“PB120: Should You Start a Blog? 22 Questions to Ask To Identify if Blogging is a Good Fit for You” plus 8 more

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• PB120: Should You Start a Blog? 22 Questions to Ask To Identify if Blogging is a Good Fit for You
• How to Effectively Drive More Facebook Traffic to Your Blog
• Top Tips for Creating Quality Evergreen Content
• How to Build Trust With Your Subscribers Through Personalizing Your Emails
• How to Network at Blog Events (Even if You’re Shy!)
• Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately?
• Making Landing Pages Work for You With Multivariate Testing
• 7 Simple Ideas for Mailing List Opt-Ins
• How (and When) to Register a Trademark Without Hiccups

PB120: Should You Start a Blog? 22 Questions to Ask To Identify if Blogging is a Good Fit for You Posted: 02 Jun 2016 02:00 AM PDT Note: this episode can be listened to in the player above or on iTunes or Stitcher 22 Indicators to Help Determine If You’re Suited for Starting a Blog Today I want to talk about the characteristics and qualities of professional bloggers. Lately on ProBlogger we've noticed a bit of a surge of readers who are what I would call 'PreBloggers'. People asking questions about how to start a blog and even wondering if they should. As a result we've recently published a 5 step guide for starting a blog which walks you through some of the technicalities of how to start out. I want to step back a little from that process and tackle an important question that really should come before you start your blog. Should you start one? Today I want to suggest to you 22 questions to ask yourself if you are considering starting a blog. These are not yes or no questions. These are 22 indicators to whether or not you might be suited to blogging. In Today's Episode 22 Questions to Ask To Identify if Blogging is a Good Fit for You Do you have a message? Do you have something you really need to say A central message Are you a good communicator? Communication skills are an advantage You can also learn communication skills through blogging Are you willing to be in the public spotlight? Blogging is a public act People will analyze what you do, say, and how you look You are putting yourself out there Once you write something online it is hard to get it removed Are you thick skinned? Can you take criticism well Someone will write about you sooner or later Are you a self starter? Starting a blog takes initiative It takes motivation to get a blog off the ground Are you disciplined? Blogging requires regular attention and motivation over time It's good to aim for writing everyday Do you have time? You need to be able to update your blog regularly You also need time for comments, promotion and social media, etc. Do you have the 'energy' for blogging? Blogging takes focus After a long day at work can you still focus and be creative Do you have any technical ability? It's not a requirement, but it's an advantage to be able to learn and work on a technical level You don't have to know everything to start, you just need a willingness to learn or ask for help Do you have a blend of humility and Ego? Bigheadedness abounds in the blogosphere, but the humble blogger often ends up on top Many 'look at me bloggers' haven't lasted You need a healthy ego and self worth Build something of worth and have the confidence to promote it Getting the balance right is not easy Are you an organized person? Bloggers need to be organized Most successful bloggers have some type of system in place Are you a Social person? There are advantages to being a people person and liking your readers Having a genuine heart for your readers and making their lives better tends to work the best Do you enjoy 'virtual relationships? Some people who are great face to face aren't that great online Being comfortable with speaking to and working with people you have never met is an advantage if you're a blogger Are you willing to learn? Blogging is a journey where everyone knows something, but no one knows everything Industries like blogging also change Are you a creative person? Creativity on the web really stands out Do you have Stick-ability? Are you a patient person? Take a long term approach Blogs are a bit of a slow burn Some take years of work Are you Consistent? Blogger get into trouble with their readers by changing from week to week Don't be inconsistent and frustrate your readers Do you take yourself too Seriously? Bloggers should have a sense of humor Have the ability to laugh at yourself How you deal with foolish moments is important Are you honest and transparent? Some bloggers completely disappear by being found out and not being transparent Most people are pretty honest There are some people who have gone down in flames doing things that aren't honest Are you willing to step outside your comfort zone You are going to have to put yourself out there Be open for critique Be willing to learn Do you have passion? Sometimes passion gets over emphasized There is more to it than passion It is important with passion for your topic If you don't have a passion for a certain topic, be passionate about what you are doing Are you willing to work hard? If your goals are to build a large audience and have an income stream, you will need to work hard Blogging for income is not a passive thing If you have gone through this list and answered no. You are not alone. I struggled with many of these things, but I still did it. This list is to give you some areas to work on and be aware of before you start blogging. I asked on my Facebook page for bloggers to tell me the top 3 characteristics and qualities that they see in bloggers. I was thinking I might get a handful of responses that I could use in this episode but the response was quite overwhelming. I'm going to list some of the first responses below but even by the time that I'd gotten these in there are many more already being added. So to see the full list of advice head here. Top 3 Characteristics of Bloggers From My Facebook Page Peta Lee This sounds so cheesy but passion. If you aren’t passionate you aren’t going to succeed. Passion get you through those really tough moments (and there will be plenty of those along the way). When you are passionate magic happens. You have to be true to you. You don’t worry about what others are doing and trying to keep up with them. You find what works for you, what your audience wants, what is on brand and you do it with enthusiasm and confidence. Don’t think you need to do what every other blogger is doing. A thick skin. It's not an easy career path and you need to know when to take a moment and be upset and when to dust yourself off and continue forward. Trudie Bristow – Success is many things to many people, but as for qualities and characteristics that allow particular bloggers to connect with their audiences and do it well I’d have to say: Genuine and authentic desire to engage with others and to affect change in others as well as being open to it doing the same for them. Being brave to try things that scare them or are little left of field whilst having the stamina to get up and look for a new angle and reassess if things weren’t received how they envisaged. Being real and truthful, in an online world where so much of it is highly curated I think the ones who have the staying power are those who aren’t living a different life behind the mask of their blog. Bottom line is once you start sharing online it’s there forever, if you’re not going to be real or truthful you’ll slip up at some point and it will all fall apart. Carly Jacobs They need have genuinely good intentions (not be greedy mean people), they need to be truly unique (the weirder and more honest, the better) and they have to have to have a Teflon arm shields for pew-pewing away all the negativity. Kate Shelby Being Genuine and Showing your Personality. Being genuine and addressing people's questions no matter how insignificant they may seem and showing your Personality. It doesn’t matter what your doing you can bring your personality into it. Otherwise I’m going to assume you don’t enjoy your job or you are holding out in some way. As a reader that keeps me engaged. Krystal Abbott Optimism and the ability to see opportunity in every situation,an understanding of what makes them happy and a desire to see others happy too. smile emoticon Happiness all round. Brent Vaartstra Successful bloggers need to be business minded, resilient to failures, and truly excited about their niche. Bling and Butterflies They need to be honest as karma will come bite them on the bottom, organised to the hilt and know exactly who their target group is. Annette Hill Successful bloggers have a genuine desire to connect with readers, something to say, perseverance and imagination. Vanessa Smith   I think bloggers need to be organised, likeable & relatable. Brooke Ciccozzi – A great blogger should be: Relatable – Even though you may be an SME in your niche, no one likes a smug 'know it all'. Readers respond to an empathetic vibe Responsive – Able to be timely and contribute constructively to current posts/threads/views in their niche or industry Generous – Share knowledge, experience and support kindly to build a genuine sense of family amongst your readers Kathy Marris I love to read blogs that are entertaining, pictorially brilliant and provide great information (in an interesting way). There is nothing more boring that a bland account of information! Sharon Gourlay Driven, business minded and passionate (about niche and blogging – it’s hard work!) Kelly Exeter Strong voice. Very strong voice! Kym O'Gorman Consistency, Persistence, Clear voice/brand. Bukola Oriole They are consistent, they have a clear message, and they value their fans. Blake Powell Persistence, authenticity, and audacity Nanda Rahmanius Continuous learning ~ effective time management ~ persistent. Cherie Bobbins Awareness – of themselves and others. Practice the ‘Learn, Do, Teach’ methodology. Endurance. A lot of endurance! Yan Zhao Tan real experience, attentive to the external world, personality Patricia Martin Good time management, patience, and the ability to think outside the box Enjoy this podcast? Sign up to our ProBloggerPLUS newsletter to get notified of all new tutorials and podcasts below.   Click Here to Subscribe to ProBloggerPLUS for Free   Never miss an episode – Subscribe to the ProBlogger podcast on iTunes Got a Question You’d Like Me to Answer? I base many episodes of this podcast upon questions answered by ProBlogger Podcast listeners and Blog readers. You can use the following widget to ask a question. Please include your name and blog name (if you have a blog). The post PB120: Should You Start a Blog? 22 Questions to Ask To Identify if Blogging is a Good Fit for You appeared first on ProBlogger Podcast.       Related Stories PB119: How to Choose the Right WordPress Theme for Your Blog

How to Effectively Drive More Facebook Traffic to Your Blog Posted: 01 Jun 2016 08:00 AM PDT This is a guest contribution from Larry Alton. Facebook is an incredibly powerful tool for bloggers. However, if you were to poll 100 bloggers in different niches, you'd likely discover that well over half of them aren't maximizing the potential of the world's largest social networking site. Would you count yourself among this contingency? If so, it's time that you reevaluate your situation and take a more aggressive approach. The Power of Facebook Facebook has been such an integral part of our personal lives that the professional side of us doesn't always appreciate how powerful it is as a business resource. As of last count, Facebook has 1.04 billion daily active users and 1.59 billion monthly active users. That's billion with a "B". The massive reach and ubiquitous nature of Facebook makes it an extremely powerful tool for businesses, brands, and bloggers. Where else do you have a captive audience of a billion people seeking to interact with others? From a blogger's perspective, there are two major benefits of Facebook. Some bloggers extract more value from the first, while others find the second more powerful. Regardless, both components should be utilized to some degree. Target Audience Insights First off, Facebook is often used as a resource for learning more about a specific target audience. As a blogger, much of your business is about creating content that resonates with readers and encourages them to read, share, come back, etc. Well, the only way to do these things is by understanding who these readers are, and Facebook is the answer. "Facebook allows brands to face their audiences and literally enter into interactions with them," says Agata Kwapien of datapine, a leader in business intelligence technology. "This potential, when handled properly, can generate brand loyalty and better insights into customers' opinions, needs and interests." While you can figure some basic information out by reviewing blog analytics, there are certain elements of your target audience you can't possibly understand without seeing them on a more personal level. By watching, listening, and interacting with your readers on Facebook, you begin to see who they are, what interests they have, and what makes them tick. Traffic Generator Secondly – and most importantly – Facebook is a traffic generator. Scroll through your own personal newsfeed and observe the behaviors of your friends. Gone are the days where people post status updates and tell you what they're doing. Now, the primary Facebook actions are the "share" and the "like." Facebook users share news articles, videos, images, and blog posts with friends, which drives traffic to these pages and leads to more sharing and liking. It's a continuous cycle that yields impressive results for bloggers who are able to connect with their target audiences. 5 Tips for Maximizing Facebook Traffic Most bloggers understand the value of Facebook, but don't necessarily have a tangible strategy in place for using it effectively. In this article, we're going to discuss ways to maximize Facebook as a traffic generator. Here are just a few of the techniques and best practices you need to be using: 1. Utilize Facebook Advertising and Targeting Features If you have a monetary budget for advertising, Facebook is a great place to start. It's important to note that there are a number of different strategies, though. If you aren't careful, or don't know what you're doing, it's possible to run through your budget very quickly. For starters, understand that there are many different advertising objectives available. You can choose from clicks to website, website conversions, page post engagement, page likes, app installs, app engagement, offer claims, local awareness, event responses, and video views. The first key is to choose the right objective. Most bloggers gravitate towards page likes, page post engagement, and clicks to website. These will help you maximize your goals of driving traffic, both now and in the future. Check out this article to get an idea of how successful bloggers spend their budgets. After choosing an objective, the next big task is targeting the right users. This is really the strength of Facebook advertising when compared to other social media platforms. Because Facebook knows so much about its users, you can hone in on a very small group of users that you believe are target readers. Spend some time getting familiar with targeting features and test out different audiences. Generally speaking, the narrower you get, the better results you'll see. However, you should avoid alienating everyone. Depending on the budget, somewhere between a few hundred thousand and a few million people is a reasonable range. 2. Vary Your Posts You don't have to spend money on paid advertising to benefit from Facebook. There are plenty of organic ways to leverage the platform as a traffic generator. One thing you really need to focus on is the types of posts and content you're sharing on Facebook. While you're primary purpose of being on Facebook is to drive traffic to your blogs and increase awareness, you can't take a blatantly self-centered approach. There needs to be some diversification in what you post. Sharing five of your blog posts every day without any other interactions makes you seem selfish and disengaged. There needs to be a healthy mixture. A good rule of thumb to follow is the 70-20-10 Facebook Posting Rule. This rule says that 70 percent of the content you post should be relevant ideas that are curated from other places, 20 percent of the content should be sharing other's ideas and posts, and only 10 percent should be promotional in nature. In other words, only one out of every ten posts should be one of your own blog posts. This may seem dramatic, but think about it from the perspective of your followers. If you're only sharing your own content, then you look desperate and selfish. However, if you're also sharing other content that your followers will find helpful, then you appear genuinely interested. And when you do share one of your own links, it holds more value. 3. Create Shareable Blog Content Honestly, it all starts with the content you create on your blog. If the quality of your content is poor, you'll earn a bad reputation and people won't want to click on your posts. If the quality is good and the topics are engaging, then you'll generate more buzz. What you think is interesting versus what your followers think is interesting can sometimes vary significantly. Remember, you aren't in the business of creating content you like to read. You're in the business of creating content that others want to read. Research shows that Facebook users like to share how-to's, reviews, personal stories, lists, videos, and posts that seem too good to be true. Pay attention to the type of content your Facebook friends and followers are sharing. This is a good indication of the types of content you need to be creating. 4. Use Clickable Headlines and Images With more than a billion active daily users, Facebook is busy. Most people have hundreds or thousands of friends, which means their newsfeeds are constantly filling up with new content. The key to successfully generating traffic from your posts is to rise above the noise.  You may only have a few minutes to stand out, so make the most of your impressions. While the quality of your blog content certainly matters, you have to attract clicks in the first place. And when it comes to Facebook, users make the decision to click based on two factors: the headline and the image. After all, that's what Facebook presents to them! If you aren't spending a significant amount of time crafting clickable headlines, then you're missing out on a lot of traffic. Some even suggest spending as much time on the headline as you do on the post. According to Sarah Burke of Spokal, a popular content marketing tool, "The pros know exactly how important creating headlines are, so they often follow the 50/50 rule which is when you spend just as much time on your headline (and the first few words/lines of your copy) as you do on creating your entire piece of content." That may sound like overkill, but it's impossible to devalue the importance of the headline on Facebook. The second element that draws people in is the image. Research shows that Facebook posts with images get roughly 120 percent more engagement than posts with no images. Make sure you're using large images that are high quality and unique. Try to stay away from boring stock photos and instead look for colorful images that spark the curiosity of users. 5. Create Video Recaps of Posts As a blogger, it's a bit frightening to see how quickly video is taking over Facebook. A quick scroll through your newsfeed will reveal dozens of videos. How can you leverage your audience's affinity for video without moving away from what you do best? One strategy is to create video recaps of posts. Short video recaps of posts allow you to gain traction on Facebook by reaching those followers who prefer to watch content as opposed to read content. You don't have to record your posts word for word and line by line. Instead, shoot a 30 or 60-second spot where you touch on one of the key points in the article. The hope is that the viewer will then want to click to read the entire post. Putting it All Together Facebook is an extremely powerful tool. And as they say, with great power comes great responsibility. If you aren't maximizing Facebook as resource for generating traffic, then you're missing out. It certainly takes a lot of time and discipline to fully leverage Facebook as a marketing tool, but it's well worth it in the end. Keep these five tips in mind and always keep the end user in mind. It may be your blog, but the readers should influence the direction you take and strategies you choose. Larry Alton is an independent business consultant specializing in social media trends, business, and entrepreneurship. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. The post How to Effectively Drive More Facebook Traffic to Your Blog appeared first on ProBlogger.       Related Stories How to Build Trust With Your Subscribers Through Personalizing Your Emails 6 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started My Blog 5 “Research-Backed” Ways to Earn More Social Traction for Your Blog

Top Tips for Creating Quality Evergreen Content Posted: 31 May 2016 08:00 AM PDT This is a guest post from freelance writer Anna Johansson. If you're like most bloggers, you publish a solid combination of evergreen and time-sensitive content. The time-sensitive aspect is simple enough as long as you stay abreast of industry news and updates. But what does it take to write really compelling evergreen blog content? While you can't necessarily predict how your blog posts will be received, you can write with the following food for thought in mind. Evergreen Content: A Definition If you're unfamiliar with the concept of evergreen content, it's not hard to grasp. Basically, evergreen posts never lose their relevancy. An evergreen piece you write tomorrow should still have the same value to readers several years down the line. Of course, not every topic lends itself well to evergreen content writing. News about an up-and-coming Apple product, for example, would count as time-sensitive. A review of a newly released product might also be time-sensitive. However, a post about how to write product reviews would be evergreen. Further Reading: How to Build Your Blog’s Audience with Long Form Evergreen Content ProBlogger Podcast: Two Types of Content to Help You Find Readers for Your Blog Should You Use Timestamps on Your Blog? The Pros and Cons Let's break this down a little further: What "Timeless" Really Means A lot of bloggers define evergreen content – also called pillar content – as "timeless." In some cases, this is an accurate definition. "How To" guides, like the above example of "How to Write Product Reviews," are often considered evergreen. But there's a difference between "How to Write Product Reviews," which could theoretically be applicable to any writer reviewing any product, and something like "How to Set a Keyboard Shortcut on a MacBook." While the advice in the first example is unlikely to change significantly, the second could change – easily. Operating system updates change their organization, navigation, and other features as different updates are released, so setting a keyboard shortcut five years ago would have been a slightly different process. Noticing a trend yet? Tech writing is notoriously hard to make evergreen because even instructional pieces are subject to change, often much sooner than even savvy industry writers expect. Other topics writers struggle to make evergreen include political content and fashion writing. Bloggers working in fast moving industries have to dig a little deeper to create this kind of post. Luckily there are a few general post formats that lend themselves well to evergreen writing, no matter the field. When Older Content Makes Sense Older content can have value if it's been updated to remain relevant. Some content that might not be "evergreen," per se, is still valuable because of how search engines work. Google allows searchers to specify a date for the content they're looking for – and because these searches are performed, it makes sense to keep this old content if you see that the page continues to remain active. Keep track of your analytics, though, because if an old page could use a boost in the search rankings, it might make sense to take another look at the content. Odds are good you can update or repurpose much of it. If we're following from the above example, the second "How To" guide would still remain relevant if the writer were to update it to include changes to the Mac operating system and software. It may not be precisely evergreen, but it also isn't the kind of content that's difficult to update. HubSpot draws a distinction between "timeless" and "sustainable" content for this very reason. Some otherwise timeless content will need to be regularly updated to reflect the most valuable information available for readers, but this content can still be considered evergreen – in its sustainable form. Be sure to earmark posts that you think may fall into the sustainable category, or that you may forget to update. After all, unlike truly evergreen content, this material is only sustainable if you put in the work to make it that way. The Many Forms of Evergreen Content In all likelihood, you've already published content that could be considered evergreen – ideally in your first weeks of blogging. A "How To" guide is one such example and includes such subgenres as recipes, hair or makeup styling tips, or fitness tips, but there are other pages on your blog or website that may fit the bill. Here are some of the other kinds of evergreen content for your consideration. Frequently Asked Questions. If you're tired of receiving the same questions over and over (or you anticipate that you'll receive a certain question), place it on a FAQ page with your response. This is a great example of sustainable content, because you can add questions as they crop up and provide answers that a lot of readers are looking for. Glossaries. As an industry expert, you know what all the words on your site mean – but, depending on your field, your readers may not. Avoid alienating your audience by providing an easily accessible page that defines terms and phrases they might not yet understand, and make sure to point readers in that direction early on. No one likes stumbling through a post, only to find out that everything they needed to guide them was readily available on another page. "History Of" Posts. History is, by definition, in the past – which means it won't change. Consider doing some research about a little-known aspect of your niche or industry and providing that information. Or, dig up a few famous innovators from years past or people who inspire you and profile them for your blog. If your post is the only resource on the internet that details this history, it will have tremendous value to researchers interested in your niche – for many years to come. Checklists: Checklists are similar to "How To" posts, but with a twist. Rather than giving directions on how to perform a task, these posts provide just a basic outline. The magic of a checklist, however, is that it offers accountability and productivity benefits. Everyone likes crossing off a completed task, so why not build content around the process? If you don't already have any published blog posts or articles that use these formats, head to the drawing board and think about what you want to put out there. Once you create them, evergreen posts make great internal links, so you're sure to reference them frequently. Making It Last Some content that isn't generally considered evergreen can easily be made to fit the bill with just a few adjustments. Consider posts on how to stay productive at work. Many of these posts namedrop apps that may not be relevant in even a few months' time as device updates appear. But you could write the same post without this type of time-sensitive information. Just go analog – skip the apps and write about your other strategies instead. This same philosophy goes for many other "tips" posts, as well. You just need to think outside of the box. Can't figure out how to write web design tips that don't rely on current platforms or tech capacities? Just back it up. Web design may be a modern topic, but graphic design and its ilk have been around forever. Turn to the old pros for timeless design tips instead. Another way to make create evergreen content out of normally time-sensitive material is to get more specific instead of less. Did a client just do something incredible with your help? Or has your company overcome a major obstacle to achieve a goal? Turn these time-sensitive news pieces into case studies instead. A case study is a highly specific, yet broadly imagined kind of "tips" post. You're sharing exactly how a specific company or individual accomplished something great. Readers love specific examples, drawing them to this kind of content. And what's more, it's much easier to load a case study with keywords and other SEO-friendly information than it is to do the same thing in a news post about the same event. Further Reading: You’ve Got Readers To Your Blog; This is How You Keep Them There 5 Tips for Getting Readers Viewing Your Old Blog Posts Blog Post Idea: How I Do It Posts Skip The Master Class When writing evergreen content, it's important to understand who your audience is. Experts are rarely the target audience. That's because the level of knowledge and the type of information experts need tends to land more squarely in the time-sensitive camp. They know the basics and are busy innovating at a higher level. Instead, try reframing your understanding of evergreen content towards a beginner to intermediate level audience. These are the readers who need guidance, and who are learning the ropes. Beginner level readers want to get their feet wet on the subject, while intermediate readers may need a refresher on a process or topic they've only worked with a few times before. And as they learn, they'll click their way along to more complex, time-sensitive material. If you do feel you need to engage experts with your evergreen content, you're best off situating the expert as source. This makes beginning readers feel that they're in reliable hands, and it's more likely that the experts in the field will share the content with staff and colleagues. Writing a post about online stock trading? Frame it as advice from a senior broker and, if you've done it right, watch it take off again and again. That's the power of evergreen content. Put It to Work Once you've developed your evergreen content, make sure you've positioned it for success. You might create a list of top blogs or a directory of information for beginners. Then, put it as a main header on your site or in another noticeable place. You want site visitors to find this information quickly and easily, otherwise they may go elsewhere for their info. Don't forget to post your evergreen content to social media. Even though social content is infamously time sensitive, evergreen material also has a place. Make it intriguing and readers will still flock to it. When you see a drop off in readers in your analytic data, wait a short time and launch it again. There are always new readers to reach, whether they've just joined the field or missed the original post in the mass of social content that comes our way each day. Final Thoughts: Evergreen Content and Your Blog As you work on your evergreen content, remember to always think back to your blog and what it’s about. What kind of content should represent you? What do you want your readers to feel? Interspersing evergreen posts in your blog will show these readers that you want to help them by providing information that will remain useful for years to come. But remember, even dictionaries are updated every few years, so don't pretend "evergreen" means "untouchable." Anna Johansson is a freelance writer specializing in entrepreneurship, technology, and social media trends. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn. The post Top Tips for Creating Quality Evergreen Content appeared first on ProBlogger.       Related Stories 10 Tips and Strategies for a Better Facebook Marketing Campaign 7 Simple Ideas for Mailing List Opt-Ins How to Write Engaging Content About “Boring” Subject Matter

How to Build Trust With Your Subscribers Through Personalizing Your Emails Posted: 30 May 2016 08:00 AM PDT This is a guest contribution from Bill Acholla of Billacholla.com. Max E. Mailer is an email marketer. Every day, Mailer would send hundreds of emails to carefully cultivated leads. Every day, he'd be disappointed by the lack of response to those emails on which he worked so hard. What was the problem? Why wasn't he managing to capture people's attention? Then, one fateful day, he did something new. He crafted a passionate email which was too precious to just throw out to some random people. He addressed each and every lead by their first name. He personalized the emails. Sales increased drastically. His company began to get noticed. And his life was never the same again. Mailer's problem is one that many of us encounter. But his solution is not what most of us go for. Let's consider what the data suggests. According to a report, a staggering 94 percent of businesses say personalization is critical for their business. But, according to another report, only 5 percent of companies personalize extensively.  Personalization works. And it makes sense too. Why would anyone be interested in seeing your email, no matter how crafted it is, if it doesn't address them? None of us is Hillary Clinton except, of course, Hillary herself. The nation is not holding its breath to read our emails. This is why we personalize. But how do we do that exactly? That is the question. Here Are The 6 Best Non-Obvious Email Personalization Techniques. 1. No Catch Free Stuff Who doesn't like receiving stuff for free? Granted, your organization is a business, not a charity. You are hoping to gain profit on its content, products, or services, not to distribute them for free. But this is a bitter pill you need to swallow to get your message out there. "Compelling ideas and stories must reach a tipping point before they start to gain momentum. And the best way to push them over the edge is to be generous," says Jeff Goins. "Giving away your work will allow future customers (or readers or fans or whatever) the opportunity to hear about it, see the value, and then reward you for it." Remember, your marketing emails need to provide value to the customer. No one deserves to spend their precious time reading your email without getting something out of it. Here's an example of a clever free stuff marketing strategy: 2. Sending Oops Email If you are a content or product marketer, you would know that mistakes happen. To err is human. If such a thing occurs, don't worry. Don't panic. It's not the end of the world. In fact, it's just the opposite. It's an opportunity to connect with your customers or readers. The best way to do that is to send oops email. Sounds nice, but what exactly is an oops email? An oops email is when you send an email to your customer to apologize for some earlier mishap. Whether your website crashed or you sent a wrong email earlier, oops email is the way to go. Just remember to use crafty subject lines to get better open rates. Give the customers a chance to exonerate you and move on. To forgive is divine. And how can the customers not forgive you if you send an oops email like Urban Outfitters did? 3. Sending Alert Emails A triggered email alert program can do wonders in terms of attracting customer attention. It's a smart marketing strategy as well. Not only is it marketing your content, product, or service, it's also providing value to the customer by keeping them updated about the kind of stuff they're interested in. Automated, yet personalized, email alerts are a cheap and effective means of staying in touch with your customers. You can use any of the available email personalization software without even budgeting $1000 for content marketing. Here's an example of an email alert sign up form: 4. Giving Subscribers New Content Before Anyone Else When the customers subscribe, they're doing you a favor. Remember that. And remember to pay them back for those favors. But how do you that? One simple way to make your subscribers feel special is to offer them exclusive content before you offer it to anyone else. This gives your subscribers a sense of exclusivity, a feeling of being in a club, being unique, being different from everyone else. According to Laura C. George, "this is a strategy that gets you email signups and, if you continue to do it well, makes them stick around." To give you a better idea of how to make the email recipients feel exclusive, here is one from Brian Dean of Backlinko: 5. Letting Subscribers Control How Often They Hear From You When it comes to email marketing, there's a fine line between being consistently repetitive enough to let your message sink in and being annoying enough to turn your customers off or lose them entirely. So, as a marketer, it's your responsibility to control how often your customers hear from you. In your email preferences, include a frequency option. Make it easy for the customers to unsubscribe from your emails, but also consider this: There's a whole lot of ground to cover between sending 10 emails a day to a customer and letting them unsubscribe. These two are opposite ends of the spectrum. Frequency preferences are what lie in between. They give the customer a flexible range of options to choose from. Used effectively, these can also act as one of the many email marketing metrics to assess your marketing strategy. Bonobos does it in a clever way: 6. Segmenting Which Type Of Content They Get From You "If content is king, segmentation is queen," says Paralee Walls. This is the best description of content or marketing segmentation. No matter how well-written your articles are, how high-quality your content is, or how qualified your experts are, it would all go to waste if it doesn't reach the right audience. So, you need to let the audience choose which type of content they get from you. For instance, if you are writing about various topics from politics to celebrity news, you need the right target audience for each topic. This review website does it right: Content marketing can be frustrating for some, especially for those whose salaries depend on it. If you found any of this information helpful, share this article to get them out of tight spots. Bill Achola is a content marketing consultant specializing in content writing and marketing at Billacholla.com. He works closely with B2B and B2C companies providing the right content that generates social shares, comments, and traffic back to their business blogs. The post How to Build Trust With Your Subscribers Through Personalizing Your Emails appeared first on ProBlogger.       Related Stories 11 Steps to Growth Hack Your Way to Blogging Success How to Network at Blog Events (Even if You’re Shy!) How to Effectively Drive More Facebook Traffic to Your Blog

How to Network at Blog Events (Even if You’re Shy!) Posted: 29 May 2016 08:00 AM PDT Time is hurtling towards this year’s ProBlogger Training Event at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on Australia’s Gold Coast, and I don’t know about you but here at ProBlogger HQ, we are getting EXCITED! (if you are yet to get a ticket, head here to grab one, you save $100 if you purchase before July 1, 2016!). Blogging can be such a solo sport, thousands of us tapping away at our laptops in our own homes across the world, talking to everyone online but rarely in person. It can be a bit confronting to come out from behind your computer and not only have to speak to strangers face to face at blogging events, but also keep it together in front of those you admire. Having been to a number of blogging events myself, I know first hand how it feels when you’re an introvert and you’re suddenly among thousands of (semi-familiar) strangers, having to make small talk and not have food in your teeth and promote your brand and do all the right things in front of the right people. I also know first hand how amazing it is to break through the nerves and have great conversations, make awesome connections that lead to incredible opportunities, have a raging time, and make some new friends. I can’t speak highly enough of showing up in person to events and making the most of them. How to Network at Blog Events (Even if You’re Shy!) Here are my top tips for working a room even when you want to hide in the corner behind a pot plant and stalk everyone on Instagram. Yes, I’ve been there… Remember: You’re among friends Really, everyone who is there has a blog or online presence of some sort, and they’re all there for the same reason as you. So you’ve got something in common, and the likelihood that they’re also feeling a bit overwhelmed and nervous and shy is pretty high. Yes there will be people who are rocking it because they thrive on this kind of environment, have been to a million events before, and are right at home in a circle of people. If that’s not you, that’s cool. There’s also the people who are faking it until they make it – putting on a brave front even when they don’t feel it, and getting stuck in anyway. They usually find that once they start chatting they are more relaxed, and start to enjoy themselves. It is often the fear of speaking to strangers and doubt about the unknown that makes events a minefield for introverted folk. If you really want to sit behind a pot plant and scroll through the event hashtag on Twitter, that’s fine. But if you’ve come to meet people, be inspired and maybe make a friend, it’s worth swapping the cyclamen for a smile and at least a friendly remark in the ladies’ loo line (you’ll be surprised where that can get you!). Stalk on social So the night before or the morning of the event, check out everyone’s Instagram or Twitter feed – you’ll often see what others are wearing, what their faces look like, something that’s happening in their life right now you might be able to ask them about later when it comes to small talk, and you can even leave them a friendly comment like you’re looking forward to seeing them later in the day. This all helps you feel more comfortable when you’re looking for a friendly face in the crowd or are hunting down your blog crush for a brief hello. Question? Have a few pre-prepared questions in your head you can ask before the conversation gets awkward. General questions you can bust out to anybody – what’s your blog about? Do you live near here? Which speaker are you looking forward to hearing? Who here would you love to meet? Did you enjoy lunch? Whatever you can pull out of your conversational arsenal when the moment strikes. It’s also TOTALLY OK to not know every single blogger and be familiar with every single blog. People love you asking about their blogs, they’re not going to be offended that you don’t know who they are, and it’s totally not embarrassing to have never heard of someone before. Bloggers come from all walks and all niches, you don’t have to be across them all to have a friendly conversation. Here’s my card If you think it will help, have a business card printed before you go. You don’t have to spam everyone with them and throw them around like confetti, but if you meet someone you’d really like to get in front of, it can be helpful to give them a little card with all your details on it. Everyone’s meeting so many people it can be hard to keep track of what face belonged to what blog. The cards will help. Wear what you love I can’t stress this enough! You want to be comfortable and confident, you don’t want to be hiding in your car or sitting down the whole time because you’ve worn something cool but inappropriate, or shoes that are fabulous but hurt so much you can’t stand. Of course you want to look good and make a good impression, but it’s hard to make a good impression when you’re stressing about your outfit and you don’t want to be seen. Wear what you love, whatever that may be. You don’t have to be in the fashion blogger league (unless you want to be!), and by all means treat yourself to a new outfit if that’s what you want, but feel good in it. Chat with the team Find out who’s running the show (often they have a special lanyard or t-shirt) and chat with them. They might know another blogger who’d be good to meet, or give you good tips on what sessions might suit you. They’re also friendly and happy to talk to you anytime so you never have to feel alone in a sea of people who all look like they’ve been friends for years and this is your first day of school. Keep an open mind You might have an idea of who you want to talk to and what you want to do, but don’t discount other bloggers you don’t know yet – anyone could lead to anything! The possibilities are endless, so be open to whatever may come. Go easy on the liquor I know, Dutch courage is awesome and most of us are 200% wittier after a glass of something, but you really can be drunk before you feel drunk and you will 100% say something stupid if you’re not in possession of your faculties. Keep the booze intake on the conservative side until you’ve taken care of business, then find a wingman or a tribe of your peeps and by all means party on. You never know who you might connect with on the dance floor busting a move to Madonna. Have a purpose Having said all that, it can be super-useful to you to have a small bucket list of what you want to achieve at the event. Is it asking a specific person a question? Making sure someone else gets your card? An offer for a collaboration with a fellow blogger? Have a think about what will be good for you and try as hard as you can to tick off your to-do list. It can also help with nerves and that fish out of water feeling if you’ve got a task at hand and a purpose for the day. Do your homework Have a read through of the blogs of the people you want to meet. Think about how you can tailor your conversation to them, think of the questions you want to ask, or the thing you want to offer. Also have a think about where you are at in your blogging and how networking with these people can help. What do you want t oachieve? What is your favourite blogger’s favourite drink? offer to buy them one! Don’t be quiet at Question time This is the worst thing for all involved. The speakers WANT to answer your question. YOU want your question answered. The team WANT there to be a lively question session. You are only inconveniencing yourself if you don’t seize the moment and make use of question time. You’re not bothering anyone, it won’t be embarrassing, and all will be well. Just ask the damn question! Have an effective introduction I won’t go into elevator pitches or how to explain you and your blog in one minute or less, but as a personal blogger who finds it difficult to explain what I do, it’s WAY worse if I’m stumbling through a spiel and everyone’s feeling uncomfortable at my inability to answer a simple question. Even if you don’t have your niche mapped out, at least pick something to immediately convey the kind of blog you have. You can give further info later, but have a snappy response to the answer “what is your blog about?” and you’ll be way more memorable for all the right reasons. Follow up The best thing to do after the event is to go home and reach out to people you’ve met to help them cement you in their mind. Tweet them or email and leave a little reminder as to which blogger you are as I dare say they met a fair few! Give them the info you promised, or reach out with an idea or feedback. “Can I write this down?” Don’t be afraid to take notes if you’re chatting with someone and they say something interesting or make a point you’d like to remember. Chances are you won’t remember, so grab a small notebook or put it in your phone. I promise no-one will think you’re senile or weird, they’ll probably be flattered that you’re keen to know so much about them. Go it alone Oh I know this is a hard one, but don’t be afraid of showing up to these things without knowing anyone, or without a wingman. I can guarantee if you go with a friend you’ll hardly push yourself out of that comfort zone to go and talk to people. If you’re alone then you’re more likely to strike up a random conversation or go speak to someone just so you’re not standing around looking lost and awkward. This is the time to think of your blogger bucket list and go track them down. Keep a lid on the nerves You will regret it if you scurry off to your room or the loos and avoid everyone at all costs, I promise. Just grab your fake it till you make it face, think of one question you can ask just about anyone and remember that everyone’s there to meet people. If you finally get to that blogger you’ve always wanted to meet and then you freak out so much your mind goes blank, you’ll be kicking yourself later. Also, everyone is nervous! Even if it’s just a little bit. Even the confident bloggers are still a little bit concerned that you’ll be disappointed when you meet them, or they won’t live up to expectations, or people will think they’re fat, or they’ll say something dumb because they’re better at writing than they are at small talk with strangers. Everyone is in the same boat, so if you’re calm and relaxed (even if you have to fake it!), you’ll make everyone else calm and relaxed too. Speakers Be strategic about catching them – they do often get swamped at the end of a session, so be aware of that. They also most likely have to rush off so the next speaker can get set up. Save your bigger questions for a different time and try to catch them at breaks, in between other sessions, or whenever you think they’ll be most receptive to a chat. But don’t (whatever you do!) assume it’s always a bad time and don’t seek them out, you will regret that too. They are there to speak to people, so it may as well be you! Stand near the table This is one of my favourite things to do. Hang by the registration desk and watch people coming in – you’re guaranteed to find someone to chat with! I also like standing near the food table – not only because I like to eat as much food as I possibly can at all times, but also because people are relaxed around food and I’ve had many a funny conversation with someone I’ve been desperate to meet over shitty tongs for the salad or fighting over the last baked potato. The other benefit is that almost everyone will go to the registration or the food table at some point, so you’re more likely to see them there than anywhere else. Stand alone It’s ok to stand alone and survey the scene before you. Someone might strike up a conversation, or you might spot someone in the crowd you want to speak to. Don’t hunch over your phone, worried that everyone will look at the weird blogger in the corner staring at everyone, chances are they’re either feeling weird too or caught up in their own business and they’re not judging you. Be the person everyone wishes they had If you wish that you could just sit there minding your own business and someone will come to your aid, then be that person for someone else. If you spot a frightened face behind a fern, go and say hi. If there’s someone lurking by the food table looking uncomfortable and out of place, make a joke about the food. Ask any and everyone a friendly question and be warm and encouraging. They’ll be so grateful you did and you will feel awesome too.   So what are your tips for making the most of face-to-face blogger interaction? Who have you met that you loved? Who are you wishing you’d met? What do you do when you’re super nervous and would rather blend in with the wallpaper? I’d love to chat about it! Also if you haven’t bought your ticket for PBEvent 2016, don’t forget you can get $100 off for the next few weeks. Stacey Roberts 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, follow on Pinterest for fun and useful tips, peek behind the curtain on Instagram, listen to her 90s nostalgia podcast, or be entertained on Facebook. The post How to Network at Blog Events (Even if You’re Shy!) appeared first on ProBlogger.       Related Stories How to Build Trust With Your Subscribers Through Personalizing Your Emails 11 Steps to Growth Hack Your Way to Blogging Success

Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately? Posted: 27 May 2016 08:00 AM PDT Welcome to the weekend (well Friday for folks not in my timezone!) and this week’s reading roundup. I took lots of notes this week and learned some hard truths. The Emotional Combinations That Make Stories Go Viral | Harvard Business Review If going viral is not a matter of luck (as first thought) but as a result of creating an emotional experience, then this is interesting reading. Content Creation Hacks: How to Quickly Produce Valuable Content | Social Media Examiner I actually really love the historical content tip on this podcast, as I think it can work really well for brands – and bloggers too! Everyone loves a throwback. Better Inbox Productivity: 5 Tools for Reclaiming the 560 Hours You Spend on Email | Jeff Bullas *Signs up for Todoist’s Gmail extension* Achieve Stellar Results from Facebook and Instagram Remarketing | PPC Hero A timely reminder to perhaps think outside the box when it comes to advertising on these platforms, and that we can go in and edit a campaign that isn’t working as well as we’d hoped. 3 Unusual Lessons We Learned From Studying Over 16 million posts (and 100,000 Brands) on Social Media | Buffer These results were surprising but not surprising all at the same time – get on that video train if you’re not already! How to Solve Big Marketing Problems by Strategizing Like a Startup | CoSchedule I actually really love this advice, because it drives you to seek feedback on what’s working, even if you’re established. What would you do if you were starting your blog young and hungry? How would you stand out from the crowd if you had a product to sell? How to Calm Your Content Anxiety in Five Simple Steps | Copyblogger If you’re overwhelmed and upset with the idea of coming up with fresh blog content every day forever, this one’s for you. The Power of the Mid-Tier Blogger | Racked This was such an interesting read – that you can still be successful if you’re not the biggest name in the blogosphere. Love it. H/T to Carly Findlay for that one. What’s the ROI of Your Guest Posts? I Studied 273 Guest Posts on 78 Blogs and it Doesn’t Look Good | Inbound Well there’s something nobody wants to hear! If you’re looking for traffic, you may have to look elsewhere. Three Things Email Marketers Should do to Stay Competitive | Marketingprofs I think going back to basics is an excellent tip. Well there you go – are you happy? sad? Going to think of something else to do other than guest posting for a bump in traffic? Going to be more zen about your content anxiety? See you on Monday for an epic post about how to navigate networking at blog events when you’re a shy type. Stacey Roberts 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, follow on Pinterest for fun and useful tips, peek behind the curtain on Instagram, listen to her 90s nostalgia podcast, or be entertained on Facebook. The post Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately? appeared first on ProBlogger.       Related Stories Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately?

Making Landing Pages Work for You With Multivariate Testing Posted: 26 May 2016 08:00 AM PDT This is a guest contribution from Mahesh Dabade ofTechLila. Now that products and services have taken up marketing on blogs and websites to a whole new level, you would be familiar with Landing Pages. Landing pages are specially-designed and set up pages for particular products, services or events. For instance, if you have a product launch coming along for your ebook or ecourse (or e-something!), it makes sense to create a landing page; with custom domain name and related stuff — so that you get better conversions. Also, when compared to setting up a fully-fledged website, landing pages are easy to be set up and publish, and there are WYSIWYG editors available with landing page creation solutions. Despite all these, testing is one of the must-have ways to get an effective and converting landing page. Indeed, you'd be familiar with A/B Testing, which has been used as an industry standard for a while. In A/B Testing, two versions of one page (or email mailout, or headline) are compared to each other, to find which one works better, resonates more with people, and gets more conversions. Now, however, we have a new method to ponder over — Multivariate Testing. In this article, we'll be talking about multivariate testing and how it can help you make landing pages work. Shall we start? How Multivariate Testing Works Before we talk about multivariate testing, you should know about different landing pages. A landing page may come with one or more elements. For instance, one landing page may have only a well-designed image. At the same time, another landing page may consist of different elements, such as sign-up boxes, images, text, videos etc. A page may also have some interactive elements such as social media buttons or so. Given that you have different elements in a landing page, you can move towards Multivariate Testing! Basically, Multivariate Testing is a mode of page testing that involves different kinds of element combinations. In the case of A/B Testing, an entirely different page is created and tested against the old one. In multivariate, however, different elements are placed in different sections to get different versions. Practically speaking, one version of page will have the product banner at the top; at the same time, another version will have the text box at top. The higher the number of elements goes, the higher the number of multivariate versions we get. These different page versions are then used for testing, with the traffic the page receives. Once the substantial amount of traffic has been poured into the versions of landing page, the real analysis can be done. Multivariate Testing analysis is done by comparing different versions of element organization. Several details will be taken into consideration: the time a user spends on the page, the clicks and scrolls made by the user, his/her reply to the call-to action etc. The input from each version is compared with that of other versions. Then, decisions are made, about the effectiveness of elements' organization. So, we hope you have an idea about the modus operandi of Multivariate Testing, as to when compared to common A/B Testing. Now, we will move on to the other aspects of Multivariate testing, such as advantages and limitations. When Should You Use Multivariate Testing? There is one critical condition to the Multivariate Testing to give you good results: it's that your landing page should receive substantial amount of stable traffic. It is only with stable traffic that you can test different versions of a page. As I said earlier, suppose your landing page has many elements, of various categories. You have different element layouts in your mind, but cannot decide which one is the most appropriate one. So, when you want to choose the effective organization of different elements, you can rely upon Multivariate Testing. Now that you know when to use multivariate testing, we will talk about its advantages. Advantages of using Multivariate Testing The major Multivariate Testing advantages over A/B Testing are as follows: Multivariate Testing results are quite precise and subtle. In the end, you get a clear idea about how elements should be arranged in a successful manner. While A/B Testing limits itself to the bigger changes, this one is not. Multivariate Testing is complete factorial, meaning that the whole analysis is done using live traffic. It means that multivariate testing does not bring assumptions into the scene at least while testing. Instead, results are purely based on your visitors and you can count on them. Interrelation of different elements is also taken into account by Multivariate Testing. For instance, your sign up box and product banner may work together if placed near. Likewise, you can find the successful relation between different objects — with the help of this testing. Since in-page re-arrangements are suggested, you don't need a design makeover. However, in A/B Testing, you may have to redesign the entire page. Here, however, you can use the results to optimize your landing page and make it work well. The advantages are quite compelling, aren't they? Disadvantages/Limitations of Multivariate Testing One of the main limitations of Multivariate Testing is its high traffic requirement. As we mentioned earlier, there are a huge number of landing page versions you'd get. To test and compare these versions, you need a lot of live traffic to the specific page in test. Not only that, your page should receive stable traffic. If that's okay for you, it's all good. When you are starting a landing page, you cannot really get the results from multivariate results. However, once you have got an idea about the page and have a good background support, you can use this kind of testing. When you're starting the journey, you will have to stick on A/B Testing or so. The reason is simple — the results are subtle. Because the testing method is way too precise, you cannot count on it when you want a complete redesign of pages! Otherwise, you will have to extrapolate the results given by multivariate testing. So, in short, it's for optimization and not for bigger design overhauls. Another disadvantage of Multivariate Testing is the absence of being sensible in some aspects. As you know, not all elements of your page may have effect on the conversion ratios. For instance, if you have an image that links nowhere, it is of no use from the conversion point of view. Even these elements will be tested in Multivariate Testing —using traffic resource of site —, which isn't a good thing. The Practical Deal According to the experts, Multivariate Testing is quite useful for optimizing the landing page. You are not going to have a design overhaul, but the subtle changes can bring more conversions to you. Just think this way: wouldn't it be great if you can have better traffic by rearranging your product banner and sign up box, that too depending upon user response? Well, that is what you are going to get via Multivariate Testing. Also, thanks to the factorial nature, it is possible to get crystal clear decisions out of the output. Conclusion So, we have talked enough about Multivariate Testing, which is considerably the effective way to test landing pages, websites and other stuff. Given that your site has stable and substantial amount of traffic — depending on the exact number of combinations from different versions —, you can make use of Multivariate Testing. Also, this testing isn't useful for bigger design overhauls. On the other hand, when you want to optimize your landing page for conversions and for more profit, Multivariate Testing makes enough sense, I bet. Do you use Multivariate Testing for your own landing pages? How have been the results? Do let us know through your comments. Mahesh is the Editor-in-Chief of TechLila. He has a great passion in SEO and Blogging. You can get in touch with him via these modes:Facebook and GooglePlus. The post Making Landing Pages Work for You With Multivariate Testing appeared first on ProBlogger.       Related Stories How to Get Paid for Freelance and Brand Work on Time, Every Time 3 Blogger Monetisation Lessons from Facebook’s Branded Content Policy Update 7 Tips to Help You on Your Way to Blogging Full Time

7 Simple Ideas for Mailing List Opt-Ins Posted: 25 May 2016 08:00 AM PDT This is a guest contribution from Charles Crawford. For a blog or business, a quality opt-in campaign is worth its weight in subscribers. Not only does a subscriber base give you direct access to the customers and readers that care most about your brand, but it also lets you target those who are most engaged and willing to come back for more. Truly, this is a marketing technique that should not be taken lightly –  if you haven’t set up a mailing list, now’s the time. Bear in mind, however, that an opt-in campaign must be more than a simple newsletter or a glorified advertisement in your subscribers' mailboxes. People don’t part with their precious email addresses for just anything, the best opt-ins give them value, and promise even more down the line. You need to always be thinking how you can help your reader or solve a problem for them, and then make that the basis of your opt-in. Once they’ve signed up to your list, you keep providing value and helping them wherever you can. However, this is putting the cart before the horse if you haven't already attracted your subscribers. While you'll find that a small number of people will happily sign up for your marketing outreach as raving fans, you’re still going to have to put in some real effort to get new subscribers and keep them happy. Just as your opt-in campaign should focus on bringing readers and customers value, so should your methods for reeling them in. This means giving them something free in exchange for the subscription. 1. Free Information and Updates Of course, a newsletter will already be giving out free information and updates about your posts or products. But it's all in the way you sell it. Instead of just informing your website's visitors that you have a mailing list, sell it to them just as you would any other product. And in order to do that, you have to get into the mind of your customers. People like feeling that they're a part of an exclusive club, that they're getting the secrets that will put them ahead of everyone else and make them come out on top. To take advantage of this, tease them with tidbits you'll include only in your mailing list. The best part about this freebie method is that if you're an expert in your niche, it should be pretty easy to share your knowledge. But don't let that make you think you can provide your audience with something they could easily find on their own. Remember rule number one of opt-ins: provide value. Don’t take your space in their inbox lightly. Reward your opt-ins with regular, high-quality articles that they wouldn't be able to find anywhere else. Mailchimp and Constant Contact are two great platforms for creating and maintaining your email base. 2. Resource Sheet If your blog is in any way educational to your audience, they're going to want a way of finding other helpful links that will help them learn more about your niche. In return for signing up for your email or service, offer them a huge list of other resources they can turn to. You'll be providing your audience with that ever-important value while simultaneously adding authority to your brand. You don't necessarily have to list all of your competitors on this sheet; instead, think of related niches, topics, blogs and sites that will genuinely help your reader. These could be websites, books, tools, online communities, trade magazines–things you yourself use to become an expert in your niche. 3. Ebook Related To Your Industry or Niche Ebooks are a great way to branch out with your service. Leverage your extensive knowledge  into a short e-book that is helpful for your audience. The best part is, when creating an e-book, you don't necessarily have to start from scratch. It’s often enough to repurpose existing blog posts for new subscribers, but if you’re concerned about providing value for the long-termers then use those blog posts as a basis for an eBook and then include extra copy alongside. The de-facto platform for creating and hosting e-books is Amazon's Kindle Store, with which you have the extra benefit of marketing your brand to another audience. However, it isn't the best when it comes to giving away free books. Instead, use InstaFreebie, which allows you to upload your ebook file and generate a link for sharing. Plus, it integrates with Mailchimp. 4. Discounts on Your Products or Services While it may hurt you to give away your products at discount, there are some upsides. Firstly, discounts on older ebooks, courses, or content that isn’t top of sales any more can be a great way of keeping them moving. These discounts may even have the power to get your audience to purchase one of your products they perhaps weren't going to in the first place. Coupon codes are a great way to provide discounts to your audience. How you go about doing this will depend on the retailer you're using or the ecommerce system you have set up for the business part of your blog. In any case, you'll be able to generate discount codes that you can then pass on to your potential opt-ins. Offer these discounts in exchange for your users signing up for your email newsletter or subscription-based service. Even if they only sign up to receive the discount, chances are that many will stay subscribed to your service, especially if they find that your campaign provides them with value that they weren't expecting. 5. Unused Materials If you have some material that you just haven't been able to use – for example, a lengthy blog post or guide – and you just can't figure out how to get it out there, consider giving it away for free. While you could go ahead and convert this material into a password-protected file, consider leaving it unlocked. If your audience decides to share it with others, that's free publicity for your brand. Chances are, this material that's been sitting around will be a little unpolished. While you may have kept it from release due to quality concerns, customers will be a little more forgiving if you're giving it away for free. Still, you should take some time to edit and perfect, just like you would with anything you release as part of your brand. Anything that shows an obvious lack of quality will turn off your audience and be a bad representation of your brand. 6. Case Studies You can use the freebie giveaway as an opportunity to teach your audience how to best make use of your blog.  Consider giving users a collection of success stories that you or your readers have had from using the content they’ve found on your blog – post step-by-step instructions in how this success was achieved. Always keep in mind the reader of your case study: it should be well-formatted with headings, subheadings, bullet points, and pictures to easily guide the reader along. A case study is wonderful because it provides solid value to your audience, as they can model their own strategies off this success story. Plus, it has the added benefit of lending more authority to your blog and giving your audience more confidence in using it. After all, a confident audience is a repeat audience. 7. Counseling or Guidance While this won't work for all situations, you could consider giving away some special guidance to readers who sign up to your mailing list. Such applications for this idea are an hour-long phone call or video chat, or a once-a-month catchup on something that they’re struggling with. How you apply this idea will depend on your schedule and availability. While this probably won't be appropriate for simple email sign-ups, it can be a good way to get readers to take the next step, especially when there are ecourses or other services involved.. There is one other upside to this idea: it will give you the social proof of being an authority in your field. If you're concerned about "wasting" your time and resources on giving something away, consider these two things: First, a freebie is an investment, and while you won't see returns immediately, they're guaranteed to bring in a bigger audience. Secondly, you can always find other ways to cut your expenses to make up for the fact that you're giving away something for free. Which opt-in type do you think would work best for you? Charles Crawford is a high-level entrepreneur and co-founder of Crawford and O'Brien. Charles has been studying internet marketing, web design, and tech start-ups for years, and he has been successful with multiple business ventures such as affiliate marketing (where 98%+ of users never make money). The post 7 Simple Ideas for Mailing List Opt-Ins appeared first on ProBlogger.       Related Stories 10 Tips and Strategies for a Better Facebook Marketing Campaign Top Tips for Creating Quality Evergreen Content 10 Reasons Why You Should Give Facebook Live Video a Go

How (and When) to Register a Trademark Without Hiccups Posted: 24 May 2016 08:02 AM PDT This is a guest contribution from Jeanette Jifkins of Onyx Online Law, The best brand name in the world isn't worth anything unless it helps you make money. So why would you trade mark your name before you even know if you have a business? If you talk to lawyer who spends their working life immersed in IP law (intellectual property law), they usually want you to register your trade mark without delay. Let's be practical here. If you're starting a business, the best place to start is making money. If you're not making money, doing business is going to be hard work and not a lot of fun.  Registering a trade mark is probably not your best top priority! Here's some food for thought: November 2001 – Facebook registered as a trade mark in France / EU February 2004 – Facebook (as we know it) launched August 2005 – Facebook registered as a trade mark in Canada February 2006 – Facebook trade mark registered in Australia May 2009 – Facebook trade mark registered in South Africa November 2011 – Facebook trade mark registered in the United States Your brand protection can be a gradual process.  So where do you start when trying to decide "To register, or not to register?". Step 1: Is your brand capable of trade mark protection? Huh? Let me explain. If commonly used words and expressions were capable of trade mark protection, there would be a lot of businesses unable to explain what they do.  If you could trade mark words like 'bakery' or 'auto-repair' or 'blogger' then other people doing the same thing would not be able to use those words in business and we'd all end up in a pickle. Some general rules are: You can't trade mark a protected term, like 'Olympics' You can't trade mark commonly used terms that other people in the same business are likely to want to use (a recent Australian case said a cemetery trust could not trade mark 'Memorials@Home' because any business providing services for the families of deceased relatives might want to use the expression 'memorials at home' in describing their services.) You can't trade mark purely descriptive or geographic terms, like 'New York Deli' because there is nothing distinctive in the name that would differentiate any one deli in New York from any other deli in New York So, what you can do is use a common word or phrase to differentiate a product or service from other businesses in the same industry where that would be unusual, like: Apple for computers Jockey for underwear Miller for beer, and Puma for shoes There are also times where a word that started as a trade mark has become a commonly understood term and is no longer capable of protection. Words that have become synonymous with what they are, like: Post-it notes Jacuzzi Band-Aid Mumpreneur. One of my accountant friends rang me the other day and said his client had applied to register a trade mark and been knocked back, and asked if I could help. Unfortunately, the name they tried to register was along the lines of '<town name> auto repairs', which is why it did not get through examination. So, once you think you have something that can be registered, what next? Step 2: Does your brand have value? Not every brand name makes a difference to how much money the business can make. It depends upon how you are set up and what you do with your business. Think about what your raving fans, followers or customers are going to look for when they search for you. If people follow you based on your name, then your name will have more value than a brand name. If people find you based on your product or service, and your brand does actually differentiate you from the competition, then there might be value worth protecting in your brand. Whatever avenue people use to find you is where you have greater value. ProBlogger is a great example. Some people will be looking for Darren Rowse, other people will be looking for ProBlogger. As bloggers, your personal identity might be what attracts your audience rather than the business you are building. So before racing out and registering anything, think about where the value lies. Step 3: Is there anyone else out there using your brand, or likely to? What is your risk, really? Back in 2011 a client of mine had a domain name that included the brand name of a product they sold. The brand name was registered in the United Kingdom as a trade mark of their supplier. So far, so good. Unfortunately, there was also a United States based supplier with the same brand name registered as a trade mark there. The US company came to Australia in 2013 and registered the trade mark without the knowledge of my client or their UK supplier. They then pursued my client for breach of trade mark. Leaving aside all the technical legal arguments that were open to my client, we looked at the business from a practical perspective. Sure, my client could have spent $150,000 and three years in court proceedings to prove their entitlement, but when we looked at the business, all the customers came through the email list and not through the website. The customers were interested in the product, but the business came through their relationship with my client. So we rebranded the business and trade marked the new brand, had a new website built with a domain name that didn't include a trade mark and transferred all the customers over to the rebranded business within 90 days. My client kept the business, protected it for the future and didn't spend a fortune of time or money in legal dispute. We even had the US company buy the domain name for $3,000. In that case, if my client had registered the brand as a trade mark in Australia, knowing it was registered elsewhere in the world, they would not have had to rebrand and may even have had an offer to licence or purchase the use of that brand by the US company. Look around! Is there anyone else in the world using a brand or trade mark similar to yours, in the same industry? If there is someone out there, what are the chance they, or someone else, wants to bring that business to your country?  Step 4: Is there any other form of protection in place? Many people don't realise that a stylised design might already have copyright protection. Copyright protection is automatic on the creation of something creative. So a logo or design could already have copyright protection. The creative input into the logo doesn't have to be extensive, but it does have to be more than your business name in a font that can easily be downloaded by anyone, no matter what colour you make it. The ProBlogger 'P' in a circle has enough creativity to it to be capable of copyright protection, which does not have to be registered. That logo is also capable of trade mark protection. Step 5: Is now the right time? There is so much to do in your business every day and trade mark registration can take months. If you are interested in protecting your trade mark, but just not organised to go through the process yet, consider putting TM after your brand name or logo. You can use the TM symbol before you register a trade mark and the ® symbol after you have it registered. The TM symbol lets people know that you do intend to take action to protect your trade mark. The ® lets people know your trade mark is actually registered. Once your trade mark is so well known that no one would try and use it (like Google and Facebook) then you don't need to put anything with it at all! Jeanette Jifkins is the founder and Principal of Onyx Online Law, an Australian based law firm with the focus of supporting businesses with an online presence. Read more about using trade marks online here. The post How (and When) to Register a Trademark Without Hiccups appeared first on ProBlogger.       Related Stories How to Create a Business Blog When You Don’t Have a Team 20 Tips for Better Business Blogging: How to Use Blogging to Generate Leads

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“How to Write Engaging Content About “Boring” Subject Matter” plus 2 more

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• How to Write Engaging Content About “Boring” Subject Matter
• 10 Tips and Strategies for a Better Facebook Marketing Campaign
• Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately?

How to Write Engaging Content About “Boring” Subject Matter Posted: 23 May 2016 06:00 AM PDT This is a guest contribution from Anna Johansson. Unfortunately, if you're an industry expert in construction, finance, software development, or other similar "dry" field, you've already been handed the short end of the content stick. Your industry is important, and the subject matter is interesting to you and other industry gurus, but it just isn't that exciting to the average web user.  Of course, this only matters if you're trying to write content that's accessible to the average reader. However, if your goal is to give your audience an "in," it's time to kick up the engagement factor. Consider the following tips for rousing interest in your topic. 1. Give It Your Best Writing When boring topics come across your desk, especially as a freelancer, it can be tempting to do a half-hearted job because you feel only lukewarm about the subject. After all, if it's that boring, why waste your time on it? Resist this impulse. Poor writers create poor content, but a great writer can turn even the most boring topic into a compelling one. How do good writers do it? The best content writers know how to create an unexpected angle on even the most mundane topic. They know what's out there, so they aren't repeating the same dull line. Instead, they push limits or create surprising connections. Great writers resist the expected. Take for example, a post about installing drywall. While a weak writer will hand you a step-by-step explanation of the process and a list of necessary materials, a great content writer can turn this type of topic into an adventure. They provide readers with the needed information, but they'll also show off incredible room transformations or offer anecdotes about what we used before drywall was invented. The difference is night and day. 2. Be Helpful This is one of the primary rules of content creation. Useful content isn't boring to the people who need it, according to the experts at HubSpot. Taxes, for example, are pretty objectively boring – but when tax season rolls around, everyone's looking for information on how to properly document deductions and contributions to their retirement funds. The same applies to people looking for tips on how to negotiate a lower medical bill or unclog their kitchen sink. Whatever your industry, it's likely you can offer help to someone who needs it. You don't have to make your boring topic more interesting. If the blog post you write is genuinely helpful and provides an actionable answer to the person who searched for it, you've already got an audience – and they're reading with rapt attention. 3. Dumb It Down "Boring" is a pretty broad category, and the term is often used to describe content that the average layperson doesn't understand. Maybe your industry is extremely complex, but you're trying to market your products or services to people who don't understand all the intricacies or have access to the jargon you do. Your blog is a great opportunity for you to get on their level by offering introductory insights or tidbits about the field. If you're stuck on how to explain a complicated topic, the bloggers at web marketing firm AudienceBloom advise using a metaphor to break it down into more understandable information. People don't respond emotionally to facts and figures; they want to see how they personally relate to the information. Find a normal occurrence to compare to your idea. One popular analogy is that "blogging is like jogging" – it takes some time to gain momentum, and it's hard to get started, but it eventually becomes second nature. 4. Dig Deeper If you're not interested in dumbing down your content to engage a broader reader base, the alternative is to go deep. And not just in the sense that you're appealing to those with years of experience – no, this is your chance to become an expert on a highly specific topic. If you can become the smartest person around on a niche topic, you'll attract a devoted, though often small, following. As noted before, sometimes boring is code for a lack of reader understanding, but that isn't always the case. Sometimes boring means that you're skimming the surface too lightly and it's time to go deeper. Every topic has its devotees who find even the smallest detail of a topic interesting and creating expert content is the best way to draw them to your site. Expert content will bring the people who are thrilled by the intricacies of home plumbing fixtures or self-employment taxes to your page. There may not be a lot of them, but they love to encounter someone who knows more than they do. 5. The Secret's in the Story The most important thing you should take away is this: People relate to stories. Facts about your industry may be informative, but without a story to back up the information, your readers aren't going to care. And if you can offer a first person tale inflected with a little humor, all the better. Readers love to see the expert taken down a notch or otherwise humanized. As for the story, remember the old fiction pyramid from grade school? It's time to dust it off, bring it back to life – and apply it to your blog. Here's a breakdown. Introduction. Headlines are important. The title of your blog entry should pique the reader's interest. Then, where the beginning of a novel introduces the characters and setting, the first few lines of your blog post will reveal a problem or conflict – bonus points if you reveal that you're mired in this particular problem yourself. The reader should be curious about how you intend to solve or address the issue.  Rising action. It's time to flesh out the information you want your readers to know. Now that they have some context, provide the supporting facts, quotes, links, and charts. Don't overdo it, though. You're trying to build a case, not bore them to tears. Climax. Here's where you propose your solution. You've laid out a case for them, and this is the pinnacle of your argument – the idea you've been getting at. Depending on your topic, this could look a few different ways. For example, explain that they should take your advice because the alternative will have negative consequences – long term plumbing problems, tax penalties, or lost income are all compelling consequences of boring issues and these will spur readers to action. Falling action. For the most part, this is a short section both in storytelling and in blogging. Close out your argument and wrap up any loose ends. This is a good spot to mention any difficulties you encountered when acting on the solution. Resolution. Finally, present the solution to the problem. Your reader should arrive with a sense of both relief and interest. A call-to-action is a great wrap-up. If it's an onsite blog, provide a link for where they can find more information. If you're blogging for an external publisher, a good call-to-action is a request for comments. You're opening up the discussion, allowing them to provide input and experience – as well as to ask questions or, in some cases, to contest what you're saying. That's okay, too. Discussion – even in conflict – is true engagement. 6. Go Multimedia It's now well documented that users are more likely to stay on a page that includes pictures or video content – or the now popular infographic. Why? For many people, visual content is easier to understand than written material, especially on technical or abstract concepts. If you can show instead of tell, go with it. People would far rather watch someone explain how to unclog a toilet while also watching clips of the process than simply read a step-by-step description. As for content that's less visual in nature, don't be afraid to get personal. You may not have a great video or diagram to explain how trading stock options works, but pair a "How To" article with a video where you talk about why you started trading options and you've got a much more compelling piece of content. If all else fails, try a slideshow. Slideshows are less interesting than a video or even great, instructive pictures. But what slideshows offer is physical engagement. When readers have to click from slide to slide, they become participants in your post. User propelled slideshows are also a great way to walk readers through a task by suggesting that they complete each phase before they click to the next slide. 7. Enter The Quizbowl Nobody wants to start reading a boring blog post, only to find out that they'll be quizzed, but that doesn't mean quizzes have no place in the content industry. Rather, quizzes are a great way to draw reader attention back to your content. Create engaging, topic-related quizzes for your content by digging up interesting or obscure trivia. In a post about day trading, for example, you might offer semi-related quiz questions such as "what year was the stock market crash that triggered the Great Depression?" or "who was the first female broker?" Just be sure to stick to the trivia and leave content quizzes to company trainings or other mandatory learning exercises. You don't want your content to become a chore. 8. Keep It Brief Finally, when writing boring content, make sure to keep it brief. Readers are likely to lose interest, even when they need the information at hand. Instead of droning on for pages, cut your language to the necessities. If you can, break the topic down into its component parts and present them as separate posts. This allows readers to take a break and absorb the first segment, and can actually prevent readers from drifting away without finishing the full post. Final Thoughts: Your Blog, Your Industry You can try a number of other strategies to spice up content that would otherwise be boring, but across the board, the answer is the same. It comes down to publishing good writing – which means understandable, engaging, and useful writing produced by skilled content professionals. No matter what your topic, there's ample opportunity to make this happen. Just remember that no topic is a throwaway. Treat even the most boring content like its important and engaging and you'll get the best results. Anna Johannson is a freelance writer specializing in entrepreneurship, technology, and social media trends. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn. The post How to Write Engaging Content About "Boring" Subject Matter appeared first on ProBlogger.       Related Stories 7 Small Ways to Be a Better Writer The Best Research Tools for Finding Kick-Ass Content 30 Practical Tips for Producing Great Facebook Live Videos

10 Tips and Strategies for a Better Facebook Marketing Campaign Posted: 22 May 2016 06:00 AM PDT This is a guest contribution from Jerry Low of Web Hosting Secret Revealed. When it comes to social media website players, Facebook is too huge to be ignored. With over 1 billion daily users, 934 million mobile daily users as of April 2016, one thing is obvious: you simply must market on Facebook if you want to reach highly targeted users. Facebook Ads offers the biggest marketing opportunity on the Internet and provide: A powerful targeting system Different ways to approach the target audience (videos, images, texts, dynamic products, etc.) Multiple entry points in funnel. Custom audience pixels allow you to do a lot of interesting things, including some basic A/B testing by sending different ad sets to different landing pages. 10 Tips for a Better Facebook Marketing Campaign With that in mind, we are going to look at ten handy tricks and strategies that will improve your Facebook marketing campaign instantly. 1. Promote a benefit, not a product Even though your site is monetized and you are trying to sell something to your visitors, your main message must be to promote a benefit to the reader and not your product. The sales of products, services, or content will come naturally from the relationship that you build with your audience. You must let your target audience know how your product/content can help them. What problem are you solving? Below are some examples of well-done ads and why they work. Present and Solve a Problem The ad above presents what the problem is very clearly. The problem? Most people are inundated with emails, so it is hard for your business email to stand out from the crowd. The solution? They know how to help you and have a simple, 7-step formula to get you there. See how the ad offers something to the target audience that they might want? Inside Information The ad above talks about an in-depth report. The target audience is going to be business owners who want to promote on Instagram. The person reading this ad knows they are going to get a report that will help them learn how to promote on Instagram better. More than likely, an email is collected in exchange for the report. The benefit to the site visitor is a free report with information that will help his business grow. The benefit to the advertiser is converting visitors who want to download the report into email list subscribers. I Had This Problem and Solved It The ad above uses an interesting approach that befriends the reader. The ad simply tells the story of how Amy Porterfield's first few webinars didn't go so well, but she got better and she can help you, too. This type of conversational tactic can work particularly well because it is so personal. Offer a Reward The ad above offers rewards for reviews. Basically, the "help" is via free things and all the person has to do is a simple series of reviews for businesses they've already frequented. People love contests and rewards, so this is an excellent tactic to draw them to your site. Make Money Who doesn't love to make money? The Shopify ad above simply talks about the possibility of becoming a millionaire. They then explain the description that they are an ecommerce platform. Simple, to the point, and with beautiful graphics, this ad works. State it Simply The ad above just states what benefit is offered. It is to the point. You can tell that the advertiser knows their course is worthwhile and that this should be enticement enough to click on their sign up link. 2. Keep it short and direct Speaking about writing to the point, keep your posts short, direct, and on topic. According to buffersocial, posts that are 250 characters or less gets you about 60% more engagement. And, that is not just on twitter, which obviously has to be 144 characters or less, but also on Facebook. Buzzsumo found the same results in a recent study. "Short form text posts of 50 characters get the most interaction." Short Facebook posts simply get more engagement, which makes sense because most Facebook users are highly distracted. Big blocks of text are not appealing enough to capture the reader's interest. Likely, this is because the Internet is such a visual media, particularly today. In fact Wishpond found that photo posts get around 120% more engagement than posts without a photo. Posts with a photo album get about 180% more engagement. 3. Try "Thank You" ad Acquiring new customer is expensive. Hence – it's important to keep existing customers happy and turn them into repeat customers if possible. Your goal should be to build brand loyalty and increase satisfaction among your existing customers. For example, Maxwell Finn at Startup Drugz on Facebook created a video thanking new customers for their business. The video is aimed at first-time customers. Finn states that the video had the effect of turning these new customers into repeat customers. 4. Start your Facebook post with a question The easiest to write an effective Facebook post is by starting with a question. Kissmetrics found that question posts get 100% more comments. However, they did get fewer likes and shares, so be aware of whether you want to engage on Facebook with comments or you prefer to have your post shared and liked. Here is a simple formula to use: Formula: Want [X]? Try [this]/Read [that guide]/Use [this app]. In addition, some question words got more traction than others. The top words that got traction? Should Would Which Below is one example of a question post. 5. Get creative with photos As mentioned before, one study found that overall photo posts on Facebook get 120% more engagement than the average post, and photo albums actually get 180% more engagement. You should definitely make use of your photos and albums, but make sure they are beautiful, professional quality photos. They should not be blurry and should be framed properly. One idea: You can turn photos album into a graphic article.  For example this is what I did recently – I created an album filled with images from a presentation slides – a brief elaboration and relevant links were added into each photo's description. So far, the photo album (see below) has reached more than 140,000 people, had 8,000+ clicks and 950+ page likes. This isn't bad for a $120 boost and an extra 30 minutes of work in transferring slides into images. 6. Creative use of Multi-Products Ads Multi-product ads are exactly what they sound like. They allow a single advertiser to showcase multiple products — multiple groups of creative images and links — within a single ad. This is an effective advertising option since users seem to respond so well to albums of photos. Even if you don't offer a product on your blog, you can showcase content with a multi-product ad and point the reader to your very best posts. For example, Jon Loomer placed an ad asking a question: "Have you missed one of my recent blog posts?" He then used a multi-product ad to showcase some of his best posts. 7. Test out your page CTA Your Call to Action (CTA) can make or break your ad. If your CTA isn't working, then you may just be wasting money driving traffic to your site, even targeted traffic. Try different Call-to-Actions on your Facebook Page and track analytics within your ad manager to see which ones are working best for the conversion you're trying to achieve. Detailed info is available by going to Facebook Page > Insights > Actions on Page > Page Call to Action Clicks (sectioned to by Age and Gender, by country, by City, and by Device) 8. Try "Abandoned Cart" ad According to the Listrak Shopping Cart Abandonment Index, more than 70% of shoppers left their online shopping cart without buying anything. Barilliance found similar results in their study of cart abandonment statistics. You can target those who have visited the landing page of a product (or added to the cart) but did not complete the purchase using Facebook Targeting. This type of ad is highly targeted and not general in nature. So, you might offer free shipping to those who've previously abandoned a cart, or perhaps 10% off to complete the order. Go to:  Facebook Ad Manager > Power Editor > Create Custom Audience > People visiting specific web pages but not others But wait, that's not all. You should also install an off-site pixel for your campaign and track how many people from your "Abandoned Cart" ads complete the buying process. Use: Power Editor > Tools > Pixels > Create Conversion > Track Custom Conversion > Purchase 9. Try "Facebook Page Admin" targeting Page admin targeting is an excellent tool if you wish to reach out to business owners and social media managers. So, it is a great B2B marketing tool that gives you an extremely targeted audience to advertise to. If you are offering an SMM guide or tools – this is a must try. Facebook Ad Manager > Power Editor > Create Saved Audience > Detailed Targeting > Digital Activities > Facebook Page Admins 10.  Try "Upcoming Birthday" targeting It's a known fact that highly personalized ads are much more effective than general ones. It makes sense, doesn't it? In an ever increasing impersonal world, we want to feel like someone knows us and our interests. One way to deliver highly personalized ads to people who have not visited your site is by using the "upcoming birthday" targeting option. Facebook Ad Manager > Power Editor > Create Saved Audience > Detailed Targeting > Demographics > Life Events > Upcoming Birthday By Facebook's own definition: "If you run an ad over a period of many days, it’ll be shown to people whose birthday is within one week of the day when they see the ad. For example, people with a January 1 birthday may see the ad for a week leading up to January 1. People with a January 2 birthday will see the ad for a week leading up to that day." Startup Drugz is one success story using this method. They use the birthday option to offer a 20% discount to people who had birthdays coming up in the next 7 days. They simply said a birdie told them that the person had a birthday and here was the gift. The strategy resulted in a 2,700% ROI. Wrapping Up These are just some of the ways you can use Facebook ads to drive new customers to your site and turn them into loyal fans for life. Facebook ads are a fairly cost effective way to advertise your brand. The ability to target a specific audience and track the results of the ad make it a highly desirable marketing platform. Jerry Low is a geek dad who is passionate about SEO and digital marketing. His site Web Hosting Secret Revealed (WHSR) offers helpful hosting advice and tons of smart blogging strategies. The post 10 Tips and Strategies for a Better Facebook Marketing Campaign appeared first on ProBlogger.       Related Stories 10 Reasons Why You Should Give Facebook Live Video a Go A Commenting System to Rule them All: Why Choosing the Right Comment System can Make or Break your Blog How to Choose a Blog Topic That’s Pre-Programmed for Success

Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately? Posted: 20 May 2016 06:00 AM PDT So I’ve been experimenting more with Facebook and to be honest I still can’t tell what will work and what won’t at the moment – everything I know has gone out the window! Stuff I think will do well totally flops and some other thing I forgot I scheduled has everyone buzzing. I cannot figure this out for the life of me! Also the Instagram icon changed colours and everyone wigged out, and the chronological timeline disappeared with minimum fuss. Unless you fussed. Did you fuss? Does it bother you at all? Anyway, here’s what I found this week that piqued my interest (and reminded me about stuff I had forgotten, which is a bonus!) 7 Helpful Resources Every Content Marketer Should Bookmark | HubSpot I get into so much of a rut sometimes I forget to see what new and exciting stuff everyone else is doing, so the links to email galleries and inspiration are super useful to me. 10 Examples of Great Disney Marketing Campaigns | Econsultancy I spoke on a panel recently about working with online influencers, and one of the questions I was asked is what is exciting me about brands and bloggers working together – I replied that it was the unique and out-of-the-box campaigns I was seeing coming through nowadays. Some of them are so creative and so fun, and that’s what I think these marketing campaigns by Disney totally represent. I love the interactivity of them, and their difference to the same-old same-old marketing we’re all immune to. Creating a Kick-ass Brand Identity | Limwrites You know you need to stand out – and by creating an instantly-recognisable brand is so much a part of that. This is a great post for helping you dig deep into what you’re already doing and what you can change. How to Rule Facebook: Lessons From the Most Engaging Pages | Buzzsumo Who’s doing Facebook really well? HOW are they doing it? How can you use these tips and do it too? 17 Tips for Entrepeneurs Who Blog | Entrepreneur This is fantastic if only for the reminder that blogging daily isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in terms of traffic (so blog smarter, not harder!). Pretty solid tips. This Entrepreneur Built His Business on Social Media (and you can too) | Entrepreneur I love hearing case studies and people’s stories, and Richie Norton’s tips on doing your own PR are spot on. 14+ Tools for Bloggers | Social Media Examiner Some of these I use, some are totally new to me, but all are useful. Which ones do you need? Optimising for Accessibility + SEO: Site and Page Structure Overlaps | Moz Okkkkk I think it’s time I just outsourced this stuff now. I am really impressed with the lengths they’ve gone to to discuss how to make your blog easier to find for people with disabilities. 5 Top Ways to Strengthen Your Social Media Marketing Skills | Socialnomics If you don’t have a background in marketing, but suddenly realise you need some of these skills to help you get more traction with your blog, these tips are for you (and me. and most of us!). Your Guide to Creating and Sharing Content | Content Marketing Institute Images and design is where I fall down the most *makes a note to do something about it* So what’s caught your eye this week? Have you had a Facebook win or finally got on Snapchat? I’d love to hear! Stacey Roberts 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, follow on Pinterest for fun and useful tips, peek behind the curtain on Instagram, listen to her 90s nostalgia podcast, or be entertained on Facebook. The post Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately? appeared first on ProBlogger.       Related Stories Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately?

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