How to Build Inbound Campaigns Your Clients Will Love
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Congratulations! We’ve finally made it to Inbound Campaigns. It’s been a long journey to get here, but we’re all the more ready to do good because of it.
Here are the milestones we’ve conquered on this journey, and where we find ourselves:
- Inbound GamePlan
- Building the Engine
- Tweaking/Redesign the Website
- Inbound Campaigns
It’s time for the rubber to meet the road. But you might be asking yourself, “How the heck do I run an Inbound Campaign that my client is going to love?”
We’re diving right into delighting your clients in the campaign leg of the journey. Grab yourself a cup of coffee, and let’s do this.
Set Expectations of How Long Results Take
You should’ve set this expectation early in your sales process. Inbound doesn’t happen over night—it takes preparation, time, and consistency to mature.
Here at DoInbound, we’ve been aggressively running Inbound Campaigns here for the last six-and-a-half months. Guess what? We are just now starting to see the real results of our work. We tell our clients that it takes six-to-nine months to really see some movement, and we’ve proven it time and time again.
It’s important to communicate this to your clients. Inbound isn’t a shallow, shotgun blast. It’s a momentous laser-focused effort that takes time.
Inbound takes time to work! With a proper plan, engine, and website, we’re ready to being building the momentum.
Establish a Speed Preference
How fast does your client want to see results? The answer to this question will determine the level of work and the overall retainer price.
There are generally three speeds that campaigns can be run:
- Fast
- Faster
- Fastest
Each speed takes a certain amount of content and frequency to achieve.
Gain a pulse on how fast your client wants to achieve their goals. If they want to hit them within six-to-nine months, Fast or Faster is appropriate. If they’re looking to hit them before six-to-nine months, they’re fitting into the Fastest approach.
If your client wants to move at the Fastest speed, but is only willing to invest in a Fast approach, then you’ll need to have a conversation. The difference between a Fast and Fastest effort is quite significant.
Cast a Vision a Quarter at a Time
You should run your Inbound Campaigns in quarters. By running at this frequency, you can analyze your results and pivot as necessary along the way. Clients love a quarter-by-quarter forecast. It gives them a clear vision of where you’re taking them, what you’re doing, and what you hope to achieve.
This also allows you to attack a specific focus. Every Inbound Campaign should be focused on achieving a particular goal. For example, let’s say you’re working with a software company. You might work to propel a particular funnel-introducing eBook by writing 12-search-engine-optimized blog posts.
You Can Run More Than One at a Time
You’re not stuck running one Inbound Campaign per quarter. In fact, if your client is looking to hasten the pace, you’ll probably have to run two-to-four simultaneously.
The same concept remains—pick a focus.
You might be asking, “How should I determine a focus for each Campaign?” We have a great method for you to utilize.
Frame Campaigns with the Content Branching System
We build effective Inbound Campaigns by employing the Content Branching System.
Every Campaign we run is built upon a cornerstone content offer that will get prospects into our lead-nurturing machine. For a Campaign, we might build the content offer or utilize one that already exists.
Example:
- An eBook 12 SEO blog posts that go out over a 12 week span
Again, with this structure in mind, you can run more than one Campaign at a time.
In reality, you might have three-or-four blog posts going out at a time. It really depends on how fast your client wants to see results.
Go Build Campaigns Your Clients Will Love
When approaching Inbound Campaigns, remember:
- Communicate that it takes time
- Establish a speed preference
- Run a quarter at a time
- Use Content Branching
Do those four things, and I promise you’ll be on your way to building Campaigns that consistently delight your clients.
