1. Blogging Lessons
Learned
From a self-taught marketer
Chris Williams
@topherwilliams
cwilliams@heatspring.com
917 767 8204 <--preferred method
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
2. Skills!? Learn Quickly, Ask Basic Questions, Collect Cash
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
3. • Not a startup
• Not new to the game. Around since 2007
• Sold Millions of dollars of courses and
taught thousands of students
• Applying best practices to all businesses
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
4. My Two Goals
• 1. Get better at my marketing, help people
with theirs (don’t hire consultants!)
• 2. Connect with businesses where
information access is a major obstacle to
growth
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
5. Blogging Best Practices
• Specific Strategies I Use and Why
• No Buzz Words
• Examples and Real Numbers
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
6. 1. Make the Honey Pot
Deep
• Reader “gorge”
themselves
• “This is exactly what I
need”
• 5 Minute Read Time
• Stop Making Crap
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
7. 4:48 - 3000+ Words.
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
8. 5:36 - 2000+ Words
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
9. 4:58 - 1800+ Words
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
10. 4:44 - 2000+ Words
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
11. 2. Random Visitors ->
Subscribers
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
13. 3. Charge for your Marketing
Material
• Prove to yourself your marketing is
awesome
• Value in curation and simplicity
• Charge for free materials
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
14. Example
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
15. Make Money from Your
Marketing
Source RE 101 Intro Course
Cost $95 $0
Attendees 12 80
Sales 2 2
~Margin Per Sale $500 $500
Total Profit
$2140 1000
Profit Per Student $178 $12.50
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
16. 4. Free Course >
Webinar
• Webinars are lame.
• Always have technical issues.
• No meaningful interaction
• Drinking from a fire house. Can’t go in-
depth and confirm learning
• All execution risk of live event, none of the
benefits
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
17. Free Course
• No technical risk. Can prepare
everything before hand
• Can still have a live portion
• Direct Interaction on the
course wall
• Do in-depth and test
knowledge; videos, PDFs,
quizzes, tools, assignments.
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
18. 5. Link Management =
Real Relationships
• Forget all the tricks --> It’s about real
relationships
• Trying to get such specific anchor texts.
Impossible it will happen naturally
• Conversation you’re looking for “can you
change/put a link on XX page that says
XX” --> Must have a real
relationship
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
19. 6. Know Your Sales
Funnel
Intro PV Whitepaper -
Lead Source RE 101 PV - Organic
Course Popup
Page Visits 458 1297 11294 753
Leads 12 80 565 420
Visit Con % 2.6% 6% 5% 55%
Sales 2 2 10 9
Sales Conversion 16% 2.5% 1.7% 2.1%
Profit Per Sale $500 $500 $500 $500
Total Value $2,140** $1000 $5000 $4500
Profit Per Lead
$178 $12.50 $9 $11
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
20. Lessons
• Gross Profit Per Lead Drives Top of the
Funnel --> This drives specific campaigns
• Build it from bottom, then test each
conversion
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
21. 7. Less Followers not
More
• Do Less
• Stop using buzzwords, ask what do you
actually want?
• “engagement”
• “conversation”
• “brand building”
• “more traffic”
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
22. Tools I Like
• Wistia
• Weebly
• Unbounce
• Mailchimp
• SnapEngage
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013
23. Questions
Learning Management for Business
Monday, January 21, 2013