Last week on Social Media Monday we wrote about blogs. More specifically, we wrote about why you should really have one of your own.
So it’s seven days later and you’ve signed up for a blog service, you’ve chosen your blog template, you’ve added links to your website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Now what?
First and foremost: Content is key. Without quality content, your blog is nothing. It’s harsh, but it’s true. So start brainstorming – because you’re going to need a lot of ideas.
The unique aspect of blogging – and of the online world in general – is its immediacy. New information and fresh insights are available every day, right at a reader’s fingertips. A reader may stumble upon one of your blog posts one afternoon and find it interesting, so they’ll check back the next day and the next, to read more of what you have to say. And if your blog hasn’t been updated, they’ll forget about you – fast. And so there is a constant pressure to keep current with what’s happening in your area of expertise and to be continually expanding your interests and updating your knowledge and writing about it all – even faster.
Even if you don’t update your blog every day, it can be difficult to come up with engaging and creative new content on a regular basis. Luckily, Copyblogger, a website that offers design, traffic and conversion solutions for WordPress, has just created a helpful infographic titled “22 Ways to Create Compelling Content When You Don’t Have a Clue.”
Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.
It’s got a lot of great ideas about how to craft fresh content for your blog, from something as simple as compiling a list of your 10 favourite blog posts from other blogs to the more complicated “mashing two unrelated subjects into one post, usually something your readers want to learn more about and something they are familiar with,” for example “What Batman Can Teach You About Blogging.”
Copyblogger also offers tutorials on copywriting, content marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing and keyword research, plus they offer a free 20-part Internet marketing course.
And of course, we offer a wealth of blogging resources right here at Inspiring Speakers. A good place to start is our Speaker Resource Centre’s teleseminar list, where you’ll find a number of seminar recordings on creating blog content.
Three to consider are:
• “How to Start a Blog: A Step-by-Step Guide” by blogger and Internet marketer Tom Gray, which you’ll find here (scroll down to the seventh seminar on the page).
• “Exposing Your Expertise: Creating and Leveraging Powerful Web Content” by consultant and professional speaker Philippa Gamse, which you’ll find here (scroll down to the fifth seminar on the page).
• “Creating Fresh Content From Your Audience’s Knowledge, Stories and Questions” by The New York Times best-selling author Tim Sanders, which you’ll find here (scroll down to the seventh seminar on the page).
Have you already got your blog well underway? Share a link to it in the comments section here or on our Inspiring Speakers Facebook page. We’d love to know what you’re writing about!
