Halligan says the key to inbound success is understanding specific types of customers. "The best way to help your prospects find you is to understand what they are searching for." he explains. The way to do that, he says, is to develop detailed 'personas' of the kind of people your company is trying to sell to, then identify the top 10 questions those people might ask in their everyday lives. Answering those questions, whether in the form of blog posts, podcasts or videos, will make your website a magnet for those customers.
Halligan shies away from content that exists explicitly to sell a product. It has to be able to stand on its own. He says the key question to ask about anything a company creates is "would you share it with a friend if you saw it on someone else's blog?" That approach requires an open-mindedness about what customers want, even if it's controversial or offers information competitors do not. Companies also need a strong stomach for failure. "For every viral video we created at HubSpot," he says, "there were several others that didn't catch on.