Every blogger wants to improve their content, get more eyes on their content, make the most of their time and figure out how exactly their blog is helping improve their business. These 7 posts from blogging kingpins are a must-read for every business blogger, whether you’re a newbie novice or experienced expert.
Promoting Your Content
In his recent post, How to Promote Every Piece of Content Your Create, Duct Tape Marketing blogger John Jantsch explains the importance of promotion as part of the business blog editorial process. Check out his insights on finding influencers, segmenting those influencers by customer persona, building relationships, and adding guest blogging to your editorial plan.
Flicking Facebook
Trying desperately to find ROI in your social media presence, but coming up with nada? Sometimes social media works for business, and sometimes it just doesn’t – even for those companies with thousands of ‘fans’.
This was certainly the case for Copyblogger, which made the bold decision to delete their Facebook page (and say goodbye to 38,000 fans) after determining the page just wasn’t beneficial for the brand, or its audience.
Head over to Erika Napoletano’s post, Why Copyblogger is Killing Its Facebook Page, for info on the decision, why fan numbers mean ‘jack’, and how savvy brands figure out where to best to spend their time.
Artful Branding
Lacking inspiration to guide your business blog brand message? Guy Kawasaki knows a thing or two about branding…after all, he’s the guy who lead the promotion of the Macintosh in 1984, but also popularized the concepts of evangelism marketing.
Guy’s post on The Art of Branding is well worth a read; with advice such as seizing the high ground, creating one message, taking the opposite test, and cascading the message.
Concision/ Brevity
Your readers are busy, so it’s important to get straight to the point. Moz’s Isla McKetta writes:
If you learn to practice concision in all your writing… you’ll not only get your point across, you might also earn your readers’ trust, gratitude, and repeat traffic. Plus, concise copy converts better.
Enough said. Read more via The Art of Concision: How to Effectly Make Your Point in Fewer Words.
Distribution Matters
It’s not enough to write high-value content. Because what value does it really provide anyone if it never gets seen? Buffer is best known for being one of the most popular social media scheduling tools online, but they also have a pretty great blog packed with tips for business bloggers.
Their recent most, penned by Kevan Lee, outlines How Content Promotion Works for Blogs Big and Small, and includes 11 of Buffer’s favourite content distribution strategies.
What is Blogging Success?
Penelope Trunk is known for her straight-shooting, no-nonsense approach to business blogging and career advice, and her take on What Makes a Blog Successful offer plenty of food for thought for would-be game-changing bloggers.
From posting regularly (without messing anything up) and creating traffic to growing conversions and making money, her measures of success demonstrate that goals matter. As Penelope puts it:
It’s hard to write a blog if you don’t have a goal. You need to know what blogging success looks like to you, so you know what you’re aiming for.
Level Up
If you’re still finding your voice or you simply feel like your writing could be better, it’s time to take your reader to Starbucks and concede that your first draft will suck, among other things. Freelance blogger and email copywriter Hassan Ud-deen offers some seriously actionable tips and tricks in his recent guest post for ProBlogger, 30 High-Impact Ways to Level Up Your Writing.