Written by: David L. Lantz, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
So, you’ve decided that you want to create a blog, a Facebook page, a podcast, or another social media site where you share content. You have a webpage, and you’ve started a Facebook page. But beyond that, you’re not sure. You know that to create link traffic, you’re going to want to drive traffic to your landing page, but HOW you do that is a bit fuzzy. Exactly how do you create a road map for your landing page? Here’s a three-step plan to help your readers do just that.
Step One: Set Goals
Recently, I entered into a partnership to become an expert contributor to Brainz Magazine. I faced issues similar to the one I described above and developed the following three-step plan that I wanted to share with you. The first step is to define your goals, making sure they are simple and focused.
For me, my primary goal is to drive traffic to several online courses I’ve created. A second goal is to increase my email subscription list for future digital marketing purposes. And of course, a third goal is to create increased conversions from just clicking on my landing page to buying my books and courses. The landing page is a tool to achieve my goals.
These three goals are straightforward, and if you’re reading this article, you no doubt wish to accomplish similar goals. But here’s the thing: Writing a blog or creating a podcast requires a commitment to consistently produce content on a given topic. It’s easy enough to SAY you’re going to do that. It’s another to follow through. Therefore, a fourth goal I have is to use the content from these upcoming posts to create a course that demonstrates these ideas in video format.
It just so happens that as an adjunct college instructor, I teach a course on e-commerce for one of the schools I work with, so this overall topic is one I already spend time on. The question you should ask yourself is this: Do I have a plan to consistently create content over an extended time?
Step Two: Inventory Your Existing Social Media Resources
A long time ago, I came across a bible verse that has stuck with me in my professional life. It’s Isaiah 32:8 which says, “The noble man makes noble plans, and by noble plans, he stands.” What I’ve learned over the years is that you can’t succeed with just a “big vision.” You’ve got to pay attention to the little details – the “supply chain flowchart” to make a vision happen. We’ve all clicked on links to something, only to get a 404 ERROR message of a broken link or discover that the content we have clicked on has been changed by the person or company that created the link in the first place. So, before starting on your blogging journey, it’s a good idea to sit down and chart a course of link paths you hope to take your readers on to visit your landing page where you hope they will purchase or sign up for what you have to offer.
Here's the inventory list I came up with for my project. As you review my list, take time to create your own:
A webpage
Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook Page channels/profiles
A blog on my website that can be segmented into different category topics
A Mailchimp account with the ability to create landing pages that can be integrated with my website and social media accounts.
A backend dashboard that stores content for my webpage, such as downloadable PDF files.
Here are two important questions about which I had a conversation with myself as I created this inventory list – questions I hope you’ll consider for your own circumstances.
First, is my inventory of social media resources organized so that people reading my post can simply and easily click on things I want them to see? If not, what do I need to do to get them organized to accomplish my goals (see step 1)?
Second, do I know how to make the changes I just identified so that readers of my blog post can be quickly taken to a landing page destination or other places on the Internet where they can easily sign up for more information/buy something from me?
Step Three: Organizing Social Media Resources to Achieve Your Goals
When I evaluated my decision to partner with Brainz Magazine, I realized that I had built my social media resources in a rather haphazard manner over the years. To achieve my goal of driving traffic to my email subscription list, I’d need to do some serious tweaking of my resources. Fortunately, I had begun this overhaul process the year before by significantly revising my website. Having said that, there were several other things I needed to do:
Use my Mailchimp account to redesign a landing page, as well as integrate it with a dedicated page on my website where I promote my courses.
Create several promotional videos that will appear on my social media channels. I can store them on my YouTube channel in a playlist for easy access.
Create a promotional “thank you” giveaway to new subscribers in return for giving me their email addresses.
Edit my Mailchimp subscription form to provide a link to download this giveaway – an e-book in PDF format I created titled “Make Money Teaching Online.”
Access the online dashboard for my website where this downloadable e-book will be stored.
Ok! You’ve done the first two steps, and at least started on step three. So now, begin the process of writing the blog post! There will be a lot more you’ll have to do regarding promotion, including figuring out “keywords” and “S.E.O.” (Search Engine Optimization), but for now, WRITE. You can edit and revise later. Perhaps you know how to do the things I’ve listed in Step Three. Perhaps you may need to hire someone to do those things for you. On my website, I have a series of blog posts on the topic of “My High Tech Journey to a Linked In World” which I created to map out my journey in discovering how to do all of these techie things I’ve listed.
To see how it all came together, check out the landing page I created after following the steps listed above. If you sign up, you’ll get my e-book “Making Money Teaching Online” for free, and I’ll let you know when I finish that new course – sometime in 2023. After you’ve looked at the landing page, please come back and leave me a comment!
David L Lantz, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
David Lantz is a leader in the field of online instruction. He was awarded a Master of Public Affairs from Indiana University’s School of Public & Environmental Affairs in 1981 and served as their Alumni President from 1990-1991. In 2005, he was named Faculty of the Year by the first graduating class of the University of Phoenix’s Indianapolis, Indiana campus. Having taught both face-to-face and online classes since 2003, he received the distinction of Advanced Online Instructor/Facilitator from the University of Phoenix in 2012. Since 2011, he has been creating online courses in the fields of entrepreneurship and online instruction. A self-published author, he has authored both fiction and non-fiction books, which can be found on Amazon.com. His mission can be summarized in the proverb: “The wise man makes knowledge acceptable.” To learn more about David, visit his website at www.wisejargon.com.
