“ProBlogger Podcast: Turn Blog Surfers into Loyal Readers by Building a Sticky Blog” plus 1 more

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ProBlogger Podcast: Turn Blog Surfers into Loyal Readers by Building a Sticky Blog Posted: 13 Aug 2015 10:30 PM PDT When someone lands on your blog for the first time, you want them to stay as long as possible. In he last two ProBlogger Podcast episodes, I’ve shared some tactics for finding readers by first asking yourselves some really important questions, and by discussing two types of content that you need. In today’s episode, I talk about how you keep those readers there by building a sticky blog. What I mean by that is having your blog set up so there is something that motivates readers to explore it further, making the decision to return and keep connected in some way, which I think is a fundamental component of any successful blog. I always say it’s much better to find a new reader and hook them into becoming a regular than it is to have to find fresh readers every day. This is really how readership grows over time. In the podcast, I discuss the ways you can make your blog completely irresistible to first-time viewers. From first impressions to subscription options, I go through all the things I believe a blog needs in order to be sticky. How can you build anticipation? What kind of content works for recurrent traffic? How can you drive interaction from your audience? What are their incentives to stick around? Click here to listen to the episode 35 of the ProBlogger Podcast and view the show notes, and as always, I’d love to get your feedback on this episode. Further Reading 5 Clever Ways to Make A Sticky Blog Create a Sneeze Page How to Build a Blog Worth Monetizing How to Keep Readers on Your Blog Longer: Quicksprout The Battle for Getting People to Keep Reading Your Blog: Jeff Goins Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger ProBlogger Podcast: Turn Blog Surfers into Loyal Readers by Building a Sticky Blog The post ProBlogger Podcast: Turn Blog Surfers into Loyal Readers by Building a Sticky Blog appeared first on @ProBlogger.

Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately Posted: 13 Aug 2015 05:21 PM PDT Greetings from sunny Queensland, where we are hosting the sixth annual ProBlogger Training Event! We kicked off the two days of learning and connecting with our fellow bloggers with some inspiring words from Darren himself, despite a few sore heads in the crowd after a solid night at the Welcome Networking Event last night!. Tonight is our poolside party, which promises to be even bigger. The theme is “shine” and I hear Darren’s got something extremely eye-catching up his sleeve to wear – make sure you’re following the #PBEVENT hashtag on social media to see for yourself! Read on for this week’s round up of what’s making news in blogging. Why Slack is Exploding as a Community-Building Platform // Hootsuite We are using Slack at PBEVENT for all our team communication and while it’s taking some of us a while to get our heads round it, it’s proving to be a popular choice for community-building in general. Read why Hootsuite think it’s an “email killer”. Is Google Experimenting with Bringing Twitter Into Desktop Search Results? // Search Engine Land It might be time to dust off that old Twitter account. When was the last time you actively used it? Could be worth reviving… Want More Blog Traffic? Focus on Growing Subscribers // Hubspot The email list. The one everyone tells you to have because it’s so important for reaching your readers no matter what social network they’re on. It’s still the biggest tip. Hubspot tells you how to make it a priority. Periscope Now has 10 Million Accounts – Time for Your Brand to Start Live-Streaming? // Social Media Today Live Streaming is still the buzzword of the moment. This article explains why you should be jumping on that trend. How to Optimize Your Facebook Posts with Facebook Audience Insights // Social Media Examiner We’ve said it all along – the key to Facebook success is knowing your particular audience. Delve into the insights to help you figure out a content strategy that works.   So what’s news with you? What article or tip have you found useful lately? Stacey is the Managing Editor of ProBlogger.net: a writer, blogger, and full-time word nerd balancing it all with being a stay-at-home mum. She writes about all this and more at Veggie Mama. Chat with her on Twitter @veggie_mama or be entertained on Facebook. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately The post Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately appeared first on @ProBlogger.

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Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

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Should You Build Traffic Before Selling On Your Website? Posted: 13 Aug 2015 06:24 AM PDT Should you start selling from day one, or should you wait until you have an eager and willing audience? If there were an easy answer, this question wouldn’t keep coming up. There is no right or wrong; only what’s right for you. Here are some thoughts on when you should begin selling. Get Set Up As Early As Possible Whether you want to review and promote affiliate products or put ads up on your site, you need traffic to make money. If people aren’t coming to your site, it doesn’t matter how many things you’re promoting. Still, while you’re probably not going to miss out on many sales or clicks while you’re busy building your traffic, it’s a misnomer that setting up your accounts will take up too much of your time upfront. In fact, it’s probably a better idea to get set up as early as you possibly can. Think about it this way. If you start your site with your ads and offers in mind, you won’t have to redesign your site and re-think your approach later. If you take the time to set it up right when you’re first getting started, you won’t have to think about it when your audience is growing. You can let the sales, ad revenue and commissions roll in. So yes, while it is true that you’re not going to make any money without some traffic, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have your promotions up and running from the get-go. Plus, you’ll be better able to make adjustments to your call to actions and sales style based on the lessons you learn along the way. If you only start once your traffic is built, you’ll have a lot more testing and experimenting to do later on. Ditch The Fear-Based Mindset Many people fear that their website visitors are going to be turned off by ads and offers, but there is no evidence showing that. Plenty of popular sites like Lifehack and Slashdot have ads on them (sometimes a lot of them too). Now, it’s one thing if your website is full of pop-ups, animated GIFs and seizure-inducing Flash ads. That would be a turnoff for anyone (could you even be bothered to look at your own site?). However, it’s something else entirely if your ads appear in the natural flow of your content, they don’t take away anything from your design, and they’re convenient for your visitors. For example, if you have a review for an affiliate product that you love, it’s only natural to offer a link to that product at the end of your review (or even several times throughout your review). This is a service to the reader, not a sales pitch. If they’re sold, they’re sold. If not, no problem. There’s always next time. That’s what traffic is all about. Plus, if you’re selling from day one, your intentions are pretty clear; there are no hidden agendas, and your readers or visitors aren’t going to question what you’re up to down the line. What stops a lot of people from taking action is fear. They’re worried about what others will think of them. I would recommend ditching the fear-based mindset. Be bold. If you feel like you want to start promoting offers out of the gate, don’t let naysayers stop you. Review Your Goals If you have a review site and you have a guilty conscience for selling products and services, something isn’t adding up. The whole purpose of your site is to attract potential customers who might enjoy the same things you do, right? So if you aren’t sure whether or not you should be selling, go back to the basics. Take some time to think about what the purpose of your website is. Is your goal to build an audience? If so, why do you want to build an audience? More than likely, your end game includes monetizing that audience, right? If you’re really worried, you can ask for permission from your audience. You can survey them or email them and ask them whether or not they would be comfortable with you promoting products on your site. Just keep in mind that – historically – there have been many website owners that have had to start monetizing regardless of what their visitors thought of them. If you ask your visitors, a majority of them may say “no”, but once you’ve implemented promotions, they’ll probably realize it’s not as bad as they thought it would be. Moreover, they’ll probably understand your need to monetize. If people like the information they’re getting, why would they stop visiting your site just because you’re now promoting a few offers here and there? So take some time to review your goals. You may want to push products more or less depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, but if you have any aversion to selling, the problem is with you. Go All-In Or All-Out If you’re trying to figure out when the right time is to sell on your site, stop. This isn’t really a question of when. It’s a question of whether or not you intend to promote offers on your site at all. If you want to sell affiliate products or put ads up on your site, you may as well integrate early. There’s no sense in waiting, missing out on opportunities, and having to rearrange your site later because you thought better of the idea. If there’s something else you want to do with your site, that’s perfectly okay too. Just be honest with yourself about what you’re doing. Don’t expect the money to come rolling in if your website serves a function other than monetization. You’re either all-in or you’re all-out. Don’t dip a toe in to check to see if the water is nice. You either want to make money with your website or you don’t. Isn’t transparency the best policy? Conclusion So there you have it. Again, is there a right and a wrong answer here? No. Maybe selling early makes sense to you. Maybe selling later feels like the right thing to do. Just keep in mind that you’re going to have a lot of adjustments to make down the line if you choose to wait until your traffic is built up. Just don’t get too caught up in what other people might think of you; especially if you have no evidence or data to back up what they might be thinking. Stop thinking about what others might be thinking!

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