Bloggers

New Blog Mistakes to Avoid and How to Fix Them

May 24, 2017

There is a lot to learn about writing, managing, and promoting a blog. Way more than just writing content. Unless you plan on hiring someone else to do those things for you, then you’re going to need to learn what to do and what not to do to avoid making common new blog mistakes.

Let’s look at some common mistakes and how you can avoid them.

6 New Blog Mistakes to Avoid

Posting just to post
Not being authentic
Not promoting their blog
Ignoring SEO
Not commenting or answering comments
Never looking at analytics

6 Strategies for New Bloggers

Have a Plan for your Content

Don’t post just for the sake of posting. You know that content is important but it won’t do you any good to post a bunch of stuff just to have content there. Be strategic, everything you post on your blog and social media should be valuable.

Let your Personality Shine

Blogging has been around for a long time and your topic has probably been done many times over. What makes your blog unique is how you approach a topic, and the unique angle you have to bring to it. So, don’t be shy when it comes to putting your personality into your posts. This is what will bring people back to your blog again, as well as keep them around to finish reading your post.

Promote Your Blog

Often new bloggers put all their energy into writing great posts but forget the importance of marketing and promoting those posts. New blogs are hard to find and require a lot of promotion to get them out there so people will see them. New bloggers get discouraged and many quit before their blog ever really has a fair chance to make it.

SEO Basics

Interlinking your own blog and linking out to other sites is great for SEO. It’s important you always link to keywords instead of just saying “click here”. If this is new to you, take some time to read up on the importance of keywords in search engine optimization.

Comments Build Community

It’s very important that you reply to comments. If people are taking the time to comment on your posts, especially on a new blog, you need to take the time to interact with them. This is how you build your community and it also shows other readers that you are there reading and interacting with their comments, which encourages more people to post them as well.

Learn Basic Analytics

Analytics can be a hard thing for many bloggers to understand, especially if you’re new to seeing them, but they are very important. The data contained in your analytics tells you many important things about who’s visiting your site and who is reading your content. You can use this to see where your traffic is coming from, as well as what topics bring in traffic more than others. This helps you write more posts that get results you want.

With these tips in mind, you can avoid making these common new blog mistakes. You’ll be getting your blog started on the right foot for success. Enjoy!

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4 Tips for Choosing Your Domain Name

May 16, 2017

Choosing your domain name is one of the most important steps you will take for your blog. This is your internet identity and how people will find you on the internet.

Your domain name is also a very important part of your branding. You don’t want to rush into a domain name without taking a few important steps first.

4 Tips for Choosing your Domain Name

Make it Easy to Remember

If your name can’t be easily remembered, people will forget, or struggle to find you online later. Yes, you can print it on business cards or other memorabilia but at the end of the day, if people cannot remember your URL, fewer people will visit it.

Pick a Dot Com

Don’t be tempted to try something cutesy or go cheaper with a different extension. It might sound like a good idea but the truth is, most people will automatically type .com at the end of a domain. It’s just a habit. You could lose a lot of potential traffic or even send people to someone else’s site if you’re not using the dot com.

Keep it Short

Whenever possible, keep it as short as you can. Avoid using long phrases, numbers, special characters and other things that will make it harder for people to find and remember.

Avoid Hyphens

Hyphens might sound like a good idea if the domain you want is already taken but this can lead to confusion, or people finding the other site when you want them to find yours. Hyphens are also known for being in spam domains so it can hurt the reputation of your site. It’s best to just avoid it.

Just like you’d do your homework and put careful thought and consideration into naming a child or a business, you want to be cautious when naming your blog.

Your domain doesn’t have to be the exact name of your blog either, but it should tie in somehow. Many bloggers keep the domain simple but make their title more creative. Some people will use their name as a domain but give their blog a different name.

Don’t miss 5 Things to Do Before Starting a Blog!

5 Things to Do Before Starting a Blog

May 15, 2017

So, you’ve decided you want to start a blog. Congratulations on joining millions of others who enjoy the blogging process. Blogging is a great way to share your view of the world. It’s also a great creative outlet.

While you may be ready to jump in with both feet, there are a few things you should do first if you want to be successful with your blog.

Here are 5 Things to do Before Starting a Blog

Know the Reason for your Blog

What makes your blog different? What do you hope to achieve from your blog? What is the purpose behind it? Before you start doing anything, you need to know what your goals are for starting a blog. A successful blog will require work and commitment so don’t just run out and purchase a domain on a whim without first knowing your purpose.

Know your Choices in Blogging Platform

There are many blogging platform options available for you today and most are free. You can also choose to get your own domain and self-hosting. Before you start anything, take time to research your options so you pick the best choice for you.

I highly recommend you buy your domain and choose self-hosted if you plan to take it seriously.

Choosing a Host and Domain is Important

If you go with a self-hosted blog, you need to choose your domain name carefully. You also want to choose a quality, reliable host. You can change/move hosts later if you want to but it’s much easier to do your research and try to choose correctly from the start.

Create a Blog Plan

This plan will be like a business plan, but for your blog. It can include everything from content ideas to what social networks you plan to use. It’s important to have a solid plan for your blog when you begin but this will change over time. You will make tweaks and changes as needed, but starting with a plan will help ensure your blog is successful.

Good Content is Essential

Great content is the cornerstone of any blog. It’s a good idea to create several blog posts before you even launch. Creating posts ahead of time will give you the opportunity to find your unique voice. Take time to create well-thought posts that give something new and useful to the reader. Anyone can research a topic and write about it, only you can provide your unique voice and point of view.

Now that you know these five things to do before starting a blog, you’re ready to begin. You can start planning your new blog today. Are you ready?

7 Ways to Grow Your Email List

January 8, 2017

You know you need to grow your email list but you aren’t sure how. There are many ways to grow your email list. Depending on your business, some will work better than others.

I find it’s best to incorporate multiple tactics to grow your email list. I’ve used all of the strategies mentioned below and found some success with each.

Mention Your Email List in a Blog Post

If you have a blog, mention your email list in individual blog posts. It could be as simple as organically mentioning that your next email is coming out and including a link where they can sign up. I get the best conversions with this method.

This method is easy for your readers to participate in.

Sign Up Form on your Website

Your email provider has forms that can be placed in your sidebar, footer or used in a slider. The area following a blog post is also a great place for a sign-up form. It’s a good idea to have multiple sign-up forms so that your readers always have the option to sign up. Forms can also be configured to slide in or pop up.

Make sure your sign-up form doesn’t cover the whole page. Google will penalize pages that have the content obstructed by pop-ups. Try one like the sign-up form below.

Social Media

Do you have a great social media following? Put it to good use by encouraging your followers to subscribe to your email list. I find this works best when I create a sense of urgency and capitalize on their fear of missing out. For example, “On Saturday’s email, I’ll share my secret money saving tip for business owners! Don’t miss it! Get on my list today!”

This type of post creates urgency and piques their interest.

Promote at Events

If you attend in-person events, you can have people who visit your table sign up for your email list. Some people will want to learn more about your message. Other people may need a bit more incentive. Businesses can create a small basket for a giveaway. Have a clipboard or mobile device where visitors can sign up, draw a name at the end of the day.

Bloggers will often include the option of signing up for an email list to win a virtual giveaway as well.

Similarly, if you have brochures or printed materials at your table, include a mention of your email list and the benefits they get by signing up.

Video

Video is outpacing other forms of communication and can be used to grab readers attention. Whether you are using video to promote your email list or a freebie (mentioned next), it’s a great method to use if you are comfortable in front of the camera.

Consider using video on your website and social media to talk about what your readers will get when they sign up to your email list? Will they get weekly, monthly, or quarterly emails? Will they get sales pitches, tips or all your new blog posts? Create a short video so they know exactly what they get. You can share this video regularly or create one for each freebie you have.

Freebie

There are a lot of names for this category. Often, people will entice readers to sign up for the email list with free content, content upgrades, freebies, opt in, the list goes on. Basically, it’s bonus content that isn’t included on your blog, that you are giving your readers in exchange for their email address. It’s a trade.

These are a great way to get more names on your list and to see what your audience is interested in. On my other blog, I regularly create meal plans that people can download. These freebies keep new people signing up for my email list every day.

Free Course

Similar to a freebie, a free course is a series of educational emails that appeal to your reader. Each email in the series will contain easy to understand information, typically in small, actionable steps.

Free Courses are often used to sell an enhanced version of a product. This can be very successful at both growing your email list and increasing your sales. Just make sure the free course adds value or you will lose your readers.

Do you have a favorite way to grow your email list? My favorites are mentioning my email list organically in my posts and offering freebies for my readers. I’m planning to expand more into video and free courses in the future.

Which works best for you?

5 Reasons to Grow Your Email List

January 8, 2017

There’s a saying, “the money is in the list”, but what does that really mean?

When you build your email list, you are setting your business up for success and more money. Why? Because your email list is a direct link to your customers.

Your number of subscribers is a key business metric that you should track.

5 Reasons You Should Grow Your Email List

You control your own list/site but you don’t control other space on the internet (such as social media). It is one of the few things you truly own and you can take it with you.
Your list is how you build a following to your brand. People who sign up to your list will continue to follow you. They are essentially signing up to agree to updates from you because they like your brand.
The bigger your list, the more reach you have and you can spread your brand’s message to a wider audience.
It helps you to be clear about your message. What does your audience want from you? What do they not want? Your list will help you narrow this down.
You increase engagement and it also allows you the opportunity to start email conversations with people about your brand.

Now that you have this info to help you better understand why your list is so important, it’s time to start building it. Whether you are starting from scratch or trying to make your existing list bigger, this advice will help you.

Need help growing your list? I’m available! Whether you need help developing a strategy or need someone to take it over, contact me and I’ll create a custom plan to meet your needs and your budget.