2. Blog Landscape
Blogs have come a long way
from personal pages and
basic formats.
Blogs have grown 14% per
year.
Blogger, WordPress and
Tumblr have a combined
unique visitor count of
approx. 80 million.
Leverage Your Content!
3. Phase 1, Start A Blog. Phase 2...
Phase 2
Topic management and
appropriate post intervals
How to create compelling
and engaging content
Tracking your blog posts and
ensuring success
Phase 1
Leveraging your staff for
content contribution
Using the right blog tool for
Retaining your blog readers
your business for future visits
4. The Right Tool For the Job
Hosted or On-Site?
– Blogger,WordPress.com,
Tumblr, etc.
Subdomain vs Directory
– blog.domain.com vs
domain.com/blog
CMS already in place?
– Drupal
– Joomla
– Custom CMS
– Custom blog software
8. Choosing a Platform
Self-hosted blogging platforms:
– WordPress
• Most common platform
• Very customizable
• Plug-ins add
functionality
– Movable Type
• Includes many
functions, like anti-
spam, RSS and
trackbacks, that are
plug-ins in WordPress
– CMS software
• Prepare for better site
integration
9. Phase 2: Structuring For Success
The 5 Ws of Structure
– When: Planning an
editorial calendar
– What: Creating
compelling and
engaging content
– Who: Finding and
managing writers
– Where:Tracking blog
posts and ensuring
success
– Why: Retaining your
blog readers for future
visits
10. Editorial Calendars
• Plan large or
multiple campaigns
• Promote special
events
• Avoid writer’s block
• Ensure resource
availability
• Brainstorm ideas
11. Editorial Calendar:
Social Media Calendar
Social Media Calendar Month Twitter Activity
Company Name: Facebook Activity
Who We are in 120 Characters: Linked In Activity
Who We're Talking To: Blog Activtiy
What We're Talking About: www.theloudfew.com
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day #
Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:
Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:
Author: Author: Author: Action:
Author:
Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day #
Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:
Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:
Author: Author: Author: Action:
Author:
Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day #
Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:
Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:
Author: Author: Author: Action:
Author:
Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day #
Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:
Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:
Author: Author: Author: Action:
Author:
Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day # Day #
Author: Author: Author: Author: Author:
Action: Topic: Topic: Find Influencers:
Author: Author: Author: Action:
Author:
End-of-Month Tasks: Review Measurement Data & Review Website Content for Accuracy
15. Audience
Who is your audience?
-Check demographics, locations (Google Analytics & Ad Planner)
-Understand motivation for visiting and buying
-Look for social signals (Likes, Re-tweets)
-What are their needs?
25. Attitude: Branding Questions
• What are your advantages?
• What’s your history?
• Who are the owners or
founders of your company?
• How do they influence
communication and presentation?
• How do you want to be seen?
• What has created a positive
impact in the past?
• What are your competitors
doing?
• Do you want to be like them or
take a contrasting tone?
28. Goals
What should the piece do?
• Establish as a leading source?
• Review an item?
• Raise awareness about an
issue?
• Get someone to buy or sign
up for a newsletter?
Should there be a call to action (buy
now/ subscribe here) in the text?
Are there sub-goals, like increasing
brand awareness?
29. Keywords
Base keywords off of your audience’s preferences and
your piece’s goals.
Items that are written starting from the keyword can
lack focus and easily become stilted.
Keywords inspire snappy, pertinent headlines. Headlines
can be re-worked after the content is finished for a
stronger correlation between article and title.
30. Headlines
“Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell them. Then tell them. Then tell them
what you just told ‘em” (accredited to CBS’s Paul White)
Copyblogger recommends the Four “U” Approach to headline writing:
• Useful: Is the promised message valuable to the reader?
• Ultra-specific: Does the reader know what’s being promised?
• Unique: Is the promised message compelling and remarkable?
• Urgent: Does the reader feel the need to read now?
31. Headline Examples
SES (Search Engine Strategies Conference) does a great job with
headlines:
Preview the SES San Francisco Speaker Lineup
• Useful/Ultra-specific: Speakers are the highlight of the conference
• Unique: Previews feel exclusive
SES San Francisco - Early Bird Expires Friday, July 13
• Useful/Urgent: discounts and savings with expiration date
• Ultra-specific/Unique: early bird savings
Only One Week Left until SES San Francisco
• Urgent: Timeliness adds pressure to read
32. The Recap
Share your toolbox by
communicating what we've
worked on to your writers:
-Audience
-Attitude/Branding guide
-Editorial calendar
-Goals for the piece
-Keywords
-Headline
33. Guidelines
Besides your prep work, consider
including:
•Person: Is this piece written as
the company (we at Company
Name) or as an independent
third party?
•Should the piece address the
reader directly?
•Anything to avoid
• Mentioning other sites, brand
names, negativity, searching
•Anything that this particular
piece should include that’s not
covered in the attitude or the
goals?
35. Tapping Internal Resources
Make it easy for employees to
share stories
-Set interview times
-Dictation software
-Contests for written
submissions
36. Where To Find Additional Support
Freelancers Bidding Sites Writing Sites
+High quality +Wide variety of quality with minimal +Set quality for set prices
+Personal attention filters +Options to work directly with writers
-High price +Wide variety of prices for a set price
-Long negotiations -Long negotiations +Quick turnaround
-No backups -Sort through multiple offers +Simple approval process
“Free Agents” -Unclear timelines -Can’t talk to writer beforehand
“Sports camp” “Scout” or “Tryouts”
37. Retaining Readers
RSS Feed Email Newsletters Social Media
Voracious readers More personal Large reach
Social media feeds Better tracking Engage community
38. Conclusion
• Understand as much as possible about your
audience
• Reflect your brand with your attitude
• Set goals for each piece of content
• Generate keywords and titles from goals
• Writing sites keep the process efficient
• Post to your blogging platform
• Follow up with comments and social media
Congratulations on your successful business blog!
