Top 5 Digital Marketing Blogs You Need to be Across
Do you work in marketing? Or want to become a successful blogger? Or are you the entrepreneurial type and want to improve your business’s marketing? Then you need to be across the following digital marketing blogs.
Do I Need to Have a Blogging Purpose?
Which of my blog posts need a purpose? Having a clear purpose for your blog post is crucial because it helps you focus your writing and ensure that your content is relevant and valuable to your readers. A purpose gives your post direction and enables you to stay on track as you write. It also helps you choose the right tone of voice and style for your post and determine which information and examples to include. Aside from picking the right topic and SEO keyword, I’d say this is the next not-to-be-missed step. And is a step that sets up each of your blog posts for success. Having a purpose also makes it easier for you to promote your post and attract readers. But not just any readers – the right readers. By right readers, I mean the ones that will read it, share it with the people they know and rave about it. The people that will buy from you, too. “Raving fans”, you might refer to it. Suppose you can clearly articulate the purpose of your post. In that case, you can more easily create compelling headlines and descriptions that will grab the attention of your target audience. In short, having a purpose for your blog post helps you create better content that is more likely to engage and inform your readers. What are the benefits of establishing a purpose for your blog post? There are several benefits to establishing a purpose for your blog post: How can you work out your purpose for your blog post? There are a few steps you can follow to work out the purpose of your blog post: Does every blog post have to have a purpose? In a nutshell, yes! Absolutely. A hundred times, yes! Every blog post should have a purpose, whether it is to inform, educate, entertain, persuade, or inspire readers. A purpose gives your post direction and helps you focus your writing, ensuring that your content is relevant and valuable to your readers. A blogging purpose also makes it easier to promote your post and attract readers. If you can clearly articulate the intention of your post, you can more easily create compelling headlines and descriptions that will grab the attention of your target audience. In short, having a purpose for your blog post is important because it helps you create better content that is more likely to engage and inform your readers. As an example, this blog post has the purpose of convincing you (is it working yet?) that blog posts need a purpose. What happens if your blog post doesn’t have a purpose? If your blog post doesn’t have a clear purpose, it may lack direction and focus, making it difficult for readers to understand the main points you are trying to make. Without a purpose, your post may also lack relevance and value to your readers, making it less likely that they will engage with and be interested in your content. A blog post without a purpose may also be harder to promote and attract readers. Without a clear focus, it may be more difficult to come up with compelling headlines and descriptions that will grab the attention of your target audience. Overall, not having a purpose for your blog post can result in content that is disorganised, confusing, and unengaging for readers. It is important to take the time to identify and clarify the purpose of your blog post to ensure that it is effective and valuable to your readers. Learn how to blog like a pro with BLANK TO BRILLIANT online blogging course.
120 Blog Post Ideas
Don’t worry about spending too much time coming up with what to blog about. I’ve compiled a whole stack of ideas to get you started, across a range of industries. Pick your favourite and just get started. Don’t forget: you might be inspired by other industries’ ideas too. Blog post ideas for retail brands Blog post ideas for beauty brands Blog post ideas for a software company Blog post ideas for accountants Blog post ideas for marketing professionals Blog post ideas for designers Blog post ideas for food and beverage brands Blog post ideas for engineers Blog post ideas for fitness professionals Blog post ideas for health professionals Blog post ideas for clothes makers Blog post ideas for authors Don’t forget that you don’t just have to write blog posts about these topics. You could also create video or audio content and link within your posts. Plus, you can divide up the blog posts or AV content and use in your social media and email marketing. Get a content plan done for you This post contains affiliate links of products that I genuinely recommend.
What is the Best Blogging Platform? The Complete Guide
Some popular blogging platforms include WordPress, Blogger, Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, Shopify, HubSpot and Medium. Below, I’ll go through each of these and let you know the benefits and downsides and then, you’ll see at the end, offer my opinion on which one I recommend. WordPress for blogging WordPress is a content management system (CMS) and website-building platform that is especially popular for creating blogs and websites. It is open-source software, meaning that it is free to use and can be modified by anyone. WordPress is built on the PHP programming language and uses a MySQL database to store and retrieve data. One of the significant advantages of using WordPress for blogging is the wide range of customisation options available. Users can choose from thousands of free and paid themes, customise their design using the platform’s built-in tools, or edit the code directly. WordPress has a vast library of plugins that can be used to add functionality to a website, such as contact forms, social media integration, and search engine optimisation (SEO) tools. WordPress also offers a variety of publishing options, such as scheduling posts to be published at a later date and the ability to password-protect individual posts. The platform also supports multiple users, allowing multiple contributors to write and manage a single blog. WordPress can be installed on a web server and run on the user’s domain or used as a hosted service through WordPress.com. The latter option is suitable for users who want a simple, quick setup process but don’t want to worry about the technical aspects of running a website. Perhaps one of the most helpful things is that WordPress has a large community of users and developers, so there are plenty of resources and support available. Depending on the level of customisation you want, you may need to have some technical knowledge to set up and maintain a WordPress website, such as knowledge of HTML, CSS, and PHP. I have a very tiny, almost non-existent knowledge of coding and yet can still create and maintain a website on WordPress, so these things are not entirely prohibitive. But you might need to consider getting a web developer to initially set up your site and blog. While WordPress is free to use, you’ll need to pay for a domain name and hosting. I pay roughly $100 AUD per year for this stuff. One thing to keep in mind is that due to its popularity, WordPress websites are a common target for spammers and hackers, so you’ll need to take security measures to protect your website. A lot of eCommerce providers will avoid WordPress for this reason. Blogger for blogging Blogger is a free blogging platform that was created by Pyra Labs, which was later acquired by Google in 2003. It allows users to create and publish their blogs on the web, with minimal setup and without the need for technical knowledge. Blogger is a simple and easy-to-use platform that is well-suited for beginners or users who want a quick and hassle-free way to start a blog. It provides a basic set of templates that users can choose from and customise using the built-in editor. It also provides a range of widgets that can be added to the blog to add functionality, such as social media integration and contact forms. One of the main advantages of Blogger is that it’s connected to Google. A Google account is required to create a blog on Blogger, which means that it’s easy to share your blog on Google and other Google products. It also means that your blog will be indexed by Google search engine quickly. Also, Blogger is easy for a beginner and focuses mainly on content and less on design or functionality. However, unlike other platforms like WordPress, Blogger is relatively limited in terms of customisation and scalability. It doesn’t offer as many templates and design options, and it has fewer plugins and widgets. Additionally, Blogger has limitations in terms of SEO and can have limitations in monetising the website. Overall, Blogger is a good choice for users who want to quickly and easily start a basic blog without having to worry about technical details and design, but it’s not recommended for a professional blogger, e-commerce website, or any website that needs to scale up. Blogging on Wix Wix is a website-building platform that allows users to create and design their own websites without the need for any technical knowledge. It offers a wide range of templates and design tools that can be used to create a professional-looking website, including blogs. Wix is a drag-and-drop website builder, it’s easy for the user to create and design a website with its intuitive interface. Wix also offers a wide range of templates and design tools, such as text, images, video, and more, and you can use them to customise your blog’s look and feel. Also, Wix offers a built-in blogging platform that allows users to create, organise, and publish blog posts, and it has all the basic features of a blogging platform, like commenting, scheduling posts and more. One of the main advantages of Wix is that it’s user-friendly and easy to use, even for users with no technical or design experience. Additionally, Wix provides a wide range of templates and design options, which means that users can create a professional-looking website quickly and easily. Also, Wix offers a variety of features, such as an e-commerce store, social media integration, and contact forms, that can be added to the blog with ease. However, Wix is a closed system, which means you can’t change the code or use any external plugin, and you’re limited to using only what’s provided by Wix. Also, Wix’s pricing model is subscription based, where you pay for the features and design options you want to use, so if you’re looking to create a blog without any extra functionality or design options, it could be more expensive than other platforms. Overall, Wix is a good choice for users
2023 is Your Year to Write a Blog
Why 2023 is a great time to be blogging For months you’ve been saying it. ‘I’ll start blogging soon. If I just do a bit of writing this weekend, I’ll get started on blogging and then I’ll be motivated to post every week.’ And then the weekend comes and goes, and you haven’t written a sentence. And then another week passes. Well, that’s enough of that! Because this year, 2023, will be the year you create a rip-roaring blog. No excuses. You’ve got me to egg you on, so now is the perfect time. There are many reasons why 2023 might be a great time to start blogging. Here are a few that I want to share with you to get your creative juices flowing: How to get started blogging in 2023 I have a strong passion for getting as many people blogging as possible. Whether it be for personal enjoyment or to boost your business’s marketing. Here are a few steps to get started with blogging in 2023: What is the most important thing to remember when starting a blog? There are many things to keep in mind when starting a blog, but one of the most important is to be consistent. Consistency is key to building an audience and keeping your readers engaged. This means posting new blog posts on a regular basis, using a consistent tone and style, and engaging with your readers through comments and social media. Check out these tips on consistency. It’s also important to remember that blogging takes time and effort, and it may be a while before you start to see a lot of traffic or engagement. It’s important to be patient and to keep working at it even if you don’t see immediate results. Give it at least (at the very least!) three months of weekly publishing before you decide to call it quits. It’s also a good idea to develop and stick to your own voice when blogging. That way, it’s much simpler to write, and you’ll be able to be more consistent because it’s easier to be authentic. How to share your thoughts via a blog? Sharing your thoughts and ideas through a blog is a great way to connect with others and share your perspective on a variety of topics. Here are a few tips for sharing your thoughts through a blog: So make 2023 your year to start your blog and achieve those blogging dreams of yours.
How Many Blog Posts Should I Have?
How many blog posts should you publish for SEO? The frequency at which you should publish blog posts depends on your goals and resources. Suppose you are using your blog to drive traffic to your website. In that case, it can be helpful to publish new content regularly to keep your readers engaged and to help your site rank higher in search engine results. However, it is also essential to consider how much time and resources you have available to create and promote new content. If you’re a one-person show, sometimes spending all your spare time blogging when you could be doing the core duties of your business might be detrimental. When they first started gaining extraordinary traction that saw them become the publishing giant that they are today, Huffington Post started pumping out an astonishing 1200 articles a day. That is not a typo. I meant to write ‘a day!’ But unless you have a team of 532 full-time editorial staff like they did, you are unlikely to achieve that kind of content volume. How many blog posts do I post? My website saw a 69% increase in page views from 24th Dec 2022 to 7th Jan 2023 compared to the previous period. And a 307% increase in average session duration. This was when I posted pretty much all my blog posts for 2022 (busy year!). I posted almost one blog post per day. Additionally, I created far longer content than I usually do (a goal of mine for a while now) and have branched out into other keyword areas and topics such as blogging and more SEO stuff. Now that’s also partly because I increased social media sharing during the Dec to Jan period (as I was on holidays, so I had more time to devote to my business’s marketing). But it would be foolish to discount the increase in content, helping to entice more traffic. I already have a blog post bank of around 120 posts, so I have a great solid base to really build my blog upon. And as I’ve mentioned here, this year, 23.4% of my income came from leads who found my via Google Search. And 29% of my overall leads (whether they turn into clients or not) came from search. You can see why I’m a big proponent of SEO as a way to get new leads. Blog post frequency guidelines Here are a few general guidelines to consider: If you are just starting and are looking to build an audience, it may be helpful to publish new content at least once a week. This will allow you to establish a consistent publishing schedule and produce a variety of content for your readers. Weekly is a consistent and reliable content timeframe for most businesses and should be built into your general marketing duties. ‘Businesses that post four or more blogs weekly get 3.5 times more traffic.’ And, get this, ‘22% of bloggers post every single week’, so if you post twice a week or even five times per month, you are doing more than nearly a quarter of bloggers! I’m going to propose that if you have no content at all, that you do a bulk lot of content and publish 100 posts as quickly as you can (without sacrificing quality). If you can, aim for 100 blog posts within the first month. That way, you will have an excellent content base to work from and start seeing SEO results quite quickly. Plus, it will be easier to create more content from existing content. You can see in this SEO case study that this business generated $54,285.30 in sales in a month by posting 7 blog posts a week and adopting a few other techniques, such as link building. If you have a more established blog and are looking to maintain a steady traffic flow, it may be sufficient to publish new content once or twice a month. This will give you time to create high-quality, in-depth content that resonates with your audience. If this is your strategy (and it’s always beneficial and more efficient if you have an SEO content strategy), then I recommend creating in-depth blog posts that are at least 1200 words that directly answer questions that your potential audience will have. And/or are targeted for a high-volume keyword that points to one of your core static pages. A how-to SEO article is an example of this. If you have a medium or large team and are able to produce new content on a daily or weekly basis, you may want to consider increasing the frequency of your blog posts. This can help you stay top-of-mind with your audience and can also help you rank higher in search engine results. It also gives you the option of mixing up the variety of your content. Each month, you can publish several people profiles, an SEO keyword-rich article, a project review, a case study and a how-to guide. Keeping your audience entertained and hooked with helpful content. Plus, it gives the added bonus of giving you heaps and heaps of fresh content to share via your social media or email marketing channels. Ultimately, the right frequency for your blog will depend on your goals, audience, and resources. It’s important to find a balance that works for you and to be consistent in your publishing schedule. Publishing new content on a regular basis can be helpful for driving traffic to your website and for keeping your readers engaged. However, it is also important to consider the time and resources it takes to create and promote high-quality content. If you publish too frequently, you may struggle to produce content that meets your standards or to promote your content effectively. The second your blog posts become amateur or repetitive, you may need to take a step back and publish less frequently (but write better content) or outsource to a freelance copywriter. How many blog posts does your site need to start ranking for SEO keywords? There is no specific number
How Much Money Can You Earn on Medium – ultimate blogging questions answered
What is Medium? Medium is a publishing platform and social network that allows users to publish and share their articles, stories, and ideas with a wider audience. It was founded in 2012 and has since become a popular platform for writers, journalists, and content creators to share their work and engage with readers. Medium is known for its focus on high-quality, long-form content and for its clean, simple design that makes it easy for readers to consume and share articles. It also has several features that enable writers to collaborate, receive feedback, and track their audience engagement. ‘There are 1,385,000 new articles posted on Medium.com every month.’ And there are ‘Roughly 175,000 writers on Medium,’ according to this Medium article. Users can sign up for a free account and publish on Medium immediately. They can also choose to become a member and pay a subscription fee to access exclusive content and features, such as ad-free reading and access to a members-only newsletter. How can you write for Medium? To write for Medium, you’ll need to create an account and set up a profile. Here are the steps you can follow: You can also choose to publish your article in a specific publication, which is a group of writers and editors who curate content on a particular topic. To do this, click on the “Add to publication” button when you’re ready to publish your article. Once your article is published, it will be available for anyone to read on the Medium platform. You can also share a link to your article on social media or via email to promote it to a wider audience. Get my FREE blog post template now Benefits of writing for Medium? There are several benefits to writing for Medium: How can you increase views on Medium? The more views you get on Medium, the more earning potential you have. And the more the other benefits increase. Here are some tips for increasing views on your articles on Medium: What sort of topics can you write for on Medium? You can write about any topic that interests you on Medium. Some popular categories include personal development, business and entrepreneurship, technology, health and wellness, and creative writing. It appears as though trending news topics and personal essays do the best. Because my blogging niche tends to float around SEO, copywriting, book writing and digital marketing, that is all that I stick to when publishing to Medium. But I’m keen to experiment with posting a personal essay one day. Just got to write the thing! I find that Medium is a good place to chuck all those articles that you write that don’t really have a proper home (as well as strategic content). For example, I had written a bunch of TV reviews and yoga posts that I don’t maintain their original websites anymore. So I might as well have it posted on Medium. That way, they are all in the one place should I ever need to link someone to them. In addition to the above broad categories, there are also many specific niches within each category that you can write about. For example, within the personal development category, you might write about productivity, mindfulness, or personal finance. Within the business and entrepreneurship category, you might write about marketing, leadership, or start-ups. Ultimately, the key is to choose a topic that you’re passionate about and that you have expertise in. This will help you write engaging, informative articles that your readers will enjoy. If you’re stuck on what topic to write about, I have an entire module dedicated to this, along with handy exercises and templates, in my online blogging course. It’s also worth noting that Medium has a strong focus on long-form, high-quality content, so articles that are well-researched and thoughtfully written tend to perform well on the platform. What do the most successful writers on Medium do differently? The most successful writers on Medium tend to have a few things in common: Does writing on Medium help with SEO? Writing on Medium can potentially help with SEO (search engine optimisation) in a few ways: Domain authority: Medium is a well-established and respected website with a high domain authority. This can help boost the SEO of your articles on the platform. It’s worth noting that while writing on Medium can potentially help with your SEO, it’s just one factor among many that can affect your search rankings. To improve your SEO, it’s important to focus on creating high-quality content that is valuable to your readers and relevant to your target audience. But you already know this because I tell you over and over again, right? Can you publish on Medium and your own website? Yes, it is possible to publish the same article on both Medium and your own website. There are a few ways you can do this: Regardless of which method you choose, it’s important to be mindful of copyright laws and to make sure you have the rights to republish your content on multiple platforms. That means you can’t just post anyone’s work— only your own! How do you earn money on Medium? There are a few different ways you can earn money on Medium: It’s worth noting that earning money on Medium can be competitive, and it may take some time and effort to build up a significant income. However, for many writers, the platform can be a valuable source of income and a way to monetise their writing. How much can you earn on Medium? The amount of money you can earn on Medium will depend on a number of factors, including the quality of your writing, the size of your audience, and the amount of time and effort you put into promoting your articles. Some writers are able to earn a significant income from writing on the platform, while others may only earn a small amount. As a member of the Medium Partner Program, you’ll earn money from a combination of member subscriptions
Using AI Writing Software ChatGPT for Blogging
GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a language model developed by OpenAI that can generate human-like text. It has the ability to complete a given prompt or generate text based on a given topic or style. It can be used to assist with blogging by generating ideas for blog posts, providing suggestions for structure and organization, and even generating complete drafts of blog posts. To use GPT for blogging, you can provide it with a prompt or topic and have it generate text based on that prompt. For example, you might give it the prompt “Write a blog post about the benefits of meditation” and have it generate a list of ideas or a complete draft of a blog post on the topic. You can then edit and refine the generated text to suit your needs. It’s important to note that GPT is a tool and not a replacement for human writing and editing. While it can be a useful tool for generating ideas and providing inspiration, it’s important to review and revise the text it generates to ensure that it is accurate and meets the standards of your blog. What are the benefits of chatgpt for blogging? There are several benefits to using GPT for blogging: However, it’s important to note that GPT is a tool and not a replacement for human writing and editing. While it can be a useful tool for generating ideas and providing inspiration, it’s important to review and revise the text it generates to ensure that it is accurate and meets the standards of your blog. GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a language model developed by OpenAI that can generate human-like text. It is best for tasks that involve generating text, such as: GPT can be used in a variety of contexts and industries, including content marketing, journalism, education, and more. It’s important to note that GPT is a tool and not a replacement for human writing and editing. While it can be a useful tool for generating ideas and providing inspiration, it’s important to review and revise the text it generates to ensure that it is accurate and meets the standards of your blog. What are the limitations of chatgpt for blogging? GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a powerful language model that can generate human-like text, but it does have some limitations to consider when using it for blogging: It’s important to keep these limitations in mind when using GPT for blogging, and to review and revise the text it generates to ensure that it is accurate and meets the standards of your blog. You could use my preferred spellchecker, Grammarly, to help. Everything above was written by GPT and I left it unedited so you, as the reader, can get a sense of what it produces. Below, is entirely my copy without any assistance from AI. Why AI writing software doesn’t work for blogging Context is often missing. Humans can easily identify context and what information goes where. So you can’t rely on AI in terms of structure and what statements go where. I have used AI writing software in the past (I won’t mention which one for obvious reasons) and it just never suited my needs and I ended up getting frustrated with it. It’s an expensive software for me to keep flogging without the proper results of great quality content writing. It would repeat the same sentences over and over again. Literally, word for word. And then the next paragraph would say the same thing but with a few words different, liked they had been plucked out of a thesaurus and therefore, context was lost. Most AI, ChatGPT included do not even recognise that UK/Australian spelling exists (as you can see from the text above). Let alone language nuances and colloquialisms, which makes it tougher for the reader. Plus, the naturalness is removed. Often, I would discover by using Copyscape that the text wasn’t entirely original. And we know that when it comes to great writing, originality is key and is supposedly favoured by Google’s bots. Because I’m a fast and prolific writer, I have found that it’s just much quicker for me to write something from scratch than use AI software because by the time I have to edit the piece, I may as well have written it! Plus, you have feed the software prompts and plan out the structure yourself. Additionally, AI can’t insert correct facts, statistics, hyperlinks, quotes and research— a huge proponent of convincing articles and quality SEO blogs. Of course, it can’t help you with SEO factors that improve your search rankings such as formatting and keyword placement. And you can forget the personal anecdotes. As we know, ‘Personal experiences and anecdotes receive more respect, are perceived as more rational, and elicit a greater willingness to engage than facts and statistics.’ Are there any benefits to AI writing software? With the paid software that I used, they provided useful templates and copywriting formulas. These are really handy if you are new to copywriting. For example, it offers a PAS (pain, agitate, solve) template which helps the novice understand exactly how each of these facets function in a piece of writing. But, if you ask me, it’s cheaper to just watch some Youtube vids or buy a copywriting book. Interestingly, ChatGPT is poised as something that will be used IN PLACE OF Google search as the prediction is people will source a written paragraph on their query straight up. At the moment, ChatGPT is free whereas other AI writing software comes at a cost. Often, not cheap. And it will be surprising if it stays free forever. Plus, there’s the issue of copyright. Currently, it’s a very murky area and US copyright law might suggest hostility towards AI-generated content being attributed to humans. Australian copyright is a little different but, again, it is murky as law catches up to reality. What can you do instead? Practice writing. The more you practice, the quicker you will get
How to Get Back into Blogging – Tips
Blogging is so worth it – here’s how to get back into it Blogging is a gratifying hobby – if you have the time to spend on it. But it’s more than a hobby. In the US, ‘on average, bloggers make $39,186 per year‘. You can make blogging your entire job. Or, if you want to boost your business’s marketing dramatically, blogging could be the avenue that takes things in a whole new direction. Unfortunately, life gets in the way so often that many business owners find they don’t have enough hours to keep up with regular blogging commitments. Even when they know the tremendous benefits that blogging can bring, while sometimes it might seem like you’d rather do anything else but sit down and write another blog post, there are actually plenty of benefits out there if you make the effort. I’m a firm believer in getting back into the swing of things, no matter how long it has been. And if your critical mind tells you nasty things like ‘what is the point?’ ‘no one is reading this,’ then I need you to have a firm word with yourself because you will never discover the incredible possibility if you don’t start where you are. Helpful tips for getting back into blogging again Schedule Start by setting a schedule. If you commit to a timeslot in your calendar for blogging, ideally every week, it’s much less likely you’ll miss a post. Treat it like your exercise schedule, work task, or meditation practice. Broaden the topic at first When choosing a topic, pick something broad that can be spun into several posts or multiple angles on the same topic. This way, when life gets in the way, and you find writing is difficult one week, you can still publish something from an older idea rather than leave readers hanging! I have an excellent post on repurposing content with heaps of handy tips. Stay encouraged Don’t get discouraged. Of course, not everything you write will go viral and win awards, but if no one reads what you published, then did it really matter anyway? Don’t let a lack of success define your efforts. Sometimes feeling like you are just ‘shouting into the void’ can be the perfect space to experiment with your tone of voice or style and approach until you bolster your confidence. Blogging takes momentum, so consistently put out the content, even if it feels like no one is reading, because one day it’s likely to all come together, and you will not only get more readers, but you will get the readers you want that align with your goals. Set yourself reasonable goals Blogging regularly doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time for your blog to take off and gain traction with an audience large enough to sustain posting regularly. Rather than looking at massive targets, such as getting thousands of readers within a few months, look at small milestones you can achieve. For example, if posting once a week is your broader long-term goal, start by getting back into the habit of writing one blog post every three weeks or so. Once you hit that milestone consistently, up it to once a month. Patience and consistency in regard to blogging will lead to success in time. Plan your blog posts If you find yourself constantly having writer’s block when it comes to coming up with content ideas for your blog, try planning out future blog posts ahead of time. This could involve researching topics related to your niche or industry before brainstorming article titles and opening lines to get started much faster when it comes time to write. Take a break from social media Numerous studies have shown that social media can lead to a lack of productivity which means we can get into a routine of being time-sucked with social media. No judgement from me— I’m guilty too. But it does need highlighting because if blogging is something you want to stick to or even just start to explore, you need to be super conscious of what using social media is costing you. And suppose your daily scroll habit is costing you a potentially rosy blogging career or enhanced digital marketing. In that case, it’s time to reassess. Read about Emma’s social media marketing fatigue. If you spend a lot of time on social media while neglecting your other responsibilities, try taking a break from it for a week or two and see what life is like without being glued to it. You can always go back! Allow yourself downtime Starting a blog can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also take up a lot of your time if you don’t manage the workload effectively. Once you have developed good blogging habits and are able to write posts quickly and efficiently, set aside some free time in your schedule, so you aren’t constantly worrying about deadlines or rushing around trying to meet them at the last minute. Allow yourself some downtime to relax and unwind away from the computer screen. Make blogging a social activity Instead of keeping your blogs to yourself, consider using blogging as a way to connect with others, whether that is two friends for now or a broader community that are interested in your specialised knowledge. Share your posts on social media and visit other bloggers’ websites to leave them comments or engage in further discussions about the topics they discuss. You’ll never know who you connect with and what kind of friendships or connections you will make by doing this. Want friendly, blogging motivation? Join the online blogging course Blank to Brilliant. Open for registrations now.
The How-To of the How-To SEO Content Article
When it comes to writing a helpful SEO content article, there are many factors to consider. What type of blog post will help you reach your target audience? Firstly, to create a blog post that hits the mark, you need to ask yourself: what are your business or marketing goals? Are you looking to generate leads, increase brand awareness, or drive traffic to your website? The answer to these questions will help you determine the type of blog post that will be most effective in helping you reach your desired outcome. Here are a few different types of blog posts that can help you achieve business and marketing goals: How-to posts These types of posts provide readers with step-by-step instructions on how to do something related to your industry. They are typically informative and helpful and can be a great way to generate leads. Product reviews Writing product reviews can be a great strategy if you’re looking to increase brand awareness or drive traffic to your website. Be sure to include links to the products you’re reviewing so readers can easily purchase them. Case studies Writing case studies can be beneficial if you want to show potential customers that your product or service is effective. Sharing stories of how your product or service has helped solve a problem for a customer is a great way to build trust and credibility. Lists/listicles People love lists! Whether it’s a list of tips, resources, or even just fun facts, these types of posts are easy to read and provide value to the reader. If you want to increase website traffic, consider including listicles in your content strategy. You know the ones, they’re the ones that are often titled ‘6 ways to become better at your job’ etc. Fun fact: listicles are said to have been around since 1000CE in Japan. Newsjacking This term refers to the act of writing about current events or hot topics in your industry to generate traffic and increase brand awareness. Suppose you can provide insightful commentary on a timely topic. In that case, you’ll be more likely to capture the attention of readers and media outlets. How-to articles are the most popular blogging format. Orbit Media reports that ‘76% of bloggers are publishing “how-to” articles. Lists (54%), long-form guides and ebooks (45%), and news and trends (41%) are also popular blogging formats. Stats further show that roundups, gated content, interviews, infographics, and lists are most likely to deliver strong results.’ It’s important to know that lots of readers are on the lookout for instruction via blogs, even in the day of Youtube video saturation. ‘33% of people would read a blog that teaches them how to do something new.’ How to write a how-to SEO content article If you want to improve your business or marketing goals, one type of blog post you can write is a how-to article. This type of article provides readers with steps they can follow to complete a task. When writing a how-to article, make sure to: How to choose a how-to topic If you want to improve your business or marketing goals, writing a how-to blog post is a great way to do it. But how do you choose a topic? Here are four tips: First, consider what your audience wants to know. What questions do they have that you can answer? Second, make sure the topic is something you’re knowledgeable and passionate about. You’ll be able to write more convincingly if you believe in what you’re saying. Third, choose a topic that’s specific enough to be exciting but not so specific that there’s no room for discussion. Finally, don’t be afraid to experiment. Try different topics and see what works best. How to provide clear and concise instructions in a how-to article When writing a how-to article, the goal is to be clear and concise. No one wants to read a long, drawn-out explanation of how to do something. They just want to know how to do it! So, keep that in mind when you’re writing your next how-to article. Here are some tips: When writing the steps, ensure that you write in the correct order with enough detail before your reader moves on to the next step because ‘When reading and following instructions, a person will act in the same sequence in which action items are presented in the text. Writing instructions according to the sequence of actions the reader needs to take may lead to better results. For example, “do A before doing B’ is a superior form of wording instructions than stating, “before doing A, do B,”…’ Keeping the objective front of mind is the most essential thing that will help inform your article through the planning, drafting and finalising stages. What do you want your readers to take away from your SEO content article? Helpful exercise Write it down as a clear mission statement at the top of your page, or stick it near your computer. ‘By the end of the article, the reader will…’ and fill in the blanks. For example, ‘By the end of the article, the reader will be able to build their own chicken coop.’ If you start with this objective, you can work backwards and write up the steps. Want super clear how-to SEO content articles written for your business? Step one: email me.
How To Write A Blog Post
How to write a blog post. Even if you’ve never written one before. Below, I’ve laid it out super simple for you. A 101 on how to write a blog post. Even if you’re not a beginner, this is a helpful little cheat sheet to remind you of the fundamentals you may overlook as you get too comfortable writing your blog posts. How do you choose a topic to write a blog post about? Choosing a topic to write a blog post about can be challenging, but there are several strategies you can use: How do you research for a blog post? How do you create a blog post outline? Creating a blog post outline can help you organise your thoughts and ideas and make it easier to write your post. Here are some steps you can follow: The Blank to Brilliant: write a blog post online course breaks this down in super easy-to-follow detail. It’s like having me alongside you, helping you write your post. How to promote your blog post Promoting your blog post can help increase traffic and visibility to your blog. Here are some strategies you can use: How can your blog posts stand out from the rest? There are several ways to make your blog posts stand out from the rest. Here are my key takeaway tips! Let’s not play small anymore. Learn to write professional-level blog posts – for your career, business or marketing with BLANK TO BRILLIANT: write a blog post online course. This post contains a few affiliate links of things that I actually use and believe in.
Do Your Own Website Audit for SEO
Have you been blogging for a year or more? Or have outdated website copy? Then it is imperative that you do an audit. If you’ve left it longer than that, please stop everything and get started on your audit right this second. It could pay dividends. A website audit is very important to make sure that you always have fresh content and that you’re still talking to the right people. And to ensure that it’s performing as well as it can and that you’re refreshing your SEO strategy regularly. Furthermore, your editorial content planning will become a breeze and a content audit is well worth the time and effort. What is a website audit? A website audit, is a structured process of reviewing your website’s content with the view of keeping a record of what you have live, how it can be improved and what function it serves. Broken down, that means going through every single blog post and static we page that you’ve ever published and keeping a record of it. It helps you go through your existing content to see which pieces meet your marketing objectives and which don’t. Plus, it will provide an opportunity to see what content is missing and any gaps that need to be filled. What’s more is that you can immediately identify the strengths, weaknesses and challenges in all the existing content. Ideally, a content audit should be performed regularly, such as every six or twelve months, depending on how often you blog or change your website. Given that SEO best practices can change quite frequently, it also helps you to keep on top of them and position yourself well. A website audit for SEO is also a comprehensive analysis of a website’s current status in terms of its search engine optimisation efforts. The purpose of an SEO website audit is to identify any technical issues, content-related problems, and other areas that may be hindering a website’s ability to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract more organic traffic. Typically, an SEO website audit will involve a review of the following elements: After conducting an SEO website audit, the next step is to develop a plan to address any issues found during the review process. The goal is to improve the website’s search engine visibility, organic traffic, and overall performance in search engine rankings. How to do a website SEO audit Firstly, start with a spreadsheet of all the blog posts and web pages ever published. The spreadsheet should contain title, topic, keyword, URL, external links, internal links, category, what type of content it is (eg evergreen, listicle, time sensitive etc) and include a section for actions required. Although it depends on your business goals and marketing objectives, here are some basics to look for when conducting your website audit: Once you’ve gone through the entirety of your blog posts and listed the actions required, then you can start to implement the actions. Don’t forget to resubmit your sitemap to Google once you’ve updated all your content. Benefits of website SEO audit Having a content audit and being able to clear see what content you have, will be useful for getting the whole team on board and utilising the content. For example, if you have a series of blog posts that answer some of the most frequent questions that your sales people have to answer, you can save your employees time and resources. This is such a prevailing step because a lot of content gets lost and not used to its full potential. Taking inventory of your blog posts will also provide an opportunity for you to view potential curated posts. As I did in Best five copywriting posts of 2018, you can see your top performing posts and curate them into one post for the ease and benefit of your readers. Be sure to write original blurbs introducing each post, rather than cutting and pasting from the original posts, to avoid Google penalties. Using Google Analytics and your website’s own data, compile a list of the top ten (or whatever number) best performing posts. Performance can be determined in alignment with your marketing and business objectives, eg are your performance metrics based on how many people read it? Or how many conversions (eg how many buy a product from your site)? Analyse the top performing posts and work out why they performed so well. Did they receive better attention when it came to spreading the word? Did you write about something unusual and unique? Or was it directly written to what your audience really wanted to know? One of the keys to a great performing website is to repeat what is working well. Similarly, you can identify which content can be repurposed easily. A lot of existing content is often ripe for repurposing, not just as content articles but other forms of content (such as downloadables, ebooks, videos etc). As a bonus, you might rediscover great content that you had forgotten about. This forgotten content can be added to your social media strategy, outreach or PR campaigns. Having this bird’s eye view of your content will supply an easy and thorough opportunity to create recommendations for powerful content going forward. Recommendations to capitalise on these posts include: Here are some examples of content recommendations that I posed when undertaking a recent client content audit. These are purely an example of some of the things you’ll be looking for. You can use these suggestions as your own but don’t limit yourself to them. These recommendations will help form the basis of your topics in your content writing strategy, so you’ll never struggle for ideas. Although it may fill you with dread and seem like it will take ages, the amount of effort and time you invest in doing a content audit each year will save you time in advance by making your content articles more useful, targeted and usable. Here are some top audit tools to help with your blog audit.