For many marketers, writing just doesn’t come naturally. When they come face to face with a blank blog template and a blinking cursor, suddenly a million other tasks are more important and blog writing is put on the back burner.
If the idea of writing a blog – let alone a great blog- each week leaves you in a cold sweat I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news; you have to blog. Blogging is no longer an option for B2Bs who want to keep up with the competition. Blogs are one of the most important ways for businesses to attract prospective customers with informative content, insights, and industry news. Research shows that B2B marketers that blog receive 67% more leads than those who do not.
So what’s the good news? Well, I’m glad you asked. The good news is that you don’t have to write to fill your blog with relevant, engaging content. If you are ready to start gaining new prospects but writing isn’t ‘your thing,’ check out a few non-traditional blogging methods that will get you great results.
[Infographics]
Infographics are probably one of the most popular and impactful ways to share content without having to write. In fact,Infographics are liked and shared on social media 3x more than any other type of content. If you don’t have a graphic designer at your disposal there are options our there such as Easel.ly, Piktochart, Canva or Visual.ly.that will help you create professional looking infographics (some are even free!)
SlideDeck to the rescue
The beauty of sharing slide decks as content pieces is that you don’t even have to create them yourself. While doing so might improve your branding efforts, you can easily find interesting presentations on sites such as Slideshare to embed in your own website.
Podcast anyone?
A Podcast is a digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading, typically available as a series, new installments of which can be received by subscribers automatically. Podcasts are an easy way to generate tons of content without the need for writing. If you’re successful, you may even benefit from having your recording featured on podcast websites or at the top of the iTunes listings — leading to, even more, press for your company.
On a relative topic. You can also create a simple audio interview. Ask around to find authorities in your business who would be willing to take part in an interview or question and answer session. The persona does not even have to be with you. You can hold the conversation over the phone or via Skype and record the audio and release it as an MP3 on your post.
Take a picture (it lasts longer)
Instead of using words to fill you blog post, use pictures instead. If work in a B2B business don’t think this doesn’t pertain to you. Take a moment to look around your organization and consider what photographs you could take that would make a compelling to your customers and prospects. If you need inspiration, check out what others in your industry are doing, or anything outside your industry that catches your attention.Some organizations post ads, others shoot their technology in action, and others have their teams pose in fun shots.
Survey SAYS!
Polls and surveys are a great way to gather tons of valuable insight about your customers, marketplace, or product. This information can be used to create targeted content in the future. We recently created a simple survey in our HubSpot portal. If you don’t have HubSpot, SurveyMonkey is easy to use and depending on your format, it can be free as well!
Honey-do list
Though there is writing involved. Lists are a very easy and friendly blog post to create. And people like lists especially when the content on them are relevant to your industry and that will grab people’s attention. For example 100 of the Most Effective Subject Lines Ever Used, or The 20 Commercial Free Photo Sites. If you really want to get creative, you can use photos to create the entire list with just a few words as an introduction.
Become a YouTube star!
Ok, maybe you won’t ‘actually become a YouTuber but you can definitely attract some great attention by creating videos that have content that will interest your buyer personas. Here are two simple ideas for B2B video content that will help driver results:
Video interview: An interview with an industry authority is a great way to boost your company’s prestige as a thought leader and can lead to great press for your organization.
Video Q&A: Don’t think you need to enlist other participants to create interesting video footage. One simple way to put together website content is to record yourself answering common questions about your product or service, using the camera built into your smart phone or laptop. With a few quick edits, you’ll have a content piece that provides valuable information without the need for excess writing.
Guest (blogger) of honor
Guest blogging is a win-win situation. You have content for your site and the guest blogger receives a backlink in exchange. To keep Google happy and avoid being classified as a link schemer, only accept high-quality, valuable posts for publication.
Reblog that blog
If you come across an interesting blog post in your industry, reach out to the author to seek permission to re-blog the post on your site. While you’ll need to provide proper attribution, re-blogging is an easy way to add valuable content to your website with minimal effort.
Don’t give up the ghost
Can I tell you a secret. I’ve been writing professionally for more than ten years – magazines, newspapers, grants – you name it. And the first time I wrote a blog for Alaniz Marketing the owner of the company took one look at it and said, ‘Uh, not quite,’ and sent it back to me for a rewrite (or three). The key, I’ve found over the last year, is finding your voice – one that fits with your company brand – and lots and lots of practice.
Not a ghost of a chance
If you find that you just don’t have time to create the relevant, engaging content you need, there is nothing wrong with hiring ghostwriters. There are plenty of content creation website that will provide you everything from blog posts, whitepapers to eBooks, and more.
Your blog is an easy, yet necessary way to bring new visitors to your website. Creating fresh and fun ways to share your content will not only drive new leads, but make your life as a marketer easier.
