Okay, so before you accuse me of being crazy (or old, neither of which are true – I hope!), let me start by saying that:
Yes, bloggers have an unfair advantage when it comes to marketing.”
That’s why I’m confident saying that learning marketing as a blogger is the way to go. I’ve pinpointed a handful of reasons why this is true, but we’ll cover just a few of those in this post. Why? Well, I’d rather go into some detail on a few instead of glossing over them all. Plus, my kids are using me as a jungle-gym, so I’m bound to forget a couple as I try to keep them from pile-driving my laptop.
Marketing as a blogger: you see the big picture
As a blogger, we’re innately more in tune with the “big picture,” at least pertaining to marketing. We know what’s important is our audience. We know how to interact with them. We know how to connect with them, tell them a great story, tug at their heartstrings, and get them involved in a great cause. How do we know this?
Well, we know that we have to use our blog as a platform to convey those stories. We know that we have to get our fans and friends and family to our blog to read and comment. You’d be surprised at how many actual companies don’t realize that their website should be their home base. They’re focused on building up one aspect of social media or so focused on a sale that they don’t see their audience through the metrics.
Now, I’m not knocking the metrics. They help us track some pretty dang important things. But if you can’t connect with your audience, your metrics are going to suck (sorry, but it’s true!).
Bloggers (subconsciously) know & use a sales funnel
Okay, so you may not know what it is, but once you do, you’ll totally **facepalm** and realize that, as a blogger, you already use this vital marketing tool. Here’s the simple definition:
A sales funnel is a series of steps or tools designed to convert leads into fans into clients.”
In blogger speak, a sales funnel is a way to attract and keep new readers who will be actively engaged on your blog.
How do I know you’re already doing that? Easy. You’re using different sales tactics to funnel readers back to your blog. You’re sharing posts across all of social media-dom to drive traffic to your site. You’ve made your blog available on all sorts of platforms and optimized it for SEO so people can find you. You’ve created some pretty dang awesome downloads to encourage people to subscribe to your RSS feeds. Oh, and you’ve been building an interactive community (tribe).
That’s a sales funnel! That’s a solid marketing tactic.
Bloggers know about list building
With bloggers, we’re subconsciously keeping track of how many people have subscribed to our blog feed or our newsletter. We know we need a newsletter – and we sure try to be (or are) great about sending out regular updates to our lists. We may not know why we need that newsletter list, but we’re building it anyway.
Lots of companies, on the other hand, know that they need a rabid fan base, but they can’t quite connect that it’s 100% related to having a list that they connect with on a regular basis.
List building is kind of a *HUGE* deal. It’s how you’re going to be able to generate several sources of income. It’s how you’re going to educate your fan base about some of your most awesome posts, products, or upcoming specials.
Why is this a huge advantage?
All of this… That’s what other businesses are trying to replicate. They’re trying to drive traffic to their sites. They’re trying to build sustainable sales funnels. And they’re trying to figure out how to build a valuable list.
And that, my friend, that’s just PART of why bloggers, in my little ginger opinion, have a huge (and almost unfair) advantage when it comes to marketing. We’re already using the tactics – we may just need to learn what they’re called.
Like what you read here, my bloggy friends? Then you’re totally going to want to share this with all of your blogging buds and then join International Blogger’s Association. Not only are we pretty dang awesome, but we’ve got some of the best supports & resources in place to help you and your blog. Come join the blog-growing party: apply to join IBA now.