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7 Top Blogging Tips From the Pros

December 26th, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

Social Media Examiner published a list of 21 blogging tips from the pros – a list that I whittled down to my favorite 7, all of which are easy for anyone to implement:

1. Validate your ideas

To make sure people want to read about the topics you want to write about, validate your ideas. Ask your followers on Twitter if they want to read more about certain topics, survey your customers about topics, and ask yourself if anyone would pay to read what you write.

2. Use your own images and videos

When you create your own images and videos for your blog posts, you will boost your search engine optimization by adding keyword-rich captions, descriptions, and titles.

3. Give away your expertise

This is great advice: Share the expertise that people pay you for. By freely sharing your advice, you will position yourself as a thought leader and foremost expert on your topic – and you could find your phone ringing off the hook.

4. Conduct interviews

You don’t have to interview only industry experts – anyone knowledgeable who can tell good stories and share valuable information is great. You’ll get engaging content for your blog post, and, when your blog post publishes, your interviewees will share it with their community.

5. Look for guest bloggers – and guest blog yourself

Inviting guest bloggers (employees, partners, customers) to write for you will provide fresh insight and ideas for your readers. Look for your own guest blogging opportunities to not only get your name out there, but draw new readers to your own blog.

6. Think like a journalist

I love this tip: Treat your subject as if you were a reporter. Listen to what other people are saying about your industry, and create content around it. This type of content is more likely to be repurposed and reused across media.

7. Be yourself

One of my friends writes emails exactly like she talks – full of energy and humor, even when she’s complaining. If you asked me to identify her email from a lineup, I could do it blindfolded. Well, not blindfolded, but you know what I mean. When you write, let your personality shine through. Your readers will feel more connected to you as they get to know you, and people like to do business with people they like.

What have you done to improve your blog content and grow your readership? Share your tips below!

Image courtesy of messagenote.com

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Tags: blogging, guest blogging, Marketing
Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

5 Ways to Build Thought Leadership With Your Blog

July 16th, 2012 :: Monika Jansen

Would you rather learn how to play soccer from David Beckham, or your 5-year-old’s soccer coach (who is actually an attorney)?

Would you rather learn how to cook from Jacques Pepin, or your 19-year-old cousin who just got a job at the local burger joint?

I could go on, but you get my point.

When you think of an expert, you think of someone who is ridiculously knowledgeable on a certain subject, someone whose depth of expertise is nearly unparalleled. Building expertise on a subject via your blog takes time, but it is worth the effort. Here’s how to get started:

1. Pull in experts

Instead of asking well-known bloggers or experts in your field to write a guest post (which probably won’t work unless you already have a relationship with them), look them up on Twitter and ask them for top tips or advice around a specific subject via a tweet. Compile their answers into a blog post, complete with links back to their blogs or websites. Chances are, they’ll share your blog post, which will boost your blog readership and your audience on social media. Win-win!

2. Share insider information

The most valuable pieces of information you can share are the little tricks of the trade you have picked up during your career. It could be an industry-wide best practice, little-known secret, or something you’ve developed yourself. The more generous you are with your knowledge, the more knowledgeable you will appear.

3. Give detailed instructions

While it may be easier and faster to just give a high-level overview of how to do something, resist the temptation and dig deep. Give super-detailed, step-by-step instructions – include screen shots, photos, or links to other sites – that will walk your readers through the process.

4. Publish case studies

Showing is always better than telling. Turn your insider information into a case study by explaining how you have successfully used those tricks of the trade for your company and clients. Be sure to include concrete results (for example, “sales increased by 25 percent”).

5. Be active in your industry

This actually goes beyond your blog, but by actively participating in your industry, you will gain visibility. There are several ways to do this:

Comment on other bloggers’ posts in your industry
Follow other bloggers and companies on social media – and interact with them
Guest blog for other bloggers
Curate social media content in blog posts
Conduct surveys and research and publish the results

***

What have you done to build thought leadership on your blog? Share your ideas in the comments below!

Image courtesy of amnh.org

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Tags: blog, blogging, case studies, content curation, guest blogging, Marketing, social media, though leadership
Posted in Marketing, Thought Leadership | No Comments »

7 Keys to Growing Your Blog Readership

November 22nd, 2011 :: Monika Jansen

If you have been blogging for a while and wondering why no one is reading your articles, it can be super frustrating. I wish I could say there are only one or two things you need to do to grow your blog readership overnight, but unfortunately, as with many things in life, you must consistently do a number of things to see results.

Think about what it takes to lose weight, which will be a huge topic for most of us in about a month and a half – right after the holidays. Losing weight doesn’t happen overnight. Advice does not just focus on eating healthy and exercising; it also includes eating less, tips on portion control, mixing up your exercise routine, getting enough sleep, drinking more water and so on.

Blogging is the same. Do the following 7 things, be persistent, and you will certainly see the results.

1. Write good content

Good content always means useful content. Don’t be vague or give advice in an overview-type way. Include details and examples of what you are describing to prove your point. Use your own experiences to teach others.

2. Write in plain English

The simpler the words and phrases you use when writing, the better. Write like you talk, not as if you are writing a 243-page dissertation for your Ph.D. Think People Magazine, not The Economist.

3. Talk directly to the reader

Freely use “you” and “me” in your blog posts. Your blog posts should be conversational in tone to help you better connect with your readers. You are talking to them, after all, just with words on paper rather than spoken words.

4. Include calls to action

As a small business owner, one of the reasons you are blogging is to generate leads. Ask your readers to do something at the end of your blog post – subscribe to your newsletter, download an eBook, sign up for a free trial or consultation, or anything else you can give them of value that will also give you their contact information, thus enabling you to start the sales process.

5. Promote it

Promote and distribute your blog posts on all the social media channels you and your audience use, from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn to Reddit to StumbleUpon. Use a social media dashboard (like Hootsuite) to make this a bit easier.

6. Build relationships

Reach out to other bloggers, as well as editors of digital publications, and start building relationships with them. Introduce yourself and your blog. Ask to guest blog for them and in the case of other bloggers, vice versa. Offer to repurpose blog posts for their sites. Comment on their blogs. If you can get a backlink to your site from a high-profile blogger or publication, your readership will spike.

7. Submit guest posts to major blogs

If you write valuable content, any editor –of even major blogs – will be happy to use your guest blog posts. As Editor at Tech Cocktail, I speak from experience here. I regularly get guest posts from a handful of fabulous writers that I know our thousands of readers will enjoy. Don’t be shy – just ask. Editors are people too!

Image Courtesy: Karen Axelton

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Tags: blog, blog growth, blog readers, blogging, calls to action, content, digital publications, editors, guest blogging, Marketing, social media
Posted in Marketing | 3 Comments »

6 Ways Your Blog Can Build Your Social Media Audience

April 11th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen

While blogging is often used to increase search visibility, establish expertise on a topic, and drive traffic to your website, it’s not often used to build your audience on social media, whether you are trying to build up your Twitter following, Facebook fans, or status on Tumblr. It’s a lost opportunity, as there is really nothing better than building on an audience you already have. (Of course, this can work in the other direction too—use social media to build up your blog audience.)

When building your social media following, just remember that quality of fans totally trumps quantity. And by quality, I mean the kinds of fans who engage with you, retweet your tweets, comment on Facebook posts, post to your Facebook wall, and, of course, become customers!

Let’s start with two very basic, common-sense things you need to do:

1. Add social share buttons at the bottom of each blog post to make it easy for your blog readers to spread the word about your fabulous blog and build awareness of your social media presence.

2. Add social media icons on every page of your website, especially if your website and blog are one and the same, which is becoming more and more common. Make as easy as possible for people to follow you on social media.

And here are four common-sense things you might not have thought of:

1. Promote your social media presence (with links to the accounts) in the bio you supply for guest blogging gigs. You’ll be reaching a whole new audience, and if they like what you wrote, hopefully they’ll feel compelled to connect with you on social media.

2. At the end of blog posts, add a link to the social media account you’d most like to promote, asking that people follow you there. This sounds so simple, but you will be amazed by what you can achieve just by asking.

3. Mention your social media accounts in blog posts. We’ve all got so much going on that we cannot remember everything, even if we have the best of intentions.

4. Reference tweets or Facebook posts, either from you or your audience, in your blog posts when relevant. Add screen shots if you can. You can also build entire blog posts around the conversations that are happening on Twitter and Facebook between you and your audience. People are very lemming-like, so the more you show your engagement on social media, the more people will want to be a part of all the fun you are having.

Image by Flickr user Holger Zscheyge (Creative Commons)

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Tags: blogging, blogs, Facebook, guest blogging, social media, Social networking, Tumblr, Twitter, Website
Posted in Marketing, Search Marketing, social media | 2 Comments »