How to Rethink Your Blogging Strategy Over the Next 30 Days
You may be thinking to yourself, Another blog about writing blogs, haven’t I seen this before? And you’d be right. You’ve probably seen other blogs about using original content as a marketing strategy, and there’s a reason why — it’s because content-driven marketing works.
Having great content on your website is a must to drive traffic to your website, but it’s crucial to make sure you have a balanced approach to creating content. It’s not as high-risk as an unharnessed tightrope walk over the Grand Canyon. But going overboard could land you in a Titanic kind of situation.
So, what do you need to do to maintain a successful blog that brings in droves of visitors? We’re glad you asked.
You Need a Plan
Do you ever go grocery shopping without a list? Sometimes we do, and it’s incredible how easy it is to forget vegetables and replace them with Oreos. Making a plan for your blog is kind of like having a well-made grocery list. It keeps you on track to make healthy decisions and prevents you from creating junk that’s filled with too much information (or calories).
To turn your blog into a healthy marketing machine in the next 30 days, start by writing down all of the blog topics you want to cover in the upcoming month. Then, divide those possible topics into categories. For example, you could plan to educate on a particular topic, entertain your audience, or provide leadership advice.
Whatever your plan of action may be, vary the direction of your blog posts throughout the month. This mix will keep your readers interested in the content you are publishing and keep them coming back for more. After all, variety is the spice of life.
Another excellent reward for making a plan is a better feel for your content. It helps you focus on high-quality keywords and phrases that will make your site rank higher when people search for something and enables you to build better-supporting material to promote your posts.
Study the Data
Once those ideas for new posts get churning around in your brain, don’t let yourself run wild with them. Do some research about what’s trending and what article style has driven leads for your site. Sticking to what works is a great way to keep that ball rolling.
When looking for data, two things to keep in mind are metrics from previous posts and keyword ranking. Earlier high-traffic posts indicate that your topic and your writing style for that article are things that appeal to your readers. Also, do some research about the keywords you want to use. AnswerThePublic is an excellent free resource that shows what people are asking for on Google — who doesn’t like free?
However, you don’t want your readers to dictate everything you write in your blog. It’s great to keep an audience on their toes, and sometimes that means writing about something unexpected. Remember that your blog should reflect how your company thinks, and sometimes that means exposing them to ideas they hadn’t considered before.
Incorporate Various Forms of Media
Never underestimate the power of shiny objects. There’s a reason Las Vegas packs the strip with flashing lights and signs — it’s because people are drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Incorporating media beyond your text in a blog post does the same thing.
A well-placed video or infographic keeps your reader's attention and compels them to stay focused on your article. But that doesn’t mean your blog needs to look like the front page of Reddit. It all comes back to that balance we talked about before.
Be strategic in the way you use different media. It needs to be interesting enough to grab attention and reinforce the topic you are addressing. Adding extras to your blog posts will add more time to the design process, but it will pay off in more views, conversions, and leads.
Pay Attention to Article Length
Long-form vs. short-form is something people will probably argue until the inevitable collapse of society. No really, it’s bound to happen. Why else would there be so much post-apocalyptic media?
Here’s the kicker, both sides of the argument are technically right about which type of content is better. In its infancy, the rule was 800-1,000 words. Then Google became king of the mountain and changed all the rules. To get Google’s attention and keep people on their page, people started to shift toward long-form content up to 3,000 words.
Now we’re kind of in an anything-goes situation. Some research shows that 1,900 words are the current optimal length for a blog article, but you need to give your reader
s what they want. Many people actually prefer short-form posts because it gets to the point in less time.
Our suggestion, research what your audience wants. If long-form articles track well with them, keep that train running. However, go shorter if your readers want to read less — your copywriter will probably be thankful for it, too.
Keep Your Design Fresh
If you’re still running the same blog template you had at the dawn of the internet, it’s time to give it an overhaul. Maintaining your blog is kind of like changing the oil in your car. You can ignore it for a while, but it’s a guarantee that you’ll come to a grinding halt if you don’t take care of it.
To have a blog that’s so fresh and so clean, pay attention to these areas you can upgrade:
The Header. It’s your chance to make a good first impression. Your header needs to tell people what to expect from your blog.
User-Friendliness. Nobody wants to read a list of titles — we don’t get phone books anymore for a reason. Make your blog easy to navigate to keep people interested in your articles.
Add Links to Your Articles. Add links from your articles to other helpful articles you’ve written about the topic. It keeps your readers on your site and boosts search engine rankings.
Install a Search Box. If you’ve got multiple articles and cover numerous subjects within your blog posts, you need a search box on your blog site. It makes navigation easier and lets your readers find a particular topic quickly.
Utilize a Sidebar. Adding a sidebar to the right side of your page gives you a chance to highlight the content you want your users to see. If your site uses cookie tracking, you can easily set the sidebar up to personalize content based on consumption preferences.
Add Snippets: Your title may not have what it takes to get your potential readers to open your blog article. Adding a snippet of your articles on the blog homepage gives your visitors a sneak peek of the blog content — kind of like a movie trailer.
Another great thing you should do is look at your blog from the reader’s perspective. Would you want to continue on a road trip toward more articles or stop in the parking lot? If you like the setup of your blog and find it appealing, there’s only one more thing to do — hang that “new-blog” scented air freshener you’ve been dying to open from the rearview mirror.
Keep an Eye on Performance
Views and conversions are the only metrics you should monitor about your blog — fin.
Just kidding, views and conversions are definitely the central focus, but there are more metrics to consider when analyzing your blog. One important data point to watch is your new subscriber rate. If your blog is healthy, that number should rise monthly. To boost that rate, tie links to articles in your email marketing strategy and encourage your sales team to tell clients about the valuable information you have for them in your posts.
Another thing to look out for is the number of views for your entire blog. Utilizing a dashboard that automates the analysis of your site makes this process incredibly easy. We know that we talk about them a lot, but HubSpot offers remarkable insights into your blog's performance.
Let GroHaus Help You Out
We know that writing blogs and keeping up with maintenance isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. That’s why we’re here to lend you a hand at GroHaus. Set up a meeting with one of our strategists today so we can learn more about you and get you on the path to blogging success.