Case studies make for effective promotional material for any brand or business: the benefits of business case studies are many, with multiple ways to use and re-purpose.
In short, looking at how your company has helped a client can bring you valuable media coverage and turn leads in paying customers.
Here’s the video: scroll down for the full blog post with more insights on creating valuable case studies.
Why Create? The Major Benefits of Business Case Studies
A case study is a story describing how someone has benefitted from using a product or service.
Aside from reaching out to potential customers, case studies are the ideal way to showcase what your business does well and keeps customers coming back.
You can use case studies on websites, in newsletters, included with brochures, as part of press releases, in magazines and newspapers as ways of building brand awareness and generating leads.
Here are the top benefits of creating a case study:
Showcase past successes to your new leads
Present your worth and client testimonies to the public
Grow brand awareness and reputation
Ready to add a powerful new sales tool to your marketing toolkit?
5 Ways to Repurpose & Get The Most From Your Business Case Studies
1. Recreate it into a presentation for SlideShare. Then, share this on all your social networks, mention @SlideShare on Twitter for some extra juice!
2. Upload it to your website and share on social media. You can re-share the website page with your case study multiple times on your social media accounts, as long as you space the time out – once bi-weekly is a great idea. Unless you have 3 followers, it won’t be the same old Bob viewing your update. New traffic and potential leads will see it every time.
3. Make a live, published blog on your site. This will add SEO value to your website, increase your chance of rankings, and even boost your reputation when people search your brand name. Be sure to include all images and lay out the blog post well. One thing you’d want to do, though, is make sure you have clients’ permission to post if you’re including them in the case study. (See an example blog post Case Study we did on our own rankings. This isn’t probably what yours would look like, since you would be posting more about your clients and overall business success: we just focused on our rankings, with analytical proof.)
4. Social media engagement tool (share in updates or link to it in your social bios). Again, space it out: don’t share daily, but at least bi-weekly. It’s also a great tool to link to in a company bio – everyone’s interested in the success stories of who they’re about to hire.
5. A marketing tool for your sales team (send via email to new leads). This is a GREAT sales tool! Your potential leads might buy a lot faster if they see you’ve helped someone just like them succeed.
Express Writers Now Offers Custom-Created Business Case Studies
Express Writers realizes just how much of a hot ticket item case studies are for content marketers.
We now offer professionally written and presented case studies to our clients.
Our team of talented marketing writers will create as many pages as you need to ensure your case study is thorough and ready to be published.
What to Expect When You Order a Case Study
Our team will gather detailed information from every client who needs a case study. You will be required to fill in an input form and answer questions such as “what challenges does your industry face?” and more specific questions about the actual case study, including analytics, data, measurements of success and formatting guidelines.
We also offer clients the option to add an hour long interview with their dedicated case study writer to discuss additional information.
Once your case study has been artistically written, you have the option of having the final product formatted or left as copy only if you prefer to use your in-house designers.
To order your case studies today, visit the case study product in our Content Shop.
Multiple content formats – you’ve heard this bandied about as something that you need to do for all of your content. Videos, images, and the intimidating podcast are all forms people suggest. But how to start a podcast might be something you’re not sure about yet; or, how to start one that successfully ties into your content marketing.
You have great text content, and you might even be well on your way to great videos, but audio? “That’s not something I think will work for me.”
Let me tell you, I think a podcast is absolutely perfect for you, and I want to look at just how podcasting can go hand in hand with your content marketing strategy.
Your audience will thank you later.
How To Start A Podcast 101: Let’s Discuss The Podcast
Podcasts are great content forms that give your clients the ability to consume content in an easier manner. They aren’t video or written content but purely just audio content. (Though podcasts can have a video element if necessary.) This isn’t exactly like a radio show, but there are a few similarities. Don’t worry; you don’t have to have a radio voice when you do a podcast.
Recording a podcast gives you the chance to record audio content based off of your written content, and give clients something easy to access. They can subscribe to the feed and get updated each time you upload a new recording. It is easy for clients just to click and listen while on a commute or at work, giving you the opportunity to market to people who are just too busy to read content or watch videos.
Can You Do a Podcast?
Yes, you sure can! Even if you aren’t a radio superstar. In fact, most podcasters are just regular people who aren’t radio or video experts.
The great thing with podcasts is that they can be on any topic, and they give you the chance to discuss in depth about certain areas of your industry. There are many benefits to podcasts, and I want to take a look at how one can work well with your existing content.
5 Reasons Why You Should Include a Podcast in Your Content Marketing
Why should you create and share podcasts as part of your content marketing strategy? Here are some awesome reasons to consider.
1. Podcasting Helps You Stand Out and Make New Connections. Podcasts are unique to the individual hosting the podcast and the guests you invite. Because of this, a podcast can help you stand out from competitors, providing customers with excellent content.
You can talk about anything you want, and can even take client suggestions for an upcoming podcast. This can help you create something that is truly one-of-a-kind.
In addition, Carol Trice at ProBlogger says that podcasts can also help you make new friends and connections within your industry. You can bring on guest speakers to your podcast, which can help you network.
You can even send your podcast out to others in your industry, inviting them to join in and become a guest, or promote your show. No matter what, a podcast can really help when it comes to networking.
2. Podcasts are an Easier Content Medium Than You Think. A podcast does seem a bit intimidating doesn’t it? But don’t let that scary perception keep you away.
When you start to add a podcast to your content strategy, you will notice that it isn’t quite as difficult as it came across. Sure, you’ll need to do edits to help with flow, especially if you have more than one speaker, but there are many programs out there that can help.
3. You Get Audio Plus Text Content With Podcast Transcripts. Did you know that you can get more than one content form when you do a podcast? After you record the podcast, you should write up a transcript for readers.
Yes, this can mean a bit more work, but in the end, you will realize it is well worth it. Writing a simple transcription means that you can give your clients simple written content, as well as getting the added SEO benefit.
4. The Amount of People Listening to Podcasts is Growing. Podcasts have been part of content marketing for about ten or so years now but are only recently becoming more popular.
According to Edison Research, about 39 million people listened to podcasts in 2014, with 15% of Americans listened to one podcast each month. And it’s growing fast.
Photo courtesy edison research
They also show that the way people listened to podcasts shifted immensely.
Photo courtesy edison research
In 2013, 34% of listeners listened to podcasts on their smartphones or tablets with 64% listening on their computers. As of 2014, 51% listen on their smartphones or tablets with only 46% listening on the computer.
This goes hand-in-hand with mobile marketing and adding a podcast to your mobile content marketing strategy can really help you drive more traffic to your site.
5. It’s a Content Medium People Can Easily Consume While Doing Various Tasks. This point is absolutely amazing and shows just how important this content medium is. When you make a podcast, you are giving clients content that is easy to consume while doing regular life tasks.
These tasks can include working, mowing the lawn, doing housework, brushing our teeth, cooking dinner, and more.
People can listen to podcasts when they’re driving to work, if they are traveling for family vacation, or if they are sitting on their front porches sipping lemonade. Podcasts move with the person; they are available at all times and are easy to consume.
Videos and text are awesome, of course, but that chains people to their phones and desks. A podcast gives them the freedom to hit play, put their headphones in, put their phone up, and do other things.
What Do You Need for a Podcast?
Before I go, I want to give you a basic, “what you need” when you decide to start recording a podcast.
1. An Idea is the Best Place to Start. The first thing you need when you decide to start a podcast isn’t fancy equipment – it’s an idea. You need an idea of what you want, what you expect, and how you envision this podcast going.
Come up with topic ideas to discuss, ask clients for information they want to learn about, find guest speakers, and set up an idea for a schedule. Do you want it monthly? Weekly? Quarterly?
Will it be a fun, upbeat podcast? More serious? A mixture? Getting the general idea for all aspects will really help you get the most out of your audio content, helping you create something clients will enjoy.
2. You’ll Only Need Basic Recording Software in the Beginning. Again, you don’t need to start out with fancy equipment. It isn’t a necessity for a podcast, as any geek or nerd podcast show out there can tell you.
I’ve been a guest on a podcast and am getting ready to host my own, and I can tell you that simple equipment does create an awesome podcast.
All you really need is recording software and simple Apple headphones. If you have a Mac, you can easily use GarageBand for your recording needs. When it comes to PC owners (and even iOSX users who don’t like GB), you can use free software like Audacity.
3. Have an Outline Prepped and Sent Out Before the Podcast. Before recording, you should always do a test run to ensure all recording equipment is working. In addition, you will need to make sure you prepare.
Being overly prepared is actually a great idea for podcasts because that can really help keep the awkward pauses down to a minimum.
Create an outline for the show, have the questions you want to ask all written up, and make sure everything is easy to follow. Once you get that all done, send all of that info to your guest speakers.
This can help them answer the questions you’ve asked before the podcast starts and also give you a great chance to know what to expect.
Learning How to Start a Podcast Is Easy: Remember, The Video Didn’t Really Kill the Radio Star
Podcasts are an incredible content format, and definitely the hottest thing out there right now. Take some time to do more research in the realm of podcasting, and find a few you really like.
Once you find some favorites, don’t hesitate to contact those podcasters to learn any tips and tricks from them. You’ll find that a lot of people are willing to help each other out when it comes to recording awesome content.
In just a short time, you’ll go from learning how to start a podcast to how to celebrate when you get all those active subscribers.
Is script writing not something you’re skilled at? Our team at Express Writers can help provide you with great scripts that will be perfect for your podcasting needs.
There are people who visit your blog — and then vanish without a trace.
It’s not that they don’t love your content — they sure do. ❤️
Why wouldn’t they? Your posts are unique and relevant. Spectacular, even.
But there are over 1.7 billion websites out there right now. What’s more, there’s social media, instant messaging, push notifications hitting if they’re reading your blog on mobile, and a ton of other online distractions all competing for your reader’s attention.
When they leave your site, how do you make sure they bump into you again in the (hopefully near) future?
The answer is through an email subscription.
Want to know how to set up a blog email subscription to prevent your readers from vanishing without a trace?
Read on to learn how.
How to Set Up a Blog Email Subscription to Prevent Your Readers from Vanishing Without a Trace – Table of Contents
Why You Can’t Survive Without a Blog Email Subscription
Blog Email Subscription Is Important: The Case for Email Marketing
How to Set Up a Blog Email Subscription – Your Comprehensive Guide
1. Find the Right Subscription Service
ConvertKit
Mailchimp
AWeber
2. Create Your Landing Page or Form
How to Set Up a Landing Page
How to Set Up a Form
3. Get Your Email Sequence Ready
4. Add Your Landing Page or Form to Your Blog
How to Add a Form to WordPress
How to Add a Form to Blogger
How to Add a Landing Page to WordPress or Blogger
[bctt tweet=”Don’t let your content drown in the sea of over 1.7 billion websites . Your readers have been always waiting for your next killer post! Keep in touch with your readers by setting up a blog email subscription. ” username=”ExpWriters”]
Why You Can’t Survive Without a Blog Email Subscription
Your blog reader is like that girl you meet in a café in one romantic, rainy afternoon.
You gather up the courage to introduce yourself to her. She smiles and gives you her name. She seems genuinely interested in you, and you strike up a conversation. You buy her coffee. Maybe you even start picturing her walking down the aisle towards you in the future.
But what happens if you don’t ask her for her number?
You go home and completely lose track of her.
You can’t set up another date. Ask her how she is. Give her value and make her feel special. In short, she’s gone forever.
This is what happens when you don’t set up an email subscription on your blog. Your readers may feel interested in your blog content, but if you don’t ask them for a way to stay in touch with them, they’re going to disappear without a trace.
Blog Subscription IS Important: The Case for Email Marketing
But is it really worth it to set up a blog email subscription? Does email marketing even work?
So if you’re worried that marketing through email is so 2005, there’s no need to be.
[bctt tweet=”Is it worth it to set up a blog email subscription? YES! Email marketing converts 40x more prospects than social media, and there are 9 billion active email users today. ⚡” username=”ExpWriters”]
How to Set Up a Blog Email Subscription – Your Comprehensive Guide
Setting up a blog email subscription is as easy as following these four steps.
1. Find the Right Subscription Service
Before you can set up a blog email subscription, you need a service that allows you to create forms, landing pages, and customized emails. Here are three of the most popular subscription services today.
1. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is a user-friendly platform that allows you to automate emails, track conversion rates, and create personalized forms, landing pages, and emails. Check out this blog to see how ConvertKit increased our clicks by 200%!
2. Mailchimp
Mailchimp lets you put your best foot forward with emails that are professional, personalized, and concise. It also offers real-time analysis, connections to your online stores, and a content studio where you can store all your images.
3. AWeber
AWeber’s unique selling point is that it allows you to create beautiful templates without hassle. You don’t need expertise in email marketing to join the over 1,000,000 entrepreneurs and business owners who use this service.
[bctt tweet=”To set up a blog email subscription, start by finding the right subscription service. There’s a lot out there to choose from like ConvertKit (it’s what we use ), Mailchimp, and AWeber. ” username=”ExpWriters”]
2. Create Your Landing Page or Form
Your form or landing page is where you’ll ask your reader to exchange her email address for something of value. Let’s say you’ve chosen ConvertKit as your subscription service. Here’s how to set things up.
How to Set Up a Landing Page
Log into your ConvertKit account. On the top left toolbar, click Landing Pages and Forms.
Click Landing Page. You’ll then be asked to select from a number of templates. Pick the one that resonates with you the most.
If you aren’t sure which template to pick, take a look at the toolbar at the top of the template options. There are templates for e-books, events, newsletters, podcasts, and so on.
Once you’ve selected your template, it’s time to start customizing it! Here’s an example of what it’ll look like.
It’s super easy to edit each part of the landing page. Simply click on the area you want to change, type in your text, and you’re done! If you’re offering a freebie for download, click Choose a File on the top right of the page and upload it.
Remember, your ultimate goal is to make your readers want to give you their email addresses. To do that, offer them something in return. Here are some attention-grabbing freebies that work every time.
A free e-book. This can be 10 to 20 pages long. Pack it with tips, tools, and hacks that’ll improve your readers’ lives. Showing them your expertise will strengthen their faith in you (and push them towards wanting the product you’re selling).
A downloadable template. Templates make people’s lives easier. Using one is as simple as plugging your own information into a ready-made outline. So if you offer resume writing services, for instance, give those who opt in a free resume template that’s proven to work with employers.
A time-saving cheat sheet. Give readers the chance to improve their skills quickly with a cheat sheet. Cheat sheets work wonders because they contain a ton of information in a compact, easily digestible form.
When you’re finished creating your landing page, click Save.
A note about downloads: One great thing ConvertKit offers is email confirmation once a subscriber downloads your free offer. It helps you get rid of pesky double opt-in emails. So if your reader gives you her email address and downloads your freebie, her email address is automatically confirmed.
How to Set Up a Form
Click Landing Pages and Forms at the top left of your account and select Forms.
Next, select where on your blog you want the form to appear. Do you want it as a slide-in that catches viewers’ attention as they read? A sticky bar at the top of your content? A pop-up?
Once you’ve decided on the right format, click it, and customize it. When you’re done, click Save.
3. Get Your Email Sequence Ready
The next step is to create an email sequence. This is a set of emails that’ll be your voice to convert, inspire, and give real value to readers who give you their email addresses. On ConvertKit, it’s pretty easy.
First, click Sequences on the top left toolbar of the platform. Click New Sequence and give your sequence a name.
Click Create Sequence. You’ll then be able to edit your email to capture your unique message. Here’s what it looks like.
On the left side, click Add Email for as many emails as you plan to send in the sequence. For each email, choose when you want it to arrive in your recipient’s inbox.
Remember, make sure your email copy is as strong as possible. No amount of fancy gimmicks will interest readers to keep on clicking your emails if your content doesn’t give them anything of value. Here are some tips to keep in mind.
Get to the point as soon as you can. People won’t stick with you if you digress and add a lot of zero-value details to your email.
Imagine you’re writing to one person. Picture the person in the room with you. Know her desires, beliefs, and needs. Help her solve her problems. When you do, she’ll click the next email you send her. And the next.
Know your email’s goal. Do you want your reader to click back to your blog? Become a member of your special club? Buy something? Start with knowing your email’s main goal, and your copy will flow smoothly towards that goal.
Or read this powerful post and learn the email marketing secrets of 12 top experts in the industry.
When you’re done crafting your emails, click Save All.
4. Add Your Landing Page or Form to Your Blog
Now that you have your emails ready to send, it’s time to gather those email addresses. First, you have to add your landing form or page to your blog. Here’s how.
How to Add a Form to WordPress
To add a form to your blog, download the WordPress ConvertKit plugin. Here’s what it looks like.
After you’ve downloaded the plugin, upload it to your admin panel on WordPress. Upload the .zip file directly to your site and click Activate Panel.
Return to ConvertKit and find your API key. This can be located on your account page.
Copy your API key and return to WordPress. Paste the API key into the blank field.
Click Save Changes.
Now, return to ConvertKit and click Embed on the top right toolbar.
Select WordPress from the options displayed. You will be given a shortcode you can paste to any page or post on WordPress.
If you want a default form to show up in all of your posts, you can manage that on your Plugin Options.
How to Add a Form to Blogger
You don’t have to download anything to add your form to Blogger. Simply click Embed when you’ve finished editing your form and select HTML. Copy the given code.
On your Blogger platform, click Pages on the left toolbar. Select HTML and paste the code you copied from ConvertKit.
Click Update to complete the task.
How to Add a Landing Page to WordPress or Blogger
On the top right toolbar, click Share.
Copy the link and paste it anywhere you want it to appear on your blog. The landing page is hosted by ConvertKit.
If you want to host the page on your own site, you can do so if you’ve downloaded the ConvertKit WordPress plugin.
[bctt tweet=”Steps to set up a blog email subscription: find a subscription service, create a landing page/form, set up your email sequence, and add the landing page/form to your blog. Check this guide by @JuliaEMcCoy to learn the steps.” username=”ExpWriters”]
Set Up a Blog Email Subscription and Create Lasting Relationships with Readers
Let’s go back to the café.
You spend meaningful moments with the girl you met. You ask for her number and she gives it to you. Over the next months, you keep in touch with her. You enrich her life with value and gain her trust. In the end, you’re able to forge a strong, meaningful relationship with her.
That’s what it’s like when you set up a blog email subscription. Your aim is to build long, lasting relationships with readers. And it all starts with asking for their email addresses.
The cornerstone of great online content is great SEO.
And yet, without content there is no SEO. It’s an interesting complex.
Without great SEO content, no website can rank well, can’t be found by users, and can’t go viral on the web.
With this in mind, it’s clear that writers who want to develop their online brand and improve the functionality of their online content are essential, as well as their skill sets.
To help you achieve great SEO content, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite SEO writing tips to help you succeed. Read on to learn more.
10 Smart SEO Writing Tips for Better Content
Great content is the sum of its parts, and one of its most important parts is SEO. Unfortunately, many writers simply don’t understand how to take the (few) tenants of SEO and apply them to online copywriting.
Fortunately, those who want to learn can simply take the following SEO writing tips and plug them into their online content for better results, starting today:
1. Keep all of your content high-quality
Today’s publishers are under an intense amount of pressure. People want more content than ever before, and they want it faster than it’s often possible to produce it.
Because of this, many publishers and marketers weaken and start publishing low-quality content just to have published something. Unfortunately, this is the wrong way to go. While it may seem like low-quality content can be optimized just the same, it’s important to remember that great SEO goes much deeper than technical mumbo-jumbo.
While you may be able to use the same keyword phrase in low-quality content as you do high-quality content, its effect on your readers won’t be the same, and you’ll likely sacrifice some relevance and value as a result.
Keep in mind that, in the world of SEO, all good things begin with quality content. Without a quality piece of content to optimize, your SEO efforts won’t pack the punch they should, and your content risks falling flat on its face.
By insisting on publishing only high-quality content, you can help ensure that your readers will find value in your material and that all of the SEO work you do down the road serves to enhance an already powerful piece.
2. Keep your topic relevant to your audience
No matter what you’re writing, don’t lose sight of your audience.
Some writers have a tendency to drift off to unrelated topics in hopes of being engaging and unique to a wide assortment of readers, but this misses the mark entirely.
Instead of leaping from one point to the next, ensure that your content features a cohesive structure and that it’s all designed with your target audience in mind. Focus on what you’re writing and keep who you’re writing to in mind.
Unless your content has a well-defined target audience, it never really stands a chance of ranking well, and the likelihood that it will go viral in a particular segment or group is small. Make it simple.
With this in mind, do your homework. Research your target audience and find unique ways to speak to them in your online copy. Make it fun. People will know good quality writing when they see it, and they’ll know you’re talking to them when you take proactive steps to do so.
3. Experiment with formulas for your headlines
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but in the world of SEO it might sound more like this: “Imitation is the fastest path to success.”
You know that sites like BuzzFeed and Upworthy are famous for their click-bait headlines, and, if you’re like most readers, you’ve probably clicked a few yourself.
As it stands today, one of the most critical components of any piece of content is its headline. In addition to providing an SEO boost by featuring relevant long-tail keywords, a headline also has a dramatic impact on click-through-rate, which, in turn, has a significant impact on SEO.
With this in mind, it’s clear that you cannot afford to let your headlines slack. Because of this, you may want to try headline formulas and see where they get you.
While nobody is advocating that you steal your competition’s headlines, or borrow excessively from successful companies, taking note of what they do and applying it to your business is an excellent way to boost your headline success and influence your click-through rates in a positive way.
In light of this, get to work testing out negative headlines, lists, headlines that reference your audience, and those that inspire curiosity. When you find one that works well, play with variations of it. In addition to boosting your SEO, this will also make you a better writer.
4. Avoid overstuffing your content with keywords
Keep your eye on how many times you use your target keyword. While keyword density obsessions have slackened in the last several years, keywords still need to feel natural, and if they don’t, you’re liable to get penalized by Google.
A good rule of thumb is to stick to in a keyword for every 50 or 100 words of content. More than that, and it will sound redundant. Less than that, and your content won’t actually be optimized for the keyword.
Wherever you use your target keyword, keep it simple and to the point. Users will pick up on awkward keyword inclusion faster than you can say “hot potato,” and they’re willing to abandon your content because of it.
5. Break your content up into headers and subheaders
In addition to making your content easier for users to read, breaking it into headers and subheaders also helps your content look more appealing, and it can have some distinct SEO benefits, as well.
One of the best guidelines for this practice comes from WordPress’s powerful Yoast SEO plugin. This plugin, which evaluates on-page content for SEO and readability, generally recommends that there be no more than 300 words between headers or subheaders. This keeps content readable and skimmable for users.
6. Update your content on a regular basis
Updating your content can mean a few things. In some cases, it may simply mean publishing new content on a regular basis. In other settings, though, it can mean going back into older posts and updating them for relevance and accuracy today.
This is a critical tactic for anyone who publishes a lot of content and can help ensure that your content ranks well and continues to provide value to readers.
If you think about it, all content needs an update now and then. Either because statistics within it have changed or because a few simple switches can make it more relevant to a modern audience. By updating your content often, you can help ensure that you steer clear of unneeded SEO penalties while continuing to provide value and relevance to readers.
7. Meta descriptions are there for a reason
Meta descriptions are short pieces of content designed to help inform readers and search engines about your article. They are usually 160 characters or less in length and should contain your keywords.
While many writers either don’t create meta descriptions, or just copy and paste their descriptions from one piece of content to the next, creating unique, relevant, and well-written meta descriptions for all of your content can go a long way toward making it more valuable.
8. Make use of writing tools
Writing tools (like the aforementioned Yoast SEO plugin) can go a long way toward improving your online copywriting and helping you achieve better SEO.
In addition to Yoast, there are also spelling and grammar checkers like Grammarly, plagiarism checkers like Copyscape, and dozens (if not hundreds) of keyword research tools and topic analysis tools in between. (We’re building a tool that will have a deeper search than Copyscape for original content checking–Copyfind!)
While these tools may seem unneeded, they can go a long way toward improving your content and boosting your chances of ranking well in Google’s SERPs.
9. Keep your content original, always
This applies to your voice and your material.
While your voice should be unique to your brand, your content should be original, as well. All of it. This means no copying or borrowing from other sites, even your own.
While many writers believe that duplicate content isn’t an issue that could ever affect them, a Search Engine Land study reports that a whopping 29% of sites have a problem with duplicate content. With this in mind, run your content through a plagiarism checker (like Grammarly or Copyscape) before you publish it and be sure that your alt. descriptions and meta information are always unique and original.
10. Spice your content up with visuals
Visuals can help enhance the interest and relevance of your content, which can make it more useful for readers. With this in mind, grab an in-depth screenshot or a quality stock photo to illustrate your content’s key points and provide context.
SEO Writing Tips for the Modern Writer
While SEO best practices change like the weather, these ten SEO writing tips are here to stay and can help you craft quality online content your readers (and search engines) will love!
Do you need skilled SEO copywriters to help your content rank well online? Visit our Content Shop to find the perfect copywriters for your online project!
This week is the first week of our Q&As, a series we’ll be doing weekly with experts in our field, so we can learn and grow from their wisdom. Stay subscribed so you can read them weekly! We’re excited to present our first one: last week, we had the chance to (virtually) sit down with Adam Connell from Blogging Wizard. We asked him all about blogging—and he gave us some awesome insight and great blogging tips. It’s a must-read for any serious blogger.
We promise… you’re in for some awesome blogging advice!
Essential Blogging Tips: Interview with Adam Connell, Founder of Blogging Wizard & Julia McCoy
If you’re at any stage in blogging (just beginning, several years in the game, etc.) you’ll love what Adam has to say. Let’s get started!
1. What inspired you to create Blogging Wizard?
Before starting Blogging Wizard I’d launched a few different blogs and the success I’d had helped me land a marketing job. After working at the agency for a while I wanted an outlet to share what I was learning, and in particular help other bloggers. One night I woke up in the middle of the night and scribbled “Blogging Wizard” on a piece of paper and went to sleep. The following day I purchased the domain name and started planning.
2. Tell us a little about your success story.
Like most new blogs, it took a while to take off. Especially as I didn’t have much free time to grow Blogging Wizard. But as time went on I landed some good guest blogging opportunities on the likes of Problogger, and Search Engine Journal. I focused on connecting with other bloggers and began being featured in group interviews, as well as some coverage in HuffPost and CIO. In June 2014 I’d grown my blog to the point where I could leave my full time marketing job and focus 100% on blogging. Since then I’ve been mentioned on the likes of Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazine. At the moment I get around 60K-70K monthly readers.
3. What’s one piece of advice you would give someone just starting out in blogging?
The most important thing to get nailed down at the start is what you’re trying to achieve. If you don’t know where you’re going, how can you make sure that you get there? Sure, you might end up there by chance but if you take control of your goals, you can make sure it happens. The next step is to work backwards from your end goal and figure out exactly how you’re going to get there. Break everything down into smaller, more manageable steps. Look at it from a tactical level too. You want to grow your audience and be able to keep more people coming back to your blog, so what’s the best way to do that? For most blogs, it means building an email list! So once you know what to focus on, you can build your blog around it and prioritize other things like social media accordingly. For example, I get more traffic from my email list than my social following, despite my social following being larger. So while I still work on improving my social presence, my blog is geared more to encourage email sign ups than social follower growth. The bottom line is this: know what you want to achieve, break it down into smaller steps and you’ll achieve your goals much faster. These are my blogging tips.
4. What’s a good way a blogger can narrow down on the right audience?
First you need to make sure you’re in the right niche. I see so many blogs that start off so well and then fade into obscurity, this is usually because the blog owner has lost interest or they weren’t able to make the blog financially viable. So, start off right and consider 3 things – what you love, what you know and can you make money in that niche? Even if your goal isn’t to make money now, it may be in the future, after all, we’ve all got to put food on the table. The truth is that there’s usually a way you can make a blog profitable with some out of the box thinking, but when all other methods fail you can offer the skills you’ve attained as a blogger as a service – still, it’s good to consider revenue potential at the start. Having knowledge and experience you can draw upon is a valuable asset but I’m a big believer that you can learn anything you put your mind to, but the bottom line is that it helps. Above all else, the biggest consideration should be what you’re passionate about. You can make a success out of a blog that you’re not passionate for but it’s VERY challenging. And it defeats the point of starting a blog, most bloggers blog because they want to do what they love. By focusing on a niche you’re passionate about you will grow an audience faster (passion shows through in your writing) and you’ll be far more motivated to succeed. This is just the starting point though, the next step is to get as clear as possible on WHO you’re helping and HOW you’re going to help them. Be as specific as possible and really get to the core of who your target audience is. Creating an elevator pitch is a good idea, something like “I help ____ to _____”. For example, for a new project I’m working on, our elevator pitch is “we help solopreneurs streamline their life and streamline their business”. So get clear on who you’re helping and how you’re going to help them (i.e. the problems you’re going to solve) and your blog will grow so much faster. You’ll find it easier to speak to your audience and your audience will immediately see why they should follow your blog. To get clear on the WHO and the HOW, you could try to find online communities in your niche and ask people to fill in a survey. You can then use this data to flesh out some reader persona’s. But, you may find that you need to launch your blog initially and cast a somewhat larger net. This is because you learn so much more about your target audience after you launch your blog. Everything from email exchanges, comments and research for content ideas will teach you something more. After a while, you’ll start to clarify the vision for your blog.
5. What’s a good typical consistent blogging schedule for any business starting their blog?
Every industry is different and every target audience has their own unique dynamics. The best advice would be to publish content as often as your audience can consume it, but factor in content length too. The longer the content you publish, the longer it’ll take your readers to consume it. But, when you first launch a blog, it’s worth publishing more content over the first few months and then settling into a more consistent schedule afterwards.
6. What’s one tip you’d offer on writing an awesome blog post?
An awesome blog post is subjective but for me, I prefer to read blog posts that are usable. Actionable advice is key. The web is littered with blog posts that are surface level and for the most part, difficult to use. The main thing is that someone can read your post and implement some of your advice, without being left thinking “yeah, that’s great but how do I do that?”.
7. How would you describe the way SEO keywords should fit into blogging?
SEO in general cannot be ignored, unless you want to give up on the potential of thousands of extra targeted visitors. Looking at keywords is a great way to come up with proven topic ideas but when it comes to writing content, forget keywords. Use keywords to discover proven content using tools like SEMrush.com and BuzzSumo but above all else, ensure that your content is written for people above search engines. Search engines have evolved and engagement metrics (e.g. pogosticking between search results) will show search engines what people think of your content.
8. What’s one thing important to keep in mind about blogging specifically in 2015?
This isn’t anything new for 2015 but it’s important. The web is a noisy place and with blogging becoming increasingly popular, it’s becoming more difficult to rise above the noise. This means we’ve got to keep trying out new things and pushing boundaries to ensure we cut through the noise.
9. How would you say blogging fits into the content marketing sphere this year? For one, it’s vital, right?
As a blogger, I’d say it was vital but the truth is that it all comes down to what you want to achieve. And there are some businesses that aren’t a good fit for blogging, a good example is a client I worked with in the financial sector, they had restrictions on what they could share on the web, so much so that they couldn’t start a blog. Starting a blog is a huge investment and it’s not a quick content marketing fix; It takes time to start seeing results. But, if blogging makes sense for your business and you’re ready to focus on creating a long term, viable business – Blogging is vital.
10. We love the content you share! Thanks for being a great inspiration in the content marketing community and sharing your blogging tips.
My pleasure, thanks for inviting me to take part in the interview Julia! Adam Connell is the Founder of Blogging Wizard and Marketing Director at UK Linkology. He spends his time helping others get more visibility online.
