Coupon marketing has emerged as a leading tool for branding and lead generation. The escalating challenge of decreasing brand loyalty among shoppers further complicates the landscape, prompting marketers to leverage discount coupon codes as a means of retaining consumers to a certain extent. With 90% of consumers using coupons, it’s clear that there’s a strong demand for deals.
Digital coupon redemptions are expected to surpass $90 billion by 2022, highlighting their growing importance. Additionally, 63% of shoppers express a desire for more accessible coupons, and emails featuring coupons see a significant revenue increase of 48% per email. However, it’s important to be aware of potential downsides. Over-reliance on coupons can diminish a brand’s perceived value, and regularly offering discounts may lead to delayed and less profitable sales. Moreover, prominently displaying coupon codes during checkout can contribute to higher cart abandonment rates.
Utilising coupon codes in marketing strategies offers numerous benefits for brands, aiding in customer retention and engagement in a competitive marketplace.
First Things First – What is Coupon Marketing?
Coupon marketing campaigns serve various purposes, offering a straightforward approach to building brand recognition, especially when entering new markets or launching a business. Additionally, coupons effectively attract new customers and facilitate their conversion into loyal patrons.
This article delves into the rationale behind employing coupon marketing campaigns, providing insights into effective deployment strategies. Furthermore, it highlights key considerations to avoid potential pitfalls and ensure the campaign contributes positively to business growth. Shoppers are drawn to savings, making coupons and discount codes a compelling tool for digital marketers introducing new customers to products or services.
10 Top Coupon Marketing Strategies to Boost Your Brand Value and Sales:
Coupon marketing is a powerful tool for marketers looking to attract new customers, retain existing ones, and boost overall brand awareness. As a marketer, I understand the significance of special offers in sales and lead generation.
It can enhance a brand’s presence and appeal so below I list the best ways to leverage coupon marketing strategies:
1. Partner with Top Coupon Sites
Collaborate with popular coupon sites to feature your discounts and offers. This increases visibility and drives traffic to a brand. In the past, coupons in the UK predominantly targeted grocery items, but today, the range of categories has significantly broadened. Top UK coupon websites now offer vouchers applicable to a diverse array of products and services. These coupons can be utilised for various purposes, spanning from web hosting packages to entertainment and beauty treatments, among others. Several platforms offer access to over 24,000 brands and more than 100,000 coupon codes, allowing users to take advantage of the most competitive cashback and commission rates available.
2. Plan Exclusive Deals
While spur-of-the-moment deals may create initial excitement, meticulously planned ones sustain long-term interest. An actionable step involves crafting a 12-month forecast of potential deals, and strategically aligning them with notable dates and industry events. For instance, in the electronics sector, integrating offers around tech events can provide a significant advantage. Research indicates a substantial demand for deals, with nearly 60% of consumers visiting coupon websites every week, or even multiple times daily. By preplanning deals, businesses can consistently provide fresh and enticing offerings to cater to this eager customer base.
3. Utilise Digital Coupons Effectively
Coupons hold significant value for e-commerce platforms as they serve as catalysts for customer action. Particularly, new or emerging brands stand to gain considerable advantages from offering coupons. According to research conducted by Inmar Intelligence, 54% of shoppers are inclined to purchase from a new brand due to its cost-effectiveness, with approximately one-third being influenced by digital coupons. By implementing an effective coupon email marketing strategy, marketers can target customers in their preferred online spaces by email for example. By leveraging factors like relevance, timeliness, and perceived value within coupon email campaigns, marketers can effectively enhance exposure and drive customer engagement to product or service pages.
4. Combine Seasonal and Event-Based Promotions
Utilising a promotional calendar allows for strategic timing of promotions to achieve optimal impact, aligning them with holidays, special occasions, or seasonal trends. Customising a marketing timeline based on targeted events, whether it’s Boxing Day for UK customers or Lunar New Year for buyers in Asia, enhances effectiveness. It also increases brand engagement especially on social media as you can see in one of the posts I’ve designed for the londonbusinessnews.com magazine in our London Life FB page to encourage more people to read our articles:
For instance, when planning sales like Black Friday or Valentine’s Day, ensure to distribute discounts and coupon codes via social media and email to effectively promote what you offer in connection with the event.
5. Leverage Social Media
Another effective tactic to enhance your coupon marketing strategy involves promoting new products and discounts through social media channels. With billions of users active on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, incorporating regular discount sharing into your strategy is essential. Nonetheless, caution should be exercised to avoid excessive coupon usage. Constant sales may diminish the perceived value of your products, potentially leading your audience to view your coupon strategy as merely a ploy to acquire more emails or followers through lead magnets. It’s important to link your discount offers with events or compelling reasons and to utilise not only your social media channels but also groups and topical pages as I showed above. On top of that, you can also run paid social media ads for your discount campaigns where you can target very specific groups.
6. Strategic Email Segmentation
Segmenting your email list according to behaviour, interests, and purchase history enables the creation of targeted coupon campaigns for each subgroup. To implement this strategy effectively, review your CRM data to discern customer trends and utilise insights garnered to craft personalised offers using email marketing tools. Tailoring discount coupon emails not only enriches the customer experience but also boosts conversion rates. Furthermore, consider incorporating coupon links into various types of emails, including signup or subscription confirmation emails, promotional content, and other email marketing campaigns.
7. Introduce First-Time Sign-up Discounts
The initial step in the customer journey involves enticing users to sign up, a task often hindered by reluctance upon encountering sign-up forms. Utilising discount coupons effectively can serve as a persuasive tool in overcoming this obstacle. Leveraging lead forms, homepages, and landing pages as strategic assets, tailored to cater to business needs and customer preferences, enhances their efficacy as lead magnets. By deploying these lead magnets as pop-ups triggered by specific user actions—such as spending a designated time on the website or scrolling through a significant portion of the webpage—marketers can seize ample opportunities to entice and convert visitors into subscribers.
8. Include Referral Programs
Enhance your coupon marketing strategy by incorporating a referral program. Begin by providing existing customers with unique coupon codes they can share with friends. When these codes are used by their friends for their initial purchase, both parties receive a special discount or reward. This approach facilitates customer-driven growth, as existing customers contribute to bringing in new ones while ensuring mutual benefits for all involved. Referral marketing emerges as a straightforward yet impactful method to expand your customer base while fostering satisfaction among all participants.
9. Implement Retargeting Campaigns with Coupons
Employ retargeting ads as a strategic approach to reconnect with customers who have previously visited your site but did not complete a purchase. By offering them a coupon code as an incentive to return, you can effectively encourage them to reconsider their decision. Retargeting ads serve as a powerful tool to re-engage potential customers, leveraging their prior interest to drive conversion. By providing a compelling incentive in the form of a coupon code, you not only increase the likelihood of attracting them back to your site but also enhance the overall effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
10. Use high-end creative Visuals
Fundamentally, coupons serve as an invitation for customers to make a purchase. While coupon codes can be transmitted as simple text messages, enhancing them with visually appealing elements adds excitement and allure for customers. Incorporating vibrant graphics, captivating colours, and appealing fonts in your coupon design enhances its attractiveness and entices customers to engage with the offer. Especially when integrated into an email or social media campaign as part of your coupon marketing strategy, tailoring visual elements to correspond with different customer segments further enhances the effectiveness of your promotional efforts.
At the London Business News magazine for example. I invite businesses to share special offers or deals and we design the images for them, here is one example:
As you can see, we use the client’s logo and images for branding, we include their discount offer in combination with an introduction to their services and a website link. This way people become familiar with the brand while understanding what they’re about and landing them as a new client with a discount. I explain this in more detail here:
5 Benefits of Coupon Marketing
There are many excellent and effective benefits you’ll get when you use digital vouchers.
1. Attracting New Customers with Discount Coupons:
Discount coupons serve as powerful tools for brands to entice customers to try their products or services at a reduced price or with added incentives. Research suggests that approximately 60% of consumers are more inclined to experiment with a new product or service if they receive a coupon, thus accelerating customer conversion rates and ultimately boosting revenue for the organisation.
2. Streamlined Digital Couponing:
Digital couponing offers a time-efficient approach to marketing, delivering nearly instant results without the need for physical printing and distribution. By uploading coupons to various online platforms, brands can efficiently reach their target audience while reducing environmental impact, making it a convenient and eco-friendly marketing solution.
3. Drive Sales of New Products:
Coupon marketing isn’t just about attracting new customers and re-engaging existing ones; it’s also highly effective in boosting sales of newly launched products or services. By offering special access or early bird discount codes to loyal customers, brands can incentivize purchases and foster a sense of value among shoppers, leading to increased sales performance and successful product launches.
4. Data Collection Opportunities:
Digital coupons provide brands with valuable opportunities to gather customer data and personalise their marketing efforts. Offering discounts in exchange for email sign-ups enables businesses to expand their email community while gaining insights into customer preferences and behaviour, ultimately facilitating more targeted and effective marketing campaigns.
5. Demonstrating Customer Appreciation:
Coupons and vouchers serve as tangible expressions of appreciation for customer loyalty, demonstrating to clients that their patronage is valued beyond monetary transactions. By offering discounts and special deals, businesses can strengthen customer relationships, foster goodwill, and stay ahead of competitors in a competitive market landscape.
Conclusion
In conclusion, coupon marketing campaigns offer a plethora of benefits for businesses, ranging from attracting new customers and driving sales to fostering customer loyalty and brand recognition. By leveraging various strategies such as partnering with top coupon sites, planning exclusive deals, utilising digital coupons, and implementing referral programs, brands and marketers can effectively enhance their market presence and appeal to consumers. The ability to segment email lists, employ retargeting campaigns, and integrate high-end visual elements into coupon designs adds depth and effectiveness to marketing efforts. With careful planning and execution, coupon marketing remains a powerful tool for brands seeking to maximise their brand value and drive sales growth in today’s competitive market landscape.
Blogger and Educator by Passion | Senior Online Media & PR Strategist at ClickDo Ltd. | Contributor to many Education, Business & Lifestyle Blogs in the United Kingdom & Germany | Summer Course Student at the London School of Journalism and Course Instructor at the SeekaHost University.
Niche marketing is a strategy that focuses on a specific segment of the market that has a high potential for growth and profitability and I share more about it in this niche marketing guide.
Today’s customers want personalized experiences, which study results by Accenture show where they found that over 91% of consumers prefer shopping with brands offering relevant deals.
Niche marketing in combination with omnichannel marketing can help a brand stand out from the competition, attract loyal customers via the right channels, and increase brand awareness. However, it also comes with some challenges, such as focusing on the right niche, creating relevant and effective content, and reaching the key target audience.
As a digital marketer and SEO copywriter I share marketing tips based on my experience as a blogger and media strategist working with ClickDo and SeekaHost, two innovative digital businesses in the UK. So, let’s delve in.
Tip #1: Conduct thorough keyword research
Keyword research is the foundation of any successful niche marketing campaign. You need to find out what your potential customers are searching for online, what their pain points are, and what kind of solutions they are looking for. You can use various SEO tools, such as Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, or SEMrush, to discover relevant keywords for your niche.
Analyse your competitors’ keywords and see what gaps you can fill in the market. Once you have a list of keywords, you should optimize your website content, blog posts, and social media posts for them. This will help you rank higher on search engines and drive more organic traffic to your website.
Tip #2: Create engaging and informative content for multiple channels
Content is the key to building trust and authority in your niche. You need to create content that showcases your expertise, provides value to your audience, and solves their problems. You can use different formats of content, such as blog posts, guest articles, press releases, eBooks, podcasts, videos, social media posts or infographics, depending on your niche and audience preferences.
Use storytelling techniques to make your content more engaging and memorable. For example, you can share your personal experiences, case studies, success stories, or customer testimonials to illustrate your points. You should also include clear calls to action in your content to encourage your readers to take the next step.
I share more tips on lifestyle branding via marketing channels here:
Tip #3: Expand your online presence with social media and email marketing
Social media and email marketing are two powerful ways to connect with your niche audience and grow your online presence via additional channels. You should use social media platforms that are relevant to your niche and where your audience hangs out. For example, if you are targeting young professionals, you might want to use LinkedIn or Twitter. If you are targeting visual learners, you might want to use Instagram or Pinterest.
Create a consistent brand voice and style tailored to all your social media channels. You should post regularly, interact with your followers, share valuable and unique content, and join niche-related groups or communities.
Email marketing is another effective way to nurture your leads and convert them into customers. You should build an email list by offering freebies, exclusive deals or incentives via own your website or blog or even other websites where you can gain more exposure. You should then send them personalized and relevant emails that offer more value, build trust, and persuade them to buy from you.
Establishing a loyal followership via all your channels will ensure that your brand continues to be visible and interacted with.
Tip #4: Collaborate with influencers and experts
Influencer marketing is a strategy that involves partnering with influential people in your niche who have a large and engaged following. Influencer marketing can help you reach a wider audience, increase your brand awareness, generate more leads, and boost your sales. However, you need to choose the right influencers for your niche marketing campaign.
Look for influencers who have a similar target audience as yours, share similar values and goals as yours, and have a high level of trust and credibility among their followers. You should also negotiate a fair compensation and set clear expectations and goals for the collaboration. You can ask the influencers to promote your products or services, create sponsored content for you, or co-create content with you.
Tip #5: Monitor and measure your results
The last tip for niche marketing via different channels is to monitor and measure your results regularly. You need to track various metrics, such as website traffic, social media engagement, email open rates, click-through rates, conversions, sales revenue etc., to see how well your niche and omnichannel marketing campaign is performing.
Use analytics tools such as Google Analytics or Clicky Analytics to analyse your data and gain insights into your audience behaviour patterns preferences etc. You should then use this information to improve your niche marketing strategy accordingly. Test different elements of your campaign to see what works best for your niche audience.
See how I do this for websites I manage here:
Closing Thoughts
Niche and omnichannel marketing combined is a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition and grow your online presence. However, it requires a lot of tailored research, planning, creativity, and execution. You need to find the right niche and channels, create relevant and engaging content tailored accordingly, reach, and connect with your target audience, collaborate with influencers and experts, and monitor and measure your results. By following these five trending niche and omnichannel marketing tips for digital marketers and SEO consultants, you can achieve success in your niche and omnichannel marketing campaign.
If you need any help with niche marketing or any other aspect of digital marketing, you can contact me or the team at ClickDo or SeekaHost. We have the expertise and experience to help you grow your online presence and business in any niche.
Blogger and Educator by Passion | Senior Online Media & PR Strategist at ClickDo Ltd. | Contributor to many Education, Business & Lifestyle Blogs in the United Kingdom & Germany | Summer Course Student at the London School of Journalism and Course Instructor at the SeekaHost University.
Google has confirmed that ranking without links is really hard and has updated its link-building policies hundreds of times and it will continue to do so.
I write SEO-friendly web content or blog content and optimise images, titles and meta tags for search engines to achieve higher ranks.
I use analytics and link analysis tools to analyse relevant and easy-to-rank keywords, competitor statistics and to monitor a website’s performance. I also work in content publishing, link-building, social media and email marketing.
As a Digital Marketing and PR Strategist, I’m passionate about creating brand awareness and online visibility through top-notch content publications on suitable platforms. I provide expert guidance on news and press release publications, guest publications, interviews, features and more – check out some of my case studies:
Links are the most important ranking element, and the Google Core Algorithm is still link-based. To make sure that you do link-building the right way so that you achieve the best results, we decided to compile a useful list of link-building strategies you should try!
From my viewpoint, appropriate link-building is not straightforward and there is no general recipe, there are numerous white hat SEO and link-building tactics you can use to boost your website’s ranks on search engines.
Here’s more about my take on guest posting as a digital marketer at ClickDo:
1. Skyscraper Technique
Skyscraping is one of the most popular link-building strategies. It takes a lot of work, but if you do it the right way, you’ll get quality backlinks, traffic, and business leads. It’s a combination of high-quality content, in-depth research, competitor backlink analysis and email outreach.
The following are the main steps for the skyscraper technique:
Find relevant content with high-quality backlinks;
Find the website contact and discuss collaboration options;
Improve your content and outreach to potential customers or best let them find you through high-quality content that ranks.
2. Link Building with Content
Executing this challenging yet highly successful strategy can be another effective method to rank well on Google. Write content that will draw in readers, share it on social media, and drive referral traffic. Make sure your content is well-structured and free from grammatical errors. There are many web design techniques and tools available to help you make your content more engaging and eye-catching.
Using a blog for link building involves creating high-quality content that attracts links from other websites, thereby improving your search engine rankings. Here’s a step-by-step guide on using your blog for link building:
Develop high-quality, informative, and engaging blog posts that naturally attract links.
Identify topics relevant to your niche with the potential for link attraction through keyword research.
Ensure your blog posts are well-optimised for search engines by using relevant keywords in titles, headers, and content.
Actively share your blog posts on social media and other channels to increase visibility. You can use a tool to plan when your social media posts go out.
Contribute to other reputable blogs in your industry, including a link back to your own blog in the author bio or content.
Connect with influencers and bloggers in your niche to foster natural link-building opportunities.
Link to your own relevant blog posts within your content to enhance SEO and encourage exploration.
Identify broken links on other websites and suggest your content as a replacement.
Develop comprehensive guides or tools that provide unique value and attract organic links.
Engage in forums and groups, sharing your expertise and linking to your blog when relevant.
Use tools to track your website’s performance and new backlinks, adjusting strategies as needed.
Remember, building high-quality, natural backlinks takes time and effort. Focus on providing value to your audience, and over time, you’ll likely see an increase in the number of links pointing to your blog.
3. Create a Blog
Effective link-building using a variety of dynamic tactics is made possible by a blog or blog network. By consistently churning out valuable, niche-specific content, your blog becomes a go-to resource for others in the industry, naturally attracting backlinks. Leveraging internal linking not only enhances user experience but also signals to search engines the depth and interconnectedness of your content. There are opportunities for reciprocal linking when you guest write on reputable sites and work with influencers, which broadens the audience for your network.
Social media plays a crucial role, as sharing blog posts amplifies visibility and encourages others to link back to your content. Moreover, being featured on resource pages or roundups within your niche establishes your blog as a valuable reference, resulting in valuable backlinks. Proactive approaches, such as identifying broken links on other sites and offering your content as a replacement, contribute to a robust link-building strategy. In essence, a well-maintained blog or blog network becomes a strategic nexus for organic link growth, solidifying your online presence and authority.
4. Educational Content and Case Studies to Invite Collaborators
Google SERP is full of “how to” articles, and if yours ranks well, people will want to work with you.
You can always focus on a specific audience with your insights and opinions, or you can provide step-by-step instructions and video tutorials. Most people are looking for solutions to questions.
A case study can be a great source of backlinks! Case studies always give new information. Ensure you have good data, research, and try to test industry myths. Review products or services like an expert.
5. White Papers
White papers are widely used in B2B, but you don’t need to be a company to conduct in-depth industry analysis. You just need to share your perspective, data, and knowledge that others can use. White papers are an excellent way to network and build relationships.
6. Guest Posts
Backlinks can be obtained through guest posting. Conduct website research, develop excellent content, and try to post it on a reputable site. They normally have tight guest posting standards and getting your work accepted can take a long time.
It takes a little longer, but it works, probably even better than outreach in some cases. You can discover lists of websites that accept guest articles online, but if you want to identify ones that are relevant to you, utilise Google search. Begin with the focus keyword and add the phrase “write for us.” Think about the keywords you want to rank for and then decide which sites are suitable.
Ideally, you should check which keywords they rank for and whether this is relevant to your content. You can find more tips in this guest posting techniques guide.
One of the most effective types of content you can post on your website is research-based content. Research-based content includes ideally your own surveys, case studies and business data that you can’t find anywhere else. If you post this kind of original data on your website, then other websites will likely link back to your new content.
8. Make Your URLs SEO-Friendly
A good URL structure gives users an idea of what the destination page is about and what to expect, hence making it SEO-friendly.
Consider organising your content so that URLs are constructed logically. And in a manner that is intelligible to humans while incorporating the core keywords, thereby attracting traffic.
9. Use influencer marketing
If you’re looking for an alternative to traditional advertising channels that won’t cost you a lot of money, influencer marketing may be the way to go.
An influencer’s ability to create backlinks is well-known. When they share their experiences with you, write for your site, or mention and quote you in their official handle, they’ll often include social media links. This would lead to more traffic to your site, which directly improves your rankings and new backlinks will likely follow.
10. Start an Affiliate Marketing Program
You’ll get links and also receive money with the help of this method. Affiliate programs are some of the successful ways to make money, increase your visibility, and acquire quality backlinks. A lot of affiliates are searching for a new source of income. You’ll need to create an attractive commission structure, and you may need affiliate software to track all of your affiliate activity.
11. Content Syndication
Content syndication is a perfect way to gain more backlinks and enhance your traffic. The best platforms for this purpose are GrowthHackers, Medium, LinkedIn, Growthub, and Business2community. You can either submit an extract from your article or create a one-of-a-kind description. Check whether the platform has implemented a “rel=canonical tag” that links back to your original material.
12. Backlinks via paid Blog Posts
Paid blog posts are an excellent way to get backlinks while making sure that your content is published well on authoritative sites. You will typically pay a fee for this service. However, it doesn’t consume a lot of your time because providers often write or edit your content to fit their publication and get as many people as possible to read it.
13. Coupons and Discounts
The use of discounts and coupon codes is very prominent. It is also a great way to promote your products. In addition, discount coupons are great for advertising affiliate programs.
14. Catalogues and Business Listings
Although it can take longer to get a business listed in a business directory, when done correctly, listing your business can help people discover your brand in a variety of ways, including independent reviews. Most listings will let you add images and videos, as well as links to your website and social media accounts. For the best results, you’ll want to focus on business listings that have the highest authority and traffic, as well as those that cover your niche, which you can easily compare on a business directory list.
15. Internal Linking
Internal linking gives you control over the anchors you use and allows you to put links where you want them. If you have a website with a lot of content but no internal linking, you will need to update your site every couple of days. You will need to add 2-3 internal links for each article. You can also determine which pages are most popular so that you can place specific internal links there. However, when it comes to internal links, it is important to be careful and strategically place them. This will help you avoid keyword stuffing and other black hat SEO practices that can negatively impact your ranks.
16. Submit Creatives
Infographics, eBooks and leaflets are accepted on Slideshare, issuu, Pinterest, and Scribd. You will need some time because you will need to work with many different digital formats, descriptions and links. Infographics can be very powerful in terms of link generation. You can produce increasing links and website traffic by creating an infographic that offers important and useful information about your niche.
17. Submit Videos
It takes less time to upload a video than it does to create a video. YouTube isn’t the only platform you can use to upload videos. Vimeo is another great platform to upload videos on.
You should include a link and a brief description.
You should also include an end screen and annotations.
18. Find broken Links and suggest Alternatives
Broken link building involves finding broken external links on other websites and offering an alternative link from your site, thereby increasing traffic on your website. For this, you can use search operators or a variety of SEO tools.
19. PR Articles
PR articles and press releases written by professionals and published on authoritative websites and blogs will give you high-quality links. You can either write them yourself and publish them, or you can get them written and published on your behalf, which is the more expensive option.
20. Recovering Links to Stolen Images
When it comes to pictures, some websites will use them without giving you credit. This usually applies to infographics, graphs, and high-quality images. This strategy is best for high-quality websites, or if your images give real ideas to others. Another way to get backlinks is to submit infographics. You can submit your images to free and paid infographic sites.
Conclusion
The above link-building tips and suggestions should give you some creative ideas to improve your backlink profile to rank better on search engines with your website. By integrating these top link-building methods into a holistic marketing strategy, you can foster sustainable growth and navigate the ever-changing algorithms of search engines with confidence.
As an editor and manager of various blogs, I regularly publish guest posts, sponsored posts, and press releases and provide backlinking advice and opportunities. Explore my portfolio website, where I share my experiences, insights and activities. Put SEO on your long-term to-do list and implement these useful tactics to get to the top and feel free to contact me to discuss link building strategies and backlinks with me!
Blogger and Educator by Passion | Senior Online Media & PR Strategist at ClickDo Ltd. | Contributor to many Education, Business & Lifestyle Blogs in the United Kingdom & Germany | Summer Course Student at the London School of Journalism and Course Instructor at the SeekaHost University.
Many more people are asking if it’s worth getting published on the UK Education Blog hence why I want to talk to you about recent case studies I have analysed as the digital marketer and SEO strategist at ClickDo.
I want to start by highlighting that the magazine has recently reached nearly 5,000 visitors in a month, meaning it gets up to 200 visitors daily.
For people looking to get published or featured on the UK Education Blog or who are in search of guest posting and digital PR opportunities the platform is becoming more attractive with such metrics. It is fair to say that with over 15k actions within a month the chances of achieving clicks and conversions with guest posting here are higher, apart from the obvious SEO benefits.
The UK Education Blog offers different forms of publications as a media platform, and I had a deeper look at these different formats and how they perform in terms of SEO and exposure – please remember that the shared statistics are correct as of the date of this publication and are subject to change.
The magazine publishes content covering education topics in categories like learning, teaching, schooling, student life, career, EdTech as well as directory posts and listicles which feature top rated businesses and organisations in the education sector.
It invites anyone looking to share expert advice, education insights, tips, and hacks to get featured, so there is an opportunity for education representatives as well as experts and authors to get guest content live.
I summarise the findings in this video:
Let’s start by looking at the most common and popular format – the guest post.
Guest Post Case Study: Advantages and Disadvantages of Living in a College Dorm
The authors at the UK Education Blog regularly publish editorial articles and guest posts.
This specific article has been performing very well as a guest post (their editorial articles perform well too). As you can see it has reached a significant amount of engagement within one year with nearly 2k clicks and nearly 26k impressions from Google alone, excluding additional engagement from Bing, Yahoo, and direct clicks for example.
This post has been ranking successfully because it covers popular related keywords such as “pros and cons of living in a dorm” or “benefits of living in a dorm” which it ranks for on Google. For a guest post to achieve this, it’s important that it targets keywords with a lower keyword difficulty and that it is optimised for search engines also in terms of the images and articles meta data. The expert team can assist with SEO optimization as they work closely with the SEO experts at ClickDo.
Interview Case Study: A Conversation with WuKong Education at the London EdTechX Summit
Moving on to another popular publication format, here is an interview case study. You will see a section called Media Releases when you come to the UK Education Blog homepage and that’s where interviews, opinion pieces, event coverage and media releases are featured.
Having taken a closer look at this case study, the advantages of such a publication format are clear, especially if it is linked with a brand launch or another significant business event or announcement.
As you can see in the statistics below this interview ranks on Google for keywords such as the brand’s name, the event name as well as other related search terms such as “wukong maths”.
This helps with introducing a brand to the market in connection with a personal or background story while being found for search terms that would establish a brand that is not yet well known and searched for. It also benefits the entrepreneur with building their personal brand alongside their business brand. For the founder an interview offers the opportunity to publicly stand behind the brand, product, or service and to showcase the personal journey and motivation.
The UKEB expert team carefully curate the Q&As together with the interviewee to ensure that their focus and USP are incorporated effectively for the best possible outcomes and performance. An interview publication is also beneficial for a Google Knowledge Panel for example, which serves as a great online asset for any entrepreneur and ClickDo’s founder Fernando Raymond explores this in more depth on our ClickDo YouTube channel:
Social Media Case Study: Gaining additional Exposure through Network Shares for Mentioned Businesses/Organisations
What provides every post with an additional boost is sharing them on social media. The UKEB magazine shares all the published posts on their channels, which can boost the exposure of the publication significantly as the below example shows.
Through related hashtags and tags, social signals boost the brand and if they already have a solid network, their connections might also share their post, providing the brand with even more exposure and engagement. This in turn boosts their website and brand name online so every organisation should ensure that they utilise their channels as well for any publication related to them and their brand.
Listicle Case Study: Top 15 Education and Student Blogs accepting your Guest Post
Listicles or list posts that list top-rated organisations or businesses and brands are another speciality at the UKEB magazine. This format helps the business and brand to be referenced effectively on the Internet. Readers search for quick answers nowadays and listicles and directories provide a great overview of whatever one is looking for.
As you can see in the data below this listicle has received over 12000 impressions on Google alone over the last year and ranks for several keywords including very competitive search terms such as “education guest post” and “education guest blogging sites” which helps to introduce the brands listed to people that might have never come across it.
The listed businesses or organisations themselves can share this listicle where they are mentioned as a testament to their work and success. Recommendations intrigue many looking for suitable options in their search hence why this format provides a great boost in terms of marketing and SEO.
Media Release Case Study: iSpring Solutions Inc. launches Quiz Maker 11
Press release publications which are called media release publications here are another format that’s been popular. This particular case study shows how a tailored and keyword optimised release can achieve significant results, especially shortly after publication which matters for more time-sensitive publication formats such as this.
The below statistics show that the media release ranks for search terms such as “launch online quiz”, which helps with introducing the brand to people looking for new online quiz options. It also ranks for the brand name, establishing it further online.
Additional media were included to boost engagement with the release, but this can also lead to gaining more followers on any referenced websites and channels. Everyone submitting press releases is encouraged to make them more unique and engaging to achieve better results and the team provide their advice for SEO press release publications.
Additionally, it is worth noting that all publication formats in the UK Education Blog magazine provide an SEO boost through a backlink, which search engines use to rank a website and evaluate its authority. Building backlinks helps to build trust and credibility and I discuss this with Fernando in more detail in this video:
To get your submission approved it should follow the magazine and search engine guidelines to ensure the optimal performance. The team review all guest contributions and are selective, but they share the editorial feedback that will help to make the publication as effective as possible.
They consult about the best keywords to use, the best ways to incorporate hyperlinks and references as well as media materials. Alternatively, one can make use of their content writing or review services.
Manuela shares her take on how to get published on UKEB here:
If you feel that this magazine would be a good place for you to share your insights, news or innovations then get in touch with me at manuela@clickdo.co.uk and I’ll be happy to offer my assistance with a possible feature.
Follow us on YouTube and our socials where we regularly share marketing and SEO insights to stay in the loop
Blogger and Educator by Passion | Senior Online Media & PR Strategist at ClickDo Ltd. | Contributor to many Education, Business & Lifestyle Blogs in the United Kingdom & Germany | Summer Course Student at the London School of Journalism and Course Instructor at the SeekaHost University.
Many more people are enquiring about getting published in the London Business News Magazine hence why I had a deeper look into case studies I have analysed as the digital marketer and SEO strategist at ClickDo and the editor-in-chief at this magazine.
I want to start by highlighting that the magazine has recently reached 15,000 visitors in a month, meaning it gets over 500 visitors daily who spend an average time of 4 minutes on the site.
For people looking to get published or featured on London Business News or who are in search of guest posting and digital PR opportunities, the platform is becoming more attractive with such metrics. With nearly 30k actions and a solid on-page time spend the chances of achieving clicks and conversions with guest blogging here are increasing, besides the obvious SEO benefits.
The London Business News magazine offers different forms of publications as a media platform, and I had a closer look at the performance of these different formats in terms of SEO and exposure – please remember that the shared statistics are correct as of the date of this publication and are subject to change.
The magazine publishes content covering categories like business, technology, property, and hospitality as well as directory posts and listicles which feature top-rated businesses.
It invites anyone looking to share expert advice, business insights, tips, and hacks to get featured, so there is an opportunity for all types of businesses as well as experts and authors to get guest content live. But what do you get out of a guest or PR publication on this site?
I summarise my findings in this clip:
Let’s start by looking at the most common and affordable format – the guest post.
Guest Post Case Study: How to overcome Jet Lag when travelling from London to New York
Editorial articles and guest posts go up regularly on this news site.
This specific article has been performing very well as a guest post (the editorial articles perform well too). As you can see it has reached a significant amount of engagement within one year with over 1k clicks and nearly 19k impressions from Google alone, excluding additional engagement from Bing, Yahoo, and direct clicks for example.
This post has been ranking successfully because it covers popular related keywords such as “how to overcome jet lag” or “travel from London to New York”, which it ranks for on Google. For a guest post to achieve this, it’s important that it targets keywords with a lower keyword difficulty and that it is optimised for search engines in terms of the images and article metadata. I have created an SEO copywriting course at the SeekaHost University where I share more about SEO content optimization and on my personal blog I reveal how to create an article that Google will send many readers to.
Interview Case Study: Entrepreneur Interview with Nevine Country, Playdate App Founder
Moving on to another popular publication format, here is an interview case study. You will see a section called Business Spotlight when you come to the London Business News website and that’s where interviews, opinion pieces, entrepreneur stories and event coverage are featured.
The advantages of such a publication format become clear upon seeing the statistics, especially if it is linked with a brand launch or another significant business announcement.
As you can see in the screenshot below this interview ranks on Google for keywords such as the entrepreneur’s name, the brand name as well as other related search terms such as “single parent dating app”.
This helps with introducing a brand to the market in connection with a personal story while being found for search terms that would establish a brand that is not yet established and searched for. It also benefits the entrepreneur by building their personal brand alongside their business brand. For a founder, an interview offers the opportunity to publicly back the brand, product, or service and showcase the personal journey and motivation.
For the interview to be this effective the Q&As need to be SEO optimised based on the focus and USP, which must be incorporated strategically for the best possible outcomes and performance. An interview publication is also beneficial for a Google Knowledge Panel for example, which serves as a great online asset for any entrepreneur and I offer further guidance on how to build a Google Knowledge Panel for anyone attempting this.
I have been the interviewer and interviewee, which helps me with analysing and advising on this PR format better. Check out this video, where I was interviewed about the LBN magazine:
Social Media Case Study: Gaining additional Exposure through Network Shares for BVS Mortgages Interview
Social media shares add an additional exposure factor to a publication. The LBN magazine shares all the published posts on their channels, which can boost the exposure of the publication significantly as the below example shows.
Through related hashtags and tags, social signals boost the brand and entrepreneur and if they already have a solid network, their connections might also share their interview, providing the brand with even more exposure and engagement. This in turn boosts their website and brand name online so every interviewee should ensure that they utilise their social media channels as well for any publication related to them and their brand.
Entrepreneur Story Case Study: British Entrepreneur Lucy Rout’s Tabuu Pill Cases
Entrepreneur stories with a unique angle are another speciality at the LBN magazine. This format helps the entrepreneur and their business to be referenced effectively on the Internet. Readers are intrigued by the human story behind a business and the entrepreneur story provides an insight into the background of a business and the motivation as well as the people involved from a storyteller’s view.
As you can see in the data below this entrepreneur story has received over 3000 impressions on Google alone over the last 3 months and ranks for several keywords including the entrepreneur’s name, the brand name and related search terms which helps to introduce the brand to people that might have never come across it.
The entrepreneur themselves can share this story about them and their business as a testament to their work. Success stories intrigue many looking for inspiration in the business world hence why this format provides a great boost in terms of marketing and SEO.
Media Release Case Study: Wellbeing App Shoorah Partners with Seedrs
Press release publications which are called media release publications are another format that’s been popular. This particular case study shows how a tailored and keyword-optimised release can achieve significant results, especially shortly after publication which matters for more time-sensitive publication formats such as this.
The below statistics show that the media release immediately ranked on Google and within the first week received over 2000 views. It continues to rank for search terms such as “shoorah app”, the founder’s name and other related search terms helping the brand to be referenced more widely, providing it with more exposure and credibility.
Additional media were included to boost engagement with the release, but this can also lead to gaining more followers on referenced channels. Everyone submitting press releases is encouraged to make them more unique and engaging to achieve better results and the team provide their advice for SEO press release publications.
Additionally, it is worth noting that all publication formats in the London Business News magazine provide an SEO boost through a backlink, which search engines use to rank a website and evaluate its authority. Building backlinks helps to build trust and credibility and I discuss this with the top ClickDo SEO consultant Fernando in more detail in this video:
To get your submission approved it should follow the magazine and search engine guidelines to ensure optimal performance. The team review all guest contributions and is selective, but they share the editorial feedback that will help to make the publication as effective as possible.
They consult about the best keywords to use, the best ways to incorporate hyperlinks and references as well as media materials. Alternatively, one can make use of their content writing or review services.
If you feel that this magazine would be a good place for you to share your insights, news or innovations then get in touch with me at info@manuelawillbold.com and I’ll be happy to offer my assistance with a possible guest feature here or on other suitable publications.
Follow me on YouTube and my socials where I regularly share marketing and SEO insights as in this video:
Blogger and Educator by Passion | Senior Online Media & PR Strategist at ClickDo Ltd. | Contributor to many Education, Business & Lifestyle Blogs in the United Kingdom & Germany | Summer Course Student at the London School of Journalism and Course Instructor at the SeekaHost University.
As the digital marketing job demand has surged by 52%, it becomes evident that most businesses nowadays tap into the digital landscape to achieve success.
As a digital marketer at ClickDo I combine SEO with various other marketing disciplines like social media marketing, email marketing, and more to make our online magazines thrive while providing content marketing and PR services.
So, if you’re an aspiring digital marketer and you wonder if:
You need a degree.
Digital Marketing is for everyone.
You can start out as a digital marketer, and how.
Then read on.
In this guide, I will explain the role of a digital marketer like me and how you can get on the path of becoming one to earn money online from the get-go.
The CEO of ClickDo, Fernando Raymond, has been a digital marketer for over 10 years now and built several digital businesses as a digital entrepreneur based on his success as a digital marketer.
I joined ClickDo in 2018 as a part-time content writer while having a full-time teaching job and I explain my journey from teacher to digital marketer in this video:
The beauty of digital marketing as a skill is that it is versatile and can be utilised in many different ways in the thriving digital economy.
So, let’s discover what a digital marketer does to earn a living.
What is a Digital Marketer?
A digital marketer is a professional who focuses on promoting and advertising products or services using various digital channels and platforms.
Their primary goal is to drive traffic, engagement, and conversions for businesses or clients while building a brand.
Digital marketers employ a range of online marketing techniques to reach their target audience, build brand awareness, and generate leads.
They typically work within an organization’s marketing department or may be part of a digital marketing agency.
Top Fact: The United Kingdom is the largest digital ad market in Europe and one of the leading digital advertising spenders worldwide according to Statista. There is a clear trend that spending on digital advertising has increased for over a decade as digital continues to thrive.
However, many start out as a freelance digital marketing consultant. That’s how Fernando started back in 2013 to then launch his digital agency ClickDo which employs digital marketers to provide digital marketing services for businesses in the UK.
I didn’t start out as a digital marketer as I didn’t have the skills when I joined ClickDo. But I was good at writing content, had a passion for it, and had done a summer course in journalism at the London School of Journalism. With ClickDo I learned SEO skills, which are important for digital marketing.
While I started building and growing some blogs for ClickDo like the London Business News Magazine or Green Living Blog, I gained more skills like WordPress skills, social media marketing, and email marketing skills to increase the reach of these blogs.
So, it is fair to say that becoming a digital marketer doesn’t require a specific qualification, but rather a passion for creating and promoting digital content. Depending on how you get started, you can focus on different online marketing skills that you enjoy the most.
The best part is that you can always make a start with your own website and channels as a first case study, so you wouldn’t necessarily rely on being hired right away or having a degree.
Top 5 Responsibilities of a Digital Marketer:
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
Optimizing website content to improve search engine rankings and organic traffic is key to driving traffic to online channels. For instance, a digital marketer working for an e-commerce store would focus on using relevant keywords to enhance their website’s visibility on search engines like Google or Bing to gain more exposure.
2. Social Media Marketing:
Creating and managing social media campaigns to engage with the target audience and promote products or services is a key driver for additional traffic and leads. For example, a digital marketer for a fashion brand might run Instagram ads to showcase new collections. Many brands now require daily content for all their socials to keep their audience engaged and growing.
3. Content Marketing:
Producing valuable and relevant content, such as blog posts, videos, or infographics, to attract and retain customers is vital for brands to be seen and noticed. An example would be a digital marketer working for a software company creating informative blog posts about industry trends or how-to guides, which can then be turned into videos and social media posts.
4. Email Marketing:
Developing and executing regular email campaigns to nurture leads and encourage repeat business is another important role of a digital marketer. A digital marketer for a travel agency might send personalized vacation offers to their subscriber list and encourage new subscribers to sign up via the website and socials.
5. Branding:
Developing and executing branding campaigns to increase the visibility and awareness of the business interlinks with all above mentioned disciplines. Thinking of the most famous brands, what a digital marketer would do is utilise advertising on television, streaming channels, social media channels, radio, websites/platforms, etc. to build the brand’s reputation. Working with influencers and celebrities always works for branding and the content makes the biggest difference.
How to earn money as a Digital Marketer?
As explained above, if you want to start out as a digital marketer, you can look for job opportunities, however, most employers will want to see your experience and expertise before they hire you.
If you’re only starting out, then the best thing to do is to start with your own case study by creating your own online presence and marketing it yourself. To make money on top of that you can try to land some freelancer gigs via freelance job platforms.
You can then build an online portfolio and if you land more freelance gigs, you can potentially scale your services and develop it into an online business. You might then end up as a digital entrepreneur, who identifies and leverages digital opportunities to create, launch, and grow their online businesses.
So, you would hire other digital marketers who will work for you, and you’d delegate all marketing tasks to them while you are responsible for the entire venture’s success or failure.
To scale your business successfully you need to use your creativity, innovation, and business acumen to develop products or services that cater to specific market needs or gaps.
However, a smart digital business like ClickDo can have multiple digital entrepreneurs that work together for the business that’s founded by a digital entrepreneur who also holds the CEO role of that business.
For example, Fernando Raymond is the founder and CEO of ClickDo and SeekaHost web services. You can learn more about what is digital entrepreneurship in this guide. He trained other ClickDoers to replicate what he did and build their own teams within ClickDo to essentially run their own departments, offering the services they prefer and are best at.
I now work with around 5 assistants who help me manage the blogs, the content, the socials, the emails, etc. I never thought I could do this, but it organically grew with Fernando’s guidance and continues to flourish as ClickDo grows.
See Anna, one of our content creators at ClickDo, in action in this video, where she explains how to earn as a digital marketer:
So, while working as a digital marketer, you might learn additional entrepreneurship and management skills, which you and your career will benefit from. But with success comes responsibility so let’s look at that a bit more.
Top 5 Responsibilities of a Digital Entrepreneur:
1. Generate a Vision:
Identifying a market niche or a problem that can be solved through digital means is the first step in a new venture. However, having a clear vision of the business idea is key to turning it into reality. The vision will determine the journey and focus. For example, a digital entrepreneur might notice a lack of user-friendly productivity apps and decide to create one. They might have a clear vision of its application and the target user, so they know how to build and market the product.
2. Develop a Business:
Creating digital products or services, which could be software, e-books, online courses, or digital consulting, depending on their expertise and interests, is the starting point where the entrepreneur needs to source funds, people, partners, and resources to develop the business.
3. E-commerce Skills:
Building and managing an online store to sell products, and services or drop shipping items is a core skill in the digital economy. For instance, a digital entrepreneur may launch a fashion brand and handle the entire sales process online. So, they need the knowledge or team to manage the e-store effectively.
4. Digital Service Skills:
Utilising digital services like web design, social media management, or content writing are important for running any digital enterprise. An example would be a digital entrepreneur starting a graphic design agency.
5. Marketing Skills:
Implementing digital marketing strategies to grow any business is a must in the digital economy. Digital entrepreneurs often need to wear the hat of a digital marketer in the early stages of their venture until they can scale and hire a marketing team.
In summary, digital marketers focus on promoting products or services for businesses, while digital entrepreneurs create and run their own digital ventures, utilizing digital platforms to innovate and grow their businesses from scratch. Becoming a digital marketer can be the stepping stone to becoming a digital entrepreneur.
So, how do you want to make money?
Whether you’re keen on earning as a digital marketer or digital entrepreneur depends on your preference.
As a digital marketer, you can be employed, which can provide more job security and a regular income. On average digital marketers can expect an annual salary of £36k in the UK. The more senior the role, the higher the salary. As a freelancer this could be more, depending on the clients one lands, but the income may not be regular and more uncertain.
So, starting out as an employed digital marketer might work best to learn best practices with an established employer and you could even offer some digital marketing on the side to earn extra cash.
As a digital entrepreneur, you would be self-employed so you would be responsible for your own and your staff’s income plus the revenue of your business.
It’s therefore easier and less demanding to start out as a digital marketer and once one has the funds and resources to start an online business, it might be less stressful to manage one.
Either way, the digital economy offers a huge earning potential in the digital marketing sphere alone and I’ve written this make-money online guide to showcase this:
If you just specialise in any of the above digital marketing fields/skills listed, you could make a good living with the potential to scale as explained. Check out my Make Money Online in the UK guide, where I list different jobs in the marketing sphere and potential earnings:
Whatever you choose to become it’s vital you start learning digital skills to become an experienced digital marketer first. So, you can apply that knowledge to other businesses and/or build your own online digital business.
Working in digital marketing opens many opportunities like location independent work, and freedom to travel and work as a digital nomad, which motivated me hugely. You can read this digital nomad guide to discover more.
If you are interested in discovering more about such topics, you can follow me on my socials or ClickDo, where I regularly share digital marketing and nomad insights.
Blogger and Educator by Passion | Senior Online Media & PR Strategist at ClickDo Ltd. | Contributor to many Education, Business & Lifestyle Blogs in the United Kingdom & Germany | Summer Course Student at the London School of Journalism and Course Instructor at the SeekaHost University.