In the last update of the Go Large Project, I described the importance of list segmentation.
Specifically I talked about why you should offer multiple lead magnets on your MWR Blog.
After I published this post, I had a few people ask how to promote these different free reports.
So today I thought we’d talk about the specific technique I use to turn each blog post into an advertisement for your lead magnet. (If you want to know more about blogging, then check out this post on WordPress website basics.)
NOT for an Authority Blog
Before we jump in, I think it’s important to clarify something.
What I’m about to discuss shouldn’t be used on an authority blog. What’s an authority blog? A good example is this site; or any other other blog you read on a regular basis. Basically it’s a site that focuses on getting repeat traffic and readers.
The following technique should only be used on what I call a MWR Blog. This is a type of site that focuses on turning search engine traffic into subscribers and subscribers into affiliate sales. To be brutally honest, I could care less if a person comes back to my MWR Blog. I make sure the content is good. But ultimately my only concern to get people to go to a squeeze page and subscribe to the newsletter.
How to Turn Each Post into an Advertisement
I follow a simple formula for each MWR Blog post:
Step 1: Make all Links “No-Follow”
I’m no search-engine expert; but I don’t think it’s a good idea to have 5 or more links going to the same web page within each post. That’s why I make all the links “no-follow.” This isn’t too hard to do. Just add rel=”nofollow” to every hyperlink. Here’s how it would look:
<a rel=”nofollow” href=”http://www.yourweblink.com”>Your Anchor Text</a>
Do this for every link that you don’t want to pass link juice to a web page. In our case these are the links that go to the opt-in form.
Step 2: Make Each Image a Link
For some reason, people love clicking on images. So use this knowledge to your advantage. On my MWR Blog, each post has a main image and an eCover at the bottom of the article (see step 4.) Both of these have a link that directs to the opt-in form.
Step 3: Mention the Free Report
I like to mention the free report in the first few paragraphs of the article. Then I’ll link to it in the middle. If it’s a longer article (700+ words) I’ll include another link to it somewhere in the body.
How I mention the free report depends on the article. Most of the time I’ll simply describe the benefit the reader receives by reading it. I’ll tell them what skill/knowledge they’ll get and include a blurb like “Click this link for more information.” It may not be subtle; but it’s still pretty effective.
Step 4: Use a Signature File
At the end of every article is a footer that advertises the free report. This usually includes an eCover image, the title of the report, and a quick benefit the reader will receive by clicking the link.
I use the Add Signature Plugin to include this footer advertisement. You have two options with this tool:
- Automatically add a signature file to each post. For instance, you can see how I do this with the picture and signature at the end of every post.
- Manually insert the signature file at the end of each post. This is done by including this token: <!– ddsig –>
My advice is to use the manual feature.
Why?
Because with this plugin you have the option to use seven different signature file options:
This means you the option of advertising seven different lead magnets throughout your articles. You can easily tailor a free report based on the category of the content. As an example a person reading about six-pack abs would see an advertisement for a free report on six-pack abs.
Early Results of the MWR Blog
As they say; “the proof is in the pudding.” Using this technique we’ve managed to get almost a 10% subscription rate on the total traffic to our blog.
Yesterday we had 463 total visitors to the site:
From this traffic we had 39 subscriptions to the two opt-in forms we’ve currently set up:
That’s about 8% of the total traffic. To be honest, this is a lower percentage than what I’ve seen in the last week. Sometimes we’ve managed to convert over 10% of the search engine traffic.
My point is we’ve just started this site and we’re getting an average of FORTY subscribers. In my opinion, this shows the effectiveness of the advertising technique I just described.
Overall, it’s not too hard to turn web traffic into subscribers. You just need to blend the right kind of offer with the content that people are reading. So if you’re looking to increase your affiliate income, I recommend using the technique I just described.
Take Action. Get Results.
Thanks for the additional info, Steve! You’re getting some tremendous numbers already. I am regretting the decision to host my blog on the Blogger platform rather than WordPress (although it does have its own domain name, rather than being run on blogspot.com). I keep reading about all these wonderful plug-ins which could probably make my life a lot easier, and yet they’re all for WordPress. I suppose I should consider switching over, although I hate to reformat my layout.
At any rate, I’m working on my first lead magnent right now, and will certainly keep this information in mind when I’m ready to release it. I especially appreciate the information about adding the NOFOLLOW attribute to the link. It’s so important to preserve every bit of that previous link juice! 🙂
Best,
-j.
I am far from an expert in blogger==>> wordpress, but I know I have read about switching over and ways to do it with at least -minimal fuss- .
I am sure it is still a big pain-in-the-ass but might be worth looking into sometime.
It is certainly much better to save that link juice for the sites that you want to pass link juice onto.
It is still -currently at least- my opinion that on an authority blog, like this one, it is more important to build connections, give people dofollow links for comments and all that stuff.
An MWR blog is a totally different animal. For that one I am all sorts of selfish. If it doesn’t send link juice to another page i want to rank, or have some other sort of “reason” it gets nofollowed.
Thanks for the comment Joe
More good info, as usual, Steve. 40 new subscribers per day is certainly nothing to sneeze at!
I never considered your #1, changing the anchor links to no-follows. That’s good to know. And using the add sig plug in and doing the sig manually is a great idea so you can use the one that works best with each post.
So of course, I’m nosy and looking at your 65 optins for another list yesterday. Awesome!
Peggy
Peggy,
Haha, that was a very “off” day for that “65” sequence. That is my “main” list and basically how i make my living (not off of stevescottsite yet, certainly).
I have been building that one for about 4 years now and usually average about 90-110 a day pretty consistently. It is only 6k now because i resegment every so often with new offers. (the “older” one is right above.
I am actually quite happy with what Gene and I have done to get up to 40 a day pretty quickly. It has been a lot of work (and a big part of the reason I have been scarcer here recently), but I think it will totally be worth it when we get the new list to REALLY take off.
The MWR concept is growing my list a lot -faster- than it does here on SSS. WHich is very understandable, but still cool.
That amount of visits and subscriptions is already a huge accomplishment given your site has only been up for a month. I agree with just manually inserting your signature so you could choose which one is appropriate to your article. Great insights Steve!
Thanks Karen,
Yes, I am quite happy with the way the subscriptions are going for the relatively short time that site has been up.
Having specific and target ted offers will make a huge difference over time too!
Thanks for a great comment. Have a wonderful weekend.
Hi Steve
More valuable information for us to take away. Thanks so much for sharing this with us Steve. If it works so effectively for you, no reason it won’t work for others 🙂
Patricia Perth Australia
Thanks Patricia,
Glad you found it a useful article. I certinaly think that anyone who is using their blog for marketing purposes (rather than as an authority site) could find a great benefit from using the ideas of an MWR blog from the GLP series.
As always, thanks for your kind words, comments and encouragement.
Have a Wonderful weekend!
Good info Steve! The only trouble is I can’t use this on my regular blog, will have to set up a MWR blog as you call it.
Phil,
Very true. SOme of the MWR tactics might convert. But many would not be great things to do on an authority blog.
The good thing is, it doesn’t take nearly the amount of effort to make a MWR blog as it does an Authority blog.
I would guess it may take 1/5 of the effort (after initial setup) to keep an MWR blog from the effort it takes to create and keep up a good Authority blog.
-But of course backlinking is backlinking…and that is going to take the same time regardless, the only difference will be less outgoing links so less PR bleed from an MWR blog.
Thanks for the comments, have a great weekend
Hi Steve:
Good info here. For more subscribers. It is not too complicated either.
But I have a question about the “No follow Link” So, even the rest of the links are do follow, once you add no follow to the hyper link, those links will not be processed as do follow. Right. And though it is an outbound link, it will not pass the juice of the post. Then it is a great strategy.
Right away I have another question to ask. But then I do not want to take so much of your time.
Thanks again, as I was intrigued with the information.
Fran A
Fran
Fran,
Yes, each nofollow attribute works for the individual link you associate it with. No attritube at all is dofollow.
It is also easy to see if links are nofollow or dofollow by getting a plugin like “nodofollow” (for firefox…I assume it may be usuable on other platforms)
That will let you know if links are nofollow or dofollow just by looking at them. (nofollows get highlighted in red and dofollows in blue when it is turned on)
Glad you liked the post, and I would be happy to answer your question if you want later.
As you see I often go on (and on) in replies. 😉
Anyway, have a wonderful weekend
Hello Steve,
Very informative post! Images are important and the first thing that attracts the audience. Conversion is what everybody needs and it should come when trying different methods that works like yours.
Thanks for sharing,
John
Thanks John,
Images are key. they are often one of the things people both forget to SEO and also forget to make, “clickable” but they are also something people may be drawn to follow.
the little extra time it takes to link and SEO them are well worth it.
Thanks for the comment and have a great weekend
Add a call to action directly to each blog post and instruct the reader to do a specific action, such as signing up to your email list, buying a report, submitting a contact form or filling in a survey.
Andreas,
YUP! That is true even for authority. SOmetimes with the MWR blog I push a lot harder. Sometimes even 3 call to action, in a longer post. PLUS sidebar offer (not too many) and popup domination (which I have gotten away from here because of annoyance factor…but still works)
Have a great weekend man!
Hi Steve – Really informative, as usual when I come around to visit! I like how you stress the importance of using this strategy on non-authoritative sites. We always want it both ways, right? But it’s so key to differentiate authority blogs from others, and why you can get away with certain things on particular blogs and not on others (maybe get away with is the wrong choice of words).
Cheers. Always a pleasant visit every time I come!
Tia
Thanks Tia!
You got the important point. These are great tactics…but only for the single purpose, MWR blogs. I would say many of these tactics would be the WRONG way to go on an authority blog. Specifically things that decrease the interaction of visitors.
I cannot wait to see what your MRW blog is. Im excited, also would making all your links nofollow be bad, because it seems kind of a hassle to go into every link and put the no follow code?
If you are doing an MWR blog all nofollow would be fine. Except for internal linking. It is still good to have some internal linking and passing around “link juice” that way.
For a “authority” blog (like stevescottsite) my personal belief is that all nofollow is a bad thing.
Just want to make sure you go that distinction. But generally…yeah, accept for internal links all nofollow is fine.
Steve
Really informative post. Got a question for ya….which could well lead to another post!
How do you ‘up’ the numbers on an authority blog like Steve Scott. Or have you covered this on the site already?
Paul
This is a good question and one I am working on finding out the answer to. Mainly I would say getting more general blog traffic and organic results. Which I have written on pretty thoroughly http://www.stevescottsite.com/get-more-blog-traffic.
I have written on aspects but maybe not a complete article. Generally you would want sign in placements (like upper right corner) tends to be good for sign in’s by many heat mapping programs. Textual call to actions should be occasionally sprinkled into your posts. And of course advertisements etc.
A big part is also the market. I think it is just harder to get people to sign up in the internet marketing/SEO/Blogging niches simply because these people know all the ‘tricks” and are much more hesitant about giving away an email. (even if what they get ends up being great stuff)
It is a meaty topic and I will think about pulling together a more detailed answer to that for a future post.
Thanks for these valuable information steve i am in the process of focussing on building list at the moment everything is almost ready just trying figure out the best course of action Thanks for the heads up have a great week ahead.
steve,
please,could you do a tutorial on how to edit the the form code and the rest of the items in getting and placing the subscribe form at the end of a post . i have installed the plugin but is finding it difficult to edit and put the form beautifully and properly after the post.
(Like the one after your blog post here…thanks 🙂
MK,
Sure thing! I will either add that to a my list for upcoming posts! Or at least tack it on to one I have upcoming. 🙂
will be waiting for toturial….thanks
Steve,
i noticed you have not mentioned pop up domination in your list building strategy. have you thought about it. i believe it is a must have tool as long as list building with a blog is concerned…i am getting it soon.
what are your thoughts?
I have mixed feelings about popup domination. For an MWR blog, I surely think it is great. For ANY blog it undoubtedly increases sign-ins. For an authority blog it also works to increase sign-ins, but I do think that a lot of people view it as an annoyance and may hesitate to visit if it bugs them. I have it and I keep switching my mind about using it it here on SSS. It undoubtedly works it is just a case of woryying over the side effects for me, personally.
Very useful information. As my site is about flowers and flower arrangements I have a lot of pictures and it hadnt occured to me that people like to click on them. That is something I will put to goo use – thanks for the info!
Jane,
With so many pictures your interlinking should be awesome is you use it too. Even if they are never “clicked” it should help your posts in “Googles” eyes.
I’m planning an authority site, though now sure how to go about it, so I’d also be interested in your ideas on how to bring traffic to it. The best suggestions Ive heard so far as article marketing, but with an emphasis on good and original content. Considering the large number of links needed, the large number of directories and the need for good qaulity information on the site itself, I am daunted by the vast amount of writing required, even though writing will be my topic.
Balfour,
In short I think yes content, commenting, SEO practices and marketing (article AND video) are the keys to bringing the traffic.
for a more complete, “answer” on my “Start here” tab, I have a much more complete answer:
http://www.stevescottsite.com/start-here
about 3/4 of the way down the page, with the “How to get more Blog traffic” section I explain, in decent detail all the things *(yes, there are a lot) that you can do to drive traffic.
I am still trying to understand all the conflicting information about whether we should link out from our blogs, or not. Some fay its a bad idea, other that it is essential. Or maybe from what you are saying, it depends on the type of blog?
Anne,
I think both are right. IMO it totally depends on the blog TYPE. It boils down to what your target audience is.
For instance you have a blog on flower design. WHat is your audience? DO you want people to find you site and JUST buy stuff or transfer to a list. If so an “MWR” blog is what you want (and all that entails)
on the other hand if you want to connect with other people who have similar sites/blogs, then I think liking out and connecting is essential.
…. second thought is how much effort you are going to put into it.
A “MWR” blog can be done with a lot less effort than an authority blog. But don’t expect others to ever link you.
A Authority blog confers (as you would think) authority on your blog, but also takes a lot more time and effort connecting with people.
I hope that clears it up
One, of the many things i like about your posts is that you really make everything simple. First off all, not everyone want to share their secrets. Second, you always give simple explanations, step by step. Really nice.
I can’t use this in my pages, but I still decided to leave a comment on this post. People should support great work, it’s simple as that.
Thanks Daca!
I am glad you like them. I really do hope I am providing somew great info for ya! 🙂 If not now…then sometime
Hey Steve, this is my first visit here and I must say, you’ve got great stuff in here. Just downloaded your free reports and read one already – great. practical affiliate marketing tips.
BTW, what’s the meaning of the acronym “MWR” – pardon my ignorance:)
Stella,
Almost missed your comment (found it in spam_ Glad I fished it out. It is always nice to see nice comments from new people. Hopefully you will be back! 🙂
Anyhow glad you like the free reports. I do try to make them decent, so i appreciate the feedback.
MWR stands for Most Wanted Response. I go pretty deep into the concept here:
http://www.stevescottsite.com/know-your-mwr-most-wanted-response
In short it is a blog or article where you only want 1 single decision either sign up/buy/click or go.
For instance for this blog it is NOT MWR. I am happy if people comment, go to other sites I link, buy products, get free reports or simply lurk.
BUT when I send people to a sign-up for a free report I leave only the one out. It increases conversions.
Thanks for dropping by…hope to see you again 🙂
Thank God you fished it out. Sure, will be back – you’ve got good stuff that aligns with my affiliate marketing personal development, at the moment.
Ok I get MWR now (checked) – it’s like the ‘reason for being’ or expected outcome.
Thanks.
Thanks Stella,
Glad you liked it. 🙂
This isn’t entriely relevant for me as I’m an authority blogger (I hope…) but I like the point about signature plugin. I always have mine set to auto, but I’m going to have a look to see if I’m using the same plugin!
Thanks, Matthew
This certainly is situational. though I think some things could be used (a little) on parts of an authority blog. Maybe an offer landing page. But the crux of it is for the MWR blog and a totally different strategy. Much of it cross-purposes from authority blog.
…and yes, I definitely think you are an authority blog! 🙂
Thanks for your kind words! Much appreciated!
I’m using a different signature plugin…your add signature one isn’t in the WordPress directory…
Steve,
You really had a very informative blog post and it can really be helpful to seo who are doing a lot of work in the industry. With the simple and easy tutorial you’ve made it possible to simplify my task. I am now starting to apply the things you’ve mention in this post especially making all link “no follow”.Thank you so much