How Do I Market My Blog?
There are literally millions of blog posts added to the blogosphere every day. It can be a powerful tool and contribute significantly to your SEO efforts, but…. Every Day??!!??
Let’s examine some Fact and Fiction when it comes to blogging – including whether you actually need to blog every day (spoiler alert: you don’t).
Blogging Fiction #1
If you write it, they will come.
False.
Pithy prose. Relevant information. Well-researched facts. These are all important elements to an effective blog post, but they are not enough to bring your blog to the people.
Blogging Fact #1
People will only read your blog if they can find it. Think of your blog as a service. You need to market it.
You’ll need to invest nearly as much time sharing your blog as you do writing it. Share your posts on multiple social media channels and track your analytics to see what days and times are leading to the most views.
Blogging Fiction #2
Social media is better than email for promoting your blog.
If your goal is to connect with new people then social media is a good place to be. However…
Blogging Fact #2
…if your goal is to grow your audience through genuine connection, then email is a powerful tool for promoting your blog.
You have a carefully-curated list of people who have opted-in to your content. They have asked you to share your knowledge with them by sharing their email address with you.
To build loyalty among your email list build in some exclusives for those who have chosen to opt-in.
• Personalize your emails to them by using their name and sending “bonus” posts that speak directly to their industry (if you’ve collected that information from them).
• Email your blog posts to your list a day before posting it to your site. Embed social links in the email copy so users can share your post easily on their social accounts. This allows them to stand out as thought leaders by sharing the content to their networks a day before you make it widely available.
• Make special, unadvertised, offers to your email list to reward their loyalty.
But how do I go about building a solid list when I’m just getting started? This requires a little heavy lifting on your part, but nothing you can’t handle. Try adding pop ups or slide-ins to your posts that invite people to join your email list. Include a persuasive call to action that really speaks to your audience’s needs, and encourage them to sign up for more great posts like the one they’re reading.
Blogging Fiction #3
SEO for blogs is super-easy; load each post with keywords and links to make it easy for web crawlers to find you.
Today’s search engine algorithms are sophisticated. They’re not going to fall for the old keyword-stuffing trick. Plus, a blog post loaded with keywords is really awkward to read.
Blogging Fact #3
The customer – not the content – is king. Write for the actual humans who will read, comment on, and share your blog, not for the fickle computer algorithms that change their mind every day about which posts make it to Page 1.
Believe it or not, over-optimizing your page can actually lead to penalties from the major search engines, including Google. Tools like Yoast can help by “reading” your post and giving you insight into keyword (over)usage, meta descriptions, and title lengths for SEO.
In addition to thoughtful SEO efforts, optimize your site for sharing. Make it easy for your audience to share your content with easy-to-find sharing buttons and a call to action for sharing on their social networks. Tools like Open Graph and Knowledge Graph can help optimize your shared content so it appears as you would like it to in social sites.
Blogging Fiction #4
(we’ve saved the most egregious for last)
Blog every day to ensure you stay at the top of the search results and top-of-mind with your audience.
Blogging Fact #4
You will get BURNT OUT! Trying to blog every day is an impossible task. It’s not just the research, writing, editing, and optimizing that take time and brain power. It’s also the marketing that goes into making your blog work for you that requires your attention.
There are literally not enough hours in the day to do this well.
The goal is to blog consistently. For some people, that might be as often as 3 times each week. For others, it may be twice each month. Regardless of your schedule, define it, then stick to it. The truth is, sometimes less is more. It builds anticipation in your audience and they’re excited to see your posts. You double that excitement when you provide well-researched and well-written posts that actually speak to them.
Bonus Fact: Hiring a content writer for your blog is usually a good investment. It takes a little time up front for you both to get in sync and for them to learn your voice, but you’ll quickly discover how much more you can get done when you don’t have the full responsibility of your blog on your shoulders.