How To Run A Successful Blog That Will Boost Your Following

How To Run A Successful Blog That Will Boost Your Following There are a few blogs on the Internet. A few of them have instructions on how to do content marketing and blogging the right way. And by a few, I mean millions. As a content marketer, you’re overloaded with information. Even if it’s helpful information, you can’t process all of it. Research has shown that when youre  faced with an information overload, the viewer tends to glaze over and not see the actual information. You  instead look for patterns. This is why zebras value their stripes and paint horses value their splotches- it’s hard for the predator to discern the individual animal behind the pattern of the vast herd. That’s fine for herbivores who want to live to see another day, but what about for us bloggers? What if you picked out the pattern that all blog headers should be blue  because you noticed a plethora of blue header graphics and can’t really remember anything else? Sometimes you need a distillery. (No, I do not mean you need to go get a drink). In this post, we will boil down to the very basics of blogging. Well enforce three core blogging concepts and will show you how to run a successful blog. Let’s forget hedging our bets so you can get a clear picture instead of a blurry pattern. 1. Write The Blog Post Fact:  You have to write blog posts if you’re going to blog. Real-world Realization:  Writing is hard work. It’s not shovel-ready work, it’s not elbow grease, but it’s work that strains your brain. Writing successful blog posts means you’re facing several decisions about what and how you will create the copy. While there’s truly no wrong approach to how you'll resolve these decisions when you are sincerely trying to do your best, this post is all about distillation. Let’s reduce all of those legitimate options and cut down to the bare bones of blogging. What should my blog posts be about? (Ideation.) Your post should be about one specific thing, and then three things related to that one thing. In other words, it’s about the idea of core content and peripheral content. If you blog about baking, that is your core. You’ll spend most of the time writing about the recipes and things you bake. Three related topics to that core content might be talking about handy kitchen tools, ingredient reviews, and new cookbooks. Your post  should be about something you love and believe in. If either of those  are lacking, writing will not be enjoyable work; it will be dreaded drudgery. What should my specific post be about? (Focus.) Your blog post should be specifically  focused, not generally. You are not writing about every kitchen mixer, but a specific kitchen mixer. You are not writing about everything you can do with email marketing, but about a specific email marketing technique. You might have lost specific focus if: You have more than three level two headings. Your post is much longer than you planned. You are having trouble writing a conclusion or call to action (we’ll talk about that next). Your introduction or thesis statement doesn’t make sense with what is in the body of the post. How long should my blog post be? (Depth.) Everyone has their own opinion, and there are many different right answers to the question of blog post length. But let me give you one to start from: 1,000 words (give or take a hundred). In those 1,000 words, your blog post should contain: An introduction:  You will tell your reader what you’re about to say in the blog post introduction. An argument:  This is the main body of your post, where you present information to the reader. That information should have: At least three links to your own content. At least one link to scholarly or research-based content. At least one link to quality outside content. A conclusion:  You will tell your reader what you just said. A call to action:  You will give the reader something to do with a call to action. What should my blog post look like? (Appearance.) Your blog post should have: A great headline:  about six to eight words long. The most exciting words come at the beginning of the headline. Three  level two headings: If it has a third level of subheading, try to have a few for each level two heading. At least one pull quote or tweetable quote:  This helps with blog promotion, which we talk about next. Here is an example: Aim for having at least one tweetable quote in your blog post. #blogging #SocialMediaGive your reader lots of white space by keeping your paragraphs to no more than three sentences each. Having headings, lists, and white space is all about people being able to scan your blog. How many images should I have in my post? (Appearance.) You must have at least one image. That image should: Be a â€Å"hero† image (strong enough to stand on its own outside of the context of your post). Have either your URL or your Twitter handle on the image. This is in case your image is orphaned via Google image searches or image social networks like Pinterest. Be sized to fit the majority of social networks. Using a tool  like Canva  can really help you out. Dig Deeper:  If you want to set yourself up with a mini course in foundational blog writing techniques, here are my favorite posts on the matter and methods I use myself: Write Better Blog Posts With Just 4 Quick Edits The 10-Minute, 10-Step Solution For The Best Blog Outline How To Write A Blog Post When You Don’t Want To How To Defeat Writer’s Block How To Write A Blog Post: Your 5-Point Checklist To Rock A Perfect Post How To Blog With As Little As Possible 4 Simple Brainstorming Techniques That Will Help You Write Killer Content 4-Step System For Writing A Great Blog Post, Even If You Have Writers Block 2. Promote The Blog Post Stupid question:  If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear, does it make a noise? More useful question:  If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear, does anyone care? Coming up with a content marketing promotion strategy is easily forgotten about for anyone who is more focused on creating blog content, abhorrent of self-promotion, or simply too distracted with the joys of writing to bother letting anyone know that there’s also publishing going on. Who do I tell I wrote a blog post? (Audience.) You tell people you know are interested and any you think might be interested. Recommended Reading from Neil Patel: The 6 Types Of Social Media Content That Will Give You The Greatest Value The people you know are interested are those who: Signed up for your email. Followed you on social media. Commented on your blog. Shared your link somewhere. Email you. The people who might be interested are those who: Do the previous list, but on another blog that is similar to yours. You already know this. It’s easy to forget there are five obvious audiences (and one possible audience) who want to hear from you. Sometimes it's easy to spend too much time building a promotion plan that is email or social media heavy. For every blog post you publish, alert each of these known/potential audiences. How do I tell them? (Relationship.) Telling people you created new blog content is a lot less awful if you’re not a jerk about it.