Learn how to blog in 2013 - get rid of the "noise" of "should do this" and "should do that" and focus on the ONLY web property that you own: you website/blog. Get your blog working well first, and then use social media to draw people to various blog posts and offers. The works really well for senior living communities that are looking for a way to generate new leads from their website.

1. How to Blog in 2013
Does it have
to be this
complicated?

2. @SigmaWebMktg
How to Blog in 2013
Larry Levenson
Chief Inbound Officer
Co-founder

4. Bring Order to the Noise
Print Press
advertising releases, PR
Pay per Social
click media
Other
community Email
marketing Company Website
& Blog
Local Search/
Local Marketing Testimonials &
reviews
SEO is tied into every
marketing effort!

5. Agenda
I. Five Keys to a Successful Blog
1. Identify Target Personas
2. Create a Mix of Posts
3. Write Great Posts
4. Sustain It
5. Spread It
II. How to Measure Your Blog

6. Exponential Effects
Social
SEO Media
• More Traffic • Even More Traffic
Blog • More Links • Even More Links
• More Content

7. Key #1: Identify Target Personas
Kadient photo by: David Meerman Scott

8. Your Content Pulls in Your Personas
“Create the kind of
online content that
your buyers naturally
gravitate to.”
- David Meerman Scott
Author of The New Rules of
Marketing & PR
www.webinknow.com

9. What Keywords Will Attract Your Personas?
• Fill posts with them
• Build an archive of content full of them

10. How We Pick Keywords: Keyword Grader

11. A Word of Caution
• Writing for your personas
DOES NOT mean writing
about the products and
services you sell them
• Write about the things they
want to learn about

12. Key #2: Create a Mix of Posts
Flickr Photo: jek-a-go-go

13. Plan a Mix of Posts
News
Opinion
Feature
Photos
Video
Different people are interested in different things!

14. Raisin Bran – Basic, Everyday Posts
• How to posts
• Rich in keywords
• Get good at
whipping them out
• Make sure they’re
useful or
entertaining
Flickr Photo: greeneyesmilw

15. Spinach – Healthy, Thoughtful Posts
• Should establish
your site as a
thought leader in
the industry
• Put time into
them
• Don’t do too many
Flickr Photo: ulteriorepicture

16. Roasts – Big Blog Projects
• Lots of work
• Lots of
links, discussion
and attention
• Pick them well

17. Tabasco – Posts That Start Fires
• Make a bold
statement
• Be prepared to
defend yourself
• Lots of comments
and links
• Too many of these
posts could lose trust
Flickr Photo: ANOXLOU

18. Chocolate Cake – The Sweet Stuff
• These posts make
your blog fun
• A chance to poke fun
at yourself
• Lots of traffic/links
• Often video, images
Flickr Photo: scubadive67

19. Key #3: Write Great Posts
Flickr Photo: Olivander

20. No Need to Be Hemingway
Just follow a few simple rules.
Photo: Wikipedia

21. Tips for Post Structure
• Use Headings
• 400-600 words
• Lists are OK (just
not too many)
• 1 idea per post

22. Blog Topic Ideas
• List of 5 ideas, trends or thoughts
• Publish a list of links
• Take a recent experience and share it
• Answer questions you received recently
• Comment on other blog articles
• Turn a press release into a blog article
• Check your email outbox

23. Always Add a Photo
• Flickr
• iStockphoto
• Shoot your own

24. How to Search for a Flickr Photo
Go to Advanced Search
Then search for CC licensed photos

25. Where Do You Get Ideas?
• Everywhere
• Keep a list
• When you learn something,
flesh it out
• Ask your readers
Keep a list of
blog ideas –
you’ll find them
everywhere.

26. Write Great Headlines

27. How to Write Great Headlines
• Write the headline before the article
• Imagine the reader won’t see the article
• Surprise people
• No spelling errors!
• Use your keywords

28. Blog Article Titles
• Funny: “GoDaddy's 16-Step Checkout:
Brainless Marketing At Its Finest?”
2-3
• Enticing: “107 Ideas for Content downloads
every day
Marketing”
Still on
• SEO: “Creating Your Long Tail Keyword page 1
after 13
Strategy” months!

29. Key #4: Sustain It
Flickr Photo: michalo

30. Pick a Publishing Schedule
• Once a week? Every Monday
and Wednesday?
• Stick to it
• The goal is to build up a body of
keyword-rich content (create an
asset)

31. Different Ways of Doing Posts
• Email interviews
• Video interviews (conferences, office visitors,
clients)
• Guest posts from people with similar blogs
• “Best of” lists
• “How we do it” posts

32. Should I Hire People to Blog for Me?
It depends.
Pros:
– You don’t have to do the work
– You hire a “professional writer”
Cons:
– Nobody knows your business like you do
– You don’t build your personal reputation
– You don’t participate in the conversation

33. Key #5: Spread It
Flickr Photo: felipearte

34. Think of Blogging Like a Job Search
Would you sit at home and wait for a call?

35. Take Comments Seriously
• Make sure you comment back
• Find out who the people are
– Follow their links
– Subscribe to their blog, follow them on Twitter
Use these links

36. Why Leave Comments?
• Karma
• Get noticed by other bloggers
• Get noticed by other blog readers
• Get links back to your blog
• Thought leadership

37. Tips on Comments
Increase the value of the article:
• Share an example
• Add a point
• Add a useful link
• Disagree
• Ask a question
• Use your real name (not company)

38. Publish on Social Media
• Post directly
• Post via twitterfeed.com automatically
• Post to your status
• Post automatically via a feed to your fan or
profile page
Also consider LinkedIn, other sites.

39. Where Do You Link to Your Blog?
• Your homepage
• Press releases
• Business cards
• Email signatures

40. Agenda
I. Five Keys to a Successful Blog
1. Identify Target Personas
2. Create a Mix of Posts
3. Write Great Posts
4. Sustain It
5. Spread It
II. How to Measure Your Blog Success

41. Metric #1: Subscriptions
• A measure of you blog’s total reach
• A “sticky” number

42. Metric #2: Pageviews
• Great for media sites selling display advertising
• Potential problems for your business:
– Doesn’t measure RSS
– Weak measure of engagement
– What’s the business value of a “view”?

43. Metric #3: Comments
• Quantitatively, a good indicator of engagement
• Qualitatively, a great way to listen to market

44. Metric #4: Inbound Links
• Measure the SEO impact of your blog
• An indicator of your blog’s role in outside conversations

45. Metric #5: Conversions

46. Thank You! Any Questions?
Free tools:
http://marketing.grader.com
http://sigmawebmarketing.com/blog
http://www.googlekeywordtool.com
Larry Levenson
Chief Inbound Officer
Sigma Web Marketing
larry@sigmawebmarketing.com
480 359.5501