Red On Marketing Blog

Audio Dealbreaker #2: B2B vs B2C Marketing - No Big Diff?

JT: What is the difference between B2B and B2C or consumer marketing? It's all selling to people, right?

Red: Yes and no, In business-to-business marketing, you're dealing with multiple individuals - often "buying committees" - during a decision-making process. Each person has a role in the process and a responsibility to judiciously compare all the options. This enhanced scrutiny compared to a typical consumer purchase is due to the fact that a decision about a professional service or produce can have enormous impacts on a company's productivity, operations, legal standing, reputation, sales, and - ultimately - the bottom line. The risk of a wrong decision is high. 

Usually companies conduct extensive research on possible partners so being at the top of search results with the right message is important. Web site keywords need to be refined and benefit-focused.

Because buying committees expect a powerfully-built business case, smart B2B marketers focus on building a relationship through credibility and trust while offering multiple opportunities to engage. After all, in the end, they are buying the supplier along wit the product or service so give them value with every interaction.

For all these reasons, B2B companies need to make sure they are dealing with marketing experts who understand the challenges they face and have the skills to get them noticed with the right audience.

Take Away

So, if an agency tells you "there is nothing special about marketing to savvy business decision makers," that could be a Dealbreaker.

Your Turn

How do you market differently to B2B than B2C? Share your best practices here.

Wanted: The Chuztpah to Resist B2B Marketing Laziness

Good content and ethics -- why responsible marketing takes courage.

By Rebekah Donaldson

A few minutes ago I read a post by Sonia Simone of Copyblogger titled "The First Rule of Copyblogger." It took my breath away. She writes,

"....content is too often a lame version of work done by a real expert. (You know, someone who cared enough about the topic to actually learn a lot about it.)

It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of content marketing. Which means I’m a huge opponent of badly done content marketing.

Sloppy, junky, selfish content just gives the legitimate folks a bad name.

The first rule of Copyblogger is you do not publish content that sucks

Why do we hammer you every week with techniques to make your writing sharper, crisper, more effective, and more magnetic?

To let you create content that’s as strong and alive as it can possibly be.

Sure there are tools that will let you hack, mash, smash, and mangle someone else’s content into a word soup that Google thinks is original.

Google won’t help you if no one wants to read what you’ve got to say.

It's not just a practical matter

Sure there's the practical matter of, "what works? What produces the best results at the lowest cost?"

And yes there's the professional ethics issue of keeping a promise made in a headline and teaser.

But beyond that there's an issue of, well... intellectual chutzpah.

Meaning: When marketing, am I holding myself to a high standard of clear thinking, clear expression, and original contributions? Or am I being intellectually lazy?

Regularly publishing crappy marketing content reflects a deep cynicism about B2B buyers.

Resolutions

Sometimes I get lazy about content. But it won't do. I'm better than that. And you can smell stinky content from a mile away.

Get Higher ROI from a B2B Email Marketing Campaign

Zap weak email content for higher ROI

By Rebekah Donaldson

Email newsletters don’t cost much to create, they give people something to look forward to, and they keep your name top of mind. That’s especially important if you have a long sales cycle.

Like every other aspect of B2B marketing, there are right ways and wrong ways to creating an email newsletter. Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll consistently produce a winner:

Flip It

Traditionally, corporate newsletters are like mini press releases squished together. As in, "here's what we did/ are doing/ will do."

But unless you do really interesting things or you're super cool like Steve Jobs, that's not a great hook for a conversation with clients.

It's better to keep the focus on the client, not on your company. Give them valuable and relevant information that helps them work smarter, stay abreast of latest trends, or justify that they’ve made the right choice by working with you.

What Isn't Boring?

Examples of items that often play well:

• Comparisons of products or services in your space
• Customer stories ("they faced x... they did y... they achieved z")
• Previews or reviews ("X is a useful book/ workshop/ guide because...")
• Human interest stories (especially about executives at the companies you serve)
• Advance notice ("next month this new executive brief will go public; here is a sneak peek...")
• Online resources they can access (on your site and elsewhere)
• Reader responses to surveys or previous newsletter content ("some readers disagreed with our article on blah... they have a point there")

Don't Worry About Filling Up Your Newsletter

If it seems like a lot of work to fill a newsletter, here’s the good news: You don’t have to fill it! Details coming in my next post about email marketing...

B2B Lead Generation Results, By Source

Visits and conversions by source for www.b2bcommunications.com Sept 7 to Oct 6 2009

By Rebekah E. Donaldson

Here is a screenshot showing the sources of our website traffic that converted to leads over the last month. Looking at the chart, I answer:

• What does this chart tell you about lead sources?
• How much did you invest to get the site working this way?
• We need to generate leads - what's the best way?

Visits and conversions by source (1 month)

This chart shows how different sources have driven visits, leads, and customers to www.b2bcommunications.com. The key on the right shows the sources tracked.

What does this chart tell you about lead sources?

To see our lead sources, we open our Hubspot account (more on this below) and go to the "Reports" tab and pick "Sources". There we have a chart showing visit to lead ratios by source:

Totals for Sep 7-Oct 7, 2009
Sources	Visits	Visit to Lead	Leads
Organic Search	590	0.68%	4
Referrals	265	2.60%	7
Paid Search	0	0%	0
Direct Traffic	547	1.50%	8
Email Marketing	0	0%	0
Social Media	86	8.10%	7
Other Campaigns	0	0%	0
Totals	1,488	1.75%	26

According to the chart, visitors from social media sources convert at the highest rate. A visit-to-lead conversion rate of 8.10% means that in the last month, eight out of ten visitors who came to the site via LinkedIn or other networking sites, responded. Visitors referred to our site from an article, blog, or website are the next most likely to respond.

How much did you invest to get these leads rolling in?

Hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars over several years. The site re-launched in 2007 and it's been an ongoing process to make it so visitors find what they need and take the next step. And there's still so much work to do! Meantime, we've been at blogging, search engine marketing, and social media marketing since 2007 - and public relations since 2001. We've tried to always close the loop (see below), so we know which B2B lead generation activities work and which to avoid.

What is Hubspot?

Hubspot provides advice and software that helps businesses get found on the Internet by the right prospects and convert more of them into leads and customers. We use it to build landing pages, attract traffic, nurture contacts, track leads, and connect records about leads and sales with records about marketing efforts.

We need to generate leads - what's the best way?

Here are just two of many ways to get started. Do both or pick the one that work for you:

Get a 60 Minute Internet Marketing Planning Session.

Try Hubspot - Use all the powerful features of Hubspot for B2B lead generation. Free for 30 days.

NOTE: We are pitched weekly by companies looking for affiliates to rep their stuff. So far, we've partnered only with MarketingSherpa and Hubspot. In each case, we bought their stuff and recommended it to others before we were ever a partner. Now that we are a partner, we get a small % of sales we help generate. Just so you know.

Rebekah E. Donaldson ("Red") has led Business Communications Group since 2001. More >>

 

2010 Marketing Planning – Facts From MarketingSherpa

By Rebekah E. Donaldson

Everyone is supposed to be nailing down their plans for 2010 marketing efforts. What will go in your 2010 marketing plan?

As I write this, MarketingSherpa’s 6th Annual B2B Marketing Summit 2009 in San Francisco is winding down. And I don’t want it to be over. Every session, every speaker, and every piece of content was focused on helping attendees conquer the challenges of B2B marketing.

Here are links to get some of the facts you need for smart 2010 marketing planning.

Every marketer needs practical, up-to-the-minute planning and budgeting help when it comes to 2010 planning. And with B2B case studies, examples, and statistics from MarketingSherpa, you can justify spending using real-life results and plan new programs based on actual trends.

Here are some questions you may be thinking about this Fall, and my ideas on finding answers:

—

Q: What are the best-value ways to generate leads in 2010?

a. Let’s start with tactics to be wary of:

• Don’t depend on bought or rented email addresses — even if it’s somehow legal to email lists of strangers, your time is better spent pulling in prospects and building a permission-based house list
• Don’t  depend on cold calling — even if you can get past the front desk and call screening and voicemail jail, interrupting an executive is getting off on the wrong foot
• Don’t depend on a Flash video or wesite – usually, search engines can’t ‘read’ them and many busy business decision makers will skip them altogether
• Don’t rely on mailed letters — it’s increasingly expensive (think Fed Ex envelope made lumpy with some sort of item enclosed, etc etc) to get your mail opened… much less past the gatekeeper

b. If you only get one Sherpa resource, make it the 6th Annual ‘B2B Marketing Benchmark Report 2009-10’.

In it you’ll see:

• 2,631 marketing professionals surveyed
• 157 charts & tables
• First Ever: Social Media Marketing section
• 7 Marketing Insight sections, including: ‘Strategies & Tactics for a Rebounding Economy’
• 10 practical how-to best practices from the field

—

Search Marketing Benchmark Report 2009-10

Q: How should I balance PPC and SEO in 2010?

Should you bump up Adwords investment or focus on organic search?

a. Check out Cris Rominger’s article Effective Search Engine Optimization

b. Check out my article What’s Wrong with this Google Adwords Ad?

c. Consider diving deeper into what works and what’s a waste of time using Search Marketing Benchmark Report 2009-10. In it you’ll see:

• 679 marketers surveyed
• 176 charts and tables
• Stats on conversion, cost-per-click, and clickthrough rates
• Special Section: Worldwide & regional search
• Special Section: Critical Factors in SEO
• Special Section: Testing & ROI Tracking (B2B & B2C)

—

Q: Is business use of Twitter a flash in the pan?

a. Maybe. But probably you should get involved anyway. Here are 9 articles we’ve offered related to the business use of Twitter.

2009 Social Media Marketing and PR

b. Next, consider this resource: 2009 Social Media Marketing and PR: Benchmarks and Best Practices. In it you’ll see:

• 157 charts and tables on the emerging state of Social Media marketing
• 13 practical how-to best practices from the field
• Discover how Social Media is changing PR
• Find out the metrics and budgets of Social Media marketing
• Special report: Using Social Networking Sites for Demand Generation
• Special Section: “9 Steps to Social Marketing Success”

And now a question for you. What will you do differently in 2010?

Picking a Marketing Consultant: Get What You Pay For

By Rebekah E. Donaldson

We’ve all heard the phrase, “You get what you pay for.” The truth is, sometimes you get a lot less than you pay for.

This is the first in a seven-part series of articles to help you get what you pay for when you choose a marketing agency. I’ll start today with a decision tree that shows the five key decision points. As the series progresses, I’ll show you a framework that CEOs can use to sort out the answers.  In later articles I touch on the various types of marketers in the industry. You’ll also find 11 questions to ask an agency – with an example of what counts as a good answer (“pass”), and what counts as baloney (“fail”), for each. And in my seventh article in this series I’ll give five warnings, each of which begins, “Why to watch out if you hear…“

Outsourcing marketing – opportunities and threats

On the one hand, you need effective marketing because of competition and economic conditions; on the other hand, you risk:

• Wasting money
• Wasting time
• Making a bad impression on customers and internal stakeholders if marketing poorly represents the company

The real risk of taking the wrong path

A lot of marketing-related companies are vying for your attention — and your money. Cash vacuums like Google Adwords. Thousands of marketers with consulting practices. Marketing automation software companies, web hosts, email marketing tools, graphic designers, online directories, multimedia companies, social media sites and dozens of other types of vendors.

Fig 1 - Picking a marketing consultant decision tree

Five key decision points – overview

After you resolve to do more effective marketing, you need to decide:

1. Do we need professional marketing help?

This decision is easy to overlook. After all, vendors like Google Adwords include campaign set-up and support, so why not take their free advice? Or, why not redouble your efforts with mailers and telemarketing, which produce a trickle of leads? That just requires bigger lists and more investment in the same types of marketing as before.

In this series I outline why not. And if you do need professional marketing help, you need to decide:

2. Do we need to outsource marketing or should we keep this in-house?

In 2009-2010, talent of all kinds can be had at bargain prices. But maybe you feel ambitious. Perhaps you’re up to managing marketing directly?

If you are interested in outsourcing, you may wonder:

3. Do we need a formal RFP process to look for a consultant?

There are some benefits to doing a traditional request for proposals. But that process can take months to complete.

If you can arrive at a short list more quickly and easily on your own using search engines, social media and referrals, what sort of professional marketers should make the list?

4. What kind of agency do we need — specialists or an all-in-one firm?

Specialists in marketing subdisciplines are critical to overall marketing success — but it’s risky to grasp at individual tactics (see also our Six Marketing Gotchas CEOs Can Avoid ebook). If you decide you need a firm to be accountable for helping you move the needle for your firm (not just hit marketing-centric numbers), you’ll need to decide:

5. Who should we pick — what do we ask to ensure we get the best agency?

Some folks grapple with what I think of as “early” decisions, like whether to outsource. Others skip the early decisions and go straight to weighing one resource over another.

Now that you see the path we’ll be following, we’ll start looking at the individual elements in more detail. If you haven’t already, please subscribe by email.

SEO services and SEO software – friends or enemies?

NOTE: A big thank you to Jep Castelein of LeadSloth on Demand Generation for his contributions to this post.

By Rebekah E. Donaldson

Say you are a CEO paying for search engine marketing services — also known as SEO services or SEM services. What result are you seeking?

Qualified leads, of course.

Today’s article is about the cheapest, most direct route to that result.

In particular, do you really need SEO consulting from people like me, if you can get SEO software for less?

Some savvy business people seem to think ”no.” 

For example, a few weeks ago I read Shar VanBoskirk’s post, “Search Marketing Automation Will Compete With Agencies.” In it she describes up and coming Altruik as “SEO automation vendor”.

(She says later that they’re making “technology-enabled” search marketing possible. Which seems a world apart to me. But more on that below.)

SEO consultants wrote in with strong objections. More notably, even Altruik’s CEO, Tom Kwon, distanced himself from the idea that software can automate SEO!

Kwon wrote:

“…I don’t think there will ever be a white hat SEO solution that guarantees rankings….

“Everyone asks me about ranking, ‘how do I improve the ranking of my website?’, I usually respond as follows: Good organic rankings are the result of a comprehensive program that encompasses both on-page and off-page SEO strategies. Successful SEO strategies combine the two to gain and maintain rank power….

“Our goal is to empower all the highly skilled SEOs and SEMs with our platform to make visibility and on-page SEO easier. We will always need these skilled individuals and their services to ensure a well-rounded SEO program overall.” 

Your take-away: Makers of SEO software urge you to use of skilled individuals. And it’s not just because SEO services providers are a big channel for them.

Being found versus being successful

The reason SEO must involve people is that being found is a long way from being successful. And to you — the person paying for SEO services — ’success’ doesn’t = getting found in search engine results!

Success means getting found and getting qualified leads. The latter is an order of magnitude harder than the former.

People optimize content

There are two essential tests to run on search-optimized content:

1. Test #1 – Does this content help our prospects?
2. Test #2 – Does this content help search engines?

A well rounded SEO pro will help its client consistently pass both tests.

Wanted: SEO copywriting skills

I’m hearing Tom Kwon saying in his comment that Altruik is designed to help you pass test #2.

To pass test #1 you need to be a strategic marketer armed with sound competitive analysis and monster business writing skills adapted to following complex online content and conversion optimization rules. (More on this in our recent e-book.)

If software can help us pass test #1, we should call him “Hal” (after the artificial intelligence that takes over in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey).

Technology-enabled SEO, yes

To be fair, Shar also said that SEO is more and more technology-enabled. That is right. But I’m not sure it’s news.

Back in the day, we used WebPosition software to keep track of clients’ rankings and check on-page optimization.

Today one of our tools is Hubspot Marketer, software as a service which has a good UI and is backed by an energetic support team. Among other things, we use it to see rank changes relative to competitors, do keyword research, create landing pages, track what’s helping our lead funnel vs what’s a waste of time, and other modules.

No tool named “Hal”

Even Hubspot is no “Hal” — and it’s not trying to be, either.

Hubspot provides site owners with lots of best practices and ideas to make best use of the system and create high-quality content. If site owners don’t have the time to educate themselves on inbound marketing, Hubspot recommends they get help from qualified agencies.

Because in the real world, you need to impress both human prospects and search engines. That’s how you take your website’s rank to the bank.

Learn more about our SEO – Search Marketing Services

Copywriting marketing materials? How to speak prospects’ language

By Robert Celaschi

Copywriting marketing materials? The challenge is to ensure prospects are informed, not befuddled. An expert marketing copywriter gives tips on speaking their language.

Fans of Steve Martin might remember his plumber joke, supposedly told for the benefit of all the plumbers in the audience. It’s actually a joke about the disaster of using language that people won’t understand.

The joke

“This lawn supervisor was out on a sprinkler maintenance job, and he started working on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom seven-inch gangly wrench. Just then this little apprentice leaned over and said, ‘You can’t work on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom seven-inch wrench.’ Well, this infuriated the supervisor, so he went and got Volume 14 of the Kinsley manual, and he reads to him and says, ‘The Langstrom seven-inch wrench can be used with the Findlay sprocket.’ Just then the little apprentice leaned over and says, ‘It says sprocket, not socket!’”

[Worried pause.]

“Were these plumbers supposed to be here this show?”

Hitting the mark with marketing materials

When you are putting together materials to market your company, think about the audience you are reaching out to. When you talk about “plants,” will they assume you mean botanical or manufacturing? When you mention the AIA, will they know which AIA you mean? There is an American Institue of Architects, an Aerospace Industries Association, and other groups going by the same initials.

If your target audience is new to your product or service, help them get on board. They won’t be impressed if you dive right in with details about Langstrom wrenches and Findlay sprockets. They’ll be baffled, and they’ll go looking for some other company that they can understand.

On the other hand, your target audience may know more about Findlay sprockets than you do. In that case, they’ll appreciate you using their language. If you oversimplify your pitch, they might think you don’t respect their expertise.

Marketing copywriter’s reality check

There’s no standard formula for finding the middle ground between talking down to your audience and talking over their heads. But there’s one good test to see whether you’ve hit the mark: Ask them. Show a rough draft to a few people in your target market and ask them what they think.

Have you tested your marketing materials with someone in your target audience? Are there times when you need separate materials for the newbies and the veterans in your audience? Please comment.

Help with marketing materials

We can help you design and copywrite marketing materials that encourage prospects to take the next step. Learn more >>

 

 

 

Learn the social media secret handshake

By Rebekah E. Donaldson

Vendors and job applicants pitch B2B Communications each week. So far in 2009, about 1 in 4 indicate familiarity with social media. About 1 in 100 have engaged with us first through social media.

How can busy professionals get a grasp on marketing 2.0 — and start to engage and contribute? I recommend Inbound Marketing University as a foundation. After that, social media mentoring or coaching might be in order.

In 2008, after about the 100th pitch from a vendor who had no clue what a blog is, much less that we have one, I started taking note of how many vendors and job applicants use social media to demonstrate genuine interest in the companies they are courting.

Here are the numbers from Q1 and Q2 2009:

• Vendor/job applicant use of social media to engage with prospect 1%
• Vendor/job applicant social media experience 25%
• Percent of vendors/job applicants we hired who used social media to engage 100%

What does it mean to demonstrate interest using social media?

For example — if you’re starting from scratch:

1. Click the button that says “Blog” on our home page.
2. Enter a cogent comment about something (anything!).
3. Look for me to reply. Reply thoughtfully to my reply. 

Together we build knowledge and community.

Empowering marketers to get a footing with social media

What tools or help would really empower people to follow this advice, though?

In an effort to think constructively about this issue (instead of going bananas that job applicants and vendors are seemingly ignoring the “secret handshake” of social media), I asked colleagues in a Hubspot Forum and one of my LinkedIn groups about whether it seems useful, ethical, and practical to set up a B2B Communications Social Media Mentor Program.

Learning the social media secret handshake

Among the responsees received (attribution shown, if I got permission):

“…maybe the key is to embed somewhere in your blogs the way you prefer to be contacted for employment. That way if they really are interested in your company because they have looked through your posts to understand what you are about, then they will know the secret handshake, so to speak…” — Jim Lapic, DIYshutters.com

“Not sure you’re doing yourself favors by helping people “put on the right makeup“. Social media/blogging is nearly 15 years old now. It’s been a major marketing force for at least the last 5 years, and maybe more. Anyone who wants to work in communications and doesn’t get that, or can’t figure it out, doesn’t understand the medium. Is that the sort of person you want to hire?….”

“….The ones who actually are smart enough to try to engage you are the ones you should be interested in. They get it. I think at that point, your idea of giving them some direction and structure is great. Just make it clear whether they might wind up with a job (a giant carrot) or a reference (a mini carrot) at the end of your process. As long as you’re clear, you’ll wind up with some young folks who look at you and your company in a very positive light. And you never know where that good karma might get you. ” Ann Blanchard, Blanchard Enterprises and Handirecords

“Wow! It sure sounds like it would be very helpful, the ethics seem clear to me in your description of the purpose and intent, I would wonder at the manageability….” Jerry Wilkinson, Green Frog Outdoor Furniture

“One suggestion, instead of a resume make it a contest to see who can be most creative with social media to submit their qualifications….” Geoff Sakala, Owner, Metro Media

“….Look at the Murphy-Goode campaign: http://www.areallygoodejob.com/video-thumbs.aspx… the campaign brought thousands of people to their site….” Bill Betz, Investor/ reverse engineer at Pavement Marking Technologies, Inc.

“….If you treat your intern with respect, trust, and include him/her in the decision making process, you will create a professional you’ll be proud to recommend or one day call a colleague. Plus their work will reflect that empowerment.” — Jenny Koreny, Online Learning & Multimedia Designer

A foundation for social media coaching and mentoring

I would be happy to engage with vendors and job applicants through social media… if everyone is on the same page about marketing best practices.

Just look at how useful it can be. The people named above (and others) helped me think through an issue – without payment or quid pro quo… without my traveling anywhere… on their own time. That made me want to help them back (see links above).

It’s all good because we’re all on the same page about the value of social media marketing and how to go about it.

Learn the ”secret handshake” at Inbound Marketing University

I recommend Inbound Marketing University for learning the social media “secret handshake.” 

The IMU program includes webinars by thoughtleaders in the social media, internet marketing and lead generation industries and culminates in an inbound marketing certification exam. 

Learn more about IMU >>

Social Media Coaching from B2B Communications

I offer a 90 minute social media coaching session focused on your social media marketing needs and questions.

Learn more about my social media coaching >>

B2B marketing ROI of a blog – with traffic and leads chart

By Rebekah E. Donaldson

I talked with Sacramento Business Journal senior reporter Kathy Robertson this week about the return on investment from the Red On Marketing Blog. Her questions got me thinking about why I do it, and this post is the result. 

To ground things in real world and tangible results, you’ll see a screenshot showing where our website traffic and leads came from this week.

I’ve written the Red On Marketing Blog since Fall 2007. Yes, one reason I started it was to market our company. Another is that we help our clients with staying at the top of certain search results in Google, and social media (which includes blogging) is part of how we do it. We need to walk the walk.

We track everything with lead management software. Social media has tangibly helped us. Leads are up 400% this quarter over the same period last year. We have new leads every day – many from our website. So social media might sound like a fad or B.S. to some CEOs. But it’s moved the needle for our company.

Referrers — week of June 15 2009

Of our current clients, most found us online. For example, one Sacramento CEO found us when he searched “Sacramento search engine optimization”; another when he searched in LinkedIn for “B2B marketing Sacramento”; and so on.

Blogging is part of Social Media

The Red On Marketing Blog is intertwined with other efforts. It doesn’t stand alone. I’m active on LinkedIn – mostly I try to answer questions – and on Twitter. Sometimes, helping in those forums means pointing to B2B marketing articles, and other B2B Communications resources.

One realization I’ve had is that a marketer’s mindset can backfire with a blog or other social media participation. When I started blogging, I thought about it in terms of

1) Make a calendar of article topics.

2) Chip away at the calendar.

But that can lead to really boring blog posts. And everyone hates boring.

You Said WHAT?

Before starting the blog I’d been reading other people’s blogs for a couple of years. People like Josh Bernoff and David Meerman Scott publish edgy stuff that gets people talking (and pisses off some readers – a cost of being interesting).

The threads of comments after they post are crazy – dozens and dozens of smart people write in to respond.

I really wanted to do that.

Stirring Things Up

Fortunately, I have strong opinions — especially when it comes to cases of marketers getting things terribly wrong.

When I gave stronger opinions, you (readers) did too. Example: “From the Shocking Marketing No Nos Department.” When I published that piece, our blog lit up with comments and backlinks. It was referenced in many more places online. The lesson to me was: Speak up! Call it like you see it!

So after that I co-wrote an ebook. It took 9 months and was like having a third baby. Kind colleagues promoted it with social media (thank you Dianna Huff, David Meerman Scott, Peter Kim, Peter Caputa, and other colleagues).

Behind the Scenes Battles

One behind-the-scenes struggle I have is over topics appropriate for the blog. On the one hand, there is value in publishing about basic marketing techniques and issues. In fact, my colleagues at B2B Communications keeps reminding me that some of you may want intro material . But I fear you’re bored with the same old stuff like ”segment your audience!” “get the word out!” It seems like recycled, regurgitated truisms. (Who’s right? Please comment.)

Girl’s Dream Comes True

One thing that surprised me was that our blog helped us become a MarketingSherpa Affiliate. (MarketingSherpa is like Consumer Reports for marketers – loads of objective data that helps you make good decisions.) I think we’re the only one in Sacramento, California and surrounding regions. It gives us a lot of credibility – most marketers really admire Sherpa – as well as access to their material and the ability to pass along discounts.

One of their big decision criteria was around the quality of guidance we provide through our blog. They looked and said we were doing a great job. So the blog helped us stand out among much bigger agencies. It’s also led to interviews, invitations to speak, and other exposure with organizations like Forrester Research and Hubspot. Each of those organizations reaches tens of thousands of subscribers with their updates. The blog is also one of our top sources of search engine traffic and exposure for our services.

Most importantly, it’s sparked interactions with hundreds of small business owners and business to business marketers.

Keeping it Real

Still, even if we didn’t get the business benefits I’ve listed, knowing what I know now, I would still write a blog. Blogging helps keep things real. It makes me stay abreast of new data and ideas, instead of throwing up my hands because there’s too much. It makes me a better thinker, a better listener, a better writer, and a better salesperson.

Your turn

My hope is that, if you’re one of those business folks who has been blogging, but doesn’t know if it’s worth it, or you’ve held off because you don’t think anyone wants to read a blog written by you, maybe hearing about my experience will help you keep at it or get started.

Do you blog? Why or why not?