9 ways to get more out of your blog
In the marketing industry it seems like something is always being pronounced as dead. Email. Blogging. Social media. And then two weeks later it’s not that it’s dead it’s that the rules have changed or customers have adapted to new practices.
The same holds true for blogging, it’s definitely not dead and there are definitely some things you should be doing with your blog to get the most out of it for your digital marketing efforts.
See how to take your blogging to the next level and drive more, and more relevant traffic to your site.
Get more out of your blog in 9 steps
1. Know your audience
When it comes to marketing you always, always have to account for the WIIFM – What’s In It For Me? People want content about them, not you or your brand.
If you can create blog content around your audience and what they want to read, the battle is halfway over. One common problem for bloggers and marketers is that they write about what they want to talk about, not what their audience wants. Try to find the perfect marriage between these two to create content people want to read and content you want to write.
Before writing any blog post, ask yourself these three questions:
- Why are you producing this specific piece?
- Why do you think your audience is searching for this information?
- What value can you add to the conversation around this topic?
2. Tie blogs to campaigns
Make sure your blogs tie to bigger marketing campaigns and support other marketing tactics and initiatives. I like to assign themes or topics to each quarter or month and create different pieces of content that all tie back to that theme. I tend to use anchors, like ebooks, webinars, or upcoming conferences to set the theme for that period of time and then each blog piece promotes that anchor.
On a similar note, you should also make sure you’re cross-promoting your blogs with your email marketing and vice versa. Have a subscribe option on every blog post and each newsletter you send out should link to your latest posts.
3. Try different blog content types
As a blogger, you have to figure out the best way to present your story to your audience. Maybe they like long-form and text-based posts, infographics, videos, podcasts, or whatever other format you can dream of. Maybe you want to do a mix of these content styles, go right ahead!
Experiment with new content types and catch the industry wave. Trends, reviews, research, reports, conference recaps or teasers. Look at upcoming conferences in your industry and read through the titles. Is there anything new there that you could write about to gain traffic? Was there a recent podcast you can write a review of or add your own industry insight onto that topic?
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box!
4. Blog more frequently
Need to give your blog and site traffic a quick boost? Try posting shorter, more frequent blogs. Maybe you have a blog that lists the top 10 things to do for X. Split it up into two posts!
It takes less time to write shorter posts, meaning you can post more and get more optimization on the same topic on different pages of your site. I wouldn’t recommend this strategy all the time as Google does tend to favor long-form, information-rich content, but can be an easy option if you’re strapped for time or content ideas.
5. Guest post
Get your brand in front of different but relevant audiences by hosting your own branded content on others’ blogs. Many bloggers request guest blog posts and it’s a great opportunity to get your posts in front of new people and to partner with an influencer in your industry.
6. Link your content
Links are a foundational element of SEO so don’t miss out on the opportunity to get more juice out of your posts by adding a healthy amount of internal (links pointing to your own site) and external (links pointing to other websites) links to your content.
Linking to other posts about the same topic can boost your content’s credibility and your brand’s authority on that topic. I always close my blog posts with links to social media, other blog posts, or even other websites to give my readers something to read or visit next.
7. Optimize your blog posts
Beyond links, you also need to look at keywords and make sure your posts are targeting the right terms. Before you even begin blogging, develop a list of targeted terms you can use throughout your content and subheadings.
8. Distribute and track
Where will you share it and how will it be tracked and measured? Have a distribution strategy in place for each blog piece to drive the right traffic to it. How you share it on Twitter might be different from how you promote it on Instagram or Facebook.
Use UTM tags for each link you share so you can easily see which network is referring the most traffic and if your content is doing well on that channel.
Also, make it easy for readers to quickly share your content with ShareThis buttons on your blog.
9. Comment and engage
Be active in the blogging community! A link here and there to someone else’s content isn’t going to cut it. Share others’ posts and leave comments where appropriate to show you’re active in the community and knowledgeable on topics you want your own blog to rank for.
What other tips do you follow to get the most out of your blog? Share them in the comments below or over on Twitter!
