How to Turn Blog Readers Into Customers

Many marketers believe if they build a content marketing strategy, customers will flood in. However, it may not be so simple for companies to convert content consumers into customers without careful planning.

Although most brands engage in some form of content marketing now, very few do it well. Even if people read your blog and download your white papers, is your content marketing strategy driving conversions?

Like landing pages, content should always be actionable.

Marketers bring prospects to the page to attempt to engage them, but they may not be crafting content with conversion in mind, according to Entrepreneur magazine.

Consider your current strategy to make your content more actionable.

Identify Your Target Audience

It's challenging to make more actionable content without first knowing who you need to reach. Having an extensive view of your target audience helps you hone in on their top concerns.

Without this information, you may be emphasizing the wrong elements of your product.

How can brands find what their target customers care about most? Answer the questions they ask frequently. In fact, the way people interact with search engines has changed.

Consumers often begin their path to purchase by typing a question into Google. Knowing what questions they are most likely to ask helps you offer the right answers.

To craft buyer personas that are more representative of your audience, you may need to dig deeper into your data. Google Analytics and social media interactions provide more insight into what your customers really want.

This helps you refine your content marketing strategy. Once you have a firmer idea of your buyer personas, you can target search engine optimization efforts at specific personas.

Make Content That is More Specific to Different Stages of the Sales Funnel

One of the crucial mistakes content marketers often make is not differentiating content for customers in various stages of the sales cycle.

Someone who visits your website for the first time will have very different concerns than a consumer who is trying to narrow down the decision between two vendors.

Most people typically define the customer journey as the steps from identifying a need, researching options and making a decision.

Your content strategy needs to address potential customers in each stage of your unique sales funnel to drive conversions.

Re-engage With Previous Customers

Just because someone already made a purchase doesn't mean you don't have an opportunity to reconnect with them in the future.

Previous customers may buy again or need to upgrade, which creates a new sales opportunity. These customers will follow a different journey than first-time buyers, so you need to craft content that will appeal to this group.

Returning customers often spend more than first-time buyers because they already trust your brand.

Because many content marketing strategies don't focus on long-term engagement, past customers are a frequently overlooked aspect.

Strengthen Your Calls to Action

Blogs are often seen as a way to boost engagement, but you could be missing a crucial conversion opportunity. Just like landing pages, blog articles should have a strong call to action.

When you design landing pages, you don't want visitors to get to the end of the page and leave because they don't know what to do next. It's the same with blogs. If you produce great content, readers will want to stay engaged.