Five Killer Blog Tips #marketingmonday

Want to KILL it with your blog? Let me give you a handful of blog tips to make your blog KILLER!

1. Premeditated Murder
If you don’t have a blogging plan, and your posts SCHEDULED – guess what happens? You get behind, and you don’t make forward progress! You’ve got to sit down, make a plan, and work ahead. If you are writing your blog post for this week or next week today, you are not working far enough ahead! Make an appointment with yourself, carve out the time to write AHEAD a month or two. (Interestingly enough – I’m behind on my blogging. It does happen. It was going so much better when I was working ahead!)

2. Blunt Force Trauma
Sometimes the fastest blow is the quickest way to get the deed done.

No need to write lengthy paragraph after lengthy paragraph. Blogging does not have to be about long stories and drawn out explorations of the human psyche. Sometimes, 150 words is just as effective a blog as 3500! In fact, you can get good SEO from 150 words, if you place your keywords right!

I think the fear of long blogs is honestly what keeps people from A) writing blogs and B) reading blogs. Keep it Simple Stupid – like a candlestick to the head.

3. Bullets

Websites like Mashable, Viral Nova, and Buzzfeed (love them or hate them)  are the kings of using bullets. (They are also really good at writing headlines – which is a WHOLE ‘NOTHER blog post for another day!) Create a numbered list – and then fill out the content. It makes it easy to read, helps you communicate your message in a clear and concise way.  Do you need to do it for every post? NO. But it sure helps you get some content out there!

4. Serial Killing

Sometimes, I struggle finding a topic. Here’s a quick tip. Pick 12 themes, one for each month. Try to make them appropriate for the season, if necessary.
Then, break each of those months into four or five weeks – and write up your posts.
If it helps, try to picture one title – with four installments for each month….
This helps you build anticipation for the NEXT week’s blog post, and it gives you a reason to keep people engaged.
It also makes one really long blog post split up nicely into multiple posts – filling up more time for your blog!

5.  Arsenic and Old Lace

Up until two minutes ago – I thought arsenic built up in your system… like someone can sprinkle some on your food everyday, and after a year you die. As it turns out – this isn’t true about arsenic (though it is true about anti-freeze)

So let’s pretend that this IS true about arsenic – because I really like using “Arsenic and Old Lace” as a bullet point.

Think of this as the “trickle effect”… the more frequently you post – the more your reputation with your network, your readers, and with search engines happens. Post a little every day – and share it on linkedin – facebook – twitter – wherever…. and you start to build brand recognition.
Even if people don’t click the link and read your blog – they will start to identify your brand, and when they need you – they know you.

Over time, you have them eating out of the palm of your hand.

And in terms of Search Engines – if you set your page up with the right Search Engine Optimization – every post is like raising your hand and saying, “OOOOH! HERE I AM GOOGLE! PICK ME!”

I hope that none of you would ever take ANY of this advice if it came to ACTUALLY killing someone – but I’m sure if you apply it to your blog – you’ll be the Hannibal Lecter of the blogosphere in no time!