Blog Tips, Blogging, Blogging Success, Marketing Tips |
Grow Any Business with Blog Marketing
A blog is one of the most popular terms in business and social media today. The term generated years ago and has taken its stance as one of the most effective marketing tools around. In the beginning, blogs were viewed or used as an online diary, which gave a text account of the lives and activities of people. Bloggers were limited in numbers early on because, in order to launch a blog, it was required to build a website. A few years later, platforms were developed that made the process easier, which made it possible for almost anyone to create a blog.
Blogs vs. Websites
There is a difference between a blog and a website. Other than the degree of visitor or audience engagement, blogs are typically joint forces with social media. Visitors are permitted to post comments and interact with the owners of the blog. Blogs are updated more often than websites. Once a website is developed and launched, it’s usually permanent. Information, data, and images are added to blogs on a regular schedule. Bloggers will add info that their audience wants to read about.
Contemporary and traditional entrepreneurs utilize blogs as an effective marketing tool. They use it as a source to give information to clients and potential clients as a means to attract more business. Blogs have evolved into one of the most operative marketing strategies of 2018.
Understanding Blog Marketing
Blog marketing communicates to the target audience of your business via the content of a blog. Before, many business owners kept an independent blog that was not a part of their site. Today, it is most effective to link the two for easier operation and management. This also simplifies access for visitors. Blogs and websites can be successfully managed using an engine such as the WordPress platform. The increasing popularity of blogging has created an increase in business for many website owners. When visitors land on a webpage, a blog is one of the first things tabs they look for. Once they find this, they immediately go to the blog to see its content. Therefore, it is essential to not only have a blog but to have one that contains amazing content.
Utilize Blog Marketing to Promote Services and Business
Creating a plan for blog marketing is one of the smartest moves a business owner can make. This takes a matter of minutes and with continuous management, it will bring success to the business. Marketing will take time but if incorporated properly, it will be effective and have a positive impact on the business.
Here are a few ways to approach blog marketing.
- Develop a blog marketing strategy or plan. Decide what type or genre of information you will post and share from your blog. Consider the best time of day to post and how often to do so.
- Create the blog. Choose a platform for blogging, set It up, and customize it to match the personality and size of the business. Incorporate your business logo into the blog to maintain uniformity. When utilizing free platforms, make sure that the domain name leads to the blog to allow consumers to reach the site without issue.
- Add multiple posts immediately. Don’t launch the blog until at least eight to ten blog posts have been added. Your audience doesn’t want to visit a site that has only one blog post. Once the initial batch of posts has been added, start a regular posting schedule for the blogs.
- Promote the blog. It is essential to integrate social media into the blogs, which will allow your posts to reach your followers and their friends. Remember to always add your blog to the marketing tools you use to promote your business.
- Interact with your audience. Readers will post comments, ask questions, and give their opinions on your posts. Interact with them when necessary to generate more activity on the post.
- Utilize the blog to motivate email signups. Visitors will continuously return to your blog when you offer incentives for them to give their email address. Email offers are great tools to encourage business from potential and current clients.
Blogs are a primary source for marketing because they provide fresh and informative content that readers want to know about. It encourages them to return and presents an effective way for consumers to network with the business. Blog marketing is not only effective, but it’s cost-efficient which is another reason more businesses rely on it for business growth.
This article was originally posted on Mom Marketing Coach.
Blog Tips, Blogging, Blogging Success, Marketing Tips |
Maximize Your Blog Results With These Tips!
Seven days in a week and on each of those days, more than a million blog posts are created. These posts include videos, content, photos and more. Posting content that is minimal and without character will not help you achieve the results you expect as a blogger.
Business growth is inspired or motivated by quality content that engages your readers. Remember, your post is competing against millions of others that are published. While genres may vary, many readers are drawn to unfamiliar genres simply because of the quality of their content and the amazing character and appeal that the images display.
If you spend a few hours of each day, researching, developing, and writing content, you are on the fast-track to becoming a full-time blogger. Publishing weekly posts can be quite overwhelming. It is less draining if blogging is your passion, but the need to create quality content is important, along with a few other strategies.
The purpose or intent of the blog has a huge impact on the tone and pitch of it. Generation of sales, providing useful information, and encouraging interactions are a few reasons that motivate bloggers to create posts. To develop or improve sales, bloggers should post quality content more often.
Businesses may see a vast improvement in sales if the quality of the content is above average. There are many other bloggers that are breaking stride by creating blogs that everyone wants to read. What makes their posts better? What causes people to navigate towards other blogs and away from yours? What are you missing or doing wrong? The answers to these questions will vary among bloggers. There is not a single formula to help you get it right with every post. Changes in marketing and social media engagement occur from day to day, and it’s easy to lose track of what works and what doesn’t.
Here are a few tips to help maximize the results yielded by your blog posts and help your posts to shine among the millions of others that are published daily.
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Create a Strategy
Treat your blog like you would a business, especially if your plan is to generate income. Therefore, you should document your strategy by writing it down and following it as planned. It is essential for any successful business to create an outline of their goals, plans, marketing strategy, and projected outcome. Blogs require a similar effort and the concept is similar.
Bloggers should have an objective from which they can develop a mission statement. This statement is the foundation for completing things such as social media posts, outreach content, emails, and more. Content strategy and documentation are important tools for effective marketing of your blog.
Documentation of the following is ideal for building a successful blog:
- Plan your topics – prepare a month ahead by creating a plan for the type and topics of the content you will post. At times your brain will be cloudy. You will have vague ideas by may be unable to bring them to the surface. There are blog idea generators available to assist with ideas for blog topics. Utilize these tools to create interesting and eye-catching topics that appeal to readers. Organize a list of 10-15 topics for the month and add them to the calendar on the scheduled dates to post.
- Add to Google Calendar – add a topic to your calendar and work to ensure that it is out by that date. Abide by this schedule. Treat it like a deadline for an exam or academic paper. It is important to create a strict process of documenting important to-dos, as it is easy to allow other tasks to side-track you and get you off schedule. Schedule daily writing totals according to the number of posts you have scheduled each month. Remain consistent in your writing and always commit to complete the daily requirement.
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Create Content that is Long-Form
Once you’ve documented and scheduled your posts, it’s time to begin writing. Be creative, consistent, and diligent in your writing. Short posts will not deliver the quality and informative content that readers look for in blogs. Write, read, rewrite, and read the post again. Make sure that you are pleased with the content and confident that others will find it engaging and informative.
When creating long-tail content, don’t lose the reader by adding fluff throughout the piece. Doing so diminishes the quality of the content and is not informative to readers. Most potential readers will not finish the piece and in many cases, never attempt to read your blog again. Create a blog post that performs and calls for action when necessary. Performance data and information that guides can rarely be written in less than 2,000 words. Research suggests that longer and more detailed blogs generate almost ten times more leads than short-form posts. Consider this for an example, posts that hold the 10th position in rankings of internet searches are longer than 1,500 words. You can’t afford to write less than this and expect to compete with high-performance blog posts.
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Implement Video into the Post
Online and social media video enhances a blog post tremendously. YouTube content is a prime example with more than a billion viewers logging in to view uploaded content. There is more than an hour of content viewed by each viewer daily. This is a key indicator that images and videos are positive additions to your blogs. Create a YouTube channel and use it to filter traffic through to your blog. The addition of videos is a primary method for increasing engagement and holding the interest of viewers longer. Remember to utilize a call-to-action in video posts and you will notice an increase in shares of your content.
These are just a few tips to help you reorganize or enhance your blogging strategy. There are many additional strategies that should be implemented with the above tips to successfully reach your maximum blogging potential.
This article was originally posted on Mom Marketing Coach
Copyright: niroworld / 123RF Stock Photo
Blog Tips, Blogging, Blogging Success |
Beginner On-Page SEO for New Bloggers
SEO can be complex but having the beginning steps easily written out is a great way to start. Here are some basic on-page tips that can help get you started.
What is On-Page SEO?
On-page SEO is basically how you set up your website page or blog post using certain tactics to make your website more search engine friendly.
What steps should I complete on every blog post?
Before you even begin to write, there are a few things to think about.
Content
- Content – your posts should be a minimum of 750 words but Google prefers 1,000 – 1,500 words per post/article.
- Value of your content. What will you write about that will help solve another persons problem? Or, if your content is purely a story of experiences, how do you keep the readers attention?
- Keywords – if you are trying to be found, what keywords are people searching?
Keywords
You have a post idea, now let’s do some keyword research. We will use the topic of teeth whitening for example. If you are a product reviewer and want to post about teeth whitening, you need a more specific keyword as teeth whitening is a highly competitive term which would be hard to rank. You will need to go after the low hanging fruit. This is where long tail keywords come in. A long tail keyword is just a longer version of the keyword you are trying to rank. Here are a few examples of teeth whitening:
- How teeth whitening pens work
- Which teeth whitening method is best
- Legitimate teeth whitening reviews
A great place to find topic ideas is AnswerThePublic.com. Another way is to search on Google. Start writing a keyword and you will see Google auto-suggest what others are searching for. See the screenshot below:
If your topic is popular, you may be able to scroll down in the search results and find a list of questions that people also ask.
Then, scroll to the bottom of the search result page and you will find searches related to.
Now that you have some keyword ideas, you may want to check how competitive they are. I use an extension for Google Chrome that is called keywords everywhere. I believe you can use it in Firefox as well. Every time you do a search you will see the information in the red box and the yellow (screenshot below). It will provide search volume, competitiveness, and other keyword ideas. A “1” means that it is very competitive. Stay away from those exact terms although the search volume is appealing. You will want to find keywords that have a lower search volume and less competition.
On-Page
Now that you have your content written, it’s time for your on-page SEO. If you are using WordPress, get the Yoast plugin or another SEO plugin. I use Yoast. If you do not use WordPress, there should be SEO options available that you will want to use.
On-page keywords
You should have a few keywords in mind that you want to use. You don’t want to over-optimize so here are some tips on the use of keywords.
- Use your primary keyword in your title if possible
- Use your primary keyword in your header but change the wording (example further below)
- Use your keywords a few times in your content but change them around. Here is a good tool that you can use to check your keyword density: http://www.visiospark.com/keyword-density-checker/
Yoast
There are a few important things that you should utilize with Yoast. Some people believe that they need a good Yoast Score to fully optimize, but the truth is that you do not. For example, I do not fill in the focus keyword. There is nothing wrong with filling it out, but I prefer not to because I don’t want to focus on just one keyword. I like to use multiple keywords. The things I always fill out are the Title, slug and meta description.
Here is how I fill in my Yoast settings for a blog post that I have on my Midlife Single Mommy blog:
My primary keyword for this post is “mistakes singles should avoid on social media”. This is a long tail keyword and also happens to be the title of my blog post. You will see that I have the keyword in the title and in the slug. The slug is another name or your URL (website page address). If you can get your keyword into your slug, you should.
See, although a long tail keyword with little to no search volume, I am ranking nationally in position #5!
I do not recommend having the same exact keyword in the meta description as well although you can reword it if you would like.
Headings
Headings help Google bot understand what your page is about. As you will see below, the text before the post is large and explains the title but the words are mixed in a different way. This is an H1. Below the next paragraph is a bold title for the following paragraph, this is an H2. These are set up right above in the settings area. You may see the word “paragraph”. That is where you change it to be a header.
Categories and Tags
Make sure you have categories set up for your blogs to keep them organized by topics. In addition, be sure to add tags. These should be keywords related to the post. You can add as many as you would like but I try to stay under 10.
Images
Now that you are ready to post, do not forget to add an image or two and optimize it. What I mean by optimizing a picture is to add an “alt attribute” with a keyword. Here is the picture that I used for this post and the alt text that I added:
Internal Linking
Make sure you link to your home page, contact page and/or another blog post. If you can add an outgoing link (a link that points to an external website) do that as well. See how I have a few links throughout this post? That’s what I mean.
Double check your work before posting and send it to be indexed using your webmaster tools. If you do not have webmaster tools, learn how to set that up.
While this post may be a little basic, I will be offering detailed, over-the-shoulder, video training on how to optimize and rank your blog in the near future. There are big changes for 2019 that you don’t want to miss!! Please sign up to my mailing list to get updates for when the training goes live. I also offer services, like keyword research for example, to bloggers. Check out my services page to learn more!
This article was originally posted on MomMarketingCoach.com
Photo Copyright: designer491 / 123RF Stock Photo
Blog Tips, Blogging, Mompreneur |
Do You Wonder How You Will Do it All? It’s Possible!
The world is filled with moms who simply want more. They want to give more, do more, be more – and most of all, live more! This is common and in no way means that life is unfulfilled. In a sense, it means that there is more of you to give.
As a mom, life is filled with moments of joy, laughter, surprise and aha moments. On the other side of the coin, there is the anxiety, unexplained tears and the urge to get more out of life. There is a world of untapped talent out there and blogging is the perfect tool to knock down those doors. Bloggers have such big voices and are influential in the lives of many. The balance of being a mom, blogger and an entrepreneur is easily confused with skill. It’s less of a skill and more of a passion. You’re passionate about being a good mom, a consistent blogger and a successful entrepreneur. The passion is there, but the balance – the balance has been a struggle.
Let’s take a look at a few ways to find balance and brilliance as a blogger.
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Start the Day with Your Kids
Every parent is different but most importantly, every child is different. The primary goal of most moms is to spend as much time with their kids as possible. Their ages will determine how much time they actually want to spend with you (there will come a day when your kids simply won’t have time for mommy). Begin the day with your kids to get a dose of love and happiness to start your day. Doing so frees your mind to concentrate on other things throughout the day without feeling the guilt of neglecting your kids. With a free mind, you can focus on creating great blogs and your business.
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Stay Focused
Many mom bloggers work from home, the sunroom, the neighborhood coffee shop or anywhere there is good Wi-Fi. It is essential to remain focused on the end goals. Don’t allow daily distractions to take you away from the important stuff. It’s easy to log into Facebook, Instagram or other social media to check out the latest updates. If you’re like me, those email alerts sound-off throughout the day, and you check them on every hour. I’m not telling you to ignore business emails, that is by no means the takeaway here. But don’t become side-tracked by the email blast that Old Navy sent about that sale that ends at midnight. You know the one that runs every week. Restrict checking personal emails to certain times of the day. Make sure that you adhere to the schedule each day.
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List It
This goes back to the basics. Make a list of things to do, but this time – DO THEM! This list could change daily. Write down everything that must be done for the day and make sure to add at least one thing that is a goal. The opportunity to cross things off your list will give you a feeling of accomplishment like never before. It reminds you just how gratifying the little things can be.
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Set Realistic Goals
While it’s true that you can do anything you set your mind to, there are some things you have no control over. A sick baby, aafter-schoolactivities, unexpected guests and other similar occurrences can happen at a moments notice. When they occur, it sometimes puts a wrinkle in our plans. This isn’t a sign that the goal won’t or can’t happen, only that it will happen later. Don’t be yourself up for having a minor setback. It may not be part of your plan but it’s obviously the way things are intended to happen. One of the most positive aspects of being your own boss is that you can always reschedule that appointment you missed with yourself. Loosen up and live to “goal” another day.
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Implement a Routine
Every successful business has an opening and closing time. Even 24-hour businesses close occasionally for inventory. Create a routine for day and night hours. This gives an opportunity to work on your business and give your family the attention they need. Don’t be afraid to enforce bath or bed time rules. It will give you the time you need to take care of yourself, your blog and your business.
These are only a few suggestions to help mom bloggers get a rhythm in life. There are no rights or wrongs in living life as a blogger. However, if you want to build a life as a great mom, brilliant blogger and aspiring entrepreneur, you must balance as you build!
This article was originally posted on MomMarketingCoach.com
Photo Copyright: lightfieldstudios / 123RF Stock Photo
Blogging, Blogging Success, Marketing Tips |
You’ve been blogging for a while now, but where are your followers? Let’s find the answer to the question many bloggers ask at the start of their blog career.
If we were to do a poll of every blogger that started their blog and quit before they succeeded, you would be shocked. The easiest part of running a blog is saying the word, “BLOG”, the more you say it, the easier it becomes. That’s sort of how blogging works. The more you blog, the easier it is to do so.
One of the biggest dilemmas most bloggers encounter is difficulty in acquiring followers. It has a little to do with the misconception that “if you blog, followers will come”. This isn’t exactly true. The partial truth is that if you’re consistent with it, eventually you will gain followers. How long will it take? How many will you get? How long will they stay? These are all questions that many new bloggers ask. The answer is simple. Diligence, quality, and patience! These are the ingredients for gaining followers for your blog.
Dare to be Diligent
Starting your blog is the easy part, it’s the work that goes into maintaining it that will prove challenging. Create content that has good quality and relates to your intended audience. Make regular posts and don’t forget to share on your social media pages. Be mindful of the type of content you post to personal pages. Many people will base their decision to follow your blog on the feeling they get from your personal posts. Posting inappropriate images, profanity and other rude comments could destroy your image in the blog world, unless this is the type of audience you want to attract. Here are a few tips:
- Network/connect with other bloggers
- Expand your relationships to include bloggers of all genres
- Treat blogging as a new business instead of a hobby
The Quality Connection
Connect with quality people and create quality content. Don’t attempt to lure followers in by posting click baits or material that lacks quality. People appreciate the good information and they will keep coming back for more of it. Most importantly, they’ll tell their friends about your blog and those friends will tell their friends and before you know it, your blog will be the talk of blogger nation. Research the information before you post it and talk about those things that interest you most. It’s easy to write about things you have a genuine interest in and not a forced interest. If you like to eat, write about food. Like to drink? Blog about the coolest drink recipes. There are always others out there that want to learn more about the things you’re blogging about. Here are a few tips to extract quality and add it to your blog:
- Share posts from other bloggers
- Utilize social media scheduling tools
- Publish quality images and tasteful memes
Practice Patience
So, you started your blog three days ago and are freaking out because you haven’t gained 10,000 followers. Stop! Reverse right there and pick up a load of patience, because you will need it. As mentioned in the beginning, many bloggers have started and quit, due to not gaining the followers they felt they should within a certain amount of time. There is no formula to deliver followers. There is the option to buy them, but we don’t even want to entertain that idea (that’s another post for another time). Blogging takes a great deal of patience. Once you’ve executed the diligent approach, applied the quality content, you must be equipped and fully-loaded with patience. Sometimes, it takes an overflow of it. Allow your blog time to blossom into the platform you desire it to me. Don’t overextend yourself or your efforts to the point of becoming fatigued and wanting to give up. Here are a few tips to remember:
- Learn from your mistakes
- Listen to other more experienced bloggers
- Don’t obsess over your blog; break away to do other things
Apply these simple techniques to your blogging journey and the followers will develop at a healthy rate. It’s important to understand that your blog isn’t for everyone. But for every person that doesn’t read it, there are two to three more who will. Be prepared for the take-off, as it will require much more of your time once the followers grow. Keep pushing, don’t quit and enjoy life as a blogger!
Originally posted on Mom Marketing Coach
