Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Everything you need to establish and promote a lead-­‐generating, Google-­‐pleasing blog Suzanne Delzio, Director Table of Contents I.
Assess/Explore Blog Competition and Opportunity ................................................................ 5 II.
Conquer Blog Mechanics Quickly .......................................................................................... 13 III.
Set up Safety Nets: Blog Policy, Editorial Calendar and Delegation ...................................... 15 IV.
Best Blog Subjects, Topics and Posts ..................................................................................... 18 V.
Do-­‐It-­‐Yourself Blog Search Engine Optimization ................................................................... 23 VI.
Tips for Blog Longevity and Reach ........................................................................................ 31 VII.
Promoting the Blog in-­‐Store, on Other Blogs and Online ..................................................... 34 VIII.
Measuring Blog Effectiveness ............................................................................................... 36 www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 2 Introduction Once you dive in, this workbook can be your lifesaver. Keep one arm looped around it at all times. Print out one copy to write in and copy one to your hard drive so you can easily access the many links. Consider working with both simultaneously. These are all great reasons to blog: 1. I should be better known in my industry. 2. I want to showcase/broadcast my expertise. 3. I want to educate or “pre-­‐sell” prospects on my product/service. 4. Because I shouldn’t be the last among my competitors to blog. 5. I want to get more leads. 6. My website needs higher traffic. 7. I want more sales. 8. I want to share industry updates from intensive conferences I attend to keep current in my career. 9. I want to interact in a timely way with clients/customers. 10. I want to address concerns current and potential clients have right away. 11. I’d like to exchange ideas with colleagues in similar fields. 12. I’d like the media to contact me. 13. I’d like more speaking gigs. 14. I’d like to be seen as a leader in my field. 15. My company could use a friendly face and a blog provides that. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 3 Blogging Tolerance Self Assessment Know the Downside: Blogging is time consuming, and many blogs are abandoned. In fact, abandoned blogs outnumber active ones by a margin of 20:1. (See “Blogs Falling in an Empty Forest” by Douglas Quenqua in the New York Times.) Business owners should commit to running the blog for at least one year. A decent amount of blog traffic for a small business is 20 -­‐100 visits each day. A B2B company (specialized) may get less than that and still pick up a customer here and there. For B2B companies with higher tickets per customer, even 2 new customers each month can make the blog worthwhile. A few stats about blog effectiveness: 1. In a Hubspot poll, 85% of business owners and marketers declared their business blog as either “important,” “integral” or “critical” to their success. A full 27% reported the blog as being “critical.” 2. 57% of ALL bloggers engage in the practice in order to attract new clients for their business (Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere.) 3. By 2012, 67% of Americans will be reading blogs regularly. 4. When asked, “how has your blog helped your business, a. 54% responded that “my blog has helped my company become regarded as a thought leader within our industry.” b. 58% responded that “prospective clients have read my blog and purchased products or services.” c. 64% responded that “I have much greater visibility in my industry because of my blog.” (Also: Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere.) 5. When websites are frequently updated through the simple tool of blog posts, the search engines learn to check back frequently to look for up-­‐to-­‐date posts. “Training the Crawlers” by Matt McGee on Small Business Search Marketing 6. 97% of consumers use the Internet to research products or services with an intent to buy LOCALLY. What specific online research tools do they use? Specifically, 90% use search engines and 48% use internet yellow pages. This statistic points out how critical it is to be visible on as many online channels as possible: website, blog, local search (Yelp, Google Places, Angie’s List, CitySearch, etc.), Ezine Articles, Facebook and Twitter. (From marketing research firm BIA Kelsey “Nearly All Consumers Use Online Media to Shop Locally”) www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 4 Clearly, blogging has both advantages and disadvantages. Companies must make their decision based on their time and staff resources. With 1 being “cannot tolerate” and 5 being “will undertake with gusto!”, gauge your tolerance for: 1 2 3 4 5 Spending at least 5 hours a week writing blog posts, responding to comments and marketing the blog. 1 2 3 4 5 A commitment of 1 – 2 years to allow traffic and comments to grow. 1 2 3 4 5 A commitment to writing AT LEAST 2 blog posts EACH WEEK. (Otherwise, web-­‐searchers won’t see your company as current or relevant.) Spending time creating an editorial/blogging calendar and sticking to it. 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Setting up a blog policy: protocol and practices guide for writing posts, responding to comments, handling negative feedback, criticism and the media, avoiding slander, libel, etc. Find sample blog policies here: “Pattern Your Social Media Policy on These 3, Solid Corporate Examples.” 1 2 3 4 5 Learning how to broadcast/promote your blog posts via social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. Handling the criticism and negative comments about you and your company every blog inevitably receives. 1 2 3 4 5 Identifying “trolls” and “spammers” and taking the appropriate steps for blocking them (not difficult.) 1 2 3 4 5 Creating documents that could eventually be used in a court case. (Each blog post is a legal document, catalogued by the Library of Congress. Blog posts have figured in some recent trials. Blog content tells the judge when something was known, who slandered whom when and more. Blog Rules by Nancy Flynn, director of the e-­‐Policy Institute, helps keep companies safe. Learning how to use keyword research and tags. Using “qualified” keywords in your blog posts attract potential clients. 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Sharing your opinion—even if it may not please everyone. Revealing parts of your life as you defend your opinion is crucial to building trust with your audience www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 5 Score of 26 or less? Blogging may not be for you. You may be too busy or too cautious. Instead, consider: email newsletters, article marketing (creating backlinks for SEO), PPC advertising with Google Adwords, posting a new (non-­‐interactive) article on your site from time to time and other forms of online marketing. Save this book if you’re unsure. Score of 26 or more? Proceed. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 6 I.
Assess Competition and Opportunity Before you start blogging, explore the blogs in your field and even those of complementary industries. For now, you want to get a general idea of: •
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engaging blog writing blog post length incorporation of social media outlets the video/photo/text balance comments and responses to those comments, and the number of useful links included in what’s considered good blogging. First, get an idea of the gold standard of all blogs. To see what media experts consider the best, choose one or two of these to browse: Top Business Blogs and Why They Are Successful for by Social Media Examiner. PC Magazine’s Top 50 blogs Weblog Awards otherwise known as “The Bloggies” Time Magazine’s Best Blogs of the Year Technorati’s Top 100 Blogs: At Technorati, the “authority” ratings reflect the blog’s influence within its category. With ranks of up to 1,000 (Huffington Post #1 at 996) none of the blogs in the top ten fall past the 700 level. For blogs in your industry, first think of your top competitors and check to see if they have blogs. If they don’t, search for blogs in your industry here: Blog Catalog: Appealing layout and convenient search. Best of the Web: Because BOTW charges businesses to list their blogs, it tends to list more established blogs. Find the Best lets people filter to find the best blogs in their industry www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 7 Industry Specific Awards: While not quite BEWARE! Be aware. These blog awards can benefit the business sponsoring the award as much as or more than the award winners. Simply searching your industry, topic or area and “blog awards” is likely to bring up a relevant contest that some enterprising individuals use to get more attention to their blogs. Who wins can be very subjective. •
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Top 50 Hospital Blogs from www.nurseblogger.com Travel Blog Awards from Lonely Planet, a publisher of travel guides
Bridal Blog Awards from the Wedding Channel
Wine Blog Awards from Tom Wark’s Fermentation blog.
Mom Blog Awards from www.babble.com that displays many affiliate ads
The Personal Brand Awards is organized by Dan Schawbel, recognized as a "personal branding guru" by The New York Times. Personal brand bloggers often win this award. Wine expert Gary Vaynerchuk and rock star web strategist Jeremiah Owyang are two bloggers who have won in the past.
List top 5 blogs in your industry: ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 8 Examine per your needs (go to next page for an example): Blog Tone? Comments? Responses? Do I like it? Is it like me? Consistent w/my branding? Should I copy it? www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 9 Example: Jeana’s Ever After Naturals Competitors Blog Tone? Comments? Responses? Do I like it? Is it like me? Consistent w/my branding? Should I copy it? I like the combination of fun and info. Not sure I can copy the upbeat tone. www.awildsoapbar.com www.justnaturalskincare.com http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/ handmade-­‐soap-­‐blog/ http://barsoapnatural.com/blog/ Fun, but factual. Like it. Doesn’t allow comments No Earthy: “Ultimately Comments but no nature reduces us back responses. She needs to the earth.” to ask for responses No responses Maybe too “light & airy” for Jeana’s? Personal -­‐ Lots of annoying exclamation points No one has left comments but she doesn’t ask for them. No responses Too personal for Jeana’s. Reminds me of a 6th grader’s excitement. Easy to read, but has lists and fact. Again, looks like comments are disabled. Chicken. No responses I like her combination of personality & fact. Lists. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 10 Find complementary blogs (those related to your industry but not direct competitors): These blogs could offer the best potential for recommendations and even making friends. A chiropractor should follow and comment on the blogs of massage therapists, dieticians, aromatherapists and other local professionals related to their fields. A pizza shop owner could follow and comment on higher end Italian restaurant blogs, local food bloggers, chefs and even food distributors. When you leave a comment, your blog or website link stays behind. Those reading your comment could click on your link, leading them back to your website. Jeana’s Complementary Blogs Blog Industry Local or National What insights do I offer Why readers may their readers? (My follow me to my message) blog? Keep kids clean, Naturemoms.com/blog moisturized and happy Allow them to live Parenting National while keeping pesticides and buy acc. to their out of our oceans and values. farms. To find soaps that Treehugger.com Environmental Action National use no animal fats. Environmental/ Toxins in the To find soaps that http://sandiegoroots.org/ Sustainable Living/ Local environment and oceans send no toxins to learning-­‐to-­‐grow/ Gardening our beaches, oceans and farms. She has a badge on Natural Parenting/ there for “Buy Allow them to live Simplegreenorganichappy.com Urban gardening National Handmade.” (should I acc. to their farmy, put a badge on there?) handmade values. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 11 Complementary Blogs Blog Industry Local or National What insights do I offer their readers? What could they get me? www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 12 Which of these blogs will you begin commenting on? Start with 3 -­‐ 5 competitor blogs and 3 -­‐ 5 complementary blogs. Commenting on these blog posts now will win you not only commenters for your blog but also potential guest posters. Make a point of commenting once every two weeks. Bloggers gain respect only by sticking to the following formula: 1. Read other blogs for a few weeks first (appreciate the current conversation); 2. Contribute to the conversation by commenting once every week or two (praise the blog and add to its value with your own tips). Don’t sell your own products/services at this point! Your “soft sell” will be your intelligent, useful comments and the backlink to your website (usually included in the comment); and finally, 3. Request to guest post on their blog. 4. Offer other bloggers a chance to submit a guest post to your blog. Always remember: schmoooozzze your way in gingerly. Why does it take so much energy? The blogosphere has been compared to a cocktail party where you need to approach groups already engaged in conversation. And you can’t just storm right up to them and start talking about yourself. You need praise them and then offer ideas that will help their businesses. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 13 II.
Conquering Blog Mechanics Quickly Now that you have the context down, the technical part is simple. A blog is essentially more pages on your website with some possible hierarchy thrown in. To set up a blog, you will need to contact your web designer or your website software package manufacturer. Wondering what to say? Find the right words in the “scripts” on the next page. Do not set up a business blog on a blogging platform like Wordpress.com, Blogger, Live Journal or Tumblr. These platforms include extensions (.wordpress.org or .livejournal.org) that scream HOBBY blogger rather than “business professional.” Further, the whole job of the blog is to bring hits to your current business website. The more hits your website has, the higher your search engine rankings. There are lots of ways to get a blog on your website. Now, write down the contact information for: Name Web site designer Website Software manufacturer Employee who set it up (other) (other) email address phone number web address/URL www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 14 What to say: -­‐ to your web developer: “I’m going to start blogging on my site. Please set up a blog for me and give me a run down of how to use your content management system. Thanks pal! Oh, and I don’t expect to pay more than $100 for this service.” They may already have some directions on using their “content management system” on their website. -­‐ to your website software provider: “I’m looking to upgrade to the package that includes blogging. What kind of fee increase am I looking at?” www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 15 III. Set up Safety Nets: Blog Policy, Editorial Calendar, Marshalling Commenters and Guest Writers Did you know that all blog, Facebook and Twitter posts are marked and cataloged by the U.S. Library of Congress? These “documents” figure centrally in court cases when it comes to which company knew what, when, and who had access to what documents, when. Social Media Law is a whole new field. Blog posts and other social media activities have made and broken cases in: workplace lawsuits, patent and copyright infringement claims, sexual harassment suits and more. That said, slander and libel remain the same online as off. 1. Blog Policy: According to the ePolicy Institute, 13% of American companies have battled lawsuits stemming from employee email. Just recently, a woman sued a book review blog site for libel (destructive written comments; slander is destructive spoken comments). The Media Law Resource Center has useful articles on how to avoid blogging libel, but you must be a member. Particularly if you’ll be delegating blog posts to employees and guest posters from time to time, you should have a blog policy set in place. Here are a few points to cover in your blog policy: a. Posting frequency: the industry standard is twice weekly. More is better. b. Clear definitions of slander & libel and how to avoid them. c. Negative comments: the most successful approach has been to take the criticism with grace and then offer to rectify the situation and offer something to make up for the problem (a coupon; a free item, etc.) At the very least, a negative comment should receive some kind of response. d. Comments: will you answer every comment? Every other? Best practices tell bloggers to try and engage by answering at least one of three or five comments. e. Responding to media inquiries: will you designate a key person to return calls? Research the caller’s publication before returning a call? Create a list of reporters your company should interact with? www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 16 Keep in mind that consumers want to complain when they haven’t been satisfied. When a company makes the effort to fix a problem or disappointment, consumer frustration can morph into gratitude. Companies have turned angry customers into “brand enthusiasts” with personal contact, a new item or other incentive. More, viewers witnessing the online comments are impressed by the company’s willingness to admit an error and rectify it. Negative reviews or comments are not always a bad thing. To find some templates on which to model your own company’s blog policy, read IWC’s post “Create a Solid Blog Policy Fast by Copying These Corporate Examples.” Judges will be impressed that you’ve made some effort to contribute only useful, beneficial and LEGAL information to the online conversation. 2. Editorial Calendar: With the number and variety of tasks small business owners and sole practitioners must execute, the business blog can fall by the wayside. Increase your odds for success by: a. setting up an Excel calendar (download “IWC Editorial Calendar Template” from www.informedwebcontent.com/resources to get you started), or b. creating one of your own or setting up a sharable Google Calendar. This YouTube video leads you through setting up a Google Calendar. Calendar Cheat: A blog’s editorial calendar can fill up significantly once holidays, special sports days and company milestones are entered. Once you realize you just need to fill in the gaps, putting enough content on your website becomes less daunting. Further, finding the “awareness dates” that just might jibe with your business gives you lots to groove from. Use this handy calendar of American awareness dates—national, state and local recognition designations. You never know: there could be a national “Get to Know Your Local Forensic Entomologist” day. 3. Marshalling potential commenters and guest writers: Those that took Section I of this workbook seriously will have found several blogs with topics similar and/or complementary to their own. After you’ve engaged with these blogs for a while, you can feel confident asking them to write a guest post for you. Getting a guest poster will bring more visitors to your site and give that blogger more credibility. That said, a guest poster can also be a staff member or even a client! Clients who share their difficult experience and how you solved it are worth their weight in gold. This where the blog calendar comes in handy. With enough staff, you can give employees plenty of lead time to plan and write their post, spreading the burden and the duties. As owner of the company, however, make sure you look over the post before it’s posted. Even the most well-­‐meaning people can make inadvertently www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 17 detrimental comments. Further, know that no one can edit their own writing. Have at least one other person read all posts for typos, misspellings and grammar errors. As for commenters, to show that you have readership, it’s important to solicit comments from friends, colleagues and family at first in order to get the blog rolling. The blog simply feels more alive that way. Blog commenting services exist, if you’d prefer to go that route, but that’s getting close to “Paying for ______” and not considered fully on the up and up. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 18 IV. Best Blog Subjects, Topics and Posts A bed and mattress store discusses bedroom design trends and rest-­‐related health. A janitorial supplies company covers tips on cleaning the most outrageous spills. A paper company provides tips on designing and writing promotional materials. An accountant weighs how to negotiate remodeling costs with contractors. A landscape design company covers mulching, gardening and pruning best practices. A personal assistant offers organizing tips. A software developer shares work efficiency ideas. A restaurant discusses how to find the most flavorful ingredients locally. A dairy farm covers organic living. That’s right. They DO NOT focus solely on company matters: their recent press release, new product or top executive’s recent success. Many misguided businesses new to blogging talk about themselves. Visitors and potential customers only want solutions to their OWN problems, tips to make their lives more enjoyable. The Customer Focus Calculator Frustrated with how so many companies talk about themselves or “navel gazed” on their blogs, Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg of the highly successful digital marketing company, Future Now, Inc. created a filter that would show businesses just how self involved they really were. Officially termed the “Customer Focus Calculator,” the Eisenbergs like to call it the “we-­‐we” test because it measures how often a block of text on a site says, “we offer the finest . . . “ or “we ensure your satisfaction” or “we were recently recognized by . . . “ The Eisenbergs stress that the customers don’t care! You can have all of your value shown in your client list and trust badges. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 19 To determine whether a business talks about itself too much, go to Future Now’s Customer Focus Calculator http://www.futurenowinc.com/wewe.htm and enter the URL. You’ll see this box come up: Type in the site URL and in seconds, you’ll get a report like this one below. (I deleted the website name, but it’s real all right.) An 80% self-­‐focus or company-­‐focus rate is a sure sign visitors will bounce from this site quickly. Thus warned, know that if you must talk about yourself, do so only 20% of the time. If you have five posts per week, you can mention a special, sale, award or achievement ONE time that week. The other four posts should be ways to solve readers’ problems, entertain or edify them. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 20 What will your over-­‐arching topic be? Most likely, you’ll be able to hit on several different issues. You can handle these using your categories. For instance, the categories Informed Web Content uses are: Business in San Diego, Keyword Research, SEO Copywriting, Email Newsletters, Business Blogs, Online Marketing Strategy, Conversion Optimization, Website Options for Small Business, Facebook Twitter and Other SM, Cottage Industry, Just in Time, San Diego (the foster care charity I support). The number of categories alone keeps me from running out of topics! But all of these can fit under the over-­‐arching subject: “Strategic Online Marketing.” And, believe me, I focus on tips, tricks, updates, tips, breaking news in the industry that I can comment on– after all, that’s what people want to see. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 21 A Mind Map for Your Blog Topic(s) Put your business name in the center circle and, below it, your overarching topic. If you’re a veterinarian, your overarching topic is pet well-­‐being. Then, throw in some topics in the satellite orbs. Can you even go sub, sub-­‐category in the smallest circles? Work from the inside out. On the next page, I’ve done an example mind map/ blog-­‐storming of topics and categories for Jeana’s Ever After Naturals. Your website software or web designer may ask you for your “parent” and “child” categories. The “child” categories get listed under their parents. In other words, the bigger circles can be considered the “parent” categories where sub-­‐categories to those are considered “child” categories. A veterinarian’s parent category may be “dog behavior.” A sub or child category to that could be “inappropriate aggression.” www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 22 Mind Map for Jeana’s Ever After Naturals Flattering colors balms Wrinkles Aging Skin Age Spots Shea butter Cell regeneration Lips Dry Skin Jeana’s Ever After Naturals Theme: Natural Skin Care: Natural Soap Ingredients Moisturizing *Benefits *Tips *How to *News cell nourishment Acne cleansers The Environmental low-­‐ impact Benefits Benefits of Essential Oils Beauty Tips healthy glow mood Parent Category: Natural Soap Ingredients Child Category: Shea Butter Parent Category: Beauty Tips: Child Category: healthy glow, moisturizing Parent Category: Environmental Benefits Child Category: low-­‐impact www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 23 Ideas for more topics that will appeal to customers: List the five most common questions your clients/customers have: _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ List the five most common compliments your clients/customers have about your business: _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 24 V: Do-­‐It-­‐Yourself Blog Search Engine Optimization: Ideal Keywords to Lure Ideal Customers Search engine optimization is the art and science of dangling in front of Google the bait it craves. That bait is words. Google uses the words on your site (among other factors) to help it determine where to rank you on its results page. SEO is complex and best attempted with a trained professional. However, to get your blog as optimized as you can follow these steps. Step One: List the words and phrases you assume your potential clients are typing into Google to find you: Example: for a new Encinitas Dentist _______________________________________ ___good dentist Encinitas (CA neighborhood)__ _______________________________________ ___Encinitas Dentist_______________________ _______________________________________ ___tooth pain Encinitas____________________ Step Two: enter those keywords or phrases into Google’s search bar to see who comes up first for those terms. Write down the sites here: Encinitas Dentist _______________________________________ _____Camino Dental Group___________________ _______________________________________ _____ Dentistry by Dr. Gile_________________ _______________________________________ _____Encinitas Dental Care_________________ www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 25 Step Three: Ask yourself: now why would these three sites come up first? To a large extent it’s all about the keywords. To find out which keywords these sites emphasize to rank at this level, simply enter the sites one at a time into Google’s keyword tool. Google lets you enter both keywords and entire sites into its keyword tool. Putting each name into the website search box delivers that site’s top keywords in a matter of seconds. When researching the keywords used by Dentistry by Dr. Gile (who’s website is actually www.encinitas-­‐dentist.net, a keyword decision), the top keywords that came up were: “Encinitas dentist,” “dentist in Encinitas,” “dentist in san diego,” “san diego dental,” “dentist in ca.” Would you have thought to focus on the word “dental?” Would you have gone as broad as “denist in ca?” Would have even used “ca?” That’s what searchers are using, so you need to find a way to put those words and phrases into your blog posts. Write the keywords you’ve found from other sites: _______________________________________________________________________ www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 26 _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Once you have your keyword phrases, write a blog post that uses them at a rate of one or two every 300 words. Keyword Spying! (Advanced Keyword Research) Want more information on the keywords, keyphrases and strategies your competitors use to catch clients? It’s fun and free (when you limit your requests; the upgraded packages cost anywhere from between $50 and $150 per month). At each of the following sites, you simply type in the website URL and see the most used keywords. Examine which keywords (which can be individual words, two words or even phrases) are bringing in the most traffic for each site. www.keywordspy.com www.spyfu.com www.adwords.google.com www.compete.com www.SEMrush.com www.blogpulse.com If you want to dig farther in to the fascinating world of keyword research, each of these sites has its own video tutorials. Important reminder about Google Adwords . . . www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 27 When you get your keyword list, make sure to press every button on the site to experience the power of this free tool. You won’t break the internet. I’ve tried and failed. An important button to focus on is the “Sorted by relevancy” button on the bar. For our new dentist, we’d enter the competing website address. With our results up we go to the right hand side and see the “sort by relevancy” box with the arrow. If you click on that box, a drop down menu will allow you to sort by “local monthly searches” the U.S. and “global monthly searches” (all countries). While the rank of keywords doesn’t change much when you switch from sort by relevance to sort by local monthly searches for our new dentist, try typing in “used cars san diego” in the keyword box. A simple sort by relevance delivers a very different list from the www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 28 results when you sort by local monthly searches. One of the key search phrases is “cheap used cars san diego.” You may not have considered using that term exactly in your blog post, but clearly people looking for a used car often type “cheap” into Google. You can catch them by cleverly wording a few parts of your blog post. Finally, keep in mind that when looking for products and services online, people often type in their problem (eczema) rather than the solution, otherwise known as your product (natural soaps and lotions). People looking for “used cars,” often type in “bad credit auto (or car) financing.” Entire books and websites are devoted to the study of keyword research and implementation. There are many free, online tutorials as well. The above information provides some tools to get you started. Even more consumer spying! Otherwise known as customer research. Another way to put yourself ahead of the average business blogger is to find out what your current and potential clients and customers are interested in. Twenty years ago, peering into the customer’s psyche involved focus groups, teams of employees with surveys and thousands of dollars. You can now do this research with free and low-­‐cost online tools. Simply go to the appropriate forums, blogs, professional review and customer complaint sites and see what people are saying. What do they most appreciate about their service provider, professional or vendor? What is their biggest complaint? Take that complaint and write a blog post about it, emphasizing how your business makes sure that issue never arises. The following chart should make it easy to keep track. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 29 Customer Research Worksheet Source Blog 1: What they’re saying Blog 2: www.ripoffreports.com www.epinions.com www.complaints.com Forum 1: Forum 2: Professional Review Site: www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 30 Using the above information, determine more of your customer’s most crucial “pain points.” What problems do they want your product or service to solve? What are the biggest problems your competitors’ products have? _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Write blog posts about these as well, focusing on one topic per 300 – 500 word blog post. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 31 V. Tips for Blog Longevity and Reach: Free idea generators to keep that blog running! The first 10 – 15 blog posts will come easily. Many bloggers abandon the task when they feel bereft of ideas. Stay ahead of your competition by keeping your blog going. Luckily, idea engines exist out there. Set up: 1. An iGoogle homepage. Set up a google email account and then follow these iGoogle Homepage Setup instructions. (I used an ehow page because Google can change quite frequently.) Go to all of the blogs in your industry that you follow and direct their rss feed to come back to your igoogle homepage. The most recent headlines show up in little boxes all over your homepage, creating the most personalized newspaper you’ll ever see.
A screen shot of iGoogle homepage follows. I have probably 35 squares that tell me when new info is posted on the websites I rely on the most. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 32 www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 33 2. You can also use Google Reader to keep track of blog and website updates. Watch Google’s Getting Started with Google
Reader on Youtube here.
3. Set Up Google Alerts: Unlike the iGoogle Homepage or Google Reader, Google Alerts searches the web and brings back anything written and posted to the web that is relevant to the words and topics you ask it to track. People interested in monitoring their online reputation often enter their name, their company name and their competitors’ names into Google alerts. You can set it up to deliver everything it’s found daily, weekly or monthly to your gmail account. Youtube comes through again with Make Google Alerts Your Virtual Research Assistant. Use these tools to keep abreast of current events in your industry, find out what other similar businesses are doing and writing and spur your own creativity. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 34 VI. Promote the Business Blog At this point, blog posts should be rolling out smoothly. When at least one blog post populates each category, you’re ready to promote. Start with current customers. These strategies will get the word out. 1.
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Send an email to your customer list announcing your blog and asking them to subscribe. Offer incentives for visiting, commenting on and subscribing to the blog. Customers simply need to click on the orange RSS icon on your blog in order to receive a new post the instant it is created. Your developer and most website software manufacturers will guide you through this process. If you have a physical storefront customers visit: Create a glossy print out of a blog post and put it in a transparent plastic frame somewhere where people will see it. Have a little sign saying, “Read our blog weekly!” Then have a sign up sheet with room for phone numbers that reads, “Help me subscribe to the _________________ blog RSS feed.” One of your staff can call or email to get the process going. If you have an online store: Send a special email announcing your blog launch. Offering a gift certificate drawing, an eBook, a white paper or a webinar as an incentive to subscribe will improve response. Put your blog address on your business cards, letterhead and your LinkedIn profile. Submit a press release about your blog's launch. While there are many free press release distribution services, PRweb has a better track record of getting your specific topic into the right hands ($80). Put a “subscribe to our blog” button at the top of the website. Submit your blog to the blog directories. The big ones include Technorati, Best of the Web and Blog Catalog. Like a search engine, these blog catalogs list the most active, well-­‐linked blogs first. * Online experts disagree about the efficacy of submitting a website to established directories. It can be a low-­‐cost way to promote your blog or a waste of time. A blog directory arranges blogs in categories and subcategories. Because they link to your site, blog directories provide “backlinks,” a URL leading back to your site. Search engines look at the number of backlinks when deciding where to rank a site. The more “backlinks” a site has, the more credibility search engines give it. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 35 The top ten blog directories based on visitor traffic are: §
Blog Catalog §
Technorati §
Blogs.com §
Blog TopList §
Blogged §
Best of the Web Blogs §
Top Blog Area §
Top of Blogs www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 36 VII. Measuring Blog Effectiveness A poll from eMarketer revealed that only 16% of those polled currently measure return on investment for their social media programs (because a blog is interactive, it's considered social media). Over 40% did not even know whether the social tools they used contained Return on Investment measurement capabilities. Get ahead of competitors by measuring your marketing efforts. You’ll feel better about your blog once you see concrete results. Before your first post, take some baseline measurements: •
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•
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Lead Generation: how many new leads acquired through website and other efforts each month before blog launch? How much should that number grow with a blog? 10%? Create some reasonable expectations. Business Income: to determine pre-­‐blog monthly and quarterly income. Tax records can help. What's the targeted increase? Website Traffic: Use Google Analytics, SiteTracker or StatCounter to get an average of your monthly website traffic. Backlinks: You can use the free tools on Backlink Watch, SEOMoz and SEMRush to see who is backlinking to you. Blog posts are the perfect “link bait.” Other websites will recommend one of your posts. The above tools find the websites where your URLs lurk. Brand Awareness: How many media inquiries does your business receive before the blog? How often do new customers say, "I never even knew you were here?" or "I've never heard of you before." Customer Satisfaction: Track the number of complaints you receive each month. Track your product or service return rate. Online Real Estate: Determine your rank in search engines, particularly Google. Keep track of which of your website pages and blog posts get the most attention on Google Analytics. Often it’s the blog post that gets anyone to your site in the first place. Google Analytics will tell you which page viewers spend the most time on. www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 37 While increased recognition is tough to measure, it has important value. Metric
Current (pre-blog)
Goal
6 month measurement 12 month
measurement
Leads from website
Business Income
Website Traffic
Backlinks
Media Inquiries
Website Rank
Customer Satisfaction
Ratio of pos to neg
comments
Advanced and specific ways to track lead generation resulting from blog posts: 1. Create a unique call to action that lives only on your blog a. Create a separate landing page that catches those who respond to this call to action. b. Ask for their name and email address in exchange for something like a white paper or eBook or invitation to an event. Those willing to turn over this information see the blog as valuable. 2. Have a web developer embed a “tracking string” in the URL of the call to action’s landing page a. This allows you to separate the responses from the blog from your website for call to actions (e.g. "Sign Up for Our Newsletter," or "Download this Whitepaper"). 3. Offer an email newsletter, white paper, ebook or webinar only on blog pages www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 38 a. Set this up with your email service provider as an "Autoresponder". When viewers enter their email addresses, it will go out automatically. 4. Use Hubspot. For a premium, it will set you up with all kinds of online marketing measurement tools. That’s all folks! Thanks for sticking with me to page 39. Blogging rocks for so many reasons. But don’t take my word for it. watch here as Seth Godin Talks with New York Times best-­‐selling business author and strategist Tom Peters about blogging. Remember to sign up for our RSS, free eNewsletter and social media feeds at Informed Web Content. Happy marketing! www.informedwebcontent.com : Business Blog Start-­‐Up Kit Page 39