Part 6 – The Blog Itself
There’s no need to overcomplicate your blog. Here’s a few tips for getting your blog up and running:
WordPress.
You can use WordPress to build your blog as a stand-alone site or integrate into your current website. Pay for a quality, premium theme – it’s worth the money. Choose something that’s both professional-looking and easy to use.
Track.
It’s a good idea to use tracking analytics so you can determine where your traffic is coming from and which posts are resonating with readers.
Publish fast.
Don’t spend weeks on a single blogpost. Instead, create a diverse publishing calendar. Identify which posts are a hit with your readers. Then, let the popular themes dominate your blog. Publish often and fast to garner plenty of feedback and let that feedback guide your blog topics and themes.
Variety.
Always test a variety of posts to understand which topics and formats resonate with your readers.
Track traffic.
It’s important to know where your traffic is coming from. Initially, it may only come from your website and/or email list. However, after a month of two, you could start seeing traffic from search engines. Also, pay close attention to how many times your posts are shared via social media.
Hot phrases.
Find out which search phrases contribute the most traffic and track these search phrases to specific posts. Research which parts of the post trigger the search engine rankings. Quickly follow up on any success with additional posts that target well-performing keywords.
Pop-ups.
Use a pop-up to gather subscribers. Offer them something useful and timely in exchange for their email address. This free gift should be something your ideal reader would PAY to get because they see it as valuable. For example, a report or video that solves a nagging problem or gives them the benefit they crave.
Types of Blog Posts
News.
Sorry, but odds are you’re not going to be announcing breaking news. However, you can do something called “newsjacking.” Newsjacking is simply mixing your own opinions with an existing news story. Start by identifying a current event that is either relevant to your business, or one that can serve as a transition to a point you want to make.
Instructional.
This is the most common type of post. It teaches the reader how to do something, either step-by-step or in general. This type of post is great for SEO because it contains the sort of language that matches a lot of search queries. For example, “How to make lasagna.”
Your own interest.
When you find something that interests you, link it to your main theme and write about it.
Summary.
If you read an article or watch a video that you find particularly interesting, write a post summarizing it and its relationship to your main topic – with proper attribution, of course.
Round up.
Write a compelling question that your readers will respond to, such as, “What one thing can you do to greatly improve your memory?” or “Starting from scratch with no connections, how can you make $10,000 in 30 days?” Then, contact leaders in your niche and ask them to answer that question. Combine all the answers into one post, along with links to each expert’s website.
Tools.
Whatever your niche, identify tools or resources that will help your readers accomplish their goal. (HINT: It’s okay to use affiliate links here as long as you reveal you may earn a small commission if they choose to purchase.)
Spotlight.
Write a post about someone in your industry, or even on one of your customers. Engage readers emotionally with that person’s story. Bonus points if it’s a recognizable name.
Attracting Readers
Here are a few tips to attract readers to your blog and turn them into subscribers and customers:
Give away your best content.
We know this sounds counter-intuitive, however, giving away the best information possible can convince people to subscribe and purchase.
Advertise.
Make sure your blog is part of your current marketing efforts. Add a link from your main website. Let your email list know about new posts. Leverage social media by posting links to your blog articles.
Guest post.
Offer to write guest posts for other blogs that include a link back to your blog. This can trigger anything from a trickle to a ton of traffic.
Use simple SEO.
Find a simple course on basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and learn how to do this – or hire someone to show you. It’s not as difficult as you might think. It may help you to optimize blog titles, optimize content, target certain keywords, etc.
Host Guest Bloggers.
Invite other bloggers to submit guest posts to your blog. This not only lightens your workload, it provides new voices and perspectives. It also encourages new traffic, as the guest posters promote to their audiences on social media.