blogging for business: a beginner's guide to successful blogging
TRANSCRIPT
BLOGGING FOR BUSINESS 101A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL BLOGGING
Nikki Little| identitypr.com | @nikki_little
WHY GET SERIOUS ABOUT BLOGGING?
o Showcase expertise/build online reputation
o Your own publishing hub
o To promote yourself or your company
o Generate new business leads
o Advertising/sponsorship opportunities
o Media/guest post opportunities
o Presentation/speaking opportunities
BELIEVE IT OR NOT, PEOPLE
WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU (AS
LONG AS YOU PROVIDE VALUE)
FIRST STEPS: ESTABLISH GOALS,
CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORM
BLOG PLATFORM OPTIONSo WordPress (my favorite!) – Tons of customization
options, very popular, great for self hosting, use your
own domain name
o Blogger – Good for text, one of the first blogging
platforms, less customizing available, use your own
domain name
o Tumblr – Great for images, use your own domain name
o Medium – A “beautiful space for reading and writing,”
less customizing options, nice user interface
o LinkedIn – Blog right within LinkedIn on your profile
page
BENEFITS OF SELF HOSTING
o Access to more customization/themes/plugins
through WordPress.org (WordPress.com not for self
hosting)
o Unique URL
o Custom analytics
o Site support through your domain and hosting
companies
o You own it – WordPress doesn’t
IMPORTANT: INSTALL GOOGLE
ANALYTICS ON SELF HOSTED BLOGS
CRANKING OUT CONTENT –
WHERE DO I FIND INSPIRATION?
CONTENT IDEAS
o Your customers/clients – What questions are they
asking? What do they care about?
o Your employees
o Keywords that bring people to your site (look in your
analytics program for keywords beyond “not set”)
and Google AdWords Keyword Planner
o Company news
o Events/philanthropic efforts
o Your culture
CONTENT IDEAS (CONT.)
o Customer stories/testimonials
o Quora
o News and blogs related to your industry – build off
their content (don’t copy – add something new)
o Book reviews, recaps of
conferences/events/Webinars/seminars
o Content idea generator sites (Portent’s Content
Idea Generator, Hubspot’s Blog Topic Generator)
o Good old Google
TIP: CREATE A CONTENT
CALENDAR, ASSIGN
DEADLINES & AUTHORS
7 TIPS TO CREATE A KICK
A** BLOG
#1 – UPDATED & CONSISTENT
CONTENT
#2 – PHOTOS & VIDEOS
#3 – SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS
#4 – COMMENTING &
SHARING OPTIONS
#5 – RESPONSIVE DESIGN
#6 – SEO ELEMENTS
#7 – CALLS
TO ACTION
IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL NOT
COME!
PROMOTING YOUR CONTENTo Share on social networks – personal and company
o Email signature – WiseStamp for Gmail
o URL in online profiles and on business cards
o Comment on other blogs
o Paid ops: AdWords, LinkedIn/Facebook/Twitter ads
o Guest blogging
o Share with relevant groups/people online – be selective!
o Link to previous posts within your content
o Use for new business follow ups/customer retention
o Include in e-marketing campaigns
QUESTIONS &DISCUSSION
THANK YOU!Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkilittle
Twitter: http://twitter.com/nikki_little
Blog: http://nikkilittle.com
Identity: http://identitypr.com
PHOTO SOURCESo http://www.flickr.com/photos/cubagallery/7225903096/
o http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelanman/366192378/
o http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaibara/2756361218/
o http://www.flickr.com/photos/73194085@N00/253074522/
o http://www.smartlaunch.com/wed-love-to-hear-from-you/
o http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/12/13/6-lessons-from-the-top-bloggers-a-beginners-guide/
o https://www.flickr.com/photos/98652633@N00/385474331/
o https://www.flickr.com/photos/48540847@N03/10967338094/
o https://www.flickr.com/photos/13426843@N08/4840216091/
o https://www.flickr.com/photos/81413866@N05/7460434194/
o http://moz.com/blog/visual-guide-to-keyword-targeting-onpage-optimization