Getting Noticed – Blogging vs Landing Pages

I was meeting with a young entrepreneur the other day. She was launching her new consulting business … taking that great entrepreneurial leap from employee to owner. As is normal, the future is now cloudy and the biggest issues revolve around creating a regular flow of prospects and hopefully clients.

As our discussion meandered around all the problems that lie ahead, she asked a great question when I suggested creating a landing page along with an “item of interest” as a great way to start building her database of leads. “What about a blog”?

So what about a blog and what is the difference between a blog and a landing page? I have a blog – In The Trenches With A Business Coach and I have a landing Page www.business-acceleration-system.com.

So why both?

I think of them as cousins:

The blog is more of a broadcasting tool. Combined with SEO and social media marketing a well done blog can amplify my voice. By sharing information that my ideal clients will find useful I can “meet” new people and let them learn a bit about me before they are asked to take any sales related action.

The Landing Page is a direct lead generation tool. On my landing page you can meet me by watching a simple introductory video, learn that my company has developed a proven and tested methodology for quickly generating more leads, attracting more clients and making more money for small business owners. Then if that is something you might be interested in … I will give you something valuable for FREE. In my case it’s a fabulous, information packed, non sales video that explains the three biggest lead generation mistakes small businesses make … and how to avoid them all. On my page, all you have to do to get this report is to provide your first name and email address. Easy, no risk, so sales call … but it does tell me that you are interested in generating leads and now you have self-selected as a potential lead for me (yea).

In another post I will discuss why having the contact information is so critical to creating an effective sales process … but for now, just trust me, it is.

In Summary

The answer to my young entrepreneur’s question is relatively simple: A blog helps to get your name out and it’s a broadcasting tool. The landing page (with an item of value) is a low risk way for a prospective client to indicate they are interested in your product and for you to begin a specific conversation with them about how you can solve their specific problem.

Put the two together; blogging to generate awareness and a landing page to initiate the sales process and you’ve taken the first step is creating a proven and repeatable sales process.