Last week, I attended ProBlogger academy in Portland, Oregon. As blog manager for The Center for Sales Strategy, when I tell people what I do for a living, their reactions range from indifference to perplexity, so heading to a conference where I didn't have to do a lot of explaining about what a blog is, and why it needs a manager, was fun and enjoyable.
The academy itself was positioned toward personal bloggers, not inbound marketing, but there were still many important takeaways that I learned, and want to share those with you. If you have a blog, you'll find these useful.
1. The 80/20 rule applies to blogs. Spend 20% of your time creating content, and 80% promoting it. Tweet this.
2. Key to blogging success: discover problems, then solve them. Tweet this.
3. Add your personality to every blog post you write. Blog about your company's quirks. People connect with quirks. Tweet this.
4. Remember, your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room. Tweet this.
5. Make sure every blog post contains a story. Be a storyteller, not a marketer. Tweet this.
6. Do what you're great at. Outsource the rest. Tweet this.
7. Develop a mission statement. Pick a fight with an idea. Tweet this. Use your voice to write a short, shareable document that wil resonate with your target persona (but not everyone).
Format: ______ should _____ and here's why.
8. When publishing on LinkedIn, repurpose old content or see if a first draft resonates. Don't build on rented property. Save your best stuff for your blog. Tweet this.
9. To increase engagement, start a series of posts. Ask readers to participate. Tweet this.
10. What should happen when people follow the advice you post on your blog? Make it happen. Tweet this.
11. Remember, your blog is not about you, it is about what you can do for your audience. Tweet this.
12. Connect with your readers. Send an email to someone and set up a phone call. Tweet this.
13. Ask, "What can my target persona do in five minutes to see quick results?" Do it for them. Tweet this.
14. Instead of going for eyeballs, find hearts and minds. Create something with soul. That’s what will lead to trust and authority. Tweet this.
15. Start→Put readers first→Be useful→Develop a rhythm→Deliver meaning→Persist. Tweet this.
Needless to say, I got my time and money's worth out of that conference. I left feeling inspired and ready to take action. It's easy to get lost in metrics and numbers, and important to remember to hit the reset button every once in awhile.
Your blog is about your audience. Be useful. Don't worry if you're not reaching as many people as viral clickbait. Write to your target persona.
Feeling inspired? Talk to one of our inbound marketing experts.
