Showcase your knowledge about your industry and reach new customers by starting a blog. You will learn the fundamentals of blogging and how to use your blog as a tool to maximize exposure with your customer base.
How consumers use technology and the impacts on their lives
Blogging for Beginners
1.
2. Kristy Kroll, Cofounder, Graduate Media
About Me:
About Graduate Media:
Former AdWords trainer & tax accountant (180)
Graduate: Baylor University / Walsh College
Passion for SMBs and finding the right marketing mix
Online Marketing & Web Design for SMBs
Training Focus – Know your marketing
Grow your marketing as your business grows
3. Blogging for Beginners – What We’ll Cover:
How to Build Your Audience
◦ Self-promotion
◦ Research
Gauging Success
◦ Setting goals
◦ Monitoring performance
Wrap-up and Questions
Basics
◦ What is a blog
◦ Formats
◦ Why you might
want to create
one
How to Create a Blog
◦ Platforms for Blogging
◦ Knowing your Audience
◦ Monetization
4. What is a Blog?
noun
A website containing a writer's or group of writers' own experiences,
observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other
websites:
She regularly contributes a blog to the magazine's website.
verb
To express or write about on a blog:
She’s been blogging her illness for almost a year.
origin
From the word weblog (web +log)
Blog
/blawg/
Source: Dictionary.com
8. So, why should I create a blog?
Business
◦ Share updates and product
announcements
◦ Share knowledge and expertise
◦ Influence customer purchase
decisions
◦ SEO credibility
Personal
◦ For fun or to share a hobby
◦ Document & share travels and
experiences
◦ Create a community
◦ Monetization
9. Cool, I want one. Now, how do I create it?
Pros
◦ Most commonly used platform for websites
◦ Flexibility & customization
◦ Started as a blogging platform
◦ Can be inexpensive to set up
Cons
◦ Steep learning curve
◦ Prices can add up quickly
◦ Requires updates & maintenance
Wordpress.org & Wordpress.com
10. Cool, I want one. Now, how do I create it?
Pros
◦ Quick setup
◦ Free
◦ Easily merge with other Google products
◦ Great for beginners
Cons
◦ Not much room for growth
◦ Blogging platform only
◦ Not easily integrated with existing
websites
Blogger.com
11. Cool, I want one. Now, how do I create it?
Pros
◦ All-in-one website builder
◦ Easy to use design tools
◦ Room for growth
◦ Highly visual
◦ 24/7 support
Cons
◦ Limited functions – login, etc.
◦ Small learning curve
Squarespace.com
12. Cool, I want one. Now, how do I create it?
Drupal
Joomla
Medium
Other Platforms
Costs
Weebly
Typepad
Twitter
Tumblr
Wix
Ghost
YouTube
More
Domain Hosting Platform
Theme &
Plugins
Content Time
$15 per year
$5-$30 per
month
Free + Free – $1,000s
Depends on
topics
Setup &
Posting
13. What should I write about?
Know your audience & what you have to offer
1. Business knowledge or related content
2. Industry expertise
3. Product knowledge
4. Interesting & engaging content
It needs to
Sell
be
engaging
be
informative
15. Building Your Audience – Self-Promotion
Advertising
Networking
Social Media
SEO
Email
Marketing
Guest Blogging
& Cross-
Promotion
The Online
Marketing Mix
16. Research
◦ Learn more about your customers
◦ Google Analytics, Facebook Audience Insights, etc.
◦ Topic ideas
◦ Keyword research
◦ Continuous process
17. My blog is better than yours!
How to gauge success
◦ Selecting KPIs
◦ Views, likes, engagement, sales
◦ Depends on your goals
18. Monitoring & Improving Performance
Monitor performance for your KPIs
◦ Check on a weekly basis
◦ Increase what’s doing well and cut what isn’t
Respond to your users!
Try new marketing tactics
Test new content
Ask your followers what they want to see
Analyze & Test
20. Want to Learn More?
Resources:
http://www.bloggingbasics101.com/
http://www.copyblogger.com/business-blogging-tips/
http://howtomakemyblog.com/blog-or-vlog/
Contact us to design and promote your blog:
Graduatemediaservices.com
facebook.com/GraduateMedia/
linkedin.com/company/graduate-media
instagram.com/graduate_media
twitter.com/graduate_media
Editor's Notes
Often monitored through RSS (Rich Site Summary/Really Simple Syndication) feeds. This allows content to be aggregated into one platform, eliminating the need to check the blog daily. Common services are Bloglovin’, Medium, and other news sources.
Traditional blogs are primarily text-based and share updates, thoughts, etc. and can be personal or business-related.
Microblogs are short-form content and usually updated often, like Twitter and other social platofrms.
Liveblogs are live or recordings of live content, which could be an event, interview, video game stream, and more.
Video blogs are primarily in video format.
Beauty blogs are a specific niche of blog and can be video, personal, or any other type.
Image blogs contain rich imagery and descriptions of content.
Want people to be interested in the content, but you could blog about anything you want.
Why are you here? What are you looking to create?
SEO = search engine optimization, or the process of increasing your website’s rankings in search results. Blogs influence: content, links, freshness, and more.
Many direct and indirect costs associated with setting up a blog.
Who are you writing for? What do they want to read about? Why should they care?
Maintain the basics – regular, quality content made with your audience’s interests in mind.
Engage other forms of promotion.
Can spend a lot of time and resources digging into your data and finding new insights. Generally, it’s worth the time and effort, but in moderation. You need to balance creating content and learning about your field.
Select KPIs based on your goals – Sales vs. Awareness.