Entries Tagged 'blog' ↓

Can anyone blog?

Yes, but only if they have certain qualities.

You see, although blogging appears to be a simple thing to do (and it is), it does require several elements if it is to work.

Despite what you might think, an ability to write well, although important, isn’t the be all and end all. You see if you want to be a successful blogger there are a few traits that you must posses.

1. Determination

This one is right at the top of the list.

Without it you’ll probably not keep to your posting schedule and end up letting it drift away. Running a blog is something that has to be worked at and will only bring in the results you want if you’re determined to make it happen.

2. Patience

You won’t see instant results. Building a readership and reputation takes time, so don’t expect to set up a blog one day and have thousands of readers the next.

3. Personality

People will read your blog posts if they have personality.

Something that is dull and dry will turn of readers faster than a fast thing. But if you allow your own personality to seep through they will be able to get to know you and will find themselves immersed in your writing.

4. Consistency

This is both in terms of the quality of your posts, their subject range and frequency.

All your posts have to be of a high standard; if you let your game slip once you could risk losing readers. Also, your readers will come to your blog because you write for a certain niche, if you start adding random posts about anything and everything, your blog will lose its purpose and readers.

With regards to frequency, regular readers will get to know when you post and will be looking out for your next article, so when you decide on a posting frequency, stick to it.

5. Purpose

Every post you publish must have a purpose – usually to educate or provide your readers with great information.

A post without a purpose is a wasted one.

6. Honesty

If you add an affiliate link to a product within your post, tell your reader it’s an affiliated product.

Being open and honest about any potential earning power you may gain from your posts will show your honesty and integrity to your readers.

7. Communicative

The whole purpose of blogging is to communicate and interact with your readers. So when they comment on a post, respond to them and engage with them. Show them that there is a real person behind the blog.

As you can see becoming a blogger isn’t just about setting up a blog site and publishing any old thing. There’s a lot to think about, such as whom your audience is, what you want to achieve and what your audience want to see.

Blogging is for the long haul – if you’re prepared for that it can be very rewarding.

Sally Ormond – copywriter and blogger

If you want your business to be noticed online, you must have a blog.

That’s probably something you’ve heard a lot of people say; well, they’re right.

The pros and cons of blogging

Pros

Google loves great quality content; the more you can produce the better. And if Google loves it that means you’ll be rewarded with great rankings in the search results.

So blogging is great for search engine optimisation, but that’s not all.

Writing regularly on your blog will also position you as an expert in your field. It’s a great stage from which you can offer help and advice to others, widening your exposure on the Internet and driving traffic to your website.

Cons

If you’re going to start one you must be prepared for the commitment it needs. A blog isn’t just something that can be played with every now and then when you have time. A blog is something that must be used regularly.

All too often you see new websites launched with a blog that’s updated religiously for the first month or so, but then…nothing.

There’s nothing worse than landing on a website to see a blog that’s not been updated for months on end.

Warning: A blog won’t self-populate – you have to do that bit. And that takes time, commitment and creativity.

Keeping your blog on track

Once you’ve made the decision to start blogging and are confident that you have what it takes to cut it as a blogger, you have to decide what you’re going to write about.

If you’re using it as a way of promoting your business, it makes sense to pick a niche that complements your business activities. I am a copywriter, therefore my blog contains posts that relate to copywriting, marketing, social media and freelance businesses.

Once you’ve made that decision, stick to it.

Your readers will soon get to know what kind of information they can expect to find on your blog. If you suddenly change tact and throw in something completely unrelated you could lose them.

What type of posts to write?

The type of post you write should vary.

News articles are interesting, but people like variety, so try and mix it up a bit and write:

• How to posts
• Reviews
• Comment on the latest industry news
• Top 10 lists
• Advice and tips

At the end of the day, what you write should be interesting and add value to your readers.

As you can see, blogging is a great way to improve your online visibility, elevate yourself to expert status and drive traffic to your website. But it takes time and commitment.

Over to you

Do you blog? If so, how do you manage to keep on top of it?

If you don’t blog, why don’t you? What’s stopping you from having a go?

Leave a comment below and let’s chat.

Everyone is blogging these days, so how do you make sure your blog posts stand out from everyone else’s?

With the average number of blog posts in a 24 hour period being 900,000 making sure yours gets found and read is quite a tall order.

We’ve put together 8 tips to help you make your posts stand out.

Creating blog posts

Is there really such as thing as a perfect blog post? Probably not, after all, you’re writing for a diverse readership so what you write isn’t going to appeal to everyone.

But there are certain things you can do to increase your chances of getting your stuff read.

1. Headline

The beginning is always the best place to start.

Your headline is the make or break of your post. After all, if it’s a bit drab and lame, no one is going to take the time to read it.

Make sure it uses your keywords (but that doesn’t mean stuff it with them), it’s catchy, shareable and, above all, reflects what’s in the body of your post.

2. Sub headings

These are vitally important.

If you write a long post and its just reams of text, it’s not going to look very inviting.

But, if you divide up with meaningful sub headings, your reader will be able to easily navigate through the text. It will also have the effect of making it look easier to read because it will be broken down into bite-sized chunks.

3. Optimised, natural copy

That sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, but it really is possible to write natural content that is optimised. If you think about it, if you’re writing about a topic (such as gardening), your main keywords will naturally occur within your writing, so there is no need to try and shoe horn them in to every sentence.

4. Visuals

Visuals (so long as they’re relevant) can only enhance your blog post.

Graphics, images and videos will add a new dimension to what you’re talking about and add extra value for the reader.

5. Call to action

Even though you’re not directly selling through your blog post, you should still include a call to action.

It could be asking them to subscribe to your newsletter, your blog’s RSS feed or visit your website for more information.

After all, if you’re going to take the time to generate great content, you may as well get something out of it.

6. Social sharing

Adding tools to share your content on social media will help boost your readership and visibility in the search engines.

Twitter, Facebook etc., are everyday tools people use to communicate with each other and share ideas and information. Making it easy for people to share your content has to be a good thing – doesn’t it?

7. You may also like…

At the end of your post it’s always a good idea to add links to related content that your reader may also find useful.

8. Comments

There’s often a great deal of debate about whether you should allow people to comment on your blogs or not.

As far as we’re concerned, blogging is a way of communicating with people and allowing others to have their say and expand on your ideas enriches it.

Over to you

What’s your take on this?

Are there are any other elements you would expect to see in the ‘perfect’ blog post? Leave a comment below.

IBM published a very gloomy statistic – around 80% of corporate blogs don’t get beyond a fifth post.

Isn’t that incredible?

Is it really that difficult to run a blog?

Well, I’ve been blogging for about 5 years now and I’m still going strong, so what is that I’m doing that the corporates aren’t?

Showing commitment

One of the first things you must realise when you start to blog is that you must be committed to it.

It’s no good going into it all gung-ho only to suddenly realise you have nothing left to say after a few posts.

Coming up with great ideas day after day is one of the basic requirements of a blog. Of course, in a large company you have the benefit of numerous staff members who can also contribute, so there should be no excuse for running out of material.

If you don’t have the manpower to run the blog, why not outsource some of your writing to a copywriter who can create fabulous posts for you by recycling old white papers, interviewing some of your subject matter experts or producing posts commenting on industry news?

But content is only one aspect, you also have to publicize it through your social media channels, make sure your posts are found by using your keywords and keep an eye on your analytics to measure your reach.

Then you have the comments to consider. These must be responded to in a timely manner and monitored.

You see there’s a lot to think about.

Finding your voice

Assuming you have the commitment necessary to make your blog a success, you then have to think about how you want to come across to your readers.

There’s no point mimicking someone else’s style because why would anyone want to read a copycat blog?

It’s vital you find your own voice and style and come up with posts that are unique to you. After all, no one wants to subscribe to a dozen blogs that all comment on exactly the same stuff.

Also, try to mix your posts up a bit. Don’t just comment on industry news all the time, try adding in some ‘how to’ posts or top tips, perhaps even an interview or case study to keep it fresh and challenging.

Be patient

A lot of companies give up too easily. Once they start to blog, they expect to instantly see a vast increase in their traffic. But it doesn’t happen that way.

You must be patient because it will take time to get your posts to work effectively in the search results, for them to be found and for your readership to grow.

To encourage people to read your blog, make sure it’s easily accessible from you website, mention it in your newsletters and other customer communications and publicize each new posts through social media.

Above all be patient, it will happen.

Blogging isn’t a quick fix; its ROI won’t materialize over night. It’s a long-term commitment. So don’t give up, keep going because sooner or later you will begin to see the benefits.

This guest post is by David Harfield of iPhoneAppCafe.com. The author’s views are entirely his own and may not reflect the views of FreelanceCopywritersBlog.com. If you are interested in producing a Guest Post for this blog, please get in touch with your ideas.

After spending five years in the freelance copywriting game, I’ve had to iron out a fair few bad habits as well as learn a few good ones.  I’d like to share with you a few pieces of advice that will help turn any rusty copywriting skills into pure gold.

1. Know your audience

OK, this sounds like a fairly obvious point, but when you take the time to think about it, it is actually the most important thing to remember; if you want traffic to be directed towards your blog, you have to appeal to the people that make up that traffic.  So, if your blog or website tends to attract younger people or is based around a theme that is typically associated with the younger generation, consider this when you are wondering what vernacular to use.

Perhaps you could throw in a few ‘cool’ colloquialisms or reference some zeitgeist pop star to show them that you have the common touch.  On the flip side, let’s say that you work for a technology site; your audience is going to appreciate it if you have a decent grasp of technological terminology, so don’t be afraid to do a little research in this area.  Remember, a little can go a long way.

2. Make your titles ‘clickable’

In the blogosphere, one of the most important elements of your article will be your title; seeing as this is what your audience is going to initially be attracted to, it has to be particularly attractive.  So, let’s discuss what’s attractive.  I’ll bet that you clicked on this link because you thought that it would be a short, brief summary of copywriting tips that you could digest before moving on to doing something else (and you were right!).  If I had entitled it ‘If you want to improve your copywriting skills, this article can help’, most of you would have clicked off by the fourth word.

What I’m trying to elucidate is that short, snappy, keyword rich titles work best.  Don’t use language that alienates your audience, but definitely use specific niche keywords that they will be drawn to.  Numbered lists are very attractive too, as are ‘How To…’ titles; basically, most people are short on time and if they want to read an essay, they’ll buy a book (or at least go to a library…).

3. Proof, proof and then proof again!

Once again, this seems like a fairly facile point to make, yet you would be surprised at how many writers do not proof their work.  I like to encourage people to submit each piece of work that they write to the ‘Read Out Loud’ test (I’m pretty sure that you can work out how this test works); if it doesn’t sound right when spoken, it’s certainly not going to read fluidly and your audience will click off as soon as they are bored.

Concurrently, Google has recently altered its algorithm for ranking sites, meaning that user experience counts for a lot more than what it did previously; this means that if you want your site to rise up the rankings, you have to rid your articles of any (and I mean ANY!), grammatical and spelling errors.

David Harfield is the editor at iPhoneAppCafe.com where he reviews the Best iPhone apps and accessories.