This May, we’re celebrating our 8th full year of business at Express Writers.
Looking back, it doesn’t even feel like eight years.
More like a century. (Just kidding!)
Seriously, though, I’m thankful that we’re here this May. Eight years is nothing to sneeze at. Just look at these statistics from Motley Fool:
80% of new businesses survive past their first year of operation.
50% of businesses make it to five years.
And only 33% of businesses make it to ten years.
Considering that I started this entire operation back in 2011 with an investment of the crumbs left in my broke-college-student savings account, $75, I’m thrilled that we’ve made it this far.
With a 100% chance of failure, I rolled up my sleeves and put in many 60 and even 90-hour work weeks in the beginning. We kept chugging along, growing at incredible speeds every year.
As I was digging into ideas to write a blog to celebrate our eighth year here on the Write Blog, it hit me that we didn’t have any fresh case studies on our blogging traffic and analytics, which have recently been the highest they’ve ever been. It also came to my mind the current state of affairs: how many content marketers and blog publishers are still struggling to even see success from their online efforts. So, this case study is needed.
If you read one blog from me this year, make it this one.
A Case Study in Blogging: 21,600 Keyword Rankings in Google and 90,000 Visitors Per Month
Let’s dive into my blogging case study! First, let’s talk about the beginning (strategy), and the end (results).
The Power of, and Strategy Involved In, Brand Blogging that Works
Fun fact: Blogging used to be just for the people that “journaled their thoughts” on the web.
The idea of blogging online itself originated in 1994, when a college student named Justin Hall began a stint of “personal blogging” that lasted eleven years. He was enrolled at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Originally, the words “escribitionists” and “weblog” were used to describe what is now known as “blog.” Thank goodness that word evolved!
Blogging is now far more than just an online diary.
It’s a huge opportunity for businesses, brands and marketers to express themselves to their audience, grow and build a real community, and share the authentic real “human side” behind the brand.
Blogging is a #1 method for marketers and brands to add consistent new site traffic that may eventually convert and become a buyer.
At Express Writers, I’ve managed to write and publish over 1,100 blogs on our site over the past eight years, with the help of my team.
The amount of content we publish on our blog, the consistency of it, and the quality and relevancy of our blog posts are the biggest factors behind what is now 90,000+ visitors/month coming to our site:
We have 1,188 blogs published to date since 2012, the year I began consistently blogging.
That’s an average of 169 blogs published per year.
Our traffic went up steadily over the years, increasing when we put an emphasis on quality over quantity of content in late 2016 and ramped up in 2017.
Our quality > quantity emphasis that began in 2016 focused on a few things: implementing a real content strategy for the first time and going from publishing four blogs/week to 1-2 high-quality blogs/week.
The data speaks. Check out how our SEO tracking in SEMrush reflects a spike in growth right around the time we built a content strategy and emphasized quality over quantity:
The Google Analytics screenshot below was from March of this year, and this April, we had our first 90,000 traffic/month.
Smart marketers shouldn’t be too excited by these numbers until they see the conversion rate and the sales. (Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank, anyone? “Talk numbers!”)
On average, we are achieving the benchmark conversion statistic for organic search traffic. 14-16% of our leads are converting.
As Mr. Wonderful would say, “To cash flow!”
Now, here’s what our traffic numbers look like as of writing this blog over late April 2019.
Our Google Analytics:
On the right, in the blue box, you can see how 10 out of these 14 visitors are on a blog post the moment this screenshot was taken. This is very common for our traffic.
Now, check out our SEO ranking statistics in SEMrush again.
We’re at 21,600 keyword rankings in Google. I have the graph set to “all-time”, so this is going back to May 2013, when I first started a SEMrush tracking project for our site. I’m in love with the traffic growth shown in this graph that spiked beginning in 2017, which is the year we got strategic. Learn more about how getting strategic paid off for us, here.
Because of the content geeks we are and how consistent our content is, Google loves our site. Plus, everything we do is always organic, audience-first, and ethical. I never pay a dime in PPC ads, and we don’t allow advertisers to ever have access to our site or blog (even though I’m pitched at least once per day).
You can see proof of our Domain Authority with expresswriters.com in Alexa, Amazon’s pioneer in the world of analytical website insight. Alexa clocks us at being the 97,000th-most popular website in the world, which is pretty crazy given there are over 1.6 billion websites in the world (InternetLiveStats).
As for our content creation itself: everything — everything — we publish and create on our site is focused around several key things:
Offering real value, factual and statistical (real) insights, truly useful
Is focused on topics our audience is interested in
Optimized at an advanced level for SEO; semantic-search-friendly
Great writing is #1
Consistency in fresh, great content every week
I believe one of the main factors behind our success is that we’ve blogged once a week, minimum, for 8 years. Consistency pays off. We took it to the next level in 2016 when we added a focus on the strategy behind and quality of content.
[bctt tweet=”I believe one of the main factors behind our success is that we’ve blogged once a week, minimum, for 8 years. Consistency pays off. We took it to the next level in 2016 when we added a focus on strategy and quality. @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
We constantly gauge things by will our human audience like this? Will they feel at home with this? Does this make me/she/he uncomfortable or turned off? If the answer to that last question is no, we never publish. I have barred dozens of writers from writing my content for these reasons. If my content borders anywhere near fluff, my audience might be lost and never want to come back.
Maintaining these standards is key.
Plus, it’s important to note that no “paid tactics” will ever get in the way of our core, human-centric mission and organic marketing focus: delivering great content consistently to our human audience.
What’s Your Content Schedule?
Now please don’t go and copy my schedule. But, because I’m always asked, here’s what our content publishing amount and velocity looks.
Fact: Your content schedule should be up to you, your team, your audience, and your goals. But you need to get one put in place. (Keep reading for more advice about that.)
1 powerful Write Blog post every Tuesday morning: These blogs have to fit in the category of SEO goals, thought leadership, or brand awareness, and be a minimum of 1,000 words and a maximium of 5,000. Learn more about content goals here.One amazing blog per week is what we are able to commit to.
Bi-weekly and once-a-month: A new YouTube video with recap posted as a blog (see an example), and a recap by our social media manager Rachel of our monthly #ContentWritingChat (example).
Once/quarter: Product updates and stories about our clients or team (here’s an example). (These are usually once per quarter or less).
1-3 email campaigns/week: Sent in tandem with the new content we create to our list. We use ConvertKit.
I love Airtable for at-a-glance blog topic tracking and publishing. My social media manager, Rachel, and my team editor, Danielle, are both collaborators on the Write Blog calendar. My designer is also an Airtable collaborator and uploads header sets and CTA images once I have a topic and a date nailed down. We communicate through our teamroom, which Josh, our CTO, set up years ago for our internal workflow inside our website.
Here’s a sneak peek at the Write Blog calendar in Airtable. We’ve set up our calendar entirely custom to us and our workflow. This isn’t based on a template. For us, these custom and specific columns work best because we have collaborators that help me with the blog: editor, designer, social media manager. The designer has a column where she can upload header sets and CTAs after she knows what blog to produce them for. Up at the top, you can see all the tabs we have — a tab just for ideas, a tab for content that’s been scheduled, a tab for the content we’re updating or rewriting, a tab for our Twitter chat, and more.
My blogging process looks a little like this:
Stage 1: Ideation. I have an ‘ideation’ day, which is typically Monday and sometimes Friday, if Monday was dry. This is a day devoted just to producing ideas that will work for the Write Blog and my YouTube channel, as well as guest publications. I research each and every idea for SEO keywords or data-backed topic velocity using tools like SEMrush and BuzzSumo, or I map my content to a non-data-centric goal (i.e., recapping an event for my audience that I was at or spoke at, sharing product updates). Since I look at this as a ‘stage,’ I batch. I typically come up with 5-6 great ideas from a few hours just in brainstorming.
Stage 2: Creation – Outlining & Delegating. Once I have a data-backed idea that will work, I produce a topic and outline, and hand it off to one of my three dedicated writers in Express Writers. These specific three have been handling my content tasks for years now. Since I came up with 5-6 ideas, I’ll assign all of those at once with different due dates in the ‘delegation’ or ‘creation’ stage. Sometimes, I’ll write the whole thing myself. For example, this blog is 100%, fully written by yours truly.
Stage 3: Editing & Scheduling. This is a full stage in and of itself. After the content piece is fully written, I carefully review, add my own thoughts, rewrite where necessary, and add personal case studies. I request an image set from my designer, and plan out any content upgrades (lead magnets) we’re going to create CTAs for. Then I hand it to Danielle, my Write Blog editor, for proofreading and uploading/formatting inside WordPress and our Write Blog. Then, I review again (yes, I’m a blogging Nazi). Finally, we schedule and Danielle makes sure it’s live.
Stage 4: Promotion. At this stage, Rachel, our social media manager, pulls the data from Airtable and anything else I’ll Slack or email to her, and she writes and schedules shares for our blogs across all our social channels: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I personally write and schedule my own tweets and posts across my platforms and personal profiles, as well. I also share individual snippets to my Facebook group and Instagram stories.
It took years to get this process down, and I will say that a process and especially the delegation of creation is what makes me a ‘content boss’ – p.s. that’s what others have called me, not what I’ve called myself.
Which Blog Posts Can You Tie to Revenue — and Which Ones Fell Flat?
Ah, great question.
I definitely have examples of blogs that won and blogs that fell flat on their faces — and I’ll pull a few, but it’s important to make a disclosure first.
Today’s buyer journey is NOT predictable.
I repeat: today’s buyer journey is not predictable.
Essentially, the old funnel developed in the 1920s for ‘salesmen’ is dead. I wrote about a Marketing Lifecycle concept on the Write Blog a few months ago that shares some insights into this.
Our Buyer Journey: In Short, It’s Completely Unpredictable
I have seen our buyer journeys go into a multitude of areas. Here are a few pathways our leads have taken.
A marketer finds our blog posts in Google and reads one, gets familiar with us -> follows me on Twitter -> Scrolls through Twitter one night, reads one of my tweets on content marketing that is intriguing to them, hops over to @ExpWriters from my Twitter bio, follows a tweet of a blog post to our blog, schedules a call with our team leader -> Says they’ll invest in content when they’re ready -> That’s fine – we leave them alone -> They subscribe to the Write Blog newsletter -> They read every new blog I publish -> Four months later, they load a cart and buy their first content service from us late at night when we’re asleep.
No matter how many times I optimize our Write Bot (Drift chat), I still see this one: Person starts chatting with the Write Bot -> Was instantly annoyed it was a bot -> left and never came back.
And these are just the known pathways. What clients have told us (word-of-mouth data), and what I’ve seen from my own lead magnets and sequences that I’ve personally set up. There are many other pathways I can’t even put a finger on. For example, someone buys our services or my course, no discount code, $1,000+ — and they weren’t on my subscriber list. I’ve never interacted with them once. Where did they come from? God knows. And if I ask them, they might not even remember the first time they saw my content (I’ve gotten this before: “Oh, some guest blog somewhere!”). That’s the best, right? Of course, that doesn’t happen often enough. You can’t just build up random expectations on random purchases. 90% of our leads and purchases do come from strategic content that was created around a target keyword pulling in our ideal client. The other 10% is totally random and we have no idea who they are, or how they found us.
Today’s modern buyer wants to follow and make their own path, and it’s important we allow them the space and breathing room to do that. Any kind of pressure from us marketers will actually negate and spoil their journey. We might lose them before we even gain them, just from trying too hard.
What an age to live in!
Here are a few examples of real-life blog posts that have won real return and revenue for us, and a blog that has fallen completely flat.
This blog on How Long Should a Blog Post Be, Really?earned real responses from a couple of blog subscribers, who replied to my New Content Campaign I’d sent from my ConvertKit account. (I send all my emails using ConvertKit. Very user-friendly.) Plus, someone opened the chat and booked a call with us about ongoing content after reading it. It built trust and interest from existing subscribers and generated interest in our services.
This one ranks #1 in Google for “funny words” and a bunch of synonymous phrases, but earns not a single lead: 34 of the Craziest Words in the English Dictionary.In fact, we get a lot of young people trying to get us to help them with their essays from this blog. (Which we do NOT do.) I’m still debating what to do with it. I’ll probably rewrite it with an angle towards marketers that need to learn how to write content and use words that fit in their target market.
Content Works – But It Doesn’t Work if You Don’t Set It Up to Work
I think I’ve written down the reality of blogging and content marketing ROI so many times in so many blog posts, I’m blue in the fingers. (That’s my synonymous analogy to speaking till you’re blue in the face, but for writers.)
An accumulation of more content brings more leads: companies that have published 401+ blog posts get 2x as much traffic as those that have than 400. (Same study referenced above.)
The current ROA (return of advertising) is .6x,down from 11.8x in 2016. (Ad Strategist) You’re losing money, most of the time. The ROI (return of investment) of organic content is anywhere from 14-16% of traffic (conversion into sales).
But here’s the thing.
I can’t keep spewing these statistics over and over again, just to see you all out there, spinning your wheels.
I can’t.
That’s why I’m writing this blog today.
For those still in the rut of zero action in their content marketing.
Not getting the fundamentals of great copy on their site right, and not stepping into consistency and greatness in content production.
All the while, complaining about the things they don’t have.
Not enough leads.
Not enough sales.
Not enough people on the website.
If they just sat down and fixed these problems, which are so easy to fix — hired an educated writer to rewrite all that not-so-shiny content, bring on a website designer to finally fix their site, get a blogging plan set up and rocking…
Those leads…
Those sales…
Those people…
Wouldcome.
I’m tired of seeing you out there. Working your knuckles off to make those sales appointments happen.
I just need one more sale today. One more.
You think it’s a quick fix, and it’s none of these fundamentals.
And you complain about all the things you wish you could have.
Which you could have — if you fixed your content. Get your broken website rebuilt. Take another look at all that content written more than two years ago. Rethink your absence on the company blog.
I care about you, and that’s why I’m calling you out today.
Quit complaining about the leads, traffic, and sales you don’t have.
Start doing something about it.
Content marketing action-takers are the content marketing winners.
Let my case study be your inspiration.
You can do this.
And getting on a pathway to content success is as easy as 1,2,3…
I’ll even give you these three steps.
Hire a good WordPress designer from platforms like Upwork to fix, clean, or rebuild your messy site to make it lightning-fast, Google-friendly, reader-friendly and beautiful – $30-50/hour
Get a writer to help rehaul all your icky content, and an SEO’er to help research the right target keywords to use – psst, we do all of that!
Don’t forget a pro photographer to take your headshots if you don’t have any on your website. You’ll need to get your social media going, too. We write the copy and create images, but you should get a social media pro to help if you don’t have one.
Really, though, this is the action you need to take — and it’s not hard.
Get a great website. (Build one if you don’t have one. Rebuild one if yours is crap. Seriously. You’ll thank me later.)
Make sure all your content is original, conversion-crafted, and beautiful — and SEO-optimized so the right people can find it.
Plan your blogs and make ’em happen.
Let’s do this.
Build profitable content that delights our audience and exceeds every goal and expectation.
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn
Have you ever thought about guest blogging as a way to grow your online presence?
Whether you’re looking to start guest blogging on other sites or you want to accept guest posts for your own blog, this week’s #ContentWritingChat is a great one! To help you take full advantage of guest blogging, we’re sharing some amazing advice from the chat in this recap!
How to Grow and Build Your Own Guest Blogging Platform
Our guest host this week was Erika Heald. Erika is a marketing consultant and a freelance writer. She’s also the host of a weekly Twitter chat, #ContentChat. Be sure to check it out every Monday at 2 PM Central!
Erika has plenty of experience with guest blogging, which is why she joined our chat to talk all about it this week. She had great tips to share with all of us, so let’s dive into the recap!
Q1: Why is guest blogging a beneficial way to grow your online presence?
You’ve probably heard people rave about the benefits of guest blogging before. However, you may be wondering if it’s really worthwhile. Here’s why guest blogging can do wonders for you:
A1a: By contributing content to established websites, you’ll expand your reach and increase your domain authority. #ContentWritingChat
Erika said that guest blogging on established websites will help you expand your reach, while also increasing your domain authority. If you’re a blog editor, accepting guest posts on your site will increase your talent pool and distribution channels.
A1: Blogging allows you to SHOW not TELL people about your expertise, perspective and personality. #ContentWritingChat
One person who certainly sees the benefits of guest blogging is our very own Julia. She said guest blogging has helped build brand exposure, while also bringing in 50-60% of new leads.
A1. You get to share your expertise with an already built audience. #contentwritingchat
As Sarah said, guest posts allow you to get a different take on subjects, expand your audience, and attract new influencers.
Q2: How do you determine which websites are the right fit for you to guest blog on?
Now that you’re ready to get started with guest blogging, you need to choose the right websites. How do you go about that? Here’s some helpful advice to keep in mind:
A2a: I look for guest blogging opportunities that share my audience but aren’t competing with me for business. #ContentWritingChat
Erika likes to look for opportunities with websites that share her audience, but aren’t direct competitors. Ideally, she wants to submit a post to a website that has a higher domain authority that she can count on to do promotion once the post is live.
A2: Does the blogger have a similar audience as you? You’ll want to make sure your content is reaching the right people. #ContentWritingChat
Lexie shared a great question you should ask yourself when trying to select a website to guest post on. Does that blog have a similar audience to you? It’s important that you’re reaching the right people with the content you share.
A2 a) look for platforms that allow ongoing columns. Best ROI b) relevance to you c) they credit/link back to the author #ContentWritingChat
Julia suggests looking for websites that allow for ongoing columns. This is great because it’ll consistently provide you with new opportunities in the future. She also said that website needs to be relevant to you and they should allow you to link back to your website.
A2. Research their audience (who’s following them, commenting) & ask: Are these your people, too? #contentwritingchat
If a website isn’t in the same industry as you, could you still help their audience solve a problem. This is how Brittany considers guest blogging opportunities.
Q3: Once you know where’d you like to guest blog, how do you go about pitching them?
You have a list of sites you’d like to guest blog on. Now you need to send a pitch to them with your proposal for a post. It’s a scary thing for fear of rejection, but it’s a lot easier than you think. Check out these great tips:
A3a: When I’ve ID’d a site I’d like to contribute to, I search for their contributors’ guidelines and follow them. #ContentWritingChat
Once Erika has chosen sites she’d like to post on, she searches for their contributor guidelines. These are important to follow when submitting work to another site. If you can’t find guidelines, she suggests emailing the editor with your pitch and asking for their guidelines.
A3. Always look for guidelines or submission instructions first. #contentwritingchat
Developing a relationship with the right person will really come in handy. You’ll be more likely to be accepted when you have a standing relationship with the team. If not, share a sample of your work so they will get a taste of what they can expect from you.
A3: Spend the majority of your time getting to know the people who run the blog. Then pitch based on what you’ve learned #ContentWritingChat
Shelly suggests engaging with the blog’s social media accounts before pitching. This helps build a relationship with them beforehand because they just might take notice. Comment on their posts and share their content. They’ll appreciate it!
A3: Cultivate genuine relationships w/ editors. Research their site. Pitch original ideas. Give them QUALITY content. #ContentWritingChat
Kristen said it’s best to pitch a fully-baked article with images. They’ll see exactly what you’re pitching and will be able to determine if it’s a good fit. If it’s not, move onto someone else or use the content for your own website.
Q4: What strategies can you use to get the most out of your guest blogging efforts?
To maximize your guest blogging efforts, there are a few things you can do! For a guest post that really pays off for your brand, keep this advice in mind:
A4a: For guest blogging to really work, you want to gain a quality link back to your site. #ContentWritingChat
To make guest blogging work for you, Erika said you want to gain a quality link back to your website. Make sure you have great content on your website you can link to within the guest post.
A4c: If possible, include influencer contributions in your post to increase the potential distribution. #ContentWritingChat
To increase traffic to the post, she suggests including influencer contributions in the post. They’ll be more likely to share something they’ve been featured in. Plus, you need to share the content through your own social media channels. You might even run a paid ad on social media!
A4: Make sure you have a clear (AND HELPFUL) CTA at the end. More useful resources on your site might lead to conversion #ContentWritingChat
Maureen suggests adding a clear call to action at the end of your post. You want to tell readers what that next step is, especially if they’re just hearing about you for the first time.
A4: Have a strategy, think about your goals, link backs, calls to action and follow up, answer comment/questions #ContentWritingChat
Brandie’s advice is to think about your goals for guest blogging. She also encourages you to include a call to action to check back to respond to comments people may have left.
A4 Follow up and continue to pitch/write for the publication. Biggest benefit of guest blogging – consistent exposure. #ContentWritingChat
To make the most of your efforts, Julia thinks it’s a great idea to continue to write for that blog. If things worked out, pitch them in the future to gain more exposure.
A4
Form a long-term relationship with the host!
Contribute meaningful content!
Consistency is the name of the game.
Having a long-term relationship with the people behind the website you posted on is very beneficial. It opens up the door for more opportunities in the future.
As Sarah said, make sure you are sharing the content on all of your social media channels. She even suggests repurposing it into different mediums like a podcast or video.
Q5: How can you start accepting guest posts for your own website?
Now that we’ve talked about pitching guest posts for other websites, you may want to consider accepting them for your blog. To get started with that, here’s some advice that will help you out:
A5a: To launch your own guest blogging program, start by drafting solid writer’s guidelines. #ContentWritingChat
To get started with accepting guest post submissions, Erika advises you to create guidelines. You can present this to writers to ensure their content fits within your quality standards.
A5c: Post a call for contributors on your site, and map out a submission process. A form + spreadsheet works. #ContentWritingChat
From them, Erika said to post a call for contributors on your site. She feels it’s important to respond to all submissions you receive, even if they don’t make the cut. Let the writer know why their piece wasn’t approved and give them the opportunity to redo it.
A5: Let it be known that you accept posts. Create a page with guidelines so a blogger knows what you’re looking for. #ContentWritingChat
And remember that there’s no shame in rejecting a piece that was submitted to you. Stick to your standards!
Q6: Is it important to provide writers with guidelines when submitting posts? How do you ensure your content fits?
We’ve already talked about the importance of having guidelines, but how do you know when a piece of content is the right fit? Here’s what some of our chat participants had to say:
A6a: If you don’t share writer’s guidelines, chances are you’ll receive a ton of submissions that don’t fit. #ContentWritingChat
Without guidelines for writers, Erika knows you’ll wind up with a lot of submissions that simply aren’t good enough or don’t fit your site. Your guidelines should include topics you’re looking for, post length, and anything else you deem important.
A6: Yes! It’s not a free-for-all 😉 Every writer needs guidelines, guest blogger or no.
As Sarah said, it’s not a free-for-all! Guidelines give people something to follow and strive to achieve. Sarah suggests reviewing the writer’s past work to get an idea of their skills.
A6 Guidelines are key to ensuring your brand is represented correctly by every writer. Multiple tones = audience turnoff #ContentWritingChat
Cheval’s recommendations include Simply Measured and Social Media Examiner.
Q8: What final advice should we keep in mind when guest blogging or accepting submissions for our site?
To wrap up the chat, we asked everyone to share their best advice that everyone should keep in mind going forward with guest blogging. Here are a few key tidbits:
A8a: As a guest blogger, your goal is to be invited back. Make time to engage w/your readers. #ContentWritingChat
Make it your goal to be invited back for another guest post in the future. Erika said it’s also important to engage with the readers. You can do this by responding to the comments you receive.
A8b: As an editor, make submissions sing with your editing—but don’t over do it w/ your SEO edits. #ContentWritingChat
Julia shared two great pieces of advice. First, she encourages everyone to remember that pitching blogs can be a long game. You have to be patient, establish a relationship with the site’s team, and have perseverance.
She also said you shouldn’t be afraid to go after those sites you want to publish a post on. You never know what might happen, so go for it!
A8: As an editor, be sure to tell your star contributors how their blogs perform (per channel) + anecdotal feedback. #contentwritingchat
Kristen said to use guest blogging as a way to develop ongoing relationships. That always makes a huge difference and opens the door for many more opportunities!
A8: be stingy with what you accept, the harder you make it to get approved the more ppl (and even Goog) will respect you #ContentWritingChat
Don’t be afraid to be stingy with the work you accept on your own site. You want to make sure only the best makes it through.
Ready to join in on #ContentWritingChat? We’re hanging out on Twitter every Tuesday at 10 AM Central Time! Just follow @ExpWriters and @writingchat so you stay updated!
Here’s the scoop on guest blogging: Google doesn’t appreciate paid links or content published just so you can “win” a link. However, if your guest post is informative, genuine, and helpful, including a relevant link back to your website is a great way to improve your exposure and relevance.
Is guest blogging a worthy investment?
It no longer results in the skyrocketing SEO as it did before Google started evaluating placed links more thoroughly.
However, guest blogging still affords some pretty sweet rewards:
Exposure to the blog and brand’s audience (hopefully including promotion on their social media and email list).
Increased authority and reputation.
Opportunity to expand or blog just outside your niche.
Possibility of capturing secondary or tertiary audiences where they live.
10 Keys to Writing Great Guest Blogs
If you’ve determined the blog presents a good opportunity for you, it’s time to create your guest blog. Let’s cover the basics of how to get it done.
Guest Blog Writing Key #1: Read the Guidelines
Quite simply, your guest post has the best chance of being accepted if it conforms to all the guidelines set forth by the editor(s). Ideally, you should read the guidelines before you even pitch. Guidelines usually include rules about:
Images (including acceptable sources).
Author biography and headshot.
How many links you are permitted to include in the post.
The editor should also be able to provide you with stellar examples of content published on the blog.
Surprisingly, guidelines are often vague – even when editors are picky. In this case, don’t hesitate to ask questions.
Guest Blog Writing Key #2: Let Your Expertise Shine
Expertise isn’t just about what you know – it’s about what you do with it. Through successes (and failures) in webinar presentations, I’ve learned that audiences respond most sincerely to application and innovation. Anyone can look up how to do something, but knowing how to apply it to a particular problem is especially important. The best content connects the dots and enlightens processes for readers.
You don’t have to give away every detail behind your process or way of thinking, but provide a window into your world.
I speak often about merging the personal and professional brand – something you can do carefully and successfully if you decide it’s the right fit for your business and your life. When I decided to merge my personal and professional Twitter accounts in a “Twitter wedding,” I documented the process and received positive feedback about the transparency of the post.
Depending on your audience, you’ll need to display expertise through a combination of:
Story (how you did it).
Data (proof that you did it).
Example (the final product).
Each guest posting opportunity presents a challenge to find the right balance of story, data, and example, so make sure to communicate with your editor or point of contact to ensure clear expectations.
Guest Blog Writing Key #3: Let It Flow
When it comes to keeping the reader engaged, flow is what makes your post stick. Your entire post should read as though it was written by one person in one sitting (even if took you days to put it together). Each tip or idea should connect to the next, and if it’s a how-to post (like this one), the order of steps should make sense.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Learn the 10 key steps to writing an awesome guest blog post over on @ExpWriters!” quote=”Learn the 10 key steps to writing an awesome guest blog post over on @ExpWriters!”]
Guest Blog Writing Key #4: Apply Search Engine Friendly Structure
Google prefers a certain structure for blog posts. Best practices are as follows:
Do not use H1 header tags except for the post title – use H2, H3s, and so on to neatly organize your post.
Use short, clear paragraphs.
Bullet point for clarity when applicable.
Number your how-to instructions or recipe steps when appropriate.
This also saves your editor time. If they can copy and paste your formatting, it makes their job much easier.
Guest Blog Writing Key #5: Focus!
While many copywriters are accustomed to writing for “keyword density,” you’ll find a more natural inclusion of a desired keyword occurs if you strive to use a focus keyword. Use your focus keyword in your:
Post title.
First paragraph.
Body copy (a couple of times).
Meta description. (Note: As a guest blogger, you may not be required to submit a meta description, but it’s a kind gesture and only takes a few minutes.)
If you’re writing for a general keyword, consider using a more specific long-tail keyword as well. For example, this post focuses on “guest blogging” (a very general, high-competition keyword) and “how to write a guest blog” (a specific question or search phrase).
Guest Blog Writing Key #6: Add Appropriate Backlinks
While you want to put a link back to your own site in the piece, don’t forget to link to other authoritative sites, especially those with a high domain authority or Alexa ranking. Chances are you know some reliable resources on your choice topic, and including credited statistics and other citations with links back to those sites will help.
It’s also best practice (and kind) to include an internal link – that is, a link to another blog post or page on the website for which you’re creating the post.
Guest Blog Writing Key #7: Include Images
Editors are used to receiving walls of text. Even properly formatted copy can start to blur together when it’s the tenth piece an editor has seen in a day. When guest bloggers provide visuals, however, it helps their copy stand out and shows they put some extra time into the presentation.
Furthermore, it creates less work for the editor (as long as the images work in their approved format or layout, and come with all necessary permissions).
Ideally, you should have some sort of visual break every 300 words or less. That can mean a custom image, a stock photo, a click-to-tweet, or an embedded audio or video.
Julia employs clear headers, short paragraphs, and a bulleted list to clearly explain her point.
She also breaks up the text by placing facts in a storytelling image and including a “click to tweet,” which also encourages readers to share her advice.
Remember to only include images you have permission to use. Provide a permissions line, credit, and a link to the source if requested or required.
Guest Blog Writing Key #8: Proofread Your Work
Editors will look over your copy before it goes live, but you can prevent embarrassing mistakes and increase your chances of acceptance by proofreading your work or asking someone else to do it for you before you submit. Aside from checking for spelling and grammar, a good edit analyzes flow and also checks all the links.
If you’ve relied on other sources to create your piece, make sure you run it through Copyscape to ensure uniqueness. You don’t want to get rejected for plagiarism because you didn’t reword your cited sources enough.
Guest Blog Writing Key #9: Write with Authority
You are guest blogging on a topic because you’re the resident expert! Avoid phrases like “I think,” or anything that will make the reader doubt your expertise on a given topic. Note how I say in this piece what editors will and will not do – not what they may think about doing. Having been a website editor for so long, I have the authority to offer these tips in a decisive way.
Guest Blog Writing Key #10: Include a Call to Action (CTA)
At the end of your post, tell your reader what they should do. Are there more on-site resources for them? A place where they can learn more about your services?
Your CTA will largely depend upon the tone of the piece and the editorial guidelines. It’s always safe to ask your readers to comment with their thoughts (if the blog has a comment section), as that will drive engagement and please the editor. If you do this, make sure to follow up and respond to the comments on the blog.
Did you miss this week’s #ContentWritingChat? Well, there’s no need to worry because you can catch up with our full recap of the chat. Tuesday’s chat was all about guest blogging. If you’re looking to introduce guest blogging into your growth strategy or want to take your guest posts to the next level, you’ll want to read through these amazing tweets!
#ContentWritingChat April 19 2016 Recap: Strategies for Successful Guest Blogging From an Editor
Our guest host for the week was Kathleen Garvin. Kathleen is the Editor over at The Penny Hoarder and previously worked at SEMrush. She’s experienced in SEO, blogging and digital marketing, as well as guest blogging. We enjoyed having her expertise over on our Twitter chat at #ContentWritingChat.
Q1: Why is guest blogging essential to brands and writers with a presence online?
Why is guest blogging a must and how can help build your online presence? Check out what some of the participants from Tuesday’s chat had to say:
As Kathleen said, guest blogging helps to give you a voice and also gets you more exposure for your brand. When you guest post on another site, your content gets featured in front of a whole new audience. It doesn’t get much better than that!
A1: #GuestBlogging establishes authority, esp. within a niche; also credibility as other publications accept your work. #ContentWritingChat
Tara mentioned that guest blogging could establish you as an authority figure within your niche. She and Sarah from Think SEM both agreed that you also gain credibility when other publications feature your work. That’s huge!
A1: Guest blogging provides a platform with new readers exposed to your brand. A chance to build new relationships. #ContentWritingChat.
As Ryan said, guest blogging exposes your brand to a new audience who hasn’t heard of you before. Both he and Eliza agreed it’s also a great way to build relationships. When you guest post, you not only start forming a relationship with the website, but also their readers.
A1 HUGE. It’s massive content exposure potential online for free – the cost of your time writing & making the connection #ContentWritingChat
Kathleen said to look to the high-quality blogs in your field. Don’t forget to consider your goals. What are you trying to achieve with your guest post? Are you trying to grow your traffic, generate awareness for your brand, gain more sales? This could play a factor in choosing which sites to guest post on.
A2: Relevance and audience engagement (you can look at the comments section) are big factors to consider #contentwritingchat
As Andrew said, make sure you’re choosing sites that are relevant to your brand. Also, does the site receive a lot of engagement from their audience? That’s key!
Like Kristen said, never be afraid to reach out. The worst you could hear is no. If there’s a site you want to post on, send over a pitch. You never know how it could work out!
Q3: How do pick topics guest bloggers can’t resist?
The next step in guest blogging is coming up with an amazing topic. No matter what site you’re writing for or what topic you’re writing on, providing value is always a must. Here are some more tips for choosing topics:
A3: If you’re pitching, do your homework + read the publication/blog. See what’s been covered, bring value. #ContentWritingChat
A great tip from Kathleen: do your homework! Don’t blindly pitch a website your ideas. Do some research first by reading their blog to see which topics they’re covering. You want to make sure you choose topics that fit.
A3: Guest bloggers should always have a new or unique angle on a topic that is trending or popular. What can you offer? #ContentWritingChat
Tara and Sarah both agree: be unique! You need to put your own spin on the topics you’re writing about. Don’t write the same thing everyone else is already writing.
Peter said to make sure your content is solving a problem people need the answers to. This is a great way to provide value to an audience. When you consistently provide quality content that helps your audience, they’ll want to keep coming back to your site for more.
.@ExpWriters#ContentWritingChat A3. First eliminate the topics that’s not your forte. Then look for the trending ones in your authority
Pratik said to steer clear of topics that aren’t your forte. It’s best to write what you know. When you have a full understanding of the topic you’re writing about, it shows through in your writing and you’ll be more confident in your work.
Q4: What should you include/not include in a pitch email? When should you follow-up?
When preparing your pitch email, there are a few things you should (and shouldn’t) include. And how do you know when to follow-up? These tips will help:
A4: Include: Personalized greeting, short intro, pitch idea, past clips #ContentWritingChat
Kathleen recommends including a personalized greeting, a short intro, then pitching your idea and adding links to previous work. However, if you are linking to some of your past work and you were a ghostwriter, inform the person of that ahead of time!
A4: Well first off, make sure you actually read their guidelines to ensure you include what they ask for (1/2) #contentwritingchat
If there are guidelines published on the website regarding pitches, Andrew suggest looking at them before you send your pitch over. Make sure you follow them if they do! If they don’t, it’s a good idea to pitch a couple topic options just in case your first idea gets rejected. It’s helpful to briefly mention why each piece would be beneficial to their audience.
A4) I hate saying this, but please write the damn thing. Templates are so easy to spot and it’s super lazy. #contentwritingchat
Kyle says to ditch the templates! Personalize your pitch email instead. He said it helps to reference something specific about the site you’re pitching to or say how you found the site.
A4: Pitch your idea, a brief synopsis, explain how it will add value for both sides. Show links of past work for trust. #ContentWritingChat
Ryan recommends pitching your idea with a brief synopsis and explanation of how it will add value. When they can see the value your post will bring, it could increase the likelihood it might be published.
A4. It helps to have a well thought-out pitch. Use bullets & get to the point. (Don’t write a novel!) #contentwritingchat
If you haven’t gotten a response and you feel like you should follow-up, remember this: Give them time to respond. Don’t wait one day and start sending follow-up emails. Editors are busy and need time to respond to your email. Following up one week later is a great idea. Remember to be polite, too!
Q5: What makes up a great guest post author bio? What links should you include?
What should you include when writing your author bio for your guest posts? Here are some tips from Tuesday’s chat:
You just might want to steal Kathleen’s format for author bios! She includes her current position and company, her past role, any related passion projects, and social media links.
A5: A great bio will explain who you are & what you want the readers to know about you. #contentwritingchat
Consider linking to a landing page with an opt-in form for your email list to encourage people to sign-up and boost subscribers. Great tip, Michael!
Q6: Should guest posting be part of your growth strategy? If so, how often should you guest post?
We know the benefits of guest blogging, but should it be part of your growth strategy? And how often should you guest post? Take a look at these tips from the chat:
A6: Yes! Guest posting is a great way to grow your brand + connect with others in a field. #ContentWritingChat
Kathleen recommends making guest posting a part of your growth strategy. It grows your brand and helps you connect with others. However, make sure you are more focused on quality posts, as opposed to a quantity of posts.
A6: When I am busy I try to guest post once per month. How often depends upon your rate of growth/niche/strategy. #ContentWritingChat
Tara said how often you guest post should depend upon your rate of growth, your niche, and your strategy. If you’re focused on growing your audience, step up your guest posts!
A6: Yes. Guest posting is great for building authority & exposure, & helps you build important relationships/connections #contentwritingchat
Andrew also agreed that guest posting is fantastic for building authority and gaining exposure, while also helping your build relationships. Much like Tara, he suggested the frequency of guest posting should depend on your goals. Every post should serve a purpose!
A6 It’s HUGE for me building up @ExpWriters presence. So, yes 😉 We guest blog at 10-12 pubs, 15-20 posts /month. #ContentWritingChat
If you’re just starting out, Kyle recommends making guest posting more of a priority. It’s a great way to start building your audience when you’re still in the beginning phase.
Dagmar also suggests guest blogging regularly. She said it helps you connect with a new audience, gets you backlinks, and increases your domain authority and your online visibility.
A6 It’s a good start to put yourself out there. And to jump into the water. To share your expertise with a unique view #ContentWritingChat
Kyle said to share the guest post on social media, your email newsletter, and even email it to friends. You want to make sure you get the word out about your content.
A7b) Share your blog posts with your email list who may share on their social media for greater reach. #contentwritingchat
As Kavita said, make sure you respond to the comments people leave on the post. It shows you’re listening and that you’re interested in what they have to say. Starting a conversation with them makes a huge difference!
.@ExpWriters#ContentWritingChat A7. Consider writing a couple of sister posts on your blog, for the guest post. It helps audience land.
You may want to consider writing some related posts for further reading on your own website. It’ll be great for when people visit your site via the guest post. Great tip, Pratik!
A7: Promote your post like it’s a film release. People pick up on that excitement and want to know more. #ContentWritingChat
Q8: How can you track the results of your guest post?
You want to make sure you have a goal you’re trying to achieve with your guest posts, whether it’s growing your audience, makes sales, building relationships, etc. How can you measure that goal after the post goes live?
A8: Referral traffic in Google Analytics, email newsletter signups, social follows #ContentWritingChat
Kathleen says to keep an eye on referral traffic in Google Analytics, email newsletter sign-ups, and social media follows. If you didn’t get the results you wanted in relation to your goals, make changes and try again!
Don’t forget that people may forget to tag you when sharing on social media. As Jeff said, a quick search of the URL on Twitter will show you who has been sharing your post.
@writingchat see how many views you have & compare it to a previous date, more followers, more likes, more change! #ContentWritingChat
Track how many pageviews you received as a result of the guest post. Did you gain more followers, more likes, etc.?
We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM CDT for great chats centered around content writing and marketing.
Content distribution channels provide a means of connecting with your audience on a number of different levels. These channels can include (but are not limited to) blogs, web page content, eBooks, whitepapers, infographics and email newsletters. They provide a method of communicating with your audience and engaging them with your message. In order for your content distribution strategy to work properly, you need to utilize your channels at maximum efficiency.
But how exactly do you manage content distribution channels (correctly—without over-spamming anyone, or using one channel the wrong way)?
Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket
This old adage works well when evaluating your content distribution channels. Because of the number of available channels that you have, you should utilize at least a handful of them to get your message out to your audience. Channels such as social media networks and guest blogging opportunities are great resources since they allow you to direct your content to focus on your target audience. This ensures that you have the maximum exposure possible for your content and raises the possibility of engagement from your audience.
By delivering your content in multiple channels you allow your company to build a loyal following of customers on a number of different platforms. This gives you leverage when it comes to influencing customer decisions in the long run. Multiple channels increase the overall amount of people who are aware of your brand name and image. Once you product high-quality content consistently, you’ll be able to draw and keep an audience that agrees with your point of view and enjoys the content you create.
Too Much of a Good Thing
There is always the lurking problem of overreaching. Whilst trying to cover as many content channels as you possibly can is a good idea, you should be aware that when you cover more content channels the content quality you produce may drop. The happy balance you’re trying to seek is to produce enough good, high-quality content pieces to fit a measured amount of content channels so that you don’t sacrifice quality in the name of coverage. It’s much better to focus on a handful of channels and deliver high quality content than to try to cover the spectrum and fill all your channels with mediocre or low-quality content.
How Can I Utilize Content Channels to Boost Blog Traffic? 5 Methods
The crux of the matter is that you want to leverage your content production in order to drive traffic to your blog. Content distribution channels provide the most ideal method of directing customers to your blog through measured content that is designed to do this. When you create compelling content that makes a user want to know more, including a handy link to your blog in a call-to-action can encourage the user to visit your blog. But how does it work? Here are a handful of ways you can utilize your content channels in order to distribute content to drive your blog traffic.
Guest Blogging: Guest blogging opportunities may come to you in the form of invitations to write on a topic or you can simply address the owner of the blog and ask them for a chance to guest blog for them. Guest blogging gives you a powerful method to drive traffic to your blog. It gives you ready access to an audience that is already within your niche. With the right type of compelling content and well-placed links you can direct users to read some of your own blog entries, possibly gaining new followers in the process.As a content distribution channel, guest blogging should never be discounted. It gets your message out to the people who would benefit from it the most: people within your target audience. By giving you a focused group that is already interested in your niche, it creates a simple way to distribute content efficiently and effectively to the people who would appreciate and benefit from it the most.
Email Marketing: A number of marketing professionals consider email marketing to be on its last legs as a content distribution channel. I tend to disagree. Email marketing is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for someone who isn’t skilled in the area or dedicated to becoming so. Email marketing contacts your audience directly and gives them the feeling of having a direct connection to you.Email marketing is based around sharing your content through personal email addresses, inclusive of clickable links back to your blog. For many users, emails are the best way for them to keep connected to a blog that they are interested in. Many people don’t have the time to go check a blog every single day to see when updates come around. Strategic email updates to your subscribers gives them the ability to see when you’ve updated and to judge whether the content interests them enough to go read it. It’s a very efficient methodology, but requires compelling copy and high-quality content to succeed.
Utilize Influencers: In any social media setting, there will obviously be a handful of individuals that are more influential than other people in the same niche. What you should be aiming to do is to get in contact with these influencers. But how do you find out which people are the ones worth contacting? Simple tools such as Followerwonk allow you to see the extent of a person’s social media outreach and allows you to target the influencers within your demographic of interest for the highest return.Utilizing influencers can be direct (emailing them or messaging them and asking them to share your content) or indirect (sharing content with them and asking their and their followers’ opinions). Both of these methods are useful in their own ways, but instead of simply leveraging the influencers, you should try to engage them. It’s much easier to get an influencer to share your content if you actually pique their interest. It’s unlikely that they’ll share content of mediocre or a low standard.
Syndication: The best way to think about syndication is like guest blogging but with more added benefits. Bloggers that are adamantly against guest blogging (yes, they do exist) tend to see syndication as the solution to their major problem: The fact that your created content is generating traffic for someone else and you’re not benefiting from it as much as if it were on your own blog. What syndication does is give other sites the ability to post your blog entries as they are released. This increases your coverage whilst at the same time, gives you the initial credit for your post and the SEO/traffic statistics that you’d miss out on a guest post.There is a downside to Syndication, however. In some cases, Google may see the copy that another site has posted as the original and your copy as an imposter. This can be easily rectified by using the “Fetch as Google” feature in your Webmaster Tools. You just have to submit your URL to Google to ensure that it tags you as the original poster. Syndication gives you all the benefits of guest blogging but without the drawbacks of not owning your own content.
Create a Resource Site: There are many niches that require a site that exists as a reference. In order to guarantee traffic for your blog, you can simply seek to become a reference site that everyone in your industry uses. This guarantees you traffic since your site is a valid reference that everyone in the community accepts as a citation. You might find your blog being cited in a number of posts from different blogs and articles, each of them driving content.The downside of this is that becoming an authority site takes time and no small amount of effort. To be a valid resource, your site will have to exist for quite some time and will have to be easily accessible to a number of people who would need to use it. Resource sites need to be constantly updated as new information or statistics come out. Keeping a resource site updated is no small task and can quickly swamp a small company blog. If it’s done right, however, it can be a very useful resource that is guaranteed to drive a lot of traffic to your company’s blog page.
Developing Your Content Distribution Channels For Best Results
In making the most of your content channels, you should be seeking to gain the maximum advantage that any one channel can grant to you. However, these channels do not exist in a vacuum. There is a subtle interplay between the different content channels and each can feed off the traffic from another. For example: a user on social media sees an interesting post, follows it back to your blog and then decides to become an email subscriber. Linking your content distribution channels together provides you with a system where you can keep your company or product in the user’s mind as much as possible. This translates in turn to a higher volume of customer loyalty and possibly higher traffic values. At the end of the day, your content channels are one of the most reliable ways of generating blog traffic, but only if utilized correctly.
As for our content creation itself: everything — everything — we publish and create on our site is focused around several key things:
