When you start doing inbound marketing, you have high hopes. You’re totally on board with transforming your marketing to reflect how people buy and shop today. You’ve memorized the four stages of the marketing methodology, and you’re itching to start seeing the traffic, leads, and customers begin pouring in.

But as you actually start doing inbound marketing, things can feel overwhelming. You’re starting to blog, but you’re not sure what a great blog post looks like. You’re trying to optimize your website, but you’re not sure which examples to follow. You’ve created social media accounts, but you’re not sure how to get people to start following you -- and, you know, maybe get them to interact with you.

Sound familiar?

Luckily, doing inbound gets much easier when you’re given some directions to follow. That’s where this guide comes in. We’re going to give you examples and dissect the best practices for the five most important elements of inbound -- homepages, blog posts, landing pages, emails, and social media posts. So if you’re looking for more information on how to actually do inbound marketing the right way, keep on reading.

Written by: Ginny Soskey | Designed by: Matt Plays | Edited by: Erik Devaney

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INBOUND MARKETINGV I S UA L I Z I N G T H E 5 E S S E N T I A L E L E M E N T S

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Learn the best pract ices for making inbound homepages,

blog posts , landing pages, emai ls , and social media posts .

INTRODUCTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section 1: Inbound Homepage

Section 2: Inbound Blog Post

Section 3: Inbound Landing Page

Section 4: Inbound Email

Section 5: Inbound Social Account

Homepages are like digital storefronts -- they tell people who are visiting your website who you are and what you’re about. So if you want to get people into your marketing funnel, you’ve got to make sure your homepage is in tip-top optimized shape.

Though every homepage is different based on the industry it’s marketing to and the company’s goals, there are a few key elements that stay the same on successful inbound homepages.

1. Logo

This is kind of a no brainer, but figured we’d include it anyway. Your logo should be prominently displayed on the page -- people want to know which website they’re checking out.

2. Easy-to-navigate menu

Your top navigation should feature the pages people most commonly want to visit. Though there are several different ways to structure your top navigation, try to shoot for under seven items and put the most important items at the beginning and end. If you want more information on perfecting your top navigation, check out this blog post.

3. Effective imagery

To be effective, imagery on your homepage should help people better understand the concepts you’ve laid out there. So sometimes that means you’ll need to use a non-cheesy stock photo. Other times, you’ll want to use a graph or chart. Just make sure your images help hit home the point of your business instead of distracting your visitors.

4. Prominently placed CTAs

Help visitors take the next action in their buying journey by prominently placing a call-to-action on your homepage. Though some people recommend putting the CTA above the fold of your page, research has shown that CTA placement should be determined by how much information people will need to want to convert. As long as you have the right amount of copy and a noticeable CTA (aka a large button that contrasts with the background), you should be golden.

INBOUND HOMEPAGE

5. Personalized content

People like websites to feel tailored to them. According to research by Janrain, nearly three-fourths (74%) of online consumers get frustrated with websites when content appears that has nothing to do with their interests. So use the information in your contacts database to provide tailored content to every visitor. Want inspiration for how to personalize your homepage? Check out this blog post.

6. Copy optimized for search

Your homepage is one of the many pages on your site that’s indexed by search engines, so make sure you’re following SEO best practices in the homepage copy.

7. Links to case studies or customer reviews

According to a compUSA and iPerceptions study, 63% of consumers indicate they are more likely to purchase from a site if it has product ratings and reviews. So adding testimonials to your homepage could give your business a big boost.

8. Responsive

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again: Mobile is the next big trend sweeping marketing. If you have a responsive website, your content will be easy to read and access from any device your visitors are using.

9. Social profile links

This is probably the least important of all of these components, but it’s an easy way for you to grow your social following: Include links for people to find you on social media.

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Inbound Homepage

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Responsive

Just like your homepage, your blog helps attract people to your site. Every new post is another opportunity to get found -- so make sure you’re making the most of that opportunity by including all of these elements.

1. URL optimized for search

Your blog post URL is one of the first things that search engines crawl on a page, so make sure you’ve included keywords in it and made it reader friendly before posting. Want more info on SEO URL optimization? Click here.

2. Headline that appeals to humans & search engines

Your headline is also crucial to attracting search engines and humans, so make sure it’s enticing and naturally contains words and phrases that people are searching for. Then be sure the rest of your article delivers on the headline.

3. Some relevant keywords

You definitely shouldn’t keyword stuff your blog, but creating blog posts on topics people are searching for and then naturally including commonly used words and phrases on that topic within your posts is wise.

4. Relatively informal language

No one wants to dig through industry jargon to understand what you’re writing about -- use simple language to explain things. (And chances are, if someone’s reading your blog, they wouldn’t know what that jargon is anyway.)

5. Properly cited featured image

You should always make sure you have the rights to use every image in your post and that you’re properly citing the source. Here’s a quick primer on that if you need it.

6. Section headers

People love to scan on the web. If you want your blog to be easy to read, you should break up

INBOUND BLOG POST

sections with large, bolded headers. Headers make even the longest pieces seem easy to read.

7. Shorter paragraphs

Also, part of catering to that whole people-love-to-scan-on-the-web thing is writing short paragraphs. It’s much easier for people to scan when there are small chunks of content to look over. So make sure you’re keep your paragraphs short and sweet.

8. Relevant internal links

Blog posts are often the first interaction people will have with your company, but you don’t want it to be the last. So make sure you’re including a reasonable number of relevant internal links throughout your post to other pieces of your content that could be helpful to your readers.

9. Share buttons

Share buttons should be prominently displayed -- having them next to your post is like a little reminder to your readers that they should share your post.

10. Comments enabled

Even if you don’t have comments enabled, people are going to make remarks about your content -- and often, this feedback is incredibly helpful for future content. Having comments on your blog keeps the conversation in one place, too, instead of all over a zillion social networks.

11. Smart CTA

Smart CTAs help you show tailored content to people in different lifecycle stages or lists in your database -- and because the content is more relevant to them, they’re more likely to convert.

12. Responsive

Just like your homepage, it’s important to have a blg that looks great on mobile -- you never know what device your readers are using.

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Want to convert people on your website into leads? That’s where landing pages come in. To make sure you’re doing everything to optimize your landing pages for conversions, test out the best practices below.

1. No top navigation

You want to eliminate any distractions on your landing page -- the more you can focus people on the goal of the page (filling out the form), the more likely they will. Top navigations fall into the distracting bucket, so try removing them from your landing pages.

2. Action-oriented headline that matches source copy

Make sure that you uses action-oriented words that communicate the value of the offer behind the landing page. For example, “Free Checklist: The Essential Guide to Getting More Followers on Twitter” is descriptive and enticing. Also, it should match the referring source’s copy. The referring source sets expectations on what’ll be on your landing page -- don’t let people click through and be disappointed.

3. Sub-header that explains the value proposition

Your sub-header is a much less flashy headline -- it’s very clear what the offer will provide. So if your headline is, “Free Checklist: The Essential Guide to Getting More Followers on Twitter,” your sub-header would be, “Learn how to attract the right followers to grow your business.”

4. Supporting Image

Just like on your blog post, you should have an image on your landing page that indicates what people will get if they fill out your form. For example, if your landing page is for an ebook download, be sure to include a screenshot of your ebook’s cover.

5. Progressive profiling

Progressive profiling is a win-win feature on landing pages. By replacing form fields that have already

INBOUND LANDING PAGE

been filled out with new fields, it allows you to collect more information about your leads without making your forms super long. So you’ll get better qualifying information while your leads will get to save some time filling out a form.

6. Form length aligns with goal

There’s a trade off with form length. The shorter the form, the more the people who’ll fill it out -- but they might not be super qualified to talk with sales. The longer the form, the fewer the people who’ll fill it out -- but they’re probably more interested in hearing from your company. So instead of asking how long your forms should be, you should optimize them for the goal of the landing page.

7. Concise, optimized copy

Even on landing pages, people scan. So keep your copy concise and easy to skim. Embrace bullet points (and sub headers if you have a lot of copy on your landing page). Also, be sure you’ve optimized for search in the same way you would a blog post -- you want your landing pages to show up in search results, too!

8. No “submit” button copy

With “submit” as the button copy, people have no idea what they’ll get by giving over their information. Be more descriptive. Instead, say something like, “Get Your Free Ebook.”

9. Trust Symbols

Not all landing pages call for these, but if you’re requesting sensitive data like credit card or social security numbers, trust symbols can help. (Try them out before putting them everywhere.)

10. Responsive

Got the hint yet? Every page on your website should be mobile friendly -- even landing pages.

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Ahh, email: one of the best ways to turn a lead into a customer. Of course, to do that, you’ve got to have a really really awesome email. Here are a few things you should do to make your future emails awesome.

1. Catchy, concise, & clear subject line

Your subject line is like your email’s headline. It should be compelling, short, and indicative of what’s in the body of the email.

2. Recognizable “from” name & address

Whether you choose to send your emails from your name or your company’s name, make sure people recognize who is emailing them. A good middle-ground is “Your Name, Company Name” for the name field, and “yourname@companyname.com” for the address field -- that way people know you’re a real person sending email on behalf of a company.

3. Opt-in only list

Do not buy lists. These people don’t want to hear from you, and will be much less likely to engage with your emails. Instead, only email those who’ve given you express permission to do so.

4. Image alt text

Sometimes images won’t display in emails. To make sure that people still know what your email is about, add alt text to all images. Here’s a quick guide on adding alt text if you need help.

5. Company branding

Your email should look like it’s coming from your company -- at the very least, make sure your logo is noticeable.

6. Personalized greeting

According to Experian, personalized promotional emails have 29% higher unique open rates and 41% higher unique click rates than non-personalized emails. If you want better email results, make sure you’re properly segmenting your email lists and adding in personalization tokens.

INBOUND EMAIL

7. Compelling, scannable copy

Like all of the other inbound elements, the copy in your email’s got to be enticing to get people to act. You should make use of headers and bullets, too. If you want some copywriting help, check out this ebook.

8. At least one CTA

You want people to act on the information in your email, right? So make sure you’re including at least one CTA (either as a button or text) within your email.

9. Social sharing links

Even though you’re often using email for lead nurturing purposes, it can be an excellent lead gen tool, too. Current leads often share emails with their contacts. If that other contact isn’t in your database yet, they can become a lead. Make it easy for that to happen by including sharing buttons.

10. CAN-SPAM compliant

If you’re sending email in the U.S., you need to abide by CAN-SPAM. (And if you’re in other countries, you must abide by their spam laws, too.) Since I’m no lawyer, here’s a quick overview of CAN-SPAM. If you have questions, consult your own lawyer.

11. Unsubscribe link

Part of being CAN-SPAM compliant is making it easy for people to unsubscribe -- the best way to do this is to include a link in your footer that takes them to an unsubscribe page.

12. Responsive

Mobile optimization is especially crucial when it comes to email: According to Movable Ink, 65% of marketing emails were opened on mobile devices during the last quarter of 2013. So make sure your template looks and works great on mobile.

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Inbound Email

Social shar ing l inks

CAN-SPAM compl iant

Personal ized greet ing

Compel l ing, scannable copy

At least one CTA

Catchy, concise, and clear subject l ine

Responsive

Recognizable “ f rom” name & address

Opt- in only l is t

Image al t text

Company branding

Unsubscr ibe l ink

Last but certainly not least are social posts. While there are certainly nuances for each social network, we’ve outlined some best practices for working with any of the top social networks.

Also, note that we’ve featured this as the Delight stage of the Inbound Methodology -- the details in the example reflects that as well, but the concepts can be (and should be) applied to every stage of the methodology.

Let’s get to it!

1. Your logo as your avatar

You want people to recognize that it’s you as your brand interacting with them on a social network, so it’s usually best to make your avatar some version of your logo.

2. Your company’s name as your username

When people go to mention you on social media, they usually aren’t going to look up your company name first -- they’ll use whatever seems logical. So if you can swing it, make sure that your company name and your social media username are the same. Sometimes, if your brand name is more common, you may have to change it slightly, but the most important thing is to get your username as close to your brand name as possible.

3. Appropriately frequent posts

Every social network is different, so your posting frequency strategy should reflect the norm of the network you’re on. On Twitter, try posting between 5 - 20 times a day. On Facebook, try 5 - 10 times per week. On Linkedin, try posting once every business day.

4. Mentions of relevant users

The whole point of being on social media is to engage with other people, so when you’re sharing other people’s content, be sure to give their account a proper shout out.

INBOUND SOCIAL ACCOUNT

5. Shortened links with tracking tokens

Shortened, trackable links let you see which pieces of content and which social networks are driving the best results for you, all without taking up a lot of space. So make sure that every link you post has some UTM codes added, then is shortened. (If you’re a HubSpot customer, this is all built-in the software.)

6. High-quality images

You’ve heard the hype about visual content before -- it’s incredibly important for you to use high-quality images in your posts. Need help with creating visual content, but don’t have Photoshop? Check out these resources.

7. Timely and contextual responses

Because social media is social, you should not only be sharing content, but also be responding to those who reach out to you. They expect it -- according to survey data from Lithium Technologies, 70% of surveyed Twitter users expect a response from brands they reach out to on Twitter.

Besides being timely, you should also make sure you’ve got context on who you’re responding to -- are they a VIP customer? An evangelist you should thank? A lead that’s really ready to buy from you? If you are using HubSpot’s Social Inbox, that information is readily available in your conversation stream.

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Tags of relevant users

High qual i ty images

Shortened l inks with t racking tokens

Timely and relevant responses

Conversat ions with context

Your company’s name as your username

Your logo as your avatar

Frequency

Between 5 - 20 t imes a day

Between 5 - 10 t imes per week

5 t imes a week

THANKS FOR READING

Best practices aren’t the end-all-be-all. They’re terrific foundations for your marketing, but as you begin to implement them and run optimization experiments, you’ll figure out what works best for you and your company.

So thanks for reading, and best of luck with your marketing.

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