Search Results for: marketing strategy

How To Tell If You Are Doing Demand Generation The Right Way

Posted on By Vikas Bhatt

Are you implementing demand generation the right way? Yes? No? Maybe? Demand generation activities deal with creating an effective sales pipeline for your business. Meaning, it is not ONE tactic. It is a culmination of tactics, strategy, tech stack, etc for an end to end optimization of the sales cycle in a given organization. This also means that it is important to know if you are doing demand generation the right way. But, how do we know that? By measuring the success of strategies and tactics at each stage of the sales cycle. In order to achieve the maximum return on investments in every activity, you need to analyze the right data. According to Integrate, marketers in charge of demand generation are tasked with the challenge of understanding marketing and sales performance at a far more granular level. Measuring the right prospect and demand gen program insights, allows you to optimize programs to generate higher quality leads that convert to a new customer. Without any further delay, lets look at the top metrics you need to look at if you want to implement demand generation the right way. That said, these are not the only ones you need to measure. Here is an infographic by Bizible that can help you with others Now, lets discuss the 4 metrics. Must Read: 9 demand generation books every marker should read 1. Cost Per Acquisition As the name suggests, cost per acquisition is the amount of money you have spent in taking the lead through the buyer’s cycle and finally, converting them into a buyer. This is not just an important metrics for doing demand generation the right way, it is an integral part of assessing the effectiveness of demand generation as a whole. In simpler terms, if the cost per acquisition is at a higher side or exceed average customer lifetime value, it is near to possible for any organization to achieve profitability. Calculating CPA for campaigns isnt rocket science. Calculate the total cost spent on acquiring buyers (only marketing related expenses) and divide it by the number of customers acquired for the period that campaign ran. CPA formula looks like this – Source: TheOnlineAdvertisingGuide For example, the total cost of the campaign is $1000 for 100 customers, then the cost per acquisition is $10. The lower the value, the better it is. Must Read: What Is Demand Generation Marketing and Why Is It Important? 2. Marketing qualified leads (MQL) to Sales qualified lead (SQL) For those of you who are not aware of the term MQL, an MQL is a lead that is qualified for nurturing based on pre-defined criterion and lead metrics information. Similarly, an SQL is a lead that is ready to invest in your product and services if nurtured properly and given the right offers. The formula to calculate MQL to SQL conversion is not complicated. It looks something like this – Number of SQL’s / Number of MQLs = MQL to SQL Conversion Rate This formula will help you understand the percentage conversion at this point in the sales funnel. You can read about this metrics in detail here. Similarly, you should analyze lead to MQL conversion for knowing if you are doing demand generation the right way. Everything put together will help you understand the gaps in the sales funnel. For example, you can know if most of your leads drop out after being checked as MQL. Meaning, you can work on your tactics, content, and strategy at that stage. Here are how the formulas for each stage of the funnel conversion look like (MQLs/SQLs) x 100 = Top-to-Middle Funnel Conversion Rate (SQLs/Customers) x 100 = Middle-to-Bottom Funnel Conversion Rate (MQLs/Customers) x 100 = Top-to-Funnel Conversion Rate. Must Read: MQL to SQL conversion rate 3. Closing percentage This is the stage where SQL becomes a buyer. It is important to understand how many of the SQL’s your sales team is able to close. It is also an important factor in how effectively you are converting, qualifying and nurturing marketing qualified leads and sales qualified leads. Not only that, it highlights any bottom of the funnel weaknesses The formula would look something like this (Deals Closed Number/Sales Proposals Number) x 100 = Closing Percentage 4. Lifetime customer value LCV is the total profitability of a customer over the total period of your relationship with your business. Not only does this metric reveals the effectiveness of closing deals, it also highlights the quality of account management and customer engagement practices. This infographic from Hubspot shows how a customer lifetime value graph should look like. A climbing CLV not only shows that effectiveness of conversion but also shows that you are doing demand generation the right way because you are generating high-value customers. Source: Kissmetrics That said, demand generation strategy and lead generation funnels play a crucial role in identifying these high-value customers and elevating them to your sales team And, the good part again is, it is not difficult to calculate. CLV takes into account the average size of each customer, no. of purchases one customer makes in a year, and average profit margins for that customer. It is then read with the customer retention rate. Here is a graphic to help you out. Source: Finnchat If you are looking to do Demand generation the right way, it is important to focus on the right metrics. In fact, it also requires you to take into consideration the right information and act on it at the right time. According to this article, with real-time performance measurement and optimization tools, demand marketers can unify data from across lead sources, the MAP and CRM to understand and fine-tune full-funnel marketing performance without any lag in accessing intelligence. Meaning, you will know if you are doing demand generation the right way! So, what do you think? Are you doing demand generation the right way? Must Read: Hack: Unlimited Demand Generation With Content Marketing

Simple Ways To Optimize Your Site For Lead Generation

Posted on By Vikas Bhatt

You Must Sew As You Intend To Harvest If you are going to reap B2B leads from the digital fields of the modern market, it is absolutely essential that you sew marketing seeds properly. The Native Americans would put corn kernels inside a fish to provide the seeds with nutrients for growth. That, in many ways, could be a metaphor for marketing solutions as attained through a specialized SEO agency.   One method of ensuring you increase leads is to avoid reinventing the wheel. As a business large or small, branching out into digital marketing territory solo will definitely put you in positions where mistakes will be made. The worst ideas will yield surprisingly good results, and the best ideas will yield negative ones. An SEO agency helps you avoid treading down paths you don’t need to.   But there are common sense ways you can design your site such that it is appealing to a broad variety of potential clientele beyond simple SEO. For example, consider your content. How qualitative is it? Are you giving your readers value, or are you giving them advertisement copy? Following are seven tips to help you optimize your site.   1. Ensure Site Content Is Engaging And Value-Rich Say you are a vehicular maintenance facility. People visiting your site are likely looking for something they can buy, or some way to diagnose their issue conveniently. Many vehicular issues require a professional garage to address with any effectiveness.   If you give your market a step-by-step process on what they can do themselves, and even what they cant, they’ll come to rely on you as a resource, and even come to trust you before ever entering your store.   You’ve got to be continuous with such content, though. You cant apply some one-and-done strategy. Many high-profile sources believe at least sixteen blog-posts a month are necessary. You might go as high as fifty. Posts should average no lower than 500 words per”dont be afraid to go long! Just put it in digestible chunks, include keywords, and make sure there are images to support the content.   Must Read: Top 6 Strategies For Increasing Lead Quality For Your B2B Business 2. Plan Perpetual Positive Prospect Perception Another means of lead generation (Lead generation strategies in USA market differ from the rest of the world) involving your site pertains to perception. Your site needs to be regularly updated, as that which is contemporary transitions on a regular basis. There’s a thing called Moores Law. If you’re unfamiliar, this is a principle which helps to define the forward progression of technology. About every 18 months, tech doubles on itself.  That is to say, in terms of computation, the abilities of computers double every year and a half. So websites which are designed by such computers must necessarily transition. You don’t see a lot of HTML-based sites with flashing .gifs and other visual techniques that are anathema today. In ten years, what was contemporary today will likewise look antiquated. You’ve always got to be renewing your site.   Must Read: Lead VS Prospect 3. Maximizing The Mobile Component Ensure, additionally, that your site is properly optimized for mobile outreach. Smartphones, smartwatches, smartphones, tablets, smart refrigerators, LED lights, HVAC systems, and more all define the modern market. You want your content optimized and visible on any platform which yields navigable internet interaction.   4. Lucrative Partnerships And Guest Blogging Next, you want to have your website partnered with other online locations through back-linking. Avoid competitors, of course; but vendors and non-competitive peers who either focus on other aspects of service delivery or product provision can act as marketing energy turbines if you will. The more partners you get, the higher your marketing rocket can go, and the more associated leads can be generated.   Blogs are a big part of this. You want to find the most popular blogs which pertain to the products/services of your business. Ensure you get yourself featured on those blogs in a guest capacity, and be careful to include backlinks to your site.   When clients look on your site for products or services that you don’t provide, but which companies providing you guest-blogging opportunities do, you can link to them from your home page to return the favor. Since you’ve got material on their digital premises as well, you don’t necessarily lose leads that way.   Must Read: Crazy Leads Generation Methods 5. Comprehensively Employing Analytic Solutions Certainly, you want to examine site data, as well”that which is on-site, and that which is off-site; as it can drive clients to you. Where do those who are trafficked to your site spend time, and where do they click away? Loading times can be a big issue. You want easy-to-peruse simplicity to surfeit everything on your site. Contact information, products, services, blogs, testimonials, and about us links should be organized in a conveniently visible location on your home page.    You can read more in order to help you make the best choice in terms of lead generation; the linked site can help you with outreach tools like SEO, which are known to increase the credibility of a given business. Essentially, the right optimization measures utilizing cutting-edge outreach tools like SEO stand to transform an unknown business into a known institution given time.   Such transformation ultimately facilitates increased lead generation, as your business increasingly becomes the go-to option for whatever specialty represents operational profitability. By being a relevant part of the digital community which continuously provides useful content, you become trustworthy. People like to establish patterns of activity that are predictable, sustainable, and comfortable; your goal is to get in such a niche.   6. Dont Forget Social Media Social media is additionally an absolutely integral component of your sites visibility to potential leads. Maximize social media for demand generation.  You want links to all social media profiles and vice versa. Ensure Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Gab.ai, Minds.com, Reddit, YouTube, and any other site you have a social media presence on includes links back to your homepage. 7. Continuous Outreach Upgrade For Reliable Inbound Traffic You’ll need to upgrade your outreach

Does your Company Need a Demand Generation Expert or Agency? Find out

Posted on By Vikas Bhatt

So, you are considering what to opt – a demand generation expert or agency? Congrats. A lot of businesses do not give this question a thought (which is a BIG mistake!) Look,B2B Demand generation marketing is NOT easy. If it were, every B2B company would be acing it. There are so many strategies to use and as much effort to be put into each of them to ACTUALLY work. As a result, many businesses tend to outsource demand generation or hire an expert (depending on their needs).  Frankly, there are pros and cons to both (demand generation expert or agency). According to Gartner, 58% of businesses are increasing marketing spend every year. Meaning, it is important to ensure that you are investing money into a solution (demand generation expert or agency) that works for you. Although, in the end, the right choice between demand generation expert or agency, depends on your business, motivation, priorities, and end goals. In this post, we will go over a few questions you need to ask yourself which will allow you to decide between a demand generation expert or agency. Lets get started Must Read: 40+ Demand Generation Blogs You Should Follow Now! What is your end goal? Before you decide between demand generation expert or agency, take out the time to detail your end goals. Ask yourself  What do you want to achieve in the end? What do you want to achieve with demand generation campaigns? Who is your target audience? If possible, set out realistic ROI expectations as well, etc 1. What is your budget? Once you understand your demand generation needs, it is easier to create a budget for it. No doubt, the cost is one of the deciding elements. If you notice, you will always ask – What is more cost effective solution? We are not asking to compromise on the quality of services but your marketing solution needs to be cost effective for your business.   So, what is more effective – demand generation expert or agency? A lot of depends on your need, again.  Demand generation agency The price depends on your individual project requirements. They generally charge hourly or go by a project rate. Demand generation agencies account for every minute they spend and will provide extensive reports on campaigns Basically, you pay for EXACTLY what you need Considering the agency bears the cost of tools, investments, human resources and others; it is 0 overhead costs for you. You dont have to worry about taxes, payroll, office space, benefits, vacations, nothing! Nada! Demand generation expert Look, recruiting top talent requires a lot of time headhunting and money. It is NOT easy! You will have to bear overhead costs if you are hiring a demand generation expert – competitive salary, benefits etc. Besides this, you will also need to invest in tools, training, workshops etc to keep him/her updated Not only that, employees can be lured away or they can leave your organization. It can happen with agency employees but it wont be your headache But, remember one thing – most often than not, one person cannot handle all your needs and requirements. You will need an entire team of experts if you want to scale your campaigns! Must Read: What Is Demand Generation Marketing and Why Is It Important? 2. Time You will need to analyze how much time do you have to be involved in any marketing campaign. Whether you decide to go with demand generation agency or expert, know whether or not you can get involved in it Demand generation agency or expert? Well, agencies take the load off of you. They offer end to end solution and will do all the work. You will only be involved in major decision and analysis of campaigns (what is working, why something is not working etc) In other words, you can concentrate on other important tasks related to running a business.  Expert – You will need to take out time to supervise the work. For many businesses, that is equivalent to no peace of mind. That said, many agencies nowadays want you to be involved as much as possible. It allows them to personalize and target your audience in a better fashion. Still, when compared to experts, this will not take a lot of your time because agencies understand time is money. 3. Niche and expertise of demand generation agency or expert? Have you heard the saying – riches in the niches? Most marketers nowadays are experts in one part of marketing (for example, demand generation, B2B lead generation, content syndication etc) Meaning, you need to be very clear on your marketing needs before you hire an expert. In either situation, you will need to constantly spend resources on training them on the latest technologies and tactics.  On the contrary, agencies have a team of experts. You are not responsible for finding and deciding the strategies even before you have actually tested it out (which is absurd, to begin with) You don’t go to the doctor telling him you have this problem and this solution works. You let the doctor tell you what is the best treatment. Similarly, agencies can tell you exactly what CAN work for you, put in into practice and see if you need a change of strategy. Experts can also recommend the change of strategy but they might not be great at ALL other tactics. So, what is the conclusion? Still confused between demand generation expert or agency? Outsourcing it to demand generation agency will give you access to multiple experts that you cannot afford to hire and put them to work on your marketing campaigns. As stated above, you will have ZERO overhead costs. That said, both demand generation expert or agency is not hands-off. Someone has to manage the third party relationship or coordinate with the expert to ensure that the goals are met. In either case, do your due diligence and research on multiple agencies and interview experts to find the right fit. Over to you – What do you think? What is a great fit for your business – demand generation expert or agency and why? Must

30+ Facebook Business Groups for Content Syndication

Posted on By Vikas Bhatt

Want to use Facebook business groups for content syndication?   You’re at the right place!   Using facebook business groups for content syndication is a great strategy to drive traffic as well as boost engagement.   Wondering, how is that possible? How does facebook business groups for content syndication work?   Look,   Facebook business groups are places where individuals and business owners share queries. Many of them will match your target buyer.   If you or your content can answer them, you can quickly establish your blog as a go-to resource and gain industry authority.   So, what are you waiting for?   Look for relevant Facebook business groups for content syndication and send a joining request. Using Facebook business groups for content syndication is highly targeted and gives you a higher rate of return.Start joining them today.   But before that ensure that you follow best practices while using Facebook business groups for content syndication. Some of them being –   Read the rules before you join any group. It is significant to know what you can or cannot do in the groups. Ensure that any posts or content is shared only in the manner allowed by the admin Do not use Facebook groups to drop the link and leave Engage and help people Build relationships and take efforts to know other people Introduce yourself strategically if you are looking to use Facebook business groups for content syndication. Use keywords, share your expertise and what you can do for your target audience Always post in moderation. Do NOT over do it. Engage whenever you are mentioned. This will increase your authority and people will start knowing you Must Read: Best Social Media to generate B2B Leads Facebook vs Twitter vs LinkedIn   What do you think about using Facebook business groups for content syndication? Are you a part of any of these groups? Do you have your own? Comment below and share it with us You should totally be a part of Facebook groups for content syndication and if you are not already (or have no idea which ones to join), we are going to list 30+ groups you should join today.   Blog Society by founded Jaclyn Carlson [5379 members] The Inspired Bloggers Network founded by Tabitha Philen [12184 members] The Rising Tide Society, founded by Natalie Franke [74996 members] Rock Your Blog & Biz founded by Kirsten Rosetti [3807 members] Startup Group – Silicon Valley founded by Todd Khan [17135 members] Online Business Mastermind founded by Lewis Howes [15738 members] Bloggers That Profit founded by Manda [5913 members] Breaking The One Percent’s Ultimate Blogging Group founded by Jeff Proctor [1505 members] The Read With Entrepreneurs Book Club founded by Cynthia Johnson [2416 members] The Intrepid Entrepreneur Community founded by Hannah Martin [15266 members] Freedom Hackers®️ Mastermind founded by Kimra Luna [46435 members] Savvy Business Owners founded by Heather Crabtree [15257 members] Niche Site Entrepreneurs founded by Dom Wells [7669 members] The Smart Passive Income Community founded by Pat Flynn [37756 members] Entrepreneur Hustle is created by Danny Viega [51168 members] Investing and Personal Finance Club founded by Robert Farrington [15830 members] The Penny Hoarder Community Group [29046 members] The Startup Chat Mastermind group by SteliEfti [8072 members] Badass Marketers and Founders by Josh Fechter [21181 members] Humans of Online Business [10168 members] Coffee with Dan founded by Dan Meredith [14100 members] Social Media For Entrepreneurs founded by Josh Forti [32470 members] Millennial Entrepreneur Community by Arne Giske [73609 members] 60 Second Persuasion by BushraAzhar [20021 members] Groove Learning by Rohan Gilkes [11638 members] Mari Smith Leading Entrepreneurs [5091 members] Intrepid Entrepreneurs Community founded by Hannah Martin [15266 members] Super Hero Entrepreneurs founded by Dan Henry [29770 members] The Rich20Something Community founded by Daniel DiPiazza [17396 members] SaaS Growth Hacks founded by Aaron Krall [8828 members] Social Boss founded by Caitlin Bacher [36413 members] Entrepreneurs’ Abundance Mindset founded by Francesca Moi [6631 members] Straight Up Entrepreneurs founded by Aaron Janx [17547 members] Young Entrepreneurs society International founded by Velan Vergara [10051 members] Entrepreneurs United founded by Larry Bussey [6239 members] The Rising Tide Society founded by Natalie Frankie [74965 members] Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, and Startup by Alwin [68498 members] Entrepreneurs Only founded by Steve Hoffman [89463 members] Shopify Dropshipping for Entrepreneurs by Tin Ho [57828 members] Screw the Nine to Five Community founded by Jill Stanton [12787 members] Niche Hacks – Private Mastermind Group founded by Stuart Walker [48330 members] Small businesses London founded by Camelia [4301 members] Small business support network founded by Nicola Holbrook [4403 members] London Entrepreneurs and Business Owners founded by Nadeem Afzal [4805 members] Small Business UK founded by Ernestas Key [11729 members] Must Read: How the lead generation strategies in USA market differ from the rest of the world   There you go. This is an extensive list of Facebook Groups for Content Syndication. All of these groups have numerous members and are very active in their niche. Start joining them today.   But before that ensure that you follow best practices while using Facebook business groups for content syndication. Some of them being –   Read the rules before you join any group. It is significant to know what you can or cannot do in the groups. Ensure that any posts or content is shared only in the manner allowed by the admin Do not use Facebook groups to drop the link and leave Engage and help people Build relationships and take efforts to know other people Introduce yourself strategically if you are looking to use Facebook business groups for content syndication. Use keywords, share your expertise and what you can do for your target audience Always post in moderation. Do NOT overdo it. Engage whenever you are mentioned. This will increase your authority and people will start knowing you   What do you think about using Facebook business groups for content syndication? Are you a part of any of these groups? Do you have your own? Comment below and share it with us. Must Read: Why You Should Be Using Social Media Customer Service

5 Ways Of Promoting New Piece of Content | Content Syndication Ways

Posted on By Vikas Bhatt

You have written a detailed and actionable piece of content for your blog. You publish it and wait for the traffic to take over. But, unfortunately, the traffic does not meet your expectation.  Look – If you publish it only on your blog, chances are, it will not reach an audience other than your own (which is extremely small, if you are just starting out) Promoting a new piece of content is the absolute necessity!  But, there’s good news! By leveraging B2B content syndication strategies, you can boost the traffic pretty quickly. These strategies involve strategically placing your content on relevant industry publications and websites frequented by your target audience. If you are unaware of content syndication services, it is the process of re-publishing your content on third party websites that usually have a large following. For example, The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, Medium etc. [Don’t worry, it is content syndication ways are perfectly good with Google and does not mean duplicate content.] After all, the purpose of content creation is to build a brand and reach a massive audience, and it does not matter if they don’t read on content on your blog at first.  In this post, we will discuss 5 ways of promoting a new piece of content through content syndication ways Lets begin  Self-publishing platforms There are multiple self-publishing platforms where you can re-publish your existing content. Lets look at a few options 1. LinkedIn It is an excellent medium to syndicate content because it is filled with articles, videos and blog posts written by the professional community members as well as industry influencers.  This exemplifies how content syndication works: By sharing your high-quality content on LinkedIn, you get exposure to a targeted B2B audience and leverage the platform’s existing traffic to drive visitors back to your website. We recommend LinkedIn as one of the most effective content syndication ways because: The site generates traffic for a long time. Meaning, you will keep getting the traffic long after your content is published. So, make sure your content is high quality and aim for it to be picked by LinkedIn Pulse. Even if it does not get picked by Pulse, posting content on LinkedIn regularly will drive new readers back to your website. SlideShare If you have noticed, there are many pieces of content that are not ranked high on Google but the SlideShare version ranks right on Page 1.  Slideshare is a great content syndication tool of promoting a new piece of content. They allow anybody to upload a slideshow that visitor can view and download.  While it may not drive huge amounts of traffic initially, it is a great way to brand your business. Anyone who is looking for content or downloads it will notice your branding on the content and would be encouraged to check you out. Must Read: 6 Content Syndication Networks that will Drive Traffic 2. Social media snippets Social media is one of the top content syndication ways and there are many ways a B2B business uses it. You can get your content in front of the relevant audience by buying targeted ads or sponsored posts, not just to drive brand awareness but to generate leads through calls to action and landing pages. All social media platforms (like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) welcome content in the variety of forms and there are plenty visual only platforms (like Instagram and Pinterest) which can help you reach the relevant audience.  So, pick the platform which works best for your business and get started. 3. Influence the influencer Another way of promoting a new piece of content is to mention influencers and inform them about it. If you have written detailed and informative content, they will be happy to share it with their following (which quickly builds trust in the industry). This highlights one of the key benefits of content syndication: gaining exposure to a wider audience through established influencer networks. You can also write an actionable guide and ask an influencer to link back to your post. Neil Patel talks about this method quite in detailed. 4. Paid content syndication ways to promote a new piece of content With the help of these content discovery platforms (named below), you can maximize your audience by sharing your content on a wide network of sites, ncluding platforms specifically designed for video content syndication. Have you seen the recommended articles from the websection on many websites? These are paid content syndication ways and are seamlessly blended into the design There are many content discovery platforms to choose from. While some are more popular (or recommended) than others, the decision depends on your requirements and what works best for you. Some of the ones, we recommend are Using these services, you can quickly grow an audience by putting your content in front of a million eyes. But, remember, these are paid services and work on pay per lead model. You can read more about these here. 5. Social bookmarking websites and RSS There are a lot of websites that aggregate the best possible content available online. You must have heard of Reddit, StumbleUpon or Dig. That said, you cannot be spammy by dropping your link and running away. These are engaged communities and you need to take time to get involved, comment on others and share content from a variety of resources. Another recourse of promoting a new piece of content is using RSS – Really Simple Syndication. There are multiple sites available online which are designed to combine and collect a range of RSS content.  You can submit your content to these sites. Through getting our content syndicated in these RSS directories, you will get traffic. However, your content will be mixed with a lot of other content and you might not see the traffic initially Besides this, there are many websites which allow content syndication and you can use this guide to find such places There you go.  Content Syndication is a powerful tool in your marketing toolbox. If you utilize these content syndication methods, you can put your content in front of a larger

How to Find Places to Syndicate Your Content?

Posted on By Vikas Bhatt

Content syndication can help you boost visitors quickly. Literally, quickly. Your website traffic could suddenly look like this –    For those of you who do not know what content syndication is, it is a process of re-publishing your content on third-party sites (who have a large following, for example, The Huffington Post or TNW etc). You can read more about it    a. Beginners Guide To FREE Content Syndication   b. B2B Content Syndication Strategies c. 5 Step Process To Make Content Syndication Work For Demand Generation    But, how to find the right places to syndicate your content? How and where do we look for it? In this post, we are going to answer exactly this.   What should you know before you start finding a place for syndicating your content? i. Your target audience It is important to know who you are trying to reach with your content. Meaning, you cannot hope to generate qualified leads (Marketing qualified or Sales qualified) if you syndicate your content on a website in a different niche. For example, syndicating a technology piece with lifestyle websites.   ii. Best content piece Select the best written and popular (the one which drives most traffic) content piece to syndicate. iii.  Understand techniques You have three major options –   Now that we understand the top 3 options for syndicating your content, lets discuss how should you find places.   1. Search Google for list-type content pieces This is a no-brainer. You can find list-type content pieces online that have collated all the places where you can syndicate your content, showcasing the benefits of content syndication by allowing you to reach a wider audience and potentially generate more leads and sales. If a simple Google search isnt fetching the desired results, try the advanced search feature of Google. Below the search bar and on the right side, you will find settings and tools. Click on Tools and select Advanced Search. You can be very specific with your searches here. I tried with these values and landed quite a few good resources that lists places where you can syndicate your content. 2. Look for complete guides Similarly, you can also find guides and 101s to content syndication.These resources often delve into strategies specifically geared towards content syndication lead generation. They usually list out the most popular tools and websites to syndicate your content. We have made your task easier by collating the best articles available online which talk about content syndication. 3. Look for websites that accept guest posts If you are looking to guest post on niche websites, it is best to search niche + write for us on Google. You will find a list of websites that are open to accepting content from others.    For example, if you are looking to publish content on digital marketing, you can search for digital marketing + write for us. This is what Google will give you    If you are not keen on guest posting, you can make a list of all the websites from this Google search and browse their content to see if they will be open to syndicating content, or explore video content syndication as another means to reach a wider audience. And, how do you do that?   You are looking for a line which basically states that it was originally published somewhere else or have an attribution. Like this –   According to Neil Patel,    You can also search for terms, like originally appeared on, within a site  this will gather all of the syndicated content in the search engine results. So, to know if Lifehacker is open to content syndication, well look for  lifehacker.com: originally appeared on. The following screenshot confirms that Lifehacker is indeed open to content syndication    Source: Neil Patel 4. Assess where your competitors have syndicated content Arthur Weiss, managing director of UK-based Aware, says that keeping an eye on competitor moves helps businesses gain competitive intelligence. “”You can then plan your own strategies so that you keep your customers and win (not steal) customers away from competitors.   You can simply Google on how to use these tools and select the best one for your needs. Here are a few articles to help you out  fre 5. Public Relations platforms that collate information These websites are a directory of information on websites and media platforms that are open to content syndication.    A few you can use are     How to find more?    You can use producthunt.com. I put in public relations in the search and it gave me these results (including the ones mentioned above) 6. Search for WordPress plugins that make syndication easy and submitting content to RSS In our blog post, we mentioned that one of the fastest growing methods for enhancing a web sites traffic and syndicating content for MarTech experts is to submit your RSS feed to the top-ranked RSS feed directories and search engines. You can find a list here.   You can also find a list of WordPress plugins that will help you with syndicating content. Here are a few articles that will help you   There you go.    You know everything about searching the right place to syndicate your content.   Which ones are you going to put in practice? Lets talk about it in the comments section.

Did You Know – Repeating Demand Generation Activities Drive 10x Results

Posted on By Vikas Bhatt

 2018 – I have crafted an awesome demand generation strategy for this year   2019 – I don’t know why the demand generation strategy did not give me desired results. How do I justify marketing budget to the C-suite? We have come across a lot of these! No, seriously!   Sometimes the demand generation strategy and tactics were beautiful but due to lack of repeated procedures required they  FAILED (rather miserably!)!    Yikes. I cannot imagine myself being there. If you are a B2B marketer, you will know the magnitude of revising strategy each year. It is not an end-moment-game, it is something which goes along from the time you implemented your previous strategy.   One of the secret ingredients to A-W-E-S-O-M-E B2B demand generation strategy is to constantly evaluate the programs and weighting it against investments (in terms of time and of course, money).   But, what do we constantly perform or evaluate? Let us divulge the secret today! In this post we will discuss 6 demand generation activities / efforts which need to be constantly implemented if you want bangs for your buck.   Must Read: Demand Generation and Inbound marketing: The new couple in town! 1. Evaluate goals (and revise them if need be) This is a no brainer.   You need to evaluate goals against the performance quarterly  (or bi-annually) and set new goals (or revise them) depending upon what you have achieved (or haven’t achieved)     Demand generation activities / goals can be defined in terms of MQLs, SQLs, %age of revenue, driving awareness, using new demand generation tactics that haven’t been used before. Include target outcomes (short term as well as long term) for each goal set. You will never get anywhere if you don’t know where you are going.   Lets take an example. If you created an ebook with a target of at least 10,000 downloads in 3 months, you need to see whether you achieved it. If not, what can be changed or if you already achieve it within 3 months, what can you do to achieve your next target sooner.    You get my point? This was a simplified example!   2. Produce content or repurpose existing content Quality content is the foundation of demand generation.   Why do I say that?   Because content includes a range of activities like blog posts, contributed articles, infographics, whitepapers, eBooks, research reports, guides, webinars, videos, case studies, nurture emails, landing pages and more.   We understand that producing content often is NOT easy. But, for demand generation activities / efforts, always look for content which is doing well in terms of driving traffic, shares, comments etc or have gone viral.  You can take such content and repurpose it to make more content (and for different platform). For example, if you were writing a blog post on hosting services which is driving huge amounts of traffic, you can repurpose it to make an ebook, worksheet, tutorial, checklist or an infographic.     You cannot wait for the year to end to utilize content which has gone viral today!   Also, keep making an effort to understand your buyer persona better and develop content that resonates with your audience. Again, you will never get anywhere if you don’t know who you are targeting! Always keep a lookout for information on your audience and add it to your data.   Must Read: Demand Generation Etiquette 3. Spread content Your content needs to travel in any and every way possible. Don’t expect your audience to land on your blog post just because you have published valuable content. It WILL get lost in the 3 million other post which are written every day. Review content promotion tactics on a regular basis. Include promotional strategy which ALWAYS work, for example, building a list and using email marketing, sharing on social media regularly, and our favorite – content syndication.   Don’t overlook or ignore any method of spreading content.   4. Keep testing Its important to always test demand generation activities, tactics, strategies, content, creative, channel, sources and more. Something we always test for our clients on a regular basis are lead nurturing efforts, CTAs, landing page designs, headlines, email marketing subject lines and designs, social media tactics and SEO tactics.   5. Analyse data You need to be guided by the RIGHT data. So, keep an eye on all the relevant metrics. Remember, vanity metrics can be misleading.   Are you wondering – what is the right metrics then? Well, guess what – Just ask yourself if the metrics can help you make better decisions? Most often it will include lead sources (where do most of your leads come from?), volume of MQLs, SQLs and SALs, clicks and conversion rates (how many of the qualify lead convert into customers?) etc   Its imperative that you take action on the key insights once you discover them. Don’t just sit on the data! 6. Follow best practices for demand generation activities Last but not the least, always follow demand generation best practices. For starters,   Create a detailed strategy around a demand generation tactic. For example, you cannot stop at lets promote on twitter. You need to know how will you use it, will you use sponsored tweets, what time will you post, etc. Always map your lead generation strategy with buyers journey. If you miss it, your tactics will not give you the desired results.   That’s our secret in the open!    If you implement these procedures on your strategy, you are bound to see improvements. So, what has been your best demand generation technique? Lets talk about it in the comments section. Must Read: Ultimate Guide to Demand Generation Strategy 

How to Use Content Syndication to Boost Your Subscribers

Posted on By Ameet Bhinganiya

Have you heard of Ash Ambirge of The Middle Finger Project? It’s ok if you haven’t. Because I will share something about her that will leave your jaw dropped to the floor. Ash Ambirge found herself in the parking lot in the slums of Philadelphia with mere $26. She was assaulted by her boyfriend and barely escaped with her life a few hours ago. Most people would resort to suicide or prostitution but not Ash. She had a weapon, a blog, which she built on the side with 2500 email subscribers, a testament to the benefits of content syndication and audience building. She turned to her subscribers for pre-selling an ebook. Yes, when shit hit the fan, she resorted to her subscribers to make a living.  Do you see what I am getting at? Building email lists should be an important part of your sales strategy. It helps you reach out to your audience within a matter of minutes and sell your product or services. Neil Patel, summarizes it, by saying,  out of all the channels I tested as a marketer, email continually outperforms most of them. Not only does it have a high conversion rate, but as you build up your list you can continually monetize it by pitching multiple products. Just look at ecommerce sites like Amazon, one way they get you to continually buy more products from them is by emailing you offers on a regular basis.  Don’t forget the power of video content syndication as well! By creating high-quality video content and strategically placing it on relevant websites, you can reach even wider audiences and generate leads who might be more receptive to video as a format. But, how to build an email list? There is a tonne of tactics you can use (including, landing pages, opt-ins, header opt-ins, etc). Today, we are going to look at using content syndication alongside content syndication tools to boost your email subscribers. Must Read: MQL to SQL conversion rate What is content syndication? Content syndication is an inbound strategy which deals with republishing your content on third-party sites. Now, think about the worst advice you have received to on how to grow your wordpress blog? You concentrate on building it, they will come, thats mine! It couldn’t be more misleading than that. Growing your blog audience and converting them into subscribers requires a well thought strategy.  You may write awesome posts on your blog, but if there is no one to read, you won’t get anywhere. And, this is where content syndication comes to rescue. It essentially expands your reach by placing your content in front of new audiences on relevant websites. In simpler terms, how does content syndication work? Reputable syndication platforms connect you with websites that share your target audience. You can then share your high-quality content with them, allowing them to publish it while properly attributing it back to your original source. This increases your visibility and drives new visitors to your blog, potentially converting them into loyal subscribers. Specifically in the B2B content syndication space, this expands your reach to relevant industry publications and websites frequented by your target audience. By placing your content in front of these qualified readers, you can generate high-quality leads and establish yourself as a thought leader within your niche. It gives your content legs of an Olympic athlete. What I mean is, content syndication can put you in front of millions of readers and help you gain new subscribers.  James Clear, a big advocate of content syndication, says  an article that originally ran on my site and then was re-published by Lifehacker later on. I gained over 600 subscribers from the Lifehacker version and I didn’t have to put in any additional work writing a new article. Must Read: Beginner’s Guide to FREE Content Syndication 600 subscribers! Now, that’s how content syndication can help to boost your subscribers (if done right!) Lets look at a few things you need to do with your posts while submitting it to other blogs and websites 3 things to do for boosting subscribers using content syndication 1. Write great content Instead of discussing the rhetoric on actionable, valuable and informative content, let us tell you three types of content which do extremely well.  a. How-to posts Leave no stone unturned. Be as detailed as possible. Use screenshots, videos, and pictures to make it easy for your audience to understand how to do something For example, this post, we wrote on how to syndicate content.  b. Personal experiences We all have been through ups and downs and when we share our vulnerabilities with our audience, they connect with us. However, don’t go on about it! Focus on how you overcame your trouble and give information which they are looking for. For example, this posts talks about how she built her career after being fired from her job. c. Case Studies A case study not only gives specific tips, tricks and strategy but it helps build credibility amongst your audience. 2. Write thoughtful conclusions Build in a call-to-action in the conclusions so readers can get more information on the same topic. This is what Greg did and suggests his audienceSource: Coschedule He breaks down the conclusion into three parts 3. Link in the byline Always write your byline in the end. That way, you can customize your byline to match the blog post. For example, if I had to link a lead magnet with this blog, it would be about content syndication or boosting email subscribers, directly trying into content syndication lead generation efforts. For example, ElnaCain, provides a link to her free course, in all the bylines of her guest posts. You also need to spend time creating a high converting landing page (by including a relevant offer and personalizing it) where your audience will land after clicking on the link. Conclusion: If there is one thing every marketer, business or blog owners, and conversion experts agree is the vitality of building a b2b list as you grow. This is where I remember what Ramsay Taplin of BlogTyrant has to say Even if all

Quick Guide: Retain Customers with Demand Generation Strategies

Posted on By Vikas Bhatt

One of the biggest challenges in saturated markets today is generating demand for your business. Big brands make it look so easy. And guess what, IT IS. While demand generation may be a small part of the bigger marketing plan, it is necessary to ensure that your demand generation strategies, tactics, and practices work along the sales funnel and result in customer acquisition. Must Read: 9 demand generation books every marker should read So, what is demand generation? As the name suggests, demand generation is all about creating a need for your product/service in the minds of your potential buyers. According to Sproutsocial, It is a multi-step process that shows your prospects a problem they face, acquaints them with your brand as a potential solution and illustrates the value of choosing you over others. There are many demand generation strategies and tactics, like email marketing, free tool or resources, webinars, videos, apps etc, which are known to have impressive ROI Source: leadsmarketer.net While implementing any of these strategies, you need to follow certain rules or best practices which are known to increase customer acquisition and retention rates. Lets look at them one by one. 1. Remember, you need demand generation We have met a few clients who thought they didn’t require demand generation ideas. Ooo!   That one mistake that always leaves me speechless! Many businesses start off planning their marketing assuming that customers will know and want to buy their products/services. Let me break it to you – Unless you are selling on Mars and have a monopoly, customers aren’t automatically going to come to you and buy.  Always start with generating demand and do not skip steps 2. Understand the difference between demand generation and lead generation You may skip over this point thinking you know it. But, many marketers make the mistake of using lead and demand generation interchangeably. While demand generation is focused on driving awareness for your product/service, B2B lead generation focuses on conversions. You cannot expect conversions if your marketing plan is demand-driving only and vice versa. Read more : Lead-Generation-Vs-Demand-Generation 3. Lead Nurturing, segmentation and tailored communication There are three absolute essentials to any demand generation plans: Lead nurturing, segmentation and tailored communications. But, for any of this to happen, you will need to start with buyer persona. Use data to extract relevant information and understand your target audience (their preference, likes, dislikes, pain points etc). Once you have demand generation aligned with the right persona, the quality of leads will drastically improve. Buyer persona will also help you tailor communications in a way that talks directly to your audience. Did you know that personalized experience converts 1.5 times better? We have carried out demand generation for several businesses and we have seen success in narrowing our focus and increasing personalization at every single step. For personalization to work in your favor, you will also need to segment your audience. Narrowing your targets will help you understand their specific situation leading to tailored communications which will help you achieve higher conversions. If you send the same message to all your audience, you will reach no one. All of this put together is the best recipe for lead nurturing. Remember, a poor lead nurturing and demand generation strategies will waste quality leads.   Must Read: Demand Generation Etiquette 4. Campaign analysis and feedback Just admit it. You cannot get perfect demand strategy in your first attempt. How would you know it? By campaign analysis and feedback.  You need to set up KPIs and performance tools before you start implementing any strategy. Measuring revenue influence against budget investments is important. Other metrics would have a cost per acquisition, lifetime value of customers, a time taken to convert, percentage to convert (SQL, MQL, SAL, Buyer) etc. Do not mistake vanity metrics (social clicks, likes, follow, page views) as a measurement for success. 5. Qualifying Leads If you want to increase customer acquisition with demand generation strategies, it is important that you qualify leads (Marketing qualified or Sales qualified) the right way. Incorporate a detailed lead scoring system in your strategy that can help you target best leads in your funnel. With lead scoring in place, the sales team can touch upon hottest leads and improve sales. Must Read: MQL to SQL Conversion Rate 6. User friendly UI/UX Websites are the best way to generate demand. You can use multiple tactics on it: Landing pages, lead magnets, free tools, free resource etc. It is important that you are invested in the designing of your website and ensure that it is attractive, user-friendly, mobile-friendly and at the same time takes up least amount of resources and loads fast. 7. Social Media Interactions Social media platforms are the best way to engage with your potential buyers today. Be active and comment, like, share, tweet etc. We need to learn a lesson from Xbox. They have assigned a dedicated Twitter account for customer support and 27 people to manage it. An active social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) presence can help you generate demand, build credibility and establish you as a thought leader. 8. Branding consistency Just ask yourself, can your target audience distinguish your graphics, pictures, feature images, logo, in short branding, just by looking at it? If your answer is no, you are missing out on generating demand and building loyalty. Check out Melyssagriffin.com  9. Partner or Outsource This is the mistake we all are guilty of! Partnerships, collaborations with similar businesses and outsourcing to expert demand generation companies/agencies go a long way in managing and creating demand generation that leads to higher customer acquisition. Must Read: 9 demand generation books every marker should read 10. Clarify goals Don’t shoot in the dark. You can analyze the performance of a campaign only if you know what you were trying to achieve from it. Without goals, it is difficult to optimize and make decisions on what to change and what to keep. For example, if my goal is 300 sign ups in a month, how does my campaign work to fulfill it?  11. Have clean data Last but not the least, if you want to drive real results from your demand generation campaign, have

5 Step Process To Make Content Syndication Work For Demand Generation

Posted on By Vikas Bhatt

Content syndication is a fantastic content marketing tool for demand generation. It gives your content legs to walk in front of millions of people, out which a few lakhs would be your potential buyers. But, how do we do it? What content syndication network should I use? How do I choose a content syndication network to achieve the desired results?  In this post, we will discuss 5 steps to ensure that your demand generation campaign is making the most of content syndication benefits.  If you are looking for free content syndication, you can read our post on beginners guide to free content syndication.   1. Define parameters for your demand generation campaign Before you dive into using content syndication for demand generation, determine your target audience for the campaign. While you can always run generalized campaign, we advise you against it. It WILL hamper your conversion rates because you will have a pool of data (not necessarily of your target buyer). However, if you are running a targeted content syndication lead generation campaign (which is also comparatively costlier), you can skyrocket your conversions.  Exactly why it is expensive! Let’s take an example of a generalized campaign. You are an IT company who wants to market an ebook on cloud computing. Now, this will attract all types of companib2b es who want to use cloud computing. But, does that help you? No. Instead, you should market your ebook, to small businesses who are starting out and want to learn about the benefits or challenges of cloud computing.  Understanding how content syndication works is crucial for crafting targeted campaigns. Reputable syndication platforms often allow you to specify your target audience demographics and interests, ensuring your content reaches the most relevant viewers or readers, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates. This is where a buyer persona comes handy. You can detail the industry, company size, job title or designation etcwhich will get you one step closer to qualified leads.  While the campaign can be as broad or narrow as you want, you need to remember that content syndication partners charge a higher amount for customized questions.    Now, we have a secret to share. Come closer? While it may sound enticing to use customized questions, a lot of marketers don’t. They like to get minimum information from these partners and then append the data themselves. This saves us tons of money.   Must Read: 29 Content Syndication Articles to Help You Become a Content Syndication Guru 2. Select your content Select your demand generation content in line with your set parameters. For this, you need answer a few questions   Consider the potential of video content syndication as well. Video content can be particularly engaging and informative, making it a great choice for attracting new audiences and generating leads. 3. Choose the right syndicating partner Oh yes, it is easy to say that. But, we will tell you exactly what to look for 1. Ask the most relevant questions  2. Due diligence You cannot trust the data shared by the content syndication networks alone. They are unlikely to share data that results in loss of business. So, gather data on 3. Reference check Talk to one of their earlier clients if you want to be super sure of the quality. Try and understand   4. Know exactly how and where they will syndicate Content Syndication Networks has different ways and places they syndicate. A few of them involve email marketing, paid ads, partner sites and communities using Linkedin. Understanding these B2B content syndication strategies will help you choose a network that aligns with your goals. So, you want to be absolutely clear about what they will do with your content. If they are syndicating on a partners website, ensure that the snippet of your content, logo or any other relevant information you want to be displayed is showed appropriately.  When visitors share details to get access to content, the publisher will collect the data and share the details with you (mostly in the form of spreadsheet).   5. Have a lead verification system in place You need to ensure that the data provided by the media partner is accurate and non-repetitive (i.e. you don’t already engaging that lead) before you merge it into your CRM.  In nutshell, you need to ensure the quality of data at your end too. Having a data validation software works wonders! Discuss with your sales and marketing team how they want to handle the data. Do they want to Must Read: Weighting Content Syndication and Plagiarism 6. Don’t cut to the chase We know, it is very tempting to be able to just SELL. It is highly unlikely that the leads are sales ready. Think of them as the top of the funnel leads and nurture them accordingly. Keep a track of their journey and take baby steps. In terms of pricing, content syndication tools run on a cost per lead basis. It can cost anywhere between $8 – $40 per lead depending on the customization. That means, each time a prospect fills out a form to access your content you will be charged. Are you planning to put the process in action? Do you think we missed on something? Let’s talk about it in the comments section.

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