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| PB155: 5 Tips from Full Time Bloggers Posted: 29 Sep 2016 02:00 AM PDT The 5 Top Tips from Full Time BloggersToday, I want to give you some advice. It's not advice from me. It's advice from about 50 full-time bloggers that I surveyed about two years ago. I was testing a survey software, and I sent the survey to some bloggers that I knew. I asked all of them one simple question What is the number one tip you would give a new blogger who is just starting out and dreaming of becoming a full-time blogger? In Today's Episode 5 Tips from Full Time BloggersListen to this epsiode in the player above or here on iTunes (look for episode 155).
Further Resources 5 Tips from Full Time Bloggers
It's about two years ago I was testing out a new piece of software for surveys. Whilst I haven't gone on to use this software anymore, I did do one survey using it and it was a survey that I did send out to full time bloggers that I knew. I asked them a simple question, one question. Quite a few of them answered. The question was this, "What's the top piece of advice, what's the number one tip you would give a new blogger just starting out who had dreamed of becoming a full time blogger?" I thought when I sent this out that I would get all kinds of strategic advice, that I would get really practical, actionable advice. You know what came in? It really surprised me. I sent it out to 50 bloggers and almost all of them came back to me with five responses, five common answers. That's what I want to share with you today, these five things that I think are great things for us to all hear as bloggers, whether we're just starting out or whether we're well on the road to becoming full time or whether we're even full time. These are five great reminders that I hope will help to keep you on course towards reaching your dreams for your blog, whatever that might be. The first theme that I came up with as I looked at this 50 was to be you, just be you. In fact, this is what one person wrote. "Just be you. Speak in your own voice, and don't try to be anyone else. Swim in your own lane." Another person simply said, "Be yourself." A third person said, "Keep it real." A fourth person said, "Find your authentic voice." Someone else said, "My best tip is to write about what you love and have experience in. Honesty comes out in your writing." Another person said, "Only write about what you’re passionate about, your own unique experiences." An eighth person said, "Don't copy, find your own voice and use that. Remember, cover bands don't change the world." Two more on this theme, "If you are passionate about something, let that shine through in every aspect of your blog. Don't be so caught up in watching stats, gaining followers, and forget why you began blogging in the first place. Be authentic and make those connections organically because those are the people who will stick with you over your journey as you go through your ups and downs, and it will be a rollercoaster," they said. One more person said, "Write about something that you are genuinely interested in. In a crowded space, the best way to stand out is to be you. There's no one like you. Your story, your opinion, your voice, your humor, they're all unique. Tap into that." I love that advice, be you. It gets said a lot and sometimes it takes us a little while to work out who we are. I do think, as I look at successful bloggers, that that last person was completely right. The way to stand out is very often to find out who you are and to let that come out in your voice. It takes some time but I think it's really important to tap into that. That was the most common theme of the 50 responses that I had. A second one that came up time and time again, this is actually the reason that I am doing this podcast because I noticed this theme first. The theme was consistency. People used the word consistency 12 times out of the 50. Someone wrote, "People like consistency." Another person said, "Be consistent and be yourself." There's the other theme as well. Someone else said, "Be regular with your writing. It really helps to keep the momentum going for both you as the writer and for your readers." "Blogging is never about one post, it's your body of work that you'll be known for," said someone else. "Keep going, keep talking, keep taking consistent action no matter how small. You'll be amazed in a year when you look back at how far you've come." Someone else said, "Be consistent with the content you deliver. Be genuine in what you write about and how you deliver your message. If you do those things, then the money and business side naturally starts to flow." "Consistency, keep going and stay true to your voice and the info you want to provide." Consistency came up time and time again. This is one of the messages that I've preached many times at ProBlogger. It is the accumulation of what you do, it's the accumulation of the tweets, the blog posts, the videos, all of the messages that you have. That's what makes a blog epic. It's not an one blog post. Sometimes, you do have a break out post but really those posts are just part of the jigsaw puzzle of what you're building. Consistency is so important. The third theme is kind of similar, it's persistency, not consistency. I think they really do go together. Here's what a few people said. Firstly, "It takes time to build a good blog." That was the number one tip of one person. "Beware, it's going to be a lot of work," says another. "Slow and steady wins the race," says the third. "Keep going, it can take time to grow." "Keep going and keep learning," says another person. This keep going thing comes up again and again. "Keep going. If you feel like quitting, reconnect with your why and keep going." The last person says, "Persist for you, not the numbers." This is a big theme in what I do teach people who want to make money from blogging. It's going to take time, it's going to take persistence, and it's going to take that consistency, that was the other thing. Two more themes that came up numerous times, not quite so many times but these did come up enough that I noticed the recurring-ness of them. The fourth one is give it a go. Those were four words that came up many times in the responses. One person simply wrote, "Jump in and give it a go." A second person said, "My biggest tip is to just start. So many people want to start a blog. They worry about how they won't be good enough or they compare themselves to established bloggers. If you don't start, you can never build it. Don't ever worry because it will never be perfect no matter when you start so just start now." The third person said, "If you haven't started, start, stick at it." This consistency came up in that last one again but the theme of starting out is really important. Ultimately, this is the thing, the only thing that I can find that all successful bloggers have in common. The only thing that every single one of them have done is start, ultimately. All of the full time bloggers that I've ever met, all of the successful bloggers I've ever met have found their own path, they found their own distinct way forward. There's certainly some similarities but every single one of them has started. They all started with nothing, they all started when they didn't have a post on their blog. They all started when they didn't have a reader, the only person who knew about their blog was them. They all started at the same point. This is one of the things that I talked about at the ProBlogger event, there were many times as I look back over the last 14 years where I started something and I had nothing but I started. The first time I started my email list, I had no one subscribed to it. Then, I subscribed myself, then I subscribed my dad, then I subscribed my wife. I forced subscribers. When I first hit that first email, I only had 17 subscribers. I asked myself is this really worth it? Is it really worth it to send an email, to spend an hour sending an email to 17 people? The reality was that it probably wasn't worth it in that first 17 because no one clicked any of the links in that first email. The next week when I sent it to 30 people, a couple of people did. The next week, I sent it to 45 people and a few more did. Years later, now I have 700,000 people subscribed to that email list which sounds mind boggling, it amazes me that that many people are subscribed. Now every week, we're able to drive lots of traffic. You know what? It all started by me starting this thing and then subscribing my dad and my wife to it. I started it. Starting is just so important, whether it's starting your blog or starting that email list or starting something else that you know you need to do. The fifth theme that I want to just briefly touch about, this came up in a few people was to do something meaningful. Here's what three people said. "Reach the heart of your readers because the more hearts you touch, the more the numbers will start to follow." The second person said, "Do something meaningful to you and your readers. If it means something to you, you'll be able to get through the tough times. If you do something meaningful to others, you'll do something that people will want to connect with and share." One last person said, "Know your why. Know why you’re blogging, write it down, wave it in the air to anyone who tries to tell you that you should be doing something else. You might blog to make money, to draw up business, to help others, to connect with others, to simply be creative. Figuring out your motivation for blogging will help to prevent you from becoming overwhelmed by all the things you could or should be doing with your blog." I love that last one, know your why. I think for me knowing your why really will shake the direction you go and it will help you to make wise choices about what to do. There you go, there's five pieces of advice from full time bloggers that I've forgotten I even had sitting there on my hard drive and in this piece of software. The five pieces of advice, again, were consistency, be consistent, be you, be persistent, give it a go, and do something meaningful. I'd love to know what you think. Are you a full time blogger? What advice would you give beginner bloggers? Are you a part time blogger? What advice would you give? Are you a new blogger who hasn't got any readers yet? What advice would you give your readers? I'd love to hear your advice on today's show notes. Looking for something else to listen to? I might just have something for you that will give you almost 70 hours of listening, great advice from full time bloggers that gets a little more strategic than what you have just heard. I think the five things that those full time bloggers gave as advice were really good but sometimes we need something a bit more practical and actionable. ProBlogger Event, Virtual Ticket is now available for you to purchase. We've uploaded 70 sessions worth of advice from full time bloggers from this year's event and last year's event. You’re going to hear some great advice from people like Jedah Sellner from Simple Green Smoothies who talked about Instagram but also gave some great entrepreneurial advice. You'll also hear from Dan Norris from WP Curve who gave a fantastic keynote on how to think like an entrepreneur. We've got a great keynote from Emily Watnick who talked about how to build a blog when you have multiple passions and interests, how can you combine them together? That's a very common question I get asked a lot, "How do I blog if I haven't got a niche?" We've also got sessions on YouTube, very strategic sessions. We've got sessions on Instagram, we've got sessions on Facebook Advertising, Facebook organic, sessions on podcasting, copywriting, all types of sessions. If you want to head over to problogger.com/virtualticket, you'll be able to see a full rundown of what is included in that particular ticket and you'll also get access to a little private Facebook group that we have running for just those who attended the live event and virtual ticket holders. Just a few hundred people in there, we'll be able to give you a little bit more personal attention, you'll be able to participate in some of the things that we've got going on in that group. Once again, head over to problogger.com/virtualticket to pick up yours today. How did you go with today's episode?Enjoy this podcast? Sign up to our ProBloggerPLUS newsletter to get notified of all new tutorials and podcasts below. The post PB155: 5 Tips from Full Time Bloggers appeared first on ProBlogger Podcast.         Related Stories    This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Why a Powerful Brand Image Is Crucial for Successful Blogging (And 6 Ways You Can Build One) Posted: 28 Sep 2016 07:00 AM PDT This is a guest contribution from Jawad Khan. Do you have a mentor, or have you ever tried looking for one? If yes, you'd know that credibility, apart from the right expertise, is the number one quality a mentor should possess. A person doesn't deserve to mentor you (or anyone) if he isn't dependable and changes views like clothes. In other words a successful mentor needs to have a brand image that epitomizes trust, expertise and consistency. A Powerful Brand Image Is Crucial for Successful BloggingSuccessful blogging is a lot like mentoring. Ideally, your blog readers should look up to you for advice and direction. You should be the expert that helps them solve their biggest problems and overcome the most complex mental blocks. But that will only happen when you intentionally work on building your brand image. Just think about it. Why would someone purchase your coaching program or your "Epic Guide to Freelancing" or "30 Day Affiliate Marketing Course" when a million other people are selling similar products? It's your brand image and how you're perceived by your readers that does the selling for you. When people trust you, they buy from you even when your competitors have better products. Branding is also important from an SEO perspective. Source: SEObook Brands not only rank higher in search results, they're much likelier to avoid a Google penalty even when they've violated its guidelines. Not sure how to brand your blog? Let me help me break it down for you. 1. Share Your Brand's Story and List Your Core ValuesPowerful brands have powerful stories. They serve a clear purpose and do business for a reason. A brand's story allows it to connect with its audience and help them own the brand's experiences. If you think your blog doesn't have a story, think harder. What motivates you to blog every day? What purpose are you serving? What change are you trying to make? Most of us have a good reason for doing what we do. You just need to think harder to find it. Darren's keynote at the World Domination Summit is a pretty good example of a powerful story. When you have a powerful story and purpose behind your blog, it also makes it easier for you to identify your brand's core values. For example, some of you core values as an affiliate marketing blogger can be
Many bloggers list down their core values by creating a blogging manifesto. You can even come up with a catchy brand slogan, based on your values, using this free slogan generator. Listing down your core values and sharing them with your audience helps you build trust and immediately connect with your ideal readers. 2. Choose a Brandable Domain Name and Invest Your Blog's DesignIf you're still looking for exact keyword match domains (EMDs), you need a change of mindset. I can understand if you choose an EMD for a micro niche site, but if you're thinking long-term, and want to create a blog that people remember, treat your blog's URL as a brand name. A brandable URL not only gives you a unique identity, while clearly representing your core offer, but also makes your brand name easier to remember. ProBlogger, the brand name, is a great example. The same goes for Backlinko, QuickSprout, Smart Blogger and many others. They're all very popular blogs with branded URLs. If you're looking for ideas, you can use this business name generator by Freshbooks or visit a branded domain marketplace to find niche domain ideas. The other aspect of a strong online brand image includes an eye-catching logo, which represents the mood of your brand, and a website design that is not only pleasing to the eye but also makes it easier for your readers to focus on your content and the actions that you want them to take. You need to be precise about the colors you choose for both these aspects of your brand, especially the logo. Source: The Business of Color [infographic by 99Designs] Once again, the new clean design of ProBlogger is a pretty good example. It's clutter free and makes the content more prominent with an easy to read font. CopyBlogger, with lots of empty spaces, is another example of a clean design that makes reading easy. You can find high quality and responsive WordPress themes on ThemeForest (recommended by Darren) or, if you like to do things yourself, follow this mammoth step by step guide for setting up a WordPress blog. 3. Solve Problems With High Quality Long-Form ContentLong vs. short posts, quantity vs. quality, users vs. Google – these are all never ending debates. But I'll make this easy for you. To become an authority in your niche and establish a powerful brand image, you need to create content that solves problems of your audience so comprehensively that they become life-long fans and always seek your advice when they're stuck. Can you create such comprehensive content in 200 words? Can you give them step by step directions and solve their problem in 500 words? If no, what's the point of creating short content when it doesn't establish you as an expert? Don't tell me about Seth Godin and a few other celebrity bloggers. You're not in the same league yet and your short content won't have the same impact, please accept that fact. The other reason why you need to create longer content is search engine traffic. More than 75% of users click the first three results on a search page. And you're much likelier to land a spot in the first 3 search results if you create longer content. Source: Vive Health As you can see, the average length of the top search results is well over 2000 words. So when your objective is brand building, focus on creating detailed and in-depth content that solves problems of your readers. Don't blog about your products all time, focus on your customers. You can do that no matter what industry you're in. Here's a really good example of a conventional business blog focusing on the problems of its ideal customers. This is the kind of content that builds your image as an expert brand. Here's another good example of a business blog providing solutions to its readers. Most people visit coupon sites because they're looking to save money and find discounts. So this particular site created a several thousand word guide to help its readers. Source: Crowd Savers eCommerce giants, Shopify have taken this to a completely different level. Instead of creating content only about their product, they regularly publish detailed eCommerce case studies, how-to articles and step by step guidelines that help their customers succeed in their businesses. They've even created an eCommerce encyclopedia for small businesses with in-depth articles and resources for their customers. In short, when you create content that solves the problems of your audience, you eventually become their go-to source for everything related to your industry. 4. Add Snapshots, Data References and Infographics To Your Blog PostsPublishing 2000+ word blog posts is great. But when you're putting so much effort in creating blog content, why not make it truly epic by backing your arguments with data references and explaining your tips with snapshots. Doing this will not only add more weight to your content, but will also make it look better than your competitors. Most bloggers take the easy route by just telling people what to do. By using snapshots, you can raise the bar and show your audience exactly how to do something. You can use Evernote Web Clipper, a free browser extension for Windows and Mac, to quickly create snapshots and add annotations to explain your points. Images and snapshots immediately make your content more consumable and keep the readers engaged. In fact, visual content is so useful for branding, that I strongly recommend making infographics a key part of your content strategy. This has two advantages. Infographics are not only among the most frequently shared content types, which results in more traffic and backlinks, but also help you stand out from your competition and strengthen your brand image. There are dozens of free tools like Canva and Visme that can be used to create infographics. As an added resource, keep these infographic design tips in mind. However, if you really want your content to stand out, try making short screencasts, webinars and explainer videos a part of your content strategy as well. It's much easier to create video content because of the different screencast tools and explainer video apps like PowToon. Source: Content Marketing Institute A joint study by MarketingProfs and Content Marketing Institute found that 66% marketers consider webinars and videos the most effective forms of content for branding and lead generation. In short, your content becomes much more powerful when you don't just tell readers what to do, you show them how it's done using visual content. 5. Feature in Other High Authority Publications to Borrow CredibilityGuest blogging may not be the best SEO strategy anymore, but it's still one of the most effective ways to build your brand image by borrowing credibility from other authority publications. When people see your name on websites like The Huffington Post, The New York Times or CopyBlogger and Hubspot (for marketers) they immediately start considering you someone worthy of their attention. Forget guest blogging for backlinks. Brand building is the real benefit of featuring on other authority sites. You'll see this in action on almost every influencer's website. Simply identify the top blogs and publications in your niche, and contact them with a well-researched guest post. Most blogs and websites would be happy to publish your piece as long as it follows their editorial guidelines and offers quality information. 6. Start a Facebook Group and Host Facebook Live SessionsThere are hundreds of social networks on the web with billions of combined users. But Facebook is still by far the most effective platform to build your audience from the scratch. Facebook Groups in particular are engagement powerhouses that can be leveraged for community building and lead generation. If you're looking to strengthen your brand image and connect with your target audience, I strongly recommend starting a Facebook group of your own. Promote your group using Facebook ads and try building a community around your brand. Engage with them regularly, share your knowledge and answer their questions. In addition, start weekly Facebook Live sessions on different topics and invite people to ask questions. Give them live demonstration of your expertise. For example, if you're a copywriter, perform live copy audits of different websites. If you're a designer, offer live design critique and share your feedback with your audience. This strategy not only boosts engagement with your audience but also turns them into brand advocates and word of mouth marketers for you. Wrapping UpIt doesn't matter if you're an affiliate marketer, a business coach or a product seller, the strength of your brand image will always have a direct impact on your sales and revenue numbers. The stronger the brand, the better the results. Which is why branding should be one of your primary concerns while starting a new blog or online business. How much time and money have you invested in building your brand image? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Jawad Khan is a content marketing consultant and a freelance blogger for hire. Follow him on his blog Writing My Destiny, Twitter, and Google+. The post Why a Powerful Brand Image Is Crucial for Successful Blogging (And 6 Ways You Can Build One) appeared first on ProBlogger.       |
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