I’d be lying if I said that
blogging hasn’t been tough because it’s been a nightmare. I’m the type
of guy that wanted quick success and wanted to make an impact right
away. I must have tried everything when starting and was disappointed
when it didn’t work. However, I’m glad it happened because it’s been one
of the best learning experiences ever. It made me a different person
because you’d be surprised that success doesn’t only have to do with
writing awesome content but making a few changes in character as well.
When I sat down to write a guest post, I
thought about my topic and decided to put something together that will
resonate well with all of you. I know no matter if you’re an experienced blogger or just starting out, with the amount of information available online, you can lose focus very easily.
Anyways, here’s what I’ve learned in the past 3 years writing content and starting my own blog…
Stay Active
Staying active is the most important
thing because if you don’t keep writing it’ll become a habit. It’s true
what they say, if you do something for “14” days straight it’ll become a
habit and the same applies to NOT writing content. Writing actively is a
great way to build momentum because not only does it tell your readers
you have new and exciting things to say but tells search engines that
fresh new content is being published. This is great to increase user
engagement and get indexed more regularly by search engines.
Staying active is a great motivational
boost since each time you publish new content you feel like you’ve
accomplished something. Ask any serious blogger, that, determination and
motivation are the “2” most important factor to their success. Set
small goals to be met each week and with each completion checkmark comes
a feeling of accomplishment.
Here’s something that works well…
I know one of the biggest issues I’ve
had is being able to write 2000+ words per day to complete a blog post.
However, I’ve found a way to get it done and stay motivated at the same
time. Write anywhere from 500-600 words per day and then start again
tomorrow. If you do this for 4 days then you’ll have content ranging
from 2000+ words which can provide valuable insight to your readers. If
you do the math, 500-600 words will take you no more then 15-20 minutes
which is more motivating then taking out 3+ hours to complete an entire
post in one day.
Always Network
Much of the growth I experienced was
through guidance provided by top bloggers within the industry. For
example, I remember doing an expert post
and Zac Johnson + 13 others provided their opinion on the most
effective link building strategy which continues to work well ranking
websites within search engines. The point I’m trying to make is that
networking will open several doors for you allowing you to gather
information and even publish content on their blogs.
Many top bloggers have thousands of
readers and establishing a relationship with them can sometimes allow
you to engage with their readers. Remember, when gust posting, it’s
important to provide the best content which not only resonates with
their readers but keeps the quality and integrity of their blog.
How do you find relevant blogs to network with?
Simple…
Do a quick search in Google using (“keyword and/or niche”) and this will produce a list of blogs relevant to your keyword
At this point, you can go through each
one contacting them asking about guest posting opportunities or even
their opinion. You’d be surprised how many of them are willing to help.
You’ll learn why this simple strategy of communicating with other blogs will help enormously later on.
Focus On Quality
Writing high quality content is truly
the key to success when blogging and becoming successful. Having an
abundance of information available can be both a positive and/or
negative. With so much information available online, it’s very easy to
be misdirected into information which provides NO substance at all. This
is why high quality content is given more weight and leverage within
the SERP’s. When I started blogging, I spent a lot of time rushing
through creating content just to get things published. However, after
communicating with many of my mentors, I learned that quality will
always outweigh quantity so focus on creating everlasting content. When I
started producing 2000+ in-depth content, a few things started to
happen…
First, the user engagement increased and
people were able to locate my content more easily increasing the amount
of targeted traffic generated to my blog. Next, more people who had
blogs of their own started to link back to my content because of the
substance I provided. Next,
Google indexed my content and I was able
to rank for keywords WITHOUT doing any link building, etc. When you
write lengthy content, you have more leverage to add keywords into your
content increasing the chances to get ranked for some of them.
In the end, always focus on providing
quality and the traffic and popularly will automatically come on its
own. Remember the purpose of search engines, which is to provide users
with the best high quality solution to their problems. Focus on just
that!
Guest Posting Opportunities
Previously, I talked about the power of
networking with other top bloggers within the industry. When you
network, it opens up “guest posting” opportunities with them which means
loads of “targeted” traffic generated to your blog. It’s an easy way to
showcase your experience and build an audience at the same time. Before
continuing, remember that “guest posting” can increase your conversions
30X when done correctly. When I started writing content, I was scared
to contact other bloggers because I didn’t know what reply to expect
from them. I was afraid to submit content fearing that it’ll get
rejected. However, you’ll be surprised how many of them have been in the
same situation as you and are willing to work with you to get you’re
content published on their blog. They need fresh new minds and content
on their blog to keep their readers happy and information flowing.
Here are a few “guest posting” guidelines to follow…
- Always submit your best work because it’s a great way to showcase your work to “targeted” readers that can convert to your loyal readers.
- Keep it relevant to the blog you are guest posting on
- Choose a topic which is NOT yet published on the blog to bring something new
- Always include your “author” information with a link back to your personal blog
- Once you get published, work with the blog owner to keep your new content getting published so you stay active.
The Power of Case Studies
With so much information online, it’s
hard to find what actually works so why NOT provide your readers with
solid proof. Case studies are probably the best piece’s of content
you’ll find because it’s provides you a complete step-by-step approach
to achieving your objective. For example, imagine you are trying to rank
“5” keywords on the 1st page of Google and you try 20
different tactics out of which 5 worked. You can save people an enormous
amount of time by providing EXACTLY what worked and having them avoid
the methods that didn’t. It’s a great way to build a following and
credibility within the industry.
From personal experience, I continue to
follow those blogs that provided me with proven methods that’ll help my
business. Every day, I visit these same blogs to find updated
information and try to learn new strategies that’ll help my business.
I’ve even taken it a step further…
A few months ago, I started forming my
own case studies writing updates each week on my blog to my readers.
It’s a way to show them EXACTLY what I’m doing to achieve my desired
results. Obviously I research what questions people are asking then I
start a case study answering those questions. For example,
After doing research, there were many questions about the effectiveness of PBN’s
(private blog networks) so over the past month I’ve been doing a case
study answering each question. It’s a routine for me to update my blog
each week so my readers keep up to date and can follow through.
The point I’m trying to make is that
after writing both engaging and non-engaging content, it’s important to
stick to what your readers are looking for which, a majority of time, is
methods proven to work.
Try Different Things
If you want to succeed, you need to do
things differently. You need to create curiosity and have people ask
questions so that you can be the one answering them. It’s important
because much of the stuff online is so routine that people already know
the answer to the question WITHOUT reading the content. This is why
“case studies” always create a buzz because you are trying different things
and showing people how to EXACTLY do them. Remember that social media
is an outlet which can generate enormous amounts of traffic so doing
things that resonate with an audience can create a storm online.
Unfortunately I learned this very late
in my blogging career and should have listen to my mentors. If you look
at the most successful bloggers online they were all pioneers and NOT
followers meaning they did things differently and are known as leaders
within the industry.
The company “Apple Inc” has a slogan
“Think Different” and they went from the brink of bankruptcy to the one
of the most successful technology companies ever. Next time you are
writing content or trying to create a buzz online, simply…
“Think Different”
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