Does Blog Buzz Lead to Buck$?

No doubt about it, TechCrunch gets almost 2MM RSS reads and lotsa street cred from Technorati and others who rate site popularity and authority--- but does coverage in a major blog, accelerate the sales pipeline?

Does blog coverage precipitate what salespeople call “hot opportunities” and what CEOs and CFOs crave: revenue?

HubSpot in Cambridge (whom I wrote about in my Social Media SeeSaw post last week) has an interesting post on their Inbound Internet Marketing entitled Stop Begging TechCrunch to Write About You.

It’s a great read and an interesting and detailed analysis of how blog-related traffic does or does note convert into clients.

HubSpot’s Pete Caputa sagely advises “choose your online PR targets wisely.”

I've helped clients like Hangout.net secure coverage in TechCrunch, but no single blog or media outlet is a panacea.

Effective PR/audience communications is an ongoing drumbeat of outreach and honest engagement, and if PR was an arsenal—you’ll need both a sharpshooter’s rifle (to zero in on specific niche audiences) and a shotgun (to communicate to a broad, dispersed audience).

Relevant communications is about fostering bi-directional bullseyes.
In the world of new marketing, ROI is an acroynm for "Return on Interaction"

Read the HubSpot post---lots of food for thought.

What do you think?