I’m shocked at how many people don’t know the full concept of growth hacking but have been applying it to their blogging for several years. For example, growth hacking can be seen almost everywhere and it’s been proven to produce enormous conversions quickly. Before I continue, here is a quick definition:
“Growth hacking is a marketing technique developed by technology startups which uses creativity, analytical thinking, and social metrics to sell products and gain exposure.†This definition is provided by Wikipedia.com.
Instead of using traditional marketing strategies, bloggers are looking for more innovative, low-cost strategies that provide a higher ROI. It’s amazing what some people have come up with and how high they are able to increase conversion rates. Many of the techniques utilized are those that require very little budget like social media, content marketing, guest blogging, etc. Today, I’ll like to talk about “4†popular growth hacking strategies you can apply to your blog to make the most out of your “growth hacking†strategy.
Let’s jump right in…
Content Marketing
We’ve heard this phrase so many times and it’s hard to believe this is a very popular “growth hacking†approach. Through content marketing, you’re finding creative ways to market your products that are both cost effective and high in ROI. The content will be blog-based but your focus will be targeted to the product or service you are selling. For example, if I’m selling a “link building†tool, then instead of buying expensive banner advertising, I would write content focused on the following:
- Product use
- Product benefits
- How it will you meet your objective
- How it will add to your bottom line
Content is a very cheap and effective way to market your product or business so make sure you use the right elements when starting. This means to test different formats until you find out one which works at increasing conversions
Search Engine Optimization
You can never go wrong with search engine optimization because it’s another cost effective way to market your business. The only problem is it does take time to implement and can take months before you start noticing an increase in traffic. However, if you are a beginner and are looking for an effective way to market through growth hacking, then SEO is definitely the way to go. First, you can enable yourself enormous FREE search engine traffic that is targeted and will convert. Secondly, after you have ranked high in the SERP’s, it takes very little work top stay on the top page because you’ve already built your credibility. Third, depending on your keywords, you can attract high volume traffic perfect for conversions.
SEO does take some time to learn so I encourage everyone to pay close attention to the lessons and resources so it’s done correctly and you don’t get penalized going forward.
Mobile Email Marketing
Mobile marketing can be directly related to email subscribers because both are a cost effective way to generate ROI. As you collect email subscribers, you can leverage email follow-ups to promote your products and services. The actual initial cost will be associated with collecting subscribers, but after that, it can be a huge profit generator. However, for you to effective use this strategy, it’s important you keep a close eye on the following:
- Quality of content
- Compatibility of newsletters with mobile phones
- Quick call-to-actions
- Keeping track and data
Mobile usage has increased over the last several years and many ESP are now offering compatible templates so you can keep engagement consistent. Make sure you keep track of all your data so you can keep marketing and promoting content, products, and services that actually have a huge ROI.
Social Media (WOW)
I can’t talk about a more effective way to promote your content through “growth hackingâ€. First, social media is FREE and it can drive huge amounts niche relevant people to your blog quickly. Secondly, you can find many authority bloggers from your niche you can network with, getting them to share your content on their social network. Some authority bloggers have 100K followers and this can be huge for traffic and ROI. For example, in my niche, John Chow has over 100K followers and a quick mention from him can generate enormous buzz. However, it’s important to be genuine in your approach. Third, social media continues to grow each year so it’s not going to disappear and will continue to play a vital role over the years in generating traffic to your blog.
If you don’t have a social media account, then I encourage all of you to create accounts on the “3†most popular ones like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Keep testing to find out how they help you and your business because if you need to add or remove social networks, then you can at a later time.