This post is based on episode 46 of the ProBlogger podcast.

When people interview me about blogging, I’m often asked about mistakes I’ve either made myself or seen others making. And the hardest part about answering that question isn’t coming up with them, but rather deciding which ones I should mention.

Because believe me, there are a lot of mistakes bloggers make.

Today I’m going to talk about 20 or so of those mistakes. But this is by no means the complete list, and I’m sure you can think of plenty more. (If you do, please share them with us in the comments.)

1.  Not starting a blog in the first place

A lot of people have trouble getting started because they want their blog to be perfect from the word go – the hosting, the design, the topic, even the first post.

Unfortunately, a lot of these people will never think their blog is perfect. And so their thoughts and ideas never see the light of day.

I know people who’ve been talking about starting a blog for years. One of my friends has been thinking about it for nearly as long as I’ve been blogging. And every time he talks about it I say, “You could have started ten years ago just to see what would happen.”

If you haven’t started your blog because you want everything to be perfect, I strongly encourage you to make a start anyway. It doesn’t have to be on your own domain, or even use your own hosting. Set up a blog on blogger.com or wordpress.com (both free) and see what happens.

The truth is your blog will never be perfect – not when you launch it, nor at any time after that. You will always be finding ways to improve it. So let go of that perfectionism and just start.

2. Giving up too early

While some people have trouble getting started, others find it hard to keep going.

When most people start blogging they’re driven by passion. But after a while that passion starts to wane (often around the three-month mark), and blogging starts to feel like something they have to do rather than something they want to do.

And after looking at their relatively low traffic and subscriber numbers (it takes most blogs a year more to get going), they may well feel they have better things to do with their time.

Another time bloggers often contemplate giving up is at the one-year mark. Instead of celebrating their first anniversary they look at their numbers and think, This is all I’ve got to show for a full year of blogging?

If you’re thinking of giving up because you’re not getting the results you expected, please don’t. All of the blogs I’ve had over the years took a year (if not longer) to reach the point where they had decent traffic and generated a decent outcome.

3. Not differentiating yourself

Whatever niche you’ve chosen, chances are there are already hundreds (if not thousands) of blogs out there covering the same niche. When I started blogging about photography back in 2007 there were already hundreds of photography blogs around.

So how can you differentiate yourself from those other blogs and offer something unique?

One way is to share your own uniqueness – your opinions, your stories, your experiences, your personality, and your sense of humor.

You can also work on developing your voice – the way you present yourself and the position you take with your topic. What will you be to your reader? A companion? A friend? A teacher? A journalist? Whichever option you choose will change the way you write your posts.

You can also try to hit a particular type of reader within your niche. When I started writing for Digital Photography School, my aim was to be a companion to those who were new to cameras and photography. That set me apart from other photography blogs where the content was more advanced and written in a more professorial voice.

I’ll admit it’s getting harder and harder to differentiate yourself from everyone else. But try to find something that sets you apart and makes you unique.

4. Not blogging on your own domain (or on the wrong domain)

I’ll be completely honest: most of the blogging mistakes I’ve made have centered around domains. And I think I’ve made just about every mistake there is to make.

While blogging on wordpress.com and blogger.com is okay to start with, eventually you should be using your own hosting and your own domain. And unless you plan on targeting a specific geographical area, you should try to get the .com domain if you can.

You should also choose a domain name that’s memorable, is relatively short, and doesn’t have any hyphens or other punctuation.

And I’m making these suggestions as someone who has made all of these mistakes. My first blog was on a .org.au domain even though I was targeting an international audience. ProBlogger was originally on a .net domain. And Digital Photography School’s domain has hyphens between each word.

If you have made any of these mistakes it’s not the end of the world. After all, Digital Photography School is still doing well despite its hyphenated domain name. But if you’re just starting out, try to choose one that avoids these issues.

5. Having an irregular posting schedule

While you don’t necessarily need to publish every day, you should try to establish some kind of rhythm with your posting.

It’s good for you as a writer because it will get you into the habit of writing regularly. And the more you write, the better you’ll become.

It’s also good for your readers. If you publish your posts regularly (Monday and Friday, Tuesday and Thursday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or whatever works best for you), your readers will know when to turn up for the next one. But if they keep coming back and finding nothing new to read because you decided to skip a week, they may stop coming back altogether.

Posting regularly also help you build a decent archive over time. Even if you publish only once a week, you’ll still have 52 posts within a year. And those archive posts create paths into your site from search engines and social media.

But while having more posts will obviously create more paths, how regularly you post is more important than how often you post, at least to begin with.

For Digital Photography School I started writing two posts a week (Tuesday and Thursday). then increased it to three posts a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). After a while I started posting every weekday, and then every day.

These days we publish 14 posts a week. But it has taken us years to reach that point.

6. Being too apologetic

While posting regularly certainly has its benefits, sometimes life makes other plans for us and we have to skip a post. And that’s totally fine. We all have other things going on in our lives besides blogging.

Which means there’s no need to start your next post with an apology. There’s a good chance your readers didn’t even notice, and now you’ve just brought it to their attention.

And while I can understand you wanting to be honest with your readers, it can be more of a distraction than a help.

So instead of apologizing about the post you never published, focus your energy on the one you’re about to publish.

7. Focusing on traffic rather than your readers

There’s nothing wrong with writing the occasional post specifically to be shared (and hopefully go viral). After all, it could bring in a wave of new readers.

But if they’re the only posts you write, you may well find your regular readers disappearing sooner or later.

Don’t write blog posts to bring in traffic. Instead, think about the people who are reading your blog and write the kind of content they need.

And if it happens to go viral as well, then it’s a bonus.

For example, infographics do really well on Digital Photography School. They get a lot of shares on Facebook, and drive a lot of traffic to our site. But if that’s all we ever posted we’d get a lot of people visiting the site and then quickly disappearing.

Why? Because infographics alone won’t help our readers improve their photography. They also need to learn about ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and other less glamorous topics that will help them master their cameras and take better photographs.

These days we try to mix it up as little. Our editorial calendar for each week will include something that’s shareable, something our readers can act on, and something that’s a bit more engaging. But the other posts we publish that week will be geared towards teaching our readers different things.

By all means create content that will get people’s attention. But don’t make it your sole aim. Instead, focus on creating content that will change your readers’ lives.

8. Creating too much clutter

When you first launched your blog it probably looked very clean and sleek. But what about now? Chances you’ve added a few more widgets, navigation elements and ads over the years. Is it still looking relatively clean? Or has it become so cluttered that it’s turning people away?

It might be time to have a look at your blog’s design, and either remove some of those elements or redesign it to better accommodate them. You could even ask your readers (or at least a close friend) what they think about its design.

And next time you add a new element, think about whether you can remove something to maintain a balance.

9. Giving great blog posts terrible titles

It can take me hours write a blog post, or even days if I’m covering a topic in depth. And when you’ve been writing a post for that long it can be tempting to quickly think up a title and then publish it.

Please don’t.

Using the first title that comes into your head can really cost you. It can be the difference between people reading your blog post and just glossing over it (or even skipping it completely).

Ideally, you should try to come with at least ten titles for your post, and then choose the best one. You may also want to ask other people for suggestions if they’re willing to help.

So make sure you spend some time on your titles. The effort you put in will make a real difference.

10. Not having a topic or niche

Most successful blogs have a well-defined topic, niche, or target demographic. And while there are successful blogs that don’t have an obvious topic or niche, they usually have something that defines them. It might be the style of the blog or what they do. Or it might simply be their sense of humor.

Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from creating a blog where you have the freedom to talk about anything and everything. But there are costs associated with having one.

You may have trouble getting your readers to stick around. They may have come after reading what you wrote about a particular topic. But if you never write about that topic again, they may not see the point in coming back. (This is where having an engaging writing style can help.)

You may also have trouble monetizing your blog. This is especially true if you plan on working with advertisers because they tend to align themselves with a particular topic or niche. Monetizing your blog by selling products or services can also be tricky of you don’t have a topic or niche to ‘anchor’ them to.

So when you’re planning your blog, think about what they will all have in common. It could be a topic or niche, or a particular writing style.

11. Choosing a topic or niche you’re not interested in

The first blog I started making money from was one where I reviewed digital cameras. It was quite profitable, and at one point I was making more than $100,000 a year using a combination of affiliate marketing, and advertising.

Amazed at how much money I could make from one blog, I created more to try and replicate my success. One of them was about printers, which seemed like a natural progression from digital cameras seeing as printers were being used more and more to print photographs.

There was just one problem: I wasn’t the slightest bit interested in printers. (I still don’t like them very much. And they don’t seem to like me either.)

The fact I wasn’t interested in printers made writing about them a real challenge. I certainly couldn’t write about them as naturally as I could other topics. And my lack of enthusiasm for them came through in my writing.

Yes, I was making some money from the traffic I got from search engines. But my heart really wasn’t in it, and I was happy to let it go.

Back then I had around 30 blogs. These days I have two. And they’re both based around topics I’m genuinely interested in.

That interest has not only kept me going year after year, but also helped me engage with people and build strong relationships with my readers.

If you want to build a profitable blog, you may as well base it on something you’re interested in.

12. Having too many ads on your blog

I don’t have a problem with you putting ads on your blog. In fact, if your long-term goal is to monetize then I suggest you put them up on day one. It will send a clear message that you’re monetizing your blog, and save you from endless conversations about why you’ve put them up down the track.

But you need to be careful about how many you put up. Having lots of ads on your site can make it look cluttered and less appealing. And being bombarded with ads asking them to buy this and buy that could drive readers away.

(You also run the risk of being penalized by Google for having too many ads on your site.)

You also need to look at it from a revenue perspective. A dozen ads competing for people’s attention are not only less likely to be clicked, but also more likely to be ignored. One or two ads placed in prominent positions stand a much better chance of being clicked, which means you can charge more for them.

13. Expecting your readers to come to you

A lot of people think a blog is like that baseball field in Field of Dreams. Just build it, and the people will come.

But the reality is blogs don’t work that way unless you already have an established readership who can spread the word for you. So you need to step away from your blog and head to wherever your potential readers hang out.

And then you need to discretely tell them about your new blog. Not by shouting about your new blog, but rather by helping people and being useful.

14. Writing about “How to make money blogging” on your first blog

Some people start their blogging journey by looking for the most profitable niche. And when they discover the people making the most money from blogging are writing about making money from blogging, they decide to follow suit.

Even though they haven’t made a cent from blogging themselves.

Please don’t make the same mistake. Making money writing about making money blogging is quite difficult because so many people are already doing it.

And a lot of people really aren’t interested about blogging. Digital Photography School is far more profitable than ProBlogger simply because people more people are more interested in photography than in blogging.

So write about something a normal person would be interested in –photography, food, clothes, travel, whatever. Just make sure it’s something you are interested in and can genuinely talk about, and have some expertise or experience with.

There’s nothing wrong with blogging about blogging, or even about making money blogging. But you’re going to much more successful if you’ve already done it on another blog or had some experience.

15. Not being useful with your blog

The most successful blogs (at least the ones I read) try to meet the needs of their readers and/or solve their problems. People are much more likely to come back to a blog that has affected or changed them in some way.

So ask yourself whether your blog is making a difference. Is it bringing about some sort of change? Is it solving a problem? Is it useful?

Your blog doesn’t need to end poverty or bring about world peace. It just needs to be useful to someone, which could mean:

• teaching them how to hold a camera
• teaching them how to make a soufflé
• teaching them how to be a better parent
• giving them a laugh
• making them smile
• making them realize they’re not alone.

The change you make to your readers’ lives doesn’t need to massive. But if your blog doesn’t bring about any change or solve a problem, you may want to rethink what your blog is about.

16. Writing for search engines instead of humans

There’s no denying that Google can bring a lot of traffic to your site. But if you focus on what Google likes rather than what your readers like then it will be pretty much useless.

Sure, you’ll get people coming to your site from Google’s search results. But they’ll disappear pretty quickly once they read what you’ve written.

So forget about Google. Focus on your readers instead, and help them solve the problems and issues they’re having. If your content is useful to them they’ll keep coming back. They’ll also share it with other people, which will in turn improve your search engine rankings. (Search engines use this information as part of their calculations.)

It’s good to know how search engines work. But your focus should always be in your readers and what they need.

17. Becoming a stataholic

Google Analytics is quite seductive, isn’t it? It’s easy to lose track of time as you pore poring over all the information it has collected about your blog and your readers. How high your blog is ranking. How many comments you’ve got. How many page views you’ve had. What your bounce rate is. How much money you’ve earned from AdSense. How how many followers you have on Twitter. How many likes you have on your Facebook page.

But while it’s good to know how many people are reading your blog and how they’re using it, those metrics can be an incredible distraction. They can not only take you away from creating content, but also feed your insecurities and get you really down if you’re not careful.

I recommend choosing a specific amount of time each week to check your stats (e.g. a few minutes at the start and the end of each day).

I start my day by checking my stats to see what happened the previous night. And I do the same at the end of the day. I also set aside about an hour each week to really dig into my Google Analytics and some of the social media metrics around my blogs.

And for the rest of the week I focus on creating content for my blogs.

18. Growing your blog through link baiting or personal attacks

When I started ProBlogger I saw a lot of bloggers try to grow their traffic by attacking, baiting and critiquing other bloggers. These attacks (often made anonymously) were sometimes disguised as satire. But in a lot of cases it was a nothing less than a blatant attack.

While you can grow your traffic this way, you can also damage your brand. And once you have a reputation for writing snarky, attacking content it can be very hard to shake.

You’re much better off having a reputation for creating uplifting, constructive, and life-changing content.

Be careful about getting into that ranty, snarky space. While there may be times when you need to be blunt and to rant, try to balance it with different types of content on your site.

19. Not knowing why you’re blogging

Most of us start blogging without knowing exactly what our goals are or why we’re doing it.

But you really need to work it out sooner rather than later. Because how can you hit your goals if you don’t know what they are?

Yes, good things will come your way if you just keep blogging, particularly if you’re changing people’s lives. But you should also think about your goals – not just for your blog, but also for your life tin general.

I try to set aside time at the start of each year to come up with some goals. It helps me stay on track and make progress throughout the year. If you don’t have a goal it’s easy to become lazy because you don’t have anything driving you forward.

20. Thinking there’s only one way to monetize your blog

A lot of bloggers fall into this trap. They look at how one blogger is monetizing their blog and try to do the same with theirs, thinking it’s the only way it can be done.

But there are plenty of ways you can monetize your blog depending upon the size of your audience, your niche/topic, and how well your blog is established.

By all means choose one to get you started. But don’t be afraid to try the others as well.

21. Thinking you need to know everything first

A lot of bloggers have insecurities around different aspects of blogging:

“I’m not technical enough.”

“I don’t know about design.”

“I’m not a great writer.”

“I’m not very good at marketing.”

When it comes to the technicalities of blogging, I’m sure we all have areas we don’t know much about. When I started blogging it took me three months to work out how to make text bold. Even now I’m not very technical, and leave that aspect of blogging to someone else.

(Fortunately the tools we have today are so much better than they used to be, and so you don’t need to know as much.)

But the truth is you don’t need to know everything about blogging before you start. Or everything about your topic for that matter.

By the time I started ProBlogger I’d already been blogging for a couple of years. But I certainly didn’t know everything there was to know about making money from blogging. So I was transparent with my readers about what I did and didn’t know, what I was learning and what I already knew, the mistakes I’d made and the successes I’d had.

If you’re transparent with your readers, you’ll find they can be very forgiving.

So there you have it: 21 mistakes bloggers make (including me). But as I said in the introduction, there are plenty more I could add to the list.

What mistakes have you made, or seen other bloggers make? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

The post 21 Mistakes Bloggers Make (and How to Avoid Making Them Yourself) appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 246 of the ProBlogger podcast.

As you may well know, I started blogging back in 2002. And over the years I’ve tried all sorts of things to grow my blogs and make them more profitable. Some of them worked. Some of them didn’t. And some seemed to work really well to begin with, but ended up being more of a hindrance than a help.

But in the 18 or so years I’ve been blogging I think I’ve come up with nine ways to grow my blogs that still work to this day. And in this week’s post I’d like to share them with you.

So here are nine things I believe will help you grow your blog faster.

1. Engage with your audience, and find out what they need

My first blog was just a place where I could be creative and talk about things that interested me. But about two weeks in I started getting emails from people saying things like, “That’s really interesting”, “That really helped me” and “Thank you for writing that.”

And that’s when realized I now had an opportunity to help other people.

I can still remember getting my first comment (well, the first one that wasn’t from my mom). The comment included his email address, and I thought that meant I was supposed to send one. So I did, and wrote something along the lines of, “Thanks for your comment. Who are you? I’d love to know a little bit more about you.”

He wrote back saying, “I’ve left hundreds of comments, and no-one’s ever emailed me. So thanks for that.” He then told me who he was, and we started having a conversation.

At that point I decided I’d do the same for anyone who left me a comment. And for the next two years I sent a personal email to everyone who commented on my blog.

It was one the best things I’ve ever done. Not only did it help me build engagement and relationships with my readers, it also helped me understand who they were and what they needed.

And when you know what your readers need, you can create content, products and services to meet those needs.

When I started Digital Photography School I created avatars to represent the different types of people I’d be writing for. My first ones were pretty simple –basic demographics, where they hung out online, how they spent their money, their questions, what they thought they needed, etc. But over time they became more complex, including things such as their pain points and what they really needed.

On ProBlogger we get a lot of questions from our readers about the technical aspects of blogging. But I’ve also learned there’s a lot of fear amongst our readers. I often hear things like, “I used to have a blog, but I can’t get over the fear. It’s stopping me from blogging.” And so we talk a lot about fear, and how to overcome it.

Something else to look our for are people’s goals and aspirations. What do they want to achieve? What do they dream about? Any content you create that can help them achieve their goals and realize their dreams will be like gold to them.

2. Create content that can transform your readers’ lives

Great content leaves a mark on those who read, watch or hear it. So try to create content that changes your reader’s life in some way.

Now it doesn’t have to a major change. It could be simply making them smile by writing something funny, or giving them some news about your topic that makes them feel more informed.

You could also write a piece that inspires them, and motivates them to act in some way. Or could you could write about something happening in your life that makes them realize they’re not alone.

Think about why people might be coming to your blog. Think about what they need, and what they hope to get from you. (Sounds a bit like an avatar, doesn’t it?)

But don’t stop there. Think about how you’d like them to feel and act after they’ve visited your blog. What change would you like to see in them?

With Digital Photography School it’s easy to explain what we want to achieve. We want people to take their amazing cameras out of automatic mode and give them full creative control. And that’s how I explain what the blog is about.

Never tell people, “I have a blog about photography” (or whatever your blog is about). Instead, explain what it is in terms of the change it makes in your readers’ lives. In our case, it’s “… a blog that takes people from automatic mode to having creative control of their cameras.”

3. Focus on your readers’ hearts and minds instead of their eyeballs

The best way to grow your blog is to engage with your readers and build a relationship with them. Traffic can be fleeting, but good relationships usually last.

Some of you may remember a site called Digg, where you could post links and people would vote on them. The more votes you got, the closer you got to being on its front page.

Well, one day my content made it to the front page. And in the space of two hours my site had 150,000 visitors.

Naturally, I was ecstatic. It seemed like all of my dreams were about to come true.

I’m going to start making money.

I’m going to become well-known.

I’m going to get a book deal.

Unfortunately, those 150,000 visitors were all snarky teenage boys who all left negative comments. It pretty much destroyed the community I’d created. And to add insult to injury, the sudden spike in traffic ended up crashing my server.

I quickly realized that while having all those eyeballs makes you feel good in the short term, it don’t necessarily lead to sustainable growth.

For that to happen I needed not only the right kind of readers, but also readers who would engage.

A lot of people say that content is king. But I think community is just as important as content, particularly if you’re trying to monetize your blog. (It’s what a lot of the algorithms are looking for these days.)

So how do you build engagement? The first step is to be engaging yourself. That means not only writing engaging content but also responding to comments on your blog, joining Facebook discussions and responding to people on Twitter.

Live video is another way you can engage with your readers. When I do live videos I don’t have hundreds of thousands of people watching me. I’m more likely to have a few hundred. But I know those people are far more likely to leave a comment on my blog, share my content, sign up for my newsletter and  buy one of my products.

4. Design your blog to suit your readers

In the early days of ProBlogger we offered our readers pretty much any content we had to keep them on the site. But these days we try to find out the journey our readers are on, and then help them along that journey.

At the bottom of our front page (and close to the bottom of every other page) you’ll find the words “I need help to…” followed by eight options:

• Start a blog
• Create content
• Find readers
• Build community
• Make money blogging
• Be productive
• Understand technology
• Get work.

Over the years we’ve identified these as the eight main reasons people come to ProBlogger.

We’ve identified, over the years, that our readers have eight main reasons they come to ProBlogger. And each one leads to a portal page where we have created an experience for our readers.

We greet them with a video where I explain how I’ve also experienced this pain point. And then we provide links to a curated list of posts and podcasts, that help them get past it.

Getting people to a page where you can demonstrate you know them and what they’re going through, and then provide content that can help them, is very powerful.

Even something as simple as setting up a cookie so you can show than the posts that have been published since their last visit can make a lasting impression.

5. Use challenges to teach and engage your readers

Over the years ProBlogger has had a number of spikes in traffic, engagement and profit. And I can track them all back to challenges I was running at the time.

The first challenge happened in 2005 by accident. It was two in the morning, and I was wide awake thinking about the blog when I suddenly had a thought: How about I write a series of blog posts? One a day, for 31 days. And in each post I teach the readers something about blogging and then give them something practical to do.

The next day I launched “31 Days to Build a Better Blog”.

I had no idea what topics I’d be covering during those 31 days, and so I had to make it all up on the spot. But I wrote and published the first post (the longest post I’d ever written), and people started joining up for the challenge.

It soon became more than just a learning experience. It quickly became a way for everyone to engage, especially when readers started showing each other what they’d done for their ‘homework’.

After running it in 2009, my readers asked if I’d consider creating a PDF version of it. “We’ll pay you for it,” they said.

At the end of 2009 when I did it, my readers said, “Hey, we really would love it if you could create a PDF version of this.” Some of them were saying, “We’ll pay you for it,” and I was like, “How much will you pay me for it?”

I turned the content into an ebook and I put it on sale. I didn’t think I’d sell many copies seeing as the content was freely available on the website. But in the end around 10,000 people bought it.

I’ve also run a “7 days of writing challenges” event on the podcast, which really took off and helped it grow as well.

6. Collaborate with others

Collaborations are one of the most powerful things I’ve done to grow my blog. Blogging is a juggling act where you’re trying to create content, build engagement, drive traffic, maintain your social media accounts, and keep WordPress and all your plugins up to date at the same time. And it’s really hard to keep all those balls in the air.

But it becomes a lot easier when have other people helping you keep all those balls in the air. And the best way to get that help is to work with other content creators.

I learned very early on that I didn’t know much about blog design, and so I found someone willing to design my blog for free if I helped them with content and driving traffic to their business.

As bloggers, we should be collaborating more. Think of all the articles and books written by multiple authors. And more and more YouTubers are creating videos together and then reposting it on their own channels. Why don’t we do that more as bloggers?

7. Create evergreen content

For my first commercial blog (a photography site I had before starting Digital Photography School) I write two types of posts: news and reviews.

The news posts (which were pretty much “Here’s a new camera!”) did really well…

For the first few days, at least. After that, no-one cared.

Fortunately, the camera review I wrote were far more evergreen. And looking at my ad revenue, the reviews were also earning about ten times as much.

It got me thinking. What would happen if I had even more evergreen content about this particular area of photography?

And that was how Digital Photography School came to be.

Now DPS does have posts about new cameras and camera-related products. But here’s a comparison between one of our news posts and one of our more evergreen posts.

A post we did on Adobe’s new version of Lightroom did quite well in its first week. On day one around 3,000 people read it, and by the end of the week that number grew to around 11,200. But over the past three years we’ve only had another 18,000 viewers. And right now it’s only getting one new viewer a month.

Two weeks later we wrote about a topic we get asked about from time to time. In the first couple of weeks it had about 16,000 visitors, but that number has now grown to 42,000.

And that’s the beauty of having evergreen content.

8. Maintain your archives 

When was the last time you went through your archives? Are they holding up well? Or are they embarrassing?

You might not think you need to worry about those old posts because they’re not generating much traffic. But if a reader happens to come across one that has broken links, missing images and information that is flat out wrong, they could come back to haunt you.

That doesn’t mean you have to get rid of them. Sure, some posts may be beyond redemption. But there’s nothing wrong with giving the others a bit of an update. Fix up the spelling mistakes. Rewrite that lame introduction. Update the images.

One of my posts on Digital Photography School about ISO has had more than 40 million views. I’ve been updating it every six months since 2007, and believe me it’s a lot better now than when I first wrote it.

A lot of the big bloggers aren’t publishing anywhere near as much new content as they used to. Why? Because they’re now focusing on publishing better content. Yes, it’s often deeper and longer. But they’re also updating their archives because they get a better return on improving their archives than creating lots of new posts.

If you’ve been blogging for five or six years, you’ve probably written about everything there is to know about your topic. So why not spend some time improving those old archives, and even republishing and re-sharing them?

9. Be careful about where you spend your time

Finally, I want to talk about where should be spending your time while trying to grow your blog.

Start by focusing on what’s already working for you. For me, that’s search engine optimization. Search sends me more than half of my traffic, while Facebook sends me only 8% of my traffic. So why would I spend three hours a day on Facebook when search is converting so much more?

Email is my second biggest traffic source. We’ll be sending out a newsletter tonight, which means today will be our biggest day of traffic.

And focus more on the things you have more control over. You don’t own Facebook. You’re building their asset. You don’t own Instagram. You’re building their asset. Start building your own assets — your podcast, your blog, your email list.

I hope this post has given you ideas on how you can grow your blog faster. What will you try first? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

The post 9 Ways to Grow Your Blog Faster appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 131 of the ProBlogger podcast.

A lot of bloggers do an end-of-year-review, where they analyze how everything went in the previous year and set goals for the new one.

But when you set such long-term goals, it’s worth checking in occasionally to see how you’re doing and make sure you’re still on track.

And that’s where the mid-review comes in.

But what exactly should you be checking? How can you tell whether you’re doing well? And what are the warning signs that you might need to make some changes?

Over the years I’ve come up with seven areas that I focus on whenever I’m reviewing my blogs. And today I want to share those seven areas, and the questions you might ask yourself when analyzing each one. Starting with…

1. Your content.

Looking at your posts, what topics, categories and formats have worked well over the past six months? Did your list posts do particularly well? Are you still getting responses to that rant you posted three months ago? Is your audience crying out for more interviews?

You might also want to analyze whether some mediums worked better than others. Did posts with infographics do better than those with just text? How did your audience react to your videos and live feeds? Is the audience you’re attracting with your podcast worth the time it takes to record and produce it?

Don’t forget to look at the length of your more popular posts. I recently looked at my Google Analytics and saw that some of our longer posts have done really well over the past six months, which means I should probably write more long-form posts in the future.

Finally, look at how frequently you posted fresh content. Did you meet the deadlines you set for yourself at the beginning of the year? How did your audience react when you posted more or less often than they expected?

This is a good time to take another look at your editorial plan (or create it if you don’t have one). Do you have enough ideas to keep you going for the rest of the year? Do you need to re-think some of your topics, categories or formats to better suit what your audience? This is the perfect time to make those adjustments to you have a clear roadmap that will take you where you want to go.

2. Your traffic

Take a look at your blog traffic for the past six months. Were there any spikes? If so, try to find out what may have caused them.

About a week or so ago we had a big spike in traffic on Digital Photography School. And nearly all of it was driven by one post: How to Photograph Fireworks.

And that makes perfect sense, as the 4th of July is when America celebrates Independence Day.

That same post has been spiking around this time for years (as well as on New Year’s Eve). And so we now promote it heavily on occasions such as these when everyone wants to photograph fireworks. We’ve also written more content about it to capture more traffic and readers.

On the flipside, were there any troughs in your traffic? Is there a pattern that might help you pinpoint what’s causing them? We often see a dip in traffic the day after Independence Day, presumably because everyone’s recovering from the celebrations. You may also see dips on weekends, or on particular dates. What can you do to make those dips less frequent or less severe?

What’s the overall trend with your traffic? Is it going up steadily, or has it plateaued or even dropped? What about over the past month or so?

If your traffic is dropping, you need to analyze it and see if there’s any way you can reverse the trend. At one point we noticed our mobile traffic on both Digital Photography School and ProBlogger dropping, which was a wake-up call for us to optimize the design of both sites so they’d work better on mobile devices.

Have you been doing anything specific (e.g. writing guest posts, posting more updates on social media, creating more shareable content) to bring more traffic to your site? If you have, was it a good use of your time? And if you haven’t, is it something you could try to bring those traffic numbers back up?

3. Your reader engagement

What do your readers think of you and your blog? Are they engaging with you? Think about the number of comments and emails you’ve been getting, and whether that number has been going up or down over the past six months.

You should also look at your bounce rate and how often people share your content. This will help you determine how your readers feel about your content, and how open they are to receiving more.

What are your open rates like on the emails and newsletters you send out? What kind of engagement are you getting on social media? What’s the most frequent complaint of praise you hear from your readers? Hearing the same message (good or bad) regularly from different readers can help you understand how they feel about you and your blog.

Occasionally I get an email saying “You’re doing too much promoting” or “You’re always trying to sell us something”. I’m sure every blogger gets an email like this once in a while. But if I hear the same thing multiple times from multiple readers, it’s a sign I may need to readdress how much content I charge for and how I give away.

Ultimately, what you’re trying to work out is whether or not you’ve delivered value to your readers. Has their reaction been positive, or do they feel you’ve taken more than you’ve given?

One way to find out how your readers feel about you and your blog is to create a survey and encourage them to take part. This can help you find out not only how they feel, but also what you can do to change how they feel for the better.

You might also want to come up with a community project or challenge your readers can take part in to increase engagement.

4. Your monetization

For those of you who have monetized your blog (or are trying to), you should analyze your income streams and how well they’ve been working over the past six months. (I’m sure you check how much money you’re earning far more frequently.)

Start by looking at the overall trend. Has it increased, decreased, or remained steady? Are some income streams (e.g. advertising, affiliate promotions, selling products or services) doing or better or worse than the others? Are there any that you’ve been thinking about trying but still haven’t implemented?

You may need to look at the figures over a full year (or even several years if you have them) to spot any trends you may need to consider.

If you’re selling a product or service, does most of your revenue come from launches or long-tail sales? Some bloggers fall into the trap of focusing too much on the launch of their product. The sales come in quickly at first, but then they quickly die down. The product then sits there until they either discount it or do another launch.

If that sounds like your sales curve, you may need to come up with a way to increase those long-tail sales. Perhaps you could use an autoresponder that sends your newsletter subscribers on offer a month or so after they subscribe. You might also think about making the products more prominent on your website. After all, how can people buy something if they don’t even know about it?

If you’re monetizing your blog with sponsors rather than products or services, you may need to think about approaching new sponsors. Have you seen businesses advertising on other blogs in your niche that could be potential advertisers on yours? Maybe you need to review your media kit as well.

You could even create a promotional calendar in the same way you created your editorial calendar, especially if you plan on launching new products or services. This will help you plan not only the development and launch of your product, but also when to start talking about it to build excitement and anticipation.

5. Your technology

How has your blog been running from a technology perspective? Have you or your readers experienced any outages or downtime? If so, you might want to think about switching to a better hosting provider.

Are you running the latest version of your blogging platform? What about your plugins? Do you need to update them, or perhaps even replace them if they’re no longer supported? Now if the time to get everything up to date so your blog is secure.

Is your blog’s design still working? Could it do with an update, or even a complete overhaul? Is it mobile responsive? (If not , then it needs to be.)

Are there things that simply don’t work anymore, either from a technology or a reader perspective? The last thing you want is for readers to be leaving your blog because they’re annoyed or confused.

Now is also a good time to look at the tools and services you’re using for emails, landing pages and the like. First of all, are you still using them? If not, you can save yourself some money by cancelling your subscription.

And if you are using them, are they worth the money you’re paying for them? Is there something out there at a similar price point that could do a better job? (Remember to factor in the effort it will take to make the switch.)

6. Your productivity

How productive have you been over the past six months? What aspects of blogging did you spend most of your time on, and was it worth it? And if you took the time to set up some workflows, how effective have they been?

Sometimes it’s hard to know just where all that time has gone. A while back I installed a product called Rescue Time, which tracks how you use the time you spend on your computer. It’s a pretty confronting tool to use, but it helped me realize where I was wasting time. It even helped me pinpoint where I was spending time on things that felt productive even though they weren’t.

How can you make better use of your time from now on?

7. Your wellbeing

Finally, it’s time to check the most vital component of your blog – you.

How are you going with your blogging, and with life in general?

It’s an important question to ask, because your blog’s health depends a lot on your own health – physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. And so you should spend as much time (if not more) on looking after yourself as you do on looking after your blog.

A major aspect of our wellbeing is the relationships we have with family, friends, acquaintances and so on. But you should also take the time to think about the relationship you have with your blog.

How do you feel about it? Are you still passionate about the topic? Does the thought of writing a new post excite you? Or does it feel more like a burden you have to bear?

If your passion or energy for your blog is waning (or missing completely), you may need to take a break. You may need a holiday. You may need to get some help. Or you may just need to change the direction of your blog in some way.

You may also need to ‘fill your cup’. Employees in traditional businesses often attend training courses, seminars and conferences as part of their professional development. But as bloggers we don’t have a human resources department booking training courses and seminars for us to attend.

And so we need to manage our own professional development.

Is there a book you could buy that would help you with your blogging? Is there a seminar on new research in your niche you could attend? Is there an event coming up where you could meet other bloggers?

As bloggers we need to keep learning and developing ourselves and our knowledge. Because we can only put into our blogs what we put into ourselves.

Planning for the future

How much time should you spend reviewing your blog? That’s up to you. You could spend days researching and answering all of these questions. But I encourage you to answer at least one question from each of the seven areas.

And then come up with an action plan to address them all.

No matter where your blog is now, I hope your mid-year blog review will help you create a plan to put it in an even better position by the end of the year.

So what area will you focus on first? And what questions will you be trying to answer? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

The post 7 Areas to Focus on During Your Mid-Year Blog Review appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 149 of the ProBlogger podcast.

So you’ve come up with a great idea for a blog post. It’s a great topic, has plenty of depth, and will boost your reputation as an authority in your niche.

But do it justice you need to cover a lot of ground, which means you’ll be writing a lot of content.

Which begs the question: What’s the best way to share that information with your readers? Should you write one long and detailed post that includes every aspect? Or should you create a series of posts that deals with each one in turn?

And the answer is… it depends.

The benefits of writing one long post (the movie)…

The beauty of posting everything at once is your readers get the information they want without any interruptions or delays. They don’t need to keep coming back for the next instalment, or follow the links from one post to the next to get all the information.

Remember how you felt last time you watched a TV episode and read the words “To be continued…”? Well, that’s how your readers will might feel when they have to wait for your next post to continue their learning.

And while those reading after they’re all done won’t have to wait, they still might not like opening post after post just to get to the end – especially if they decide to print it out so they can read it offline.

Another advantage to having everything in a single post is it comes across as being quite comprehensive and authoritative. In the same way a published has an authoritative ‘weight’, having a 5,000-word blog post that covers every aspect of the topic will make what you’re saying seem more credible.

And people like sharing posts that are meaty and comprehensive. They seem to appreciate the fact you’ve made the effort to provide them with lots of solid information, and want others to benefit from your effort as well.

Google seems to appreciate it, too. I’ve noticed that our longer posts tend to rank really well in Google, possibly because they get linked to and shared more than our shorter posts. Some SEO experts also believe longer posts can rank better than shorter ones.

… and the drawbacks

However, there are some downsides to putting that information in a single post.

One of them is the effort it takes to research and write them. Some of the longer pieces I’ve written have taken several days (and a lot of effort) to complete. And if you struggle with motivation, that could be a problem.

Another downside is that unless you’re a gifted and engaging writer, not all of your readers will make it to the end. Some people prefer to scan rather than read. Some people don’t have the time to read long pieces (or at least not in one hit). And some people will be reading your post on a mobile device and not want to be continually swiping.

And finally, putting so much information into one post can quickly drain your pool of ideas. I know of one blogger whose first post was 9,000 words on everything he knew about his niche. It was a great post, full of useful, actionable content. But when he tried to brainstorm ideas for future posts, he couldn’t think of anything he hadn’t already covered in that first post. In retrospect, he would have preferred to have broken up that information into a series of posts and released them over a series of weeks.

Which brings me to…

The benefits of writing a series of shorter posts (the miniseries)

Obviously, breaking up a long post into shorter posts will give you more gives you more posts to publish. So instead of having one week’s worth of content for your site, you could have three, four or even more.

And each of those posts can be more focused, which can help with SEO. While long posts might rank well for broad, overarching keywords, they may not rank as well for the more focused keywords of your niche. Smaller posts have a better chance of ranking for those more focused keywords, which might help you rank for more of them over time.

Search engines also tend to like links, and so having more posts on your site for other sites to link to can help Google rank your site.

Writing a series of blog posts can also build momentum on your blog. Readers will be anticipating your next post, which can help you get more subscribers. (They don’t want to risk missing out on the next post in the series.)

It’s also good to have a series of posts on your website if you’re planning on monetizing your websites using ad networks such as AdSense.

And if you struggle to write long posts because of the time and effort involved, shorter posts will feel like a breath of fresh air. Knowing you can write and publish a blog post relatively quickly can motivate you to keep going.

Writing a series has downsides, too

But your blog post series won’t suit everyone. As I mentioned earlier, some people will prefer to have all the information available in a single post so they can get it all in one go.

Another negative aspect of writing a series of posts is being locked into a particular topic. If your readers aren’t interested in what your series is about, and the series goes for a number of weeks, they may get frustrated enough to unsubscribe and stop visiting your blog.

But that being said, I still think you should consider writing a series of blog posts. I try and do two or three series every year, because so far they’ve all worked really well. 

Of course, you can always do both

Ultimately, the decision of whether you write a movie of a miniseries is entirely up to you. And the the good news is you don’t have to choose one over the other. You can write a series of posts to build momentum when you want to, but also write the occasional long-form post  to build authority.

And you can always turn that series of blog posts into a something bigger. The posts I wrote for 31 Days to Build a Better Blog were combined, and eventually became a PDF that people could buy. I wasn’t sure anyone would be interested, but thousands of our readers bought a copy. They obviously wanted something they could read and work through time and time again.

So what’s your preference? Will you be writing a movie or a miniseries? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Felix Mooneeram on Unsplash

The post Movie or Miniseries: What’s the Best Way to Share Information with Your Readers? appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 87 of the ProBlogger podcast.

While it’s relatively easy to include images, audio and even video in posts these days, most blogs still rely heavily on written content.

Which makes writer’s block a real problem when it hits.

That’s why I’ve spent the past few weeks talking about the steps you can take to beat it, from finding out why you’re stuck to coming up with fresh ideas and getting the words flowing.

And this week I’d like to wrap up this little series with the final step to beating writer’s block: finishing every blog post you start.

Draft issues

Whenever I speak to bloggers at conferences, one question I love to ask is, “How many draft posts do you have in WordPress, or whatever blogging platform you use? How many pieces of content have you started but never finished?”

I’m always amazed at how many bloggers have half-written posts, and how many half-written posts they have. Mind you, in the early stages of ProBlogger I had a lot of unfinished posts as well – 93 to be exact.

Some were nothing more than titles and a couple of dot points. Some had introductions, but not much else. Some were almost done and needed only a conclusion, an image or some further reading links. And some were actually complete but never published because I didn’t think they were ready to go live.

Obviously I was having a problem with completing posts back then. But even now I find completing posts a struggle sometimes. And judging by the answers I get to my conference question, I’m not alone.

What’s stopping you?

So why do so many people struggle to complete their posts?

Personally, I struggled with having too many ideas to write about. Before I’d completed one post I was already thinking about the next. In fact, one longish post I write sparked so many ideas that I started writing seven other post before I’d completed it.

Now that may not seem like a problem, especially when you’re struggling to come up with any ideas. But it can have you jumping from one blog post to the next and never completing any of them.

Some bloggers struggle with perfectionism. They don’t think their posts are good enough to publish, and they either continually tinker with them or abandon them completely.

Others lose interest in what they’re writing about before they finish the post. I struggle with this sometimes, particular when I’m working on a really long post. Some of these posts can take days or even weeks to write, and it’s easy to get disheartened by how long it’s taking.

Premature publishing

But some bloggers have a different issue with completion – they hit ‘Publish’ before their posts are ready to go live.

Some of them don’t have quite enough depth, or aren’t providing as much value as they could. Sometimes they need a better title, introduction or conclusion. And some just need a final proofread to fix up the typos.

Unfortunately, while publishing these posts solves the completion problem it can also damage on your brand, which can then make you feel hesitant about publishing any more.

So how can you keep completing those unpublished posts and getting them up on your blog without compromising on quality?

The way forward

The simple (and obvious) solution to this problem is to change your mindset and be disciplined about your blogging. In other words, you need to make yourself sit in front of the keyboard and complete those posts.

Which means setting aside some time to do it, just as you would for coming up with your ideas and getting into the writing flow.

In episode 40 of the ProBlogger podcast I shared my weekly schedule, which includes three sessions for editing, revising and completing blog posts and other tasks.

Why? Because if I didn’t put that time aside, those tasks would never get done.

I spend these sessions looking for a good image, adding some depth (or links to further reading), or editing and proofreading. I may also be finishing off a podcast, completing an eBook or adding the final touches to a presentation

Creating a checklist

My other suggestion is to create a checklist that will not only help you complete your posts, but complete them well.

A checklist like this will:

• help you improve your posts
• stop you from publishing posts before they’re truly complete
• help you avoid perfectionism by knowing you’ve done everything you can to get it ready for publication.

So what should your checklist look like? Well, here are nine questions you should ask yourself before you hit ‘Publish’.

1. Does this post matter?

This is probably the most important you should ask yourself before your post goes live. The post should be meaningful, and provide value for your readers.

And if it doesn’t, then you should probably keep working on it until it does.

2. Is the title good enough?

A good title can draw people in, which is particularly important when it comes to search engines. Is yours good enough to do that?

3. Does it have a strong opening?

Does your post start well? Will your introduction intrigue people, and make them want to read on?

4. Have you clearly explained your main point?

This may well depend on the type of post you’re writing. But regardless of whether you’re teaching something or stating your opinion, you need to let people know why they should read your post.

5. Does it have an appropriate conclusion and/or call to action?

While your posts should always have a strong opening, they should also have a strong ending. Does yours sum everything up nicely, and encourage your readers to take action? Or does your post simply… stop?

6. Could you add more depth?

Could you add more value by providing some further reading, adding another quote or giving another example?

7. Have you invited your readers to interact, respond and/or share?

Have you given your readers a way to join the conversation and talk about the topic? Have you asked them to share your information with others?

8. Have you proofread it?

Have you gone through it one last time to weed out any spelling or grammatical errors?

9. Could you make it more visually appealing?

Is there a better image you could use? Would it be worth embedding a video, tweet or Instagram post? Could you improve the formatting? Do you need to break up the text with more headings?

Ask for help

My final suggestion is to get help with completing your posts where you can.

Obviously there are some parts of the blogging process that you need to do yourself, such as writing posts and recording podcasts. But some of the completion work can often be done by someone else – editing, proofreading, scheduling, and so on.

We have part-time editors at ProBlogger and Digital Photography School who help with not only my posts, but also those of our other writers. They even help with editorial strategy and planning.

Fortunately, I’m now in a position where I can hire people to take on these roles. But that wasn’t always the case.

At one point, another blogger and I made a deal where we’d spend ten minutes reading each other’s posts and providing feedback. While that often meant pointing out typos and grammatical errors, it also included suggestions on adding images, subheadings, or links to further reading.

Do you know someone you could make a similar deal with? It could be another blogger, or just someone who would be willing to look over your posts and provide some quick feedback.

How low can you go?

How many unfinished blog posts do you have at the moment? Hopefully it’s nothing like the 93 I had all those years ago. But what I’m hoping even more is that you’ll now be able to take another look at them, complete them, and get them published.

Let’s see how close to zero you can get that number.

This is the final post in our series on beating writer’s block. What did you think of the series? Did it help you get unstuck? Let us know in the comments?

Photo by sporlab on Unsplash

The post Final Step to Beating Writer’s Block: Finishing Every Blog Post You Start appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 86 of the ProBlogger podcast.

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been talking about beating writer’s block. I’m sure every bloggers faces it sooner or later, and to be a successful blogger you really need to know how to deal with it.

We started off by learning about the different types of writer’s block, and how to identify which one you’re dealing with. And last week we talked about how to deal with a major one – running out of ideas.

But now that you know how to keep coming up with fresh ideas, it’s time to take the next step: getting the words flowing and turning those ideas into posts.

So here are ten things you can try to not only get the words flowing again but also keep them flowing.

1. Mix up your environment

Now this is going to mean different things to different people. I like white noise, and so I used to head to a nearby café quite a bit. I found the clinking of glasses and the nearby conversations helped me get into the flow of writing.

But I understand that might sound like your worst nightmare, and that you need a much more controlled (and probably quieter) environment. My wife Vanessa loved going to our local library, not only to get out of the house but also to get away from the noise and distraction of our children. (And me, quite possibly.)

So if you’re finding it hard to get the words flowing where you are, try creating a different environment. That could mean anything from changing your location to having music or even the television playing in the background.

It can also mean creating a distraction-free environment by disconnecting yourself from the internet and switching your phone to silent.

2. Try freewriting

While I don’t do a lot of freewriting, it’s still a great way for me to get the words flowing again when I’m stuck.

I’ll get up early in the morning (so I don’t have any distractions), and just write about whatever’s on my mind. It might be about work or the business. It might be personal. It might be silly, and make no sense whatsoever. It might be about my children, or the movie I saw recently.

You might write about similar things. Or you might write about something completely different. In the end it doesn’t matter what you write about. It’s about the physical act of writing, and getting your thoughts (whatever they may be) down on paper. Because the more you do it, the easier it becomes. And sometimes those random thoughts that pop into your head can become a great idea for a post..

3. Write for one person

As much as I love having a large audience, sometimes the thought of hundreds or even thousands of people reading the post I’m working on makes me freeze up. What if they don’t like it? What if I say the wrong thing, or offer the wrong advice? What if I make their lives worse instead of better?

Fortunately, I’ve come up with a solution. Instead of thinking about all those potential readers, I pretend I’m writing my post for one person.

Now that person could be a persona who represents your readers, or it could be an actual reader. Many of my ProBlogger posts started out as responses to readers’ questions. And some were my actual responses to readers’ emails (after removing any identifying information).

And that’s another advantage of writing for one person. Your blog will come across as being far more personal because you’re writing an individual instead of a crowd.

4. Get in touch with a reader’s problem, need, or pain point

Some of my best posts have come about after talking to someone about an issue, problem or challenge they’re having. And while I don’t like the idea of anyone suffering, knowing I may be able to help those who are suffering inspires me to write.

So as morbid as this advice may sound, start hanging out in places where people are in pain. Forums are a great place to start because people often go there to share their problems and ask for help. Read their story, and allow yourself to feel their pain. Then see if you can come up with a way to help them, whether it’s by offering a solution or simply letting them know they’re not alone.

And then let that desire to help inspire you to write.

5. Get into a rhythm

Make sure you schedule regular writing time into your week, ideally at the same time every day. That might mean every day, every weekday, or perhaps every Saturday or Sunday.

And try to choose a time that best suits your writing. My ‘golden hours’ are in the morning, and so that’s when I schedule my writing.

The most important thing is to make it a regular thing so you can get into a rhythm with your writing.

6. Set deadlines

Last week I mentioned a blogger who comes up with more than 100 post ideas every January, and then schedules them all to create her deadlines. Now, how do you think she’d go writing all those blog posts if she didn’t have those deadlines?

A lot of bloggers create their schedules by setting up an editorial calendar. We use CoSchedule for both ProBlogger and Digital Photography School, which helps us visualize our posts and when they’re due, as well as how they all fit together. But you can use any calendar tool, or even paper and pen.

I generally write my posts a week or two in advance. (Some bloggers plan their posts a few months in advance, or even longer.) It allows me to plan ahead, but also gives me the flexibility to be spontaneous.

So set yourself some realistic deadlines, and then push yourself to meet them.

7. Stimulate and inspire your mind

Food is fuel for your body. And the better the fuel you put into your body the better the performance you get out of it.

But while your brain also benefits from good food, your mind needs a different kind of fuel: stimulation and inspiration.

For me, some of it comes from learning, being mentally stretched, and having good conversations (and laughs) with people. So whenever I can I listen to podcasts, read books, and watch movies and documentaries. And not just about topics I write about, either.

For example, I often listen to the Hidden Brain Podcast, an NPR Hope podcast on human behavior. It’s not really connected to what I write about, but I always get ideas while listening to that particular podcast. I also listen to comedy podcasts, regularly watch TED talks, and read novels.

These activities not only fill your mind with new information to draw ideas from, but also give you a mental break from your work. And it’s often when you’re not thinking about your topic that you get great ideas (just as you often do while you’re in the shower).

Of course, you should also keep up to read up on your those lightbulb moments.

8. Use outlines

Most of my blog posts start with some kind of outline. I’ll start with the need or problem I’m trying to solve, and then come up with a list of things I want to say about it.

That list starts out being very light – a few words for each point I want to make. I then work through the list and expand of each one.

Sometimes I don’t have much to say about any of them, in which case I simply publish them as a list post. But I usually find I can expand on each one quite a bit, and it becomes a long-form post with segments and/or subheadings.

Once I’ve finished writing the ‘meaty’ part of my post, I’ll turn my attention to the introduction. I usually write my introductions after writing the main section, as I generally talk about the need or problem I’m addressing and how the reader benefit from reading my post.

From there I work on the conclusion, which is usually a call to action, and finally the title.

Of course, this isn’t the only way to write a blog post. Michael Hyatt has a six-point template for his blog posts. He starts with a compelling title, followed by a lead paragraph, a relevant image and a personal experience. After that comes the main body of his content, and finally a discussion question.

If you’ve never used an outline or a template before, why not give it a try?

9. Write in a different style

When my writing gets stuck, I sometimes challenge myself to write a different type of blog post. And I find that approaching the information from a different ‘angle’ usually gets the words flowing again.

So if you always write ‘how to’ content, try writing a story post. If you always write personal posts, try writing a review post.

Varying the length of your posts can also help. If you always write long, meaty posts, challenge yourself to write a 100-word post. And if all your posts are relatively short, try writing a 2000-word post.

Once, when I was really dry, challenged myself to write in the third person. And the result was 5 Things You Should Know about My Dad the ProBlogger, a post written in the voice of my son who was one at the time. Setting myself that creative challenge got the juices flowing again. It was fun, and it got a great response from my readers.

So whether you choose a different type of post, a different length or a different voice, give yourself some sort of challenge. You may find it helps you get back into the flow better. And you’ll learn more about writing as well.

10. Talk about what you’re going to say out loud

My final tip is to do something that might have people thinking you’re a little bit crazy: compose your blog post by speaking out loud.

I go for a walk most days. And during those walks I often recite the blog post, talk or keynote I’m working on out loud. I’m sure my neighbors all think I’m a little bit crazy, but sometimes I think best out loud and need to say it before I can write it.

Another tactic I use sometimes is to jump onto Periscope and talk about an idea that’s half formed in my mind. Having that conversation about it i(even if it’s just a one-way conversation) gives me inspiration, and what I’m working on usually turns out much better as a result.

Another option is to publish your outline on social media and ask people for feedback. The responses you get may not only inspire you to finish the post, but also help you flesh it out and make it better.

In an ideal world you’d never suffer from writer’s block, and so you wouldn’t need to know any of these techniques. But I don’t know of any blogger who hasn’t become stuck at some point or other, and I hope these techniques can help you get your word flowing again.

But I realize these all come from my own experiences. What techniques have you come up with to get the words flowing again? Please share them in the comments.

Photo by Mazhar Zandsalimi on Unsplash

The post Third Step to Beating Writer’s Block: Getting the Words Flowing appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 84 of the ProBlogger podcast.

In last week’s post I talked about the different types of writer’s block I’ve suffered from over the years, such as:

• having no ideas to write about
• having too many ideas to write about
• continually being distracted
• starting posts, but never finishing them.

This week’s post is all about conquering that first one: having no ideas to write about. I’m going to show you how you can come up with fresh ideas to write about, and keep your blog exciting and useful for your readers.

Solving a common problem

Running out of ideas is a common problem for bloggers. When you start your blog you may have dozens or even hundreds of ideas in reserve. But sooner or later that reserve of ideas runs out, and you start to think there’s nothing left for you to write about. Every idea you come up with has already been covered by you or someone else.

And the ideas you once had are replaced by questions.

“What can I write about that’s fresh?”

“What topics will have a lasting effect on my readers?”

“How can I stand out from everyone else?”

Some bloggers found the struggle so hard that they gave up blogging altogether. But the truth is there’s always something new to talk about, even if it means talking about an old idea in a new way.

Changing someone’s life

What topics will have a lasting effect on your readers? Anything that will change their life.

I’m sure you’ve all read at least one blog post that changed your life in some way. And chances are you started reading their blog more often as a result. So writing a post that will change other people’s lives is nearly always a good bet.

Not sure how to go about changing their lives? Have a listen to episode 11 of the ProBlogger podcast, where I talk about identifying the change you want to make and mapping out the journey you want to take your readers on.

Solving a problem

Another great way to come up with ideas is to think about the problems your readers are having and how you can help solve them.

Both ProBlogger and Digital Photography School were built around the idea of educating people and trying to solve their problems. And looking at my most successful posts, nearly all of them do just that.

But not all problems are solved through education and knowledge sharing.

Some people may feel they’re alone, or that no-one else is going through what they’re going through. And so writing a post where you admit you’re dealing with the same or a similar issue, and encourage them (and others) to share their story could help solve their problem.

Others may simply be bored, in which case an entertaining blog post may be just what they need.

Thinking about people’s problems (and writing posts that help solve them) not only gives you plenty of ideas but also creates a lasting impression. Solve their problem once, and chances are they’ll come back the next time they have a problem.

But how do you find out what problems you should try to solve?

Start with your own problems

If you’ve managed to solve a problem you once had, a blog post about what it was and how you solved it could help your readers solve it as well.

Even if you haven’t solved it yet, write a post about it. You could help others going through the same issues simply by making them feel less alone. And who knows? One of your readers may have the perfect solution.

Frequently asked questions

Whenever someone asks a question in a comment, email or conversation, make a note of it. Over time you may find some questions are being asked again and again by different people. Writing blog posts that answer them will help not the people who asked the question, but also those who didn’t ask the question (but still want to know the answer).

How are people finding you?

Look at the referral information your analytics program (e.g. Google Analytics) is collecting for you. Did anyone ask a question when they typed in their search term? If so, could you answer it (or at least talk about it) in a blog post?

(Unfortunately, Google no longer provides all the search terms people entered to find your blog. But what it does provide can still be quite useful.)

What are people looking for on your blog?

Do you have a search bar on your blog? If you do, what are people searching for with it? Again, your analytics program should be collecting this information for you.

Unfortunately, finding out what people are searching for within your blog isn’t quite so straightforward. But rather than try to explain how to do it here, I suggest you read a post I wrote about Google Analytics, which includes information on how to identify these types of searches.

There’s no harm in asking

The best way to find out the questions people have and problems they face is to ask them directly.

You can do it by running a survey, creating a poll, running small focus groups, and even emailing or phoning some of your readers. Just keep the questions open-ended so people can talk about their problem or issue in their own words.

Look at other sites in your niche

You probably know about other blogs, groups and forums that are related to your niche. Spend some time in them and see what people are talking about. Chances are you’ll come across a comment that gives you at least one idea to write about.

And don’t be afraid to use other people’s blog posts as springboards for your own. If some has written a post with seven tips for doing something, there’s nothing wrong with linking to it and saying, “I found these great tips in another post, and thought I’d give you a few more”.

Don’t forget social media

Social media is a goldmine when it comes to finding questions you can answer in a blog post. People are always asking for advice, and you can easily find the questions they’re asking simply by searching for keywords related to your niche.

Some final tips

As much as we’d all like these ideas to just pop into our heads, the truth is you often have to make the effort (and the time) to find them. So my first tip is rather than having to do it every time you write a blog post, put aside half an hour or so and try to come up with as many ideas as you can.

One blogger I know comes up with an entire year’s worth of blog post ideas every January. (She writes two blog posts a week, so that’s 104 ideas she has to come up with.) She even puts dates on them all to create her deadlines.

Which brings me to my second tip. Make sure you have a system for capturing all those ideas you come up with. It could be something as simple as a notebook you carry around with you, or something like Evernote or Dropbox. Just make sure you capture those ideas as you get them, because those ideas can be fleeting.

And those ideas can often pop into your head as you’re writing your posts. You may think of a tangent you could take, or something you’ve written could lead to a question you could answer in a future post. Or you might suddenly think of a completely different angle you could take with the same topic or material.

Just make sure you write them down.

Hopefully you now have some ideas about what you can do to come up with new… well, ideas.

I look forward to reading the results.

Photo by Kaizen Nguyễn on Unsplash

The post Second Step to Beating Writer’s Block: Coming Up With Fresh Ideas appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 83 of the ProBlogger podcast.

This week I want to talk about writer’s block.

Actually, I’ll be talking about it for the next few weeks. It’s such a common problem for bloggers, and it can really mess up your plans of having a successful blog if you don’t learn how to beat it.

Notice that I said “beat it” and not “avoid it” because I’m not sure you can avoid it. Every writer faces it at some point or other, including me. And so over the next few weeks I want to share some tips and help you tackle it from different directions.

Sally’s story

A while back I received an email from Sally, who asked:

”Do you have any tips for bloggers with blogger’s block? I really want to take my blog to the next level, but I’m completely stuck. Every time I sit down to write, nothing comes. And the more it happens, the more stressed I get and the less the words seem to flow.”

I could almost feel Sally’s frustration as I read her email because, as I said earlier, writer’s block hits us all at some point. And so ‘d like to talk more about the issue, and how you can get the words flowing again.

You have no idea

Over the years I’ve learned there are different types of writer’s block. And the first step to beating it is to find out what type you’re actually dealing with.

The first type of writer’s block is what I call an ideas impediment. You sit at the keyboard ready to write, but you have no idea what to write about.

I think this is the type of writer’s block Sally was experiencing when she wrote her email. She wants to write, but she’s struggling to come up with ideas on what to write about.

And that struggle can be extremely frustrating.

When you’ve been blogging for a while, coming up with something new to write about can be extremely difficult. You may even reach the point where you’re convinced you’ve written about every topic you could possibly cover in your niche. I’ve been writing about blogging since 2004, and about photography since 2007. So believe me when I say I know how you feel.

(Next week I’ll be talking about various ways to break out of this line of thinking.)

The writing’s not on the wall

The second type of writer’s block I’ve suffered from is hitting the wall, where you have plenty of ideas but can’t get into the rhythm of actually writing content.

And often it happens because you have too many ideas.

This is something I struggled with a lot when I started ProBlogger. I had so many ideas on what I could write about that I couldn’t get into the flow long enough to write about any of them.

It also happened when I tried writing all of my content at night. I know some of you find it the best time to write, but it’s a horrible time for me. I produce much better content in the morning.

Fortunately, in this case the solution was relatively straightforward. I simply reorganized my schedule so I had more time to write in the morning. And depending on when you’re at your most productive, you might be able to beat this type of writer’s block by doing the same.

I also started setting myself deadlines, because I actually work to pretty well when I have one.

Coming distractions

Something else I tried that might work for you is to create an environment where you’re not being distracted as much. Rather than use my main computer where I’d be constantly bombarded by Skype and Slack messages, I used my other computer in a café where there wasn’t any internet. And while you may think a café would be the last place you’d go to avoid distractions, I found working there really helped me get into the flow.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be a café. You might find your local library is ideal. You might even find that simply ‘pulling the plug’ on your internet connection where you are does the trick. You may also need to turn your phone off or switch it to silent mode.

(I’ll be talking about this more in the next week or two.)

Almost finished

The final type of writer’s block I want to talk about this week is what I call ‘completion constipation’, where you keep starting new posts but never get around to finishing them.

And I’m embarrassed to admit this is something I’ve also struggled with over the years.

I once logged into ProBlogger’s WordPress dashboard and found 93 draft posts that I’d obviously started but never finished. I also had a notebook full of ideas I wanted to write about, as well as documents on my computer containing bullet points of posts.

I wasn’t having any problems with coming up with ideas, outlines or titles for blog posts, which may seem like an enviable position to be in. But for some reason I was really struggling with seeing any of my idewas through to completion.

Whenever I talk about this I always ask my audience to share how many blog post drafts they have in their WordPress installation. And I’m always amazed at how many people admit they have 50, 100 or even 200 half-written blog posts. The problem seems to be that we all have so many ideas that we’re constantly abandoning what we’re doing and moving onto the next one.

For me, the solution was to dedicate a little more time each week to completing, polishing and publishing all those half-written posts. (I’ll be talking more about this in the next week or two as well.)

What’s stopping you?

Where are you getting stuck? Are you struggling to come up with ideas? Do find it hard to get into the writing flow? Or do you also have a long list of unfinished posts? Let us know in the comments.

And if you have some other suggestions for how to beat writer’s block, please share them.

Photo by Aubrey Rose Odom on Unsplash

The post First Step to Beating Writer’s Block: Finding out Why You’re Stuck appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 67 of the ProBlogger podcast.

This week I want to talk about creating a product for your blog.

Last month I talked about my various profit streams, and how nearly a third of my profits come from product sales. And that’s obviously one good reason to create and sell products – it’s a great way to monetize your blog.

But there’s another reason you should do it that goes beyond money. But before I get into that I want to tell you a little story.

A tale of two buskers

A while back my family and I were enjoying a beach vacation up in the northern parts of Australia. One night, while we were enjoying a refreshing ice cream, we came across two street performers (or ‘buskers’ as we call them here in Australia).

The first one was playing a guitar and singing, he had his guitar case open in front of him to collect loose change from passers-by. Our kids nagged us to stop and listen (they’re fascinated by street performers), and so we did. He was a good singer and a great guitar player, and we left a couple of dollars in change before moving on.

A little further down the road we came across another performer collecting loose change with his guitar case. With his honky-tonk guitar, harmonica, bells on one foot and a home-made kick drum on the other, this guy was a bit of a one-man band. But performance-wise he was similar to the performer to the first performer we’d encountered, and just as good.

But I’m guessing that second performer would have been earning at least 10 times as much as the first.

Why? Because he also had two CDs for sale – $15 for either one, or $25 for them both. And in the 15 minutes we were listening to him I saw eight people buy at least one CD. And we ended up buying both of them.

So having a product to sell was obviously helping him make more money. But what I found interesting is that people seemed to be taking him more seriously than the other guy. I overheard a couple of people commenting about how the CD’s meant he must be serious about his music. Having a product gave him credibility (as well as something to talk about with his listeners).

Those CDs also gave him another advantage – it helped people remember him. They could re-live his performance whenever and wherever they liked simply by playing his CD. And because they now knew his name they could recommend him to others, and perhaps even check out his web page and connect with him on social media.

(When I tucked my boys into bed that night, my three-year-old insisted on sleeping with one of those CDs – the ultimate testament to having a product to sell.)

Busking on your blog

When people start monetizing their blog, many of them try putting up ads. But sometimes I wonder if that’s the blogging equivalent of busking for tips. (And yes, I’ve fallen into this trap myself.)

In my experience, having a product to sell really takes things to the next level. And like our CD-selling performer, creating my own products and selling them my blogs has been rewarding in more ways than one.

The most obvious benefit is money. Whether you’re selling a book, an ebook, a membership or simply your knowledge and expertise, you can potentially make a profit (and perhaps even a living) from it.

That’s incredible!

But having a product to sell can also give you credibility. Just as people took our second busker more seriously because he had CDs to sell, people started taking me more seriously when I started selling products on my two sites.

And that credibility can lead to all kinds of opportunities. Within 24 hours of releasing my first ebook I was approach by a publisher who wanted to publish it. And while the content of the ebook obviously helped attract their attention, I believe the credibility and authority I gained from creating it in the first place also influenced their decision to approach me. (I honestly don’t think it would have happened otherwise.)

It can also lead to deeper relationships with your readers. As people worked through my 31 Days to Build a Better Blog ebook they often sent me emails and tweets along the way, creating an ongoing relationship. And that kind of thing can lengthen and deepen the relationship you have with your readers.

Heavy traffic ahead

Launching a new product can also create a spike in your site’s traffic, whether it’s from:

• the emails you sent
• affiliates promoting your product
• word of mouth.

Whenever we launch a product we know we’ll be getting a lot of traffic that month, which creates other ongoing benefits for our site.

Other benefits

Here are two more quick benefits of creating your own products:

1. You’ll probably learn a new skill or two along the way simply because you’re going beyond what you’d normally do. And learning new skills is always a good thing.
2. You’ll start thinking about your topic in a way you perhaps haven’t thought about it before. When I was approached by the publisher to write the first ProBlogger book I’d already been blogging about blogging for a while. But having to write an entire book about it forced me to think about it in a deeper, ‘big picture’ way.

Stop dreaming, and start doing

Most bloggers agree that creating and selling products is a great idea. But ask them about actually creating those products and you’ll hear a variety of excuses as to why now isn’t the right time for them.

And I can say that because I’m one of those people.

When I started Digital Photography School in 2007, I dreamed monetizing that blog with an ebook. And having promoted other people’s ebooks on that blog I had a pretty good idea about the topics I wanted to cover.

But I also had a long list of excuses as to why I couldn’t write it.

• We had a newborn baby in the house, and so I had no spare time.
• I was also sleep deprived, and so I wasn’t thinking clearly enough.
• I didn’t know how to write, edit or design an ebook.
• I didn’t know which shopping cart to use.
• I didn’t know what marketing tactics to use.
• No-one would buy it because I wasn’t a professional photographer.

And those excuses held me back for two years.

In 2009, having decided I needed to either kill the idea or act on it, I started spending 15 minutes each day on it. First came the planning, and then the writing and editing. When it was done I started looking for a designer while researching shopping carts. And towards the end I spent those 15 minutes writing marketing copy, sales pages, and sales emails.

Three and a half months later everything was ready, and I sent the launch email out to my readers.

Around ten minutes later I received an email telling me I’d made my first $15 sale. And ten or so minutes after that another email came in. I’d made $30, and I was excited.  Admittedly it wasn’t a great return for three months’ work, but I was still proud of myself.

Eight minutes later the next sale came in. Five minutes after that, the next sale came in. They started coming in every three minutes, then every two minutes, and then every minute. Soon they were coming in every 30 seconds, and then every 10 seconds. I can still remember waking up my wife at 3am and saying, “You wouldn’t believe what’s going on in my inbox”.

It went on to make US$72,000 in 10 days.

Yes, it was great to be making that kind of money. But it was also great to know my readers would buy something I created. And it was great knowing I had the skills and the ability to get it done.

Since then we’ve created something like 40 products. In some ways creating new products becomes easier because you have more skills and more confidence in yourself. But in other ways it becomes more difficult because you start thinking, I don’t actually need to create anything else because I already have products that are selling quite well.

But need to fight against that complacency and keep creating products. Because one of those products could be just what your readers have been waiting for.

Your first product

Some of you might be thinking, I’d love to create a product I can sell on my blog. But I have no idea what it could be. So here are some tips to help you create your first product.

Solve a problem. What are the top three problems your readers are having? What kind of help do they need? Creating a product that solves those problems and provides that help could be a great place to start.

Build on content you already have. Creating a new product from scratch can be quite overwhelming. So why not reduce your workload by basing it on content you’ve already created? cut down the work?

Now this may sound like cheating. But as long as you’re upfront with your readers, and include new content along with the content you’ve already published, it can be a great way to start the ball rolling with your first product.

Test your idea on your blog. Got an idea for a product, but aren’t sure people will be interested? Write a few blog posts on the idea and see what the reaction is like. If people seem interested, you can then use those posts as the cornerstone of your new product.

See what others in your niche are doing. Check out what products other people in your niche are selling. This will give help you decide what types of products are worth creating, along with what topics they should cover.

Become an affiliate for other people’s products. Promoting your competitors’ products might sound a little strange. But signing up as an affiliate means you can earn a little extra money while learn:

• whether your readers will respond to that type of product
• the ideal price point to target
• how to best promote a product for sale.

Start small. What product would be the quickest and easiest for you to create? It could be a small ebook, a short course, or even a quick guide people can print out and keep on their desk. You may not make a fortune from each sale. But you will pick up some new skills (and a lot of confidence), and get your readers used to the idea of buying things from your blog.

Take it one step at a time. The thought of creating an entire product can be overwhelming. So break it down into lots of small tasks you can tackle one at a time. When I wrote my first book, I broke the process down into a series of steps: planning, writing, editing, design, research, and so on.

Creating small tasks made them easier to complete. (I only had 15 minutes a day to work on them.) It also meant I could tick them off as I went, and make it feel like I was making real progress.

Make the time. While breaking the process up into small tasks is a great idea, you still need to make the time to complete them. It might be 15 minutes a day, or one full day each weekend. Whatever you decide, try to maintain a schedule so you keep making progress. It will be worth it in the end.

As I mentioned earlier, we now have 40 products available on the two blogs. And since 2009 we’ve probably sold half a million products. But none of it would have happened if I hadn’t pushed myself to create that first ebook.

What product will you be creating for your blog? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash

The post How to Create Products and Sell Them on Your Blog appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 57 of the ProBlogger podcast.

Today I want to talk about nine hurdles I’ve faced as a blogger, and how I got over them.

While you may never have to deal with them all, chances are there’s at least one you’ve either faced in the past or will face in the future. And so hopefully you’ll be able to get over them (or perhaps around them) without them slowing you down too much.

So let’s start with the first hurdle I faced…

1. Not understanding the technology

When I first started blogging back in 2002 I was a technological Luddite. For the first three months I didn’t even know how to make text bold. At that point all I’d really done online was email, a little bit of search and some IRC chat – none of which were particularly technical.

But I had no experience in coding, registering a domain, setting up a server or designing a website.

So I started by using a free blog platform. Back then it was either Blogger or Blogspot (I can’t remember which), which is now Blogger and owned by Google. It handled all the hosting, and provided WYSIWYG I could use without needing to write any code.

In a way I was outsourcing all the design work so I could concentrate on writing content.

These days I’m much more technically savvy than I was back then. But I’m still not an expert at some things, and so I outsource them to people who are.

And if you’re not overly tech savvy I suggest you do the same. Don’t let technology get in the way of you realising your dream or fulfilling your goals. Chances are you’ll learn how a lot of it works as you go along. And there are plenty of people in the blogging community and on YouTube who can teach you what you wish you knew.

Just keep in mind there will always be new stuff to learn. But you don’t need to learn it all at once, and some of it you may not need to learn at all. All that matters is that you can keep doing what you’re doing.

2. Being scared of looking silly

Given that I didn’t even know how to bold a piece of text, you’ve probably guessed that my blog wasn’t exactly a work of art. Compared to other people’s blogs it looked pretty awful, and I was worried that it might make me look a bit silly.

And it was the same with my content. I’d never had any formal training in writing, and compared to what other people were writing my content seemed quite amateurish.

Fortunately, I got past my fear of looking stupid and kept working on developing my blogging voice and skill set. And over time that fear of looking stupid began to subside.

One tactic I used to get over that fear was to change my focus. Instead of worrying about what I didn’t know (and how that lack of knowledge looked on the page), I started focusing on trying to solve problems that I knew people were having.

And when people realise you’re trying to help them, they’re more than willing to forgive the fact your blog isn’t a work of art and that you’re not a complete expert on the topic.

So just as you shouldn’t let technology hold you back, don’t let the fear of looking silly hold you back either. If your heart is in the right place, and you’re generally trying to help people, no-one will care how you’re doing it.

3. Lack of focus

As I mentioned in a recent post, my first blog was about churches, theology and spirituality.

At least to begin with.

As time went on I started talking about my other interests – movies, politics, photography, life in Australia, and eventually blogging itself. The more topics that I wrote about, the more I enjoyed blogging.

Unfortunately, I also got more pushback from those readers who didn’t share my eclectic mix of interests.

So I started to niche, creating a new blog for each topic I wanted to write about. They gave me a chance to focus on a particular topic, and get a feel for what it would be like writing about it for the long haul.

Out of the 30 or so I started, only two remain – ProBlogger and Digital Photography School. But starting the others wasn’t a waste of time because they helped me figure out what I wanted to write about (and what I didn’t want to write about) long-term.

If you have a general blog, you might want to give niching a bit of thought. It can make it easier to monetize your blog, as well as find a readership for it.

Of course, some bloggers do very well as generalists. But most successful bloggers have a particular focus.

4. Blogger’s block

I went through my first bout of blogger’s block a few years after I’d started blogging. Up until that point it had all been relatively easy. But then my creative juices suddenly stopped flowing, and I found myself staring at the screen wondering if I’d ever come up with another idea to write about.

It was soul-destroying stuff. Fortunately, that particular bout only lasted a week or so. But I’ve suffered numerous bouts of blogger’s block since then.

But they didn’t all have the same symptoms.

Some had me thinking, What should I write about? Some had me stuck at the writing stage, which I guess was writer’s block. And some had me blocked at the point between writing a draft and publishing it. (I still have dozens of unpublished blog post drafts.)

So what do you do when you’re suffering from blogger’s block?

I always try to work out where the blockage is, and then come up with a way to allocate more time, creativity and energy to that particular area. For example, if I’m struggling with ideas block, I’ll see if I have a list of ideas I’ve brainstormed earlier. If I don’t, then I’ll get away from the computer (and the dreaded blank screen) and try to brainstorm some.

(For more ideas on how to beat blogger’s block, check out this post.)

5. Blogger’s burnout

Similar to blogger’s block is blogger’s burnout. And it’s something else I’ve suffered on and off over the years.

Remember how I said I’ve had around 30 blogs over the years? Well, at one point I was running 20 of them at once, and trying to publish new content on them all every day.

As you can imagine, it was a recipe for disaster.

The quality of my blogging suffered, and so did my health. And the only way I could keep blogging was to scale everything back. I went from 20 blogs to just two – ProBlogger and Digital Photography School.

Having so much more time to devote to those two blogs meant the quality of my posts improved almost immediately. And so did my health. More importantly, I now had the time and the energy to sustain them both.

The truth is you don’t need to have multiple projects on the go. You don’t even need to publish every day. You’re far better off taking the time to produce quality content. And your body and your mind will thank you for it.

6. Personal attacks

Blogging is one of those mediums where you need to keep putting yourself out there by sharing your ideas, your experiences, your story, your photo, your voice and your videos.

And some people will feel the need to provide feedback on what you’re doing.

If you’re creating content that helps people, most of that feedback will probably be positive. But no matter how positive and constructive your content is, chances are someone will attack your ideas. It may even get a bit personal.

Unfortunately, it’s all part of blogging and putting yourself out there.

So how do you deal with these personal attacks?

To start with you may need to develop a slightly thicker skin so they don’t feel as much like an attack. Of course, that’s easier said than done. But over time you’ll become better at ignoring them.

Try to stay positive, not just with your blogging but also with your responses to people’s feedback. Again, that can be easier said than done, but you should still try. And remember: sometimes the best response is no response.

And finally, try to surround yourself with positive people – online and offline.

7. Lack of readership

While you don’t necessarily need millions of readers to be a full-time blogger, pretty much every monetization strategy relies on you having at least some people reading your blog. And the more readers you have, the easier it is to make money from your blog.

Which can be really frustrating when you’re just starting out.

I remember the early days of blogging where I almost lost hope. I’d spend hours writing great content every week, and then look at the stats and realize hardly anyone was reading it.

We’ve talked a lot about finding readers on ProBlogger, so I’m not going to dwell on it much here. But what I will say is that when it comes to building your readership you need to take a long-term view. Keep producing great content and your readership will increase. You just need to hang in there.

8. Choosing the right monetization model

Of course, having lots of readers doesn’t guarantee you’ll have a profitable blog. You also need to find the right monetization model for your blog.

And that can take time.

I’ve talked about my experiments with different monetization models in a recent post, so I won’t go into too much details here. But I would like to say a few things about it here.

Always be thinking about other income streams, even when the one you’re using is working really well for you. At one point I was making good money from AdSense. But I realized the economy was changing, and that it wasn’t going to last forever. And so I began experimenting with different types of affiliate promotions, as well as creating my own products.

As it turns out that advertising model didn’t disappear. But it has certainly changed, and it definitely good to have these other income streams working for me.

The other thing to remember is not to overboard. You need to balance the needs of your readers with your need to monetize your blog.

9. Time management

When I started blogging I was working three part-time jobs and studying part-time. I was newly married, and trying to keep my social life going as well as some voluntary stuff I was doing.

My life was very full.

When I became a full-time blogger I was able to give up some of those part-time jobs. But even though I was no longer juggling multiple jobs, I was still juggling multiple blogs with different income streams and lots of reader requests.

Now I have a wife, three kids, two relatively successful businesses and a team of people I outsource to. So I still have a lot of balls I need to keep in the air. And so time management has become vital for me.

And it’s something you should work on too.

For me it’s a matter of working out my goals and my priorities, deciding what I must do to reach them, and then getting organized and being disciplined about doing it. Your time management strategy might be completely different. The most important thing is to find the one that works for you.

What hurdles have you faced as a blogger? And how did you manage to get past them? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Jeremy Chen on Unsplash

The post 9 Blogging Hurdles I’ve Faced as a Blogger and How I Got over Them appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This year I’ve attempted to do live streaming Q&A sessions on the ProBlogger Facebook page on a weekly basis. I have noticed that each time I do go live, I’m getting more and more questions about my set up for live video – whether that’s about what camera I use, my lights, workflow process or the software that helps the whole production.

My set up has evolved over the last few years. Then, late in 2019, we moved into a new home which further pushed me to tweak my set up.

In our old home, most of my streaming happened from my desk but my new office has more room, so I wanted to create a ‘mobile’ video set up that would enable me to stream from different parts of the room.

I purchased a small mobile lectern and began to build my studio on it.

While I’m not sure it will ever be complete – as I’m constantly thinking about ways to improve – I decided recently to create a behind-the-scenes video of the set up.

Live Streaming Gear Mentioned in This Video

• Sony A7 III
• Sony 28mm f/2 lens
• Sony 55mm f/1.8 Lens
• Sony A6400 with a Sony 16mm f1.4mm (a good cheaper alternative)
• Rode PodMic (XLR mic)
• Rode Podcaster (USB mic)
• RodeCaster Pro
• Shure SM58 (XLR mic)
• Neewer 480 LED Lights
• Softbox for Neewer 480
• LEDGO LG-B150
• Manfrotto magic arm
• Manfrotto superclamp
• Ecamm Live
• Elgato Camlink

Update: New Background Lights

Since filming this video I’ve also added a couple more lighting elements. I wanted to add a bit more color and interest in the background, so I picked up two options:

1. Aputure MC – this tiny light is amazing. It allows you to choose any color (full spectrum) and adjust intensity and saturation which makes it perfect for adding accent lighting in your background. I’ll use it in a similar way to the Ledgo lights mentioned in the video.
2. Philips Hue Lights – these ‘smart lights’ from Philips have been a lot of fun to play with. They’re not ‘studio lights’ by any means though but rather have been designed as lights for around the house. Via an app you can not only dim these lights but also choose any color of light that you want.

Initially, I picked up some light strips for behind the TV in our living room but loved them so much that I decided to get some hue lights for the office too.

I got some Hue Play lights which now sit behind my monitor and a couple of globes to go in lamps on my desk. I will use them as background lights in my videos but also am just enjoying having some backlight behind my monitor for when I work.

Here’s is how they look (excuse the lower quality iPhone photos please).

And here’s my latest Facebook Live where you can see those Hue lights in the background.

The post A Tour of My Home Live Streaming Studio appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 187 of the ProBlogger podcast.

The internet landscape has changed a lot of the years. In the beginning, nearly all the content was text. But these days we can get our message across with videos, podcasts, infographics, animations and more.

Which begs the question: What does the future hold for written content?

But before we start talking about the future, let’s talk briefly about the past.

The primitive web

As I mentioned in last week’s blog post, I started my first blog back in 2002. It’s no longer around, but thanks to the Internet Archive I got to see what it looked like all those years ago. (Well, once I remembered what its Blogspot URL was.)

Now, I’ve never considered myself a web designer. But believe me, I was even less of a designer back then. I almost cringed when I saw how ugly it looked. Then I started reading it and cringed again at all the spelling mistakes, and in some cases the naivety of what I was writing back then.

But it was well worth the trip down memory lane because I immediately noticed the complete lack of visual content. The front page had ten posts on it, and all them were just text. The only visuals were the tiny 100x100px images I’d put in the header of my design (and that had taken me days to get there).

Of course, back then we were all using dial-up internet connections, which made it hard (if not impossible) to upload images. Even uploading those 100x100px images was difficult. And if I did include an image in a post then I’d get complaints from my readers because it took forever to download.

And nearly all bloggers were in the same boat, which meant only a few were including images or any other form of multimedia.

Another reason most people were sticking to text back then is the tools simply weren’t around to create anything else. We didn’t have the hardware or the software to create videos or podcasts, and even the graphics programs back then were pretty primitive.

The modern web

Things are a lot different on ProBlogger. Every blog post on both of those sites has at least one image. (We have a rule that no blog post goes up without one.) We’re also doing live videos on Facebook and embedding some of them into our content as well. And we also have the ProBlogger podcast, which adds an audio element to the blog.

Creating audio and video content has become incredibly easy. I can pick up my phone and go live on Facebook in a matter of seconds. And thanks to the tools available it’s easy to extract the audio to create another medium.

But recording audio on its own is just as easy, if not easier. Plug in a cheap microphone, hit record and you’re away.

It’s getting to the point where people are expecting something more than just words. They want the complete audio-visual experience, or at the very least something they can see. And so some people are relying less and less on the written word.

So will we reach the point where written content will be abandoned completely?

The need for words

Throughout history we’ve seen technology come along that provides another communication medium – newspapers and magazines, radio, television, CDs, DVDs, streaming audio, streaming video, and so on. And while the percentages of what mediums everyone uses may have changed over the years, they’re all still alive and kicking.

Video is definitely popular right now, as podcasts were a while back. That may be because we now have the bandwidth and the tools that make creating and distributing video possible, if not easy. But I believe that just as written content has always had a place in the real world, it will also have a place online.

For a start, a lot of people prefer written content to anything else. When I launched the ProBlogger podcast I got some great feedback. But I also got some feedback that was quite negative. A lot of people sent me emails saying, “I don’t listen to audio”. And when I started adding Facebook Live video links to the newsletter I got emails from people saying, “I don’t watch video”.

Now there may be technical reasons for this, such as having slow internet speeds or not wanting to blow their download quota. Or perhaps they don’t want to have to download an app just to listen or watch. But some people simply prefer the written word, which is why we have a transcript of every episode of the podcast.

Another reason written content won’t be disappearing any time soon is search engines. While Google now includes videos and other visual mediums in its search results, most of what it’s indexing is text.

Written content is also far more scannable than audio or video. You can easily search for a word or phrase in a page of text. It’s much harder to find specific information in a video or audio recording (unless the creator has either provided a transcript or an index with time codes).

And written content is easy to create. Yes, audio and video equipment is becoming cheaper to buy and easier to use. But it still takes time to set it up and learn how to use it. It’s much easier to open up a WordPress document and type straight into the editor.

And speaking of editors, words are a lot easier to change compared to audio and video. Occasionally I’ll listen to a podcast episode and think, Oh no! I can’t believe I made that mistake!

Of course, I could go back and edit the audio. The tools to do it are getting better all the time. But splicing and rejoining audio is a lot more difficult compared to editing text.

Striking a balance

Now I’m not saying the written word is the best medium for communication on the internet. And I’m definitely not saying it should be the only medium. (As you probably know, there are things you simply can’t put into words.)

What I am saying is that I don’t think it’s going to be disappearing any time soon.

I like to think of it as one of the tools in my communication toolkit (along with video, audio, images, etc.) that I pull out and use when the situation calls for it. And there will be situations when a given tool will be a better choice than the others.

For example, video is great for showing your personality and who you really are. And that can help you build trust and credibility, which in turn can help you become a credible authority in your niche.

It’s also great for explaining how something is done. What would you prefer: reading a list of instructions telling you how to build something, or having someone show you how to build something?

But some people do really with text because they’re great writers, such as Seth Godin. Seth writes really well, and his articles are short and punchy. His blog may look like mine did back in 2002 (all text apart from the image of his bald head and glasses), but it’s very popular and deservedly so.

And sometimes the ideal solution is to combine several of these tools. Colin Gray of The Podcast Host once did a talk about ‘content stacking’ as a way of communicating more effectively. He talked about bringing the written word, audio, video and visual content together to create a stack of content that leads people through a learning process.

The not-so-final word

The written word has been around for centuries. And it’s just as relevant today, despite the other forms of communcation that have come along.

And the internet is no different. While video is now the flavour of the month, I believe written content will always have a place, either as an alternative or an enhancement.

What do you think? Will written content go the way of the dinosaur? Or will it always be part of the internet? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Annie Spratt

The post The Future of Written Content (and Why It Has One) appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 188 of the ProBlogger podcast

As you probably know, I have two main blogs – ProBlogger and Digital Photography School. And I’m very fortunate to be in a position where I could devote all of my time to either one of them and still earn a full-time income.

But while are definitely benefits in having two well-established blogs, those benefits come at a cost.

So this week I want to talk about both the benefits and the costs of having multiple blogs so you can decide whether it’s worth doing.

But first, I need to talk about how these two blogs came to be, and about the other blogs that were discarded along the way to get to this point.

My first blog

In 2002 I started The Living Room, where I blogged about my experience of being involved in a new church (which was also called “The Living Room”). And on that blog I talked about the history of the church, as well as other aspects of my life – life in Australia, politics, television, movies, sport, blogging, photography, getting married, and so on.

Now back then it was okay to cover multiple topics on the same blog, which is why I did it. And at the time my readers didn’t seem to mind, either. But as blogging matured, and people started focusing on specific niches, things became a little tense on The Living Room.

A lot of my readers wanted to learn about specific things (the church, photography, blogging, etc.), and weren’t really interested in anything else. I felt compelled to serve everyone’s needs, which meant I often had thoughts along the lines of, Well, I wrote about blogging yesterday, so I can’t write about it again tomorrow. I’ll need to write about another topic to serve my other readers.

I started to feel constrained, and that I no longer had the freedom to write the way that I wanted to. So I looked at the categories I wrote about on The Living Room and started new blogs based on some of those categories.

The rest of my blogs

My first niche blog was a camera review blog I started in late 2003. It was also the first blog I made money from by putting some Adsense ads on and referring people to Amazon with affiliate links.

It worked really well. So well, in fact, that I tried to replicate my success by starting a camera phone review blog. (This was back in the day when phones with cameras were just coming out.) I even started a blog where I reviewed printers, thinking Well, they’re kind of related to photography. I even started a blog on the 2004 Olympic Games being held in Athens.

And then I created ProBlogger and started talking about how I made money from my blogs (and how others could make money from theirs).

At this point I had four or five blogs going. The camera review blog was making good money, and the camera phone blog was doing okay. But ProBlogger completely took off, largely because it was the only blog devoted to making money from blogging at the time. And when I announced I was making a six-figure income from blogging, that became big news and a lot of other blogs linked to it.

It was the tipping point for ProBlogger. A few months in, it had a sizeable audience and was making a bit of money. And I was experimenting with different ways to monetize it, which I’ve talk about in a recent blog post.

But the number of blogs I was involved in quickly grew when I started a blog network called The Breaking News blogs with some friends over in New Zealand. And by 2005 the number was up to around 30 blogs.

A reality check

But out of those 30 or so blogs, only three were doing well. ProBlogger was doing exceptionally well, the camera review blog was doing well, and the camera phone blog was doing okay. (My Olympic Games blog did really well during the event, but then quickly died away.)

But while the review blogs were going reasonably well, I wasn’t enjoying writing for them. And if I wanted to keep blogging then I really needed to find a way to enjoy it. At this point I was starting to make a decent income from ProBlogger, and so I decided to kill off some of the other blogs so I could focus on it more.

The first thing I killed off was the Breaking News blog. This freed up a lot of my time, which I used to grow ProBlogger even more. And in 2006 I killed off the camera review and camera phone blogs.

That was a big risk, because at the time those two blogs were my main source of income (around $100,000 a year). But they were killing me. I’m neither a techie nor a review kind of guy, and so they were kind of soul-destroying. I wasn’t overly satisfied with the quality of the posts, either.

So I went from reviewing cameras to blogging about how to take better photos – something I was far more passionate about. And I knew I had a better change of building an audience with a ‘how to’ blog more than with a review blog.

But as I said, I had ProBlogger to fall back on while I was setting up what would become Digital Photography School. It would have been much harder to establish them both at the same time. So even though your goal may be to have multiple blogs, you may want to focus on them one at a time. (That being said, you should definitely grab the domain names and social media accounts as soon as possible.)

The slow road to success

The first year or two of Digital Photography School were tough. I naively thought it would grow as quickly as ProBlogger had, but I was wrong. The people who read my original photography blog weren’t interested in the new blog. And hardly any of my ProBlogger readers were interested in it either, which was understandable. I had to work really hard on writing content and growing the archive, along with growing its traffic by writing sharable content, networking, writing guest posts and collaborating with other bloggers.

And back then I was doing pretty much all of it – the writing, the promoting, the comment moderation, the partnerships and the monetization. I almost gave a couple of times because it wasn’t growing as quickly as I wanted it to. Still, it was growing. And I realized that if I could grow it by 10% a month (or even every two or three months), it would eventually have a significant amount of traffic that could help me generate a significant income.

And that’s exactly what happened. Digital Photography School is now around eight or nine times larger than ProBlogger. And while I still put a lot of time and effort into ProBlogger because it’s a personal brand (which I’ll talk about soon), my main business focus is Digital Photography School.

The pros and cons

Now, let’s talk about the benefits and downsides of having multiple blogs.

The first benefit is having the freedom to write about more than one topic. We generally write about things we’re passionate about. And chances are you have more than one passion in your life. Having multiple blogs allows you to write about each of your passions without ‘muddying the waters’ or feeling you have to write about a certain topic just to maintain a balance.

The second benefit of having more than one blog, at least from a business perspective, is you can diversify your income. Having multiple income sources is always a good idea in case one of them suddenly dries up. And like every other business venture, there are no guarantees that your blog will last forever.

Out of the 30 or so blogs I’ve had over the years, only two of them worked out to any extent. But as you now know, ProBlogger and Digital Photography School grew from other blogs I’d started earlier. So another benefit of having multiple blogs is you get to try out different ideas and see which ones have potential and which ones will probably never work.

But while having multiple blogs can be beneficial, there are also some drawbacks.

The first is having to spread your focus and attention across multiple blogs. When I was writing content for my 30-odd blogs, the quality of that content wasn’t great. In fact, most of it was pretty boring. A lot of the time I was just rehashing news from camera and printer manufacturers and trying to get as much traffic and as many AdSense clicks as I could. It wasn’t interesting, wasn’t meaningful, and wasn’t really useful to anyone.

Another drawback from having multiple blogs is the risk of burnout. When I had those 30 blogs I was working 12–16 hours a day writing content for them. (I was trying to write new content for them every day, which wasn’t realistic.) Reducing the number to just two really helped in terms of my work-life balance, my health, and my passion for what I was doing.

And of course, it’s hard to create good content when you’re feeling burned out. So you end up writing not only less content but also less valuable content, which can do more harm than good.

How to decide

Ultimately, whether you should have multiple blogs or not comes down to your goals and what you want to achieve.

If you want to build a business empire and become a billionaire, then focusing all your efforts on one blog and growing that business might be the way to go.

I sometimes wonder whether I could focus solely on ProBlogger or Digital Photography School and make it an even bigger business. And there’s a good chance I could.

The thing is, I don’t want to be a billionaire. Nor do I want to have a business with hundreds of employees. I simply wanted to create something small that’s meaningful not only to me but also to my readers. And I like to think I’ve done that – twice.

If you do decide to have multiple blogs, I strongly suggest you launch them one at a time rather than all at once. It will allow you to focus on each one as you build the systems, procedures and perhaps even teams you need to get it running relatively independently.

(Yes, as your blog gets bigger you will probably need a team of people to help you. It’s the only way you’ll be able to scale it to any extent. My first writers were guest writers, but I soon built a team of paid writers to help create the content. These days I have people who look after various aspects of both businesses including emails and customer support, design and tech, and even managerial work.)

One of the best things I ever did was to make Digital Photography School a non-personally branded site. While I may write the occasional sales-type post, 99% of the content is written by a team of writers and edited by someone else. Which means I don’t need to do much personally to keep the site running.

ProBlogger is a different story. My face is on the front page, and you see and hear me in videos and on the podcast. It’s branded much more personally, and so I need to do a lot more to keep it running. I enjoy it, so it’s not a problem. But it would be much more difficult if Digital Photography School was personally branded as well.

Branding is something you should consider if you’re going to set up multiple blogs. Personally branding them all means you will have to do a lot of the work yourself, which means you won’t be able to scale it as much as you would a blog that isn’t personally branded.

Having a blog that isn’t personally branded also means you will have a much better chance of selling it (if you ever decide to).

Finally, if you’re going to be running multiple blogs then you need to establish timetables and routines so you know what you should be doing at any given time. I’m not the most organized person, and I’m not great with diaries and the like, so this is something I’ve really had to work on.

And I’m just talking about writing blog posts. You also need to arrange times to write newsletters, have team meetings (if you have one), record podcast episodes (again, if you have one), run Facebook Live sessions, and so on. Not only does it help you keep them going, it helps your readers predict when new content is coming.

Over to you

I hope what I’ve talked about today has helped you decide whether to have multiple blogs, and how to get them all up and running.

Do you currently have more than one blog? Are you planning on having more blogs in the long term? What will they focus on? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Jason Blackeye

The post The Pros and Cons of Having Multiple Blogs appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 201 of the ProBlogger podcast.

“How do you create content that goes viral?”

I remember getting this question from a new blogger. They wanted a post to go viral on their blog, thinking it would suddenly shoot their blog’s traffic and profit into the stratosphere.

And who knows? It may have done just that. Unfortunately, without having plenty of content in their archive there’s a good chance those numbers would have come crashing down pretty quickly.

So I told this particular blogger what they needed to hear rather than what they wanted to hear. And I thought it would be worth sharing what I said with you all this week.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with writing content that might be shared hundreds or even thousands of times. I often talk about how important it is to write sharable content. But ‘going viral’ won’t necessarily give you the sustained traffic you need to make it as a full-time blogger.

While some bloggers may have achieved overnight success on the back of a single post, in most cases it took months (if not years) for them to become full-time bloggers. I’ve met thousands of bloggers over the years, and the fastest any of them have reached the full-time level is four months. And that was certainly the exception to the rule.

Most people take a longer to reach full-time status. And they achieve it by taking one step at a time.

The thrill

In the early days of Digital Photography School, I was obsessed with having my posts go viral.

And in January 2007 it finally happened.

The blog was about seven months old at the time, and I was averaging around 4,000 visitors a day. I certainly wasn’t complaining about the traffic I had, which came from a combination of:

• readers from my previous photography blog
• lots of evergreen content
• ranking relatively well in search.

But I’d been sitting on that number for a while, and I was no longer satisfied. I wanted more traffic, and I began to look at what other sites were doing.

I was particularly drawn to social bookmarking sites such as dig.com, which were huge at the time. I started analyzing the content being shared a lot on these sites. And I discovered certain characteristics they all shared.

I started writing similar content to those posts being shared over and over. It was quite different to the content I’d written so far. My posts became quite ‘fluffy’ – not very deep, and not very helpful either to be honest. They were written more to create controversy than to help anyone. And they all had titles that were practically clickbait.

And then I’d pitch them to sites by saying, “Here’s a post that might interest you and your readers”.

One of the sites I pitched my posts to was Lifehacker. And when they took the bait and linked to one of those posts, my traffic doubled overnight.

But that was just the beginning. The next day it was picked by digg.com, and I ended up with more than 100,000 visitors in a single day. I can still remember sitting at my computer, watching my stats climb every time I refreshed the page.

It was an incredible rush. And with it came the feeling that I’d finally be able to blog full-time.

The aftermath

But those incredible numbers didn’t last long, and the next day I had 4,100 visitors.

I was so disappointed.

I understand why so many people want their content to go viral. Getting that rush of traffic was amazing, and I doubt I’ll ever forget how I felt that morning. But despite trying to get all those new readers to read another post, sign up for my RSS feed and follow me on Twitter, I never got that traffic again.

For the next month my traffic was back to around 4,000 visitors a day. It started getting me down – I really wanted another rush of traffic. I wrote more posts like the first one, trying to recreate the scenario. But none of them took off. I pitched almost every post I wrote to Lifehacker, but they didn’t link to any of them. I even tried to game Digg and get my post voted up there, without success.

I was obsessed with going viral again. I desperately wanted a repeat of my earlier ‘success’. But all it did was encourage me to write more fluffy content designed to trigger shares rather than serve my readers. And while I did manage to get a few more posts to go viral, the spike in traffic lasted just as long.

The reality

My obsession with going viral continued for months. And then one day I realized what my 4,000-visitors-a-day figure really meant.

I had 4,000 people coming to my site every day. Out of all the web sites on the internet, they were making a conscious decision to spend some of their time on mine. And while I wasn’t getting 100,000 visitors a day, those numbers meant I was getting around 120,000 visitors a month.

Which was definitely worth celebrating.

But I also realized they were now getting short-changed. Because each time they visited they were getting formulaic headlines and fluffy content written specifically to be shared rather than to solve their problems.

And that had to change.

I changed not only what I wrote, but how I wrote. My new goal was to serve the readers I already had, and to grow my traffic slowly over time rather than in one big hit.

Of course, to serve my readers I had to know what they wanted. So I asked them by sending out surveys with questions such as:

• “Who are you?”
• “What problems are you having?”
• “What questions do you need answered?”

From those surveys I learned a lot about my readers, the problems they faced and what they wanted to know about. And I wrote content specifically to answer their question and try to solve their problems rather than to get clicks. And because I wasn’t continually refreshing my stats to see whether I’d managed to go viral again, I had a lot more time to write it.

Not only was I writing more useful content, I was also writing more of it. I quickly went from four posts a week to five, seven and eventually ten.

The human touch

Another bonus was I also had more time to interact with my readers. I started responding to comments more often, and we started a forum to try and build a community there.

I also started taking advantage of the traffic I was getting by encouraging those visitors to become subscribers. I focused more on building my email list and creating email content that would engage those readers and bring them back to the site again and again.

I still tried to write the occasional piece of shareable content. But rather than try to hit the ball out of the park with every post, I’d try it once in a dozen or so posts.

And as it turned out, whenever I did write sharable content my writers happily shared it for me because I was serving them better.

Again, they were just spikes rather than a massive growth for my blog. But they certainly helped in terms of social proof.

A month after deciding to focus on my readers rather than my traffic, I was getting 4,500 visitors a day. Three months later that figure had grown to 6,000 visitors a day. And a year later my blog was getting 9,000 visitors a day.

It still gets the occasional spike in traffic. But those spikes are just a bonus. My goal is to grow my traffic from day to day and have people stick around for the long term.

And now, getting 100,000 visitors a day is normal for us. But only because I stopped chasing viral traffic and started creating content to help my readers.

The lesson

I honestly hope you get to experience that moment when one of your posts goes viral and your traffic goes through the roof. But don’t let it distract you from your long-term goals. Remember why you started blogging in the first place. And never take the fact people are choosing to visit your blog again and again for granted.

Look after them. And in the years to come, they will look after you.

Image credit: George Pagan III

The post The Key to Long-Term Traffic and Profit for Your Blog appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 153 of the ProBlogger podcast.

Last week I talked about my profit streams – what they were, and what each one earned as a percentage of my total business profits.

In case you missed what those percentages were, here’s a summary:

• affiliate commissions – 46%
• product sales (ebooks, presets, course and printables) – 31%
• AdSense – 8%
• sponsorship – 6%
• ProBlogger job board – 5%
• ProBlogger events – 3%
• miscellaneous – 1%.

Now I can understand how all of those numbers (and the profits they represent) may seem overwhelming to a lot of you. And that worries me, because the last thing I want is for you to think you’ll never achieve numbers and that you should abandon the idea of making money as a blogger.

So this week I’m going to add some context by telling you how I created all of those profit streams. Because I didn’t create them all overnight, nor did I create them all at once. And knowing the journey I took to create them all over time may help you do the same.

Starting from scratch

I started blogging in late 2002. And in my first year I earned… nothing.

But it wasn’t a wasted year. Not at all. For me it was a foundation year where I learned a lot about the tools and the culture of blogging.

It also helped me not only improve as a writer but also build up a decent archive of content. That helped me rank in Google, which brought me a small audience. And in that same year I learned how to communicate and engage with that audience.

I also learned how to drive traffic to my site. It certainly wasn’t as much traffic as I get now, but it was a start.

In fact, that first years paved the way for a lot of what followed.

My first steps towards monetization

In my second year of blogging I began experimenting with ways to earn money from my blogs. They were costing me money, and not just from me buying domain names and hosting. They were taking up a lot of my time (by this stage I’d started a second blog where I reviewed digital cameras).

I discovered AdSense (Google’s advertising network), and started putting their ads on my blog. Back then they were quite ugly. A lot of them were text-based ads, and about all you could do in terms of customising them was change the colours. But from day one I started earning money from them – not enough to buy a coffee (it was only a few cents a day), but it was still better than nothing.

Around the same time I started experimenting with Amazon’s Affiliate Program (or the Amazon Associates Program as it’s now known). For those of you who don’t know how it works, you set up a link to an Amazon product using a special link that’s tied to you. If anyone then buys that product after using your link to find it, you get a small commission. And in my case it really was a small commission – a few cents a week. Amazon was just a bookstore back then, and I was earning 4–5% commissions on $10 books.

It may not have been a lot of money. But it was a wonderful learning experience.

Of course, I wanted to be earning a lot more than a few cents a day. So that year (and the next) I worked really hard on bringing more traffic to my sites. After all, the more people I had visiting my sites the more chance someone would click on one of ads or links. Of course, it was great to see more and more people reading my posts. But having more money coming in was also a great incentive.

Another thing I worked on was optimizing my income streams. I learned how tweaking things in AdSense (the number of ads, their sizes, their positions, etc.) could affect how much money you earned. Back then you could tweak the colours and even the design to an extent.

I also experimented with my Amazon Affiliate Links. I learned how to use calls to action to improve the chances of people buying those products. I also put those calls to action in different places on my blog to see if I could improve my chances even more.

And while all that was happening I was still creating lots of content, driving traffic, and building a  community.

A more direct approach

In years four and five I added a few more income streams to my repertoire, the first being direct ad sales.

Advertisers were now starting to target my site, to the point where the same advertisers were on my site all the time. But while they bringing in revenue, I knew Google AdSense was taking a cut. So I reached out to some of them to see if they would rather work with me directly.

Again, it wasn’t a lot of money. My first direct advertiser (an Australian camera store) paid me $20 a month to advertise on my site. From there I started charging a monthly fee in return for having a specific type of ad in a specific position on my site. I charged more for banner ad in prime positions, and less for sidebar ads in a less-visible position.

Like my other income streams the money only trickled in at first. But as my traffic grew, so did my revenue.

I also experimented with other affiliate programs. Other bloggers were creating their own ebooks, and I joined some of their affiliate programs to promote their eBooks and other products (and earn a commission for each one).

This time Yahoo! had an advertising network, and I started putting their ads on my blog, along with some from Chitika. I thought I’d lose some revenue from my AdSense ads, but all that changed was me having a new income stream.

This was a lightbulb moment for me. I realized I could quickly increase my income by adding a second income stream. (It didn’t double my income overnight, but it came close.)

Product placement

Around the same time, Wiley (the US publishing house) asked me to write the ProBlogger book. Of course, that book became another small income stream. But the offer (which came completely out of the blue) only came because I’d been blogging on ProBlogger for a couple of years and had built a profile on that particular topic of blogging.

I also created a course with fellow blogger Andy Wibbels, which I ran on the ProBlogger site. The course (which I think was called Six Figure Blogging) no longer exists, but it was my first experience of having my own product to sell. And while I felt a little out of my depth at the time, I’m glad I did it.

Selling my expertise

In years six and seven I added three more income streams.

The first was being paid to speak at events. Again, this came completely out of the blue. I can still remember the first time I was asked to speak at a conference and being asked, “What’s your fee?” I thought, What? You’re going to pay me to speak at the conference? These days I say “No” more often than not (living in Australia makes it hard to get to conferences in other countries), but I still enjoy doing it.

I also tried my hand at consulting, where I would coach people about blogging. I quickly realized it wasn’t for me. I knew a lot about blogging, but I didn’t think consulting suited my style or personality. I figured I’d have a much bigger impact by creating content that lots of people could benefit from. And that led to me creating some of the products we have on ProBlogger such as the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog course.

And around this time we also created the ProBlogger job board. Again, it didn’t generate much income at first (we were only getting two or three jobs a week). But since then it has become what is probably the most passive income stream I have.

More product placement

In years seven through to ten I focused on building different types of products.

At this stage I’d started Digital Photography School, and I started putting 15–20 minutes aside each day to work on my first ebook. A lot of the content came from posts I’d written about portraiture and how to take good photos of people. After bringing all the information together, I got it edited and found someone to design the book for me.

All up it took about four months.

I was worried no-one would buy it because a lot of the information was already on the site. (I was completely upfront with my readers about this.) But we ended up selling $70,000 worth of copies in 11 days. And again, it only happened because I’d spent all these years building my audience.

I now had another income stream. And since then we’ve launched around 35 other products on a range of topics we cover on ProBlogger and Digital Photography School.

For a while we also had a membership site on ProBlogger, where people paid a monthly fee to access premium such as webinars, closed private communities, and plugins we’d developed. It was profitable enough, but it wasn’t satisfying for me to run because there wasn’t much engagement. People signed up, and I didn’t quite know why.

We closed it down, and shortly afterwards we began the ProBlogger podcast. It doesn’t make anywhere near as much money, but I feel it’s having a much greater impact. And to me, that’s more important than money.

An eventful time

It was also around this time that I ran the first ProBlogger event.

The first three or four events didn’t make a profit, which was fine because it was more a labor of love. But running events with 400 or 500 attendees can get quite expensive (and risky) to run, so I started building some income streams around them.

We also started creating ‘printables’ – products specifically designed to be printed. On Digital Photography School we created posing guides with hand drawings of different poses for taking portraits. The idea was for people to take them to a shoot so they could point to a drawing and tell their subjects, “Hey, pose like this.”

And in years 12 and 13 we created more products such courses on different aspects of photography, and Adobe Lightroom presets that people can use to process their images with one click.

Over to you

I hope this puts your mind at ease about making money from blogging. As I said, looking at all those numbers can be overwhelming. But now you know the full story of how those income streams were created, and that it happened over a dozen years or so.

You may start making money more quickly, or it may take you longer. The most important thing is to not give up. You will get there.

So where has your monetization journey taken you? What income streams are you using now, and what will you be focusing on next? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Plush Design Studio

The post How I Created My Profit Streams and Became a Full-Time Blogger appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 150 of the ProBlogger podcast.

One of our main aims here at ProBlogger is to help people make money (if not a living) from their blogs. And we’ve certainly talked about it a lot over the years. We even have a portal dedicated to this very topic.

But this week I’d like to give you some concrete examples by telling you how I earn a living from ProBlogger and Digital Photography School.

Now before I get into the details, I need to tell you a few things.

Firstly, this information is based on ProBlogger and Digital Photography School (dPS) combined. Of course, seeing as dPS is about eight times the size of ProBlogger that’s where the bulk of the profit comes from. But these figures (or rather percentages) are for the entire business.

Secondly, I’ll be talking about profit, not revenue. They are two very different things, and talking about revenue without mentioning expenses isn’t very useful. Spending a thousand dollars to make a thousand dollars won’t get you very far.

Finally, I’ll be talking about percentages rather than actual amounts because talking about what I earn makes me feel a little uncomfortable. And depending on what stage you’re at on your blogging journey, the percentages will be far easier to relate to.

So, with that out of the way let me tell you how I earn a living as a blogger.

1.   Affiliate commissions

Nearly half of my income (46%) comes from affiliate commissions. Around 10% of those commissions are from Amazon, with the rest distributed among eBooks, courses, software and online services.

The great thing about commissions is there are no expenses (other than the time it takes to set them up), and so you can keep whatever you earn.

2. Product sales

My second-largest income earner is product sales at 31%.

Remember how I said it was important to look at profits rather than revenue? I earn pretty much the same revenue from product sales as I do from affiliate commissions. But the eBooks, Lightroom presets, courses and printables I sell don’t just appear out of thin air. People put time and effort into creating them. And we pay them for their time and effort, which reduces our profits.

3. AdSense revenue

My third-highest income stream (8%) comes via Google’s AdSense program.

This was the first income stream I ever tried (somewhere around 2003–2004), and it still works for me. I don’t have to split the money with anyone, and because AdSense has already taken its cut there aren’t too many direct expenses.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it will work for every blogger and every type of blog. Digital Photography School gets four to five million visitors a month, which really helps with banner ads. AdSense seems to like our site as well.

And I should also point out that our AdSense income isn’t what it used to be. Some of that has to do with the direct sponsorship we’ve managed to secure. But even if we ignore that fact for a moment, AdSense’s earnings have been slowly declining over the past few years.

And it’s not just us. Most people who use AdSense or other ad networks have seen similar declines in income. And a lot of the ad networks are now developing different products because their revenue is slipping.

AdSense makes up about 8% of our total income. That sounds small but it’s fairly significant. It’s certainly a nice direct deposit to get in my bank account every month. It doesn’t go up and down a lot. It just really depends on traffic. As I said, slowly declining as well.

4. Sponsorships

Next at 6% is sponsorships (i.e. working directly with brands).

I started doing this around 2004–2005. I can still remember ringing a camera store for the first time and saying, “Hey, would you like to reach people looking to buy cameras? Because I’ve got a photography blog”.

Of course, I then had to explain what a blog actually was. But I eventually convinced a camera store to pay me $20 a month to advertise on my blog. And as my traffic increased I’d would raise the monthly amount accordingly.

On Digital Photography School we offer sponsorship options to advertisers, and replace AdSense with their ads. But we’ll only do it if we’d earn more from the sponsorship deal than we would from AdSense. (We know how much an AdSense slot will earn us, and so we try to at least double the amount from a direct sponsorship ad campaign.

So far we’ve had sponsorship from:

• Canon and Tamron
• other photography education sites
• centers such as the New York Institute of Photography.

We also offer:

• placements in our newsletter (which goes out to about 700,000 readers every month)
• opportunities to run competitions on the site
• social media advertising (which we always disclose).

We haven’t used banner advertising or AdSense much on ProBlogger. But we have done a few sponsorships campaigns on the podcast and at events. In fact, the profit we make at events comes mostly from the sponsors.

(I’ve put the money we make from events in a separate category that I’ll get to shortly.)

5. The ProBlogger job board

Following closely at 5% is the ProBlogger job board, which we started back in 2006.

People pay US$50 to have their ad put on the job board for 30 days, which we then tell our audience about on Twitter.

The jobs barely trickled in at first, and weeks would go by with only one ad on the board. But it’s been growing ever since, and while I probably spent several thousand dollars getting it up and running, it now provides us with 5% of our income.

6. ProBlogger events

Around 3% of my income comes from the ProBlogger events we run.

For the first three or four years we just broke even. But then the event grew to around 300–400 bloggers, and the expenses also grew. (I once received a hotel bill for more than $100,000.) I started thinking, If this doesn’t work, people don’t show up, or something goes wrong it’s going to hurt a lot of people.

And so I started building in a profit margin to cover those potential risks.

But we still try to keep it as affordable as possible. And we must be doing a pretty good job because we always get comments from our attendees saying, “This is just so cheap”.

We charge our attendees around 80% of what it costs to put the event on. The profit comes from our sponsors, and varies from year to year as different sponsors come and go.

We’ve had some amazing sponsors over the last few years. Olympus is an ongoing sponsor for us, Olympus Australia, the camera maker. We’ve had a variety of different sponsors over the years.

7. Miscellaneous

The final 1% comes from things such as:

• speaking fees
• book royalties
• copyright fees (when Australian schools use Digital Photography School material).

Over to you

And there you have it: my income stream broken up into the various categories it comes from.

If you’re earning money from your blog, how do you earn it? Are you using affiliate links or AdSense? Are you selling products or services? Or are you doing something else? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Volodymyr Hryshchenko

The post How I Earn a Living as a Blogger from ProBlogger and Digital Photography School appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 117 of the ProBlogger podcast.

Over the past four weeks I’ve talked about the four stages of warming up your readers and turning them into raving fans:

1.           Getting the word out about your blog

2.           Getting first-time visitors interested in your blog

3.           Getting more subscribers, followers and connections

4.           Getting people to engage with you and your blog.

This week I’m wrapping things by sharing how one blogger with relatively few reads used these principles to earn more than $28,000. And she did it all with a single blog post, a SlideShare presentation, a lead magnet, an email sequence, and a webinar.

Donna Moritz runs Socially Sorted – a site that teaches non-designers how to create pro-quality visual content for more leads, sales and impact. And over the years she wrote a couple of big blog posts that did really well, including 36 Visual Content Creation Tools the Pros Can’t Live Without. She also created a SlideShare for the post (a way to repurpose your content that I talked about in something I talked about in How to Get the Word out about Your New Blog) that, according to Donna, “went nuts”.

She started writing blog posts for other people to promote their webinars and other events, and found she could drive a lot of traffic to whatever she was promoting. So when she was asked to be an affiliate for Amy Porterfield, she wanted to write a “firecracker” blog post (as she calls them) that would get the most attendees for Amy’s webinar.

The blog post

After spending a couple of weeks collecting information from influencers, she sat down and write 21 Pro Tips for a Packed House at Your Webinar or Live Event Using Visual Marketing. It was a list post with a great title (don’t you agree?), lots of visuals and lots of quotes. And it included both a banner ad for signups and a lead magnet

Being such a targeted blog post, it received less than a thousand shares. (Her two previous ‘big’ posts received 3,000 and 6,000 shares.) But Donna was just getting started.

The SlideShare

She created a 32-slide SlideShare presentation featuring quotes from influencers she featured in her blog post. It not only linked back to the blog post, but also included a link to free cheat sheet.

When her slides went out, she had 700 people subscribe to get that cheat sheet. (That number has since grown to 1,000.) And those slides (which have now been viewed more than 21,000 times) are still bringing in traffic.

The lead magnet

Donna’s next move was to create a lead magnet by offering new subscribers a free cheat sheet that related to the blog post. Using a Canva template, she created a nine-page PDF and gave subscribers the link as a way of saying thank you. (Her current lead magnet is a 14-page PDF titled, “99 Video Ideas”.) And so subscribers get two emails as soon as they sign up: the ‘welcome’ email, and a link to their free cheat sheet.

Donna believes the key to offering freebies as lead magnets is to follow up on them. “My mistake over a couple of years was not actually following up. They would download it and then that was it.”

And so she began creating her email sequence.

The email sequence

Donna admits she was terrible at doing them at first. “I didn’t even know what that was.”) But she persevered, and now has an email sequence that includes:

·         the traditional ‘welcome’ email

·         a question (which I’ll talk about in a bit)

·         an email explaining what to expect in later emails

·         a few emails with tips.

And after that they start receiving her newsletter.

Donna believes in giving her readers value from the word go. “I don’t want them to feel as if I’m saying, ‘Oh, I’ve got a webinar on’ out of the blue.” So when you subscribe you’re taken to a page on her blog that has links to articles and interviews that provide plenty of useful information.

The second email in the sequence asks a simple question: “Tell me your biggest challenge”. And more importantly, she reads everyone’s responses.

“That question has been great,” she says. “I struggle keeping up with the replies, but I do try and get to them all eventually. It’s like an ongoing survey. We’re going to get better at analyzing it because the responses are amazing.”

And she gets pretty good open rates with those emails. The first has a 70% open rate, the second 60% and the third 48%.

The webinars

In last week’s post I talked about engaging your readers (and getting them engaged in your blog) by using live video. But while Donna loves teaching and interactive with people, she doesn’t feel comfortable being on camera. And so she started running webinars instead.

Webinars gave her the opportunity to not only interact with her readers but also provide them with great content. And while they usually end with her promoting a program or event (“I’m getting better at the sales part of the end”), she’s totally upfront about it.

And to give you an idea of how good her content is, here’s a story she shared with me on the ProBlogger podcast:

Recently, I had a webinar where our internet went down in the middle of it. They could still see my slides but they couldn’t see me. I thought, Here we go. I’m just going to watch them all leave.

But they all stayed. I had more than 100 people stay for the entire webinar saying, “We like the slides”.

The result

One blog post. A SlideShare slideshow. A lead magnet. An email sequence. A webinar.

The result? More than $28,000 in revenue. That’s the power or warming up your readers by giving them great content, getting them to subscribe, and engaging with them.

Do you know of any other bloggers who do a great job of warming up their readers? Let us know about them in the comments.

Photo by Denys Argyriou on Unsplash

The post How ‘Warming up Your Readers’ Helped One Blogger Earn More than $28,000 appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

This post is based on episode 116 of the ProBlogger podcast.

Over the past few weeks I’ve talked about the first three stages of warming up your readers and turning them into raving fans:

• getting the word out about your blog
• getting first-time visitors interested in your blog
• getting more subscribers, followers and connections.

And today I’m to tell you all about the final step: getting engagement.

Yes, it’s nice to have people subscribing to your blog, following you on social media, and sharing what you’ve said with others. But what you really want is for them to talk back to you, join your conversations, and even start new ones.

So how to get people to stop lurking and start participating?

Be the community you want to create

If you want people to be engaging with you then you need to be engaging to them.

For some of you, this will be easy. My wife’s pretty good at this, especially on Instagram. Whenever someone makes a comment she’ll comment back and then head off to like their page. She loves this kind of engagement.

But some of you might struggle a little. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s like any other skill: some people pick it up easily, while others need to work a little harder to get there.

Unfortunately, you really do need to engage with your readers before you can expect them to engage with you.

Looking back at my own blogs, there were times where I was great at this. But there were also times when I wasn’t so great at it, and my blogs suffered as a result.

It’s a big commitment. But if you’re willing to make that commitment then the strategies I’m about to share with you will make a real difference.

Set up an autoresponder

Last week I talked about getting people to subscribe to your mailing list. But what happens when they do subscribe?

In a lot of cases they’ll receive a “Thanks for subscribing” email that tells them what they’ll get, how often they’ll get it, and how to unsubscribe.

And that’s it.

But if you set up an autoresponder you can also start engaging with them.

When you sign up at Caz and Craig Makepeace’s yTravel blog, you start receiving a series of emails they’ve set up with an autoresponder. The first email thanks you for subscribing, talks about what the email will be used for, and explains when they will be sent: “Every Wednesday you’ll receive an email with a personal inspiring message”.

It also tells you how to get the free audio download they offer as part of their opt-in, and what will be coming in future emails. (Yes, they send more than just that ‘welcome’ email.)

But what I really love about that first email they invite their readers to reply to it: “Reply now and introduce yourself. Tell us what is your travel dream, why travel a priority for you and what is the biggest obstacle in your way right now? How can we help?”

Remember me saying a few weeks ago that you should think about what your readers dream about and want to achieve? Caz and Craig are asking for that information straight away. They even ask the reader about their priorities and pain points.

But most importantly, it’s an invitation to start a relationship and engage with them.

In their next autoresponder email they talk about how they’ll help the reader make travel part of their life. In other words, they make a bold promise. They also provide links to three articles that closely relate to the reader’s pain and what they want to achieve, which gets people back to their site.

(That’s important. It reinforces your brand and gets them used to coming back to your site.)

And they finish their second email with another invitation to reply: “P.S. Don’t forget to reply to our emails at any time to tell us any content you feel is missing on our site that you like us to write about”.

The third email taps into the reader’s pain: “We’ve discovered that there are five reasons why you won’t travel. We wrote a series of posts to help you to discover ways to overcome these barriers” (which they probably found out about from that first email). This not only gets the reader back to their site, but also gives them a quick win.

What to create an engaging relationship with your readers? Then let them know in those first few emails by getting them used to coming back to your site.

Create engaging content

Another way to engage with your readers is to create engaging content.

You can make every post engaging to a point simply by asking a question at the end (“What is your best tip for finding new readers?”) and encouraging your readers for their answers.

But you can also create content specifically to engage your readers.

One option is to create a discussion post based on a particular question. In these posts you don’t provide the answers. Instead, you ask your readers for their answers.

In the early days of Digital Photography School, a reader asked: “How do I photograph a funeral?” (They’d been asked to photograph a funeral by family members who couldn’t attend in person.)

And I simply couldn’t answer it.

But rather than reply saying, “Sorry, I can’t help you as I’ve never photographed a funeral”, I raised the question in a post and asked my readers if they could provide an answer.

It was an amazing discussion, with many readers offering suggestions (some from personal experience). And it showed me the power of starting a discussion. My readers could see I was interested in helping them, and hearing what they had to say.

Is also led to other readers sending me their questions, and it started what became an ongoing series of discussions.

Something else we do on Digital Photography School is give our readers a weekly challenge. We announce a theme for the week, and then ask everyone to take a photo based on that particular theme. We did a similar thing on ProBlogger with writing challenges. I’d ask everyone to write a particular type of post (list post, opinion post, etc.) and then I‘d share a link to their post.

Another thing you can do is to run polls and surveys. But don’t just collect the information – share it with your readers. We often present the results in another blog post, which shows we not only got the information but are also willing to share and interpret the results.

Start live streaming

One of the most effective ways to engage with your readers (and have them engage with you) is by using live video.

Whether you use Facebook live, Zoom, Twitch or something else, it creates an incredibly engaging experience. They’re not just typing out a comment and posting it. They’re also on the screen with you.

In some of my Facebook live sessions I’ve had 30–40 people ask questions or leave comments. And experience has taught me that those same people will probably leave a comment on my blog.

It also gives your readers a chance to meet each other, which is a vital part of engagement. And live streaming is a great way to introduce your readers to each other.

Create content events

My final tip for building engagement is to create what I call content events.

Back in 2005 I ran a series of blog posts called 31 Days to Build a Better Blog –the first time I’d ever done a series that went for more than a week.

When I announced the series at the beginning of the month, my subscriber numbers jumped quite a bit. But during that month the engagement on ProBlogger went through the roof.

Why? Because every one of those 31 blog posts invited people to do something and share something. (For those not familiar with the series, each day I gave everyone an activity to do on their blog and invited them back to share the results.)

And as the participating saw what everyone else had done, they started engaging with each other.

Yes, it generated a lot of traffic. But it also created a lot of ‘stickiness’, bringing people back to ProBlogger day after day. And getting them to show up regularly, engage with you regularly and notice the other people on your site is a great way to build engagement

Turning content into an event with a specific timeframe is a powerful thing. Some people will stay for the duration because of the fear of missing out. But others will join because they know it will only be running for a month (or perhaps a specific number of weeks), and so they can fit it into their schedule.

So there you have it. How to get your readers to engage with you and your blog, which is the final stage of turning your readers into raving fans.

Do you have any other tips for engaging with your readers, and having them engage with you? Feel free to share them in the comments.

Image credit: Maxime Bhm

The post How to Get People to Engage With You and Your Blog appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

Over the past few weeks I’ve been talking about warming up your readers and turning them into raving fans. So far I’ve talked about getting the word out about your new blog, and getting those first-time visitors interested in your blog and what you have to say.

This week I want to talk about how to connect with them. That is, getting them to subscribe to your blog, connect with you, follow you, and give you the okay to contact them again. Because let’s face it: seeing how many people leave your blog as soon as they arrive without doing anything can get a little depressing.

What’s the best way to connect with you?

The first thing you should consider is how you want your visitors to connect with you. With so many options available days, you may find it hard choosing one over the others. I still believe (and so do many of the bloggers I’ve talked to) that email is the best option. For both of my blogs it’s the main driver of both traffic and sales. It’s also how our most loyal readers come to us.

Yes, social media is important. But for me, it’s secondary. I think it’s risky to build your primary point of connection on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. They can certainly help you build engagement with your readers. But they all have one big problem: you don’t have any control over them.

So make a point of asking for their email address wherever and whenever you can. And you can ask in various ways.

Get those all-important email addresses

To start, you should have a subscription form (or a call to action asking them to subscribe) in your navigation or sidebar. It’s not the best way to get someone’s email address, but it’s a good place to start while you’re working out other methods.

And what other methods can you use to get someone’s email address? By far the most effective ones for me have been pop-ups and welcome mats.

The first time I used a pop-up on Digital Photography School our subscriber numbers increased tenfold. Just as importantly, it didn’t lead to a decrease in engagement or an increase in our bounce rates.

Of course, this may annoy some of your readers, especially if they’re bombarded with pop-ups whenever they visit your site. But if you set it up so your readers only see it once, they can be very effective.

We also use a welcome mat where all the content on the screen slides down, effectively being replaced by a full-screen pop-up. That may seem a little over the top, but our subscriber numbers doubled when we started using it.

Offer a reward for subscribing

Another option is to use a lead magnet: “Give me your email address and I’ll give you this free e-book/checklist/exclusive content”. You could even have lead magnets on multiple pages of your blog, each with a different offer. Think about creating a library of lead magnets that relate to your blog’s main categories so you can offer them relevant rewards for subscribing based on where they are. You can also create ‘content upgrades’, which are lead magnets for specific items or posts on your blog.

Of course, the best places to put these incentives is on the pages/posts that are getting the most visits. Look at your Google Analytics data and see which pages/posts are getting the most traffic. Could you create a relevant lead magnet or content upgrade based on that page or post?

Be inspirational

I once did some analysis work on the traffic we were getting for Digital Photography School. Specifically, I looked at the pages people had viewed just before they subscribed to our blog. And I discovered something intriguing.

A lot of those pages didn’t have any prominent calls to action. But what they did have were images based around a photographic technique (e.g. using converging or leading lines) designed to inspire our readers and encourage to take their own photos using that same technique.

It made me realize that inspiring readers with images of what could be achieved in photography put them in a state of wanting to learn. And when they were in that state they were much more inclined to subscribe to our Digital Photography School site, which is all about help people improve their photography.

I went to those pages and started putting in stronger calls to action. And our subscriber numbers increased even more.

Set up a goal in Google Analytics to track when people subscribe. Then look at the pages they visited before they subscribed and add stronger calls to action to those pages – especially pages with inspirational content.

Create your own series

I’ve also noticed that more people subscribe to our content when we’re doing a series.

When I did the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog post series in 2005, our subscriber numbers really jumped. It happened again when I did it in 2007, and again in 2009. That series of blog posts really helped us to increase our subscriber numbers, not only to our email list but also our RSS feed and social media channels.

Think about how you might be able create a series based on your content. It could be a new post every day for a week or month. Or you might choose a particular day or the week or month where you write about a particular topic, or interview another blogger or influencer.

Your series doesn’t need to be long. But made it clear that it is a series, and that by subscribing your readers won’t miss any of it.

Don’t forget those other connection points

Earlier I said that e-mail was the best option for people to connect with me and my blogs. But that doesn’t mean I ignore those other connection points. And neither should you.

When I meet people in person who are fans of ProBlogger and Digital Photography School, they often tell me they not only subscribe to our email list but also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the other places we have a presence.

So how do you build up those secondary points of connection? You can promote them in:

• your emails
• your blog navigation
• your sidebar
• your hello bar (if you have one)
• those other connection points (e.g. posting “I’m about to do a Facebook live here” message on Twitter, and including the link to Facebook).

Start making those connections

Those are just some of the ways you can make a connection with those first-time visitors before they disappear – possibly forever. Which ones are you going to try? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: William White

The post How to Get More Subscribers, Followers and Connections appeared first on ProBlogger.

      

UPDATE: Because our free March Content Sprint was so popular we are now running a series of paid 7-Day Content Sprints running Live:

• 13-19 July 2020
• 17-23 August 2020
• 14-20 September

More information and sign-up here: https://problogger.com/contentsprint/

A Free 7-Day Course to Create New Content
Does your blog need a momentum boost? We’ve decided to run a LIVE 7-day Content Sprint to help support you create a plan and 6 new pieces of content for your blog in just 7 days.

Starting next week (Monday 23rd March at 5pm PDT/8pm EDT / Tuesday 24th March at 11AM AEDT) Darren will be teaching live daily on FB in our ProBlogger Community Facebook Group (join here). Each day for 7 days we’ll roll out supporting resources here in the course and add the video in case you can’t make it live.

Join us here: https://problogger.com/freecontentsprint/

The post 281: Join our 7 Day Content Sprint appeared first on ProBlogger.