Learn how to start a blog with blogging tips that will get your blog posts seen in search engines. Learn the keys required for optimal blog and content visibility in search engines, all in under 10 minutes.
Transcript:
Hi, It’s Jen Miller and on today’s episode, Episode #2, we are going to be talking about How to Start a Blog.
I’ve been an active blogger since the AOL days. I started in 1996 and have insight to share with you that will bring you traffic and help you to engage your site visitors and increase your goal conversion.
In our last episode I shared with you the 5 Must Haves For Every Website. This episode is going to focus on the actual content that will be on your blog.
You need to develop a content plan, but you really shouldn’t do so until you’ve considered some basic business goals. Spend some time determining what you need and want to accomplish as a business in the coming year or quarter and use that as a guideline when creating your content plan.
Your content and your keywords should directly relate to your company goals.
For instance, if you are a beauty company and want to sell more organic makeup in the coming quarter, your blog posts and web pages should be focused on related keyword phrases, like best organic makeup, organic skincare, or clean teen makeup.
If you want to be an expert on a specific location, your blog should focus on community based posts that include your areas and your service in your keywords. It really is not difficult to determine which keywords to use, but it does require a little thought and research to be done for maximum exposure.
Once you’ve determined your company goals, you are going to want to connect those to your content goals on paper. You can download My Content Plan worksheet to get an in-depth understanding of how to do this.
Basically though you are going to think about your audience and create a monthly focus that cross-references those business goals. You then will break down the monthly focus into weekly posts which include a draft by and publish by date (which may or may not all be shared in the same month). There are many reasons to do this.
One reason is You provide yourself the ability to focus by planning ahead of time. Basically you can operate from a Don’t Think, Just Do! mentality because your topic is already defined. You eliminate the opportunity for writer’s block because all you need to do is research and report back on the topic.
Another reason is that A written content plan allows you to make connections – whether through creating a post series or through linking social media and graphic design efforts, you’ll find that putting everything out on paper allows you (and your team) to be clear on the best ways to augment your content.
The third reason to do this is it’s impressive to those you work with and helps you to sleep better at night. When your content plan is set, it eliminates the question of what to post. If you write for a large company, you will come across as organized and professional and due to more sleep, you’ll look good while doing so. 😉
And lastly, you’ll produce better content because you’ll have a plan and that – in and of itself – brings comfort and allows your writing to flow. I hope these tips have given you knowledge to feel you know how to start a blog.
Send in your questions and your blog post urls to info@needsomeonetoblog.com and I’ll make suggestions in upcoming episodes on how YOU can improve the 5 posts on YOUR website. Looking forward to reviewing your sites in the coming weeks.
Thanks for tuning in and see you for Episode #3 where we will get strategic and ask Does My Content Really Work? And tackle The Essentials of Tracking.