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Blogging & Content Category
The Ultimate Business Blogging Guide
Have you ever asked a question online and got EXACTLY the help you were looking for or an answer that’s saved you hours of Googling?
I bet you were eternally grateful to that person (well, you should have been).
When you can provide that for your ideal clients they are going to LOVE you for it, I promise.
The easiest way for you to get this info to people is through your blog, trust me on this. It’s why I’ve been been named one of the UK’s most influential bloggers. TWICE.
Picture this
You see a comment in a FB group, online somewhere, or a client or prospect client asks you something, and you think – YES I totally have a blog that will answer that question!
You know it will be super helpful to that person AND you’ll look like a big ole smarty pants (and they’re bound to fall in love with you instantly).
But where the hell is it?
I know what you’re thinking, “I should have paid attention to Alicia, she had a really good idea about keeping blogs together.”
YES, I did and so many other resources for keeping your blogs organised, relevant and useful that I thought this week I’d round em all up for you.
Welcome to my world
I’m going to let you in to my world and show you my end to end blogging process.
First things first – decide what you’re going to share with the world. Read THIS BLOG to get four key steps for this.
When I create my blogs I use Google Docs so that my team and I can keep the edits simple and in real time. One of the many benefits of Google Docs is that we can all make edits and comments, even while we’re in the document at the same time.
We also have blog channel in Slack so that we can keep on top of ideas, edits, images and gentle reminders.
Don’t forget these…
Don’t forget this key ingredient when you’re writing your blog. And for sure you want to make sure that people can find your blog.
We finalise the blog and then add the headline read this blog to check out how important I think that is plus a FAB freebie from a pro-blogging master.
The icing on the cake is the blog image – I talked all about this here.
Sharing is caring
So when it’s all ready to go hands up who remembers the magic number for blog exposure? No? Read all about it in this blog where I talked about a simple idea that will get you max exposure on social media for every post.
So, you’ve done the hard bit, the content is done, the links are in place, the blog looks flippin awesome. All done, right? WRONG girlfriend!
There’s one system I wish I’d had in place when I started blogging. It would have made my life sooooooo much easier check it out here and make sure you don’t make the same mistake I did.
PLUS there’s a totally free, no email sign up required resource in there.
Over to you
I’ve pooled all these resources to make your blogging life easier. I’d love to know if any of them struck a chord with you, or any differences you’ve seen after implementing them. Comment below to share with us.
If you still feel like it’s all a bit of a hassle, you don’t know what to write or who would be interested click here to book a single Clear Strategy session with me and we’ll blast through the doubts leaving you crystal clear on your message and raring to get it out to your peeps.
3’s a crowd? Nope – it’s the magic number to max out your blog exposure
You’ve written your blog, spent time on the format, made sure you’ve linked to your other content, and tidied up your SEO so that the people who need and want to read your carefully crafted words can find them.
Next, is to post your blog on social media…
So what do you do?
Copy and paste the link into your social media update, type “hey, here’s my latest blog!” in the comment box, hover your mouse over the post button, cringing a little inside and feeling a bit embarrassed about it all?
We don’t want that. No way, Jose!
You know I love to share how doing something realllly simple can make your content work really hard for you?
Well here’s another gem for you that’s gonna take the ick out of deciding what to write when you post your blog on social media. And, it will save you time in the long run.
What’s more, it will make your posts more compelling, encouraging more people to click on your link to read it. Which means more of the good stuff: web visits, exposure, interest, Google rankings, enquiries, CLIENTS..!
Basically, more bang for your time-and-effort-buck.
After all, that IS why you’re writing blogs and using social media, right?
When I wrote recently about doing less and doing it well I mentioned sharing your content regularly on social media and I suggested that you think of three social media headlines to go with your blog posts.
Hands up who skipped homework?
No pasa nada (that’s Spanish for no problem).
More readers?
I know that if you do this, you’ll see a big difference in your readers and engagement. I’m passionate about giving you the tools you need to make your business work for you. I do it myself and I’m going to let you in on how.
Take my recent blog post Nail this and readers will flock to your blog, all about blog headlines.
I COULD share it with just the headline. It’s attention grabbing for sure BUT a headline doesn’t really give as much personality as I’d like.
And, adding personality into your business is what makes you stand out from the crowd.
Let’s experiment. If you were on Facebook and saw the following posts, which would you be more likely to click on:
This one….
Or this one….
The reason that the second is more enticing is because it’s in a chatty, conversational style. In the same tone that you might use with a girlfriend over one of the cocktails you’ve just made (with the extra gin).
You want to be making friends, not shouting orders at your ideal clients!
And it gets better…
And the good news is you don’t need to think up even more new content – all you need is right there in the blog itself – tweak some of the words for context, add a call to action and you’re good to go.
Here’s another example from the same blog:
It’s so flippin frustrating when you’ve got a great blog but no one is reading it. I’ve got one thing to tell you about that PLUS one the best resources on the topic by a professional blogging master.
Click below to get it all.
No new content, it’s only what’s in the blog but reworded in a more enticing way.
Solve your clients’ problems.
When you’re looking for content to pull out to make these little gems try and look for where you’ve mentioned your ideal clients’ frustrations and worries. For example (same blog!)
If your blog gathers more dust bunnies than comments and shares, I bet you’re not nailing this one thing. It WILL get you more readers.
Click the link to find out what it is.
Many of my clients come to me looking for more exposure (check out this mega example). They are frustrated and don’t know how to get their blog in front of their clients or anyone for that matter!
By telling them that I can help with the problem of low engagement or reader numbers I’m solving that frustration.
Recycle.
Social media posts can and SHOULD be re-used! Store them for later – here’s how I do it. Then you can keep posting your blogs over and over with no fear of being a broken record or creating a snooze-inducing repetitive social media feed.
And why it’s important: because it saves time having to figure out what to write, you’re not reinventing the wheel or staring at a blank screen each time, and it removes the posting an update obstacle.
Your turn.
So this week NO skipping homework! Go to one of your blogs and look through it, pull out the reasons WHY it’s going to help your ideal client, WHAT problem is it solving?
Use what you find to write your social media headlines – aim for 3 and comment below to let me know how you get on – include a link to the blog if you can.
If you’re ready to get much, much clearer on your blog and how you can use it for the biggest impact join me for a single strategy session.
- We’ll work on how you can get the most out of your content.
- We’ll explore what to write that will appeal to your prospects and clients.
- We’ll cover the absolute essentials you need to include in your blogging plan.
And that means your blogging will work smarter not harder – just as you will be too.
Do this and get instant expertise status. Boom!
If you want to raise your profile as an expert, get more interest in your services and grab the attention of a new audience (one who wants to buy from you), you’re gonna LOVE what I’m sharing here…
I’ve got a simple idea for you, and it’s not about doing more…
Instead of relying on building your own reputation fan-by-fan (this is still important though, so don’t stop) you can add a shot of interest in a single swoop.
You do it by leveraging a trusted third-party that already has an army of fans.
One that has a fierce reputation and a community who hang on their every word.
By getting in front of these ready-made communities you can power-house your expertise status as quick as a flash.
AND, and, and… this strategy hinges on working smarter, not harder (one of my favourite mantras). Boom!
The answer, my friends, is Guest Blogging.
(That’s writing a blog article to be featured on a third party website.)
Before you wail and cry that “I’m not big enough, I’m not a known name, no one will be interested”
STOP.
The simple (and slightly secret) fact is that websites and blogs are always looking for new content to satisfy their readers. Some of the bigger sites post several articles a day, so why shouldn’t one of them be yours?
The benefits of guest posting are HUGE.
Your exposure can skyrocket.
Choose the publication carefully, match your article to suit their readers perfectly.
You’ll gain quality attention in your products and services in bulk. So you don’t need to rely on a drip-drip-drip of readers visiting your site from your own marketing efforts.
This is a strategy I used with one of my clients, life coach Natalie Bel Hill, with amazing results.
Natalie came to me to help build exposure for her new coaching business.
How we did it.
First we worked on her marketing foundations.
- How to communicate with her target market in a way that they understand
- Added spades of personality to her brand
- Made her website the hardest worker on her sales team, and;
- Made her blogging the perfect stage for attracting prospects
Next we went to work on getting her the exposure she was hungry for.
Enter guest blogging (cue Rocky music).
We found the perfect platform which matched her personality, expertise and whose audience were exactly who she wanted to work with.
Her article was published on Elite Daily and it went viral on Facebook. Look at the number of Likes and Shares!
At the time of writing this post it had amassed 5000 shares on the Elite site in just 2 months (3000 of those the day after publishing). Too good to be true? Check it our below.
I wager that you wouldn’t mind some of that for your business, no?
How YOU can do it.
It might seem daunting at first but it really doesn’t need to be, let’s break down what you need to do.
Where?
Which online publications do you think your ideal clients regularly read articles on? If you’re not sure, ask them. But if you know your client well, chances are you’ll already have the answer.
Write a hit list of 5-10 ideal third party websites where you would like to be featured.
Think BIG. Don’t be afraid to go for the publications that you think are too big – the worst that can happen is they’ll say no. Or ignore you (which doesn’t technically mean a no – more on that in a sec…).
The best outcome is that they can publish your article and you get thousands of hits. Nothing to lose!
Make like a sleuth.
Take a long look at their content (what a great assignment, you’re probably reading it anyway right?!) and check out the style they publish – is it lists, tips, shorter or longer, chatty professional etc.
Now decide what you could write which would fit in with their style and add value to their readers.
But first…
Before you put your heart and soul into writing for someone, check that the quality and size of the website and readership is right for you.
You can do this using Alexa.com. There is no point in posting a guest article on a blog that gets absolutely NO traffic whatsoever. That’s why thinking BIG is more likely to get a better outcome.
Next, find out how to submit your super valuable, readable post. look at the example below, right there on their front page.
Most of the bigger websites will have guidelines on how to submit. Some have helpful checklists of number of words and style guidelines.
Follow their submission guidelines exactly, you don’t want to f*ck it up at this stage just because you’ve forgotten to include a small but important detail in your post submission. *Facepalm*
If you can’t find submission guidelines on their website, that doesn’t mean they don’t accept contributions. The best way to find out is to check who is writing their articles! If they are authored by several people and include a bio, chances are they do and are worth approaching.
(note to approaching guest bloggers: I receive lots of contribution requests for my website but I am not accepting guest contributions right now so PLEASE don’t ask. Thank you!)
Drop them an email. Make it short n snappy. Always include:
- Friendly opening
- That you understand their audience / have respect for what they do
- That you’d love to contribute and why (make it a benefit to them – not you!)
- Some ideas you could contribute (1-3 blog topic ideas)
- Examples of previous writing (not necessary but good if you have it)
Do not miss this step!
So you followed the guidelines exactly, great! Now it is SUPER important to nail your bio.
Your objective from guest posting is to get new people to love you SO much that they want more. Make it easy for them by including ways to get it: a link to your website is ok, a link to your opt in or to subscribe to your list is EVEN BETTER.
You’ll usually have 2 or 3 lines to tell all these potential new readers who you are and what you do so make the most of it.
A bad example:
Jane Doe, Nutritional Coach.
A waaaay better example 
www.nataliebelhill.com I coach clever people who know they need back up to deal with anxiety, depression + co dependent habits. People who want to find more focus in their lives.
See what comes first – Website. Boom, don’t even have to look for it.
I repeat: Don’t whatever you do forget to link back to your site, not only so people can find you but because it’s oh so important to those search rankings – and if Mr Google likes it, we like it.
So your post has been accepted – fist pump! Another added bonus is that most sites will promote your post on social media (and keep on doing so) making it all the more shareable, readable and likeable.
This is going to cause a ripple effect of more visitors to your site so make sure it’s ready for them!
It’s a golden opportunity to engage with new readers and build relationships. Make it easy for people to:
- comment on your blog (and make sure you reply)
- sign up for your news and tips
- find out what you do
and your one guest post will be working as hard a poss for you.
Don’t give up, follow up.
You might get knocked back, you may get ignored. They may make you wait for what feels like a lifetime. Or, that post you worked SOOOO hard on sees dust bunnies.
Don’t get disheartened – keep trying. If they say no – use the opportunity as a dialogue to find out what you can write to get published.
If they don’t like your first article, try another (and use the first for another site or on your own).
If you get no answer after your submission – follow up with an email.
Ok, now it’s your turn.
Pick a publication you’d LOVE to guest in – not just one you think would be ok, go big and choose the one you really want – find out how to submit and go for it! Let me know how you get on in the comments.