As an inbound marketer, you have the chance to put compelling content in front of the right eyes at the right time. The end result is a bit magical and effortless-seeming. We’re here to break the spell, however, and reveal our secrets to success. Read on to discover just how to become a successful inbound marketer.

Know Your Buyer Personas Better Than Your Best Friends

This secret assumes you know friends pretty well already. But how in touch are you with your buyer personas? It’s difficult to market well, especially following the inbound methodology, if you don’t know who you’re marketing to.

This crucial step is about more than quickly slapping together an idea of your ideal clients. Instead, you’ll want to focus on:

Key demographics and values for each buyer persona

Their goals

Their pain points and related obstacles

With this information at hand, you’ll be able to effectively explain how your service or product will be the solution to help them achieve their goals and overcome their obstacles.

HubSpot has a fantastic free template for creating buyer personas. Interviews with current clients are also crucial. Ask real people who fit your buyer personas about target information and you’ll make those personas truly come to life.

Zero In On Content and Visuals

Now that you’ve got your buyer personas, you can create and direct your content to the appropriate audience.

Keep the following tips in mind when crafting content:

Always share a nugget or two of useful, interesting information

Provide an opportunity for dialogue

Write with a conversational tone instead of sales-speak, or glib jargon

Share and promote content frequently

To be successful at inbound marketing, go beyond blog posts, whitepapers, and offers. It's important to think visually as well. Infographics provide you with the chance to wow your viewers with some eye candy and capture an ever-shortening attention span.

Don’t worry about them competing with your content. Infographics work alongside content, creating a path for the viewer to follow.

Analyze with Key Metrics

By checking analytics, you can keep tabs on what’s working and what’s not. We use Google Analytics to track metrics such as:

Returning visits

Our most popular pages

Conversion rates from our target market

Referral rates from other sites

HubSpot partners have the Campaign in a Box on their side. The Campaign app compares your goals with data on visits, contacts, and converted customers. Part of being a successful inbound marketer is knowing when you’re on track to achieve your goals and when you’re just merely spinning your wheels.

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