I K N O W I N E E DA B L O G ,

B U T I H A V E N O T I M E T O M A N A G E I T .

H A W T H O R N A T A G L A N C E

3

4

• Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing. (Demand Metric)

• It produces 3x more leads per dollar spent than traditional marketing. (Kapost)

• Website conversion is nearly 6x higher for those using content than those who don’t. (Aberdeen)

• Site traffic is almost 8x higher year over year for those using content effectively than

those who don’t. (Aberdeen)

• Companies with blogs produce 67% more leads per month. (A Guide to Marketing Genius: Content

Marketing)

Why do you need a blog today?

5

• Only 38% of marketers say their content

marketing is effective. (CMI and MarketingProfs)

• 81% of marketers cite creating compelling

content as one of the biggest challenges of

content marketing. (Starfleet Media)

If you feel behind the eight ball, you’re not alone.

The power of content: Distribution and shortening path to conversion

6

7

What you need is content,

not always a blog.

C M S

F A M I L I A R I T Y

B L O G -

P O S T I N G

F R E Q U E N C Y

8

Help you streamline

the front-end strategy

and plan for your blog.

Minimize your

time investment once

it’s up and running.

A D I R T Y L I T T L E S E C R E T : T H I S I S W O R K

Two goals for today

9

S T E P 1 :

5 Key Strategy Questions

10

• And how would you rank those

audiences in terms of priority?

S T E P 1 : 5 K E Y S T R A T E G Y Q U E S T I O N S

#1: Who are you trying to reach?

11

S T E P 1 : 5 K E Y S T R A T E G Y Q U E S T I O N S

#2: What are the blog categories that will…

Speak to those

audience(s)?

Reinforce your site’s

overarching keywords?

Reinforce why your

audience should

value you?

12

S T E P 1 : 5 K E Y S T R A T E G Y Q U E S T I O N S

#3: How will you distribute this content once it’s produced?

13

S T E P 1 : 5 K E Y S T R A T E G Y Q U E S T I O N S

#4: How much content

can you realistically

produce that will feed that

distribution plan?

14

S T E P 1 : 5 K E Y S T R A T E G Y Q U E S T I O N S

#5: What do you want them

to DO when they

get to this content?

15

1. Who are you trying to reach (and how would you rank them)?

2. What are the blog categories or buckets of topics that will speak to those audiences,

reinforce your keywords, and reinforce the reasons your audience should value you?

3. How will you distribute this content once it’s produced?

4. How much content can you realistically produce and also feed your distribution strategy?

5. What do you want them to do when they get to this content?

S T E P 1 : 5 K E Y S T R A T E G Y Q U E S T I O N S

Recap

16

S T E P 2 :

Blog Build-Out

17

• Ideally, it’s a part of your enterprise

website CMS.

S T E P 2 : B L O G B U I L D - O U T

Where to build?

18

• Second best option: Subdomain

(Ex: blog.noblehousehotels.com)

• Rarely worth it: Independent

blog sites (blogger, Medium, etc.)

S T E P 2 : B L O G B U I L D - O U T

Where to build?

blog.noblehousehotels.com

19

S T E P 2 : B L O G B U I L D - O U T

What to build?

20

S T E P 3 :

Finding Easily Produced Content

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• Q&As

• Recurring “departments” that repeat the

same format.

• Seasonal dishes from a chef

• Insight into a seasonal event from an expert (not always the organizer!)

• Simple themed concepts Example 2

• Local’s picks under a theme

S T E P 3 : F I N D I N G E A S I L Y P R O D U C E D C O N T E N T

Single-source (or no-source) content is king!

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• Aggregated content from other sources with your intro/take. (ex: family hotels in NYC)

• What do your customers always ask you about (and you can answer in your sleep)?

• Can you tap others to write for your blog who have that expertise? (Both destination region,

as well as expertise; backlinks and the promotion of being an expert on your blog)

S T E P 3 : F I N D I N G E A S I L Y P R O D U C E D C O N T E N T

Additional tactics for quick content

23

S T E P 4 :

Building an Edit Calendar

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• So you don’t forget the strategy you just worked so hard on!

• Easy to delegate and hand over the reins to others

• Easy approvals from the powers that be

• Helps everyone stick to the needed frequency and timelines

S T E P 4 : B U I L D I N G A N E D I T C A L E N D A R

Why you need an edit calendar

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• Don’t use an off-line document (use

Google Sheets, project management tools,

etc.)

• Monthly housekeeping

• What columns to consider, including:

o Blog categories and “buckets”

o Audience segments

o Any other keys stemming from five

strategy questions

o Timeline

o Writer assignments

o Distribution (social, email, etc.)

S T E P 4 : B U I L D I N G A N

E D I T C A L E N D A R

Tips & Tricks

26

S T E P 5 :

Writing Posts

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• If the vision for the post is coming from someone

other than the writer, have a 10-minute “assignment

description” conversation.

• Have writer record notes from the above in a shared

space. (Ex: edit calendar doc)

• Do all reporting/sourcing of materials before starting

to write.

• Force yourself/writer to finish a post draft in one

hour.

• Rather than a Google doc, use a static format, like

Word, for actual writing.

S T E P 5 : W R I T I N G P O S T S

Tips & Tricks

28

• Almost all posts should be 500+ words.

• Tape website-wide keywords somewhere at

workstation.

• Create a template Word doc with all the essential

elements of each post for writer. (Ex: Categories,

keywords to use, tags, etc.)

S T E P 5 : W R I T I N G P O S T S

Tips & Tricks

29

S T E P 6 :

Sourcing Photos & Videos

30

• This may be your most important step! Don’t

make it an afterthought.

• Consider the visuals when defining ideas.

• Could writer take smartphone photos?

• A good stock photo is better than an OK photo

from a source.

• One great photo/video is better than three

mediocre ones.

STOCK PHOTO/VIDEO SOURCES

• Shutterstock (10 images for $29/month)

• Unsplash

• Pexels

R E M E M B E R

V I S U A L S A T

E V E R Y S T A G E

D O N ’ T B E

A F R A I D O F

S T O C K

S T E P 6 : S O U R C I N G P H O T O S & V I D E O S

Tips & Tricks

31

S T E P 7 :

Posting & Distributing

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• Develop an easy system for notifying internal/external stakeholders of new

posts on a regular basis for sharing potential.

• Social ads is part of distribution plan.

• Social management platform? (Ex: Buffer, Hootsuite, etc.)

S T E P 7 : P O S T I N G & D I S T R I B U T I N G

Tips & Tricks

33

S T E P : 8

Reviewing What Worked – and What Didn’t

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• Review Google Analytics at least quarterly.

• Take a few notes on your big takeaways to

revisit over time (Google Sheet).

• Social analytics? If you have time. Website

analytics are more important.

S T E P 8 : R E V I E W I N G W H A T W O R K E D – A N D W H A T D I D N ’ T

Analytics

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Behavior > Site Content > All Pages

1. Number of unique visits

2. Average time on page

3. Entrances/bounces

Acquisition > All Traffic > Channels

1. Social

2. Referral

S T E P 8 : R E V I E W I N G W H A T W O R K E D – A N D W H A T D I D N ’ T

5 Google Analytics stats to review for blogs

J U S T I M A G I N E Y O U R B R A N DRYAN BRANDT, CONTENT DIRECTOR

HAWTHORN CREATIVE

rbrandt@hawthorncreative.com