LJ Sedgwick, Author at LJ Sedgwick

July 27, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick 2 Comments

Do you believe these 5 myths about blogging?

All forms of marketing seem to generate their own urban legends. And myths about blogging have persisted ever since marketers realised blogs were a great way to connect with audiences.

You’ve probably heard a lot of them before. And you’ve probably even believed a lot of them.

Maybe that’s why you don’t have a blog. Or maybe that’s why you started one – full of good intentions – and then fell by the wayside.

So if your company blog hasn’t been updated since January 2013, or if it’s still displaying a ‘Page not found’ error, then maybe you need to challenge your belief in these 5 myths about blogging.

Content marketing has finally come of age, but that just means many people still believe these myths about blogging. Click here to explore the reality. — Do you believe these 5 myths about blogging?

1. Blogging is just a fad

This is probably one of the biggest myths about blogging.

And it’s an enduring one. People have been claiming that blogging is a fad for a few years now. They’re probably the same people who claim email is dead.

So if blogging has been called a fad for a few years, how long is that fad expected to last?

True, the number of active blogs has grown exponentially in the last few years. But that doesn’t mean it’s too late to join the party.

HubSpot carried out a study and found that B2B companies that blog only 1-2X per month generate 70% more leads than those who don’t blog at all.

That doesn’t even take into account the success of B2C companies. Their blogs speak directly to their consumers.

So even if blogging is a fad, it’s worth getting involved because you’ll still get the benefit while it lasts. Find out why you absolutely need a blog in 2017.

2. Your blog posts should be between 300-700 words

There has been a lot of debate about word counts lately. Should your posts be short? Long? Extra-long? Now that Google is prioritising pages that offer a good user experience, some have started to claim that means posts need to be over 2000 words.

SerpIQ looked at the relationship between the position of a page in the Google search results and the content length of the page.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that the higher ranked pages have longer content.

BUT.

There’s no point writing a post of 2000 words when you can make your point in 800.

According to Darren Rowse, only 16% of people actually read online content word for word. And they only comprehend about 60% of what you write. So in a 2000 word post, that’s around 800 words going unread.

Yes, Google does reward longer content. But it also rewards quality content. So worry about the quality of your blog posts more than the word counts.

If you’re not sure how to ensure that kind of quality, then consider hiring an awesome blogger to do it for you.

3. You must update your blog daily

Hubspot proves to be handy with the stats again. They reckon that companies that post on their blog 15 times (or more) a month get 5x more traffic than other blogs.

That works out at 3-4 posts a week. You don’t need to be a maths genius to realise that’s not a daily posting schedule.

Posting daily is, quite frankly, pointless. Only your most diehard fans will want to consume content that frequently. And you should be sending their content to your email list.

And yes, daily posts give you more chances to be found on Google. They give more opportunities for new visitors to click your headlines on Twitter. But you also run the risk of running out of content more quickly and reaching ‘burnout’.

Once you hit that stage, you’ll stop wanting to blog at all. All of your hard work will have been for nothing.

So space your posts out across a period of weeks, not days. That daily schedule could provide you with seven weeks of content if you post once a week.

Having content spaced out more evenly also gives you the space to insert time-sensitive content. That’s helpful if you want to talk about a big event – like my post on the DDoS attack last year.

4. Share your blog posts on as many social media platforms as possible

Promotion often provokes other myths about blogging. Should you syndicate content across LinkedIn and Medium as well? Should you Pin your content on Pinterest? Do you need to turn it into an Instagram Story?

It’s a good idea to put your content in front of as many people as possible. But it’s an even better idea to put your content in front of as many of the right people as possible.

You’re a tech startup so Pinterest might be less useful to you – unless your tech solution benefits the Pinterest population. And Instagram Stories might not be the right platform either.

But re-posting your articles on LinkedIn or Medium would be a great idea (and you don’t need to generate new content from scratch).

Sharing your content is easier when you’re putting it on the platform your target audience uses. I write for tech startups, so I don’t promote my posts on Snapchat.

Remember that to use these platforms properly, you need to maintain a presence there too. You don’t want to only turn up when you have a post to share.

So ask yourself – do you have time to maintain a presence on every single platform if your audience only uses three of them?

Don’t waste time you could be spending on your blog in cultivating a presence on the wrong platform.

5. You don’t need to pay someone to create your blog posts

It’s easy to believe myths about blogging when you’re trying to save money. And the idea that anyone can do it is one of the biggest.

After all, it’s just a question of talking about your product or service, isn’t it?

No. Your blog shouldn’t just be a collection of press releases or product data. Your blog is your conversation with potential buyers or users. Your posts should snag their attention and leave them keen to find out more about your solution.

If you’re a natural writer, then this shouldn’t be a problem. But think about it this way.

Is blogging really the best use of your time?

Your time is valuable. The cost of hiring a blogger to create your posts for you is likely less than the money you could earn in the time it takes to write a post.

Hiring a blogger isn’t just another expense. It’s a way to buy yourself more time.

And isn’t that worth it in the long run?

So ask yourself, do you still believe these myths about blogging?

If you’ve changed your mind, great! And if you want to hand the blog to someone else, that’s even better. Sign up for my Tremendous Time Saver Package and watch your blog grow. Click here to grab your spot.

July 24, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick Leave a Comment

Introducing the Tremendous Time Saver Package and how it’ll change your blog for the better

It’s 4 pm on Friday. You’re skimming your week’s to do list, pleased to see most tasks checked off or moved to the following week. You’ve nailed some sales calls with prospective customers. There are no outstanding support tickets. Life is good. But then…

Dammit all.

You forgot to write your blog post for the week. Only it’s not just this week’s post. This post was due three weeks ago. Between working with developers, fixing support requests from users, and speaking at a networking event for startups, you just haven’t had the time.

Tired of running out of time to write posts for your tech startup's blog? Find out here how the Tremendous Time Saver Package can help. — Tired of time running out?

You need to send something to your email list but without a new blog post, you’ll just have to make do with industry news from other blogs. Such a pity you can’t direct that traffic to your own site.

Let me introduce the Tremendous Time Saver Package.

In essence, it provides fully researched content, with accompanying keywords and optimised images, in your niche. Your blog can be a useful resource, packed to the rafters with entertaining content, valuable tips to help your existing users get the most out of your software, and eye-catching content to snag newbies.

That’s instead of keeping a dead end list of achievements that hasn’t been updated in 18 months. You know the content I mean – the posts that should go under ‘news’, but the only people who care are the people who work for you.

Your content needs to speak to potential users who will say ‘So What?’ to posts about new hires or moves to new premises. Your blog needs to speak to them and give them something for their time.

Remember that 47% of buyers view between 3 and 5 pieces of content before they speak to a sales rep. Teach them something new, make them laugh, or pass on interesting facts. It all helps build you positive karma when you go in for the conversion.

You’ve spent all that time making your amazing tech solution – people need it in their lives.

And technology is amazing.

The Internet of Things is giving us wearable patches that can detect changes in breast tissue without women needing to attend uncomfortable and distressing scans.

We’ve got devices that turn boring lower back therapy into fun exercises through the power of gamification.

Or how about creative software that lets stay-at-home moms run a business empire from their dining room table?

Your tech or software deserves to be more widely known. And blogging can be a far cheaper marketing method than paid advertising. Not to mention the fact that Google really likes regularly updated websites.

I made the Tremendous Time Saver Package because I know your biggest barrier to blogging isn’t that you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s that you don’t have the time to blog. You’re smart enough to do it yourself but your time is spent on your fantastic tech/software (as it should be).

So I’ll do it for you, meaning;

you get to keep spending time on your tech
Google is pleased with your regularly updated blog
you have more opportunities to get eyeballs on your site (more potential users)
you can build up a good relationship with your existing users or customers
no more worrying about what to write, or that you’re blogging ‘properly’

How does it work?

We’ll have a chat once a month to stay on the same page. You’ll get to fully approve the list of topics I produce, based on research into your industry. Then you’ll get four 1000-word posts a month. Plenty of stuff to send to your email list and share on social media.

Websites with a blog can have 434% more indexed pages. That just means there’s more for Google to notice. But if it sees your site as a valuable resource for users, then it sends more traffic your way. More traffic means more people seeing your brand name and your solution. When they’re ready to buy, who will they come to? You, of course!

So give the Tremendous Time Saver Package a try. I have 4 spots available for the retainer package.

Click here to secure your spot and get more eyeballs on your website.

July 19, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick 1 Comment

How can these 5 simple posts improve your startup’s blog?

It’s late in the day and you’ve just read another marketing post about the value of blogging.

So you’ve opened your post editor and your fingers are poised over the keys.

But you have no clue what to write. The cursor blinks at you, taunting you to write something, anything.

The ideas won’t come. So you grab a photo from your Instagram feed. Someone brought cake into the office – that’ll do as a post. It shows you as a fun-loving startup. And everyone likes cake.

You paste a few images into the post, and hit ‘Publish’. Phew!

Er, no. You check your Analytics the next week. Nothing. Nada. Crickets…

You’re not alone. When startups start to blog, they often ask what kinds of posts they need to include.

A lot of companies use their blog as a ‘news’ resource. They share photos of their launches or announce new team members. Which is fine – but it means absolutely nothing to new visitors to your site.

They don’t know who you are or what you do – so why do they care that you sponsored a talk near your office?

Don’t get me wrong, those posts can be a great way to supplement your blog – but they shouldn’t be all of your blog posts.

Instead, you can use these 5 simple posts to generate content, get attention from your target audience, and build your authority.

If you've been stuck on what to include on your startup's blog, try these 5 simple posts to make your blog a lead magnet, instead of a dead weight. — Blogging doesn’t have to be painful.

You’ll need a mixture of evergreen posts and ‘regular’ posts in your editorial calendar.

By evergreen, I mean those posts that people keep coming back to, even 6 months to a year after you posted them. The content is so fundamental that it’s always relevant.

But don’t discount those time-sensitive posts that respond to news in your industry.

So let’s see what 5 simple posts you can use to improve your blog.

1. Resource roundup/curated post

Really strapped for time and can’t pull a blog post out of thin air? Do a content roundup instead!

There’s so much content online now. Possibly too much content. So instead of adding to it, you can help a prospective client or customer to make sense of it.

Use a service like Feedly to subscribe to other blogs and news sites in your industry. Make a point of scanning new headlines. Then you can pull together relevant links into one post.

It’ll help to demonstrate how well you know your industry. And it’s always a good way to generate good link karma by linking to other people. (That makes them more likely to link to you)

Problogger do really helpful content curation posts, like this one.

Don’t create them too often or people will think you have nothing useful to say yourself.

But they are a great way to build links and generate inbound traffic. Or you can send a curated email to your list. Austin Kleon is an excellent example of a writer who sends valuable curated list-based emails.

2. How-to guides

Think about why you founded a startup. You thought of an amazing product or service. And you want to improve lives with that product or service, right?

So why not use that principle on your blog as well?

Your posts can be mini tutorials on topics in your industry. And sure, you can teach people how to use your particular product or service. I even wrote a how-to guide for hiring a blogger if you’re a startup.

So I can help startups find bloggers if they don’t have the time or inclination to create their own content.

And it doesn’t even need to be specific to your own product. Maybe your service is an email marketing platform. Teach people how to use email marketing on your blog.

You can always recommend they do their email marketing using your platform in your call-to-action.

Of all of these 5 simple posts, how-to guides are the easiest way to build evergreen content.

3. Thought leader posts

These are much more in-depth posts. They’ll need some research and stats to back up your points. But they let you establish yourself as an authority.

You can make predictions about your industry based on your own experience. Or you can discuss a news story in your trade press, and explain what effect a new piece of technology or even legislation will have on everyone else.

Whatever you choose to do, it’s a way to stake your flag in the ground and say “This is what I know about.”

There is the potential to post the occasional controversial post. Maybe you really disagree with the direction your industry is taking. Or perhaps you want to correct a common misconception.

Stirring the pot by openly posting dissent can be a good way to grab some attention, as well as some shares. Just be prepared for a negative reaction.

Don’t post controversial posts too often or visitors will think you just like being contrary.

Thought leader posts can take much more time to write precisely because they’re in-depth. But it’s always a good idea to have a few 1500-2000 words on your post for your SEO value.

And if you don’t have time? Send me the research and some thoughts, and I’ll turn it into a post for you.

4. Fun posts

I know what you’re thinking. How do fun posts fit into your content marketing strategy?

Simple. They grab attention. Remember, most people won’t yet know who you are or what you do.

Attention posts also form the start of an AIDA sequence – something we’ll go into at another time.

And by ‘fun’, I don’t necessarily mean ‘silly’. It’s just more accessible content. So videos, images, or infographics can all be really helpful.

They’re easier to share and quicker to digest. Plus you can always tie them into the time of year. So if your startup runs a new mobile dating app, then you could post something cute like ‘7 Films You Have To Watch On Valentine’s Day.

Then ask visitors to share the post and suggest any films you’ve forgotten. Remember, sharing is caring.

5. List based post

These are probably the most common of these 5 simple posts. Why? Lists are easy to scan and digest. They often get a lot of backlinks and they’re easy to share.

But ever since the likes of Buzzfeed jumped on the list post, some bloggers have been wary of them. Writers on Medium have openly condemned the so-called ‘listicle’ (an article broken into a list – much like this post).

Bloggers sometimes think they’re lazy, and they don’t contain enough substance. Maybe that’s true. But if you’re stuck for content every couple of months? A list makes a nice change.

And if you want to avoid the listicle format, you could also post a list that’s more of a checklist. That way, your list post is both a list and a how-to guide. Use the list to teach your reader how to do something.

Or you could be really clever and make the how-to guide that goes with the checklist a content upgrade. Why not gather more leads for your email list while you’re at it?

But whichever of these 5 simple posts you do, do them well.

These 5 simple posts will improve your startup’s blog. Your content can be more than just a collection of news posts about what you’re doing.

And your content should be more than that.

But make sure you don’t rely on just 1 or 2 of these post types. Cycle through all 5 across a few months. Readers like variety.

If you’re struggling to come up with ideas, get in touch. I’ll help you devise an editorial calendar. We’ll turn your blog into a lead magnet, not a time suck.

July 13, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick 3 Comments

What would your tech startup look like with better content?

You’ve seen all of your tech competitors pumping out blog posts, Youtube videos, Instagram Stories, white papers, and all that jazz. Maybe you’ve seen them having success with it. And it’s been enough of a nudge to make you wonder what your software business would look like with better content.

It’s a good question – and the fact that you’re considering it proves your business can use it to grow.

Content marketing is a brilliant way to build relationships with customers. So what would your business look like with better content? — Ask yourself this question.

Blog posts are probably the most ‘permanent’ type of content. You host them on your website, so you’re not beholden to random changes to terms of service on other platforms (mentioning no names, Photobucket). But all of your content can point straight back to your blog.

I’ll warn you now. Blogging doesn’t provide quick fixes or easy answers.

But it does provide you with the following benefits.

Stronger relationships with customers through conversation.
More leads.
Better relationships with search engines.

Ready to get started on that better content?

Spend less on banner ads and more on content.

Remember that content is designed to be shared. And what does sharing your content do?

It gets it out in front of far more people than you can reach on your own.

Put it this way. You put out a new blog post, explaining a cool trick for existing users. Maybe it makes their life easier. It might make common tasks faster to complete. Or perhaps it’s just fun to play with (like the Google Doodle).

Your diehard fans, the ones on your mailing list, or the ones who regularly check your blog, share your post on their social networks. They want everyone to know about this amazing product they already use.

A handful of their friends or colleagues see the post. They’ve never heard of you before – and now they do.

And because they trust their friend/colleague, they’ll pay you a little more attention.

That’s an extra pair of eyes (or more) on your content. It’s a new visitor to your site.

It’s a potential lead. Just from having better content.

You didn’t have to pay for a banner ad that might have disappeared behind an ad blocker. And you didn’t have to spend money on Facebook ads and guess at your audience. That can only be a good thing, right?

If you’re strapped for time or you’re not sure how to write a blog post, grab my handy checklist below.

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Your blog can become a knowledge base for your existing fans

If you sell products, most of your business will come from your existing customers.

Finding new customers is crucial to your success. But what are you providing for those who’ve already bought your product? 61% of consumers are even influenced by custom content!

This is where content can really help. Focusing on better content means you can create a backlog of knowledge base articles. That might mean tutorials, how-to content, product videos, case studies, or even hosting creations made using your solutions.

Your website becomes a destination site for your existing customers. And there’s more chance they’ll share your content if they find it useful.

Besides, you’re giving to people who may not have bought yet. Better content means giving before you receive.

But that content also gives you more of a chance of being found through SEO. Say you post a tutorial about how to boost colours in Photoshop. Someone searches for that – and finds your post.

Your knowledge base of how-to articles becomes both a resource and an advert.

And speaking of SEO…

Google loves websites that update regularly. What’s an easy way to do that? Produce new content. And don’t think that more content means more blog posts.

Instead of articles, you can always go for infographics, videos, or images. Copyblogger included this amazing one over on their blog in 2014.

Just make sure you stick to a focused topic. The more you keep to one niche, the more readers you’ll end up getting. Why? Because they’ll know to come to you to for advice, answers, or entertainment.

More readers, more comments and more shares will be rewarded by Google.

Best of all, it does this around the clock. So better content works in the background.

Better content lets you start a conversation with your potential customers.

Traditional marketing relied on being relentless with the same message. It talked at customers. But with content marketing, you can talk to customers.

Remember that old Confucious saying?

Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I’ll remember. Involve me, I’ll understand.

Same applies to your blog. With better content, you can encourage customers to get to know you.

And now you’ve got a better chance of them buying from you because you seem approachable.

Use your content to involve visitors. Videos are great for this. Marketer Sujan Patel experimented with video and now they’re his favourite form of content. Why?

Video … makes it pretty much impossible not to show my personality. My passions, emotions, and vulnerabilities are exposed when I’m on camera, whether I like it or not.

That hits the nail on the head. What are you more likely to engage with? A blog post like this one, or a video where you can see and hear the person? Facial expressions are a brilliant way to engage with your audience.

You’re essentially connecting through simply being human.

And yes, I do appreciate the irony of promoting video through a written article!

And it also shows you’re more forward thinking.

Embrace content and show that you’re interested in your customers.

But you can also show them that you’re more forward thinking than competitors.

Because you’re not just clinging to the old outdated model of sitting on high and not involving yourself with anyone.

Content marketing leaders see year-over-year growth in unique site traffic of 7.8x more than content marketing followers.

So show those in your niche how to do content properly. Embrace video or check out Facebook Live. Commission infographics. Get yourself on Youtube.

Be a leader.

Ready to create better content? Drop me an email and we’ll get your blog buzzing.

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What can your blog learn from the Photobucket fiasco?

If you’ve been around the internet for a while then you’ve no doubt heard of Photobucket. Up until a few days ago, the photo-sharing website was much beloved by bloggers everywhere.

Instead of hosting hundreds, if not thousands, of image files on their own servers, bloggers could simply link to the images stored elsewhere.

But on June 29th, Photobucket moved the goal posts and incurred the wrath of the blogosphere, possibly for good.

What was the Photobucket fiasco?

I first learned for Photobucket’s mammoth FU to its users on Friday morning. I’d shared my most recent blog post, my review of the CoSchedule app, to a Facebook group in a promo thread. The group’s owner, the very awesome Martine Ellis, pointed out something weird was up with the images in the post. Specifically, this was showing up instead of my screenshots of the CoSchedule interface.

Photobucket disabled third-party hosting, meaning bloggers lost 1000s of image links overnight. What can you learn from this for your own blog? — Excuse me?

Believe it or not, that’s not the image I’d intended to show in the post.

I visited the website Photobucket mentioned on the image, only to find that they’d changed their terms of service (ToS) pretty much overnight. Third-party hosting was now disabled, meaning none of the hundreds of images I’d linked to now showed up in blog posts.

Given my fiction blog has just under 1000 posts, that’s a lot of links to fix.

Photobucket’s solution was to ask users to pay for the service that had, up until that point, been free. The old paid accounts simply removed the irritating pop-up ads. The new paid accounts reinstated third-party linking…for a cost of $399.

Say whaaaat?!

Yeah. Exactly.

Why is this a problem for bloggers?

Not everyone has oodles of storage space on their web host to store images. Bloggers using WordPress.com suffer from restricted storage limits. So storing images on a third party site and linking back seems a solid solution. Until the third party site revokes your access.

Photobucket’s decision also impacted on forum and eBay users. Thousands of linked images disappeared overnight. As you can imagine, Twitter exploded with furious tweets. Some twitterers complained that they’d take their business elsewhere. That’s a bit problematic if you had a free account as Photobucket likely won’t care if a non-paying customer leaves their service.

But it’s still holding images to ransom unless users cough up the cash. The notion of ‘ransom’ led to my own personal favourite tweet.

Photobucket have a lot of disgruntled users on their hands. Some bloggers spent days fixing links to images on their blog. That’s time that should have been spent writing new content, promoting posts, or responding to comments. You know…being a blogger.

If this is you, how can you fix it?

You could do what I’m doing and download all of your images from Photobucket. I’m uploading some of my images direct to my web host. But I’m putting others on imgbb.com if I think I might want to use them on other blogs.

It’s a much easier website to use than Photobucket and doesn’t come with a gazillion ads. Look at how clean this is.

Best of all, check out the bottom of the screenshot. If I’ve uploaded ten images, I can get the embed codes for all ten images at once. Thank you, awesome website!

It’s not a brilliant fix because it is time-consuming. But short of paying $400 to reinstate the original links, which is not a recommended strategy, there are few other options.

One twitterer pointed out that buying new web space would be cheaper than paying Photobucket. I’m inclined to agree.

Lessons to be learned

The biggest lesson to be learned from all of this is; avoid building your property on someone else’s land. It’s the same as those social media gurus who advise that you build an email list instead of focusing on Facebook Page likes. Or people like me who tell you to run your blog on your own website, instead of using platforms like WordPress.com or Medium.

If any of those platforms go away, so does your following. And it’s unlikely you’d ever get any of those potential customers back. At least with a blog, it’s your space on the internet. You can make backups, design it your way, and pretty much ignore the changing ToS of social media platforms.

Photobucket is still up and running, and users still have access to their images (for now). But if the whole site had gone down, been hacked, or just closed, all of those images would be gone.

Don’t let your business rely on any other company for its online real estate.

Over to you! Have you been affected by the Photobucket fiasco? How are you handling it? Let me know below!