Isn’t it all bloody hard work?
You’re tweeting, and circling, and pinning.
You’re slaving over your blog posts.
And you’ve not started your next guest post yet.
Sigh
Wouldn’t it be nice if a blog post could spread like wildfire?
Don’t you deserve a little overnight success?
Imagine waking up in the morning, and seeing a spike in your web traffic. You’ve gained a few hundred tweets, seemingly out of nowhere.
Let me show you how…
The easiest viral campaign ever
Do you use Buffer?
If you don’t, check it out–it allows you to schedule your social media shares so you can engage your audience consistently. I highly recommend it.
Recently, Buffer introduced content suggestions. When Buffer users don’t know what to share, they can check this list for inspiration.
As a content creator, getting on the list of recommendations seems like heaven. How many people would see your post? How many tweets and likes would you be able to get?
Recently, I found the “secret” to getting on the list of suggested content:
- Choose 5 blog posts that are proven to be popular with your audience
- Make sure your posts have attention-grabbing headlines–check out Buffer’s guide to writing headlines
Complete this not-much-advertised form to ask the Buffer team to feature your blog posts. (Note: This form has now been taken off line, and as far as I know there’s no other option to submit your suggestions to Buffer besides networking with their awesome team.)
And then wait to see what happens.
On Sunday 17 August the post A 61-Point Website Checklist to Avoid Pesky Content Failures was recommended by Buffer:
What happened?
- Traffic generated (in 9 days):
523 visitors (this is conservative as it only includes Twitter traffic to this post; the total traffic to this post went up by over 600 visitors) - Conversions:
15 email subscribers (est. 2.5%) - Other bragging rights:
This post now has 507 tweets, 127 likes, 181 LinkedIn and 119 G+ shares–it instantly became the most shared post on this blog - Time required:
20 minutes to pick the posts and fill in the form (perhaps only 5 minutes if you’re not prone to umming and ahhing like me)
The number of shares may look great, but have people read the post?
The average time on the page was only 50 seconds; for comparison the average time on any Enchanting Marketing page is around 3 minutes.
As Farhad Manjoo suggests, people tweet without reading.
When you slave over each blog post, this is a sorry truth:
Casual visitors don’t care about your content.
Most of them are simply looking for content to share. Because sharing good content makes them look good. Reading a headline and glancing at the first paragraph give them enough indication whether content is shareable or not.
But as a serious business blogger, you don’t want casual traffic. You want people to read content. You want them to become loyal readers. To become fans.
Still, considering I only spent 20 minutes filling in a form, this has been a pretty good result, and I’m grateful to the Buffer team for this opportunity.
A highly-converting social media campaign
Blog visitors are often passersby.
Window shoppers, who might never come back.
To win serious business with your blog, you need to build a relationship with readers. You have to tempt them to come back again and again. You have to turn them into email subscribers, regular readers, fans.
So let’s have a look at another social media “campaign.”
Did you see my SlideShare presentation with 17 Copywriting Do’s and Don’ts?
I was lucky it was picked as presentation of the day:
What happened?
- Traffic generated (in 35 days):
683 visitors - Conversions:
351 email subscribers (51.4%) - Time required:
Est. 12 hours (because I spent half a day drawing the opening slide—perhaps not good from a productivity point of view, but hugely enjoyable)
This post has far fewer social shares than the 61-point checklist mentioned above. 73 tweets, compared to 507.
But does it matter?
Not really.
This presentation generated 351 subscribers to my snackable course–an opportunity for me to build relationships, perhaps sell a book, or even a blogging course.
Why the huge difference in conversion rates?
People who clicked through from SlideShare to my site, had viewed my whole presentation. On slide 69, they found a call to action to sign up to my snackable course. These people engaged with my content. They read it. They appreciated it. They weren’t just looking for a quick share.
The web is full of testosterone
We all get distracted by big numbers.
By vanity metrics.
But stats like views, visitors, comments, and social shares don’t really matter.
Want more proof?
Have a look at Marcus Sheridan’s River Pools and Spas blog. Each post generates only a few social media shares, and a handful of comments.
Do you think he cares?
Nope, his blog has generated over $2 million in sales.
Here’s another example:
Last year, Mars Dorian reported that his traffic numbers had halved.
Do you think he cares?
No, he’s attracting higher-value clients, and making more money.
If you want more comments, set up or join a commenting group. The more time you invest in commenting on group member’s comments, the more comments you’ll get. Easy.
If you want more social media shares, buy them.
If you want more traffic, find the best tricks for going viral. Get a cat. Or eat more bacon.
Do you prefer more business instead?
Going viral doesn’t matter. Reaching your audience matters:
- Know who your ideal customers are
- Understand what they’re struggling with
- Help them to solve their problems
When you turn yourself into an exquisite problem-solver, you gain relevant traffic, woo serious readers, and win quality clients.
The truth about viral content
Only a marketer would think that something spreading as easily and quickly as a virus is good.
Good content doesn’t need to go viral.
Good content attracts quality prospects. Good content helps you win business.
Don’t get distracted by vanity metrics.
Focus on the quality of your traffic. Get people on your email list. And engage in real conversations.
Chase customers, not clicks ~ Tom Martin (tweet this)
Recommended reading on writing popular blog posts:
How to write a list post that readers love and share
How to write with clarity
How to write with substance
Thanks again for your great tips. I installed “CommentLuv” just a few hours ago on one of my websites. Can’t wait to see what it does!
“Buffer” also seems to be pretty good. I am curious if it will work for me also. I am writing in Dutch, so I hope it is also good for other languages that English. I have to see.
Buffer is useful for sharing, but in their recommendations they only feature English-language posts and quotes. Maybe you can nudge them to develop a Dutch version 😉
Hi Henneke,
Referring to “3. Complete this not-much-advertised form to ask the Buffer team to feature your blog posts”
I was trying to use the URL link (https://buffer.wufoo.com/forms/z14ivbm3160dzmz/) to the Buffer content submission form, but they display an error message that the page could not be found. Do you happen to know if they have the taken this option off service or renewed their link?
Many Thanks!
Oh no! You’re right. It looks like the form has been taken offline. I searched for it like I’ve done before, but I can’t find it anywhere – not among the Wufoo forms of Buffer and not on the Buffer blogs either.
Networking with the Buffer team is probably the only way to get in the list of recommendations 🙁
Thank you for letting me know, Andrea. I’ll update the post and take out the link.
Yes, a great blog post. And yes, very helpful. But I figured I’d read a few of the comments and then add a little something, but the comments just kept going and going—with one very distinct difference to just about every other blog on planet earth dedicated to copywriting…
Henneke responded to every single comment! Cordially and professionally.
People, we have a real, genuine engager here.
And, that’s my comment.
Thank you, Stan. I do try to practice as I preach – blogging isn’t a direct sales tool, it’s a conversation starter. 🙂
Good to see you again!
Hi Henneke,
Wow, 351 email subscribers? That’s awesome!
The difference between SlideShare traffic and others (Twitter, StumbleUpon, etc) is quite amazing. As you know, I’ve had success with SlideShare since discovering it three weeks ago. The traffic it’s brought to Be A Better Blogger has been ENGAGED traffic.
On the flip side, I’ve had two different posts go somewhat viral on StumbleUpon. Those visitors didn’t subscribe and didn’t even leave comments. They visited, gave a thumb’s up, and left four seconds later.
Give me 500 targeted SlideShare visitors over 5,000 StumbleUpon visitors any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
(Thanks for the Buffer tip, btw!)
Awesome work, Henneke. As always.
Yeah, 351 on Monday, and still counting (more than a month after publishing). Amazing isn’t it? Better than writing a guest post… 😉
I’m not surprised about StumbleUpon. That type of traffic is almost like spam, isn’t it? I once had a post do reasonably well on Inbound.org, but again, traffic was completely non-stick.
Enjoy the Buffer form. 🙂
Let me know what happens? Would love to know whether others are able to convert Twitter traffic like that better.
Another good article with food for thought. As always.. practical advice
Thank you, Linda 🙂
We should think about this more. But then again again.. hm. I don’t mean to be big. I just need to fill three courses. Holland is small. I could not even get on the Buffer list if I wanted.
Yep, unfortunately, the Buffer trick only works for content in English.
You might want to try a SlideShare – I’m not sure how many Dutch people are on SlideShare, but as LinkedIn is popular in the Netherlands, a SlideShare presentation can be useful – you can also feature it on your LinkedIn profile and include it in a blog post of course. So even if it doesn’t gain traction on SlideShare, you still use it to promote your business.
Great idea! Thanks. First though, I have to so some ofther stuff 😉
Had we but world enough and time..
You smart little devil!
I must say the extra traffic from Buffer is a little disappointing.
I think you get Twitter right – you use it to meet people and interact. Many people, however, use Twitter to broadcast (their own work and half-read pieces of content).
I’m sort of in between. I don’t make enough time for real interaction.
Hm.. come to think of it, you’re much more into marketing than I. Thinking up all these smart ways to get traffic..
Doing the SlideShare was part restlessness (wanting to try something new) and part thinking about “if I do this, how can I generate email subscribers without pissing people off”. I would never do pop-ups for instance. I try to find a balance.
And you did a very smart campaign last year where you teamed up with a few people to offer a series of Webinars. 🙂
What a fabulous post Henneke. Congratulations on both Buffer and Slideshare. Personally, I think Slideshare is very overlooked and to read your conversion rate on it was inspiring.
Loved your comment about Viral Content – “Only a marketer would think that something spreading as easily and quickly as a virus is good”…. just classic!
Yes, I was happily surprised by SlideShare.
By the way, the conversion figures of SlideShare include people clicking at the end of the presentation from the embedded version here.
When I look at clicks from new users only, the conversion rate goes up to 67.9%, which is probably the highest conversion rate I’ve seen from one traffic source.
I went to the Buffer site and am concerned that the want me to log in using my facebook, or twitter account or using my e-mail and giving them my password.
This feels like an invasion of privacy.
I only use Buffer for Twitter, as I don’t have a Facebook account. How it works, is that I read a series of blog posts in the morning, and the blog posts I like to share I “buffer”. By buffering them, they’ll go out at the times I’ve specified. So rather than sending 5 tweets in one go, they’re scheduled via Buffer to go out during the day.
Buffer can only do this if you allow them access to your Twitter account. Without access, they can’t schedule tweets. The same applies to Facebook shares (if you connect your Facebook account).
I fully agree that we have to be careful with privacy and not authorize any random company to access our Twitter or Facebook accounts.
I’ve not had any problems with Buffer, and I know many people who use them. They seem pretty secure (but I’m certainly not a security expert!).
Hi Henneke,
LOVE this post (just like you predicted I would).
Assuming you’re blogging for business, the metric that matters is profit.
Create a site & create content that converts traffic into clients, buyers, subscribers, etc.
– Steve
Yep, agreed. Direct profit isn’t always easy to measure. It’s easy for Software-as-a-Service companies or e-commerce, but much harder for freelance services. So the closest to profit is usually email subscribers.
Thank you for stopping by, Steve. What happened to your Gravatar? Or did you never have one?
Henneke,
What a useful article! So many things I didn’t know- thanks for sharing. I find it extremely down to earth the point you make about vanity. Whats the point of followers and likes? If we are not creating any value, what’s the point of being online? Thanks so much for the remark, it’s a thought provoking statement.
Love your sketches by the way 😉
To be honest, I often get distracted by vanity numbers and it’s hard to stay focused on the stuff that really matters, but I try hard 🙂
Glad you like the sketches! I’m having a lot of fun drawing them. 🙂
Good to see you again!
Another great article, Henneke.
You’re Slideshare presentation was very good. It was a fresh and engaging way to view your content and kept me clicking until the end.
Also, I love your cartoons. Yeah, a half a day working on your opening slide may not seem like the most productive use of your time. But you enjoyed drawing it. And our work has to include some enjoyment or we’ll burn out.
I think that your cartoons have become an important part of your brand identity. And that’s not a waste of time in my opinion.
By the way, where did you learn to draw cartoons?
Yep, I agree. I sometimes get angry with myself, as I think I should be more productive. But productivity is perhaps overrated.
I diligently measure time I spend time on client projects, but I don’t want to do it for my own blog posts, because I want to enjoy it and allow some time for freewheeling and experimenting 🙂
I started learning how to draw cartoons over a year ago when I joined the Da Vinci cartoon drawing course. It’s an online course: http://www.psychotactics.com/davinci/ (oops, looks like the cost has gone up quite a lot). I agree, the drawings have become part of my brand identity.
Good to see you again, Bill.
Ah! I meant to ask you this the other day. I’ve had a look at the Da Vinci course. Looks interesting and yes I’m so glad that you took a chance with that first illustration. You capture the humour and nuances very well in them.
Loved the post as usua.
Drawing is so much fun. I try to spend at least 30 minutes sketching each day, but sometimes I run out of time.
It’s very relaxing – especially once you let go of perfectionism 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the post!
Henneke! so right about testosterone numbers as though that is what produces business. Once had a business considered top in a large city. Then did the numbers. Only 400 people over 10 years consistently used my services. Goal was simply to do the very best for the people who came in the door, and work hard to solve their problems. Its not how many people know you, its how many respect you enough to pay you and tell others about good work.
Yep, that’s a good point. Attracting clients is one thing, attracting high-paying clients is yet another thing.
And as you say, having satisfied clients is more important than having a lots of clients, as satisfied clients come back and promote you free of charge.
Good to see you again, Carol.
Very nice!
Too many people focus on KPIs, forgetting that the I is for “Indicators” of Performance, and not *actual* performance.
Yes, the big question is: what performance do you measure? Do you measure what contributes to your business? Or something almost random?
Dear Henneke,
Another great blog post from you! Thank you so much for letting us know about your experiences.
I almost read every single email from you. They are so inspiring, motivating and certainly most helpful.
Thank you again.
Anita
That’s what I love to hear, Anita. 🙂
Glad you’re enjoying my blog posts. I appreciate you’ve taken the time to stop by and to let me know!
Wow! Thank you for the Buffer link. Not only did support respond very fast, but their verbiage is very upbeat.(in fact a little syrupy, as in corporate mandate)
I so appreciate the value if your content.
The two case studies were terrific.
Yes, the Buffer content is very upbeat.
From a European perspective, I’d say it sounds a little over-the-top.
Glad you enjoyed the case studies!
Very neat article, Henneke!
The Buffer-trick sounded smart (well, it is, I guess – just not for everything and everyone), but it didn’t get me excited – whereas reading about your SlideShare presentation did get me excited! (And I’m happy I can at least use exclamation marks in comments 😉 SideShare might very well be a medium I’d consider using. And I’d definitely find inspiration in your slides: fun, easy to read and with very specific, practical advice.
Do you have any tips for when you use SlideShare inn stead of writing a blog post? Does it depend on the audience, the content… (both, I guess, but I’d love to hear your experience).
Cheers,
Stine
I’m not a SlideShare expert, as I’ve only done two so far. The first one was a self-guided version of a talk at a marketing conference here in the UK.
For the 17 Copywriting Do’s and Don’ts presentation, I selected a topic and format (with simple examples) that had proven itself already as a blog post (not exactly the same). Creating a presentation title is like writing a headline for a blog post – numbers are always popular.
Also, I used the phrase “copywriting do’s and don’ts” as I thought it was another opportunity to rank. Interestingly, both the SlideShare and my blog post rank well in Google.
What’s different with blog writing, is that you need to write even tighter for a SlideShare presentation. Each word counts. I included only one sentence per slide. So each sentence has to communicate a nugget of information. It’s like writing almost exclusively in sound bites.
People often say it’s about visuals, and sure, your presentation has to look good, but the visuals are secondary to the words – the words have to tell a story or share your lessons.
The audience of SlideShare is, I believe, mainly B2B – probably quite similar to LinkedIn.
Thank you for stopping by, Stine. 🙂
Henneke
I was curious when I read the preview to this post. I was actually thinking to myself, has she changed her viewpoint on this viral stuff? Am I now going to get yet another blueprint on the subject?
I am glad to see, that’s not the case. Great points you have shared here and like Marcus, I too don’t give two hoots about viral content. I am more focused on relationship building. The value in viral content for me is miniscule, borderline non existent. Gazillion of window shoppers and less than 5 leads?
I have since unsubscribed from all the sites that preach this viral gospel. Waste of oxygen.
Now, I was gobsmacked at the Slideshare results, that’s brilliant. Slideshare is one of those dark horses you never pay much attention to.
Thanks Henneke, keep enlightening us.
Yes, I was amazed by the SlideShare results, too.
I’m not sure whether it was a fluke or whether the success can be repeated. I did pick a topic and a format (before/after examples) that I knew would be popular with Enchanting Marketing readers. That probably helped.
I’ll certainly try another SlideShare again soon. From what I’ve heard, it’s mainly useful reaching a business-focused audience.
Good to see you again!
Hi Hennekke,
First I would like to mention that I read your blog before sharing it. And being a writer myself I really wanted to know how to make my write-ups lead generators too. Thanks for the elucidation. 🙂
Yay! Glad you read the post 🙂
My latest Copyblogger post is a more comprehensive tutorial about writing a blog post that generates leads. You might find it useful: http://www.copyblogger.com/blog-post-formula/
Thank you for stopping by, Nishtha.