 |
| Courtesy of |
Most people who work the web
realize that blogs and social posts are two of the best ways to promote
themselves and their business. The problem is that even the best prose can
easily get lost in the vastness of the Internet. In this article, we're going to
explore a number of ways that anyone can create, grow and engage an audience.
Even better, I'll introduce you to a number of resources that you can use to
enhance and even monetize your online content. If you think you have the
"write stuff," then keep reading and get ready to absorb the knowledge
from this week’s, Working the Web to Win.
When it comes to generating
results online, most people still act as though a website is the be-all,
end-all of Internet marketing. That kind
of thinking is so 20th century.
Sure, before the year 2000, there were only two things you needed to
succeed online: a website and a search engine.
Fifteen years later, not only is this clearly not the case, in some
cases you don’t even need a website to generate results.
 |
| English: a chart to describe the search engine market (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
However, that doesn’t mean
you should throw in the towel. Especially
if your resources are limited, it's sometimes a better course of action to
choose your battles and start growing your web presence on the installment
basis. One of the quickest ways you can
create a growing audience that you can sell to is by blogging.
Blogger Ain’t Your Daddy’s Blog
 |
| Courtesy of |
- Post text
- Embed videos
- Include banner ads
- Host forms
- Create subsidiary pages
- Add backlinks
- Automatically resize to any platform
- Generate a loyal following
Even more importantly, as soon as you click on the "publish" button, the Google bots will index your
blog. This means that a properly
optimized blog post could wind up on Page One of Google in as little as a few
hours. Try doing that with a website.
Face it, the reason anyone
builds a website is to get found on the web.
The problem with that idea is that the current search engines have a monopoly
and they tightly exerted their control as to what get exposed. There are only
approximately 15 to 20 listing positions (per search engine) on the three
biggest search engines, Google, Yahoo and Bing. That makes trying to get a page
one listing very hard to accomplish.
But what if there was a way
to generate the same or even better exposure for your business without having
to rely on search engines at all? In
fact, what if I could show you a way to generate a bigger audience and
increased conversion without the use of a website. Would that interest you?
Stats for a Strong Website
 |
| Courtesy of |
That’s the good news. The bad news is this, just because your site generated a few thousand
clicks doesn’t necessarily mean that it will generate a lead, a registration or
a sale. Far from it. That’s because on average, a visitor to your
site from a search engine is going to spend less than two minutes on your site
before they either take action or click back to search. After all, there are upwards of 20 listings on Page One of Google search from which to choose.
Unless your website fulfills
a need, or contains an irresistible offer that compels the visitor to act, they're going to peruse several sites other than yours. That’s the main reason people “google it” in
the first place, to comparison shop.
We Don’t Need No Stinking Website!
Blog readers are a different
breed of cat. In the first place, blog
readers spend, on average, twice the time on a blog as a visitor does when they
a website. They are interested in
reading what you have to say. Secondly,
a well-written blog can not only make an impact on the reader, but it can also
elevate the writer to the level of expert. That’s right, it raises your
credibility! Since it is important that
a visitor know, like and trust you before they make a buying decision, you can
convey much more authority with a timely blog than you can with even a highly
targeted website. Best of all, once
immersed in your blog, the only subsidiary clicks available are not to
competing bloggers, but to the other content contained on your site. Just like your website, Blogger comes
complete with analytics that can help you adjust your message, your subsidiary
content and your offers. (Take a look at a snapshot of our readership below.)
 |
| Our Blog Stats as Of mid-March 2015 |
Currently, our blog is being
read by almost 50,000 people per month.
This figure far exceeds the 6,500 clicks per month that our mythical website
above achieved during the same period.
These blogs are well-read and our offers and ads produce results nearly
every day. Our readership was generated
by writing an average of one blog every week for the past three years. So this is something that anybody can do as
long as they follow the ABCs of successful blog writing.
The A B Cs of Successful Blogging
A - Always intrigue the
reader. The last thing anyone wants to
read is about your last board meeting or ad copy. To create a following you need to answer a
question, fulfill a need, or provide real value. A catchy title and lead paragraph
are also a plus. The objective is to
inform and entertain at the same time. (We refer to this as Infotainment.)
B – Bring your readers a
great read. We have found that the
minimum copy for a great blog is 1,200 words or more. Don’t short sheet your readers by penning
only a few paragraphs. Think magazine
article, long copy or in-depth info as opposed to a fat tweet or short copy. Your readers will thank you.
C – Create a sharing
atmosphere. Provide your audience with
information that they can’t find anywhere else and they will treat you like an
authority figure. Also make it easy to share your blog with others. Post it to
your social nets daily so that your current following can stay current.
1. Keywords embedded in the title and text
2. Backlinks to your website (if you have one)
3. Brief bio of the writer at the end of the blog
4. Appropriate images and/or videos embedded in the copy
5. A clear offer or call to action
Then there is just one more
task and that is to generate distribution.
The problem is if you write the world’s best blogs and no one reads them
what you have created is a billboard in the desert. Content marketing (a.k.a., business blogging) requires real dedication. While there are a number of ways to create an
audience. There is pay per click and promoting your post.
Don’t forget the Social Nets
However, the two best ways to
get the word out are by posting to your social nets and by working with other
successful bloggers. If you already have
a substantial amount of followers on Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest and/or
Google+, pushing your blog posts couldn’t be simpler. That’s because at the bottom of your blog is
the F, T, P and G that are created for you to do just that. Simply point, click and add a comment on each
of these icons to push your blog to your followers.
Team Teach is the Bomb
 |
| Courtesy of |
On top of that, we coach each
team to make sure they are optimizing their blogs and acting in each other’s
best interest. The last way we help them is by also getting in on the team spirit
by sharing their blog post to our 65,000+ followers and the groups we belong
to. This gives each of the team tech members an additional bump each week and
really kick start their viewer growth.
The important thing is that
with a little imagination, you can create an audience without having to duke it
out on the search engines. If you do
have a website, adding a blog is a great source of Google Juice, since the
world’s most popular search engine puts a premium on blogs that generate a
substantial following. You can also use
these blogs to bolster your social networks as well, in essence killing two
birds with one stone. All you have to do is apply the write stuff.
Thanks for sharing your time
with me.
If you would like to learn
more about Team Tech or any of our 25 other marketing services, call Carl or Hector at
904-410-2091.
In this article,I explained how you can use blog marketing in a more effective way than website
search engine marketing. I have shown how even if a website is doing really
well, a well setup quality blog can do even better because of the greater time
people spend on the blog, the credibility it builds and the lack of competition
on the blog itself. I have also provided the A, B, C's for effective blogging
so that any newbie can learn how to produce great results.When he isn’t cooking up tasty stories online, Carl Weiss is CEO of Working the Web to Win, a digital marketing agency based in Jacksonville, Florida. He is also the co-host of the online radio show of the same name on Blog Talk Radio. You can reach him at 904-410-2091 or email him at CarlW@workingthewebtowin.com.
Very helpful article.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm, now I'm getting inspired to launch my own blog.
Question: Is it possible to attach an extended audio file (say, 30-45 minutes) on to a Blogger-posted blog?
Yes you can attach a podcast or audio file in your blog. Depending where you have the files stored, you can create a link to it in a drop box, to a onlinestore like the apple/android store or a third party podcast platform like Speakers of BlogTalkRadio. Good Luck.
ReplyDeleteVery nice article, I found it very useful. Even though I have this wonderful website, Good quality windows and doors are very essential for any workplace. They provide carmellimo promo codes and offer these services at a very reasonable price.
ReplyDelete