blogging Archives - Page 3 of 3

June 28, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick 1 Comment

4 Ways CoSchedule Will Supercharge Your Blog

You’ve already read the statistics around content marketing. Blogging, despite protestations to the contrary, is far from dying out. But you still need to build an audience so that your customers can find your blog. You need something to manage your blog and your social media. Let me suggest CoSchedule.

So what IS CoSchedule? It’s a blog management, social media management, and content marketing tool rolled into one. Instead of keeping a list of your forthcoming blog posts on a paper calendar, or trying to manage all of your scheduled tweets in dedicated social media software, you can do everything in the same place.

Let’s take a look at the CoSchedule overview video.

CoSchedule from Garrett Moon on Vimeo.

Interested? Let’s look at the 4 ways I use CoSchedule and how it can supercharge your blog.

1) CoSchedule has a built-in marketing calendar

Are you the type of entrepreneur who posts blog content when you remember to? I’m not going to wag my finger at you because we all do it at first (unless, like me, you’re a blogger for hire). Creating an editorial calendar is a really easy way to build a blogging habit. You know what you’re going to write, and when you’re going to write it. No more staring at a blank screen, stuck for a topic!

With CoSchedule, you have a marketing calendar built right in. You can see what blog posts you have coming up, and if you’re working in a team, you can see which posts they’re assigned to.

I can also write and publish content right inside CoSchedule, without needing to log into WordPress. Here’s one of my draft posts for my fiction blog.

Fed up of trying to manage your blog and social media using a range of solutions? Find out 4 ways CoSchedule can supercharge your blog from one app. — Such clean design!

I’ve got the world-beating Headline Analyzer enabled, telling me the title has a score of 80. I’ve assigned an author (i.e. me) and given it a coloured label according to the type of content. I’ve also set up ‘to do’ tasks for the post.

This saves me a whole heap of time. I can write my posts and set them up right inside the calendar. That’s certainly useful if you don’t want a million sets of login details. It’s also handy if you don’t want too many team members having direct access to the website. You can set up your users through CoSchedule and set posts to ‘pending review’ before they go live.

2) Schedule social media content in advance using the calendar

Other scheduling solutions do exist. But the beauty of CoSchedule is you can manage your blog and social media scheduling from the same calendar.

Found an article that’s perfect for your audience? Drop it into CoSchedule and push it out to your social platforms of choice.

This is the scheduling for my fiction blog over at icysedgwick.com for two weeks last month.

I can see at a glance that I share most content to Twitter. I really need to up my Pinterest and Facebook Page game. But most of what you see there is not my content. 80% of it is from other people.

But 20% of it is mine. So have you got a blog post of your own that you want to promote? Do the same as you would if it was someone else’s content!

You can drag and drop content if you want to rearrange when blog posts or social media posts go live.

Or label your updates using colours for easy filtering. There’s much more you can do for teams and projects but as a solopreneur, the colour labels are still a godsend. I can easily see how much of a particular type of content I’m sharing.

There are also functions for social sharing plans, and templates help you to manage social media campaigns. If you go for the ReQueue plan, you can set up your social media messages to cycle through in the background. That leaves you with more time for working on your amazing product, instead of manually popping links into a schedule.

3) Set up your social media schedule for a blog post within WordPress

The CoSchedule plugin for WordPress is another winner. If you prefer to log into WordPress and write your post there, you can use the plugin to schedule the social media. At the bottom of the post, you’ll see an option to ‘add a social campaign’.

Click on the + icon to select a day you want to publish. Write your social media copy, choose an image pulled through from the post, pick a platform, and schedule! You can manually enter a time slot (which is helpful if you’re sharing during a specific Twitter chat) or choose ‘best time’, which selects the best time for your post based on best practice.

It takes a lot of the guesswork out of scheduling content. And it helps to know it’s going to appear the day you publish, the week after, and even a month after. All because you scheduled it before you hit ‘publish’.

4) Enjoy the built-in analytics

There are three strands to analytics; top content, social engagement, and team performance. On the standard plan, I only have access to the top content. But it’s STILL worth looking at. Knowing what gets the highest shares makes it easy to create more of that type of content. And you can share more of what engages the best.

What’s REALLY cool is when you compare that with Google Analytics, giving you a good overview of the popularity of your content.

The analytics also let you see where things were shared. I had a post on my fiction blog which got 2.1k overall shares, which is 1,980 to Facebook and 96 to Pinterest. Nearly all of my posts do well on Facebook and Pinterest, and pitifully on LinkedIn and Google+.

So guess where I share my content now?

But that’s just scratching the surface.

As I mentioned before, you can enable the headline analyser and get real-time analysis of your headlines. You can also connect to Bitly to help you track links.

Use CoSchedule to set yourself tasks, schedule content, manage your social media and post content to your blog. I actually cannot recommend it enough. I’ll admit, I was sceptical at first, but I couldn’t be without it now.

And since they released a mobile app as well, it’s easy to keep on top of social media scheduling on the go. If I read an interesting article on Feedly, I can share it directly to CoSchedule.

I know I said that CoSchedule will supercharge your blog, but remember – you can’t grow a blog if you don’t promote it. And a brilliant way to build a following is to find your audience on social media. Share amazing content as well as your own. Build a community, not just a list of customers. CoSchedule lets you take care of both – the blog, and the social media platform.

If you want to see what CoSchedule can do for your blog, check it out here. It is my affiliate link but I wouldn’t promote it if I didn’t think it was going to supercharge your blog.

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February 1, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick 1 Comment

You’re a startup and you need an awesome blogger. Now what?

You’ve read the articles by the marketing gurus. And now you’re convinced. Your startup needs an awesome blogger.

But where do you get one? What are the steps you need to take to hire one?

It can be pretty daunting. After all, you’re a specialist in your field. You know your work inside and out. You probably feel like you should be writing your content yourself. But you just don’t have the time.

Will you be able to communicate what you do to an outsider?And what do you even need to look for in a blogger?

This post will walk you through a process you can follow when hiring an awesome blogger.

It particularly works well if you want to hire me. But we’ll get to that later.

Knowing you need an awesome blogger is one thing. Knowing how to find one is something else entirely! This guide will walk you through the process. — Hire an awesome blogger today.

First of all, you need to decide what your project actually is.

Does your website even have a blog? If not, then you’ll need one.

Most bloggers won’t be in the business of setting them up. I can. And I’m more than happy to provide an audit of your existing blog too.

Either way, you need to work out how many posts you actually need. A single post isn’t really going to cut it. That’s not how content marketing works.

But you might not want to commit to a year’s worth of posts until you’ve seen results. So will you only want a month’s worth of posts? How many posts will you want per week?

Take it from me, you don’t need daily posts. Once a week is fine while you’re establishing your blog.

Next, look for a content writer that specialises in your area.

Why your area? You’re a startup. You want someone who knows tech – and they really need to understand marketing.

So as much as you might just want any writer, trust me. You want a specialist.

You could always advertise on Twitter. Search for #blogger or #contentwriter in the search bar. If you want someone local, you can filter that way too.

Maybe LinkedIn will be more helpful. It’s a great business resource and it’s often easy to check out a potential writer’s portfolio.

And then there’s always Google.

However you come across the blogger, check out their website. Read their samples. Look at their blog. Much as you’re doing now. If you don’t like their style, move onto the next blogger.

Get in touch with your potential awesome blogger and outline what it is that you want. Ask to book a consultation call where you can discuss your needs. The blogger needs to know your ideal post length, type of content, where it needs to be shared, etc.

Make sure you ask them for their rates up front. If they quote a higher price than you’re willing to pay, don’t try to haggle. It’s not a good way to start a business relationship.

I offer a retainer package that offers rolling monthly payment. You can cancel at any time during the first month, but you’ll still get all four posts for that month since you paid upfront.

Devise an editorial calendar with your blogger.

This might not sound necessary if you only want a month’s worth of posts. You might wonder why you need a calendar for four posts while you see if they gain any traction.

Trust me, it’ll make life easier in the long run. I won’t go into the benefits of editorial calendars as that’s another post for another time. But both you and the client will enjoy a much happier relationship with a calendar in place.

It does also mean that if your or the blogger decide you’re not a good fit, you can share the calendar with a new blogger.

Decide on a metric that you’ll follow to see if blogging improves your business

Traffic is a good one. Make sure you set up Google Analytics on your website beforehand to truly get the benefit.

You could also use social shares. If you use functions like CoSchedule or SumoMe, this is easier to track.

One way or another, you’ll need to measure the success of the blogging. It’s difficult to gauge on the back of a month’s worth of content. But if you can see even a 50% increase in traffic then you know you’re onto something.

If you choose to hire me, I’ll also share the content on my own social media channels. It makes sense!

Now you need to come up with ideas for content

You may already have ideas. If so, then send them to the blogger. This will be helpful in the early days while you get to know each other.

If you’re completely stuck for topics, that’s okay. Give your awesome blogger an idea of what you’re looking for.

Then let them brainstorm topic ideas around your niche and your needs. You might need to have an interview to discuss these things. I meet prospective clients if they’re local or I do Skype if they’re not.

Review the topic ideas and see which ones resonate with you. I’ll always provide a justification for any topic ideas I propose. This comes back to that editorial calendar I mentioned earlier – and I always make sure SEO plays a part.

Let the blogger create the first post

Don’t prod them while they do this. Otherwise, they’ll think you don’t trust their ability.

Set a realistic deadline. Then sit back and relax! Your first post will be on its way shortly.

Review the first post

Does it fit what you want? Bloggers will be happy to make any amendments, though you might be content to make smaller ones yourself. If you want to work with the blogger again, it’s a good idea to share what you changed. That’s how they’ll learn your house style.

You can decide if you want the blogger to have access to your blog to upload the content directly. Or you may prefer to do it yourself. Discuss with the blogger if you need images to go with the post.

If your awesome blogger will be sourcing images, check they’re free of copyright restrictions first.

And finally, rinse and repeat with your awesome blogger!

Publish the post. Make sure you share it on your own social channels. If you have an email list (and if you don’t, you really should), send it out to your existing audience.

Then let the blogger get started on the next post in the bundle.

Remember to share posts periodically throughout the week. At the end of the week, review the metric you chose to measure the success.

That way, you’ll be able to decide if you want to keep your awesome blogger around.

Like the sound of this and wondering if we’d be a good fit?

Then it sounds like you need my Tremendous Time Saver package. Click here to find out more and secure your spot.

I’m standing by!

January 25, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick Leave a Comment

How do you justify the price of a good blogger?

More people than ever before enter the world of business. With nothing more than an idea and a simple product, they’re living their lives according to their own terms.

And that can be you. It should be you. But there’s something missing.

How do you get that product or service in front of fresh eyes?

You’ve been reading blogs for a while now. And you know that blogs themselves are a brilliant way to find leads, nurture relationships, and reward customers.

60% of marketers even state blogging is a high priority in their marketing strategy.

But maybe blogging feels like nails on a chalk board to you. Writing isn’t your thing.

And even if you can write about your topic, can you devote the time to it? Or learn how to write in the language of blogs?

So you decide to hire someone else to do it. Sure, you could go to Upwork. Join in the race to the bottom in the search for some content – any content.

Or you could go looking for a blogger. Maybe you’ll advertise for one.

But they don’t come cheap. The good ones don’t work for free.

So, among all of the other demands on your finances, how do you justify the price of a good blogger?

You already have a lot of demands on your time - and finances. You can't pursue them all. So just how do you justify the price of a good blogger? — How do you justify the price of a good blogger?

It frees up your time to do what you do well

You’re an expert in what you do. That’s why you set up your own business. Or founded a startup.

So your time could be worth £200 an hour, or more, if you offer services. And even if you don’t charge hourly rates, chances are that your time is worth a great deal.

Why would you take on blogging yourself when your time is so valuable? It takes me up to 2 hours to research, write, edit and format a blog post. And I don’t charge £200 an hour.

Ask yourself – what could you be doing in those 2 hours instead?

So if your time is worth more than a blogger will charge, it doesn’t take a genius to work out the maths.

Because you’re not paying a blogger for content. You’re paying them for more time for yourself.

Do you really want to learn how to do yet another thing you’re not interested in?

You probably already know how much time goes into marketing. Maybe you’ve already dipped your toe into using banner ads. Perhaps you’ve spent time learning how to make social media graphics.

But blogging is a different ball game entirely. It’s not just about knowing your topic, or the latest research.

It’s about presenting those to your readers. If you’re not used to blogging, it can seem really daunting.

But you can justify the price of a good blogger by handing the task over to them. Let them do what they do best – blogging.

Ask yourself – do you really have time to learn something else you’re just not interested in? Wouldn’t it be easier to just hand it over to a specialist?

And remember, bloggers can be multi-skilled. Look at the Canva blog. It’s a design school to help improve the abilities of its users.

So you can find a blogger that can create product-specific tutorials for your blog. You’re reading an article by one such blogger right now!

Blogging is an easy way to create relationships

I’ve talked before about what your business would look like with better content. Blogs are a great way to provide value beyond what your services offers.

So you can create relationships with potential customers and nurture those with existing customers.

And it’s all on autopilot. After all, someone can get answers from your blog even when you’re offline.

Look at Evernote as an example. Their blog doesn’t focus on company news. It provides value to users.

Visitors can learn about productivity, goal setting, and staying organised. All topics that support Evernote’s core service.

Remember that companies that blog generate 67% more leads than those who don’t. That’s because customers and clients come to recognise – and value – your brand with regular exposure.

So ask yourself do you want to be in the 67% – or the 33%?

Hopefully by now you’re starting to see that blogging as a marketing strategy is worth it. But your time is also valuable – so you need to ask yourself…

Can you now justify the price of a good blogger?

If so, then drop me an email. I’m here to help you knock your blog out of the park.

January 4, 2017 by LJ Sedgwick 4 Comments

Why do you need to think about starting a blog in 2017?

Starting a blog probably isn’t that high on your list of priorities this year.

But you probably read a lot of blogs yourself. Even Medium is essentially a blogging platform.

Wouldn’t you like to create one about your own products or services?

After all, the blog has come a long way from its ‘online journal’ origins. Most bloggers don’t share their daily troubles and family photos any more.

So is it still worth starting a blog in 2017?

With the discussion around 'content shock' you might think there's no point starting a blog in 2017. This post explains exactly why you should anyway. — Definitely something to plan for.

Blogging is an easy way for your customers to get to know you.

While many have been predicted the death of blogging for some time, it still remains one of the best ways of connecting with clients and customers.

Blogging is, at its heart, another form of content marketing. And it’s an amazing way to build a community, and establish trust and credibility. It also gives customers a reason to keep coming back to your site.

Remember that a massive 68% of consumers are likely to spend time reading content from a brand they are interested in. The more they spend time around your output, the more likely they are to buy from you.

So starting a blog is an easy way to keep producing fresh content. That gives customers more opportunities to come to your site.

After all, the marketing rule of 7 says that you need to engage with a customer 7 times before they’ll finally buy. Having a blog gives you another touchpoint.

Blogs give you a simple way to connect with customers who have problems.

You’ve probably got a list of common helpdesk questions. Maybe you get regular questions on Twitter about how to use a particular feature.

You can use all of these to create a regular ‘column’ on your blog to address the problems that customers commonly have.

That could mean problems they have with your specific software. Those customers are already aware of you – and they’ll come to you first. You can turn your blog into a huge knowledge base.

That’s what Literature & Latte, the company behind Scrivener, have done. Each post is a short ‘how-to’ of simple functions, designed to help you get the most out of their powerful writing software.

But you don’t have to just provide ‘how-to’ guides. You could also address common problems in your niche that lead customers to your software. Starting a blog gives you somewhere to explain potential solutions.

Give visitors an easy win and they’ll feel a lot more positive about you.

Companies that blog have 97% more inbound links. Put simply, more links can help boost your ranking in Google.

You can also direct existing followers to your blog.

And if you have a social media following, then you already have an engaged group of people you can turn to. Ask them questions. Answer those questions in the form of blog posts.

Even Steve Jobs attested to the power of asking, explaining “I’ve never found anybody who didn’t want to help me when I’ve asked them for help.”

So ask what issues your followers need help with. What are they struggling with? What would they want you to solve if they only had one wish?

Provide that exact content. Build solutions into each post so your clients can feel they achieved an easy win. And let them know that you’ve posted it.

Few things will build a relationship faster than being relentlessly helpful. Better relationships mean your blog is far more likely to be read in future.

Blogging becomes your manifesto of purpose.

I know what you’re thinking. “If there’s so much content already out there, why should I add my voice to it? Won’t I just get drowned out?”

It’s a valid worry. Mark Schaefer even coined the term “content shock” in 2014 to explain how people felt about the deluge of content already available.

But blogs aren’t just a place to house information. They can have a far more powerful place in your marketing strategy.

Simon Sinek points out that people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. In his example, he explains that Apple customers are so passionate because they buy into why Apple operate the way they do. They don’t buy the features, or the slick design, because those are by-products of the why.

Don’t just tell people what you do and who you serve. Use blogging to tell people why you do it.

If what you say aligns with a personal beliefs of your prospective customer, they’re more likely to read the rest of your blog. And they’re more likely to buy your products.

So, you might explain where your company got its name. Perhaps you have a hilarious story about your logo. Has your product ever averted disaster? Maybe you’re involved with charity work that you can tie into your blogging.

Posts don’t have to be War and Peace.But stories help to humanise you and your brand. Give customers an easy way to relate to you.

I even wrote my own manifesto since I believe in the point so strongly. Find out why I do what I do – and why I want to help you.

You can also demonstrate your authority.

Why do you think TripAdvisor is so popular? And why do poor fiction authors spend so long trying to net reviews of their work so Amazon will feature them?

Social proof. Humans just love basing their decisions on the opinions of others.

Hell, that’s why I always read the 1* reviews first!

But testimonials will only take you so far. At some point, you want to prove to your customers that you’re the best at what you do. Mostly because you know a lot about it.

In-depth posts about your industry demonstrate that you understand what you’re doing. You know exactly why you’re making the changes you’re making. You’re a thought leader.

And remember that humans love shiny new things. There’s even a part of your brain that’s activated by new images you haven’t seen before. So show your customers something new and they’re more likely to keep reading.

So how might you do that?

Stay on top of the news. And not just industry news, add current affairs too. How do trending news topics relate to your product?

Remember, if a news topic is important to your industry, then it’s important to your customer.

Use social media to ‘listen’ to what people are actually talking about. Find out what they’re interested in. What are they incensed by?

All of this is super useful when you’re writing a blog post if you want it to resonate with your customers.

So ask your subscribers what they need help with, and help them. Reformat your how-to guides into easy to read blog posts. Add graphics to make them simple to share on social media. Support your posts with new and exciting images your clients haven’t seen before.

And ‘wow’ them with your content.

Over to you! Will you be starting a blog in 2017?

If you enjoyed this post, consider sharing it with a colleague. And if you want help in starting a blog, book a discovery call with me and we’ll get you up and running!