Have you had a chance to read my prior story, "Inbound Marketing Works: A Copywriter's Success Story?"
If so, I thank you. If you haven't, go for it now. You see, this is the sequel. (They're never as good, right?)
I'll do my best to evolve the story.
The first one made the rounds pretty well, something like 100 views per hour the past day and half. I'll take it.
What else has happened in that day and a half?
- I was contacted by a marketing manager at an international hotel chain who had a couple of very nice things to say about my writing and proposed we work together on a search-based marketing project. This future client is based in Singapore. LinkedIn connected us. It does that kind of thing. Thanks Alfred.
- A talented young copywriter sent me a LinkedIn invitation, which led to a Twitter exchange, which led to an email exchange, which led to a portfolio presentation, which is likely to lead to a partnership. She hails from Melbourne, Australia, which is just a click away. Thanks Ali.
- I connected with one of Social Media Today's top contributors and told her a recent article of hers inspired an idea for a follow-up story, which I thought we'd compose as a tandem. She said she's in. New collaborator. New friend. I suspect new doors could open. Thanks Pam.
- A client, who allowed me to coach him on blogging best practices, discovered a few simple pointers helped land his article on page one for a Google search for a top keyword phrase in his SEO strategy. As you might expect, he liked how that played out and is eager to keep the ball rolling. Thanks Scott.
- I checked my Google Analytics for the past two days. Sunday blasted past any prior Sunday by a longshot. Monday my site had more traffic than any day ever. Visitors came from 32 nations. Thanks Iceland, Jamaica, islands and land masses everywhere.
- I examined what content was drawing visitors to my website. My new (and free) e-book, "21 Pointers to Sharpen Your Website," was downloaded 154 times. New eyeballs landed on seven older articles on my blog, The Point. A record number of visitors reviewed my rates page. Email and RSS subscriptions rose. I landed several new Facebook fans. Thanks friends.
Of course, I had to know where all this traffic was coming from. Social Media Today ruled. Direct traffic was off the hook too. I don't know why. I guess my name's getting out there. Three search engines scored for me, as did AdWords. Visits came from various feeds, sharing tools, media dashboards, mobile sites, tools I've never even heard of, referral sites, and three additional blogs where I've guest posted. Thanks fellow publishers.
HootSuite tells me my last three stories are still making the rounds thanks in large part to Twitter and its crazy big social ecosystem. Social Media Today has a little ticker in its sidebar that reports my latest story is tops for the month (so far), amongst the top three over the past week, and within a thousand or so views of my story about effective call-to-action strategies from late March. Thanks Social Media Today readers.
When I first began doing inbound marketing, everything I read came with the warning that heavy doses of patience and persistence would be required. The authors, teachers and advisors I relied on said all these things-website content, blogging, SEO, social media, lead nurturing, networking, and so forth-work together, but not instantly and not magically. I tried to trust 'em. Though the crickets chirped and the counters did little counting, I kept plugging away.
These things have a way of snowballing.
So I read. I wrote. I researched. I socialized, optimized, and hoped sooner or later, something, some interest from the outside would actually materialize. It's happening now. I'm enjoying the role of student and professor at the same time. I learn a lot about online marketing right here and all across the web. And I'm finding it incredibly rewarding to share my story too.
So finally, I'd like to say, thank you.