Step into a world where blogs and emails team up to make your marketing super exciting. Picture a cool dance where stories from blogs become the heroes in awesome emails, and those clever emails take readers on fun adventures to your blog.
We’re here to uncover the secrets of this amazing partnership, showing you how cool blog stories make emails awesome and how emails bring more readers to your blog. It’s like a magic trick where emails and blogs make each other shine.
Get ready for the fun ride where emails bring readers to your blog, and blogs turn email subscribers into big fans. We’re about to explore this cool world where blogs and emails join forces to make your marketing way better!
Segmenting Email Subscribers by Engagement
A common method for segment email subscribers is based on engagement, significantly enhancing newsletter campaign results. Key metrics for segmentation include:
Open Rate: Percentage of subscribers who opened the email
Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of people who clicked links in the email
Subscribers can be further segmented based on their engagement status, including:
Active Users: Consistently open your emails
Inactive Users: Haven’t opened emails recently, requiring a special re-engagement campaign
For engaged subscribers, additional segmentation options include:
Upcoming Releases: Announce soon-to-be-released titles for pre-orders and ARC members
Sales: Notify them of temporary Amazon promo campaigns or free downloads on Bookfunnel
Blog Posts: Share announcements about new blog posts with active subscribers, leveraging your active blog for effective engagement.
Diving into Blogs and Emails: Where Magic Happens!
Let’s embark on an exploration of the fascinating partnership between blogs and emails, where each engages in a delightful dance, showcasing the brilliance of the other. Are you ready for the excitement?
In the realm of blogs, captivating stories unfold, sparking enthusiasm and excitement among readers. These very stories take center stage in emails, transforming subscribers’ experiences into a cascade of “Wow, what’s next?”
Cleverly crafted emails drop subtle hints, inviting readers to dive into the excitement happening on the blog. Following these hints becomes a thrilling adventure, guiding subscribers to discover more captivating content on your blog.
The High-Five Effect
Experience the reciprocal awesomeness known as the “High-Five Effect.” Emails enthusiastically give your blog a boost, attracting more readers with each virtual high-five. In return, blogs express their love by turning email subscribers into avid fans, creating a delightful loop of engagement.
Enter the world of magic buttons. Blogs employ these charming call-to-adventure buttons, inviting readers with a cheerful “Come join the fun!” Emails follow suit, turning heads with the same enticing message, proclaiming, “Hey, the blog is where the party’s at!”
In this enchanting world of blogs and emails, it’s more than just a partnership; it’s a magical friendship, each element cheering the other on. Stay tuned for an abundance of tricks and tips as we uncover the secrets of this delightful duo!
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There are many varying factors that separate notably average blogs from the undeniably great websites that we find ourselves checking into every day. Is it outstanding writing and writers that make certain blogs must reads? Or, is it the interesting content that makes certain articles stand out over others?
Is Your Content Simply Average?
The honest truth is that while experienced, consistent writing and above average content is essential to build a successful blog, that is not always enough. The final key element that all successful blogs and websites share is their overall audience engagement.
Top blogs like BuzzFeed, Cracked and Barstool Sports have all perfected the art of pinpointing readers with relatable, engaging content that keeps their audiences coming back for more. This engagement has allowed such websites to build notable brands through the input of the audiences themselves.
A Perfect Example of Engaging Your Audience
Barstool Sports is a prime example of this as they have risen to internet stardom in recent years, and in a relatively quick period of time. However, they aren’t very new to the internet scene… In fact, Barstool Sports was publishing content as early as 2004.
You want your audience to find your content so interesting, that they simply MUST share it.
Since then they have always maintained a loyal and engaged audience, Barstool was always valued by potential buyers. The website has an uncanny ability to make readers feel as if they are friends with the writers and office workers of the website.
This popular site delivers sports/pop culture commentary for the “every man” and it’s this relatable content that propels their ability to engage audiences. Sports Creator and Director of Content, Dave Portnoy is instrumental in his own site’s ability to generate readers and page views.
Senior Write Jerry Thornton is quoted as saying:
“He’s got a lot of ‘Masshole’ in him–guys here love breaking each other’s balls. He isn’t afraid to tell you that you suck while he’s being a friend to you. That’s Barstool: It’s honest and it’s funny, and that’s what people are looking for but don’t get elsewhere.”
The Art of Engaging with Employees Online
The company has created an environment within its structure that places spotlight on every day, run-of-the-mill office employees. Administrators provided articles and videos on the site with a lot of engagement due to the relatable nature of the content.
While barstool doesn’t have the most established writers on its site, its fans certainly know and love them for what they are. And, that just goes to show that engagement works in mysterious ways.
You must engage with your audience to keep them coming back to your blog for more.
Relatable Content Helps Increase Engagement
While posting relatable content is definitely one way to increase engagement, you still need to give readers a reason to click on your website every day. You want your readers to feel the need to be engaged in your content… something that will keep them coming back for more.
BuzzFeed is a great example of a website that does this better than anyone else. They provide news that anyone who wants to feel up-to-date in pop culture absolutely has to know about. Not only do they provide that news that you need, they slickly seduce you into clicking on their articles through the clever use of social media.
You will see any article posted on BuzzFeed tweeted out… as well as shared to Instagram, Facebook and Reddit. This outreach not engages audience members, but makes them feel like they “should” be engaged if they aren’t already.
Need more relatable content for your website or blog? Content Marketing Geek can help. Click here for a Free Website Evaluation. We’ll let you know just what engaging content could do to improve your brand’s online image.
After launching their new websites, many of my clients come back with the same question: How do I start my own blog? So, I decided to create a post dedicated to how to start a blog for those who have never published content online via their own blogs.
WordPress is considered one of the simplest to learn, user-friendly blogging platforms around today. I still have a couple of blogs of my own on the Blogger platform. But, I’ve found that WordPress allows users to have much more control over backend SEO and various features. So, for this blog post, I will walk you through how to start a blog using WordPress.
In this blog post, we will cover five basic steps to starting a blog:
Choosing a domain name and web hosting plan
Installing WordPress on your server for your blog
Choosing a WordPress theme to customize the design and layout
Adding webpages to your new website
Writing, editing and publishing your blog post
Note: If your blog is already up and running, and you just need to learn how to start a blog post, skip down to step 5.
1. Choose a Domain Name and Web Hosting Plan
First, you’re going to need a domain name, also called a URL, such as contentmarketinggeek.com. Imagine that you’re leasing a home. Look at your URL as the street address to that house. Enter the address incorrectly, and you’ll arrive at the wrong location.
Next you need a web host. This is the company that provides the storage space where your website is stored, or hosted. Look at this as the physical structure, the house, that you’re leasing. Without an actual house to live in on the lot, the address is useless. Having a domain name without web hosting is like leasing a parcel of land with no structure on it.
You can’t learn how to start a blog unless you try. And, you can’t try unless you have a place to blog.
How to Get a Domain Name and Web Hosting Package
When you buy a domain name, you buy it annually. You can purchase it for just one year, or up to ten years. Many web host companies offer URLs for free with the purchase of a web host package. Here are some of the most popular offers going on right now:
1and1 – 1and1.com is offering web hosting for as low as 99 cents per month for 12 months. That’s $11.88 for an entire year. It comes with a free domain name and an SSL Certificate for site security.
HostGator – HostGator.com has web hosting packages for as low as $2.78 per month when you purchase multiple months/years at once. However, with HostGator, you can start your website for just 1 penny for the first month. Yes, just 1 penny!!! Either way, your URL is free.
iPage – iPage.com currently offers web hosting for only $1.99 per month when you purchase an annual package for as low as $23.88 for a year. It comes with a free domain name and a free online store.
GoDaddy – GoDaddy.com sells web hosting packages for as little as $1 per month when you purchase a 1-year plan. With GoDaddy web hosting, you get access to an award winning support team, 24 hours per day. This is one of the reasons GoDaddy is my favorite web host. Plus, of course you get a free URL with all web hosting plans. Click here to check it out.
Once you’ve purchased your URL and domain name, come back to this guide to continue learning how to start a blog.
How to Get Free Web Hosting from WordPress
If you’re not ready to invest in web hosting or a domain name right now, WordPress offers a free option. You can host your blog on the WordPress.com platform for absolutely free. Plus, you can have as many free blogs as you like on the same account.
And, moving your free WordPress blog over to a premium WordPress blog is extremely simple. We’ll help you when you’re ready to make the switch.
If you chose to go with paid web hosting for your blog, you’ll need to install WordPress. Each web host has a different procedure for doing this. So, be sure to choose a company with a comprehensive help guide and quality technical support, just in case.
When installing WordPress, you’ll be asked where you want the software installed. Make sure you install WordPress on the root domain name for now. That way, your site can be accessed by going to www.yourdomainname.com, as opposed to www.yourdomainname.com/thisismyblog.
You’ll also be asked to set up a username and password for your WordPress admin. Experts suggest not using “admin” as a username, as it’s the most common one tried by hackers. We also suggest using a password that includes at least one of each: upper case letter, lower case letter, number and special character.
Once WordPress is installed, your web host will give you a URL in order to access the backend of your new WordPress blog. It will look something like this: yourdomainname.com/wp-admin. Use this link to “get into” your site, so you can customize it and start blogging.
WordPress admin login screen to “get into” the backend of your WordPress blog.
Note: If you’re going with free web hosting from WordPress.com, there’s no need to install anything. Just move on to step 3. Either way, now it’s time to get into how to start a blog, and customize its look.
3. Customize Your WordPress Design & Layout
Now, you need to decide on the look and feel of your blog. Look at it as if you’re leasing the home from step 1, and the landlord is allowing you to choose the design and layout of the home. This is done by making changes within the Themes located within the backend of your WordPress blog.
Choosing a WordPress Theme
Choose a theme that not only looks good to you, but will be pleasing to the eyes of your intended or target audience. It should complement your niche, industry and the type of content (blog posts, images, etc…) you plan to publish. Remember that your readers may notice the look of your site before they even get a chance to check out its content. So, make sure it’s captivating.
When choosing a theme for your WordPress blog, make sure it’s a responsive theme. Responsive designs take note of the type of device a visitor is using when they land on a webpage. The size of the webpage is adjusted in response to the size of the device being used to view it. For example, a responsive theme will adjust one way for viewing on a 19-inch computer monitor, another way for a 6-inch tablet, and another way for a small cell phone screen.
Starter Website created by Content Marketing Geek for Professional Detail Service in Irvine, CA. Image Source: professionaldetailservice.com
Add Your Branding to Your Blog
Once you’ve chosen a theme you like, customize it with your own logo, banner and favicon. Make it even more appealing by adding content, such as text, videos, images, widgets, social media icons, signup forms, etc…
Add SEO to Your WordPress Theme
Make sure Google and other search engines are able to find your site, and easily understand what it’s all about by adding valuable SEO keywords. Add relevant, widely used SEO keywords and meta data to your theme’s customization options (usually found by going to Appearance >>> Customize). Click here for SEO
4. Add Webpages to Your Website
Wondering what the difference is between a website and a blog? Well, basically, one pretty much stays the same, while the other changes regularly.
A website is a static site. In other words, once you add the information to the various webpages, you rarely change them. For example, once you’ve added content to your Home page, you may go in a tweak the look and feel a bit. You may even update it with special offers or new banner ads. But, you won’t change it much, and not very often.
Your blog, on the other hand, is a section of your site that you need to update regularly. Google and other search engines prefer to send traffic to sites that add fresh, new content on a regular basis. With each newly published blog post, you are doing just that.
Navigation menu of webpages created for Women’s Cleaning Service by Content Marketing Geek Corporation.
How to Start a Blog with Static Webpages
Now that you understand the difference between a website and a blog, you need to add some webpages to your website. These are some of the most common webpages found on websites:
Home
Services/Products
About Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Add written content, images, videos, infographics, submission forms and clickable buttons to your various webpages. Also, be sure to add behind-the-scenes SEO keywords and meta data to each individual webpage of your site. Click here for help with SEO.
5. How to Start a Blog Post
You’ll need to access the backend of your site in order to learn how to start a blog post and start blogging. Your web designer should have given you the URL to “get into” your site, or your web host provided it when you installed WordPress. You can also log into your web hosting account to get the link again.
It will look something like this: yourdomainname.com/wp-admin. Use this link to access the backend of your site, so you can customize it and get started blogging.
How to start a new blog post in WordPress. Under “Posts”, simply click “Add New” to get started.
Start Blogging
Now, it’s time to start blogging. These are step-by-step instructions on how to start a blog post using WordPress:
Hover over “Posts”
Click “Add New”
Give your blog post a captivating title
Type or copy/paste your blog post content into the space provided
Use the buttons in the toolbar to edit your post (toggle the toolbar if no buttons exist)
Use the “Insert/edit link” to add clickable URL links to your content
Create sub-headings by clicking on the paragraph bar
Set featured image (appears as main image of post and when post is shared)
Publish your post by clicking the “Publish” button near the top right corner
Add Categories & Tags to Your Blog Post
Create new categories for your blog post. Once created, all you have to do is check the categories to add posts to them. For my blog, for example, some categories include content marketing tips, social media marketing tips, blogging tips, building your brand, step-by-step guides and SEO tips and tricks. Categories help users find posts related to specific topics. They also help boost your blog’s SEO.
Tags are much like categories, but they take it one step deeper. Let’s say you were browsing through my blog and came across the blog post SEO 2016: Introducing SEO with a Colorful Twist. You see that it’s in the “social media marketing” category, so you click it.
As you go through the various tags listed under that category, you come across Pinterest. You’ve always wanted to learn more about marketing on Pinterest. So, you click the tag, and there you find various blog posts related to social media marketing on Pinterest, specifically. Add tags to your blog posts using this method.
Basic Components of a Blog Post
How to start a blog post? Well, there is no right or wrong way to write a content to post on your blog. But, there are some common elements you may want to include for now until you develop your own way of blogging, such as:
Headline – This is the title of your blog post. It may be seen in social media posts, in Google and other search results, in blog rolls, etc… So, make sure your headline is compelling enough so that users want to click and read.
Introduction – Your opening paragraph should lure users in, and get them to want to read the rest of the post. Be sure to add your target SEO keywords within your introduction paragraph.
Sub-Headings – Also, called sub-headlines, these break your content up into sections, so it can be quickly scanned by the naked eye. When blogging in WordPress, these are represented as Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, etc…
Visuals – At Content Marketing Geek Corporation, visuals are videos, images, infographics, photographs, cartoons, memes, presentations and other forms of media. Visuals also help to break up your content, while making your post look interesting. You must add SEO keywords and other ALT tag info to your images for better search engine performance.
Main Content – This is the main part of your post. It needs to be relevant to your blog title, and satisfy all promises made, and answer all questions asked, during your introduction. For better search engine optimization, your blog posts should be no shorter than 300 words.
Conclusion – End your blog post with a paragraph or two that sums up what readers should have gotten from the content. If they didn’t get the points you noted, they just may go back and read the post again to figure out what they missed.
Call-to-Action – Your conclusion should include a call-to-action. This is the very last line of your post, which tells readers what you want them to do next. Some common calls-to-action for blog posts include:
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Get Help with Blogging and SEO
The bottom line is… if you want your blog to grow into a successful platform, you must publish quality content and incorporate SEO keywords into that content. Stay focused on quality and consistency, rather than quantity and frequency for the best results. Check out this Guide to Starting a Blog for even more blogging tips and tricks for beginners.
Need help coming up with valuable content for your blog? Having a hard time implementing an effective SEO strategy for your website, blog and blog posts? Content Marketing Geek Corporation offers SEO services, web design packages, online marketing packages and blogging packages for entrepreneurs, real estate professionals, authors, bloggers and small business owners. Click here for package pricing.
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