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ProBlogger: How to Grow Your Audience by Getting PR For Your Blog

ProBlogger: How to Grow Your Audience by Getting PR For Your Blog

Link to ProBlogger

How to Grow Your Audience by Getting PR For Your Blog

Posted: 31 Aug 2016 07:00 AM PDT

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Andreea Ayers founded LaunchGrowJoy.com in 2011 after selling a successful t-shirt business, and realised she had plenty to share in terms of selling products successfully online. Her blog focuses on her experience with ecommerce and selling online, moving into PR and teaching product entrepreneurs how to get their products featured in print media and on influential blogs.
Andreea has some tried-and-true strategies for building a buzz around your blog or business through media promotion, both traditional and online. She walks the talk, with her blog being featured in more than 500 media outlets since she started five years ago.

I asked her what her non-negotiables are when it comes to seeking publicity as a solo blogger or entrepreneur.

What do you think bloggers should know about getting PR for their site?

As far as getting PR for your blog, bloggers should keep in mind that often times if they want publicity they have to go out and seek it. It does happen that a publication will reach out to you to feature you (as was the case with my recent feature in Entrepreneur magazine), but it’s more effective for bloggers to make a list of publications and websites that they want to be featured in and reach out to those directly with something of value.

How do you think they could go about it?

After they make their list of, let’s say, 20 media outlets they want to be featured in, they should reach out and provide value, rather than reach out and “pitch” their expertise or blog. Here’s an example of what I did to get media attention when I launched a Pinterest course a few years ago. I created an infographic with 100+ Pinterest board ideas and I reached out to different types of blogs to see if they would be interested in using my infographic as a resource for their blog and to share with their readers. I included the infographic and in my pitch I mentioned that Pinterest is growing in popularity and many of their readers are probably still learning how to use Pinterest, but coming up with Pinterest board ideas is what holds a lot of people back from using it for business. If they shared my infographic with 100+ Pinterest board ideas, they can help remove some of the blocks that their readers might have about using Pinterest for their business. Many bloggers said YES to this, which was a great way for me to get publicity for my Pinterest course. 
 
If I had reached out and said something along the lines of “I’m a Pinterest expert and would love to be featured on your blog” I can guarantee that the response would have been a lot different. 
 
When you reach out to media outlets it’s important to “provide value” rather than “pitch your blog.” And the most important thing to remember is that if you don’t hear back from your initial outreach efforts, it’s important to follow up a few times (after a week and after a month). Most of my success with publicity has come as a result of following up!

Do you think traditional media is still useful – particularly from a blogger point of view?

Yes, definitely! Being featured in traditional media builds credibility for your blog, in addition to helping you get additional traffic and sales (if you are selling something through your blog). Traditional media is still widely consumed, whether it’s listening to the radio on your way to work, watching a TV show to unwind or reading a magazine at the doctor’s office. People get their information from many sources, so why not expand your reach and be everywhere!

Where do you think bloggers should “be seen” in order to grow their audience?

Bloggers should be seen where their readers spend their time, which is different for every blogger. This can include other websites, podcasts, and traditional media. I’ve had a lot of success promoting my blog (and increasing my sales) by being featured on other podcasts and on other websites. However, it’s very important to “be seen” where your audience is. For example, if you blog about entrepreneurship, you should try to get featured on podcasts or other blogs about entrepreneurship. If your blog is about wedding photography, you should try to get featured on bridal or wedding blogs. With publicity, being in front of the right audience is more important than being featured in as many media outlets as possible.
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How do you think bloggers should approach PR companies to be considered for marketing campaigns?

I think any time bloggers approach ANYONE, it should be from a standpoint of providing something of value. When you’re reaching out to anyone make sure to keep your emails short, provide value and ask for what you’d like. 

What do you think brands are looking for when it comes to working with bloggers?

When it comes to working with bloggers, brands are looking for:
  • a blog audience that is engaged and relevant to them
  • sufficient traffic to justify their expenses (especially if they have to send out product samples)
  • a good amount of social media followers on at least one social media channel. In addition to followers, they are also looking for frequent posting and an engaged audience
  • mentions on the blog of other brands that are similar or complementary to theirs
  • trustworthy bloggers who share their honest opinions about the brands that they feature

What are some other ways do you think bloggers can position themselves for more visibility (and therefore more traffic)?

I think that bloggers should be proactive about publicity and cross promotions with other bloggers/companies whose readers are similar to theirs. When I look back at most of my “success stories”, they came as a result of me reaching out to the person who I wanted to connect with, not the other way around. Bloggers should also consider speaking at relevant industry events to build even more credibility for their blog and get in front of audiences in-person. Meeting someone in person or seeing them speak at an event can help to build credibility and a loyal following quickly.

What are the non-negotiables do you think bloggers should have on their sites for you to take them seriously as an authority?

They should have really great content and great branding that makes them stand out from other similar bloggers. They should also have a social media presence (one or two social media channels is great – they don’t have to be EVERYWHERE), a few relevant press mentions (whether it’s in traditional or online media) and a really great, inspiring story!

Do you have any templates or guidelines for pitches that bloggers could reference?

Here’s the formula that I use to reach out:

1st Paragraph – say hi and let them know that you are either familiar with their work (a past article, their blog, etc.) and love it and/or the specific reason why you are reaching out.

2nd Paragraph – Let them know 2-3 ways you can add value to their readers (answer the question – WHY will their readers love what you have to offer and how will it benefit them).

3rd Paragraph – Let them know 1-2 facts about you/your blog (answer the question – WHAT your blog/expertise is). You can also share one sentence about YOU/Your story here.

4th Paragraph – Thank them for their time and let them know what you’d like them to do next.

The most important thing is to keep your email short, to the point and provide value.

What would your tips be for bloggers who want to be PR-friendly?

Here are a few things every blogger needs to be PR friendly:
  • have a great ABOUT page that shares your story, what inspires you, why you started your blog, etc.
  • have media-ready images of you
  • have an easy to use contact page so they can reach out to you directly if they want to feature you. A contact form is nice, but make sure to provide your email address as well in case your contact form isn’t working properly (this happened to me when a TV producer reached out to feature me on a TV show!)
  • think about SEO and what the media might search for when looking for your expertise and optimize a few pages on your website for those keywords. I’ve had many media outlets find me while searching for “Pinterest expert” because I optimized my website for those particular keywords.

What do you think? Have you seen a good return when you’ve reached out to others to help grow your audience?

The post How to Grow Your Audience by Getting PR For Your Blog appeared first on ProBlogger.

      
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ProBlogger: Why Your Readers Want Homework (and How to Give it to Them)

ProBlogger: Why Your Readers Want Homework (and How to Give it to Them)

Link to ProBlogger

Why Your Readers Want Homework (and How to Give it to Them)

Posted: 30 Aug 2016 07:00 AM PDT

A photo by Aaron Burden. unsplash.com/photos/LNwn_A9RGHo

By ProBlogger Expert Ali Luke.

Homework.

Even if your school days are long behind you, that's probably not one of your favourite words. (Unless you were even more of a geeky kid than me.)

But blog readers want homework: actionable steps to put what they've learned into practice.

And here's why.

Simply Reading About a Topic Doesn’t Usually Help

Have you ever read an inspiring and practical self-help book – like David Allen's Getting Things Done or Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People – only to find that, months or years later, you still hadn't actually put any of it into practice?

Reading about a topic seems like a positive step. And it is. But usually, simply reading won't get you far.

As a blogger, you don't want to simply produce content that people enjoy reading … and then forget about. You want content that changes their life in some way (maybe small, maybe big).

Because that's what keeps them coming back for more – and, quite possibly, eventually buying something from you.

Sometimes, of course, your purpose might be to help someone feel encouraged or inspired. Your post won't necessarily be something that leads to specific action steps.

But often, you'll want to snap readers out of the habit of passively reading … so that they'll actually do something.

Here's how.

How to Give Your Readers Valuable Homework

Lots of these tips can be applied to ecourses (free or paid) – keep in mind that with those, you can go much more in-depth than in a typical blog post, and you can suggest more time-consuming actions.

You don't necessarily have to do all of these, but definitely consider whether they'd be a good fit for your post.

#1: Make the Homework Stand Out

It's often a good idea to use a subheader for this section of your post. You don't have to call it "homework", unless that's likely to suit your readers and your brand.

Instead, you could try:

  • Action Steps
  • Try This
  • Do This
  • Exercise
  • Over to You

If a subheading doesn't work for you (perhaps your homework is just a sentence or two and the subheading feels like overkill!) then you could use a different font for the homework: perhaps bold and/or italic, or coloured text.

Step #2: Keep it Quick and Simple

If you want readers to actually do the homework you suggest, then don't suggest something that's going to take hours, or that's going to be really complicated.

Keep it quick and simple: ideally, something they can accomplish in under ten minutes. In many cases, that might mean encouraging them to take the first step with something (e.g. "register a domain name") – once they've got started, they may well follow the rest of the advice in your post.

#3: Add “Extra Credit” Suggestions if Necessary

If you do want to give more than a quick ten minute task, add other suggestions as "extra credit" so that they don't seem overwhelming. (You could also use "bonus" or "next steps" or "take it further" or whatever wording suits you here.)

I'd suggest limiting your "extra credit" suggestions to two at most. Again, you don't want readers to feel overwhelmed.

#4: Include Examples and/or Further Reading, Where Appropriate

Depending on the main body of your post, it might be useful to include examples or links to other useful posts within the homework section. (Quite often, e.g. with a how to post, you'll have put these in earlier on. You still may want to put a brief reminder.)

However clear your instructions are, it's often easier for readers to follow them if they can see a finished example. For instance, if you've posted about "how to structure your About page", it would be useful to give a worked example or a link to a good About page for readers to study.

#5: Offer Help and Support

You may need to be a little cautious with this one, especially if you have quite a large and/or responsive readership: you don't necessarily want to end up inviting dozens of emails. Often, it's easiest to prompt readers to leave a comment if they're stuck or need any help: that way, other readers will be able to view and learn from your response.

(If you're running an ecourse, you can use online forums or a private Facebook group to similar effect.)

#6: Give Them a Way to Respond

If your homework involves producing something – like an image, a blog post, or a paragraph of text – then why not ask your readers to share it in the comments? You don't have to do this, but if it's a good fit, it can be a great way to build stronger relationships with your readers.

Alternatively, you could get readers to respond through a survey or online form, or through social media – whatever suits your topic, your readership and your own workflow or preferences.

Four Examples of Posts That Give Homework in Different Ways

Let's run through some ways in which different bloggers give homework. For each of these examples, I've explained what's working well, and (in some cases) what could potentially be tweaked.

Example #1: Quick and Straightforward

This was a pretty long, detailed post and I wanted to give readers a simple step to take: think about using one of these lessons for their own About page. I also gave them a suggested timeframe ("this week") to help them focus on doing something quickly – and offered them the opportunity to commit to it by leaving a comment.

One thing I wish I'd done differently here: I should've made this homework stand out, probably by using a bold and/or italic font (see Example #4, below), or by using a subheading.

Example #2: Give the Reader a Challenge

quicksprout-example

– From 78 Marketing Tasks You Should Outsource Immediately, Neil Patel, Quick Sprout

Framing your homework as a "challenge" can make it sound a lot more exciting! Neil helps tackle the potential overwhelm caused by a long list by telling the reader to "outsource just one marketing task" and also gives a quick, clear recap on how to do that.

Example #3: Offering Further Reading

In this example, the post itself pretty much is the homework ("write a list post"). Note how, again, framing homework as a "challenge" can make it more exciting – and also help develop a sense of community around it.

There's plenty of extra help and further reading listed here, in case readers feel they need some extra advice – both from ProBlogger itself ("10 Steps to the Perfect List Post") and from related blogs.

Example #4: Standard Closing Format for Each Post

- From 10 Practical Ways to Boost Your Energy Level, Michael Hyatt, MichaelHyatt.com

From 10 Practical Ways to Boost Your Energy Level, Michael Hyatt, MichaelHyatt.com

Michael always ends his post with a clearly labelled "Question" section like this, in bold italics so it stands out – which is a great way to make sure readers pay attention. (You can get his very handy post template here.)

Michael's questions are geared around getting readers to think about the topic of the post and respond in the comments, which works very well for his more inspirational or mindset-related content.

For a post like this, though, focused on very practical things to improve the reader's life, I would have liked to see a slightly more action-focused question, rather than ones that invite reflection and discussion. (E.g. "which one of these ideas will you try tomorrow?")

Over to You

Not every post you write will need homework – but if it's a good fit, then adding just a couple of extra sentences can make all the difference in prompting readers to take action based on all your great ideas and advice.

As you come up with ideas for your blog, think about which posts are particularly actionable (e.g. how to posts, some list posts, "lessons learned", advice for beginners). You might want to note down, alongside each idea, a few thoughts about how you'll incorporate homework into that post.

Today: Take a look at the most recent post on your blog. Is there some way you can offer readers an action point, exercise, etc? Spend 5 – 10 minutes adding this in – do it right now, if you can.

Ali Luke blogs about the art, craft and business of writing at Aliventures. She has two free ebooks on blogging, Ten Powerful Ways to Make Your Blog Posts Stronger and Ten Easy Ways to Attract Readers to Your Blog … And Keep Them There: to get your copies of those, just sign up for her weekly e-newsletter (also free!) here.

The post Why Your Readers Want Homework (and How to Give it to Them) appeared first on ProBlogger.

      
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