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How a Blog Can Turn You into an Industry Authority

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blog When done well, a long-term blogging strategy can build your authority on a given topic. But when done really well, blogging can make you THE authority on your industry.

No matter how much content you publish, you’ll never be viewed as an authority if you keep your industry knowledge to yourself and only use your blog to promote your brand. Authority bloggers know that blogging is about so much more than trying to sell. Here are 4 ways you can use your blog to establish yourself as an industry authority.

1. Prove Your Knowledge

Without evidence of your expertise, your blog will automatically feel less authoritative. Just about every blog niche on the Internet is full of “gurus” and “ninjas” who claim to be experts in a given topic but don’t have the real world experience to justify their claims. Don’t let this turn you off from calling yourself an expert — by being the real deal, you’re already heads and shoulders above many other blogs.

But don’t shove your credentials down people’s throats. Do make sure to detail your experience and accolades in your About page. You’ll also want to weave your experiences and success stories throughout your blog content. Share case studies, anecdotes and testimonials whenever they’re relevant to the content you’re writing.

Being an expert also means knowing when you don’t have all of the answers. Be sure to back up your content with sources other than yourself. Strengthen your content’s credibility by linking to articles, quoting experts and referencing studies.

2. Become a Curation Machine

This may seem counter-intuitive, but the thought leadership on your blog doesn’t always need to come from you. In addition to creating original content, curating content relevant to your business can help you become a one-stop destination for industry news and insights. Curating content will force you to read more about your industry, which will in turn help build up your knowledge base.

Here are a few ways to get other people’s content working for you:

  • Feature a weekly link round up of the best articles you’ve read about the industry. For example, online marketing blogger Kristi Hines does a post every Friday with links to the best marketing content she has found that week.
  • Create “best of” resource lists that are collections of other people’s content.
  • Piggy back off of opinion pieces. Write blog posts in response to what other industry influencers are saying.

Just be sure to always give credit where credit is due — never rip off someone’s idea or content without properly linking back to them.

3. Build Relationships with Influential Blogs

In the offline world, who you know is often more important than what you know. This is also somewhat true online.

Forming relationships with other bloggers is key for getting your blog in front of the right audiences and establishing yourself as part of your industry’s “in crowd.” As such, investing the time into giving back to other bloggers should be a prominent part of your blog strategy.

Here are just a couple of ways to connect with other bloggers in your niche:

  • Comment on other industry blogs. Leave valuable comments that add more to the discussion (not just another “great post!” comment). This is often how blogger relationships begin. You can also expect to see some traffic come from the sites you leave comments on.
  • Invite influencers in your niche to write for your blog. Not only does this let you take a break from posting, but they’ll most likely urge their readers to read their post on your blog.
  • Start writing for other blogs. Pick a handful of blogs that have your target audience, and reach out about guest posting (just make sure to do this and not this when you’re reaching out to other blogs!).
  • Link to other blogs in your posts. When you mention another blog or industry personality in your content, reach out to them via social media or email with a link to the published content. They’ll appreciate the mention/link and most likely share the post.

Many of these tactics are mutually beneficial, too. Once a blog’s audience sees they have a relationship with you, they’ll be likely to check out your blog and potentially become new readers.

4. Get Noticed by the Press

Whether you are looking to get in front of a national or local audience, blogging can position you as a reliable go-to source on all things related to your niche. Press mentions can not only bring in a huge number of leads, but also quickly position you as a leading authority on a topic.

Many times, press mentions have a snowball effect. You will find the same reporters coming back to you again and you’ll also have other reporters approach you once they see your name in a newspaper, magazine or on the news.

When a current event happens related to your field, reporters scout out sources within the industry. Not only does an industry blog help reporters find you through search, but it also builds your credibility in their eyes. It’s possible journalists will find you just through search, but you’ll also want to make it easy for reporters to find you:

  • Join Help A Reporter Out (HARO), where you can connect with reporters looking for sources in your industry.
  • Make your LinkedIn profile visible to the public and keep your credentials updated.
  • Use Twitter to track journalists looking for sources using the #urgharo hashtag.

Keep in mind blog content can also act as resource material, since reporters can easily reference or link back to relevant posts you have published. You’ll want to be sure to regularly update your content so it can remain an evergreen resource.

Of course, the last way to build authority is to always keep your audience at the front of your mind. Being extremely generous with your knowledge is the #1 way to establish trust with your audience, so never worry about “giving away too much” for free.

What are some ways you’ve built your blog’s authority? Let us know in the comments below.

Highway Blogging: How to Keep Your Readers Happy No Matter What Their Experience Level

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highway Recently, I went on a pretty epic road trip to visit family members living in various east coast states. Driving thousands of miles gives a person a lot of time to think (especially when your boyfriend/driving buddy falls asleep like a baby whenever he’s sitting in the passenger seat of a car for more than five minutes). Y’all know me: when I have a few minutes to my mind turns to my favorite subject: blogging.

Somewhere in Tennessee, I started to think about how to better please my blog readers.

One of my challenges has always been figuring out how to keep readers happy even though they are worlds apart in terms of experience and skill level.

Here on the NMX blog, we have people who are just starting out, but we also want to keep our long-term, more experienced readers interested. It’s a tall order to provide educational content for someone who has been blogging for a decade AND someone who only recently started blogging.

I call this highway blogging, because you need lanes for everyone, from slow, inexperienced drivers to drivers who are testing the limits of their cars speedometers. Without enough lanes, the highway is congested and drivers get frustrated.

So how can you make sure that your blog’s highway is wide enough to accommodate all readers without being too unfocused? Here are some tips I use:

  • Schedule your content: When you look at a calendar of your content, you can easily see if you’re posting too much beginner content or too much expert-level content.
  • Err on the side of “advanced”: You’re more likely to lose experts who are bored than beginners who are in over their heads. Beginners are hungry for knowledge, so even if they aren’t quite ready for your advanced content yet, they’ll bookmark it to read later.
  • Focus on being unique: Even advanced users will read your beginner content if your approach to the topic is unique. Remember, people come to your blog to read posts from you, with your style and voice. Teach from a different perspective and an expert in your niche will still share your content, even if it’s teaching a skill they already know.
  • Combine content: There’s no reason you can’t cover a topic from both educational levels. Start with a few paragraphs about the basics, then go over some advanced content as well.
  • Poll your readers: You might be wrong about the skill level of your primary audience. You might think that most of your readers are more advanced (or more beginner) than they actually are.

To be honest, this is still something I struggle with: finding that balance to keep all of my readers happy. Leave a comment with your tips. How do you  cater to all experience levels on your blog?

How to Edit Your Blog Posts Like a Pro: 8 Top Bloggers Share Their Tips

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edit your blog posts Want to increase the quality of your blog posts significantly? Hire an editor. I don’t mean a proofreader who’s going to pick out your typos. I mean a real editor who will use their pen like a razor blade to cut your rough posts until what is left is a shining gem.

If you don’t have the means for that, though, all is not lost. Yes, you can self-edit. It isn’t easy, but it is possible.

I spoke to several NMX speakers who shared some favorite tips for editing blog posts:

Improving Your Flow

In our own minds, the purpose of a post usually seems extremely clear. But if your post’s content isn’t organized well, it can be easy to lose sight of your ultimate goal with the piece. By improving your flow, you can carry your readers through the post so they better understand what you’re trying to say.

Here’s a great technique for improving your flow from Ric Dragon of DragonSearch:

If you feel your ideas are lacking a cohesive narrative, here’s a trick that can help you create a better flow of ideas: take a few paragraphs, their sentences, even phrases, and convert them into a bulleted lists. This is only for your own review – the idea here isn’t to actually publish your paragraph as a bulleted list!

Start by making the first sentence the main bulleted point. Then with each main idea, create a sub-bullet. In this following example, I’ve taken a paragraph from Malcolm Gladwell:

“In 1969, Ted Turner wanted to buy a television station. He was thirty years old. He had inherited a billboard business from his father, which was doing well. But he was bored, and television seemed exciting. “He knew absolutely nothing about it,” one of Turner’s many biographers, Christian Williams, writes in “Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way”. “It would be fun to risk everything he had built, scare the hell out of everybody, and get back in the front seat of the roller coaster.”

Now, let’s break down the flow of thoughts:

  • In 1969, Ted Turner wanted to buy a television station.
    • He was thirty years old.
    • He had inherited a billboard business from his father,
      • which was doing well.
    • But he was bored, and television seemed exciting.
      • “He knew absolutely nothing about it,” one of Turner’s many biographers, Christian Williams, writes
        • in “Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way” (1981).
      • “It would be fun to risk everything he had built,
        • scare the hell out of everybody, and
        • get back in the front seat of the roller coaster.”

You can see how each of Gladwell’s paragraphs extends the story, and carries the reader from one thought to another. In contrast to that, a paragraph that lacks narrative flow may have disjointed sentences that don’t follow one another. By bulleting your own work for a bit, you can see where you might be adding thoughts that are out of the flow, and improve your own writing quickly.

To Write Well, You Have to Cut

One of my personal best editing tips is to always try to cut your post down. What can you cut out and still get your point across? All writers are guilty of using too many words.

You can’t be afraid to cut your posts. Writes Chris Ducker (who will be presenting a super session at NMX), “My blog post editing ‘system’ is a simple one. I write and write and write until I feel as if I’ve covered everything I need to, to be able to get my point across and provide as much value as possible. Then I’ll go back and remove any unnecessary words, examples, etc. Finishing off with a spell check and some initial layout (usually just subtitles). This equates to around 20-30% of the original article being cut, and the final product being as polished as possible.”

A Final Critical Look

Before publishing, it helps to give your post one final look the next day. I like to let posts marinate a bit (at least 24 hours, but more if possible), and then do a final review. One of the best ways to do this is to read your post out loud.

This was actually one of the most common tips given to me when I polled NMX speakers, such as Gary Bembridge, who writes, “Sleep on the post and then the next day read it aloud to yourself. You will be surprised at the issues you pick up and how easy it is to improve the flow and messaging as your brain has been quietly editing and improving your post overnight.”

Dino Dogan agrees, writing, “My best editing tip is to wait, don’t hit the publish button. Come back in few hours and re-read what you wrote. As you’re re-reading your content, ask yourself these questions. Can it be said more clearly? Can it be shorter? Can I be more specific? Does it tell a story? And if you’re proofreading, try reading your content backwards word by word. It’s an old trick journalists use to check for typos. It works.”

Writes Rich Brooks, “I read my blog post–especially the beginning and the wrap up–out loud. I strive to have my blog posts sound like the way I speak in real life, so if it doesn’t sound like me, I know I need a rewrite. The beginning and end are most important to me because they help pull in a reader, and get them to take action, respectively.”

Aaron Hockley, who will presenting a workshop at NMX agrees, writing, “My biggest editing tip is to read the article out loud.  You’ll often pick up on misspellings, odd sentence flow, and other issues by articulating verbally that which you’ve previously written.  Our eyes and brains can skip past a written problem several times but when we engage a different part of the brain, the issue might become more visible.”

And I think Kristin Hines, creator of the course Blog Post Promotion, sums it up well, writing, “As a freelance writer and blogger, I have found that it’s easy to miss those things that spell check doesn’t catch after you’ve stared at a blog post for hours on end. Therefore, I have two options for editing – taking a few days away from the post and revisiting it with fresh eyes, or having someone else edit it. It’s the only want to make sure those “oopses” are taken care of come publishing time.”

Do You Need to Edit at All?

Finally, I think it’s important to note that some people over-edit. Sometimes, too much editing can cause you to strip you out of the post. So, I’ll leave you with a final thought, from C.C. Chapman:

“I’d say not to edit at all. Hearing your authentic voice even with the background noise and interruptions makes it more authentic. People will come to appreciate it.”

What is your best tip for blog post editing?

Three Ways to Brand Yourself as an Authority Blogger

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authority blogger The end goal for all bloggers is to create a blog that becomes an authority site and might even make you an authority figure in the process. Being an “authority” means you are the “go to” source for information. The good news is that you can be an authority in any given niche.

In the world of blogging and internet marketing you might consider well known names like John Chow, Darren Rowse, Jeremy Schoemaker, and Brian Clark  as authority figures. In the travel niche, you probably know the names Gary Arndt and Dave and Deb from The Planet D. Food bloggers know Ree Drummond. Fashion bloggers know Leandra Medine. These individuals were able to their skills and knowledge, start a blog and share it with the world. Once people find true value in your content and start commenting and sharing it with others, then the magic happens.

Becoming an authority figure or creating an authority site isn’t really something that can be done with money (unless you want to spend a ton), in the end it comes down to the quality of content on your site, how you interact with your audience and continue to grow over time.

Everyone can become an authority, it’s just a matter of putting in the time and effort. Here’s five ways you can brand yourself as an authority blogger.

Start By Creating Really Killer Content

The first step to creating an authority blog starts with your content. It’s so easy to create a blog and start throwing content out there, but it’s extremely hard to stand out from the crowd and be known for awesome content. This is where you really need to put the time and focus in before you even get started.

Here’s what you need to ask yourself.

  • Why am I creating this blog in the first place?
  • Who is going to be my target audience and why are they coming to the blog?
  • What can I give my audience that other blogs in my niche aren’t?

Ask and answer these simple questions and you will start off on the right path for success.

Blast Your Name and Face Everywhere

I’m not talking about hiring some $5 SEO service on Fiverr and blasting your content and links all over the place! I’m talking about legitimately getting your name out there and getting heard. This is exactly what I have done over the years to make ZacJohnson.com and authority site and recognized name in the affiliate marketing and blogging space. As Pat Flynn says… “Be Everywhere“.

  • Guest blog on relevant and high end sites in your niche
  • Speak at various conferences
  • Make friends with top names in the industry
  • Help everyone and answer all of your emails

Get Social – It’s All About Engagement

I have to say that over the years I’ve always been lacking in the social media department, but it’s something I’ve been getting better at and more active lately. To make your blog really stand out and build an authority around your name or business, you really need to have a great social following as well. This will allow you to connect with so many more people and allow you to be accessible and more personal to your readers. Having a social connection on all networks will also allow you to grow your follow through many different outlets and deliver your blog updates instantly to their news feeds.

Here’s a few more social updates for you to use.

  • Make sure you are definitely on Google+, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
  • Create a Facebook Fan Page for your brand/blog in addition to having a personal profile there
  • Sign up for and monitor Klout, which is a great way to bring all of your social network links together
  • Respond, comment and engage with other social users
  • Use the same picture for all of your social accounts to increase your branding

And there you have it… three simple yet extremely effective ways for you to start growing your blogging brand and eventually become an authority figure within your niche!

Want to learn more about becoming an authority in your niche? Learn from people who are authorities in their respected niches by attending NMX in Las Vegas this January!

Image credit (altered): Bigstock

How Should I Spend Money on My Blog?

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how should i spend money on my blog

Over the last few years, blogging has gone from “that kinda weird thing that Internet people do” to mainstream. My mother still uses a pre-paid cell phone, has never been on Facebook, and had dial-up Internet up until about a year ago. And she has a blog.

One of the biggest reasons that blogging is so attractive is that it is a way to enjoy your passion that requires little start-up cash. Heck, it costs more to go to a baseball game with your family than it does to start a blog. You can even get started with absolutely no money.

As your traffic starts to grow, however, you might want to spend a little money on your blog. Recently, we posted an infographic featuring bloggers who made millions online. You can bet your britches that these people have invested money into their blogs! Now, yesterday, I wrote a bit about the advantages of paid targeted traffic, but if you’re a beginner, there are other things you should start paying for first.

Without further ado, here are the top five ways you should spend money on your blog:

Hosting

The number one thing you should purchase if you want to continue growing as a blogger is hosting. While millions of bloggers have gotten their start on Blogger, WordPress.com, Tumblr, or another freely hosted blogging platform, very, very few free services allow you enough freedom to really grow your blog. Sponsors/advertisers and customers will take you more seriously if you own your own site. Think about it. When’s the last time you saw a successful blog on a wordpress.com or blogspot.com site?

First, you need to purchase your domain name, which costs around $10 per year depending on where you register the name, and whether you want a .com name or a different extension, like .net, .org, or .me.

Then, you need hosting, which costs as little as $3 per month, depending on the size of your site, the company providing the hosting, and whether you purchase by the month or pay several months in advance. As a blogger, you really shouldn’t have to pay more than $10 per month.

So, in total, you’re looking at $75 – $150 per year (or $6 to $13 per month) to own your own site. You can spend even less money if you look for a sale. If you spend no other money on your blog, spend money on this.

Premium Themes and Plugins

Next, for many bloggers, it makes sense to invest in a premium theme and some premium plugins. Yes, there are a ton of free options out there, but the features you get with premium themes and plugins can help you grow.

As far as themes go, you can choose options such as Thesis, Headway, or Genesis, or you can choose to subscribe to a membership site where you pay one fee to have access to lots of themes. Woo Themes is an example of this kind of membership site and while you will be paying month instead of a flat fee, these membership options are typically a good choice if you have several blogs or change your theme often.

Premium themes can cost as little as $5 and as much as several hundreds of dollars. Most of the time, you get what you pay for.

Now let’s talk about premium plugins. There are thousands of choices out there. Pay for the plugins that make the most sense for your blog and your goals. You can also find “freemium” plugins, which means you have access to the plugin for free, but you have to pay if you want additional features and support.

Some Premium plugins that I really like are:

  • CommentLuv: Freemium – I purchased the upgrade and LOVE it! Not only does it give you Look for a sale and you can upgrade for a very reasonable price. When I purchased, I think I paid $30-40 for unlimited use, which is normally $97.
  • Gravity Forms: $39 for one site and support for a year
  • Visual Composer: $25 for one site, and well worth the money if you build complex pages
  • A/B Theme Testing: $10 for one site, and great if you want to test different themes to see what performs better
  • Backup Buddy: $80 for two sites or $100 for ten sites (with options for more at higher price points)

Of course, this doesn’t scratch the surface of the premium plugins available for bloggers, so I recommend doing your research to find those that are going to really enhance your blog, based on your goals. (And if you have a favorite premium plugin, leave a comment below to tell us about it!)

Education

I might be biased, but I believe that one of the best investments you can make as a blogger is in education. I work for NMX not just for the paycheck, but because I really believe in what this company is doing to help teach content creators to be better at what they do. I always walk away having learned something! If you’re not already signed up for our next show, I highly recommend it (you can learn more here).

Conferences aren’t your only option. If you want more education, here are some other options:

  • Online conferences, courses and programs, such as our virtual ticket
  • Single webinars/videos (often these are free, but sometimes there are premium options)
  • Ebooks (again, often these are free, but sometimes there are awesome premium ebooks you should consider)
  • Print books from experts in the topics that interest you

Of course, you should also be reading other blogs, which is completely free. It always boggles my mind when bloggers say they “don’t have time to read other blogs,” which really means they don’t make time to read other blogs. Education blogs (like this one and others like it) are invaluable for learning more about blogging.

Virtual Assistants and Contractors

How much is your time worth?

Let’s say that you have a few hours every day to work on your blog. In those hours you can be doing any number of tasks; as most bloggers know, you could fill a hundred hours a week with blogging work!

A virtual assistant or a contractor can help you with low-level tasks so you can work on other tasks that are going to help you make more money. For example, you can have a virtual assistant help with emails so you have time to write more blog posts. Or you could have a contractor write some posts for you so you have time to work with sponsors.

With virtual assistants and contractors, you don’t always get a more trusted, skilled person if you spend more money. I’ve worked with VAs who charged $5 per hour and were excellent. I’ve also worked with VAs who charged $20 per hour and did a horrible job. You really have to do your research to find the person who is a right fit for you.

As a sidebar, one of our speakers, Chris Ducker, runs a company that specializes in helping people find VAs. We love Chris, and if you’re looking for virtual help, definitely check out his services at Virtual Staff Finder.

Mailing List Services

Lastly, I highly recommend that you invest in your mailing list. There are free services to get started, like MailChimp, but I like the premium services offered by other companies a little better. My personal favorite is Aweber (for bloggers), and if you need a more robust CRM and marketing tool, not just a way to send emails, there are more expensive services out there, such as HubSpot, Marketo, and Infusionsoft. With mailing list services, you’ll pay by the size of your list.

Feedblitz is also an option. This service combines RSS and email so you can reach readers with the content they really want.

When someone visits your site, you have no way of reaching them again if you don’t have a mailing list. Even if they follow you on Twitter of Facebook, there’s no guarantee that they’ll see your updates, since the Twitter stream moves so quickly and Facebook status updates aren’t seen by everyone.

With a mailing list, you can reach the reader where they live the most…in their inbox.  You can send them newsletters to help build trust, links to your blog to help boost your traffic, and product recommendations to help you make more money. You can also survey your readers using your mailing list, allowing you to find out what kind of content they most want.

So there you have it: my top five recommendations for spending money on your blog. Do you invest in your blog? If so, how do you spend your money? Leave a comment letting us know!

Full disclosure: some of the companies mentioned are past or current NMX/BlogWorld exhibitors and sponsors or are owned by past or current NMX/BlogWorld speakers. It’s hard to keep track since we’ve had so many people working with us over the years! I never recommend a product I don’t believe in, though. If you have any questions about NMX’s relationship with a specific company, let me know!

Blog Writing Tips: 5 Ways To Write Posts that Google (and Your Readers) Love

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3d person holding a megaphone forming the word blog. According to Jamie Stilgoe’s Guardian article, Google is on a mission to eradicate content farms and poor quality link building. Google is out with a machete to axe any web page with content that doesn’t measure up to the quality that was hitherto expected only from principal brands.

The content marketing scene has changed drastically through the years of the existence of the Internet. There was a time when nothing more than a cluster of words did well, but fortunately, it’s a new ball game altogether now. It isn’t just businesses and brands that are buckling under the mounting pressure; bloggers, individuals, and almost everyone else with written content on the web is feeling the heat.

While blogging – as an art, as a source of revenue for bloggers, and as a great medium for marketing and brand building for businesses – faces the brunt of Google’s policing, content marketing in all forms is set to change. It’s time to prepare for the future.

Here are five ways to make sure that your blog posts are left standing long after the bloodbath is over…

1. Choose Your Topic…Before You Start Writing

On the Internet, you do have space for rants, ravings, and ramblings. You can randomize your communication as much as you want. But this can’t be done when you are blogging professionally. As a blogger writing for yourself or for a business, random is out; focused is in.

Strong posts are not random, covering several scattered ideas. Create separate posts for each thought, instead. Stay focused as you are writing and even consider coming up with an outline first so you stay on topic.

2. Back Up Your Statements

When Paul Graham writes about startups, businesses, and anything to do with entrepreneurship, it tends to be a post that’s worth reading. When Warren Buffett talks on investing, you’ve absolutely got to bookmark the post. But that’s about Paul Graham and Warren Buffett, not everyone else, right?

For the rest of us, we have weapons called research and pointed justification. Present an opinion, but back it up with the words of an authority. Bring out a clear message, but tag it with observations others have made. State facts and then line up your thoughts based on them.

Write what you want to but pour credibility into your posts by using research, facts, expert opinions, and other references. Strong writing is adorned with specifics and evidence.

3. Be Passionate

Either you are passionate about your niche or you are not.

If you are writing with passion, it’ll show in your blog posts. Unfortunately, it’ll also show if you aren’t. One of the secrets of great commercial writing lies in the throws of passion and character. When you begin to write about something you feel strongly for, there’s no way your posts will begin to read like content-mill chaff.

Passion produces energy. Passion leads the way to clear, concise, opinionated, and strong articles – just the kind of fuel blogs need. Do yourself a favor and don’t blog if you aren’t passionate about your business, the niche you blog on, or the topics you write on.

We are talking about years of effort wasted. The Internet is not a dumping ground for useless bytes of information.

4. Write Confident Posts

Meek writing is weak writing. Blog posts with unsure and indirect “umms,” “perhaps,” “So, I’d like to conclude with,” are all signposts to your readers that they are on patchy roads without tarmac. They are reading looking at weak efforts that have no value to offer.

Strong writing is also often opinionated writing. It’s writing with facts and truth backing up every post, but it is also experience, knowledge, oddity, disposition, personality, and the uniqueness that’s “you” which shows through your writing.

5. Don’t Write if you have Nothing New to Offer

Mike McGrail pointed out in points out in Social Media Today that a blog is flexible, that it’s yours, and that it’s a perfect hub. I say it’s more than that—it’s a platform which enables you to provide value.

Every post you write should have a “takeaway” lesson. The value you offer to your readers is in the takeaways from a blog post: Was it pure information? Was it opinion? Was it insight into an in-depth topic? Was it entertainment?

Every piece of content must offer something. Your blog posts should inform, inspire, trigger a train of thoughts, engage with your readers, and point out a new angle to look at that old mousetrap.

Editor’s Note: The biggest lesson in this post, perhaps, is that if you write posts your readers love, Google will love them as well. If you want to survive every single Google update, win over your readers. You’ll always have the edge with SEO if you write posts that your readers want to share!

Want to learn more about writing posts that readers (and Google) love? Join us at NMX 2014 in Las Vegas to learn from some of the world’s leading content creators! Learn more here >

7 Phrases That Make Me Ignore Your Guest Post Query

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Doesn’t it just make you cringe when you see a subject line about a guest post?

No, don’t get me wrong. I love guest posts. The world of guest posting might be changing, but here on the NMX blog, we’re guest-post-friendly! But the problem is that 9 out of 10 people who send me queries about guests posts are unoriginal and off target. What can I expect from a guest post if you can’t even write a 100-word email properly?

I do try to reply to everyone, even these poorly-written emails, but there are only so many hours in a day. So, if I don’t reply to your guest post query, it probably included one of the following phrases and made me wrinkle my nose.

“Our writers will create…”

If you’re not the person who will be creating the guest post, I probably don’t want to talk to you. I want to talk to your writer. Now, occasionally, I do work with agencies and others who relay information to a writer…but most of the time, people who email me regarding what their writers will do submit horrible posts from a team of “writers” (I hesitate to even call them that) who clearly do not have a grasp on the English language.

For a guest post to be beneficial to me, it has to be your BEST work. Your best work. If you’ve hired a team of writers to create 100 guests posts a week, I’m not going to get something high-quality from you.

“We are offering this to you free of charge…”

I didn’t come to you asking you to post on this blog. You came to me. Noting that what you’re offering is free sounds extremely arrogant, almost like you expect me to say, “No, no. Let me pay for it.” If you approach me, you aren’t doing me a favor by guest posting. I’m doing you a favor by giving you access to my audience.

Some blogs paid for guest posts, but it’s our philosophy that guest posts are freely traded in exchange for promotion. If you think you deserve to get paid, apply for a freelancing job or find a blog that pays guest posts. No hard feelings. We all gotta eat.

“All we ask is…”

If you’re asking me for a guest post spot, please don’t make demands. That’s like asking a neighbor to feed your fish while you’re out of town and then saying, “In return for getting to feed my fish for a week, all I ask is that you also clean his tank.” Yes, I know that there are benefits to having guest posts on my blog. But you are approaching me. You don’t get to make demands.

Furthermore, we have rules. If you cared enough to read my guidelines, you’d know that. Most of the time, what the person is asking for breaks the rules. No es bueno.

“Please reply in…”

I receive this “threat” all the time. If I don’t reply in x number of days, then they’re taking their ball and going home.

Listen. I’m a busy gal. I try my best to respond to all guest post queries in a week. If I don’t respond to you, by all means, follow up with me, and note that if you don’t hear from me you’ll be pursuing other opportunities with the proposed guest post. But giving me a deadline in your initial email when you have no idea what my schedule about is just rude. I almost certainly won’t reply if you make a demand like that. It just tells me that working with you will be too stressful, and I hate stress.

“Let me know what you’d like me to write about…”

I have no idea what you’re an expert on. The biggest advantage of having you guest post is that you’ll provide insight into a topic that I haven’t covered (or perhaps don’t have the skills to cover). If you don’t know what you want to write for your guest post, it tells me know of two things:

  1. You aren’t really an expert on anything in this niche.
  2. You haven’t reviewed the blog at all to see what kind of content we publish.

Usually both. If you’re pitching me on a guest post, PITCH ME on a guest post. Don’t half-hearted ask if you can write something for me and then expect me to tell you what you are capable of writing.

“…high-quality, well-researched article…”

First of all, they are blog posts, not articles. Second of all, if you have to say something is high-quality and well-researched, it usually isn’t. The vast majority of the emails I get regarding guest posts include this phrase (or something very similar) and it is always a red flag for me.

“Dear sir/madam…”

This is ridiculous, but I get it all the time. If you can’t be bothered to find my name, am I really going to believe that you read through the blog to see what kind of content I publish? Half the guest post queries I get don’t even know if I’m male or female. Come on, people.

Beyond telling me that you didn’t care enough to read my past posts, it also tells me that you’re taking the “spray and pray” technique to this whole guest blogging thing. Which means you are probably writing crappy, quick posts for everyone and maybe even “spinning” low-quality copy to take one piece of content and create dozens of versions, each worse and more generic than the last.

So those are my seven most hated guest post email phrases. What would you add to the list?

On Agony and Blogging: How to Start Writing and Stop Panicking

Author:

bigstock-Crying-Girl-In-The-Office--9619043 I was in second grade when I wrote my first blog post.

Okay, back in 1992, blogging wasn’t exactly a “thing” yet. But I had just received a shiny Lisa Frank diary for Christmas, and the blank pages were killing me. I had to fill those pages, and I had to do it now, before the white sheets drove me crazy.

So that night, I wrote my first entry. Or, at least, I tried. But as I sat there with purple gel pen in hand, I didn’t know what to write. I had so much to say that I didn’t know how to start writing. I began to panic. How would I ever grow up to be a famous novelist if I couldn’t even write a diary entry? I can remember my cheeks streaked with tears that first night as I cried myself to sleep, my new diary still completely empty.

Eventually, I filled that diary and several others like it with my joys, frustrations, and deepest, darkest, childhood secrets. Reading them now is hilarious. I was an intense child. And they are clearly “blog post” style – I wrote to a reader, not to myself, with apologies when I didn’t have time to write for a few days.

To this day, though, what sticks out to me most about writing in my diary is that terribly agonizing feeling of having a world of word jumbled in my head and not knowing how to start. It is one of the most frustrating part of being a blogger.

The Power of a Good Opener

Online, you a reader’s attention for only a moment. They’re gone in the blink of an eye. The best blog posts, the ones that thousands of people stop to read, have one thing in common: their opening paragraphs are awesome. I mean truly awesome.

And they’re engineered to be that way. The Internet’s top bloggers don’t get lucky. They know that a strong opening that really grips the reader is going to keep the reader reading and, eventually, sharing. Without a great opener, it’s nearly impossible for a post to go viral.

But writing a good opening and writing your first sentence aren’t the same things. There’s no rule that says the first sentence you write has to be the first sentence of your post (and if that were a rule, I would recommend breaking it). That said, there’s power to the first thing you write, too.

The Power of a Good First Sentence

You know that moment you write something good. You just know it. The sentence sings.

And then, suddenly, the floodgates open. The words begin to flow, I get into a groove, and the rest of the post makes it out of my head. The first sentence I write isn’t always the first sentence of the post, and sometime I end up cutting that sentence in editing or moving it to a different post. Having a first, finished, good sentence, though, is powerful. It unlocks the block in your mind and gives you the confidence it takes to write the post.

That’s something lost of people never talk about: blogging takes confidence. Your words are going out there for hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of strangers to read. They matter. Writing words that matter is scary. When you don’t know how to start, panic sets in, because people are counting on you (even if they don’t know it) to improve their lives in some way.

How to Start Writing

So how do I do it? I’ve written thousands of blog posts (no, I’m not exaggerating), and many of them have started with me wanting to throw my computer out of the window. So what’s my secret?

I’m sorry to say that it’s nothing magical. The way I write so many posts, always jumping that hurdle of not knowing how to get started is this: I force myself to just start.

I do a little outline of all the topics I want to cover in the post, and then I start writing. If I don’t know what to write, I just write something. Even if it isn’t good. I don’t let myself delete that sentence and go back to a black screen. I write another sentence. And another. I write until I have at least one good paragraph, then I delete all the crap and re-read what is left. And then, I don’t feel so bad. Because I have something that doesn’t completely suck.

I have a start.

Even on my worst days, when the agony of not being able to put my words on paper feels like it is strangling me, I don’t let myself quit. Sometimes I get mad and slam my laptop closed a little harder than I probably should. I go for a walk, I get in the kitchen and cook something (that’s my zen place), I read a few chapters.

And then I make myself write again.

Don’t give up. Don’t let the panic drive you to tears like it did to me when I was a kid. Blogging is not easy. Let me say that again: Blogging is NOT easy. Sometimes you have to force yourself to keep going, even when you want to stubbornly quit. But once you get that first good sentence ready, it will get better. It always does. You just have the first hurdle to jump, then you’ll be running downhill from there.

Image Credit: Bigstock

Do Bloggers Need to be on Google+?

Author:

google plus The principle behind the founding of Google is quite simple: Some webpages are much more important others. How do they decide which are the most important? Basically, importance is given to content that Google believes answers questions users have about a particular topic better than other webpages.

The face of internet search technology was completely changed by Google webpage evaluations. They evaluate each link pointing to a particular webpage according to the quantity, as well as how much Google trusts the sites the links come from.

However, in 1998 things changed even more. That’s when Google also began judging the popularity of a webpage based on the amount of likes it receives through social media sharing. Social sharing helps to increase the search engine rankings of a particular webpage. Yet, Facebook and Twitter still aren’t exactly cooperative with Google. The webpage itself was always the focus of the story, until recently. Thanks to Google+, the writer is now a central part as well.

How to Increase Your Google+ Audience

Google+ profiles serve as verifiable identities for bloggers. Your reputation on Google+ is influenced by several factors:

  • The actual number of Google+ followers you have.
  • The actual number of reshares for your content.
  • The actual number of +1’s you receive.
  • Your Google+ activity: regular posts, comments, reshares and +1’s you’ve given others.

Thanks to Google+, your content is not the only thing users can vote for to grow your reputation. Today, when you get a +1 on your content, you, personally, are also getting a +1 vote. Many users say that Google+ profiles appear to grow much faster than on both Facebook and Twitter.

So, what are some effective ways to build your Google+ audience? Just keep in mind that G+ is a social media platform made up of groups of like-minded people, called communities. Therefore, that’s exactly how you should treat it.

  • Create a Great Bio – Effective Google+ bios include your actual name or pen name, a summary describing who you are, what your business does, why you’re using Google+ and the type of content you plan to share on G+. Make sure that there are keywords included in your places, education, employment and introduction sections of your Google+ bio.
  • Build Relationships – When you first begin, follow people you actually know. Then, simply search for more people to follow and get to know. Google has also implemented Google+ Hangouts, which gives users a more unique way to interact with other G+ users.
  • Share Content – Create original content for your blog posts. These can be video, photo or text posts. Then, share links to your content on G+. Be sure to create an attention-grabbing headline and add a brief though about the content. Also, end your post with an intriguing question to encourage user comments.
  • Comment, Comment, Comment – Leave relevant, interesting comments on photos and posts, asking thought-provoking questions. You can also refer (or tag) other users by typing “+” and their name to get a display of results to choose from.

Using Google+ for Social Media Marketing

Your blog must contain interesting content that’s relevant and valuable to the lives of your target audience. Social media marketing is one of the most effective techniques for getting the word out about your blog and its great content.

Are you using Google+ to interact with your target audience? If so, what are some of the methods you use to lure readers to your blog posts using Google+?

6 Subheadings Strategies You Need to Know

Author:

bigstock-Beautiful-woman-with-thoughtfu-29888243 One thing can kill your blog post faster than a boring topic and flat language: subheading mistakes.

Of course, the biggest mistake of all is not using subheadings. Readers need subheadings so they can quickly find what they are looking for. Subheadings and space breaks give them the scannability and simplicity they crave.

But when it comes to pleasing writers, it’s about more than just using subheadings. It’s using them well.

Provide the Most Important Information First and Last

Readers land on a page and make a split-second decision if they want to stay or not. So don’t hide all of your best information toward the bottom. Give readers a juicy piece of information right off the bat so they immediately feel satisfied and interested.

Sprinkle in other important points throughout the rest of the article, but remember to save something really good for the end. Ending strong will reward the reader for making it to the end. It also establishes trust with the reader, making them far more likely to read your content to the end the next time.

Editor’s note: A great way to ensure that your beginning and end are strong is to use the Bookend Blog-Writing Technique.

Avoid Puns Even If It’s Fun

Playful titles and play-on-words might work for other mediums (like books, movies, and essays), but when it comes to online content, it’s better to say exactly what you mean.

Being clear in your subheadings helps impatient readers find what they are looking for and also helps keyword-hungry search engines label the content. Avoid titling a subheading something you think will make your reader laugh, unless you can do so while being clear. Instead, deliver a useful subheading that will make your reader understand.

Refer Back to the Title

The title of this article is 6 Subheading Strategies You Need to Know, so each of the subheadings in this article are strategies. Make sure that whatever you offer in the title, you deliver in the body.

It would be confusing to readers if the subheadings in this article were “Subheadings Are Important” or “Why You Should Use Subheadings”, as those phrases don’t refer back to what the reader is looking for — a list of strategies.

Separate Similar Sized Sections

Use subheadings to separate sections into roughly the same size of text. Notice how I use a subheading to separate the text every two or three paragraphs.

Keeping information under subheadings to roughly the same size keeps the depth of the information evenly dispersed. It shows if you have elaborated too heavily on one topic and not enough on another.

It doesn’t have to be exact, but you get the point.

Don’t Be Vague: Use the Subheading to Tell Your Reader Something

Even if you are writing a blog post where the subheadings sound like they should be short and simple, find a way to add extra useful information to the subheading.

If you are writing The Best Apps for Watching your Weight, don’t only put the app name in the subheading: “Workout Trainer” and “MyNetDiary”. Add bonus information that tells the reader more: “Workout Trainer: For Planning Work Outs” and “MyNetDiary: For Counting Calories”.

Count Down and Number Steps

Add numbers to your subheadings when they add context to the information. This happens most frequently in count downs or steps of instructions.

Numbers next to an element in a countdown are useful because they represent the value of an item. For example, #2 in a subheading in the article Countdown of the Best Beaches tells the reader the beach is pretty great. Numbers in steps of instructions are helpful because it tells the reader which step of the process they are on.

Numbers are great in subheadings, but only if they add value. Don’t add them if they have no point or context.

When it comes to subheadings, it is all about making things easier on the reader. So help the reader by clearly and simply offering them the information that they want.

Image Credit: Bigstock

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