Tips for marketers to make their content engaging while driving business value. Presentation by Joe Manna of Infusionsoft at WordCamp Phoenix 2012 (#WCPHX).

1. How to Create
Engaging Content
for Marketers
@joemanna | #wcphx

2. About me
Love my '98 Camaro almost
more than life itself
Community Manager at
Infusionsoft
Generates hundreds of quality
leads from blogging
(Getting paid to) blog since '06

3. The problem
with most
business’ blogs?

4. They suck.
(Or, they are boring, uninteresting, pitchy,
unhelpful, or waste the visitor's time.)

5. They lack a purpose.

6. Generate Leads & Sales
Gain Brand Awareness
Build Thought Leadership
Provide Customer Service
Share Company Culture
Attract Business Development
Acquire Top Talent
Respond to Criticism
Every business blog should have a purpose.

7. Blog Metrics
Conversions
Conversion Rate
Inbound Mentions & Comments

8. Pace yourself, then race yourself.

9. What is engaging content?

10. MOAR CONTENT?
No.

11. Better content.
Happy visitors.
Less work; more play.

12. Goals for your content
Establish Trust
Build Confidence
Drive Action
Deliver on Expectations

13. Content for the Buying Process

14. Awareness
• Blog about topics in the industry
• Outline a problem and a solution
• The solution is not always you
• Address real concerns from buyers
– Not sure? Ask your sales team.

15. Interest
• Make it easy to learn about you.
– Opt-in for email or text from company
– Make the opt-in valuable. Put a real campaign
behind it.
• Let great content stand out with a
relevant lead-generation offer.

16. Research
• Provide data, stats and product
comparisons.
• Craft content that targets “alternative”
search intent.
• Seek out damaging content and address it
thoughtfully.

17. Social Validation
• People look for content that is proven
from others
• Testimonials à Customer Highlights
• Use real photos of people

18. Purchase
• Provide consistent and clear pricing
• Address concerns over service
– Discuss guarantees/warranties
– Share use-case examples
– Show off rockstar customer service

19. Don’t just talk about yourself.

20. Six #Winning
Blog Post Tips

21. Use a Powerful Headline
• Numbers perform better
• Aim for search intent – not search terms
• Being direct works well
Examples:
– 25 Ways to do …
– 7 Proven Techniques to […]
– How to do […] with […]!
– 6 Mistakes Every […] Makes and How to Avoid Them
– The Ultimate Guide to […]

22. Have a Point of View
• Blog audiences tend to form around a
personable voice.
• Express emotion. Get pissed. Get happy.
Examples:
– We say NO to #SOPA! (Namecheap)
– A Secret No More: Eloqua on Salesforce’s Acqusition
of Radian6 (Eloqua)

23. Use Multimedia
• Text won’t always satisfy visitor’s needs
• Use original images, graphs, charts, etc.
Examples:
– MintLife uses infographics frequently
– SEOMoz uses whiteboard videos to demystify SEO
– Kikolani uses lists to aggregate tons of content

24. Make Content Skimmable
• Assume people will skim your content
• Make it easy to read with a clean design.
Examples:
– Use lists, bullets and bold for emphasis.
– Use images that support content intent
– Break lengthy blog topics into a series

25. Have a Call to Action
• If you don’t ask, they won’t buy
• Doesn’t have to always be about you.
Examples:
– Consider asking for reader input
– Ask the reader to take action by doing something
– Encourage readers to share your content

26. Establish A Rhythm
• Aim for a couple great blog posts weekly
• Stick to a few key topics (beats)
Examples:
– Utilize an Editorial calendar to stay focused
– Mind-map your top 4 ideas and 4 posts on each
– Get help from a peer to contribute

27. 6 must-have content creation tools

28. Topsy
• Ability to search live &
trending topics
• Useful to get blog
ideas and see
conversations around a
topic
• topsy.com

29. Pinterest
• Ability to visualize
recommended content
• Offers more than just
cupcakes and dresses
• Most images are linked
to their sources
• pinterest.com

30. InboundWriter
• Suggests tips to make
well-rounded articles.
• Intended for SEO-
friendly content, but it
has good advice
packed in it.
• inboundwriter.com

31. Google Suggest
• Suggest feature based
on queries and clicks
(user demand)
• Great tool for creating
competitive content
• google.com

32. Buffer
• Scheduling updates for
Twitter and Facebook.
• Vary blog headlines to
see the impact
• Makes it effortless with
browser addons to use
• bufferapp.com

33. Embedded Tweets
• Useful for inserting
Tweets into posts
• Allows users to engage
with the Tweet.
• twitter.com

34. Put this into Context
Educate your industry, market, prospects and
customers
Drive business value with your blog
What isn’t measured, can’t be improved
Write for people - not search engines

35. Thank you!
Questions?
@joemanna
joemanna@gmail.com

36. Photo Credits
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nirak/4030158041
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mik2/1388666338
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cajie/3134305491
http://www.flickr.com/photos/petergorges/4061480793
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shriekingtree/5225613954
http://www.flickr.com/photos/differentview/3732017901
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kylemay/2078979917
http://topsy.com
http://pinterest.com
http://www.inboundwriter.com
http://google.com
http://bufferapp.com
https://dev.twitter.com/docs/embedded-tweets