Blogging is the cornerstone of content marketing. This presentation is packed with advice for planning, writing and optimizing your business blog to reach and engage a larger audience.
2. OF MARKETERS PLAN
TO INCREASE THEIR
USE OF BLOGGING68%
Blogging is the top area marketers invested in āØ
in 2014.
More than half of marketers (58%) selected
original written content as their most important
content, followed by original visual assets (19%)
and then original videos (12%).
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/SocialMediaMarketingIndustryReport2014.pdf
3. ā¢ RAISE AWARENESS
ā¢ INCREASE WEB TRAFFIC
ā¢ START CONVERSATIONS
ā¢ ESTABLISH TRUST
ā¢ DEVELOP AUTHORITY
BENEFITS OF A BUSINESS BLOG
4. 4
ā¢ An easy way to update your site regularly
ā¢ Owned media ā feature your company branding
ā¢ Ideal for developing a company voice
ā¢ Real-time
ā¢ The best way to support a variety of media types
ā¢ Easily distributed via multiple channels
ā¢ A destination for prospects and customers
ā¢ Easy to measure and reļ¬ne
BLOG FEATURES
5. BAD FOR BLOGGINGāØ
ā¢ Lacking the time, talent or
commitment
ā¢ Not willing to be open with
information/complex approval
processes
ā¢ Unwilling to experiment
IS BLOGGING A FIT FOR YOUR COMPANY?
GOOD FOR BLOGGINGāØ
ā¢ Eager to build community around
relevant topics
ā¢ Integral to your social media āØ
strategy
ā¢ Aiming to improve āØ
search rankings
6. AFS BLOGGING - 2014
USEFUL &
INSPIRATIONAL
Your blog should be so useful,
and inspirational that your readers
want to hear from you again and again.
Your articles should be so helpful that your readers āØ
want to share them with their colleagues and friends. āØ
āØ
Thatās how you raise your companyās online proļ¬le.āØ
āØ
~ Henneke Duistermaat
7. AFS BLOGGING - 2014
OBJECTIVES
DETERMINE YOUR BLOGāS BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
BUILD THE BRAND
EXPAND REACH
SUPPORT SALES
POSITION SENIOR EXECUTIVES
8. AFS BLOGGING - 2014
ā¢ Articulate your approach to the content
and industry.
ā¢ Clearly deļ¬ne who the content is for.
ā¢ State how the content will satisfy the
needs of the readership.
CONTENT āØ
MISSION āØ
Example:
American Express OPEN Forum: āØ
Help entrepreneurs share ideas, get and give advice, āØ
and discuss experiences leading to small business success.
STATEMENT
9. AFS BLOGGING - 2014
TOPICS & FEATURES
Create a list of topics and regular features āØ
Key content categories to be included regularlyādescribe the focus. āØ
Ensure your content aligns with business goals and readersā needs.āØ
10. AFS BLOGGING - 2014
You need to deļ¬ne a voice
and strive for consistency.
ā¢ Have a personality
ā¢ Tell a story
ā¢ Be contextually relevant
ā¢ Sound like a real person
ā¢ Have a point of view
ā¢ Avoid corporate-speak
VOICE
11. AFS BLOGGING - 2014 11AFS BLOGGING - 2014
ANAUDIENCE OF
ONEImagine having a conversion...
with one ideal reader.
What does she think?āØ
How does he feel?āØ
What questions will they have?
12. AFS BLOGGING - 2014
Ditch
the pitch.
The idea is to teach, not preach. āØ
Start a conversation.
13. AFS BLOGGING - 2014
IDEAS FOR GENERATING IDEAS
What are you ideal readersā
business or personal objectives?
What prevents readers from
achieving their goals?
What questions do readers have
about your industry, products and
services?
What decisions does a reader āØ
have to make?
1
14. AFS BLOGGING - 2014
IDEAS FOR GENERATING IDEAS
What mistakes are āØ
readers making?
How can you help readers turn
weaknesses into strengths?
What tips would make life easier?
What are inļ¬uencers creating
content about? Whatās trending?
2
15. AFS BLOGGING - 2014 15
Headlines.
Essentials.
Write a headline to āØ
ā¢ grab attention
ā¢Ā arouse curiosity
ā¢Ā and promise a beneļ¬t
16. 16
Headlines.
Cheat sheet.
Helpful
Emotion
Ask
Doās and donāts
List
Inspire
Nightmare
Empathy
Success
http://feldmancreative.com/2013/12/headlines-9-letter-cheat-sheet-writing-winner-every-time/
A Nine-Letter Cheat Sheet for Writing a Winner Every Time
17. Headlines..
Templates.
HOW TO [ACHIEVE SOMETHING].
## WAYS TO [ACHIEVE SOMETHING].
SIGNS YOUR [YOUR SOMETHING] IS BAD.
MISTAKES THAT [CAUSE A NEGATIVE
RESULT].
THE SECRET FOR GETTING [RESULT].
THE TRUTH ABOUT [SOMETHING].
IMPROVE [SOMETHING] IN A
[SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD].
THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO
[ACHIEVE A SPECIFIC RESULT].
DO YOU SUFFER FROM [PROBLEM]
WHEN [SPECIFIC SITUATION]?
THIS, THAT, AND THE POINT OF THE
STORY.
HOW TO [ACHIEVE SOMETHING].
17
18. Headlines.
Examples.
HOW TO [ACHIEVE SOMETHING].
THE TRUTH ABOUT [SOMETHING].
## WAYS TO [ACHIEVE SOMETHING].
SIGNS YOUR [YOUR SOMETHING IS BAD].
# MISTAKES THAT [CAUSE A NEGATIVE
RESULT].
THE SECRET FOR GETTING [RESULT].
IMPROVE [SOMETHING] IN A
[SPECIFIC TIME PERIOD].
[ACHIEVE RESULT] WITH THE MOST
EFFECTIVE WAY [TO DO SOMETHING]
.
DO YOU SUFFER FROM [PROBLEM]
WHEN [SPECIFIC SITUATION]?
How to Become a Successful
Blogger in 180 minutes.
10 Ways to Write a Headline that
Captures Your Readers.
Obvious Signs Your Website Fails to
Attract and Convert Prospects.
The Truth About Online Marketing
(Your Agency Wonāt Tell You).
7 Common Blogging Mistakes that
Repel Readers.
The Secret to Building Authority
Through Your Blog.
Are You Sweating Bullets When
Your Article Is Due?
Go From Clueless to Killer With
Your Blogging in 5 Days.
Double Your Social Shares With the
Most Effective Headline Templates .
THIS, THAT, AND THE POINT OF THE
STORY.
Daydreams, Smelling Salts, and the
Blog Posts that Inspire Readers.
THE TRUTH ABOUT [SOMETHING].
HOW TO [ACHIEVE SOMETHING].
http://boostblogtraļ¬c.com/headline-hacks/
MORE
18
19. 19
Headlines.
Tips.
Use a template
Start with āhow to _______ā
Use them loosely, experiment
Write 10 or more
Swap words in and out
Create a swipe ļ¬le
Try colons
Try parenthetical statements
Practice
Incubate
Get opinions
Would I read that?
Check the emotional value
http://www.aminstitute.com/
20. 20
Talk to, not at, your reader
āYouā and āIā
Ask questions
Use contractions
86 the jargon
Anecdotes
I āfeelā you
Honest
Self-deprecation
WRITE āØ
CONVERSATIONALLY
Writing.
Tips.
1
21. AFS BLOGGING - 2014 21
Replace predictable with precise
words
Activate with verbs
Use adjectives sparingly
Choose sensory words
Delete dead weight: actually, really,
etc.
Nix bland or soft words: nice, bad
TURN ON āØ
THEWORD POWER
Writing.
Tips.
2
22. AFS BLOGGING - 2014 22
Writing.
Tips.
Read your writing aloud
Vary sentence length
Bam
One word and staccato sentences
Shorter paragraphs
GET SOME RHYTHM3
23. AFS BLOGGING - 2014 23
WRITEASTRONGāØ
INTRODUCTION
Empathize with the reader
āYouāre in the right placeā
Introduce the gap: now and soon
Foreshadow the journey
Or tell a story
Transfer some conļ¬dence
Deliver an irresistible āwhyā
āØ
A common practice is to write āØ
the opening paragraph last.
Strong opening.
Strong close.
1
24. 24
WRITEASTRONGāØ
FIRST SENTENCE
The job of each sentence is to āØ
move the reader to the next one.āØ
Strong opening.
Strong close.
2
Make it short.
Make it fun.
25. 25
WRITEASTRONGāØ
CONCLUSION
Strong opening.
Strong close.
3 The objective is to inspire action.
Overcome objections
Make the request small
Aim for some zing
1/2/3
Alliteration
Repetition
Clear direction
Call to action: do business
āØ
And you often invite the reader to respond.
27. 27
Editing.
Tips. Cut āthatā out (and āthereā and āthisā)
Nix āingā
Reduce redundancies
Remove jargon, increase clarity
Purge the passive voice
Kill nothing phrases
Break up long sentences
Cut self-indulgence
Avoid the ātodayā stamp (these days, currently)
Add quotes and links
Add questions
Upgrade verbs
Strengthen point of view
Use examples (and images)
Mix it up
REFINING THEāØ
FIRST DRAFT
2
http://feldmancreative.com/2014/06/copy-editing-tips-improve-your-writing/
29. AFS BLOGGING - 2014 29AFS BLOGGING - 2014
Permalink
Title
Body copy includes keywords
Derivatives of keywords
Image alt tags
Snippet/meta description āØ
(for search engine listings)
ON-PAGE SEOāØ
ESSENTIALS
2
Optimize
for search.
30. 30
SEARCH TIPS
3
Optimize
for search.
Lengthier posts tend to rank higher
Internal links
Install (and use) Google Analytics
Find places on your site to link to posts
Cite other sources
Share across social networks often
https://yoast.com/articles/wordpress-seo/
WORDPRESS SEO GUIDE
33. 33
Article Concept
Author: [author name]
Target SEO Keyphrase: as of [date] (check Keyword Planner and Trends)
ā¢ ā[keyphrase]ā [x] searches / month
ā¢ ā[secondary keyphrase]ā [x] searches / month
Title: [title, start with keyphrase, 66 max characters]
Meta Description: [single sentence summary with keyphrase, 155 max
characters]
PermaLink / Shortcut URL: [use the keyphrase, keep it short]
ā¢ Headline <h1> Includes the target keyphrase and 3 of these 4 attributes...
ā¦ Be USEFUL to the reader
ā¦ Provide him with a sense of URGENCY,
ā¦ Convey the idea that the main beneļ¬t is somehow UNIQUE
ā¦ Do the above in an ULTRA-SPECIFIC wayāØ
ā¢ Formatting short paragraphs, headers, subheads, bullets and boldingāØ
ā¢ Image at least one, should be interesting on its own, creative commonsāØ
ā¢ Keyphrase usage four to six times in the body of the articleāØ
ā¢ Length 1500+ words for search optimized postsāØ
ā¢ Mention quote or refer to someone with a social followingāØ
ā¢ Link from the post to a web pageāØ
ā¢ Call to action for commentsāØ
ā¢ Author box short bio, links to Twitter, Google+, etc.
ā¦ Bio page: <a href="BIO PAGE ADDRESSā>
ā¦ Twitter: <a href=āhttp://www.twitter.com/TWITTER ACCOUNTā>
ā¦ Google+: <a rel="author" href=āhttps://plus.google.com/GOOGLE_ID?
rel=authorā>
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C63_MyNOscjBJHXKeZEYj7qU8qYdDJBDPG8ZcPi6QcU/edit
Blog post.
Template.
Courtesy of
Orbit Media Studios
ByAndy Crestodina
35. THE
ULTIMATE GUIDE TO
BLOGGING
introduction to business blogging
www.Hubspot.com
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