Blogging: A Deep Dive

Blogging: The Deep Dive

A little bit about Pear

A little bit about me

And I really like to blog…

•  Content, content, content •  Maintaining your blog

•  Getting people to your blog

So…what are we going to cover?

What is your goal?! •  Get noticed

•  Get people to become a (customer, volunteer, donor, etc.)

•  Set a new standard

First thing’s first…

So content…

Photo: Drew Coffman - flickr

Always start with a plan…

Content type!

Many, many plans…

Content type!

Get ideas and be inspired!

Vistaprint…tug those heartstrings!

No matter what people tell you…

Let me tell you a story about Spencer…

258 entries to rename our blog Spike in website traffic

Increase of Facebook likes More returning readers to our blog

From the blog to Valentine’s Day

And now our website!

Why did it work? Because it’s cute!

And cute measures up

Want more?

inspirationinsideyou.com/2015/03/the-key-elements-of-viral-success

Emotion works with content. Why do you think we love cat photos so much?

Ready for some tools?

What to write

What images to use



Photo editing and screen grabs

Always use .jpg (.png is bad for page load time)



Now…step 2!

Begin with the basics:

-  300-400 words

-  Use your categories & tags

-  Pick your SEO keyword before you write and sprinkle throughout

-  Read more feature use it!

-  H2 tags – put them in

-  Minimum 2 photos with SEO-friendly file names and alt tags

-  Bookmark Google’s URL builder (and use it!)

-  Be realistic with your schedule

No blog should be without…

Want some keyword help?

beckymhogan.com/2015/03/guide-to-keyword-research

It is true, AdWords REALLY wants your Credit Card info!

The set-up

Domain: Small Orange

Host: cPanel

Theme: ThemeZilla

CMS: Wordpress.org

Design a logo and know some code (FYI – Wordpress is PHP) – or get someone to help you.

Google Webmaster Tools

-  Set up your site map

-  Verify your site

Google Analytics

-  Synch your Webmaster Tools with Google Analytics

Social Media Networks

- Set up the accounts and verify those requiring it (Pinterest, G+, etc.)

Plug-ins & Tools

Plug-ins:

-  SEO by Yoast

-  Akismet

-  Disqus Comment System

-  Responsive Video Embeds

-  SumoMe

-  Viper’s Video Quick Tags

-  Wordpress Related Posts

-  Wordpress SEO



Now…step 3!



People won’t find your content on their own

Remember these tools? I added a few.

•  When you have both an AdWords ad and a high ranking organic result for the same keyword, metrics increase for both channels (studies have shown by 2.2x)

•  YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine, bigger than Bing, Yahoo, Ask & AOL combined (Social Media Today)

•  There are 31% more bloggers today than there were 3 years ago (eMarketer, 2010)

•  Over 50% of respondents say they read most of their emails (HubSpot)

Want more? www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics

Some stats to consider

Pick the social network to focus on

Pick the social network to focus on

If you want traffic, Facebook & Pinterest reign

Don’t ignore Instagram

Pear’s Spring Break t-shirt design contest


Celebrities showed winning designs & feature link to our blog recap in their profiles for 24 hours


The Results

-  345% increase in blog traffic

-  Over 8,000 likes on Instagram

-  300% lift in new Instagram followers

-  Brought in over 380 new users throughout campaign

More:

blog.bufferapp.com/instagram-stats-instagram-tips

Go back to that plan!

Content type!

Put yourself out there

Yes, inbound links ARE that important

Backlinks start with you

All your social channels have URL’s

LinkedIn: Your professional cred

•  Summary

•  Publications (hello papers & thesis!)

•  Skills & Endorsements

•  Experience

•  Languages

•  Volunteer

•  Organizations

•  Education

•  Honors & Awards

•  Additional Information

A quick thing about your email

If you are really serious…

And don’t get distracted!



Be patient!

And keep your expectations realistic

•  Get noticed •  Get people to become a

(customer, volunteer, donor, etc.) •  Set a new standard

So…what is the goal again?

This is only the beginning…

But it’s a great start.

Rachel Yeomans

[email protected]

@rachelyeomans

Thank you!!!

Blogging: A Deep Dive

Career

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