According to FlowTown co-founder Dan Martell, the success of their blog and their business is the marriage of the two.  One cannot work without the other.  Content is great, but only if customers and readers can find it using keyword searches. On the other hand, keywords may draw someone to your website, but it won’t necessarily keep them there.

Martell explains that doing a little research, spending a little money and nailing the keywords that are specific to the business are the crucial first steps.

Next, he suggests, find and hire writers who can produce engaging content. He recommends forgoing Craigslist and other job solicitation sites.  Instead, find blogs with the voice and tone that fits the vibe for your site, the product or the organization and contact those writers.

“Find an amazing writer and refine the key words. At the end of the day content is king and most people never nail that part,” Martell says.

A Great Example Of Flowtown's Keyword Usage

Content marketing is fast becoming the standard means of company promotion, with pundits expecting more than half of all businesses to incorporate blogs into their marketing strategies by 2012.

Martell says that blogging is the Number One user acquisition channel, but it may take time to see subscriber growth.

Consistency and strong key word incorporation lead to greater interaction and sharing of content.  Martell warns not to expect overnight success.

“It definitely takes time.  It takes at least six months to see consistent growth.  Sometimes people need to come two, three or even four times before they subscribe. Just stay consistent,” he said.

And Martell should know what works. The FlowTown blog which he helped create now has over 300,000 unique visitors each month; double the number from just last year.  It’s a number Martell is not only proud of, but expects to grow.  He said that it helps to pay writers higher-than-average per post rates — you do get what you pay for, after all.  In addition, he always offers incentives based upon performance.

Interestingly, most of FlowTown’s posts are shared via Twitter or Facebook, well over 100 times.  And that’s not counting the number of re-tweets or shares not coming directly from the site itself.

Flowtown's Engaged Twitter Community

By providing engaging content, soliciting feedback and expanding the parameters of marketing, FlowTown has increased awareness on the importance of content marketing and social media strategy.  Their clients and subscribers better understand the living breathing, ever changing media platforms that are dominating society.

It is certain that FlowTown will be going through some major changes with its recent acquisition by DemandForce.  But, for its devoted customers and loyal followers it is hopeful that the changes only enhance what it is already doing. Martell described the combining of the two with just one word, “Awesome!”

As for FlowTown’s noted blog — that will remain the same. But expect it to expand under the resources of DemandForce, a leader in the small-business marketing space. “It’s win-win!” says Martell.

Related articles

• 10 Blogs You Should Be Reading If You Manage A Company’s Content Strategy (contently.com)
• Flowtown Has Been Acquired By Demandforce (flowtown.com)
• 7 Social Media Myths Debunked By Dan Zarella (contently.com)

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently