Intro to Blogging for Small Business
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Transcript of Intro to Blogging for Small Business
Intro to Blogging for
Small Business
Catherine MorganBusiness Consultant | Career Transition Expert
Point A to Point B Transitions Inc.
Starting your blog
Why have a blog?
• Thought leadership
• Differentiation
• SEO
Tell your story
• Manage your message
• Attract ideal clients
Differentiate your business
• Why are you different?
• Why are you better?
Answer FAQs
• What questions are you always answering during the sales process?
– Create content around these topics
Your team, the face of your business
• When possible, use the real faces of your team – not stock photos
• Showcase individual team members
• Add pictures to executive bios
Rank for specific terms
• What do people type into search?
– Example: job search vs. career transition
Maintaining your blog
Anatomy of a blog post
• Short form – 450-750 words
• Long form – more than 1,500
• Posts should always have a great picture
– Posts with pictures get shared more
– Some experts suggest multiple pictures
• Think about your key word(s) and incorporate into text several times
– But not so many that the reader can tell!
Compelling headlines lead to clicks
• Lists
– Top 10 Tips for Staying Productive at Work
– 3 Reasons to Quit Your Job Right Now
• Don’t do this
– How to Irritate a Podcast Host
– “Didn’t Get the Gig? Maybe It’s ‘Cause Ur Illiterate.”(By Catherine Morgan)
• X things not to do
– Don’t Do These 3 Things If You Want to Be Rich
Include hyperlinks
• Are you referencing someone else’s content? Make sure you link to it!
– You can include links to your own content as well
Online writing best practices
• Enable visual scanning
– Pictures
– Subheads
– Bullet lists
– Short paragraphs
• 1-4 lines – no more
Are you stuck for topics?
• AnswerthePublic.com
• Hubspot’s blog topic generator
• Chris Brogan’s 100 blog topics
• Your inbox
– What questions are your customers asking?
Content calendar
• Commit to publishing dates
• Spread out different kinds of content
– Small business content example:
• Marketing
• Selling
• Customer service
• Social media
• Mindset
• Productivity
Switch it up – embed media
• Embed podcasts or videos
– Google owns YouTube and may rank posts with videos higher
Guest blogging – sharing the wealth
• Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media always says you shouldn’t blog alone
– “Guest Blogging: The Right Way to Pitch a Blog Editor” (by Catherine Morgan)
Posting your content elsewhere
• Can you syndicate your content?
– Related websites? Article databases?
Getting the word out
Promote more than you think
• Derek Halpern of Social Triggers says:
– Create 20%
– Promote 80%
One possible promotion schedule
– Tweet 2-3 times the first day 8-12 hours apart (says Guy Kawasaki)
– Continue to promote periodically going forward (if evergreen content)
– If you have a business page, pay $5 (or more) to promote FB post so people actually see it
• Organic reach is ~ 10% (!)
– Share it on your timeline from your page
Reposting on LinkedIn
• If you’re a thought leader:
– Post first on your blog
– Wait 3 days (so it gets indexed by search engines) THEN post on LinkedIn Pulse
– Promote it both times (and promote again periodically, if evergreen)
– Include a short bio at the end of your post on LinkedIn for people who aren’t connected to you
Promotion pro tips
• Reach out to people who create similar content and target a similar audience
– Ask them if they would share your post
– Remember to return the favor with their stuff
• Team up with others and support each other on an ongoing basis!
– That’s a big win-win
• Tag people if you have a relationship
Repurposing content
• Social media posts
• Memes
• Short videos
• Podcasts
• Interviews
Questions?
Catherine Morgan
Business Consultant | Career Transition Expert
Point A to Point B Transitions Inc.
877.672.5333
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/pointatopointb
Twitter @PointA_PointB