NEWS: The 7th Annual Blogging Survey has just been released by Orbit Media Studios, a leading website development company based in Chicago.
According to Andy Crestodina, CEO of Orbit Media, in these surveys, “we find over and over again that greater efforts [in blogging] leads to greater rewards.”
This year’s study involved nearly 1,300 bloggers in all types of organizations and industries.
Most of the questions focused on the results of a blogging program. This would include such things as more website traffic, improved search engine optimization, more leads, and certainly more sales.
Among the findings of the new survey are the following:
- Fully, 78 percent report that their blogging program delivers “some if not strong marketing results.”
- Bloggers who invest more time on each blog, as much as six hours, get better marketing results.
- Blogs inching toward 1,000 words are proving to be the most effective.
- Bloggers who write 3,000-word blogs report “strong results.”
- Bloggers who post once per week or several times per month are getting the best results; “Conversely, inconsistent bloggers are least likely to report ‘strong’ results,” says Crestodina.
When asked what type of blogs are most effective, getting the most marketing results, the responders revealed the following:
- “Roundup” blogs, 33 percent. (A roundup blog invites several writers to address a specific topic).
- Guides and eBooks, 33 percent
- Interviews, 33 percent
- “Gated content” blogs, 31 percent. (A “gated content” blog requires sign-up information from a visitor to read the blog).
- Infographics, 31 percent
- Lists, such as top ten lists, 31 percent.
Finally, the respondents were asked how they are driving traffic to their content, giving it more visibility and exposure. The survey reported:
- Social media, a whopping 94 percent
- Email marketing such as newsletters, 66 percent
- SEO (search engine optimization), 63 percent
- Paid services, such as paid ads in search engines, just 15 percent.
“This last point is interesting,” says Robert Kravitz with AlturaSolutions, which provides blogging and social media services for a wide range of B2B clients.
“It appears [that] bloggers are no longer trying to buy readers. Now they are trying to win them over with quality content.”
More on blogging and inbound marketing can be found here.