Are You Blogging Effectively?(Tips To Blog Your Way To Victory)

by Dhawal Shah

Today’s Talk

• Introduction• The Big Picture• Blog Post Breakdown• The Most Important Item• Time for M&Ms• Questions

Purple Boxes are sharing Industry Secrets of Blogging

Introduction

About Me• Started programming at age of 8

• First blogs on ‘Friendster’ at age of 17

• Worked in Silicon Valley [2008]

• Worked in Defense Industry [2010]

• Started Hucklebury (Fashion Label) [2012]– Art of Style Blog (100K Monthly PageViews)

• Started 2Stallions (Digital Agency) [2012]

What is a blog?

• Wikipedia:“A blog (full form: web log)[1] is a discussion or informational site published on the World Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent post appears first)”

Platforms

The Big Picture

The Big Picture

• Step 1:Your Niche(Specific Theme)

Example (Art of Style)

Fashion

Men’s Fashion

Fashion & Style for the Everyday Man

The Big Picture

• Step 2:Identify Your Audience(Age / Sex / Location )

Example (Art of Style)

• Age: Working Professionals (25 – 55)

• Sex: Male

• Location: United States

The Big Picture

• Step 3:Content Strategy Part 1(Keywords)

Example (Art of Style)

• Keywords:Dress Shirts: Fit, Back Darts, Sleeves, Collars, Cuffs, Style, Shirt Length, Body Type, etc.

Pants, Suits, Vests, Ties, Shoes, Brands, etc.

Find out how many people are looking for your keywords using Google Keyword Planner

The Big Picture

• Step 4:Content Strategy Part 2(Actual Topics & Scheduling)

Example (Art of Style)

• Once a Week– Articles based on keyword research, reader

feedback & popular topics

Use Google Calendar or Content Scheduler Plugin for Wordpress to plan your topics and maintain your schedule, especially if working in a team.

The Big Picture

• Step 5:Find & Engage Influencers & Networks(bloggers, personalities, fb/g+ groups, forums)

Example (Art of Style)

• Joined groups in Google+ around Fashion and fashion for men

• Reached out to fashion bloggers for interviews

Example (Cat Welfare)

• Find a relevant group to engage with

• Reach out to FB Page owners via messages/posts

Meet New People (video)

YouTube: Social Triggers - Meet New People

Blog Post Breakdown

Creating A Blog Post

Blog Post Breakdown: Title

• 70 Characters Long (Including Blog Title)• Your ‘hook’ for your readers

Catchy Titles That ‘Hook’

• Ask a Question– Are You Practicing Energy Savings Correctly?– Undershirts – Yeay or Nay?

• Use Lists & Numbers– 7 Steps to Write Killer Blog Post Titles– Top 5 Luxury Watch Brands Today

• Insider Info– Ultimate Guide to Removing Your Carbon Footprint

• Provide ‘Takeaway’ Value– How I Grew My Blog To 30K Readers With $0

Examples

Bad Example That ‘Works’:

Blog Post Breakdown: Content I

• Minimum 400 words (for SEO)• Your ‘reel’ is the first paragraph

Blog Post Breakdown: Content II

• Use different media to keep posts fresh– Use video posts, infographics etc.

Blog Post Breakdown: Content III

• Use sub-headings– Allow readers to glance through

• Use Images with each sub-heading– Pictures speak a thousand words– Reinforce sub-headings

• Maintain constant ‘voice’ of blog– Loyal readers know what to expect

Example

The Most Important Item

The Most Important Item…

ATTRACTING READERS!!

Reach An Audience

• Social Sharing on Site– on your own networks– get friends/family to share

Reach An Audience

• Start & Respond To Discussions – Comments on blog and on social media networks

We recommend Disqus Plugin for Wordpress to engage readers – it allows login via different social media platforms and shares

your posts across other sites using their service.

Reach An Audience

• Influencer Sharing– Reach a targeted audience that is more engaged

Influencer(41 shares / 2 reshares)

vs.

ME(0 shares / 0 reshares)

Reach An Audience

• Organic Readers Through SEO– Search Engine Optimization

SEO Basics

• Include keyword in blog post title • Include keyword in blog post first paragraph• Add a meta description

We recommend Wordpress SEO Plugin for Wordpress to meet the basic SEO needs for your blog posts. Also, read up on Google Authorship to get your profile image to

appear.

Know Your Audience• Website Analytics

WHO is reading your blog (demographic)WHERE they came from (referrals)WHEN they left your blog (time spent onsite)HOW they left your blog (visitor path)

How To Use Analytics

• Set Goals – e.g. signup to email list

• Improve Content – See what searches brought users to your site

• Improve Website– Find out where readers are leaving from– Improve page-loading time

We recommend Google Analytics Dashboard Plugin for Wordpress to view your analytics directly within Wordpress. Sign up for a Google Analytics account first.

Time for M&Ms

Q&A

Questions?

Register in our forum - http://2stallions.com/forums

Our team will answer all of your questions during The Media Challenge period.

To access these slides – http://slideshare.net/2stallionsList of Resources Mentioned –

http://bit.ly/tmc2014