blogging tips - Express Writers

The Future of Blogging: Today’s Recipe for a Perfect Blog Post

April 4, 2023April 4, 2023 by Korilynn V.

A craveable, delicious, delightful blog post isn’t much different from a pastry. As long as you follow the recipe, steps included, you will create a post your readers are hungry to devour – and might even return for more. The good news is you won’t make a special trip to the grocery store to get started on the perfect blog post. Everything you need is in your virtual pantry – you just didn’t realize it. Writing a blog post, especially in today’s competitive market, is intimidating. Once you break it down and understand the ingredients, however, you can whip up these readable bits on the fly and stay up with the trends for the future of blogging in 2023. So, What Do You Need to Craft the Perfect Blog Post in 2023? The future of blogging has certainly changed. What worked last year doesn’t necessarily apply today. Therefore, staying up on the latest blogging and SEO trends is essential so that you know what Google expects – and, more importantly, what today’s reader wants. The Perfect Blog Recipe Before you start to type, you want to make sure you have the following essentials ready to add to the mixing bowl: 1 click-worthy title 1 attention-keeping introduction A pinch of creativity A few cups of informative, scannable subheaders A splash of succinct body copy A handful of authoritative research and your expertise 1 part formatting 1 delectable conclusion A dusting of enthusiasm for the topic A garnish of passion for your niche Putting it Altogether – How the Future of Blogging will Change How You Use These Ingredients As you can see, the ingredients haven’t changed, but how and when you use them has. We will break down each portion of this recipe so that you know how to mix it all in and get your readers to come back for more. Creating Your Title By far one of the most essential ingredients! Your title sets the stage for what the reader can expect, even determining if they ever get past the SERPs to read your blog. Spend time on this stage of your recipe. In fact, whatever you title it as your “working” title, be prepared to come back and rework it until it is just right later. Don’t hastily toss forth the first title you have in mind. Instead, let it sit and rest, and the flavors meld together. Think of title creation as a slow, steady simmer rather than a rapid boil. A good title mixes intrigue and information and is not too long. Yes, Google says there is no limit, and the length of your title will not influence your search engine results. Instead, it affects whether or not someone will click on it. The first 60 characters matter the most – so make those count even if you have a 100-character title. Whatever you do, don’t over-sprinkle in the keywords for your title – not only will it kill your readability factor and turn off any enthusiastic taster, but it will turn away Google too. Roll Out Your Introduction Your introduction supports your title. So perhaps you may not create it until you have solidified your intro – and that’s okay. An introduction requires time and patience. While you will mix up something short, sweet, and enticing, you will also want it to rest a few hours before you revisit and rework it again. While adding a keyword to the introduction is essential, ensure it is not the highlighting flavor. An introduction gives readers just a taste of what else is to come, but the full flavor doesn’t explode until the end. Of course, if your introduction isn’t tasty enough to keep reading, the end doesn’t matter much. So, take your time, rework it after the entire blog is done, and ask yourself, would I eat this up? Never Forget the Power of Creativity Too many recipes lack creativity. Think of those five-star restaurants – are they working with “vanilla” recipes used over and over again? Of course not. They are hashing out something unique that stays with their branding but still tantalizes the tastebuds. Never leave out a pinch of creativity in your content – all of your content. Creativity should be tossed in from the start; if you can’t taste it, add more. Start Rolling Out Subheaders Subheaders help your reader scan and understand what they are about to digest. They should go in an even flow, make sense, and inform. Ideally, subheaders are introduced every 300-500 words max (there’s nothing wrong with adding them in fewer words as long as the words in between pack a powerful punch). Subheaders are a great place for optimizing with secondary keywords but don’t overdo it. Time to Mix in Your Body’s Copy You have a working title, and you’ve rolled out the subheaders. Now comes the time to mix together your blog’s body. But before you add anything, do your research. You may be an expert in your niche, but that doesn’t mean you won’t need resources to back up what you say. Today, using authoritative, high-quality links is still a must-have for any recipe. Search Engine Journal states that every site needs credible, authoritative, and trustworthy content – and a reader can’t take you at your word without some citations. As you mix up that copy, make sure to spice it up enthusiastically. Nothing turns a reader away more than negativity. So, likewise, be as passionate about your niche as you want your reader to be as you create your blog – if you are not excited about it, why should they be? A few other things to keep in mind while you mix up your body’s copy: Optimize Gently. Optimizing your content is like working gluten. Too much, and it’s gotten too chewy, stiff, and undesirable. Yes, keywords matter in 2023, but how and where you use them has changed. Focus on Your Brand’s Authority. What Google praises more than keywords are brand … Read more

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Blogging for ROI in 2017: Where to Blog, SEO, and Writing Strategies with Julia McCoy

June 19, 2024February 17, 2017 by Rachel Moffett

Are you curious about blogging for ROI in 2017? That’s what we covered in our latest round of #ContentWritingChat! And if you missed out, you’re in luck because we’ve created a recap for you and it’s filled with awesome tips. Keep reading to check it out! Blogging for ROI in 2017: Where to Blog, SEO, and Writing Strategies with Julia McCoy Join us for #ContentWritingChat TOMORROW at 10 AM CST! Our CEO, @JuliaEMcCoy, will be guest hosting! pic.twitter.com/h8rYfvYvX8 — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) February 14, 2017 For this week’s chat, our very own CEO stepped in to guest host. Julia McCoy shared her expertise on blogging for ROI in 2017 and offered some amazing tips for writing, SEO, and where you should be blogging this year. We covered some of the key topics to help you succeed as a blogger this year, so make sure you read through them and start implementing this advice for yourself! Q1: For those that aren’t convinced, why is blogging still so important for brands? The reality is, many brands still aren’t convinced that blogging is worth their time. They don’t realize the value that it can provide to their audience and their brand overall. So, let’s convince them why they should be blogging! Here are just some reasons blogging is important for brands: A1 Consistent blogging is a WINNER. This graph shows us outranking million $+ funded competitors, solely from blogging. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/saEk6raPvF — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) February 14, 2017 A1 Just a few awesome stats on why every brand should blog. (from https://t.co/l6E0VrwJlI) #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/3Bey4oIe5z — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) February 14, 2017 Julia knows that blogging is a must for brands! She even shared some pretty impressive data that backs it up. The graph above shows Express Writers outranking major competitors solely from blogging. She also shared some stats that are sure to convince you of the importance of starting your own blog this year. A1: Blogging is a lead generation opportunity. It’s how you can build influence, which draws in an interested audience. #contentwritingchat — Annaliese Henwood (@MktgInnovator) February 14, 2017 As Annaliese said, blogging is a lead generation opportunity. So many people will stumble upon your blog and want to do business with you because of the content you share. She also said blogging helps you build influence, which is key to drawing in your audience. A1) It’s a way to establish an authentic, authoritative voice that YOU control. Your thoughts, your words…it’s genuine #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/CsGRfImgTN — Jason Schemmel (@JasonSchemmel) February 14, 2017 Jason knows that blogging is a powerful way to establish an authentic, authoritative voice. Your blog is your place to share your thoughts with your audience. A1: Blogging is a great way to show your expertise to the industry. It also helps you connect with your audience. #contentwritingchat — Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) February 14, 2017 Blogging is an opportunity to show off your expertise to your industry, but also to your audience. It’s a great way to connect with your audience and to start building a relationship with them. A1: Blogging is important because it allows brands to expand their audience, share more information, and establish voice #ContentWritingChat — Josh Lawson (@JoshKLawson) February 14, 2017 To put it simply, blogging is an opportunity to expand your audience, share quality information with readers, and can help you establish your voice as a brand. A1. Social media is just rented properties while your blog is your real estate #contentwritingchat — Cheval John (@chevd80) February 14, 2017 Cheval’s advice is important to keep in mind. Social media is like rented property when you think about it. You don’t own the platform, nor can you count on it to always be around. If a social media platform shuts down, you’re going to lose your followers and everything you’ve worked so hard to build (unless you’ve successfully converted them to readers, subscribers, and customers). Your blog, however, is one place that you truly own and are in control of. Q2: Where should you blog this year besides your own website? Discuss how to find the right platforms. While blogging on your own website is great, blogging on other sites can provide major results. There are a lot of benefits to guest blogging, but it’s all about choosing the right places to post if you want to make it work for your brand. Keep these tips in mind: A2 Create a target persona then study the publications they share. THAT’S where you want to blog https://t.co/FBSVmRvRxb #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/cRvVTrCOk0 — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) February 14, 2017 Julia recommends creating a target persona for your audience so you know what they’re like. You can figure out their demographics and also what sites they’re reading on the web. That’s where you should be sharing your content! Check out the blog post she linked for more information on creating your own target persona. A2: Guest blog on the websites YOUR audience is reading. Find out where they spend their time online and BE THERE. #ContentWritingChat — Rachel (@redheadrachel) February 14, 2017 The key to choosing the sites to guest blog on is figuring out where your audience spends their time online. You want to post on the sites that your target audiences reads so they’ll discover you and head over to your website. A2) Find popular blogs within your wheelhouse & be a guest blogger. That exposes your content to a broader audience #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/5vB7ffeUe4 — Jason Schemmel (@JasonSchemmel) February 14, 2017 Jason also knows the importance of finding the popular blogs in your wheelhouse and guest posting there. It’s the best way for you to reach your target audience and hopefully make them a fan of your brand. A2 Industry specific forums, Guest blog on Authority sites, Quora, Reddit, #LinkedIn are few great places #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/8bhBiI9RFQ — Varun Kumar ? (@DigitalVK) February 14, 2017 Varun recommends posting on forums that are specific to your industry, guest blogging on authority websites, and also using platforms … Read more

#ContentWritingChat June 7 2016 Recap: How to Consistently Find Fresh Blog Topics

December 31, 2020June 10, 2016 by Rachel Moffett

Did you miss #ContentWritingChat this week? There’s no need to worry! We have you covered with a recap of Tuesday’s chat, which was filled with great tips to help you come up with your next blog topic. Let’s dive into the tweets! #ContentWritingChat June 7 2016 Recap: How to Consistently Find Fresh Blog Topics Join us for #ContentWritingChat Tuesday, June 7th at 10 AM CDT with guest host @monikacjansen! pic.twitter.com/42ttM8vlxR — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) May 31, 2016 This week, Monika Jansen joined us as our guest host. Monika is the founder of Jansen Communications, as well as an experienced online copywriter. She shared key tips on creating “fresh” content for your blog. Q1: What are ways to come up with new topics for your blog? The truth is, sometimes it’s hard to come up with interesting topics to write about on your blog. Instead of stressing as you try to come up with ideas, check out these tips: A1: I always start with FAQs. What are your clients asking you about? #contentwritingchat — Monika Jansen (@monikacjansen) June 7, 2016 A1: Also – just ASK your clients/customers what they care about. They’ll tell you! #contentwritingchat — Monika Jansen (@monikacjansen) June 7, 2016 Monika suggested starting with your FAQ. Odds are, you’re getting a lot of questions from clients or readers of your blog. Address those questions in a blog post. It’s so simple, but it’s effective because you’re giving your audience exactly what they want. If you’re still stuck, just ask your audience what they’d like to see from you. They’re the best people to tell you what they’d like to read. A1) I like to cover topics relevant to a service/product that haven’t been covered yet or not in depth. #contentwritingchat — Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) June 7, 2016 Kyle knows it’s important to keep your content relevant to your product or service. His tip is to choose topics that haven’t been covered yet or haven’t yet been covered in depth. Ask yourself what could use more coverage in your field and start writing. A1) Google Alerts and #Hashtag tracking on social media. I also solicit ideas from colleagues. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/38CfYLzv2s — Jeff Reno(e) (@Renoe) June 7, 2016 Jenn likes to use Google Alerts and also tracks hashtags to see what other people are talking about. This is a great way to alert you to trending topics or questions people in your field may have. Asking your colleagues for ideas is another great tip! A1 I always start w/ brainstorming sessions the @Affinio content team! Then look at what is resonating w/ our audience #ContentWritingChat — Hannah Chapple (@HannahChapple) June 7, 2016 For Hannah, coming up with blog topics starts with a brainstorming session with the team at her job. If you have multiple people on your team, get everyone together to talk about ideas. They just might have some amazing tips you can use. A1 Brainstorm internally- teamwork can garner best ideas! Tools ie @Buzzsumo to research competitors & get inspiration #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) June 7, 2016 Our CEO, Julia, agrees that teamwork is powerful. She also likes to use BuzzSumo to research competitors for inspiration. A1: Read! Nothing works better than educating yourself on your industry. The more you read, the more you can share. #ContentWritingChat — Yelling Mule (@YellingMule) June 7, 2016 Don’t forget to read! You want to stay updated with everything that’s going on in your industry. Reading will help you come up with ideas, plus give you amazing content to share with your audience. A1 Social listening, like seeing questions folks ask in twitter chats, is a big source of ideas. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/jGIWgXi5d3 — Erika Heald (@SFerika) June 7, 2016 Erika said social listening is a great way to come up with content ideas. If you join a few Twitter chats, you’re sure to find people asking questions. Use those ideas to spark new content for your blog. A1b: Don’t just give audience what they want to know. Also give them what they need to know. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/DtxGHzizDp — Michael Kinney (@michaelkinney) June 7, 2016 One thing to keep in mind via Michael: give your audience what they need, not just what they want. Q2: What are your favorite tools/methods to help you come up with blog topics? There are plenty of tools you can use to find blog post topics, plus a method or two you can implement. Here’s what our chat participants like to do: A2: I know we already talked about this, but READ, read, and read some more. #contentwritingchat — Monika Jansen (@monikacjansen) June 7, 2016 Monika’s advice is pretty clear: read more often! Find books, articles, etc. in your industry and start diving in. A2 Google Keyword Planner, checking trends & hashtags, or old-fashioned brainstorming w/ a pen & a notebook #contentwritingchat — Brittany-dot-Social (@BrittanySocial) June 7, 2016 Brittany likes to use Google Keyword Planner and she also likes to check trends and hashtags. While they’re all helpful, she also knows sometimes you just need to brainstorm with a pen and notebook. A2: @BuzzSumo is our best friend, @feedly is an excellent tool and sometimes we just skim the tech section on @BuzzFeed #ContentWritingChat — Yelling Mule (@YellingMule) June 7, 2016 We’re also fans of BuzzSumo here at Express Writers, so we highly recommend it. Check out Feedly to see what other websites are posting about and it might spark some ideas of your own. A2 I use @Buzzsumo, google’s adwords planner, @Meltwater & @Feedly to generate content ideas. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/7W3ta4w4PY — Erika Heald (@SFerika) June 7, 2016 Erika is also a fan of BuzzSumo, which is awesome! Some other tools she uses includes: Google Adwords Planner, Meltwater, and Feedly. A2: Twitter, industry expert articles (SEJ, Search Engine Land, etc), Google Analytics; so many! #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/T3f7jQwhMS — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) June 7, 2016 Sarah from ThinkSEM knows Twitter is a great place to find ideas. She also turns to articles from industry experts and uses Google Analytics. Don’t … Read more

7 Things You Can Do Now To Make Your Blog Traffic Start Growing

January 1, 2021October 19, 2015 by Adam Oakley

We’ve all been there. You launch a blog and create great content and then you wait anxiously, obsessively checking your blog stats and waiting to see a drastic boom in readers. This process can get tiresome. Your scenario could vary: maybe you’re dreaming of overnight fame or a life as a professional blogger. Maybe you just want someone, anyone really, to read the post you just spent four hours writing. Whatever your reasoning may be, you’re not alone if your blog traffic is less than what you hoped it would be. Many bloggers who start new sites expect a boom and get a trickle of traffic instead and, if you’re not careful, this drastic difference between expectation and reality can easily cause bloggers to become frustrated and disillusioned. Most new bloggers struggle with this issue and, fortunately, there are many effective ways to boost your blog’s traffic. Read on to learn more. What Really Brings In Blog Traffic? Blogs exist for different reasons, including but not limited to conveyance of information, building of community, encouragement of conversations and production of revenue. If your blog is getting a good deal of traffic, it’s a safe bet that your site is meeting the needs of the readers you’re targeting. The 3 Pillars of Blog Traffic People who read blogs often want the following things: 1. Interest If you want people to visit your blog, you have to provide them with something interesting, thought provoking, helpful or exciting. Nobody is going to keep coming back to a site that features dull, dry, poorly written posts. Because of this, interest is one of the primary driving factors in creating blog traffic. It doesn’t matter at all who your target readers are as long as you seek to provide them with interesting content they can relate to. 2. Value Does your content provide something of value to your readers? If not, this may be one of the reasons you’re not getting much blog traffic. Value can mean a variety of things depending upon who your readers are and what they want, but one of the easiest ways to increase blog traffic is to provide value in your content. How-to articles are valuable, VIP updates are valuable, coupons and promotions are valuable and high-quality, niche-related content is valuable. Readers who get something from a blog are far more likely to keep reading and to tell their friends about the page. 3. Consistency Would you continue to visit a page that featured the same, boring post for six weeks? Most likely, the answer is “no” and you can bet your readers feel the same way. One of the best ways to boost your readership is to maintain a consistent web presence. Aim to add a new blog post at least once a week and consider sending out automated emails to your subscriber list when you do. Striving for fresh content is a great way to keep readers interested and expand your fan base quickly. And Here Are 7 Key Steps to Boosting Your Blog Traffic 1) Create Great Content: Audit What You Have, & Ask Yourself Is it Great? Although running a successful blog is about much more than simply writing well, crafting great content is by far the most effective way to expand your reader base and garner more blog traffic. Crafting great content means using proper grammar, writing well and knowing who your audience is, but it also requires a mind for strategy. Being strategic in your blog-building efforts means that you’re seeking to meet a specific need for readers. Blogs are used by readers primarily for education and entertainment purposes and, either way, it’s important to give readers what they want. If your blog is an educational platform, check out websites like Quora to see what readers like yours are curious about and then write posts that answer their questions. If your blog is an entertainment blog, watch the social and political climate for current events worth writing about or seek to provide humorous, relatable commentary about your niche-topic, like Brittany Gibbons does on her smash-hit parenting blog, Brittany Herself. By being hilarious and empathetic, Gibbons creates content people want to share and, as such, she’s made a name for herself in the blogging world. Also, auditing what you have is a really good way your blog has what it takes to bring in traffic. It might be time to delete some fluff that may be too low quality, and could even be pushing people away. 2) Make Content Shareable Once you’ve got great content, how do you get more people to read it? The main trick is to make your content as social as possible, meaning that you need to optimize your blog content for social media sharing. When you take into account that 74% of American adults are on at least one social media site, it becomes clear why this is important. While it’s great to have a high-quality blog, a blog that isn’t shared across social media is going to have a very difficult time gaining readers simply because it’s not hanging out the same place the readers are. Although people do many different things online, 28% of most people’s daily online time is spent on social networking sites, which means you better get thee to Facebook. In order to better promote your content across social media platforms, it’s wise to take simple steps such as adding a “share” button to your blog, doing some analytics research in order to share content when your audience is most active online or adding an image to a blog post and sharing it on Twitter. Additionally, it is important to be active on a few different social media sites, such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. This allows your readers to find you on their favorite social media site and interact with your content in the way that is easiest for them. Additionally, once you’ve begun to garner shares on social media sites, it’s … Read more

18 Ways to Grow Your Traffic Through Blogging

December 31, 2020June 11, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Blogging is such an incredible tool within content marketing—one of the most powerful ones, too. It gives you a unique ability to reach out to a wider audience and gives you the chance to write on a variety of things from why people need your product to what colors a dress might be. Most importantly, it also gives you the ability to grow your traffic and bring in new visitors, giving you the possibility of increasing revenue. Let’s look at just how you can do this with a few excellent blogging practices. 18 Incredible Ways to Increase Traffic With Great Blogging Practices Just how can you grow your traffic through your blog? Let me walk you through some great points that can help you improve your overall content marketing campaign! Be sure to let me know which of these practices reach out to you in the comments. Blogging Can Increase Rankings and Bring in More Organic Search Traffic. A great reason why blogging can be great to grow your traffic is because it helps you rank higher on the search engines. Organic traffic is great, and the more you blog, the more likely you are to increase that. Remember that each blog you write is just one more landing page that gives readers and visitors a chance to see your web page and products. The more you write, the more landing pages you create, which helps you create more opportunities for your site to rank and be found. Write Different Content Types to Drive Traffic. A good idea to help create blog posts that help drive traffic is to follow some of the findings from Newscred’s social media study. Researchers found that things such as “how-to” posts and lists brought in more social media traffic, as did blogs with evergreen topics. One thing the study also noted is that content types tended to be shared differently at different times throughout the year. This is a good reason as to why you should always research your audience and pay attention to your analytics. You can figure out which blog topics will do best at which times, giving you the chance to create great blog posts that increase traffic. Share Your Blogs on Social Media to Increase Traffic Even More. Increasing traffic to your blog isn’t going to happen as soon as you write and publish. In fact, you are going to need to do a little more work to drive traffic through blogging. A great place to start with is social media. Social media is an incredible way to help boost blog traffic to your site, and you can do so in many different ways. Just work with your social channels and research your analytics to see what things you need to tweak and which things are working well for you. Never Ever Forget About Email Newsletters. Another way to bring in more traffic with and to your blog is to send out information about your blogs in your email newsletters. You can promote a wide variety of things in your newsletters, and your blogs should be one of those items. Encourage readers to click and read your blog postings, and encourage new visitors to your site to sign up for a newsletter to know when you’ve posted a new blog. Write On the Latest, Trendiest Things to Bring in Viewers. Something that can really help drive traffic with your blogs is when you blog about the latest, trendiest items out there. You can blog about new films and how they can inspire people in your industry, use memes that have gone viral, or any other currently trending item to help bring in visitors. Remember, you shouldn’t only focus on viral, trendy content. But it is a great idea to boost traffic. Always Make Sure Your Blogs Have Epic, Impactful Headlines. According to Lindsay Kolowich over at HubSpot, headlines are a vital part of every single content marketing strategy. A headline is what convinces someone to click on your link, which then helps to improve traffic. If you want to boost your traffic through blogging, then always make sure you are creating powerful headlines that encourage people to click. This could be your only chance to bring in new viewers. Utilize Different Keywords, Especially Long-Tail, In Your Blogs. Neil Patel points out that keywords, especially long-tail keywords, are vital to your blogging campaign. You need to make sure you are using excellent keywords that can drive traffic, and you should also make sure you use a variety to bring in a wider audience. Patel shows that you can increase your traffic and clicks by 78 percent when you use long-tail keywords, which is truly remarkable! Use your keywords, and bring in more traffic. Make Sure Your Posts are Perfect for Your Audience. In the article I shared above, Neil Patel also points out how important it is to know your audience and have posts that are specifically for them. Research your demographic and the clients you already have to gather information on what your audience will like and want to see. You can also send out questionnaires and ask your social media followers what type of posts they’d like to see. The more you write posts that are perfect for your audience, the better your chances are of increasing your overall site traffic. Have a Stunning, Professional Blog Layout and Design. Written content isn’t the only thing you should consider when trying to use your blog to drive traffic. You should also consider making sure you have a great and professional blog design with an easy-to-follow layout. This can help encourage your readers to come back and read future blog posts, and can even encourage them to read your past pieces. If your blog looks like it is thrown together, your readers aren’t likely to stick around for very long. Utilize Images, Videos, and Infographics in Your Blog Posts. Along with a great design, you should also focus on visual … Read more

Our Top 10 Strategies To Becoming An Expert Blogger

January 9, 2024April 6, 2015 by Adam Oakley

How do you become an expert blogger? This is a question that’s asked by many aspiring content creators. And it’s a good one. After all, blogging and content marketing are stronger than they’ve ever been. 91% of today’s businesses participate in content marketing. In addition, there are tons of ways to make money blogging in the modern world. For example, we use blogging to earn 99% of our leads and revenue around here at Express Writers. And we’re not the only one bringing in the bacon through our blogging. Michelle at makingsenseofcents.com is a blogger I follow who travels the world and makes six-figures monthly through affiliate blogging. And Jon Morrow at SmartBlogger is a smart marketer who uses his blog to earn over $100k/month. So, whether you’re attempting to start your own blog or looking to create content for other businesses, the opportunities are there. And while there’s quite a bit of competition in this space, becoming an expert blogger is something that can set you apart from the field. If you’re able to nail the strategies outlined below, you’ll be well on your way to becoming an expert in the blogging world. Let’s get started. [bctt tweet=”Learn how to become an expert #blogger in our 10-step guide. ” username=”ExpWriters”] 10 Strategies to Becoming an Expert Blogger Ready? Let’s get into them! 1. Learn How to Write Well-Structured Blogs Arguably, writing is 80-95% of the weight of a highly-successful blog. Just look a few examples of top-ranking, top-shared, conversation-driving blog posts: How to Become a Freelance Writer and Get Paid $200 – $1K per Post – Jon Morrow at SmartBlogger 3 Creative Habits That’ll Make You More Inspired and Prolific All Year How to Find Your Brand’s Unique Content Differentiation Factor and Use It to Your Advantage The structure and readability of these blogs are critical examples. This is the style you need to follow when you write a blog. For example, look at the readability and short, impactful-sentence structure of Morrow’s blog, linked to above: Learning how to write a great blog is definitely an art and a science. But once you learn the art of writing a great blog, everything follows. We have a free guide on how to write great SEO blogs that might help. And my book, So You Think You Can Write, is an excellent primer to learning online content writing standards. Takeaway: Learn the structure and writing style of great blog posts. 2. Create Audience-Centric Content Understanding this concept is the most important step on your journey to becoming an expert blogger. Fortunately, it’s also a pretty simple one to follow. There are essentially two types of content; content-centric and audience-centric. Image Source As you can see in the image above, content-centric blogs are those where the writers create content and then try to find an audience that will read and appreciate it. Writers of audience-centric blogs, on the other hand, establish the audience they’re writing for and work to create content that’s designed specifically for them. The more important point to take away from the image above, however, is that audience-centric content enables you to reach your maximum audience. By identifying who you’re writing for, and what they want to hear, you’re giving your content the best opportunity to earn the interest of readers and be successful. And isn’t that your goal? Takeaway: Identify your audience and create content based on what they want to hear. 3. Stay Up-to-Date With Your Industry Ten years ago, not many people were familiar with content marketing. As time has gone on, however, the industry has developed and improved to the point where Marketing Mag projects that content marketing will be a $300 billion industry by 2019. So, how has the content marketing industry grown so much over such a short period of time? Because the amazing people that helped create the industry, and those that have joined since, have worked to constantly improve it. Modern day blogging is MUCH different than it was 10 years ago. In fact, it’s a lot different than it was just 3 years ago. And because the industry is constantly evolving and improving, it’s essential that you stay up-to-date. How Can I Stay Up-to-Date With the Industry? You can start by paying attention to the movers and shakers. People like: Joe Pulizzi. Founder of the Content Marketing Institute. Author of ground-breaking books like Content Inc. and Killing Marketing. Ann Handley. Head of Content at MarketingProfs. Author of Everybody Writes. Jay Baer. Founder of Convince & Convert. Writer of four best-selling books related to content and digital marketing. Brian Clark. Founder of Copyblogger. Darren Rowse. Founder of ProBlogger. In addition, there are plenty of great blogs to follow. Some of the best include: Content Marketing Institute Copyblogger ProBlogger The Write Blog MarketingProfs To get the most out of these blogs, be sure to join their email lists to receive useful content to your inbox on a regular basis. Takeaway: Follow top industry experts and blogs for tips and strategies that can improve your skills. 4. Research is Everything Next to writing well is research. Just like writing skills are integral to structuring a great blog post, research is everything to a well-read, informative, and accurate blog. As Shout Me Loud contributor Chassie Lee tells us, research is the core of content marketing. She goes on to say that: “Research is the first and most vital step when developing and executing a content strategy. Without complete research, the steps of Ideation/Planning, Creation, Connection, and Measurement will be based on insufficient data.” So, you know that research is important. But how do you actually do it effectively? What’s the Best Way to Research Effectively? This is where things can get a little tricky. Because, while there are many ways to go about researching, you’re going to have to take the time to determine the strategy that works best for you. In Neil Patel and Kathryn Aragon’s Advanced Guide to Content Marketing, they recommend a three step approach. … Read more

6 Ways To Not Suck At Blogging

June 19, 2024January 12, 2015 by Adam Oakley

Blogging is like a full-time profession for many of us, and because of that we have a dedicated interest in our audiences. We are the place that they come for content and we have a responsibility to provide current, accurate reporting as far as content is concerned. Our opinions usually shape the final decisions of a number of our readers and because of that a lot of power rests in our hands. Creating captivating blog entries is always a challenging task, especially when you have a lot on your plate and little time to get it all done. In order to be a successful blogger, you have to understand what success means to a blogger. For some it equates to a lot of clicks, but to others it means providing a source of information to our readers. We are tasked with presenting an unbiased view that is free from fear or favor when it comes to a particular topic and we should take our responsibilities as bloggers very seriously. Success Tips To Help You Make Your Blogging ROI Increase If you truly want to succeed and produce a blog that you can be proud of, here are a few things that are almost guaranteed to net you success. Success Tip #1: Put Your Audience First How many bloggers out there truly know their audience? How many of them are simply assuming what their audience wants and instead miss the attractive points that would draw the crowds? Understanding your audience is one of the most important things any blogger can do. By understanding what drives your audience, you locate the motivation behind their need for content and this allows you to better home in what they love to read. Putting your audience first means taking their likes and dislikes into account. Usually in niche blogs this is a simple matter because only an individual that follows the particular area of interest would be a reader on such a blog. When it comes to more open, wide-ranging blogs there is a lot more scope for you to be good (or bad) at presenting your ideas. Knowing your audience helps you to streamline your ideas to present it in a more palatable fashion to your readers, according to Copyblogger. Know what they read and what interests them and you’re well on your way to creating riveting content that will ensure that people take notice of what you say. Success Tip #2: Be Unbiased In Your Representation Of Facts Anonymity has made it easy for anyone to be a blogger and hide their real identity. It doesn’t do much to promote trustworthiness, however. When you produce a blog, what you write on it is a direct reflection of your own opinions and ideas. However, if you’re blogging about a factual piece of information then you should be careful to separate your ideas from what makes up the body of truth. Representing fact is important and the more accurate you are in presenting the fact uncolored by bias, the more your audience tends to trust you. Creating trust in an audience means that it is more likely that they will come back to you for news since in their opinion, you are a reliable location to get the truth. Opinion pieces are welcome since the aim of most blogging is to represent a blogger’s opinions on a particular issue. You must be careful to draw the line between opinion and fact since blurring those lines will lose you credibility in the eyes of your audience. Showing your audience two sides of the story before chiming in with your own take on the issue is a very good way to present an issue in a simple, unbiased way. Success Tip #3: Don’t Get Complicated One of the things that turns a lot of readers off from a blog is content that is simply padding. Overcomplicating an issue is a very common way to pad a word count, but it does your audience no favors. The more complex a piece of content is, the less likely that you’re going to get readers willing to sit through your filler text. Get right down the point and do it effectively and efficiently. It might be a lot easier to simple research a point in depth rather than trying to create meaningless phrases and words to make up a word count. Keeping it simple helps connect with your audience without alienating them. In some industry blogs, using jargon that is common within the industry does not count as being complicated. This exception is because such blogs are usually aimed at industry professionals that are already familiar with these terms. General Blogs should try to maintain a conversational tone without inserting obscure words and phrases. Doing so usually interrupts the flow of your conversation with the reader and could lead to them dismissing your entry as not worthy of their time. Success Tip #4: A Picture Paints a Thousand Words We’re no longer in the dark ages of the Internet where a single jpeg file could take as much as ten minutes to load on a dial up connection. Thanks to the wonders of easily available high speed internet, using eye-catching images is not only an option, it is recommended. Quite a lot of human beings have the ability to process graphic information far more readily than textual information. It’s the reason why memes are such a popular thing in internet culture today. Utilizing images capitalizes on this ability by giving your readers content in a breathtaking flurry of color and shape. Selecting the right image for your post is as important as writing the post itself and due care should be taken to choose an image that best represents what you want the reader to take away from this entry. Images are probably the best way to communicate simple ideas and you should utilize them in blog posts as often as you can in order to give your content … Read more

5 Tools Everyone in The Blogging Industry Should be Using

December 31, 2020December 12, 2014 by Adam Oakley

It’s tough being a blogger. You spend hours of time on the web as you strategize, plan, and carefully craft your perfect post. You face deadlines, lack of motivation, and writer’s block. Not to mention, you could really use an assistant. Oh, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Sound accurate? As a blogger, you might think that you are on your own in terms of perfecting your craft. Lucky for you, your life is about to get a little bit easier. Whether you are a seasoned blogger or you are just at the beginning of your career, there are a lot of tools available on the web that can help bloggers stay on track and fight writer’s block. Blogger to blogger, here are 5 tools that are bound to keep your fingers flowing on that keyboard. 1. The Wonders of Blogging With WordPress Still using Blogger or another old school blogging platform? If so, it is time to get a little bit of WordPress love in your life. WordPress was originally started as a simple blog platform solution. However, it has experienced explosive growth over the last several years, morphing into the ultimate content management system that it is today. WordPress offers many benefits to bloggers, and you are truthfully crazy if you have yet to convert. So, what is it about WordPress that makes it so spectacular for bloggers? For starters, it is super simple to use and customize. While older blog platforms only allow you to change your background and maybe your font face, WordPress allows you to create an entire functioning website around your blog. If you are not a web designer and shudder at the thought of HTML, you are in luck. WordPress contains literally millions of themes that give you a beautifully designed website with the click of a button. It really is that easy. To take the benefits of WordPress a step further, Google actually favors WordPress websites and blogs. WordPress also contains built-in SEO plug-ins that you can install to help give your blog an extra boost. These advantages only skim the surface of why WordPress makes an excellent tool to bloggers. What are you waiting for? 2. Can’t Keep Track Of Your Posts? Enter the Editorial Calendar So, this blogger tool is mostly developed by you, but it a necessity and really helps bloggers to stay organized. There are several ways to go about creating an editorial calendar; one being a simple Excel spreadsheet. Depending on your posting frequency, you can plan your blogs day-by-day, week-by-week, or even month-by-month. Consider splitting your blog topics into categories, such as posts that are trending, seasonal, news, and how-tos. Another way to create an editorial calendar is by literally using an online calendar. Google Calendar in particular has a pretty decent set up to help keep you on track. If you still doubt your ability to make a solid editorial calendar on your own, there are free templates available that you can mold to fit your needs. For example, Hubspot offers a free and convenient editorial calendar to get you started. Staying organized as a blogger and knowing exactly what topic to write about will make your job a breeze. You know what they say – failing to plan is planning to fail. 3. Never Have Any Good Ideas? Hubspot Helps With That As one of my favorite tools for bloggers, Hubspot’s Blog Topic Generator is perfect for coming up with fresh ideas when you are in a pinch. One of the greatest obstacles that every blogger faces is wondering what to write about next. I don’t know about you, but I am not a fan of wasting time while trying to figure out my next blog topic. The blog topic generator is super simple to use. Type in 3 nouns that relate to your industry, and click the button for instant ideas. The disclaimer here is that this tool is not fool proof. Sometimes it generates topics that do not make much sense. A little common sense goes a long way with this tool, but I think it is a lot of fun and pretty useful. 4. Tracking Your Visits With Google Analytics Most bloggers want to know how much traffic is pouring onto their blog on a regular basis. One of the best tracking systems, hands down, is Google Analytics. Google Analytics will give you an overview of specific blog topics that are performing well on a traffic level, and what posts aren’t making the cut. You will see your bounce rate in analytics, which gives you an idea of how engaged your audience is with your website. Google Analytics also can measure your tracking coming in from social media, so you will know exactly how much traffic your Facebook or twitter account is pushing to your blog. Analytics has tons of cool and useful bells and whistles. There are a lot of useful features to explore, and they can all help analyze your best content. Every blogger can absolutely benefit from the power of Google Analytics. 5. Wordfence Security Keeps Your Blog More Secure The reality of owning your own blog is that there is a very real possibility that your site can become hacked. If you are on the WordPress platform, there is a free plug-in called Wordfence that will alert you of any potential threats that occur on your website. This includes attempted anonymous logins and security updates. Hackers can find loopholes to enter your site through old and outdated code, so always be sure to update your WordPress website as requested by Wordfence. This tool can save bloggers a lot of headache and heartache. Don’t put yourself in a position where you become the next horror story. Now that you know 5 essential tools that all bloggers should be using, you can start increasing your productivity while making your blogging career both simple and streamlined. Featured photo credit: ilkefoto / iStock

Awesome Blogging: 20 Tips From An Expert

December 31, 2020November 16, 2014 by Adam Oakley

About 15 years ago, it was virtually unheard of for businesses to have their own blog. At the time, blogs were mostly diaries in disguise (Livejournal, anyone?), and very few companies had even heard of the concept of blogging for business. Content marketing was anything but a topic of conversation, and some small businesses lagged behind on having any type of web presence at all. As the concept of having a company website became more and more prevalent, keeping the website updated and maintained became another battle. It became clear that having a company website was anything but a fad, and businesses soon had to incorporate ideas of standing out from their competition online. The web was a blank canvass for upcoming business blogs, and the competition was about to explode throughout the new millennium. Fast forward: it’s now almost 2015. While not every single company possesses a blog these days, many of them do. It’s interesting to see companies that have a smart blogging strategy in place, and those who aren’t too dedicated to managing their own blog. If companies aren’t currently blogging, the typical reasons include: Not enough time Fresh out of ideas Don’t know where to start 20 Techniques To Blow Up Your Business Blogging If you manage a company blog and you’re experiencing one or all three of these set backs, today is your lucky day. I’ve been around the blogging block a time or two, and I can tell you what kind of techniques work for creating, managing, and writing your very own blog. The following tips will enhance your online presence while having a blog that’s easy and entertaining to read for your customers. After all, isn’t that overall goal? 1. How’s That Headline? Did you know that 80% of customers will read your headline, but only 20% will actually read anything beyond? Think of all that hard work you put into your blog, only to have your customers click the back button. Writing powerful headlines is an absolute must for generating any kind of engagement. Think about it from your own point of view: if this blog post was entitled “20 Ways to Write a Nice Blog Post”, would you ever click on it? If I were a betting woman, I would definitely bet no. No one likes a boring read. Put some thought into that headline. 2. Verbs, Not Adjectives. While adjectives have their place, using verbs in your blog has the potential to create some very compelling copy. Some of my personal favorite verbs include: Dazzle Compel Astonish Bewilder Captivating Conquer Delight Discover Putting verbs in your headline or copy inspires people to take action. Taking action leads to conversion. What does this mean? Verbs are power words for your blogging strategy. Not to mention, they are pretty fun to write with. Give it a try. 3. Spark Some Emotion. Notice that all of my favorite verbs are related to some form of emotion. If you want to write a strong blog, you’re going to have to write something that sparks some form of emotion: preferably a positive one, since most people aren’t going to respond too well to negative emotion. Connecting to people on an emotional level gives them something that they can find as relatable. If you can get your customers relating to your company or product, that’s a big part of the battle. That’s when they become emotionally invested, and that is exactly what you want. 4. Become an Inspiration. Isn’t it great to feel motivated and inspired? Help your customers feel the same. While inspiration can come in many forms, use your sources to better your community or the life of a person in need. If you have an interesting background of how you came from poverty and built your business from the ground up, people will want to hear your story. Depending on your industry, you can take this in many directions. You can inspire people to get healthy, get an education, or even seek treatment for an addiction. 5. Write Longer Posts. Sorry folks, but two paragraphs are not going to cut it. In fact, three or four paragraphs probably won’t take you very far, either. Studies have shown that long content (think 1500 words minimum) performs and converts better than content that’s considered short. Your audience is looking for engagement, and long (well-written) content is a surefire way to get your audience thinking. You’ll be spending some extra time at the keyboard, but it’ll pay off in the long run. 6. The Presentation Factor. Have you ever received an e-mail that was literally one giant block of text? That e-mail could have contained the secrets of the universe, but the presentation ruined everything. And it was such a great topic! When you’re writing your blog, it’s important to establish exactly how you’re going to present the information. If you are currently using the one-huge-text-block strategy, it’s time to start thinking in punctuation and paragraphs. Be careful on how you present. 7. Playing with Paragraphs. Paragraphs are mandatory when it comes to almost any kind of content writing. As a general rule, most paragraphs are about six sentences long. I like to play with paragraph lengths and keep them around 100 words if at all possible. When I hit around the 100-word mark, I then divide the paragraphs up using sub headers. 8. Standout Sub Headers. Yes, your headline has to be top notch. However, that’s no reason to skimp on your sub headers. Use the same techniques for writing strong headlines, and incorporate those into writing your sub headers. Your sub headers are typically in larger or bold font compared to the rest of your text, so think of them as additional opportunities to grab attention. Sub headers need some love, too! 9. Always Use Images. Try to include an image with every blog post, even if it’s just one. Images break up the monotony of text-headline-text-headline. Keep in mind that some people … Read more

Keep Your Audience Engaged By Teaching Through Blogging

January 1, 2021September 1, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Engagement, shareability, and even going viral. It’s what we all want out of our blogging. But how exactly do you get there? How do you keep a reader engaged enough (to read past the first word)? How do you get to the level of going viral and getting excess shares? One way is to teach through your blogging. It’s simple—start teaching your clients and visitors with your blog. Let’s take a look at why you should teach your clients, the benefits, and few examples of how you can do this! Why Should You Teach Your Clients? One of the main reasons you want to teach your client base is to keep them engaged with your blogs. Sure, the few blogs about your company are entertaining, but they do not provide value for your readers. Your services landing pages are where you can tell people about your company, what you offer, and more, but your blog is your chance to give your customers something of high value. People love being able to learn from businesses because it feels like they are getting something for free. This encourages them to use your company in the future for whatever their particular needs are. Marketing Land points out that when anyone encounters a problem they can’t solve on their own, they head right on over to the nearest search engine. This gives you the amazing opportunity to rank quickly and bring in new customers! What Are The Benefits of Teaching through Blogging? Teaching is something that is perfect for every company with a blog to do. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits you will see when you teach your clients through your blog: 1. Keep Visitors Engaged In Your Writing. One of the key benefits of teaching is that you are able to keep your visitors engaged in your blogs. It is easy for people to just skim and skip your content if it doesn’t offer anything that they want or need. If you start teaching people, they will keep reading your blog. You may even see that people do more than just skim your blog because people can’t learn just by skimming (though some do try!). 2. Convert Visitors Into Customers. You know that it is important to convert those visitors to customers, but you might find that it is quite difficult to do. Teaching through your blog is a great way to do just this. You will show visitors that you offer something pretty awesome and they might consider using your company in the future, or even purchase something that day! Doesn’t it seem like a great idea to start teaching your clients? Offer them something of value to show your visitors that you really are the company to go with. 3. Create Longtime Customers. If you continually offer something that has value, you will find that your customers are more apt to stay with you for a long time. We all love receiving consistent information that can help us in our everyday problems and are more likely to stick with a company that offers something no one else does. Just think about it; are you more likely to stay with a company that never offers any helpful information on a certain task or problem? Or are you more likely to stay with a company that consistently offers you valuable information? We know that we’d prefer a company who gave us consistent useful information! 4. You Get A Competitive Edge When Teaching. Teaching is still something that seems relatively new, and as Mack Collier points out, if you teach, you get a strong competitive edge. This is a great way to start beating your competition and you might even bring over a few of your competition’s client base just by simply teaching people. Obviously, your competition might learn from you to teach others, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing you are worlds ahead of them already. 5. Content With Value Is More Apt To Be Shared. In the same article mentioned above, Mark Collier explains that content with value is more likely to be shared on social sites. The more your content is shared, the closer you will get to have something go viral. Viral content is something that most companies really want because it will get them noticed by more people and grow their client base significantly. There are several different ways that viral content can be achieved; teaching your customers is just one of many. 6. Your Brand Becomes More Trusted. Hubpsot points out thatyou will find clients are more likely to trust your brand if you teach them, than if your blog doesn’t offer anything valuable. They can give your brand excellent reviews and you will stand out amongst all of the others in your industry. Teaching can really help your reputation management and keep your reputation higher. As you well know, reputation is crucial in the online world and is what can make or break your business. Teaching will help you keep that reputation up. 7. Overall Happy Customers. According to the same Hubspot article mentioned above, you will find that clients will be generally happy when they are learning from your business. What you are doing is showing your client base that you appreciate them enough to give them help and information for free. As stated previously, customers will be more likely to share your business with others, and you will find that if a particular blog post really resonates with them, they will share it. Happy customers make for a happy business. How Do You Teach Through Your Blog? You are now probably thinking, “well, those benefits sure sound great! But how do I go about teaching through blogging?” We are going to give you a few tips on just how to teach through your blog and offer some excellent, valuable content for your clients. 1. Offer DIY Projects. People really enjoy DIY projects; just take a look at Pinterest! … Read more