email, it's still one of the most popular and effective means of communication. Plus, it requires much less effort and money to produce positive results. All you have to do is write up a quick story for each email, and as long as you have an established connection with the recipients, there's a high likelihood that they will open it and scan it at a minimum.

Reason #2: It showcases your talent and positions you as someone who is knowledgeable in your field.

I'm in a niche field and have specific expertise that can be used by anyone. Not everyone is going to need what I offer at a given time, but you can bet that many business owners will need a website or some sort of Internet marketing help in the next year or two. So, I spend time sharing my knowledge in this field to anyone who is interested in receiving my emails. They can hit "unsubscribe" at any point, but until then, I'm all too happy to share information and advice. Over a year's time, a contact will hear from me 24 times. In the subject line, I make sure to mention something about what I do, whether it's a popular service like Internet marketing or a more niche service like Infusionsoft and iMember360 consulting. That way, people who I may not see very often read something about me that tells them, "This guy knows something about this topic," and when a situation arises where they need help with it, my hope is they will think of me.

Reason #3: It informs your current customers about services they may not be using.

"I wish I knew you did that. I just gave my business to this other guy because I didn't know."

Doesn't it just kill you when that happens? It's especially grating when it comes from a customer that is happy with the services you offer and would be glad to do more business with you. After this happened to me a few too many times, I started to make a point of promoting all aspects of what I do to ensure my current customers are aware of all the ways I can help them. Don't assume that your customers know your business as well as you do. My blog campaign is all about reinforcing my offerings consistently, so if they don't get it, it's not because I haven't told them.

Reason #4: It nudges someone in the process of making a buying decision to act.

In the past three months, I connected with several clients specifically because of my blog and email campaign. Here are two primary examples:

1. I now have a customer that I gave a proposal to over two years ago. In response to one of my emails sharing a recent blog article, he called and told me he had been keeping up with my messages for all these years. He had even pulled out the proposal I had given him and told me, "I should have hired you then." Because of my emails and articles, I was top of mind for him, and he called me as soon as he was ready to make a purchase.
2. One of my current customers had been added to my list of contacts over a year ago. A few months back, he was interested in starting an Internet marketing campaign, and after reading my messages he looked through my LinkedIn contacts and noticed we knew someone in common, a very satisfied past customer of mine. He called me, and we'll soon be launching his second campaign.

Reason #5: It helps the search engines notice you, which drives even more traffic and leads to your website.

A few months ago, I published a blog article about configuring iMember360, an Infusionsoft plugin that enables you to build sites for membership-based programs. It's one of our team's specialties. Weeks later, I received a call from someone out of nowhere asking for help with their iMember360 project. He said, "I went through all of your tutorials, which were really helpful, but I'm calling because I got stuck." When he brought his boss on the phone, the boss said, "So you're the Jorge Diaz we need for our website." It turns out he had found my blog through a search engine. They had used my articles to get their project started, which positioned me as the primary person they would ask for help when they needed it. The time between their first phone call to the moment they signed a contract was less than 48 hours.

The moral of the story

When done consistently, a blog and email campaign can be a significant driver of website traffic and leads. Plus, when you incorporate an email marketing system like Infusionsoft, the resources required to maintain that consistency are minimal, and it practically does the work for you. I recommend this type of strategy to all of my clients. It has worked incredibly for my company, and I know it can do the same for theirs. If you'd like to learn more about how I've used blog and email campaigns to drive business or want help doing it for your own company, let's chat.

Image courtesy of Andrew Magill