Well, here’s a content marketing conundrum. According to a 2015 study by Hubspot, based on results from their customer base, companies that publish blog posts 16 or more times per month get about 3.5X website traffic and about 4.5X more leads than companies that publish 0-4 monthly posts. Wow. That’s a powerful study.
That’s also an average of nearly 4 blog posts per week.
Let’s get real here. If you’re an organization with a good-sized team and a number of blog authors in the group, you could do that. But, if you’re in an organization where you’re holding down the marketing fort, doing everything you can, and everyone else is too busy to write blog posts (and you have no power to make them do it), coming up with four blog posts a week is a bit… daunting. (Some would say it’s impossible.)
That was my world. I would only sporadically get blog content from others on the team; otherwise, I was on my own, and I could barely find the time to write one post per week. I kept a running list of possible topics (I called it “blog fodder”) and, whenever I had time, I wrote the blog posts for the company. I tried to get one or two ahead, so I had something in the bank for weeks when the schedule went crazy and the opportunity to write was elusive.
So… how is a small business marketer supposed to keep up with a grueling schedule of 4 blog posts per week? Are there enough hours in the day? Are there enough topics to write about?
Okay, assuming that you are putting out one blog post each week, adding three more blog posts each week could increase your inbound lead volume by as much as 4.5X. What would that do for your business? Yep, it would be great, wouldn’t it?
But what are you going to write about? How do you give yourself the very best chance for success? How do you KNOW that your blog subscribers are going to love what you’re putting out, so they’ll be more likely to buy from you when they are ready to buy?
We’ve found that the number one thing to have in your arsenal is a content strategy – a rock solid, no-kidding, kick-butt content strategy. This is not a trivial thing. It’s not just sitting down and listing out a bunch of topics you can write about. While a content marketing platform can possibly help you, it’s not about that either.
It’s about knowing what your perfect potential customers want to hear. It involves understanding them, researching them, evaluating your competitors, and taking a good hard look at yourself. It’s about knowing how to create the content that will build your authority in whatever market you’re in, speaking to the audience that is your perfect audience. Building authority and building trust are the two keys to building a relationship with those who are most likely to purchase your product or service.
Producing content takes time. Producing the RIGHT content is critical, whether you’re producing one blog post per week or four. Understanding what your leads want to hear, and providing value to them with your blog posts is what is going to give you the very best return on investment.
P.S. If you’d like me to look at your current content marketing, I’m happy to do so. You can schedule a quick call with me by clicking the button below.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should companies publish blog posts to get more traffic and leads?
According to a 2015 study by Hubspot, companies that publish blog posts 16 or more times per month get about 3.5X website traffic and about 4.5X more leads than companies that publish 0-4 monthly posts. That's an average of nearly 4 blog posts per week.
How can small business marketers manage to write 4 blog posts per week?
If you're an organization with a good-sized team and a number of blog authors in the group, you could do that. But, if you're in an organization where you're holding down the marketing fort, doing everything you can, and everyone else is too busy to write blog posts, coming up with four blog posts a week is a bit… daunting.
What is the most important thing to have for successful content marketing?
We've found that the number one thing to have in your arsenal is a content strategy – a rock solid, no-kidding, kick-butt content strategy. This is not a trivial thing. It's not just sitting down and listing out a bunch of topics you can write about.
What does creating an effective content strategy involve?
It's about knowing what your perfect potential customers want to hear. It involves understanding them, researching them, evaluating your competitors, and taking a good hard look at yourself. It's about knowing how to create the content that will build your authority in whatever market you're in, speaking to the audience that is your perfect audience.
Why is producing the right content more important than just producing more content?
Producing content takes time. Producing the RIGHT content is critical, whether you're producing one blog post per week or four. Understanding what your leads want to hear, and providing value to them with your blog posts is what is going to give you the very best return on investment.