If you’ve been in business and online marketing for any length of time you will hear about how to effectively repurpose blog posts and some of them are great ideas, others aren’t worth the effort you will put into them. Your blog posts are your greatest source of marketing strategy inspiration. Your blog posts should be looked at as the hub of all your marketing.
A blog is the content from which all other content flows and grows. Create a great blog post and you will have an ideal tool for your entire marketing plan. Yes, your blog means that much.
How To Effectively Repurpose Blog Posts
When we say “repurpose” we don’t mean you go in and copy and paste the content and change the headline. You need to truly “repurpose” to make it effective. Here are our best strategies. When repurposing, check your Google Analytics and repurpose the posts that had the most traffic.
Turn the blog post into a different medium. The blog could be a video with you sharing bullet points. It could be short audio. Turn the bullet points into images or memes. Take two posts that have similar content and put them into a long post — compounding — the high ranking posts with similar content makes that content seem more valuable to a reader.
Look at your highest performers and turn them into a lead magnet. Building your email newsletter list should be a priority for 2021. A newsletter list is a business’s most valuable asset.
Turn a post into an infographic. If you have a high performing post that has great bullet points that would lend themselves to an infographic, make one and share that out as new content or use as a lead magnet.
Look at content and see if it lends itself to a guide or tutorial. If you have enough content that can build upon one another and be a valuable resource for potential or current clients, turn it into a video, audio or written tutorial or guide book.
Post a snippet or a rewritten piece of your content onto other sites like EZine articles or Medium, to name two.
Are there secrets to writing great blog posts? Yes, and no. They aren’t actual secrets, but they are tried and true strategies that just might get eyes on your post and customers through your doors! How to write a great blog post isn’t a secret, but there is a formula.
The coronavirus pandemic and shut down of the country has meant many entrepreneurs have had to pivot and refocus the way they do business. No longer can you meet at a networking event or over a cup of coffee. Zoom has become the norm and the blog on your website has become your calling card.
How To Write A Great Blog Post
We have these tips to make your blog posts better and bring in new connections.
Be niche. When you choose a general topic like “swimming pools” you will be lost in a sea (pun intended) of other “swimming pool” posts. If you niche down to “infinity edge swimming pool contractors” you’re getting closer. How about “infinity edge swimming pool contractors in New York.” Now you’re niched. Know your niche and write to that. Don’t try to be everything to every one. You just won’t win.
Write a “compare and contrast” post. People love side-by-side comparisons. This doesn’t mean you need to trash the competition, you can just show how your product or service rises above the rest.
Solve a problem. Why do your customers come to you? Whether it’s for a haircut, a pizza, to buy widgets or get their pool cleaned or find a business coach – find what sets you apart and what problem you solve for them. Write about that.
Teach them something. Give the reader a reason to invest their time and attention to your blog post and teach them something they can use when they are done. You won’t be giving away all your insider secrets, but you will be a trusted resource who offers tips your reader can use – they will remember that.
Share success stories. You can highlight your customers and share their success stories. Interview a customer and show their before and after once they’ve worked with you or bought your product. Once you share their story they will share it with their friends!
Let your creativity shine. Let your reader know who you are and why you do what you do. Give them a peek behind the curtain into your business. Everyone loves that insider peek!
If you’re struggling with your content, reach out to us, we can help!
What are the secrets to great SEO? There really aren’t any! We know you were hoping we were going to open the big vault of search engine optimization secrets, but in reality — getting your blogs and website found is a concerted and diligent effort.
SEO can do a LOT for your business, but you need to know how to care, feed and grow it.
To improve your website copy and its searchability you need to know:
What terms are people using to find you
What terms do you want to be found for
Do you want to use local search or are you an online business so location doesn’t matter as much
The Secrets To Great SEO
Let’s start with your blog:
Optimize the title. Make the blog title be something people would search for. This blog post title for example is searchable. If I’d written: SEO is a secret that can get your blog found…What? First of all it’s too long. Second it’s not a search phrase that someone would use intuitively.
Use tags in your post. Use an H2 tag with your blog post in the body of the content. The H2 helps your blog rank in a search and it also breaks up the text and makes it easier for your audience to read.
The optimal length of a blog post title is a topic that is debated. Some say it should be 60-100 characters (including spaces) or six words (six words is easy to read on mobile).
Long-tail keywords should be in the blog (in this one it’s great SEO)
Use a tool like SEO by Yoast as a way to help optimize your content for search.
When you add an image, use alt text tags. Use the blog title and a meta description of the image. For this post, for example: Alt text could be: Great SEO; the image title could be: SEO secrets; the meta description could be: Word game tiles spell SEO – Secrets To Great SEO. These steps can boost searchability.
Focus on long-tail keywords. For example. This title could be optimized by “secrets to great SEO” a long tail keyword could be “secrets to great SEO for swimming pool contractors.” You’re making the title specific and if the swimming pool contractor wants to know how to amp up his or her SEO, he would likely add “swimming pool contractor” to his or her search.
Make the post long enough. Post length again is a hotly debated concept. They should be AT LEAST 350 words. Some people believe consumers want LONG blog posts — in the 2-3,000 range. Others feel that shorter is better because readers are busy and are consuming your blog on their phone or tablet. You need to test it for yourself until you hit on the right combination.
SEO is an ever-moving target. If you’re focusing on your business and your core competency you may want to outsource your blogging and social media and SEO tasks to an experienced professional. Give Rex Richard a call or contact him through his site, or leave a comment on his blog — he can help!
Coronavirus has brought about many changes for many people. One of those changes is a switch from working in an office to working from a home office. Many people who are working from home don’t even have a home office – they are lucky to grab a corner of the kitchen table! How to work effectively from home is something many people had to learn the hard way.
How can you be effective if you have to work from home, or are working from home because of the COVID-19 quarantine. When you’re home, there are so many distractions – the pets, the laundry, vacuuming, errands, the television and many others.
How To Work Effectively From Home
If you’re still wondering how to be more effective, or if you’re looking to strike out on your own as an entrepreneur, these tips are for you.
Be reasonable in your expectations. Chances are you won’t get as much done in an eight-hour day at home as you would have if you were in the office cubicle. Yes, you will be saving on the commute time, but you are still faced with home distractions and it’s easy to linger over that cup of coffee until your work hours don’t start until 10 am or later!
Set a routine. Get up. Get dressed. Act as though you were going into the office. Set your office hours, start time, stop time, lunch time and breaks. Stick to them. A routine will help you get more done and be more effective in your day.
Get on track. If you set yourself up for failure by thinking you’d get more done than you could, be more realistic goals. Working from home, no matter if you have a dedicated space, is a challenge for many. Add to the mix, if you have children who are home from school because of the shut-down and you can see how you may not meet all the goals set.
Get up and move around. Set a timer if you have to at the top of every hour to remind yourself to get up and get moving. Don’t eat at your desk. Walk the dog. Do jumping jacks. Move! It will keep the blood flowing, help you stay healthier and keep your ideas moving.
Work in a space that inspires you. If you can get outdoors and sit and work and that is an inspiration, then do it. Your “desk” doesn’t have to be a desk. Find a place in your house that makes you happy and work from there. Your work space will help set the mood for your day.
Enjoy this time at home and embrace the changes in your workday and your routine. This is an unprecedented time and we hope you find a way to make the most of it.
Is there one be-all-end-all strategy for blog writing and marketing? Not really, but we share our top blog success strategies to help get your blog, your content and more importantly your business noticed.
Remember that your content needs to be as unique as you are. The content you write needs to be in your voice and share your unique perspective and expertise.
Top Blog Success Strategies
Here are three tactics to employ when you write a blog post for your business:
Tell a story. Storytelling is as old as time and it draws readers in. It’s not that you’re writing fiction on your blog, but you can share the information in a way that is engaging as well as enlightening. When you tell a story, don’t forget to add in your keywords and key phrases to help with your SEO, but don’t make that the entire focus. When telling a story, think about how a potential reader, ie customer, would search for your business. “What is the history of swimming pools” or “How do I have a pool constructed” to “Where can I find a pool contractor?” Each of these titles could be turned into a story and also help you get found in a search.
What is your unique selling proposition, also known as your USP? What do you do better than anyone else? If you’re selling the same widgets as your competition, what makes your widgets better? It’s your story, your connection to the widget industry. What makes you and your widgets remarkable? (Remember, your USP is NOT that you’re the lowest price in town)
Think about how you can seamlessly work “want to buy my XYZ” into your blog post? The goal of your post, I imagine, is to make a sale or bring on a customer, correct? If that’s the case the reader needs to know they can buy from you or work with you. When creating content keep these three audiences in mind: Newbies, intermediate and experts about your product or industry. Share content that appeals to each group. It’s easiest to do this if you’re working from an editorial calendar so you can create content that will share info for the reader, no matter his or her level of insight into your industry.
How focused is your blog strategy? How strong are your storytelling skills when it comes to your blog post writing? If you’re in need of assistance with creating a blog strategy, reaching your ideal audience/reader and to implementing an editorial calendar strategy, reach out to us, we can help.
Show me the money! That is a famous line from a movie and while you may not be screaming that every time you write a blog post you may be wondering how to monetize your blog, right? Your blog is your company’s 24/7/365 calling card. It is where you share your expertise and your insight. It is the place you direct potential clients so they can see who you are and “hear” your tone.
Your blog also feeds new content to your website and that makes Google think you’re continually adding new content and that’s a great thing.
How To Monetize Your Blog
Here are a few ways you may be able to earn a little bit of money (in some cases, quite a bit of money) from your blog and that will help with the effort and time and, yes, money you put into it.
Affiliate marketing. You can be an Amazon affiliate and if you mention products in your blog post you can link to Amazon and potentially earn affiliate money. You could also partner with a business or a product or service provider who offers affiliate programs if you sell their programs or services.
You can sell advertising space on your site. Be aware that you will need to show a potential advertiser that you have the traffic to warrant their wanting to buy space on your site. Another way to sell ad space is to place ads on your site for products you endorse and you may earn a percentage of sales made when someone clicks on the ad on your site.
Write and sell ebooks. If you have an area of expertise that lends itself to books, write a few. Hire a ghostwriter to write them for you. The books don’t need to be long, short ebooks are popular. Ask us for information if you need a ghostwriter.
If you have a business model that lends itself to a membership site, sell paid membership plans. When you do this, you will need to offer the members perks they can’t get elsewhere, classes, downloads, online sessions with you, etc.
Write a sponsored blog post. Sometimes you may be approached by a brand who will pay you to write have one of their blog posts on your site. This is ideal if you agree with their product or service and their brand. For example if you write a vegetarian living blog, you won’t want to agree to a guest post on the merits of eating beef.
Have you ever looked into ways to make your blog “pay”? If so, how did it work out? What were your challenges? If you’re still searching for inspiration, reach out. We can help!
