Diversify your blog (and lighten your workload) by getting more contributors on your calendar. Use this presentation to introduce your team to these blogging basics.

1. Blogging Basics

2. Why Blog?

3. B2B companies that blog get
67% more leads than those that
don’t.
(Source: HubSpot)
To Get Found

4. You are the expert in your field.
Your perspective is unique and
valuable!
Build Influence &
Personal Brand

5. 80% of sales require 5 follow-ups.
(Source: HubSpot)
To Nurture Prospects

6. How to Get Found

7. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Increasing the
quantity and quality of traffic to your website through
search engine results. (Source: Moz)
In other words …
We all want to be at the top of search results!
SEO Basics

8. What Affects Search Results?
● Quality of content (useful, educational)
● Quantity of content (blog frequency)
● Searcher’s intent (i.e., “best cupcakes in Cleveland”
● Site authority (size, history, links back to site)

9. How to Optimize Your Blogs
1. Start with a strong
keyword—one that is
relevant to your audience,
has a high monthly search
volume and is competitive.

10. Use Keyword Tools
The HubSpot keyword tool
shows the monthly search
volume for a particular
phrase, your website’s
current ranking for that
phrase and how difficult it
will be to improve your
ranking based on the
competition.
It also shows the cost of
paid advertising for that
phrase.

11. Examples of Strong Keywords
● Content marketing agency
● Video marketing services
● Best B2B websites
● Inbound marketing tools
● Healthcare marketing agency

12. Thinking It Through
Here’s an example of a keyword strategy taking shape for a
clinical research company:
Weak keyword: audit
Better keyword: clinical research audit
Search query: Do we need a clinical research audit?
Blog title: 5 Signs You Need a Clinical Research Audit

13. When In Doubt, Ask...
● What questions do prospects ask our sales
team?
● What questions do we hear from clients?
● Does it align with our expertise and services?
● What phrase would I type into Google?

14. When In Doubt, Ask...
● Is this phrase familiar within our industry?
● What’s in the top results for this phrase now?
● Can we be more specific?
(Ex. : Medical device CRO selection criteria)

15. How to Optimize Your Blogs
2. Use that keyword strategically in the:
● Blog title
● URL
● Blog body (at least once)
● Meta description (155 character description)
● Image alt text
● Links to relevant pages

17. Avoid Google Penalties!
● Use keyword phrases naturally
● Don’t overuse them
● Repurpose content; don’t duplicate
● Use links to cite your sources

18. It’s A Balancing Act
● Focus on ONE keyword phrase for each post
● Avoid over-using other phrases not relevant to
your primary phrase (Ex.: Repeatedly
mentioning a specific medical device that
failed could lead to ranking for that device
instead of your keyword)
● Above all, be conversational: Don’t be a robot!

19. How to Get Noticed

20. Is Your Blog Worth Reading?
Readers judge based on the headline.
Reality check: 8 out of 10 people will read your
headline, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest of the
post! (Source: QuickSprout)

21. What Makes a Great Headline?
Short and Sweet.
Google cuts off headlines < 70 characters in search results.
The perfect headline length is six words or 55 characters.

22. What Makes a Great Headline?
Strong Action Words.

23. What Makes a Great Headline?
Negative Emotions.

24. What Makes a Great Headline?
A Promise.

25. What Makes a Great Headline?
A Winning Formula
Number or trigger word + Adjective + Keyword + Promise
Ex: 9 Secrets for Writing Irresistible Blog Headlines

26. Test Headlines: CoSchedule
Use the free tool at coschedule.com/headline-analyzer

27. How to Engage

28. Hook Them with the Intro
A story, a promise or shocking statistic can go a long way
to entice readers.
“I’ll show you 15 thoughts about life that will forever change
the way you live. Do you have 15 minutes?”
-Darius Foroux, entrepreneur and author

29. Break Up Your Blogs
People don’t read—they skim!
Use subheads, short paragraphs and
images.

30. Be Conversational
● Talk about your own experiences.
● Put yourself in your readers’ shoes.
● (How will this make their job easier?)
● Limit jargon and acronyms.
● Use humor when appropriate.

31. Continue the Conversation

32. Help Them Take the Next
Step
A call to action (CTA) is an invitation for the reader to
take the next step, such as…
● Downloading a resource
● Scheduling a demo
● Requesting a consultation

33. CTAs that Close the Deal

34. CTA Best Practices
● Focus on one thing you want them to do next
● Make sure the CTA is still relevant
● Tie the CTA into your conclusion naturally
● Link to the resource and add an image CTA
● Test different CTAs and CTA variations

36. That’s Great...Now What?

37. Blog Starter Ideas and
Brainstorming

38. Questions?