blogging for business 101
TRANSCRIPT
Business Blogging 101(and 102 and 103)
Orientation
Take notes (don’t transcribe)
Post-workshop email:• Evaluation survey• Resource page
Ask questions
better mousetrap?
great product, poor marketing
mediocre product, great marketing
great product, great marketing
“put a dent in the universe”
Be Remarkable
7
What We’ll Cover
GoalsStep 1: PlanStep 2: PublishStep 3: PromoteMystery Bonuses (time permitting)
GOALS
Goals:Thought Leadership
Demonstrate Expertise
Goals:Search Engine Optimization
Link Love
Goals:Drive Conversions
Reciprocity
Step One: Plan
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat”
Art of War by nbarreto on Flickr
Plan:Set Expectations
J-Curves
Plan:Content Management System
Instant Website
Plan:Content Management System
WordPress
Plan:Audience Personae
Write for people
Plan:Outcomes
Start with the end
Plan:Keywords
Google Keyword Planner
Volume
Competition
Cost
Plan: Keywords
SEOMoz
Plan:Keywords
Übersuggest
Plan:Quantity
More is better, but…
Plan:Consistency
Consistency is more better!
Plan:The eBook Trick
Instead ofmonolithic
white papers
Break up
the chapters
and sections
Into
Smaller, bit sized
Blog posts
eBook to PostsPosts to eBook
Plan:Balance & Variety
Think healthy diet
Plan:Editorial Calendar
Spreadsheet
Visual Design
CRAP
o n t r a s te p e t i t i o nl i g n m e n trox i m i t y
when using contrast, go big or go
home
for unity
repeat design
elements
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alignment
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proximity
Preparation
Plan:ABC
Always Be Collecting
Plan:Intelligence
RSS, Q&A, Google Alerts
Plan:Tools
Evernote
Step 2: Publish
Publish:Storytelling
Inciting Incident
Conflict
Climax
OpeningValue
Conflict
ClosingValue
Publish:Titles
CuriositySuspense
Fear
Publish:Titles
• Encourage their dreams• Justify their failures• Allay their fears• Throw rocks at their
enemies
One sentence persuasion
Publish:Titles • Lust
• Mystique• Alarm• Prestige• Power• Vice• Trust
Emotional Triggers
Publish:Titles
Publish:Writing
Don’t bury the lead
Publish:Writing
Readability
Publish:Writing
Pictures
“The effects of the bush fires could be seen thousands of kilometers away and disrupted businesses across Victoria. At Melbourne Airport, flights schedules were disrupted and normal operation was difficult due to low visibility and choking effects of smoke.”
“The effects of the bush fires were felt far beyond affected areas.”
Photo used under Creative Commons license courtesy of Rusty Stewart (rustystewart) on Flickr
Publish:Writing
Image Rights
©
Publish:Writing
search.creativecommons.org
Publish:Writing
Example
Publish:Writing
Symbols
“instant web site”
Publish:Writing
Contrast
Publish:Writing
Conversational
Step 3: Promote
Promote:Brown-Nosing
Attract attention of influencers
Promote:Share
Schedulers:Hootsuite, Buffer
Promote:Leverage
LinkedIn, Quora
Promote:Reuse
YouTube, Slideshare
Promote
• Email Signatures• Contests• Blog Directories• YouTube intro video• Website Banners
Additional Tips
Wrap-Up
Planning:When you fail to plan, you plan to fail!Publishing:Invest evenly in writing, title and images.Promoting:Settle in for a long journey!!
Questions
Mystery Bonus: Volunteer?
Bonus: 75+ Blog Ideas in 5 Minutes
• 5-part “101” series on [core competency]
• Customer/case study of the month
• Top 3 stories of the month• Blog-hacking• Interview with
colleagues/mentors• Guest posts• Seasonal posts• Holiday posts• Conference recaps• Product/service reviews
Bonus: 75+ Blog Ideas in 5 Minutes
• Top 5 benefits of ??• 5 surprising facts about ??• 5 common
mistakes/misperceptions about ??
• Getting started with ??• Hidden costs of ??• Stuff [my professionals] say
(terminology)• Recommended reading list• Twitter chat highlights• State of the industry report• Industry trends/predictions
Bonus: 75+ Blog Ideas in 5 Minutes
• A day in the life• Best practices for [core
competency]• Pros and cons of ??• Checklist• Frequently asked questions
Bonus: Building an Audience
Building an Audience:Email Marketing
Premium Content
Building an Audience:Insiders
Create “Member Only” Content
Bonus: Recommended Reading
• Story – Robert McKee• The Elements of Story – Francis Flaherty• The Non-Designer’s Design Book – Robin
Williams• Made to Stick – Dan and Chip Heath• Inbound Marketing – Brian Halligan,
Dharmesh Shah• Meatball Sundae – Seth Godin• Linchpin – Seth Godin