In November 2002 I first heard the word blog after a mate e-mailed me a link and said I should consider starting one. Within 24 hours I’d created my first blog (a blogspot blog that doesn’t exist today). Since that time I’ve run 20+ blogs (most have survived, some have not) and I’ve also transitioned from hobby blogger to part time blogger to full time blogger.

Along the way have been many challenges, milestones and celebrations so today I thought I’d do some reflection and create a list of things I wish someone had sat me down and told me in the early days.

Here’s my top 18 lessons learned in my 20+ years of blogging. Write your own ‘lessons’ list and let us know about it in comments below. If you enjoy this list you might also like to subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date on more posts like this on blogging.

1. Be Lucky

I’m increasingly becoming aware that despite the many hours of hard work that I’ve put into building up my business that many others work just as hard and are much more talented than I am but do not enjoy the success that I’ve been fortunate to have. While I don’t believe that luck is the main ingredient in my own story I am convinced that in combination with some of the other things I’ll talk about below it has been of real importance.

The luck I’ve had along the way has included just happening to bump into the right people at the right time (on many occasions), discovering ad systems that just happened to work well on my blogs, starting successful blogs quite by accident, getting links from bigger blogs that led to a snowball effect of incoming links from elsewhere through to choosing the right partners for different projects. I could write many thousands of words on the luck I’ve had but I’ll not bore you with the details except to say that I’ve been a lucky boy.

The key I’ve found with luck is to run with it and to make every lucky instance last as long as possible. So when you strike it lucky enjoy it but also ask yourself ‘how can I capitalise on my good fortune?’

2. Work Hard

Of course the saying that goes ‘you make your own luck’ has some truth to it. Gary Player once said – “The harder I practice, the luckier I get”

I’m a strong believer that to be successful you need to be willing to work hard. While there are plenty of people selling ‘easy money’ on the web I’m yet to find a method of money making that doesn’t have at least some element of work to it.

Success in many areas of life comes out of discipline and hard work. Getting your body in shape, having good relationships, succeeding at study etc all take some level of commitment and work. Work alone is definitely NOT everything (I’ve seen many hard working bloggers who have not had success) but it is one element that I think is essential.

If you want to get to places you’ve never been before you need to be willing to do things you’ve never done before. This sometimes means leaving one’s comfort zone and knuckling down for some hard work.

3. Use the Power of Exponential Growth

I’m not sure that that heading is the right words to describe this but I can’t think of any others that begin to describe the way in which blogging has the ability to snowball. Perhaps it’s a ‘Tipping Point’ thing but as I look at the last three years in terms of blog traffic, earnings, profile and opportunities I see that the first 18 months were very very slow. Growth was definitely there from month to month but because the numbers were so small it didn’t really feel like I was going anywhere.

The wonderful thing about exponential growth is that if you stick at it for the long term it’s a very powerful force. I look over at the poll I’m running this month and see that 27% of bloggers who responded are making $10 or less a month from Adsense and I know it sounds so little.

In reality it’s not that much but it’s more than I was making 2 years ago from blogging.

Here’s a calculation that I kept in my mind in the early days.

If that $10 a month increases by 20% every month in a year you’ll be earning $89.16 per month at the end of the year. Of course that sounds small for a year’s work and I’m sure many bloggers would give up at that point but lets take it further.

If earnings continued to rise by 20% per month for another 12 months and you begin to see the power of exponential growth with a figure of $794.96 per month. Do it for another year and the figure is $7088.01 per month.

Do those figures with the figure of 30% growth per month and the figure after 12 months is $232.98 per month, after two years its $5428.00 and after three years it’s $126,462 per month! You get the picture. Now I don’t want to promise you 30% growth per month for three years straight but as I’ve written before, the power of exponential growth in conjunction with hard work and luck is possible – it’s my story. I see each post I write as an investment in the future and something that has the potential to earn money for me not just today but over the long term.

4. Differentiate Yourself

Part of the ‘Luck’ I’ve had is that I started blogging three years ago and not three weeks ago.

The Blogosphere has changed in many ways – some for the better (the technology and tools these days are much more advanced) and some for the worse. The downside of starting out now is that for every topic there seems to be many blogs already – the web is becoming more and more congested as people discover personal publishing. It’s also become a more competitive business on some levels and in some segments some of the co-operative spirit of blogging has begun to fade as people build their empires.

All of this means that if you want to build a blog that is a runaway success you need to consider how your blog will differentiate itself from all the others out there. While not every blog needs to reach ‘runaway success’ status for you to make a living from blogging (20 reasonably successful blogs can do just as well as 1 amazing one) even lower level blogs need to find ways to stand out from the crowd.

5. Provide Value

This almost goes without saying but I’ll say it none the less. A key question every blogger should ask when starting out is around the idea of what value their blog will give readers. As I look at the year ahead I’ve been asking this question about some of my own blogs. It’s easy to go a bit stale and so reviewing the value that you’re adding is an important part of keeping things fresh.

Value can be about many things including entertainment, education, community, information, companionship etc Without it you’re not likely to get people returning to your blog, linking to it or participating in it over time.

6. Target a Niche

I remember after about 6 months of blogging having a discussion with my readers (I only had the one blog at the time) about whether I should continue to write a blog that was very general in topic or whether I should start a few new ones. I took a poll and they were pretty split over what I should do. I wish at that point I’d started new blogs but out of fear of losing a few readers I decided to plough on with a blog that covered incredibly diverse topics and that increasingly frustrated more and more readers who shared one interest with me but who were not interested in the other things I was writing about.

Moving to a niche approach where I developed blogs around more tightly focussed topics was where my blogging went to another gear and it was probably one of the most defining moments in my business.

Read more about the benefits of niche blogging.

7. Diversify

This connects with my niche blogging point well but goes beyond just having multiple blogs on different niches. It’s really about taking the age old advice of not putting all your eggs in one basket.

While there is some real sense in focussing all your energy on one excellent blog there is some risk involved in this approach.

So much of blogging is out of the blogger’s control and there are numerous problems that could lead to a one blog strategy ending in disaster (these include search engine re-indexing, hacking, loss of data, character assassination, competition, the topic becoming obsolete etc). All good financial planners would advise not to invest in one type of investment but to spread the risk – I’d advise the same with blogging.

Diversification is not just about starting numerous blogs. It’s also about exploring a variety of income streams. i.e. if all your income is from AdSense it might be worth looking at other ad systems, affiliate programs, consulting work etc.

8. Don’t Spread Yourself too Thin

Of course take my points on hard work, niches and diversification to the extreme and a danger is developing so many blogs that none end up being remarkable enough to develop a readership and profile.

Balance is important so diversify to the point where it won’t decrease the value that you want to offer readers. This will vary from blogger to blogger depending upon many factors including available time, interests, personality, topic chosen etc. For some of you it will mean two blogs, for others it will mean 20 or more.

9. Have a Backup Plan

I’ve written on numerous occasions about the e-mails I regularly get from people telling me that they are quitting their job to become a full time blogger without much thought to how they’ll pay their bills in the year or three that it might take to build up their blogging to pay a reasonable wage.

The moral of the story is that it does take time and in the mean time you need a back up plan and some sort of way to help you transition into your blogging business. Very few bloggers are able to go full time quickly – you might need another job (I had numerous other jobs for over 2 years) or some other form of income to keep you going for a couple of years. In fact the fact is that some bloggers work their butts off for a couple of years and still don’t have anything to show for it at the end. So be responsible and see ProBlogging as having amazing potential but as being something that has no guarantees.

I strongly recommend having a backup income while you transition into blogging and to have in the back of your mind a backup plan for if things go wrong. I’ve been developing a number of other skills and interests over the past year simply because I don’t know how long blogging will last as a full time income. While I hope and expect it will continue to work out for me I know I have a few different options at hand to down the track if it all goes pear shaped.

10. Be Light on Your Feet

One of the things I love about being a solo-entrepreneur is that I have a business that is flexible enough to take opportunities very quickly as they come up. When a wave of luck kicks in after all your hard work you need to be able to position yourself to surf the wave. If you’re too cautious or have a model that is too rigid you might just miss the opportunities as they pass by.

I’ve been caught napping a number of times in this way but have also had a couple of times where I’ve taken the opportunities and reaped the benefits. Of course I’m not saying one should throw caution out the window, but try to build something that has checks and balances that isn’t going to strangle the life giving opportunities that might come your way.

11. Relationships are Key

I was attracted to Blogging in the first place partly because of the way in which it enabled me (a shy guy) to connect with others interested in similar things to me. From the very beginning I enjoyed the relational nature of blogging but also the way in which it allowed me to retreat into my introversion from time to time.

As I look at the things that have been most successful for me in my blogging most of them have had the key ingredient of another person (or more than one) to either help me or partner with me. Most recent is my partnerships with Andy with six figure blogging and Jeremy, Duncan and Shai with b5media but the relationships go back much further than that and are many and varied. I try to put time aside every day to seek out and build relationship with key bloggers that I’d like to work with in some ways – it’s amazing how these connections pay off in many unexpected ways.

12. Establish Boundaries

One of the first blog tips that I ever wrote was on setting boundaries for your blogging. The post itself was pretty naively written at the time – as I reflect upon it I’m not sure I really knew what I was talking about – it was a nice theory at the time. In more recent times I’ve come to see that the point of those I was quoting in the post was incredibly valid and wise.

Boundaries are very important on a number of levels.

Firstly they are important on a security level and for your own well-being. I know this personally from recent events. Writing in the public domain can have it’s own risks associated with it. Work out ahead of time what information you will and won’t reveal about yourself, your personal details and those of your family and stick to those boundaries.

Secondly it’s also wise on a readership and niche definition level. Go changing what you will and won’t write about in terms of topics too often and you run the risk of disillusioning your readership. While variety in topic and voice can add spice to your blog you also will want some consistency in your approach.

13. Don’t Read Your Own Press

I recently saw an interview with Elizabeth Taylor who was asked if she read much of what people write about her in the media. Here answer was no – she didn’t listen to or ready anything any written or said about her good or bad. Her explanation as to why was (paraphrased)

‘If you listen to the good things people say about you you might just start believing them. If you listen to the bad things people say about you you might just start believing them’

While I wouldn’t go quite as far as Elizabeth Taylor in saying don’t read anything written about you (after all conversation and engagement with others is what blogging is built around) I would encourage bloggers to hold lightly to the opinion of others about you.

It’s easy to become big headed when people rave about how great you and your blogs are to the point where you end up being a complete jerk and think you’re the messiah but on the flip side it’s also easy to become disillusioned and depressed when they rant about and attack you. Part of the skill of being a good blogger that comes over time is that ability to know when to take on board what others are saying about you and when to leave it. It is important to listen to the praise and critiques of others but try to keep them in perspective or it could lead to your downfall.

14. Beware of Hype

Controversy, Sensationalism, Big Claims and Rants are all very useful tools available to bloggers. Many a new blog has found itself in the spotlight (either by design or accident) after a post where the blogger created a stir with one (or more) of these elements.

I don’t have an issue with using these types of posts myself from time to time but I would advise that it’s very difficult to sustain a blog built solely upon these elements. Blog readers are a fairly fickle bunch and will come read your post that generates a stir but unless they find something of genuine value in your blog over time they’ll probably not hang around too long.

By all means use these tactics to get your attention (but have thick skin because creating a stir can cause a backlash) but you’ll want your blog to have something else going for it to make a lasting impression.

Also keep in mind the story of the ‘boy who cried wolf’. Hyped posts might work once or even twice, but they tend to lose their impact over time unless you work hard to make them fresh.

15. Get a Life

I remember someone once telling me that ‘no one ever gets to their death bed and wishes that they’d spent more time at work’. I remember nodding and making affirming noises. You see at the time I was a lazy slob, didn’t enjoy hard work and never spent much time doing any.

Of course these days I actually DO enjoy my work and the temptation is to spend a lot of time doing it. I love blogging for it’s creativity, relationships as well as the good pay packet that enables me to do things for others and I could quite easily spend a lot more time doing it. As a result I spend considerable time working at my business.

But I’ve also learned that unless I take time off the rest of life tends to fall apart at the seams. Not only that but the quality of work I produce suffers after 16 hours in front of the computer and improves drastically when I sleep more than 5 hours and interact with real people or get into one of my hobbies (go figure). While I love it, blogging will still be there tomorrow and I have a much more balanced approach to it than I once did.

16. Make Mistakes

It doesn’t feel that good when you stuff up or make a mistake but as I look back on the last year or so it’s the times when I’ve blundered that opportunities have often flowed. The key is to learn from the mistake, to make the most of what follows and to see it as an opportunity to improve what you do and make the most of any publicity that comes out of it.

Elbert Hubbard got it write when he wrote – ‘The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.’

Learn to see mistakes as opportunities.

17. Be Yourself

One of the temptations of starting a blog is to spend more time trying to emulate other bloggers than establishing your own voice and style. While there are a lot of lessons to be learned from other blogs there is a lot to be said for developing a strong blogging identity of your own.

There are a number of reasons for this that come to mind:

1. Transparency – readers are an insightful bunch and will quickly find you out if you’re not being genuine
2. Sustainability – it’s difficult to sustain writing in a voice and personality that is not your own. Be yourself and you’ll last a lot longer.
3. Consistency – regular readers of a blog overtime take on a sense of ownership of a blog. When you chop and change your writing to emulate and please others you’ll end up disillusioning the people who make your blog what it is (your readers). Be yourself and you’re more likely to be consistent (I’m not suggesting be monotonous – you can still be creative and surprising – just do it in your own style and you’ll be right).

18. There are No Rules

Lists like these always finish with a point like this that says ignore all of the above – but that’s not the point of this point (can you have a point of a point?).

All of the above is essential stuff (for me) but the thing I love about blogging is that it’s such a new and emerging technology that there are very few things that you can’t do or shouldn’t try.

Push the boundaries, experiment with the model you’ve got, try new tools and techniques and have a blast doing it. The worst thing you can do really is make a mistake – and we all know that they rock!

What Lessons have your Learnt in Blogging? Write your own list and leave a comment below telling us about it.

The post 18 Lessons I’ve Learned about Blogging appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

Ever dreamt of making a living through blogging but feel overwhelmed by the journey ahead?

You’re not alone. Many aspiring bloggers share the ambition of turning their passion into a full-time job, yet the path to achieving this goal often seems daunting.

The Dream of Full-Time Blogging

Last night I was chatting with a blogger who was feeling completely overwhelmed with their goal of making a living from blogging.

I asked them how much they wanted to make from blogging.

They responded that they wanted to be a full time blogger.

I pushed them for a figure – what does ‘full time’ mean for you?

They thought for a moment and said that they could live off $30,000 USD a year (note: they wouldn’t have minded earning more but would be able to quit their current job at this kind of rate).

$30,000 a year sounds like a lot to make from a blog – especially when you’re starting out and are yet to make a dollar. To this blogger it seemed so overwhelming that she had almost convinced herself that it was not possible.

Transforming Overwhelm into Action

If you’re in a similar boat, feeling like you’ve hit a wall in your blogging journey, here are three pivotal steps to help you navigate through:

1. Don’t Give Up Your Day Job…. Yet

Earning $30,000 a year from blogging is achievable, but it demands patience and realism. Overnight success is rare in the blogging world. Maintaining your current job while gradually building your blog ensures financial stability and allows you to invest in your blog without immediate pressure for returns.

2. Set Clear, Specific Goals

Saying that you want to be full time as a blogger is a great goal – but it’s not really specific enough. This is why I wanted the blogger I was chatting with to name a figure. For her full time was $30,000 – for others it could be more or less – the amount is not the point, the point is that you need something more concrete to work towards so that you’re able to measure where you’re at.

For me when I decided I want to go full time as a blogger I decided that I wanted to aim for $50,000 (Aussie Dollars) in a year as the bench mark (at that time $50,000 was around 36,000 USD). That’s around what I would have been earning in my current main job if I had been doing that full time (I was actually working a number of part time jobs at the time as well as studying part time).

Knowing what I was aiming for helped me in a number of ways when it came to getting to that goal.

3. Break  Down Your Goals into Something More Achievable

$30,000 USD still sounds big when you’re a new blogger – and in some ways it is. However there are different ways of thinking about that figure. Lets break it down in the way that I used to look at my target.

• $30,000 a year = $576.92 per week
• $30,000 a year = $82.19 a day
• $30,000 a year = $3.42 an hour

We could break it down on a monthly or on a minute by minute basis if we wanted to (in fact I did do it by minute from time to time for fun) – but the exercise is really about helping you to see that perhaps your big goal is a little more achievable if you are to break it down. Making $82.19 somehow seems a little bit easier to me than making $30,000 (or is that just me?). Viewing your goal through these smaller lenses can make it appear more attainable and manageable.

OK – the other way that I used to break down my goal that I found really helpful to me was to do it based upon what I need to achieve to meet that target. For me I would usually look at the daily figure – in this case $82.19.

What do I need to do to make $82.19 a day ($30,000 a year)?

Well there’s a number of ways that much. Lets look at a few:

• CPC Ads – lets say we’re running mainly AdSense on our blog and that the average click is paying 5 cents. That equates to 1643 clicks on AdSense ads (note: AdSense also runs CPM ads so it’s not quite as simple as saying you need 1643 clicks… but to keep this simple lets just go with that).
• CPM Ads – lets say that we’re running CPM ads on our blog and we’re being paid $2 CPM per ad unit and we had 3 ads on each page (which is effectively $6 CPM per page). This would mean we’d need 13,000 page impressions.
• Monthly Sponsorships – one way to sell ads directly to advertisers is to sell ads on a month by month basis as a sponsorship. To make $30k in a year you need to sell $2500 a month in ads. You might have 6 ad spots on your blog so this is 6 advertisers at $416.66 per advertiser per month.
• Low Commission Affiliate Products – Lets say we were promoting affiliate products from a site like Amazon and your commissions were on average about 40 cents per sale. To earn $82.19 you’d need to sell 205 products.
• High Commission Affiliate Products – In this case you might be promoting ebooks and earning $8 a copy (that’s what you’d earn selling my 31DBBB ebook per commission). The math is simple on this one – you’d had to sell around 10 e-books a day.
• Really Big Commission Affiliate Products – of course e-books are not the biggest product out there to promote – there are products like training courses where you can earn hundreds per sale. Lets take one that might pay out $300 for a yearly membership on a bigger product. In this case you need to sell 8 of these per month.
• Selling Your Own E-book – got your own product, perhaps an e-book, to sell from your blog? At $19.95 a sale you need to sell just over 4 of these a day. You can do the sums on cheaper or more expensive products.

Of course there are many many other ways to make money from blogs. Subscriptions, donations, paid reviews, selling yourself as a consultant….. etc. You can do the sums for yourself on your own model.

I know that some of the above figures still sound out of reach for bloggers – 1643 clicks on your AdSense ads sounds massive to a new blogger…. and it is – but do keep in mind that you can combine some of the above (in fact I’d recommend you diversify your income).

You might run 2 ad networks on your site, promote Amazon affiliates, sell your own e-book and promote someone’s membership course.

Reflecting on Income Streams

When I first aimed for a full-time blogging income, I diversified my revenue through a mix of AdSense, Chitika, direct ad sales, Amazon affiliate sales, and other commissions. It took over two years of dedicated blogging to reach my goal of $50,000 AUD annually and for me at that time my income mix looked a like this (going from memory here):

• AdSense: $35
• Chitika: $20
• Private Ad Sales: $20
• Amazon: $15
• Other Affiliate Commissions: $10

Note: I didn’t achieve this milestone until I’d been blogging for over 2 years (I blogged for the first year without trying to make money).

Embracing the Journey

This didn’t happen over night (let me emphasize this – blogging for money is neither quick nor is it easy money) but I really found that breaking things down into more bite sized pieces helped me to stay motivated but also helped me to identify what I needed to work on in order to reach my goals (and for me to quite my day job). Remember, persistence and a strategic approach are key.

Again – don’t quit your day job yet (in fact you may not want to quit it even when you reach your goal – it can be good to have a back up plan) but do work hard at being specific about your blogging goals and attempt to break it down in a way that helps you move towards them.

Remember: Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. By setting clear goals, breaking them down into achievable targets, and diversifying your income sources, you can build a blog that not only fulfills your passion but also provides a sustainable income. Stay committed, stay focused, and let every small success propel you closer to your dream of full-time blogging.

The post How to Make $30,000 a year Blogging appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

Maintaining Momentum in Blogging Series

Have you ever found yourself staring at your blog, wondering what on earth to write about next?

You might think you’ve explored every angle of your topic, leaving no stone unturned. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

Many bloggers encounter this challenge, especially after the initial excitement fades, usually between 6 to 12 months into their blogging journey. This feeling of having “said it all” can be discouraging, but it’s far from the end of the road.

The Myth of Exhausted Topics:

The feeling that you’ve covered every topic under the sun is a common misconception among bloggers. Rather than viewing your blog archives as a completed checklist, I encourage you to see them as a goldmine of untapped potential. Your past posts are not just remnants of your blogging journey; they’re stepping stones to deeper, more enriched content. Here’s why:

1. Depth Over Breadth: Topics, especially in dynamic fields like blogging, are never truly “done.” Just as you grow and evolve, so do your topics and your niche. What was relevant a year ago may have new implications today, and your understanding of certain concepts has likely deepened. This evolution is a perfect opportunity to revisit old subjects with fresh eyes and new insights.
2. New Readers, Fresh Perspectives: Your audience is continually changing, with new readers discovering your blog every day. These new followers haven’t journeyed through your archives; to them, your older content is brand new. Revisiting past topics can introduce your newer audience to valuable insights they’ve missed, while also giving you the chance to update and refine your earlier views.

As a result of these two factors you should see your archives of old posts not only as a collection of your previous thoughts but as a springboard for new ones.

I regularly scan through old posts for ideas for future ones. I particularly look for posts that I either disagree with (due to a change of perspective) or posts that I think I could go deeper with. Sometimes I link back to my old posts to show the progression of thinking but on many occasions I simply write them as standalone new content.

I often talk about how blogging is conversational in the way it lends itself to interactions between blogger and readers (as well as between bloggers). Here’s 3 Simple Ways to Make Your Blog Posts More Conversational.

Strategies for Leveraging Your Archives:

Turning your archives into a source of inspiration can transform the way you approach content creation. Here are some practical strategies to get you started:

• Audit Your Archives: Dive into your past posts and identify which topics could be updated, expanded upon, or even challenged. Look for posts that once sparked lively discussions or those that continue to draw attention. These are perfect candidates for a follow-up.
• Disagree With Your Past Self: As you evolve, so do your opinions and strategies. If you find posts that no longer align with your current views, write a rebuttal. This not only demonstrates your growth but also encourages readers to engage in the evolving conversation.
• Deep Dive Into Complex Topics: Some subjects can’t be fully covered in a single post. Identify previous topics that could benefit from a more detailed exploration. Breaking down complex ideas into multiple posts or series can provide tremendous value to your readers.
• Introduce New Formats: Revisiting a topic doesn’t mean you have to stick to the same format. If your initial post was text-heavy, consider creating an infographic, video, or podcast episode to explore the subject from a different angle.
• Encourage Reader Participation: Invite your audience to suggest topics they’d like to see revisited or expanded upon. This not only gives you direct insight into what your readers find valuable but also fosters a sense of community and engagement.

Here’s more about looking after and updating your archives.

Feeling like you’ve covered every possible topic in your niche is a sign that it’s time to revisit your archives, not a signal to give up. By viewing your past content as a foundation for growth and development, you can continue to produce engaging, relevant, and valuable posts for your audience. Remember, the key to maintaining blogging momentum is not always about finding something new to say but finding new ways to say it.

When you treat your archives as a living part of your blog that can be revisited over time you actually take the conversation into a new realm – talking to yourself. While ‘talking to yourself’ might sound a little strange (my mum always said it was the first sign of madness) I think its actually one of the first signs of a maturing blogger who is taking their blog to a new level by refining their thoughts on a topic. It’s through this refining process that real wisdom and expertise surfaces.

Without revisiting your previous thoughts or ideas you run the risk of becoming stagnant and limit your own growth in your chosen field.

Action Plan:

Start today by taking a leisurely stroll through your blog’s archives. What hidden gems can you find? How can your past self inspire your future content? Let the journey of rediscovery fuel your next great post.

• What do you see there that is out of date?
• What old posts do you disagree with?
• Where could you go deeper?
• What older posts might your newer readers have never seen?

If you’re still struggling, one of my favorite techniques in business for organising my thoughts, helping me to review, plan and organise my business and to think creatively and generate loads of ideas is to use mind mapping – listen to this podcast episode to hear how I do it.

The post How to Revitalize Your Blog Content When You Feel You’ve Covered It All appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

Maintaining Momentum in Blogging Series

I find it is very easy to get distracted by the many different elements of maintaining a blog and the allure of social media, to the point where I find it hard to do the core element – creating content.

Here’s how dedicating specific times to write can not only reclaim your momentum but transform your blog’s trajectory.

The Power of a Writing Routine

Establishing a writing routine isn’t just about discipline; it’s about carving out a space for creativity and productivity to flourish. Research suggests that routines can significantly reduce stress, enhance focus, and boost creativity. Embracing a consistent writing schedule not only helps in managing your blog more efficiently but also in nurturing your mental well-being.

I do this by setting aside time each day (usually the same time each day) for writing but also setting aside longer times on a weekly basis (ie at present I’m experimenting with making Mondays ‘writing day’). I’ve also at times taken even longer periods of time to go away for the sole purpose of writing (ie for a weekend). I find that setting this time aside, away from distractions – and even away from being online altogether – really lifts the quality and style of my writing.

In fact, if you’re interested in my daily routine, here’s A day in the life of a ProBlogger (me).

Finding Your Prime Writing Time

Not everyone’s creative peak happens in the morning. Experiment with writing at different times to discover when you’re most productive. Pay attention to your body’s natural rhythms—your circadian rhythms play a crucial role in determining your most fertile periods for creativity.

Read this article to understand your different brain states to Make Sure You’re Functioning At Your Creative Best.

One thing I’ve done before to find my prime writing times and different states of productivity is Keeping a Blog Diary to Analyze Your Blogging Routine.

Setting Realistic Goals

A writing session without a goal is like a ship without a compass. Set achievable targets for each session, whether it’s a word count, a post length, or a number of posts. This clarity will guide your efforts and heighten your sense of accomplishment.

ProBlogger’s resident psychologist Ellen Jackson has some good behaviour changing tips in How to Smash Your Blogging Goals in Just 5 Days.

Soemthing I do every day, even two or three times a day, is to analyse critically:

‘What am I doing right now and is it worthwhile? Is this three hours I just spent on social media taking me closer to my goals—and it could—or is it taking them away?’

This kind of questioning has become an automatic part of my daily work rhythm. By paying conscious attention to it, it’s become second nature. While that doesn’t always stop me from becoming distracted, it does help me stay focused.

Minimizing Distractions for Maximum Productivity

Distractions are the arch-nemesis of productivity. In a world where every ping could lead down a rabbit hole, creating a distraction-free writing environment becomes crucial. Consider using social media blocking apps, establishing a designated writing space, or wearing noise-cancelling headphones to keep the focus on your writing.

Here’s a couple of posts from ProBlogger writers covering other ways to focus on writing amidst distraction:

• 10 Ways to Switch Your Brain to Writing Mode When Working From Home
• 2x Your Blog Writing Productivity and Reduce Your Stress by Single-Tasking

Tools and Resources

Several digital tools can aid your journey towards a disciplined writing schedule. Google Calendar or Trello can help you plot your writing times, while Scrivener or Google Docs offers a seamless writing experience. For inspiration and organization, turn to Feedly for staying updated with industry news or Evernote for managing your research and ideas efficiently.

Engagement: The Heartbeat of Your Blog

Invite your readers to be a part of your journey. Share your experiences with managing writing schedules and ask for their strategies and challenges. This dialogue not only enriches the content but fosters a community of shared growth and learning.

What tips do you have to share with me?

And what tips do your readers have to share with you?

Case Studies: Success Stories

To give you some inspiration, we asked 14 top bloggers who’ve mastered the art of consistent writing to offer their invaluable insights and motivation…

This is what they came back with: 14 Bloggers Share Their Daily Blogging Routine.

Embracing Flexibility Alongside Discipline

While the emphasis on a writing schedule is paramount, acknowledging the need for flexibility is equally important. Life’s unpredictability demands a degree of adaptability. Sharing strategies for adjusting your schedule without derailing your blog’s progress can provide readers with practical advice for navigating their blogging journey. Here’s how I try to Balance Between Family Life and Blogging Life.

Incorporating a strategic writing schedule is more than just a tactic for content creation; it’s the backbone of a thriving blog. This disciplined approach enhances your connection with readers, showcasing that true blogging success springs from both the quality of your content and the thoughtful planning that goes into it.

The post How to Schedule Time for Writing appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

Maintaining Momentum in Blogging Series

Blogging thrives on conversation. It’s not just about broadcasting your ideas; it’s about sparking dialogue and engaging with your community.

One of the most vibrant places for these interactions is often overlooked—the comment section.

As we continue “maintaining momentum” on your blog, let’s explore a strategy that places your readers at the heart of your content creation: leveraging their comments to guide your blogging journey.

I’ve always believed that the comments, questions, and shared experiences from you, the readers, are a goldmine of inspiration. Every comment left on ProBlogger is a potential catalyst for a new post. I read each comment that is left and attempt to respond wherever possible within comment threads. However, the nature of blogging means that conversations can quickly fade as new posts emerge. Although tools like ‘recent comments’ widgets and ‘comment subscription’ plugins can prolong the discussion, they only offer a temporary fix.

The real magic happens when I elevate a reader’s comment to the spotlight of a new blog post. This does more than just acknowledge a reader; it invites the entire community to dive deeper into the conversation, fostering a sense of ownership and belonging on your blog.

Creating Momentum through Engagement

This approach serves a dual purpose:

1. It provides fresh content ideas. Running out of topics? Your comment section is brimming with inspiration for your next post. In fact, one of my favourite content production techniques is to turn a blog post upside down to get more comments.
2. It revitalizes the conversation. Instead of letting discussions dwindle, highlighting a comment can reignite the exchange and take it to new heights. I did this in a recent post Content Creation vs Content Promotion: Where is the Balance?

Ways to Amplify Reader Comments

• Link to the Discussion: Kickstart a new post by pointing your readers to an engaging conversation happening in the comments of a previous post. Check out this post as an example of this method.
• Spotlight a Comment: Select a notable comment and feature it in a new post, ensuring to link back to the original discussion and credit the commenter. My motto is “Make Your Reader’s Famous” (see point 7 of this article)
• Write a Follow-Up Post: Combine the above tactics with your reflections. Some comment threads have the power to change your perspective or introduce you to new ideas. By acknowledging these shifts openly, you demonstrate the value you place on your readers’ insights.

Using reader comments in your posts isn’t just a token gesture of appreciation. It shows how much you value your community. This approach not only makes the conversation on your blog better but also builds a strong sense of mutual respect and collaboration.

In reality, this strategy has helped ProBlogger keep moving and even gain more momentum. It reminds us that real connections are key to a successful blog.

So, I encourage you to see your comment section as more than just feedback. Think of it as a place where growth, inspiration, and closer connections with your readers can happen. Remember, the real power of your blog doesn’t just come from the content you make but also from the discussions it starts and keeps going.

Further Reading

Get More Comments: Write Unfinished Blog Posts

10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog

7 Questions to Ask On Your Blog to Get More Reader Engagement

The post Engaging Your Audience: How Building on Reader Comments Can Fuel Your Blog’s Growth appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

This week at ProBlogger, we’re diving deep into a topic close to every blogger’s heart: how to keep the momentum going, no matter what life throws your way. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re a seasoned pro, maintaining your blog’s momentum is key to its success.

Last week, we talked about the initial planning stages of a blog that will help to create a sustainable blog for the long term. But let’s be real, most of you reading this already have your blogs up and running. So, today, we’re shifting gears to focus on how to keep that blog thriving, especially through the unpredictable waves of life that might often bring blogging to a halt (many of which I covered here).

Planning for Life’s Big Moments

What ‘life events’ do you have coming up that could potentially break the momentum of your blog?

Life’s big events—be it a joyous occasion like a wedding or the arrival of a new family member, or the exciting transition of taking a holiday or starting a new job—can throw a wrench in your blogging routine. The key here is anticipation and planning. Ask yourself: What big events do I have on the horizon? How can they impact my blogging schedule, and what steps can I take now to prepare?

With some forward thinking the impact of such events can be minimised (and even alleviated). Options for handling these planned interruptions range widely.

You might consider:

• Scheduling posts in advance
• Recruiting guest bloggers
• Or even taking a short hiatus

These strategies are all legitimate – but it’s important to know what you’ll do, to communicate this to your readers and to especially think about how you’ll reengage with your blogging after the event (more on this shortly).

Dealing with the Unexpected

What would I do if some unexpected life event made it difficult or impossible to blog?

Then there are those life events we can’t plan for—illness, loss, emergencies. While we can’t predict these, we can think ahead about how we’d handle our blogging commitments during such times. Who could you call on to help keep your blog running? Do you have a contingency plan, like a set of evergreen posts ready to publish, or a way to let your readers know you’re taking a break?

I don’t have specific contingency plans for my blogs for these events but have given it some thought. I do know that on my main blogs there are other bloggers that I could approach to take on some of the load (voluntarily or paid) in an emergency. I also have a couple of people who have administrative rights to my blogs in case of an emergency (sort of like giving a friend a key to your house in case you lock yourself out).

For some the contingency plan might simply be a post telling readers that there will be no blogging for the next period of time due to whatever reason you might have. For others it might mean involving others in a blog, having some backup posts ready to go, having a series of questions for bloggers to discuss on your topic, a lighter blogging frequency etc.

Reengaging After a Break

How will you reengage with your blog after a period away from it?

Taking a break from blogging is important. I try to do this both on a micro level (breaks throughout the day and days off each week) but also on a macro level (extended breaks/vacations).

I’m pretty good at taking extended breaks – but find it difficult to get back into the rhythm of blogging when I return.

Here’s how I tackle it:

• Ease back into it – don’t expect to jump back in at full speed. Give yourself time to catch up on comments, emails, and your reading list.
• Plan for a buffer – extend your break by a day or two on either end to give yourself time to catch up. This isn’t just about extending the holiday but about managing the workload waiting for you.
• Set a deadline – announce your return in advance to create accountability for yourself.
• Start slow – gradually ramp up your posting frequency. Let your readers know you’re getting back into the swing of things and might need a bit of time to return to your normal schedule.

Sometimes a break also offers the chance to recalibrate and change how you work. You might want to consider how to make your blogging life easier.

Next, we’ll explore practical tips to help you maintain your blog’s momentum. Stay tuned!

But for now, remember: blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s about pacing yourself, planning for the highs and lows, and knowing that it’s okay to take a step back when life demands it. You’ve got this.

The post Strategies to Maintain Blogging Momentum Through Life’s Ups and Downs appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

Image created in Canva

Originally posted by Darren Rowse, Updated for 2024

Starting a blog is an adventure—a journey I’ve embarked on more times than I can count. And along the way, I’ve learned a thing or two about what it takes to keep that momentum going. Today, I want to share some updated insights on maintaining your blogging momentum, reflecting on today’s digital landscape and planning for success from the get-go. If you already have a blog, reading this article might help you refocus or unlock the solution to a problem that has been standing in the way of your success.

1. Choosing Your Topic Wisely

The breadth of your topic can make or break your blog. Too broad, and you’ll be overwhelmed. Too narrow, and you might quickly run out of steam. Here’s how to find that sweet spot:

• Modern Research Tools: Beyond Google News, tools like Ahrefs, BuzzSumo, Google Trends and Answer the Public can offer a wealth of insight into what’s trending in your niche. Use these to gauge the pulse of your potential topic.
• Real-world Success Stories: Let’s learn from blogs that have nailed their niche. For instance, look at how “Minimalist Baker” thrives by focusing on simple, delicious recipes requiring 10 ingredients or less, one bowl, or 30 minutes or less to prepare.

A practical exercise that I encourage you to do is to simply brainstorm what posts you could write on the topic. Simply put down on paper as long a list of post titles as you can as quickly as possible. If after 10 minutes you only have a handful of potential post ideas you might want to either widen your topic or find another one. To get your imagination going, you could start with a mind map.

2. Fueling Your Passion

Does the topic excite you? Are you motivated enough to write about it for the long term?

The energy you bring to your blog is its heartbeat. Without genuine interest and passion, your blog might not withstand the test of time.

Ask yourself what your passion and energy levels are for the topic you’re considering blogging about. Be brutally honest about this because as I found, we can sometimes fool ourselves into thinking we are interested in a topic when we are not.

Here are a few questions you might like to ask:

• Can you honestly see yourself writing on the topic in 2 or more years time?
• Is the topic one that you’re proud to be covering?
• Do you want to be known as an expert on this topic?

I’m not saying that you can’t start blogs on topics that you don’t want to be known for or that you’re not interested in – but these questions will help you to work out what your motivations are which is an important step in the process of building a sustainable blog.

If you’re not interested in your topic your potential readers will sense this and the chances of success will fall.

Successful blogs are almost always long term efforts and most do not really begin to see significant ‘success’ for 12 or more months. They take a significant investment of time and energy and I guess all I’m saying is that it’s worth considering if the topic is something that you want to invest your life into for such a significant amount of time.

Here’s what to consider:

• Align With Your Personal Brand: Ensure your blog reflects what you’re passionate about and how you want to be perceived professionally. It’s not just a blog; it’s a part of your identity.
• Community and Engagement: Joining blogging communities and participating in online forums can reignite your passion and provide fresh perspectives. Platforms like Reddit or LinkedIn groups are gold mines for such interactions.
• Balancing Blogging and Life: Remember, your well-being is paramount. Embrace tools and practices that support a healthy balance, ensuring your blogging journey is sustainable and enjoyable.

I’ve written more extensively about “Finding Your Spark” on my own personal blog. In that article I identify four places to look first for inspiration.

3. Realistic Time Management

How much time do you have? Do you have time for this blog?

Every blog demands time, but how much can you afford? Here’s how to ensure you’re not biting off more than you can chew:

• Leverage Time-saving Tools: With Trello, Asana, or Notion, you can streamline your blogging process, from brainstorming ideas to scheduling posts.
• Automate Where Possible: Use tools like Buffer or SEMrush to automate social media posting and SEO tasks, freeing up more time for writing and engaging with your audience.
• Quality Over Quantity: It’s tempting to run multiple blogs or post daily, but focusing on creating high-quality, impactful content will serve you (and your readers) better in the long run.

Wrapping Up

As we look ahead, remember that blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. Embrace the journey, stay adaptable, and never stop learning. Whether you’re refining an existing blog or starting a new one, these considerations will help you build a solid foundation for success.

Stay tuned for our next post, where we’ll dive into strategies for sustaining momentum once your blog is off the ground. Happy blogging!

The post 3 Factors to Consider Before Starting a Blog – Maintaining Blogging Momentum appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

People read and then subscribe to blogs that they think will enhance their lives in some way in the future.

Many bloggers create a sense of anticipation on a blog quite instinctively – but there are numerous things that you can do quite intentionally to create anticipation and increase the chances of someone subscribing.

So how do you convince people that something that you’re yet to create is worth signing up for?

Today I want to share one effective strategy for building anticipation on a blog with some practical ideas on how to implement it. Like yesterday’s post – it’s not rocket science – but it is something that has worked for me.

Highlight Current and Past Quality Content

Probably the most convincing argument to a reader that you’ll write something that they can’t live without in the future is to have already written something that they have connected with.

Your current and past posts are your most effective advertisements for a continued relationship to those arriving on your blog.

As a result – one of the most effective strategies for creating anticipation on a blog is to put your best content in front of those visiting your blog – show them what you can do and let the quality of that work speak for itself.

Think back to to blogs that you’ve subscribed to lately – if you’re anything like me you’ve subscribed in most cases as a result of reading a post you thought was helpful, interesting, entertaining… etc

Most of us click the RSS feed icon or subscribe link based upon the quality of what we already read in the hope of seeing more of it.

So what’s the lesson here?

Actually there are two lessons – one is obvious and the other many fail to do.

1. The obvious one is to write great content and to do it regularly – its got to be your number 1 priority as a blogger.

2. The less obvious one is to put your best content into the view of those who are yet to subscribe to your blog – particularly first time visitors (who are crucial to target if your objective is to build the number of subscribers to your blog). Let me share a few ways you can do this.

How to Highlight Your Best Content

There are numerous ways to highlight your best content so and in doing so give people reason to subscribe to your feed.

1. Sneeze Pages – Perhaps the most useful technique that I can show you is to creating Sneeze Pages on your blog. I’ve recently done this on Digital Photography School. Look at the ‘Digital Photography Tips’ section in my sidebar (pictured left) – these links point to ‘sneeze pages’ that highlight my best and most popular content.

In having these sneeze pages I not only increase my page views – but I show new readers to my blog just how much I’ve already covered and hopefully increase the sense of authority and credibility that I have.

The subscription rate from users hitting these sneeze pages is extremely high (note – I have prominent ways to subscribe on these sneeze pages and the pages that they link to).

2. ‘Best of’ Sections – Another is to create sections in your sidebar or front page that highlight your best work. Check out this example from a previous design of the ProBlogger website, where we this is the ‘Best of ProBlogger’ section on my front page of this blog. This section is ‘hot’ – quite literally. Check out this heat map (taken a few months back using the CrazyEgg tool) of this section to see how many people click on it.

The benefits of this are numerous – but ultimately it’s about driving people to previously written quality content. My observations are that it’s these popular pages where many subscribers to my blog come from.

Since this screen shot was taken, ProBlogger was redesigned to create different themed sections that highlighted various themed articles even more. You can read more about how and why we changed the design of the ProBlogger website here.

3. Landing Pages – Another strategy is to use a plugin like Landing Sites to sense when a reader is arriving on your blog for the first time and showing them other posts you’ve written on the topic they are searching for.

This works well – particularly if you have a large archive – because someone arriving on your blog not only sees one post on the topic that they’re looking for but numerous (increasing the perception that you’re a comprehensive source of information on that topic).

4. Interlink Posts – You should be regularly linking to your previous best quality posts in new posts. In doing this you constantly drive people to the pages where they see writing of a quality that is likely to convince them that you know what you’re talking about. The more pages that they view that they find useful the more chance of them subscribing.

But Wait There’s More

The key to the above four techniques is to send new readers to your highest quality and most helpful posts and then to present them with opportunity to subscribe on these posts (update: here’s my post with more tips on how to build anticipation on your blog).

However this highlighting content isn’t enough on it’s own.

It will definitely work to some degree but there are numerous other ways to create anticipation on a blog and to these I’ll be turning my attention tomorrow.

The post How to Create a Sense of Anticipation on Your Blog appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

This Guest Post is from email marketing expert Krystin Ruschman, owner of Email2Inbox.

Gmail is implementing stricter email requirements for senders who send 5,000 or more messages per day. Maybe your mailing list isn’t quite at this volume yet, but bloggers with any size email list and/or just using Gmail themselves should take note…

Starting February 1, 2024 

Email senders will start getting temporary errors (with error codes) on a small percentage of their non-compliant email traffic. 

Starting April 1, 202 

Gmail will start rejecting a percentage of non-compliant email traffic, and they’ll gradually increase the rejection rate. 

“Enforcement will be gradual and progressive.”

So to make sure bloggers keep on the right side of these new email rule changes, let’s dive into some details…

WHAT is happening?

Google is rolling out guidelines for all email senders in an effort to:

• Help protect recipients from malicious messages, such as spoofing and phishing messages
• Help protect you and your organization from being impersonated
• Help decrease the likelihood of your emails being rejected or marked as spam

WHEN do these guidelines start?

These guidelines took effect on Thursday, Feb 1st, 2024.

The enforcement will be gradual and progressive according to Google, with temporary errors first, then a percentage of non-compliant emails will be rejected until, eventually, the guidelines will be in full force and effect.

WHO do these guidelines affect?

Anyone who sends email messages to personal Gmail accounts

A Gmail account is defined as an email recipient with an email address ending in @gmail. com or @googlemail. com

Google has divided email senders into 2 groups:

1. All (Non-Bulk) Senders

2. Bulk Senders

• A Bulk Sender is a domain that sends 5,000 messages or more to personal Gmail accounts within a 24-hour period.
• All messages sent from the same primary domain (even if through multiple subdomains) count toward this limit. (make sure to read that again… the 5k limit is attributed to the root domain/TLD)
• For example, if you send 1500 messages through your reply.yourdomain. com sending domain, and another 3500 messages through your replies.yourdomain. com sending domain you are considered a Bulk Sender because all 5,000 messages were sent through the same primary domain.
• Senders who meet this definition of Bulk Sender ONCE, are classified as bulk senders, PERMANENTLY
• So, if you’re not a BULK sender already, as a blogger the chances are that you will be.

WHAT’s included in this rollout?

Well… there are 9 guidelines (at the time of this post)…

I’ll rattle them off here, but stay tuned…. because, as you can imagine, the guidelines and definitions have been changing as we march toward the deadline and I’d expect more of that over the next several months.

This is the gist of it:

1. SPF/DKIM (DNS records): 

At least one for non-bulk senders, both for bulk senders.

Google and Yahoo both prefer DKIM if you’re only doing one.

2. DMARC (DNS record): 

Bulk senders requirement

DMARC is intended to “protect your brand” according to Marcel Becker, Senior Director of Product at Yahoo.

The record Google and Yahoo are looking for is a TLD record (for your root domain, not your subdomain).

So, according to Mr. Becker, while you can definitely add a separate record to your subdomain this is not best-practice, nor what they are looking for.

3. 1-click Unsubscribe (header): 

Optional for non-bulk senders, required for bulk senders

There are lots of different ways to configure an unsubscribe. 

For the purposes of this guideline, it’s referring only to the header unsubscribe (according to RFC 8058), and Google/Yahoo are specifically NOT telling you what to do inside your email with your regular unsubscribe link or footer.

They call out that there are too many regulations around that one, and they’re different in every country, so they want to stay away from dictating that.

The unsubscribe header is the one they’re looking for and it’s generally controlled on the backend of whatever software you’re using – not something you, yourself, can configure.

4. Internet Message Format (RFC standard): 

Required for both.

There’s a lot to this standard, most of which is controlled on the backend of the software you’re using, but there are a couple notables I’ll call out here:

– Web links in the message body should be visible and easy to understand. Recipients should know what to expect when they click a link.

– Message subjects should be accurate and not misleading.

5. TLS Connection (encryption): 

Required for both

Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a standard internet protocol that encrypts email for privacy and secure delivery. This needs set to HTTPS for each subdomain. 

There’s a TLS configuration for your regular email account, too, but we’ll leave that for another post.

6. NO Gmail/Yahoo Impersonation 

(Sending from one of their free email account addresses): required for both

Other than within your own personal email account, using a free from address like @gmail. com, @googlemail. com @yahoo. com, @aol. com, @verizon. net, etc. to send bulk email communications is a big no-no.

Currently, Yahoo blocks these emails entirely, and Google will now be sending them straight to the Spam folder.

If you don’t have a business email account with a branded domain email address it’s time to get one: How to Set Up an Email Account that Uses Your Domain Name

7. DNS/PTR 

(Mapping your sending domain with your dedicated IP, and your dedicated IP with your sending domain): required for both.

This requirement ONLY applies to people who use dedicated IPs

Basically, this is an A record you put in, then you have your SMTP put in the PTR record and you’re all set.

If you have a dedicated IP and you don’t do this you may find your emails getting rejected.

8. DMARC Alignment 

(Domain match between your From domain and your SPF or DKIM root domain): optional for non-bulk senders, required for bulk senders

Each ESP handles this differently, so I’ll save the details for another post, but the gist of it is you need to be who you say you are when you show up at the door.

Your from address domain should also match either your Return-Path or Mailed By (SPF) root domain or your Signed By (DKIM) root domain.

For Highlevel this means using a dedicated sending domain for each subaccount, which is also a great way to get better deliverability, so it’s a 2-fer.

THIS requirement is probably 1 of the top 2 requirements that really needs your attention right now. There are nuances to making this switch that you don’t want to miss such as carrying forward any Suppressions history on the previous domain (if you have your own MG account) and warming up the new domain.

9. Keep Google Spam Rates Low

Below 0.10% and avoid ever reaching 0.30% or higher (as reported in Google Postmaster – not to be confused with the Complaint Rate you see in your email marketing software or SMTP): required for both

This is a biggy.

It changes the way email marketing is done for most people. 

Gone are the days of holding on to every contact on your list for dear life or “opting in” a contact to a bunch of email communications even though all they did was request your lead magnet or fill in a Contact Us form.

HOW do you meet these new email requirements?

I admit the list of requirements does get quite techy. Fortunately, most Email Service Providers are on top of these changes by providing their customers (you) with step-by-step instructions to become compliant. 

If you’re after more detail and guidance on meeting these new Gmail requirements specifically or want to learn how to increase your email deliverability, open rates and conversions, follow my Email2Inbox Facebook page.

Krystin Ruschman, owner of Email2Inbox, specializes in email marketing and deliverability. She’s historically focused on strategies for getting email, not just TO the inbox, but more importantly on what it takes to STAY in the inbox. She works with marketers and business owners alike, to reach conversion rates they never thought possible, and ultimately grow revenue for themselves and their clients through the power of email marketing.

The post What do Gmail’s new Rules Mean for Bloggers? appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

Is it taking you ages to write blog posts?

You’re not alone…

Whether you’re new to blogging or you’ve been running your blog for a while, the time commitment can be really overwhelming. Just getting one post published each week can be a struggle, especially if you’re focused on producing high-quality long form content. 

Even if you’re not a natural writer, there are lots of ways you can speed up your writing process. Writing faster means you can publish more often—or you can spend more time on other vital activities to grow your blog’s traffic.

First, let’s address a common worry about writing faster…

Faster Writing Doesn’t Mean Slapdash Writing

One of the worries that some bloggers have is that by speeding up the writing process, they’ll compromise on quality.

I don’t believe that’s true. Sure, some methods for speeding up might affect the quality of your post – if you decide to shave time off your process by skipping editing completely, that’s probably going to result in posts that have typos or other glaring errors. And if you simply hand the whole process over to an AI tool that can whip up an entire blog post based on a one-sentence prompt, you won’t be producing something of your usual quality.

But in many cases, working more effectively improves the quality of your finished posts. Let’s say you speed up by cutting out distractions when you’re drafting: your post might flow better as a result, with smoother transitions between sections. Or how about you speed up by nailing your outline before you start writing the post—you’ll have a well-structured piece that covers all the most important points.

With each step we cover, we’ll be looking at how to write faster and better. Along the way, we’ll take a look at some key techniques that top bloggers use to consistently produce high-quality content.

How to Speed Up Your Blogging Process from Start to Finish

Whatever type of posts you write, and however long or short they are, you’ll be going through these different steps of the blogging process:

1. Coming up with an idea
2. Outlining your post (you might be doing this in your head / as you draft)
3. Drafting your post
4. Editing your post (you might be doing this as you draft)
5. Publishing your post

Each step is important, and by recognising each of these as distinct parts of the blogging process, you can look at how to speed up and write even stronger posts.

We’ll take a look at ways to be more efficient and effective at each step … but before we dig into that, let’s tackle a huge issue that’s probably on your mind as you think about writing fast.

Should You Use AI to Speed Up Your Blogging?

As a freelance writer, I’ll admit to some mixed feelings about AI (artificial intelligence). On the one hand, I think tools like ChatGPT are very cool—I’ve had fun playing around with them. But I’m also keen that the machines don’t put me out of a job!

The good news for me is that AI really isn’t at the point yet where it can replace a skilled blogger (or freelancer, author, or journalist). I don’t think it’s a good idea to “speed up” by simply handing the whole blogging process over to AI. You might get a technically competent piece of writing, but it’s not going to be as engaging and well-written as a post produced by a human.

But AI definitely has a role to play, and it can help make your posts stronger. I like to see AI as a bright intern. You wouldn’t hand over full control of your blog to an intern … but you might ask them to carry out some preliminary research or to write a rough outline for a post.

As we go through the steps, I’ll give you some ChatGPT prompts you can use if you want to speed things up using AI. If you want to go further, I’d recommend using a premium AI tool aimed at bloggers—some good ones to check out are:

• Jasper (formerly Jarvis): one of the best-established AI tools out there, with a huge range of different features, the ability to learn and match your brand voice, a wide range of AI templates, and the option to create AI art too.
• Copy.ai: a fully-featured AI tool, similar to Jasper in its features. It’s a slightly newer tool but also comes in a bit cheaper, and includes lots of sales tools as well as marketing ones.
• RightBlogger: a smaller and newer AI, with an impressive suite of tools specifically aimed at bloggers. It doesn’t have any credit/word limits, so you can experiment without worrying that you’re using up your monthly budget.

Step 1: Coming Up With Ideas – That Work for Your Readers and Search Engines

The first step of the blogging process is to come up with an idea. You can’t get very far without one!

To write a really good post, you want an idea that works for both your readers and for search engines. That means doing some keyword research if possible, so you can figure out something that people are searching for online, and write a post to meet their needs. Obviously, you also want to choose a topic that’s relevant to your readers.

If you’re struggling, here are some great ProBlogger posts to help:

• The Only Blog Post Idea List You’ll Ever Need
• How to Come Up WIth More Than Enough (Great) Ideas for Your Blog
• What Can You Blog About When All the Good Ideas Are Already Taken?

What Chris Garrett Says About Coming Up With Ideas Faster

Some of my best articles have come from reader questions. They work well because if one reader wants to know a particular answer you can guess many more do too. If you can’t find anything useful in your own comment area or inbox, go look at another blogger’s comments or a forum.

(How to Generate Post Ideas When You Are Stuck, Chris Garrett, ChrisG.com)

Using AI to Power Your Ideas

There are plenty of AI-powered keyword research tools out there. ClickUp has a great list here.

ChatGPT Prompt

Give me [X] blog post ideas for a blog about [TOPIC]. The audience is primarily [A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF YOUR AUDIENCE]. For each idea, tell me the primary keyword to optimize for.

Example: Give me 10 blog post ideas for a blog about personal finance. The audience is primarily people in their 20s and 30s who feel a bit daunted by getting on top of their finances. For each idea, tell me the primary keyword to optimize for.

Step 2: Outlining Your Posts – And Giving Them a Rock-Solid Structure

Once you’ve got a clear idea in mind, it’s time to craft an outline for your post. This is such a tempting step to skip, especially if you’ve got a title that gives you a pretty clear picture of how your post is structured. 7 Easy Ways to Improve Your Morning Routine, for instance, is clearly going to be a listicle.

But spending just 10 minutes outlining your post could make a massive difference to how quickly you can draft it. Those 10 minutes might save you an hour or more … and result in a much better finished piece.

When I’m outlining, whether that’s for my own blog or for a client piece, I like to include:

• A sentence or two about the introduction: what’s the “hook” for this post? What needs to be said in order to set up the rest of the post?
• All the key points the post is going to cover: usually, I’ll write these as subheadings and include a short list of bullet points for each little section. This makes drafting the post so quick and easy … I’m just fleshing out what’s already there.
• The conclusion to the post: how am I going to round things off, and what will I prompt readers to do at the end of the piece?

Some posts are easy to structure, like listicles and how-tos. Others are a bit trickier, like an A vs B comparison review, where you could give all the information about product A first, then cover product B … or you could do a point-by-point comparison of features, pricing, and so on. Even a list post can be tricky as you need to decide on the best order to present your different points.

The advantage of writing an outline is that you can experiment with structure until you’re confident you’ve got something that works and flows well.

What Neil Patel Says About Outlining Faster

A good outline gives you a holistic view of how your article will come together.

Aim to be as thorough as possible. The research process is key to ensuring that you have as much detail as possible.

This way, you can knock out each point without having to divert your attention away from writing.

(How to Become a Better, Faster, and More Efficient Writer in 7 Steps, Neil Patel)

Using AI to Power Your Outlining

Either use AI to create the outline first, then edit it to add/remove points—or write down your key points, then create an outline with AI to help you spot any ideas you may have missed.

ChatGPT Prompt

Write a detailed outline for a [XXXX] word blog post titled [“TITLE”]. Give a suggested word count for each subsection. Include a call to action at the end to [CALL TO ACTION].

Example: Write a detailed outline for a 1,500 word blog post titled “Zero-Waste Vegan Kitchen: Sustainable Cooking and Eco-Friendly Tips”. Give a suggested word count for each subsection. Include a call to action at the end to download my free vegan cookbook.

Step 3: Drafting Your Posts – Without Procrastination and Writers’ Block

The stage of the blogging process that takes the longest is drafting your content. Perhaps you’ve had the experience of staring at a blank page on the screen, trying to figure out what to write: if so, you should find it much easier to draft now you have a solid outline in hand.

But even when you’ve got a clear outline, it can be hard to stay focused when drafting. The biggest problem that trips bloggers up here is getting distracted and going off-task. This can easily make a one-hour writing task take three hours … and it may also end up with your post seeming disjointed at the end of the process.

Here’s what you can do to dramatically improve your focus:

• Turn off distractions when you’re writing. Silence your phone, close unnecessary tabs, switch off the TV. It’s basic, yes, but it really does work.
• Write somewhere away from home. If you’ve got kids, roommates, or a spouse who keeps interrupting, pack up your laptop and head to your local coffee shop to write.
• Set a timer while you’re writing. Challenge yourself to stay focused for 30 minutes: you might be amazed how much you can produce in that time.
• Focus just on drafting and moving forward. Don’t go back to edit or look up facts. Put in a comment so you can come back later to any sections that need more work.
• Listen to music that helps you get in the writing zone. Some writers I know love movie tracks for this; others like music specifically designed for focus. You may even find ambient noise tracks work well for you.

What Linda Formichelli Says About Drafting Faster

I use a writing tool called TextExpander — which expands custom keyboard shortcuts into frequently used text — for common copy, like my email sign-off, bio, mailing address, book titles, HTML codes, and words and phrases I often use in my writing.

(How to Write Faster: 10 Quick Ways to Hit 1,000 Words Per Hour, Linda Formichelli, SmartBlogger)

Using AI to Power Your Drafting 

I prefer to draft without AI, but you may find it helpful to use AI to kickstart your writing – particularly your introduction, which many bloggers struggle with.

ChatGPT Prompt

Write a [XXX] word introduction to a blog post titled [“TITLE”]. The tone should be [TONE].

Example:

Write a 150 word introduction to a blog post titled “10 Common Blogging Mistakes Holding You Back (and What to Do Instead)”. The tone should be friendly, supportive, and encouraging.

Step 4: Editing Your Posts – Polish Your Work and Catch Mistakes Easily

If you started out with a solid outline, you’ll have found it much faster to draft your post. You’ll also save a lot of time when you edit your post, too. The fundamentals of your post will all be in place, and hopefully you won’t need to make any really major edits (like cutting out or adding in whole sections).

Most likely, your editing will involve:

1. Reading over your post to check for any extra points you want to include or links you want to add in (e.g. to related posts on your blog).
2. Making sure that all facts (e.g. statistics, quotes, sources) are correct – this is especially important if you’ve used AI to produce some/all of your text.
3. Checking for stylistic issues, like clunky phrases or run-on sentences. 
4. Looking out for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and typos. 

AI can be a great help with points 3 and 4 here. I’d also recommend reading slowly through your post yourself, of course, but AI may catch things that you didn’t realise were wrong (lots of bloggers confuse it’s and its, for instance) as well as typos that you failed to spot simply because you’re so familiar with what you thought you wrote.

You don’t need to spend hours editing or aim for absolute perfection. One of the great things about blogging, compared with some other forms of writing and publishing, is that you can quickly and easily go back and correct mistakes. 

If you’re using SEO software (like Clearscope or Surfer SEO), the editing phase is also a good time to optimize your article with these, making sure you’ve included relevant keywords.

What Sola Kehinde Says About Editing Faster

Some writers think the best way to create outstanding content is to write a few sentences and then stop to edit all the errors in it. But at the end of their writing session, they may still be stuck reading and editing the same few sentences over and over without making any progress. […] To increase your writing speed, do yourself a favor and ignore all the typos and errors you observe while you’re still writing. 

(9 Tricks That Can Boost Your Writing Speed, Sola Kehinde, Craft Your Content)

Using AI to Power Your Editing

My favorite AI tool for editing is Grammarly: it does a great job of spotting not just errors (like typos and spelling mistakes) but also sentences where I’ve been too wordy. 

ChatGPT is rather inconsistent (sometimes spots mistakes that aren’t mistakes at all, and sometimes misses mistakes) but you can give it a go for checking your text, using the prompt below.

ChatGPT Prompt

Check the following text for spelling and grammar errors. Please highlight errors in bold and give a recommendation to fix them. Do not give a recommendation that’s identical to the original text.

[TEXT OF YOUR POST]

Choose One of These Techniques to Put Into Practice This Week

Writing faster while also producing excellent content means getting more efficient at each stage of the writing process. Whether you’re coming up with ideas, crafting outlines, drafting content, or editing efficiently, you can speed up—and get better results. 

Experiment with AI to improve your efficiency and blast through writer’s block, but remember that you have the final say over everything you publish (and the responsibility to make sure it’s accurate).

Pick one of the ideas above to try this week … and pop a comment below to let us know which one you’ll be incorporating into your blogging process. If you’re already using some of these tips, let us know which are working best for you.

The post How to Write Faster, Better Blog Posts: 4 Techniques Top Bloggers Use appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

Over the last few weeks I’ve been exploring principles that are evident in many successful blogs. So far we’ve looked at Listening, Trust, Usefulness and Community. Today I want to get personal with you and share a story with you.

The Day I Was Jumped On By a Reader

Once, at Blog World Expo I was coming down off the stage after presenting on a panel when out of the corner of my eye I noticed someone moving towards me – fast.

Within a second of seeing the movement I was literally jumped upon and found myself in a tangle of arms, hair and tears – I wasn’t being attacked, but I was being hugged within an inch of my life.

I didn’t know what to do at first – I didn’t know who was hugging me but while a bit of a shock at first I could tell the person was genuine and so did the only thing I could think to do – I hugged back.

After a few seconds of hugging the person pulled away. I had expected it to be someone I knew but realised pretty quickly that this was a stranger (or at least she had been a moment or two before). She had tears in her eyes and was obviously emotional – I didn’t know why until she began to talk.

For the next 4-5 minutes my hugging assailant (a reader as it turns out) talked, almost without taking a breath. She told me about the first day she read my blog (she remembered the first post), she told me about how it had helped her, she told me about the ups and downs of her blogging, she told me about her family, she told me about my family, she told me that she’d bought my book, joined my community, bought my ebook, she just talked…..

She talked as if we’d known each other for years – I guess in a way we had…

Gradually my new friend began to slow down (and breathe) she suddenly began to become a little more self conscious. She began to blush a little as she realised how what she’d just done. I assured her that it was totally fine and in her flustered state she said:

“It’s just that I feel like I know you.”

As we continued to speak I realised that here was someone who I had previously not known had existed (she’d never left a comment or said a word on my blog in over 3 years) who ‘knew’ me – at least to some degree.

Here was someone who’d not only read something that I’d written daily for years – but someone who had watched my videos, had noted when I’d become a Dad, had seen when I’d travelled, had observed my disappearances from the blog when I’d been unwell.

She didn’t know all this stuff because she was a crazy stalker (far from it) but because I’d allowed myself to blog in a way that was personal.

Not that ProBlogger is a ‘personal blog’ as such (not in the sense that I blog about the movies that I see, the things I eat or the everyday experiences that I have) – but I inject something of myself into this blog:

• I use my real name
• I share images of myself from time to time in posts and on key pages
• I share videos where people can see my face and hear my voice
• I include details of what’s happening in my life and family (usually in passing and by way of illustrating something)
• I try to use personal language (I blog in the first person most of the time)
• I write in a style that is similar to the way I would speak to a person face to face
• I tell stories about my experiences as they relate to my topic
• I use personal examples where I can to illustrate what I’m saying
• I’ve done live streaming question and answer sessions via video
• I’ve done hundreds of podcasts, talking to my listeners and sometimes hearing from them

By no means am I the most personal blogger going around. Every day I see opportunities to be more personal in fact – but I have made a concerted effort over the years to inject something of myself into what I do. And it’s paid off.

It’s paid off not just in terms of being jumped on by strangers when overseas but also in creating the kind of site that people want to come back to, the kind of site that people recommend to others and also the kind of site that people want to spend their money on (remember my friend has bought everything I’ve released – she said she did so because they were ‘mine’).

I know being personal on a blog is not something that everyone feels comfortable with and that is in everyone’s style – but it is one thing that I’ve seen exhibited in many successful blogs.

How about you? Do you take a personal approach with your blog?

PS: one piece of advice – when it comes to being personal I’d suggest bloggers think a little ahead about what they will and won’t reveal about themselves, their family and their lives. Having some boundaries in place for personal safety can be a worthwhile thing – this doesn’t mean you’re not being personal, just that you’re being smart and exhibiting some personal safety.

Further reading and listening:

PB109: 15 Reasons Why You Should Consider Having a Personal Blog

11 Tips to Create a Personal Connection with Your Audience

PB127: How to Write in a More Personal and Engaging Voice

The post The Power of Being Personal on Your Blog appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

Today’s principle in our series on successful blogging is all about building community on your blog. Let me share how I discovered that community was possible in the online space with a story:

I discovered the power of online community on the very first day that I went online (I think it was in 1996).

Up until that point I’d always been quite sceptical of people who talked about ‘relationships’, ‘friendships’ and ‘community’ when they talked about their online experience.

I just couldn’t see how people could ever call online interaction any kind of community – but I quickly discovered how wrong my assumptions were.

I still remember the moment – the guy who’d come to install my new computer and modem (dial up) gave me a quick tour of how to access the web – Netscape, hotmail and then he opened up a little program called Comic Chat and told me it was for chatting to people online using a system called IRC.

I promptly told him that I wouldn’t be wasting my time with that and closed it down.

Later that day on a whim I opened it up and joined the first ‘room’ that I came across – an Aussie chat room. I used the handle of ‘oziii’ on a whim and entered the room. Within seconds I’d been noticed, welcomed and drawn into the conversation.

3 hours later my view of how community could be developed online was completely changed. 3 months later I’d spent an hour a day (minimum) in this room since that first day. Over the year or two that followed I’d personally met 20 or so other members, had attended one wedding from group members, had helped conduct an online memorial service for another who’d passed away and had become close friends with a number of others.

Was it true community? I’m not sure – perhaps a sociologist out there can fill us in on that – but what I am sure of is that people found a sense of belonging in that simple IRC chat room.

Of course we’ve come a long way on the internet since those days. The mediums have evolved (although I have to say that some of what I see on Twitter reminds me a lot of IRC) but one thing has not changed – people are still going online to connect and find community. In fact with the explosion of social media the web has only grown in the way that people are using it to connect, relate and find belonging.

My own story of learning about building communities online continued to grow with my own stepping into the blogging game – in fact it was one of two things that attracted me to blogging the most (the other one was the way blogs amplify a person’s voice).

I still remember the experience of reading my first ever blog and marvelling at the way that this medium not only gave an individual the ability to communicate with thousands of people around the world but the way that it enabled those same people to add to the conversation. I was amazed by the sense of belonging I saw among readers on the site, the way that they improved the site with their ideas and the way that around the blog was a community of other bloggers engaging with one another’s ideas.

As I began to develop my own blogs I saw this community first hand for myself and discovered that one of the secrets behind growing the readership of a blog is to give people ways to participate in it, ways to belong to it and ways to make it their own.

Over the last 7 years I’ve started over 30 blogs – the three that became most successful for me were the three that became communities rather than just information portals.

Yes some of the ‘information’ sites did get some search engine traffic and made a little money – but they never built a brand, they were never recommended by one person to another, they rarely generated comments and they never opened up opportunities to create indirect income streams like writing a book, selling an ebook or doing consulting or speaking.

I put down the failure of these 27 or so blogs down to numerous reasons – but the main one was that they failed to grow a community around them.

So how does one grow build a community around a blog?

This is an important topic and one that I really do recommend bloggers grapple with because it’s so important in a blog hitting the tipping point of becoming successful.

I’ve written numerous posts previously on the topic so won’t rehash them all here but do recommend that you read at least one of them – 8 Tips for Building Community on Your Blog – a post in which I attempted to summarise my own experience and advice in building online communities around my blogs.

Tip #9 – Play Match Maker with Your Readers

There’s one tip that I want to add to the 8 tips in the previous post and that is to work at helping readers to connect outside your community. This can seem a little counter-intuitive for a web publisher because we often feel like we want to keep people on our site and get them interacting more and more on our turf – however what I’ve begun to discover in my blogging on Digital Photography School and even here at ProBlogger and in the ProBlogger Forums is that when you give people a secondary connecting point with one another that it deepens their connections (and therefore the community) that happens on your own blog.

A quick example of this: one time on DPS I asked readers to list their Twitter accounts. To this day over 630 readers have listed their accounts. Many have also gone through the list and added every other account.

What happened in the weeks that followed this post was that I noticed more and more of our readers getting to know each other on Twitter. While it’s difficult to measure the anecdotal evidence that I’m seeing is that it’s improving the quality of comments being left on DPS. I’ve also had numerous thank you emails from readers who tell me that they’ve met great new friends as a result of that post. There have even been a few readers who’ve started working together as a result of these connections.

As I say – it’s difficult to measure the impact but from what I’m seeing the community on my site has improved because I’ve played match maker with our readers and helped them to get to know each other.

While it’s still early days on the ProBlogger.com forums a similar thing has happened there with a thread asking members to share their Twitter accounts. I figure the more connected people are with one another the more likely they are to stay connected with the community.

More Suggested Reading

Check out Dan Blank’s post – Group Hug: How to Build Community Using Forums and Social Media -while not blog specific it contains a lot of Gold on building community online.

More Advice from YOU

I’d love to hear your advice on how to build community on a blog. I’d also like to highlight some advice from my Twitter Followers who answered this question on building community on Twitter last week. You can see a collection of their suggestions here.

Over to you – how do you build community on your blog? What’s worked for you and what hasn’t? Looking forward to seeing your ideas and experiences!

Read the full series on how to build a successful blog.

Learn more about building community on your blog: ProBlogger’s Four Pillars of Blogging: Build Community Course

The post The Importance of Building Community on Your Blog appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

Have you ever stumbled upon a blog that felt like it was speaking directly to you, solving a problem you didn’t even know you had?

That’s the power of “usefulness” in blogging, a concept that’s not just a philosophy for me, but the backbone of my approach to blogging and business.

Today we continue my series in principles of successful blogging by looking at usefulness – making your blog indispensable to your readers.

Why Being Useful Matters

Utility is the cornerstone of any successful blog. It’s simple – if your blog isn’t useful, your readers are less likely to come back.

But in the blogging world, it transcends mere usefulness. It’s about creating content that resonates, solves problems, and fulfills needs. When your blog becomes a solution, a go-to resource, or a comforting space for your readers, you’re not just building an audience, you’re cultivating a community.

When you do hit that sweet spot of usefulness, not only do you build a loyal readership, but they also become your advocates, spreading the word about your blog.

Examples of Useful Blogs

Being useful can take on many different forms. Let’s take a closer look at how different blogs have harnessed the power of utility:

• Mashable – Stays ahead of social media trends, offering both news and practical guides.
• Lifehacker – The quintessential guide to productivity and tech hacks.
• TMZ – Your window into the world of celebrities and entertainment.
• Seth Godin – Offers thought-provoking insights into marketing and business strategies.
• Treehugger – resources people to live green
• Seeking Alpha – gives financial news and advice
• Zen Habits – helps people be more productive
• CopyBlogger – helps bloggers write better

Each of these blogs demonstrates usefulness in its unique way, catering to specific interests and needs of their audience.

Now you might not read all of these blogs (and there are many thousands more that we could use as examples) and are unlikely to find them all personally useful (I certainly don’t read them all) – but they all have many thousands of devoted fans and daily readers, because they’re producing content that meets some kind of need, fulfils some kind of desire or solves some kind of problem.

How to be Useful

Usefulness in blogging is multifaceted. It’s not just about what you say, but how you say it. Here are some key aspects:

• Entertainment: In today’s fast-paced world, blogs offer a breather with light-hearted, entertaining content. People are going to them for laughs, for gossip and for fun conversation.
• Education: From step-by-step tutorials to in-depth courses, educational blogs empower readers and many successful blogs teach people to do or be something.
• Information and News: . These blogs might not teach you any practical skills but they keep their readers informed about the latest trends, news, and developments
• Thought Leadership: Blogs that challenge conventional thinking and open new perspectives. Some readers want a place where they can have their minds open to viewpoints.
• Community and Discussion: Creating a space for dialogue, exchange of ideas, and building connections. Some blogs serve as safe places for people to come together to have dialogue and debate around a topic.
• Niche Expertise: Catering to specific interests, from gardening to technology, offering specialized knowledge. Many blogs are built more on people having a sense of belonging and feeling that they’re a part of a community than the actual content.

Of course this list could go on and on and will vary from blog to blog with some meeting multiple needs and others just targeting one.

How is Your Blog Useful?

This is a question that I think bloggers would do well ponder before they start blogging as well as during the blogging process (in fact it’s probably a question to ask every day before you publish anything).

Ask yourself: “What value does my blog bring to my readers?”

This question is not a one-time query but a continuous part of your blogging journey. Each post, each interaction is an opportunity to enhance your blog’s utility.

Strive to meet a need and enhance people’s lives in some way and you’ll be taking a step closer to connecting with people in a way that will hopefully be part of a lasting relationship.

Expand Your Blogging Toolkit

Usefulness also extends to the way you present your content. Here are some tools to enhance your blog’s utility:

• Engaging Visuals: Use images, infographics, and videos to complement your text.
• Interactive Elements: Polls, quizzes, and interactive graphics can make your blog more engaging.
• User-Friendly Design: Ensure your blog is easy to navigate and accessible.
• Responsive Feedback System: Engage with comments and feedback to build a relationship with your audience.
• Regular Updates: Keep your content fresh and relevant.

Remember, the journey of blogging is as much about your growth as it is about serving your readers. Stay curious, keep learning, and always aim to add value through your blog.

Further Reading

• How to Get in Tune with Your Readers Needs [and Produce Compelling Content]
• Solve a Problem – 7 Ways to Identify Reader Problems

Read the full series on how to build a successful blog.

The post The Importance of Being Useful appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

Today I want to continue our series of posts looking at principles of building a successful blog by looking at the topic of “trust”.

A fundamental principle in marketing and relationship building is that people tend to do business with individuals or companies they know, like, and trust.

This is particularly relevant in the context blogging which involves personal branding, networking and a readership.

A Quick Definition of The Type Of ‘Successful’ Blog I’m Writing About

It might be worth stating that the type of blog that I’m talking about in this series is a blog that isn’t purely about profit or traffic – but a blog that has influence in its niche.

It is certainly possible to build a profitable and/or well trafficked blog without Trust – in fact I know a few bloggers who blog purely for Search Engine Traffic who don’t really care about influence, brand or loyal readers but who just want traffic that they can convert to cash.

These bloggers are certainly ‘successful’ on some levels (I guess ‘success’ really comes down to your goals) – but that’s not the style of blogging that I do and is not what this series is on about.

What I’m on about is helping bloggers to not only be profitable and have traffic but to build blogs that have profile, influence, authority, credibility, respect and a brand that opens up opportunities beyond quick profit.

By no means is my approach the only way to make money blogging – but it’s where I’m at and as a result is what I write about.

Why Building Trust is Important

OK – so now we’re on the same page lets talk about Trust.

I’m not sure we need to spend too much time talking about ‘why’ building trust is important as it’s pretty much common sense – but in short – if you’re looking to build influence, to build a brand that is respected and you want a site that is authoritative – you’re going to have a lot better chance if people actually trust you.

Yes with some clever copywriting and good positioning in search engines you can probably convince people to buy certain products – but in order to build lasting influence – trust is going to need to play a part.

On the flip side – many businesses today have seen the way that a lack of trust or even worse, broken trust can hurt a business, destroy reputations and ruin years of hard work.

So building and maintaining trust is paramount for bloggers wanting to build influence – so how does one do it?

One of the best resources on the topic of building influence through trust online is Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. However as it’ll take a day or two for Amazon to ship you a copy (and I recommend you get one) I thought I’d jot down a few principles of building trust online that I’ve gathered over the years both from my own experience of trusting others and building trust with others.

A Quick Exercise Before You Read Any More

Before you read my thoughts on how to build trust – here’s a very quick exercise to do.

On a piece of paper or in a text document – jot down a blogger or blog that you trust. Under the name – list 2-3 reasons why you trust them.

OK – read on.

4 Principles of Building Trust Online

1. It usually takes time to build

I’m a pretty sceptical guy – I don’t really want to be but after years of being bombarded with marketing messages and experiencing disappointment at expectations not being met by people making big promises my guard is up. I suspect I’m not alone.
While I’m sure there are people who are more trusting than others – I’m pretty certain that most people in my generation (and the generations that come before and after mine) are a fairly suspicious lot. We are capable of trust – but it usually takes time to get there.

2. It is Earned

I do have the capability to trust you – but more often than not it’ll only come once I see that you’re worthy of that trust. An example of this principle hit my inbox this morning – it was from a reader who had just bought my 31 days to build a better blog workbook.

Her email included this:

“I’ve never bought an ebook before, partly because I don’t trust people with my credit card information and partly because I’ve always suspected most ebooks are just fluff…. But after reading your blog for 12 months and being on the receiving end of useful information every day over that time I decided you were probably a credible source of information”.

The sense that I got from her email was that she only made the purchase based upon her previous experience of what I do – something that was earned by providing her with help day by day over a year.

The take home lesson for bloggers is to give value, be useful and prove that you have something worthwhile and authoritative to say on your topic.

Look for ways to genuinely and generously improve the lives of your readers – do this over the long haul and your deposit in the trust bank with readers grows over time.

3. The recommendations of others are important

I still remember (but can’t find a link to) a post by Seth Godin a year or so back where he talks about how he sells a lot more books through a blog post when he’s talking about someone else’s book than his own.

It was the perfect illustration of how the words and recommendations of other people promotion you carry a lot more weight than you promoting yourself.

We’re social beings – we make decisions together – we buy things that others recommend – we trust those that others trust….

This means you have a couple of tasks to do:

1. Build relationships with others. Some bloggers take the attitude that other bloggers are potential competition and as a result they stay clear of them. However a recommendation from someone else in your industry could be gold – build relationships.
2. Find Ways to use this social proof. If someone does recommend you it doesn’t hurt to highlight it to others. You don’t need to do it in an ego driven or big headed way – but do find subtle and relevant ways to share it with those in your network.

4. Be Yourself

One of the fastest ways to destroy trust is to be caught trying to be something that you’re not.

• Make a promise that you can’t fulfil
• Present yourself as someone that you’re unable to be
• Make a claim that’s not true

All of these things set up expectations in the eyes of others that can’t be met which will lead to disappointment, anger, disillusionment and as a result – broken trust.

Not only that – I find that people are pretty good these days at picking people who are presenting themselves as something that they’re not. You might not even have to get caught out to have people suspicious (and untrusting) of you.

• As a result it’s best to be yourself.
• Let people know what you do and don’t know.
• Be transparent about your motives.
• Share your stories of failure as well as your successes.
• Admit your mistakes.

All of these things make you more human, relatable and help to build trust.

What Would You Add?

I’ve only scratched the surface on Trust with this post – there’s so much more to say and I’d love to hear what you’ve got to say on the topic.

• What bloggers do you trust (who did you write down in the exercise above)? Why do you trust them?
• How do you build trust with your readers?
• What stories and experiences do you have to help illustrate these principles of building trust?

The post Trust – Principles of Successful Blogging #2 appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

As I write this it is the last Tuesday morning of the month and I’m sitting in a local coffee shop going through my ‘end of the month routine‘.

It involves a large lattè (everything else hinges on this) and some delving into my blogs metrics to see how they’ve been performing.

While I do keep track of the traffic stats of my blogs each day I like to set aside an hour or two at the end of each month to go a little deeper and do some more analysis of trends on my blogs – I find that when I do this I notice things that I can build on to continue momentum on my blogs.

This morning as I was looking at the type of posts that had done well in the last few weeks on my blogs I noticed an interesting trend – many of them were ‘story‘ type posts.

• The Power of Being Personal on Your Blog – the hottest post on ProBlogger last week – a post where I tell the story of being jumped on/hugged by a reader who I’d never met before.
• The #1 Reason My Blogging Grew Into a Business – the hottest post on ProBlogger in the last month – the story of my wife giving me a 6 month deadline to get my blogging to a full time level – or go get a ‘real job’.

Both posts got a lot of traffic, were linked to by numerous other blogs and were re-tweeted more than normal.

I’ve always known how powerful ‘story posts‘ can be on a blog but I decided to dig a little further to see whether this continued deeper than just the last month.

What I discovered was that story posts have been among the most popular posts on this blog over the last 5 years time and time again. They’re not the only type of post that does well (there are a few other types of posts that do well – we might explore these in a later post) but they certainly have performed very well for me.

Here’s a few more examples of popular story posts:

• The Day 250,000 People Showed Up at My Blog – a case study that recorded my experience of a successful post.
• 9 First Step Goals for New Bloggers – a post introduced very quickly with the analogy of my son’s first steps (and a picture of him).
• Learn from My Mistake – Don’t Leave Money on the Table – a story of where I failed – shared as a warning to others.
• Becoming a ProBlogger – a Story in Many Parts – my full story of going full time as a blogger – a mini biography.
• Lessons from an Umbrella Salesman – not a personal story but an analogy type post from my early days of blogging.
• Another Day in the Life of a ProBlogger – a post from a few years back which outlined a typical day of mine.

I could go on…. and on! Each month that I looked back on through my blog here at ProBlogger a story type post featured in the top 2 or three posts.

Why are Stories Effective?

A lot could be said about the reasons why stories tend to do well on blogs but here’s a few reasons that I’ve seen in my own experience:

• Stories engage the imagination of readers
• Stories go beyond facts and theories
• Stories reveal something about yourself as a blogger (they’re personal)
• Stories trigger emotions and the senses
• Stories are conversational – they stimulate others to react and tell their stories
• Stories provide hooks for readers to latch onto in your blogging (they’re relatable)
• Stories grab and hold the attention of readers
• Stories are memorable – while people don’t always latch onto facts and figures – a good story can be remembered for years
• Stories illustrate your points in ways that can be much more convincing (and convicting) than other types of information

The key with stories on blogs is making them tie into the rest of your blog – ie make them relevant and ensure that they have some point to them that is useful to your readers on some level. While telling the story of how your dog dug up your vegetable patch might interest you, the readers of your blog about (insert your blogs topic here) may not be quite as fascinated – unless you use the story to illustrate something about your topic.

Now that we’ve looked as some of the reasons stories are effective on blogs – in my next post I want to extend the idea of story telling with a 2nd post that explores some of the types’ of stories that you might like to use on your blog.

This post is another part of the Principles of Successful Blogs series. Previous principles explored are Listening, Trust, Usefulness, Community and being Personal.

The post Why Stories are an Effective Communication Tool for Your Blog appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

Once upon a time, I shared a set of slides from a presentation which outlines a variety of lessons that I’ve learned as a blogger. Over the coming months I intend to expand upon many of the points in that presentation – starting today with ‘Listening’.

When I began blogging in 2002 I made a lot of mistakes and had a lot of false assumptions about blogging. One of the things I quickly found out didn’t work when trying to grow a blog was to use it purely as a broadcast tool.

In the first few weeks of blogging it was almost as though I was using the blog as a platform or a stage where I stood with a megaphone in hand blasting out my message for anyone who might happen to be passing by to hear. It’s no wonder that only my wife read my blog that first week (and even she never really came back).

Nobody likes a loud mouth. Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of someone talking AT them.

The people we tend to be drawn to in real life are people who pause in conversation to let you have a say, people who ask questions about you, people who have a genuine interest in what you’ve got to say.

The same is true (in most cases) when it comes to blogging.

Of course there are cases where blogs are successfully used as broadcast tools with little interaction between blogger and reader – however in most cases there is at least some element of ‘listening’ going on by the blogger. Let me explore a few ways that a blogger should consider ‘listening’:

Listen to the culture of the blogosphere

This is one for those yet to start blogging (and it should also be applied to those getting into new social media tools like Twitter, Facebook etc).

I was chatting with a new blogger recently who described her first week of blogging as being similar to travelling to a new country and having to adjust to a new language, climate, etiquette and customs as an outsider.

When travelling overseas for an extended stay (perhaps for a new job) most travellers know that one of their first tasks as a new resident is to make some cultural adjustments.

• learning some basic words in the local language
• finding a local who can talk them through the etiquette
• getting a map so that they can find their way around
• learning to use systems like public transport…. etc

In a similar way – when you’re new to the blogosphere (or any new part of the social media-sphere) it’s important to pause, take stock, learn about the culture, learn to use the tools, discover what is acceptable (and not acceptable), learn the rhythms etc

The danger in not learning the culture of the blogosphere is doing something that not only doesn’t work but that offends ‘the locals’ and hurts your reputation.

Listen for where your potential readers are gathering

One of the key tasks that any new blogger who wants to grow their readership should do is identify where their potential readers are already gathering online.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks back – it’s not enough just to build a good blog with great content in order to find readers for your blog. If you want people to know about your blog you need to ‘get out there’ and interact with them and develop a presence in the places that your potential readers are already gathering.

Of course before you can find these places you need to have an understanding of who you’re trying to attract – so do a little work on defining who you want to read your blog and then begin to look for where that type of person is already gathering (I talk more about how I did this in this recent video on how I use promote my blog).

Listen to what others in your niche are saying

One of the most powerful things that I did which helped take my early blogs to the next level was to begin to monitor what others in my niche/industry were talking about.

I discovered the power of this accidentally one day when I just happened to be surfing on another small blog that broke news of a big story. I picked up the story on my own blog (linking to the first) and then my post got picked up by a massive blog which drew in a lot of new readers. Knowing what was happening in the niche helped to break stories but also build relationships with other bloggers in the niche.

Back then the tools for monitoring other blogs and topics were primitive and meant some manual hunting around (I remember in the very early days having to manually bookmark the blogs I wanted to track and visit them each every day to see if they’d posted anything new) but these days it is a lot easier to set up and automate.

My own monitoring of my niches generally happens in two ways:

1. Subscribing to Feeds of Key Sources of Information – these days most sites have some way of subscribing to them, usually via an RSS feed. I have a folder in my feed reader for each of my main topics which contains a number of key blogs and news sites in that niche. I used to follow close to a thousand blogs to do this – but these days have refined the list to much less for each topic.
2. 2. Keyword Alerts – using Google’s news and blog alerts I have a number of alerts set up so that if any news site or blog uses a keyword that I’m interested in I know about it. Choosing keywords that are specific enough can take a little time (some words just generate too many alerts) but on almost a daily basis these alerts identify important posts in my niches.
3. Recommendation Sites – the other listening tool that I use to help me know what’s going on in my niches is to subscribe to sites that are in the business of looking for popular content in my niches. These sites can be a little hard to find depending upon your niche but because I’m largely working in the Tech space there are a few including TechMeme and Delicious. TechMeme looks at what content key blogs are linking to in the tech space and Delicious is a bookmarking site that produces a list of popular content being bookmarked at any point in time (it’s not purely tech related but does consistently produce good results for me). Both of these sites have RSS feeds you can subscribe to to monitor what’s hot.
4. Twitter/X – I also find that being active on Twitter and developing a Twitter account that has a niche focus can also help you listen to what people are saying about your niche. This partly happens naturally (those you follow in your niche will share links) but there are also great tools including Tweetmeme (which shows you what is being retweeted in different categories) and other monitoring/search tools such as Twitter search (you can set up an RSS feed for different search terms) and tools built into Twitter clients (like TweetDeck which allows you to set up a column specifically for alerts). More and more useful tools are being set up for Twitter to help monitor what people are saying about your industry.

Listen to what is being said about you

The other use for some of the tools mentioned above (keyword alerts and the Twitter keyword monitoring) is that you can use them to alert you when someone is talking about you, your business, your blog or your brand specifically.

I’ve talked previously about setting up a vanity folder in your feed reader to help you do this so won’t go into great detail about it here – however it’s something that I’ve found particularly useful for a couple of reasons:

1. Building Relationships – when another blogger links to you it is useful to know about it so you can go and build a relationship with that blogger and their readers.
2. Reputation Management – from time to time you might also be mentioned on another site/blog/press in a more negative way. Knowing quickly about this is also important as it enables you to respond (if necessarily) or at least monitor developments.

Create Listening Spaces on Your Blog

Have you ever had a ‘conversation’ with someone where you simply could not get a word in edgeways? The person talked so fast and without taking a breath – to the point where there simply wasn’t space for you to be listened to.

Sometimes I get that same feeling while on blogs. It’s not that the blogger isn’t interested in their reader – it’s just that they get so excited about what they’re blogging about that they just don’t stop long enough to let others have a say.

One of the simplest ways to create these ‘listening spaces’ on a blog is to ask questions. Ask them at the end of your posts, ask them half way through the and even write posts that are nothing but questions.

Listen to the Questions Your Readers are Asking

One of the most important things to be on the listen out for is questions.

I remember one of my first teachers drumming into the class I was in that there was no such thing as a dumb question and that if one person asked a question it usually meant that others also had the same question going around in their minds.

As a result – when a reader asks you a question, you can bet that they’re not the only one thinking it.

Questions reveal potential topics to write about, problems with your site and opportunities to expand what you’re doing on your blog. Pay careful attention to them in the following areas:

1. comments section – this is the most obvious place for your readers to ask questions
2. your inbox – what questions are you getting from readers via your blog’s contact form?
3. search engine referral terms – often people arrive on your site having plugged a specific question into Google. Most stats packages will reveal these terms and phrases – keep on the look out specifically for questions – also check out 103bees – a tool that specifically monitors and collates questions being asked in your search stats.
4. questions typed into onsite search boxes – this is a goldmine of information, monitoring what people are searching for when they’re actually on your site will show you all kinds of needs, problems and challenges that your readers want to learn more about. Lijit is one tool that helps you track these questions.
5. ask readers for questions – from time to time it can be worth writing a post on your blog that specifically invites readers to ask a question.

Listen to what is working (and what isn’t)

The last thing I’ll add on the topic of listening before I open this topic up to others to share their thoughts is to listen by tracking what is and isn’t working on your blog.

This means setting up your blog with a good metrics tool (I use Google Analytics but there are other great ones out there) and regularly using it to work out what is readers are responding to on your blog.

Some places to start include:

• What posts are being read most?
• What posts are generating good conversation/comments?
• What posts are being linked to by others most?
• How are readers using your design? (use a tool like CrazyEgg to create a heatmap)
• What days of the week are people reading your site most on? What times of the day?
• What pages are people ‘bouncing’ from your site on (bounce rate shows how many people arrive on your blog and immediately leave)
• What posts are people spending most (and least) time on?
• What posts are you getting most negative feedback on?

It is easy to obsess on some of these stats – but it’s also easy to ignore the useful stuff in them that could help you improve your blog.

How else do you Listen in your blogging?

I’ve talked for way too long on a post about listening – so now it’s over to you.

What would you add? Do you use some of the above techniques? What has worked well for you? I’m all ears!

The post Mastering the Art of Listening: A Blogger’s Guide to Success appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

It’s time! The end of 2023 is fast approaching…

You’ve done a great job this year and you should be proud – no step, no matter how small, is too small.

Had a gangbusters year? Good on you!

Had a small year? I bet you’re further than you used to be! Now that’s progress.

The best way to look over all you’ve done and gather your thoughts about where you’d rather be next year is to go through your blog and social media and audit your performance.

What went right (and how can you replicate that)?

What went wrong?

What felt yuck and what are you excited about doing again in 2024?

This audit checklist has served us well and been very popular over the years, so I thought I’d update it for this year and send you off on your merry way with a drink and a pen to revel in your year of blogging. May the force be with you!

Feel free to download the PDF checklist if you’re a paper-and-pen kind of blogger – you can download it here: problogger-end-of-year-blog-audit-checklist.

How to Do an End-of-2023 Blog Audit

Grab a pen and notebook, a fresh Google Doc, a spreadsheet if you’re into that sort of thing, or anything else you’re happy to take notes on or in, and go through each section of your blog thoroughly. What worked, what didn’t, what did you hate, what will you change for next year?

“You can only know where you’re going if you know where you’ve been.” – James Burke

[Tweet/X That!]

So let’s get stuck in.

Content:

You’re going to have to look at some stats for this, so open your WordPress Jetpack or Google Analytics and be prepared to dive in. First though, a look through the posts themselves:

• How long were posts? Did you have a variety of word lengths? All long? All short? Which performed better? What would you say your average post word count would be?
• What were the most popular posts? Overall, and for each category of your blog?
• What type of posts worked? What resonated with your audience?
• What fell flat, or just quite didn’t make it?
• Did you write to your niche? Or did you branch out? Was that a wise choice?
• Were you helpful?
• What posts got the most comments/emails? Which one seemed to touch a nerve in your audience?
• What was shared most?
• What did you enjoy writing?
• Where are you sourcing images? Are you making or taking your own? Could you start? What other options are there (you can find a selection of places that have collections of free, no-attribution images here), what program are you using to create and personalise your images? (We now use Canva pretty much exclusively)Is it enough or should you try something new? What are your image sizes? Are they optimal? Have you changed blog layout and now some of them are poorly sized? Make a note of them so you can update later with a better image.
• Which day of the week got the most traffic? What were you publishing on those days? Was it consistent with your brand?
• Was your overarching theme this year consistent with your brand?
• What search terms got the most people to your blog? are you providing content for them?
• Does each post have a good image that’s formatted correctly, a keyword-rich headline, and is it pleasant to the eye? Is there enough white space, and are there calls to action where necessary?
• Were you providing enough value?

Back End

The nitty-gritty that we usually ignore unless something has gone wrong. Do a cleanout!

• Are your plugins still working for you? What can you delete? What needs updating?
• What do you have as a 404 error message? Can you make it more useful to the reader who finds themselves there?
• Do you have broken links? (one way to find out is to use a broken link checker, or install a plugin that will do it for you). Can you update them?
• What is your SEO plan? Are you inserting key words in all the right places? If you have Yoast installed, is there a green light on the majority of your posts? What can you do to improve in the new year? (Moz has a pretty comprehensive post here on doing a full SEO audit if you feel you need that much depth, and a content audit here).
• Have you filled out the alt-text field on all your images with keyword-rich descriptions? (remember, this is what Pinterest pulls so make it user-friendly)
• What have you been using to track metrics/traffic? Is it working?
• Create a Google Analytics report about what has happened on your site, and who is reading it (and on what device!) Darren has a great tutorial here on how to find the most useful stats in Google Analtyics and use that knowledge to set up your next year of blogging on the right foot.

Design

We eat with our eyes, as they say, and readers will make snap judgements about you and your blog based on how it looks when they get there. What does your design say?

• Is it functional?
• Is it reader-friendly?
• Is it pleasing to the eye?
• Does it describe you and your blog at a glance?
• Have you stayed consistent with colours and fonts?
• Are there any widgets that need removing?
• How is your sidebar working? What can you shuffle around or delete entirely?
• Are you making the most of the bottom-of-the-blog real estate?
• Are the ads old? Can you write to the advertisers and offer them a new deal?
• Are you making the most of your design to point to where you could make an affiliate sale?
• Are there several points on the page where readers can follow you?
• Is your newsletter signup box prominent? Do you have more than one?
• Is that pop-up box worth it?
• Are your social media icons in the right order (you might want to put your most popular sites at the front). Are they linked to the right place? Are they the right size or colour?
• Do all the links on your homepage work?
• What can you remove from the design to enhance the look of your blog?
• What are you using for social sharing? Do you like it? are people using it? Can you find something that works better?
• Personal branding: is it recognisable? Have you been using the same branding techniques on your post images?

Pages/Topics

The umbrella of what you’re about. How’s that workin’ for ya?

• Are the pages and topics you’ve sorted your content into still relevant? Have you moved onto other things? Can you merge some? Nest them?
• Did you share content equally across all or did you find you wrote on a particular topic the most?
• Is the navigation streamlined and user-friendly?
• Are your pages and topics easily accessed?

Social Media

Our home away from home!

• On what platform did you see the biggest growth?
• Where was the most engagement?
• What did you enjoy the most?
• Have you changed profile pictures and bios lately? How current are they?
• What brought most return for your efforts?
• Where would you like try in the new year?
• Is it obvious on all of these platforms what you’re about? What you can offer people?
• Do all your platforms link to your blog, and are these options obvious and easy to find?

Your promotional strategy

You can’t just “build it and they will come”. Because they’re busy reading someone else.

• How did you get your blog in front of new readers?
• How successful was that?
• What wasn’t worth the time invested?
• Where will you invest your time next year?
• What have you got as an opt-in? Does it need upgrading?
• How are you offering your newsletter or mailing list? Have you been consistent with it, have you been tracking open rates etc?
• Did you guest post anywhere? Was that worth your time? Where could you try this year?
• Did you try to get some traditional media coverage?
• Did you try any collaborations or cross-promotions? Who could you work with in 2024?
• Did you do any giveaways? How successful were they?

Monetization

• What has been your strategy this year?
• What monetization models were you using?
• What has been the most lucrative?
• What hasn’t been worth your time?
• What will you spend your resources on next year?
• What programs, ebooks or courses need updating?
• Can you bundle them together and do a quick lead-up to christmas sale?
• Can you release something quick in time for christmas or new year?
• How has your audience reacted to each monetisation strategy?
• What model have you most enjoyed using?
• What would you consider for the future?

Your goals

• Did you create any? did you meet them?
• Were you too ambitious? Or not enough?
• What did you have in mind for next year?
• Have you written your future goals and a plan for how to get there?
• How could you learn from the mistakes you’ve made this year to help you reach your goals now?

Your feelings

• How did you feel overall?
• What did you excel at?
• Where did you feel you could have done better?
• Did you enjoy blogging?
• Do you still enjoy it?
• Have you thought about quitting, moving on to something else (like podcasting, for example), do you want to write a book, open an online store… did you think about expanding or moving on?
• What would you like to do on your blog for next year?
• What will you be leaving behind?

Ahhhh that’s better. Pens down, New Year’s celebratory drinks up! That’s you in a snapshot. May your 2024 be even more amazing.

The post 2024 Blogging Breakthrough: Master Your Year-End Review and Propel Into Success! appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

This is a guest contribution from Joen Rude Falsner.

Most of us have been there: we’ve all had this job where the financial compensation was the absolute single motivation to even show up.

Luckily for most people this, usually, low-compensated, uninspiring and numbingly boring job is characterized by being temporary. Something we do only for a short period of time.

Not for me.

For five full years I was rocking the position of a full time phone supporter specializing in assisting surprisingly helpless people with their TV setup and broadband service subscription.

“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”

I hated it. Oh my God, how I hated it.

A little bit about me

So I’m Joen. A now 30-something-year-old dude from Denmark who has an opinion about most things in life. I wrote this article a few years ago but the story is still relevant today, because my blog is going strong and continues to support me and my lifestyle.

Whether the topic is bear hunting in Alaska or how to keep tropical flowers alive in a costal temperate climate, I will find a way to ask questions that I am genuinely interested in knowing the answers to while also insisting that I know a thing or two about the subject.

The struggle of saying no to the system

This is who I’ve been most of my life. In my mind I have always had all the answers, but never when the topic landed on me. When the topic was ‘Joen’, I instantly became mute.

I was okay with this for a few years, but then I started to realize that my friends were moving up in the world.

Everybody around me seemed to be thriving with fancy degrees, fancy grades and eventually fancy titles. They had their life paved already, while I was digging my own hole deeper and deeper using faulty modems and TV boxes as a shovel.

At age 25, it would be fair to describe me as a rather depressed individual primarily due to the fact that I didn’t seem to have much of a bright future.

I didn’t have any formal education other than high school and a 2-year-short piece of garbage degree in marketing that was worth nothing more than a seat behind the register in your nearest supermarket.

See, that’s the thing. I never wanted a formal education, because it simply wasn’t for me. I just couldn’t care less about it.

I wanted to create. They wanted me to read.

Saying no to the system was a huge deal that I am forever grateful I did. It was also something that was incredibly difficult. Everybody expects you to do what society expects you to do.

Because if you don’t do what society wants you to do, then what are you going to do?

Entering the digital universe

Regardless of my state of depression I was eager to dig my way out of the hole.

My close friend, Frederik, who is kind of a SEO and PPC hero told me about blogging and affiliate marketing. He actually introduced me to the whole digital universe a few years earlier, but it took me two years before I summoned the courage to act on it.

Finally, I decided to start a blog.

February 7, 2014, I started Stayclassy.dk, a fashion and lifestyle blog with focus on quality over quantity and the good life.

I was determined to be successful.

From dinosaur to digital dude

Back in 2014, when I started my blog, I think it would be fair to say I was kind of a dinosaur.

Of course I knew how to work my way around a computer and I have always been pretty handy with ‘basic stuff’, but I had no idea just how big the difference was between casually using a computer and understanding the incredible opportunities the Internet offers.

Getting started with blogging

When I started blogging I was only familiar with basic tools.

I knew that it was important to make a keyword analysis in order to identify the best keyword for an article so that it would be easier for it to rank. I also knew it was important to create a lot of content.

Quality content of course.

But that was pretty much it. Those were my tools. Creating content and using the right keywords. Looking back, I actually like the simplicity of my starting point.

Because creating content is really the most important part of getting started with blogging. Forget link building, guest blogging and what else you got.

There’s no point of reaching out to people if you haven’t already built a solid platform to show.

My goals when I started the blog

I’m not gonna lie.

Getting into blogging was mainly incentivized by the possibility of earning money. I wanted to get out of my day job badly and in order to do so I had to earn money.

I started the blog while also working my full time job. In other words, my schedule just got a lot busier. It was three hours of blogging before work and 3-4 hours of blogging after.

All together that made my average day ~3+9+3=~15 hours long.

The goal from day 1 was to create one quality article a day. An article that had to be at least 1000 words long.

I knew that text heavy articles weren’t necessarily a goal in itself, but setting this rule was important as I was also forcing myself to write.

A lot.

You have to remember that when I started blogging my only writing experience was chatting to girls on Tinder. I had zero experience, although I’ve always been all right at putting together a sentence or two.

The strategy

By writing an article a day, and sometimes even two, I knew that in a year I would have 365 articles in the bank. That’s 365,000 words or the equivalent of 3-4 good books. I liked the sound of that.

Content before anything.

That was my basic strategy to begin with. It wasn’t until I had +45 articles that I began thinking in terms of getting links.

With 45+ articles I had something to show. I had already created a blog that I was really proud of. People would also take my blog seriously and that made my link-building effort a lot easier as more of my guest post enquiries were granted.

Along with the consistent output of quality articles I started getting links. My blog started to become authoritative-ish.

I remember how much I hated the link-building game.

I thought it was so lame that links were the all-important factor in getting those much desired organic rankings. This was also one of the reasons that I didn’t put too much effort into it at that point, which, in hindsight, was a really bad decision, but more on this later.

Affiliate blog posts for the win

That was my mind-set.

If I wanted to earn money, I had to monetize as much as I could without of course making my blog appear spammy.

So the majority of the articles I wrote were affiliate blog posts, however I would complement them with lifestyle blog posts of various sorts in order for my blog to maintain a dynamic range of content.

Mainly it was affiliate articles in the fashion department where I had one particular affiliate program that would turn out to perform extremely well.

I already knew that, as this was the online go-to-fashion retailer for most Danes, but I didn’t know that it would become ~70% of my combined affiliate income almost three years later.

Spending a lot of time analyzing all the available affiliate programs as well as testing them out has been of great importance to the success of my blog.

If you don’t keep a close eye on this, you will consequently earn less money. Less money that over time will accumulate to a huge loss.

Earning my first dollar

Exactly 14 days was how long it took me to earn my first affiliate dollar after having started the blog.

My first sale was worth exactly 7 euros.

I was ecstatic. Just two weeks in and here I am already living the passive income dream.

Okay not really, but I could immediately see that this “earn money online blogging”-thing wasn’t just a fairy tale pipe dream.

It could be done if using the same technique as Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption (best film ever by the way), who dug a hole through the wall by applying only pressure and time.

Pressure and time

That is all it really takes and although there isn’t any hole to be seen right away, you will eventually hit the other end of the wall.

Although I was seeing dollars only two weeks after getting to work, things were moving slow. Painfully slow actually, but it was easy to stay on track as I continued to grow my audience month after month.

The first 11 months of Stayclassy.dk

The first dot on the screenshot above marks the very beginning of Stayclassy.dk with virtually no traffic. Eleven months later the dot had jumped 16,193 steps in the right direction.

This was the time where I finally quit my beloved phone supporter job.

And not only did I quit. I moved to Australia. Away from icy Denmark and on to the deliciously warm continent where endless summer is always thriving.

I was not earning a full time living by any means at that point, but it was enough to get by as I also had saved up a bit of money.

Suddenly Joen was moving up in the world. Life was looking up. It felt great, to put it mildly.

Affiliate Marketing is great, but…

… it takes time and an abundance of hard work to get there.

Being one year into my blogging journey I was still not making enough to fully rely on it. Far from it actually, but I was okay with that. I knew it was only a matter of time, if I kept doing what I was doing.

Nonetheless, it was time to diversify my income stream.

So I engaged in sponsored content. I was getting more and more enquiries from businesses who were seeking promotion.

This was terrific as I was able to supplement my affiliate income with a tangible here-and-now income. They would pay me immediately as opposed to the hundreds of affiliate articles where I was still waiting to reap the true benefits of my hard work.

Given my blog’s good image I didn’t even have to approach businesses. They approached me. That was a solid pat on the shoulder and a strong indication that I was doing something right.

So I carried on.

The digital dude

That’s who I was starting to feel like. After a year of hard work, I was beginning to get a real grasp on blogging and this digital universe in general.

I was suddenly able to have “academic discussions” with my friend, Frederik.

I knew what was going on in the world of blogging and the wide variety of things you need to consistently keep an eye on.

After just one year I felt like I had learned incredibly many things that no school could ever teach me.

The main reason for this was that every time I wanted or had to implement something on my blog, I had to learn about it. Combining theory and practice was apparently the way to go. At least for me.

Becoming a successful blogger

So basically, in year two of my blogging career, I was kind of living the dream. I was travelling around Australia living in Darwin (not that much of a dream spot by the way), Cairns and Melbourne. I also spent six weeks in Bali and a month in Thailand.

Was this it? Had I made it?

I think most people would agree that I had indeed become a successful blogger, but to me I was only getting started. I was comparing my blog to a successful start-up. Things were going just fine, but it was nowhere near enough.

In short I kept maintaining the outlook of treating my blog as a real business: that strong growth was the only acceptable outcome. I think this has been an essential ingredient in getting to where I am today.

Being a successful blogger isn’t a static thing. It’s a constant battle that requires a continuous effort.

Very quickly things can go the wrong way. You can get hit by the Google bus (yes, that was a metaphor for losing rankings) subsequently affecting your income. There can be a drought where businesses are not interested in having sponsored content on your blog.

So many things can go wrong along the way.

I’ve been through all of this.

Several times. Up and down. Down, down and then up, up and up. It’s a never ending rollercoaster that will sometime make you feel sick and other times euphoric.

Dealing with the hardships of blogging

So yeah, blogging is no walk in the park. I have been through quite a few hardships.

Oh God, the discipline…

Call it what you want, but I call it hardship. One of the biggest challenges I have faced, and still am facing, is discipline.

It is so much easier to get up in the morning when you have a boss, who expects you to be there at 9am sharp.

When you are your own boss, it is so easy to allow yourself to sleep way past 10am. It is so easy to browse through hilarious cat photos instead of doing what you should be doing.

I have definitely not solved the problem of procrastination. I have, however, become more self-disciplined. I am constantly trying to improve my self-discipline by the use of various techniques.

Urgency

Because life seems so long, it is really hard to work towards your goals with a sense of urgency.

The mind seems to think that there always is plenty of time to do something else, which is why it is okay not to do what you should be doing right now.

I tell my brain every day that I need to have a better sense of urgency. This actually helps me with being more disciplined.

Mental toughness

Everybody talks about motivation. “You need to stay motivated”. “Read this book so you can get motivated”.

Of course motivation is a good thing, but I have come to the realisation that motivation is something that comes and goes as it pleases. It is a temporary state of mind and you have no control over it.

Instead, I have learned that the key to becoming a disciplined blogger (and person in general) is to work on your mental toughness.

Convincing yourself to write when you reeeaally don’t feel like it. Convincing your mind to finish a blog post although it tells you to stop right now. You get the point.

It is a draining exercise that will only be fruitful if applied repetitively.

It is a quite complex topic that I am by no means an expert on, however I have found it easier to work on my mental toughness when combining it with meditation and cognitive behavioral self-therapy.

Yeah, that was a pretty advanced word, but it’s actually not that complex.

In essence, it is about analysing your own thoughts and rationalising the why and what’s: why am I feeling this lack of doing anything productive? What is the consequence of not doing this work and what is the positive outcome if I do? By working right now, I will move closer to my hopes and dreams.

This exercise is really helpful as I simply get more shit done.

Delayed gratification

It’s about working hard now and then at some point later be rewarded. It makes sense, but the waiting time can be daunting. And it usually is.

At least for me as I am notorious for being impatient. When I hit publish on a blog post I want it to rank immediately, but fact of the matter is that it usually takes months before it sits on page 1, IF at all.

When getting into blogging you really have to be okay with delayed gratification.

I have been dealing with this hardship by always celebrating the small victories. It can be a little improvement in my rankings. It can be a few new e-mail subscribers, new fans on Facebook, a little increase in affiliate sales and so on.

Don’t be too hard on yourself just because you have yet to reach your big milestone.

Surviving ‘the dip’

You are probably familiar with Seth Godin’s terrific book, The Dip. Basically it addresses how every new project, business and hobby is all fun and games in the very beginning.

It’s exciting and you are as motivated as can be.

Pretty fast, though, the excitement fades. Suddenly obstacles are starting to build up. It’s not as easy as it was yesterday and you actually have to work hard.

Few people are lucky enough to avoid the dip and I sure as hell wasn’t one of them.

When I started the blog I had already read Seth Godin’s book, so I was aware of the concept.

That was a good thing as I therefor was expecting the dip. I was prepared for it and knew that this was simply just a state I would have to hustle my way through.

By keep telling myself that surviving the dip is an essential part of becoming successful, I was able to power through.

Having to do everything yourself

Most bloggers who start out have very limited resources. That means they have to do everything themselves. Outsourcing is generally not an option.

Right from buying the domain, setting up the first blog post to sending business proposals to potential partners, fixing various technical aspects and understanding how SEO works, everything is on your plate.

And you have to be really hungry if you are going to chew your way through all of it.

Having to do everything yourself has been one of the most valuable things I have had to do. You learn so incredibly much so incredibly fast simply because you have to.

The downside, however, is that you easily will find yourself overwhelmed. You don’t know where to start and it all just seems too much.

What I have done in order to not go down Overwhelm Lane, is to break down the tasks in what is super important and what is not so super important.

Then I will start with the number one super important task and solve it. When I have somewhat solved it, I move on to the next one. And then the next one.

It’s so much easier this way as opposed to starting from scratch with five different things you have zero grasp on.

From successful to thriving blogger

Even though I felt like a successful blogger after only twelve months of blogging, I wasn’t thriving. The blogging hardships were still of too great proportions.

I was still waiting for the blog to properly take off. I also still had so much basic stuff to learn.

Fast forward to the beginning of 2017

That’s today.

2 years and 10 months later I am still blogging away. I have written more than 700 articles. I have published more than 700,000 polished and edited words.

Stayclassy.dk has become the largest men’s fashion and lifestyle blog in Denmark with more than +60,000 monthly readers.

Blogging is my bread and butter, but my blogging income allows me to eat steak and béarnaise – and quite often actually!

I feel like I am thriving. I understand the blogging business. I know how it works. I generally just find it easy to connect the dots. Getting to this point has also sped up the growth of my blog.

2024 Update

In terms of age, I am in my early 30s. Geographically, I now live in Portugal. On a daily basis, I deal with various things and cases, which can probably best be described as a mixture of ideas and developing concepts as well as online marketing.

Alongside Stay Classy, ​​I also help my girlfriend’s blog, AmalieRohde.dk , which has since become an integral part of Stay Classy – namely Stay Classy Kvinder . Likewise, we also run Stay Classy Vlog , which is the associated website for our YouTube channel , Stay Classy Vlog.

The most valuable tools I use

Consistency

It might seem self-explanatory, predictable and whatnot. I don’t care. Consistency carried out with persistence is by far the best path to destination successfulness.

And everybody knows that, right?

I think they do. The problem is that most people don’t understand just how important it actually is.

Or maybe they do.

They just don’t have the stomach to stay on course by moving one feet in front of the other every day. Because it is by no means an easy tool to use. It requires self-discipline on a daily basis, and yeah, we’ve already been over that.

The most incredible SEO-research tool available

Right up until six months ago I have been a cheapskate when it comes to the many online research tools available. No way I was paying $200+ a month just so I could look at competitor backlink profiles and keyword rankings.

Boy, has this been a poor decision, and not only a poor decision, it has also been an expensive one.

I’ll tell you why.

In the jungle of SEO-tools I was referred to Ahrefs.com by a friend of mine who was doing an unbelievable job with building links and domain authority for his own site.

I signed up with a paid profile and started looking at backlink profiles of competitors and people in the Danish SEO-industry, who I knew were building lots of links.

Immediately, I saw how many quality links that were just laying there. Up until July 2016 I really hadn’t done much about building quality links to my blog, so I figured it was well overdue I put in an effort.

And so I did.

I picked all the low hanging fruits to begin with, however sticking only to relevant and natural ones. I moved on to approaching strong websites where guest posting made sense.

Quickly, I got into the game of doing white hat link building. So many strong websites were suddenly pointing to my blog and then, BAM, I saw the effect.

The annotation next to July 2016 marks the day I started putting effort into link building. Two months later my blog took a massive jump. And then again.

Essentially I had doubled my organic traffic. This naturally had a pleasant effect on my affiliate income.

It was great to see this boost in traffic and earnings, but I am still cursing myself for not putting in this effort much earlier. I wonder how much money I have lost.

Oh, well.

Expensive lessons are sometimes the most valuable ones. And here the lesson was that links are ever important, whether you like it or not.

I know that everybody knows this. I’m not sharing any wild information that will shake the blogging or SEO industry. I just want to remind people that as ridiculous it can seem to spend an entire day on getting a single link, it is most likely worth it.

Another great thing about Ahrefs…

… is that their ranking system works as daily motivation for me.

Being able to see your Ahrefs rank, but also domain rating and organic search movements is fantastic.

It makes me want to work even harder as the daily effort I put into my blog translates to these Ahrefs statistics. Everyday they are updated.

Here is one of the Ahrefs graphs I follow religiously. Notice how it started going upwards in July, when I signed up.

What blogging has given me

Getting into the blogging business was in many ways a desperate measure.

Back in 2014, I would never have guessed just how many good things that would come out of it.

Because fact of the matter is that blogging has done so much more for me besides giving me juicy do-follow links, a bunch of traffic and a passive income.

I’ve become an independent dude

Almost three years of experience with running my own business has made me very independent to the point where I will never work for another person.

The joy of seeing my own business grow and grow is more fulfilling than anything I can think of.

The independence has also given me clarity.

I am more focused on what I want to achieve with my time on this little planet of ours. I will always have doubts about the decisions I make, but I have become confident enough to follow through and take the risks regardless.

Being a good writer is incredibly valuable

I will probably never be the Mark Twain of the 21st century, but I think that I have become a pretty decent writer in the course of the last three years. A writer that keeps improving.

One of the things that I have realized and thought a lot about lately is how valuable it is to be a good writer.

Writing not only allows you to tell a compelling story, it enables you to reach out to other people with a much higher rate of success. Here I am talking about creating appealing proposals to businesses, but also communication in general.

Additionally, writing has made me much more creative simply because I have forced digital ink on the screen every single day. Coming up with blog post ideas and putting them to life is one of the best ways to exercise your brain’s creative muscle.

Freedom to do what I want to do

Although blogging is no 4-hour-work-week gig, it comes with a tremendous amount of freedom.

Yes, you have to spend a lot of time in front the screen, but having the freedom to choose where in the world you want to sit and when is priceless.

In many ways it is the ultimate thing in life. Being able to do what you love from anywhere in the world.

I wrote this sitting on a roof top bar in Melbourne with the sun in my face.

I moved back from Australia to Denmark in December last year as I wanted to have a steadier base to work from. That hasn’t stopped me from bringing my laptop around the world.

In the last 12 months I have brought my laptop to Dubai, Italy, Greece, Berlin, Switzerland and now Melbourne where I am spending two months before moving onto an epic road trip around the southern parts of Australia.

The doors that have opened

Blogging has opened so many doors for me. It has led me to bigger and better on a continuous note. I get to work with amazing companies.

One of the best experiences was a company that wanted me to do an article on their insane collection of whisky, rum, cognac etc., where I was literally paid to taste some of the most expensive drops in the world. Is this real life?

I have established a network with talented, interesting and reputable people that stretch much further than the blogging environment.

My blog has given me a strong résumé that makes a formal education irrelevant. Although long educations in Denmark are free, I have also saved a lot of time and money by not wasting the last three years on a bachelor degree that won’t serve me.

Most importantly, blogging has made me a happier dude

And not just happier. Happy.

Blogging has given me a sense of purpose in life. I feel like I make a difference doing what I do, which is a feeling that gets emphasized by the many messages I get from inspired readers.

Okay, I’m gonna stop now with the happy camper poetry. It gets a bit much, doesn’t it?

Is blogging for everyone?

Certainly not. And I don’t mean that as in ‘not everybody is talented enough’. I am pretty sure most people could create a blog with decent content.

The problem is just that blogging is much more than creating content. As we talked about earlier there are so many strings to pull, if you want to become successful.

Of course everybody can blog on a hobby level. Nothing is stopping you from writing about your love of gluten free unicorn shaped candy, but if you want to make a living off of it, you will have to go beyond the content.

You will need to treat it like a business. Are you up for starting a business?

What’s next?

For me, you might ask? Only three years in, I still have a lot to learn. I feel like I am still just getting started. After all, three years really isn’t that much.

But to answer your question, I will continue to create content relentlessly although things are beginning to head in new directions. Directions where the format isn’t necessarily text-based, or at least where I don’t have to create all of it myself.

This means that I am in the process of expanding the team from 1 (me) to 2 or 3. This would allow me to take things to the next level and move closer to the ultimate goal, which is becoming the leading fashion and lifestyle magazine in Denmark.

Right now I am in the early phase of starting a vlog.

Something that scares the shit out of me. Putting myself in front of the camera and figure out how to tell a story. Am I even interesting enough? Hardly, most of my friends would probably say.

But I don’t care.

It’s time for Stayclassy.dk to work on even higher engagement. In a world where people can’t seem to get enough of videos, it is increasingly difficult to keep your audience interested only via text formatted content.

People want variety.

Although I have zero experience with recording I decided to jump straight into the vlogging world. I bought a Canon 70D, Røde VideoMic, various tripods, lenses and the whole shebang.

I am on really deep water, but I think I will manage to find my way to the shore.

This is the first vlog of Stayclassy.dk. One of many adventures to come.

Remember, though, it’s not about the word count. It’s about the message.

I’m sure you got what it takes to become a successful blogger. Really all it takes is to get started, be consistent and passionate, and carry on.

Joen is the guy behind Stayclassy.dk, which is the biggest fashion and lifestyle blog for men in Denmark. He writes articles with the main purpose of inspiring his readers to become the best version of themselves. Connect with him on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

If you’re thinking about beginning a blog in 2024,  ProBlogger’s FREE Ultimate Start a Blog Course is your best first step…

The post From Miserable Telemarketer to Successful Entrepreneur: How Starting a Blog Changed My Life appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

This guest series is by Greg McFarlane of Control Your Cash.

Welcome to the final installment in our hexalogy, concerning how to sell blog products in an era when people are reaching into their pockets and finding mostly lint. So far, we’ve discussed how to plan out products drawn from your expertise, create them, distinguish yourself from your competitors, test-market, figure out how much to charge, and find a clientele. If you’re late to the party, check out the previous parts of this series, right from the start, before going any further.

Say you’ve done all of the above. Now, the only remaining step is to get the sale. Sounds obvious, but all the preliminary work means nothing if you don’t close. You need to tell people to buy, rather than just crossing your fingers and hoping that they might.

It’s not just writing…

There’s a certain finesse required with this. You don’t sell in the same voice in which you entice, cajole, or inform. Lots of bloggers have trouble making the transition. If you’re going to put yourself out there as a seller of “you-branded” content, you don’t have the luxury of stumbling through and hoping that your sales pitch falls on receptive ears.

At this point, considering how much you’ve put in, selling yourself is mandatory, not optional. You have to use language forcefully, more forcefully than you do in your blog posts. Burrow into your prospect’s head, and by extension, your prospect’s wallet.

Focusing on the benefits

There’s a timeless axiom in the advertising business: People don’t want a bar of soap, they want clean hands.

The benefit of the product is far more important than the product itself. When you instead start focusing on the product—which, granted, you expended considerable effort to create—you’re not exactly empathizing with your clientele. It’s supposed to be about them, not you. No one cares how many hours you spent interviewing people for the DVD series you’re selling. Nor could anyone be less interested in how many pages your ebook is. (Beyond a certain point, of course. If you’re going to charge $329 for a three-page ebook, it had better contain the GPS coordinates for the Ark of the Covenant.)

No, cost-conscious buyers—any discerning buyers, really—want to know the answer to the universal question:

What’s in it for me?

How are you going to make your readers’ lives easier/simpler/richer? State how you’re going to do it. Yes, it’s great that you poured your heart and soul into your work, but that doesn’t necessarily make it sellable.

The human tendency is to concentrate on oneself, rather than other people. Which makes perfect sense—of course you’ll brush your own teeth and wash your own windows before doing the same for your neighbor. But if you want other people’s money, you have to force yourself to think about them first, as unnatural as that might sound.

Here’s an example of what not to write to get people to buy your products. The example is technically fictional, but it’s a composite of other bloggers’ calls-to-action:

“Starting today, I’m running a discount on my latest project. You can get my 36-page, 8,459-word ebook for just $11.99. This ebook, Car Noises And How To Diagnose Them, is the result of many months of research, and is now being made available to you for a special introductory price.”

Wow. Thanks for doing me the favor of offering to take my money. This is like the employee who walks into the boss’s office requesting a raise, and the first point he cites is how many hours of uncompensated overtime he puts in. Or that he has a baby on the way. You need to give your employer, or anyone else in the position of enriching you, a reason for doing so. Again, concentrate on the end users here. Without them, you and your product are nothing.

Here’s an alternative sales script, one that focuses on the buyer. It’s longer, but it also (hopefully) appeals to the buyer’s senses:

“Your car makes an unfamiliar noise. So naturally, your first reaction is to drive to the nearest mechanic, and waste maybe half an hour in the waiting room, putting yourself at the mercy of a professional whose livelihood rests on finding as many things wrong with people’s cars as possible.

For the love of God, don’t. Stop throwing your money away. That knock you hear doesn’t mean you need a new $1400 transmission assembly. It means you need to spend a couple more dollars on higher-octane fuel. That ear-splitting undercarriage rattle can be quieted in seconds, with the appropriate ratchet and a quarter-turn of your wrist.

My new ebook, Car Noises And How To Diagnose Them, breaks down the most common, least pleasant sounds that can emanate from your car. It tells you where they originate, what they mean, and how to prevent them. Some will require a look from a technician, but you’ll be amazed how many won’t. Fix them yourself instead, and you’ll save untold time, money and aggravation.

Car Noises And How To Diagnose Them includes sound files of dozens of the most common noises, along with complete directions on how to locate and assess them. Download it here for just $12, and I’ll include a mobile link for iOS and Android (because very few car noises occur when you’re sitting in front of your computer at home).”

Obviously that sales treatment isn’t going to be suitable for your blog and its products, but you get the idea. People are more budget-conscious these days than they’ve been in some time. They will part with their money, but you need to give them a compelling reason to.

Drawing the line

This doesn’t mean you should be penning advertising copy with dubious assertions. (“Scientifically proven to regrow hair!”) Quite the contrary. If there’s ever a time to be honest, it’s when you’re explaining to your readers what your products can do for them. Your readers will respect you for it, and if you give them value, they’ll spread the word.

For an established blogger, creating products that extend that blog can be a rewarding way to engage your readers and foster an ever-growing audience. For an up-and-coming blogger, selling a worthwhile product can cement your reputation as an authority in your field all the more quickly. Creating blog products takes plenty of time and effort, and while selling them in a rough economy can be a challenge, it’s such challenges that separate the average bloggers from the remarkable ones.

Say what your product’s benefit is (not what your product is, what its benefit is.), and sell.

Key points

• Understand that writing sales copy is different than blogging.
• Don’t write about yourself.
• Don’t write about your product.
• Write about your product’s benefits.
• Practise makes perfect: keep trying to improve your sales writing skills.

That’s it for our tour of the tricky business of building blog products that sell. How are your products selling at the moment? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Greg McFarlane is an advertising copywriter who lives in Las Vegas. He recently wrote Control Your Cash: Making Money Make Sense, a financial primer for people in their 20s and 30s who know nothing about money. You can buy the book here (physical) or here (Kindle) and reach Greg at greg@ControlYourCash.com.

The post Build Blog Products That Sell 6: Tell the World appeared first on ProBlogger.

     

This guest post is by Ali Luke of Aliventures.

Did your latest post get all the readers, comments and tweets that it deserved?

Probably not. You wrote a great piece, but somehow, it seemed bland. Your ideas were good, but the post lacks a little something. What you need is more spice.

Here are nine ways to add some heat to your post, and grab readers’ attention.

#1: Add a snappy title and subtitles

You know that posts need great headlines. Often, the headline is all that a potential reader can see before clicking through to read the whole post—on Twitter, for instance, or in a CommentLuv link.

When you’ve got a post ready to go, though, it’s easy to just hit the Publish button, leaving it with whatever title first came to mind. Don’t do that. Give yourself time to pause and rethink. Is every word in the headline pulling its weight?

Further reading: How to Craft Post Titles that Draw Readers Into Your Blog

#2: Introduce powerful images

You might think images don’t really matter. After all, you’ve written great content—surely no-one cares whether or not there’s a pretty picture with it?

The thing is, images are eye-catching. They can make your posts look more polished and professional. And a great image can even set up the mood or tone of a post.

You’ll want to include at least one image per post—probably at the top. But if you’ve got a longer piece, it’s often worth adding several images to help break up the text. You can see how I did this in a huge post, Freelance Writing: Ten Steps, Tons of Resources, with ten images, one for each step.

Further reading: Blogosphere Trends + Choosing and Using Images

#3: Tap into readers’ concerns

Your readers don’t just want interesting information. They want posts which solve a problem. That could be something simple and basic (“How do I hold my camera?”) or something huge, like “How do I get out of debt?”

If you know your readers well, you’ll know what their common worries and struggles are. You can use these in your post, by empathizing with how they feel and by showing them the way forwards.

Further reading: How to Create Reader Profiles/Personas to Inspire and Inform Your Blogging

#4: Add a personal anecdote

This isn’t a technique which you’ll want to use in every single post, but it’s very powerful when used sparingly.

Readers love stories, and they love to feel a sense of connection with another person. By telling a brief story from your own life, you hook the reader on an emotional level, not just an intellectual one.

My favourite example wasn’t originally a blog post at all. It was live, from Darren speaking on stage at BlogWorld Expo. He retells the story in the video post What My 4-Year-Old Son Taught Me About Successful Blogging.

Further reading: The Power of Being Personal on Your Blog (which also includes an anecdote!)

#5: Offer “take home” or “action” points

Sometimes, you’ll have a great post packed with useful content—but without anything for the reader to really grab hold of.

To help your reader engage, offer “take home” points, summing up the post, or “action” points: something that gets the reader thinking or some next step they can take. I’ve noticed that when I do this with posts, I get more comments and retweets than otherwise.

This is particularly crucial if you’ve written a post which is heavy on theory. There’s a great example here in Charlie Gilkey’s The Four Key Dimensions of Business, where he ends with four straightforward questions to help people start using what they’ve just read.

Further reading: How to Create Compelling Content by Inspiring Action

#6: Get readers to react

Sometimes, bloggers aim to use the power of reaction in quite a cynical way. They post rants—angry pieces which are just intended to start an argument or to get attention.

But when you encourage thoughtful reactions, you help readers to share their ideas—and to share your content. You turn them from passive consumers of your content into active engagers with it.

Getting readers to react might be as simple as asking “What do you think?” In most cases, though, you’ll want to pose a question or ask their opinion on something specific.

Further reading: 7 Questions to Ask On Your Blog to Get More Reader Engagement

#7: Include quotes from other bloggers

When you’re reading blogs, you might come across a great quote—a sentence or a paragraph which really resonates. Why not share it with your readers?

Including quotes from other bloggers can help you to back up your own opinions and facts: it proves that other experts in your field are saying the same thing as you.

Plus, quotes help break up a long blog post. They allow you to introduce a different voice into your piece, and can provide a starting point for discussion.

Further reading: Blogosphere Trends + Effectively Using Quotes

#8: Use an analogy

Maybe you’ve written a great post that explains exactly how something works, in painstaking detail. The problem is, your readers aren’t engaging with it—they’re not even reading it.

Can you come up with an analogy that helps the reader to understand?

A good analogy gives your reader a picture in their head, based on something familiar. It can give them that “Aha, I get it!” moment. It can help them look at something in a fresh way, like Starting a Successful Blog is Like Planning an Invasion. You can keep the analogy going as a running metaphor using language that relates to it (like “allies” and “skirmishes” in that post).

Further reading: Blogging is like…

#9: Make your language punchier

You’re a blogger—which means you’re a writer. You need to make every sentence and word work for you.

By “punchier”, I don’t mean you should be aggressive. I mean that your words need to be strong and engaging.

Cut out unnecessary words and phrases, like “it may be the case that” or “In my opinion” or “it’s quite probably true that”. You don’t need these wishy-washy qualifiers, and your sentences will reader more strongly without them.

Use everyday language. Short, simple words can convey your points far more effectively than grandiose, convoluted ones.

Further reading: Blogging is About Writing

I’ve given you nine ways to spice up your posts. Now it’s your turn! What’s your number 10?

Ali Luke is a writer, blogger and writing coach. She’s just launched The Blogger’s Guide to Freelancing, a fully updated and expanded version of her popular Staff Blogging Course. Grab your copy today for $29, and start using your blogging skills to make serious money.

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