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KLCK Bloggers Network October 11 2010 Pembroke Hotel, Kilkenny

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How to Grow Traffic to Your Blog

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Why Blog? <ul><li>Shows commitment </li></ul><ul><li>Shows passion </li></ul><ul><li>Positions you as an expert in your field </li></ul>

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Determine Your Niche <ul><li>Position yourself as a niche expert </li></ul><ul><li>Is it clear what your blog is about? </li></ul><ul><li>Is it your passion? </li></ul><ul><li>Helps you stay focused and on track </li></ul>

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Determine Your Audience <ul><li>Craft your posts based on your audience’s needs </li></ul><ul><li>Write with your audience in mind </li></ul><ul><li>What valuable content can you provide them with? </li></ul><ul><li>This will help you stay focused </li></ul>

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Create Compelling Content <ul><li>Brevity and Regularity </li></ul><ul><li>Google loves updated content </li></ul><ul><li>Post frequently but quality wins over quantity </li></ul>

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Start with a Great Headline <ul><li>“ On average, 5 times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90% of your money .” - David Ogilvy, founder of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency </li></ul><ul><li>Google: “ Recent research suggests that users decide to stay or leave your site in 8 seconds or less — in that short amount of time, headlines are the one piece of copy that users will actually read .” </li></ul><ul><li>Source: Denise Fay: How to Write Killer Headlines – denisefay.com </li></ul>

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Top Tips for Headlines <ul><li>Short and simple </li></ul><ul><li>Draw in the reader with your headline </li></ul><ul><li>Ask a question </li></ul><ul><li>10 ways , or 7 easy steps </li></ul><ul><li>How to headline </li></ul>

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Ask Yourself <ul><li>Does your headline touch a nerve? </li></ul><ul><li>Does it make a unique claim or statement? </li></ul><ul><li>Does it provoke curiosity? </li></ul><ul><li>Is it credible? </li></ul><ul><li>Is it specific? </li></ul><ul><li>Does it have a news element? </li></ul><ul><li>Does it offer a compelling benefit for reading? </li></ul><ul><li>Source: Clayton Makepeace teleconference, 12/20/06. (Courtesy of The Blog Squad) </li></ul>

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A Note on SEO <ul><li>Use your SEO terms in your first line, and throughout blog post </li></ul><ul><li>Rule of thumb – 2 - 4% </li></ul><ul><li>Anything more is keyword-stuffing </li></ul><ul><li>Respond or guest post often </li></ul>

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Create Interest with Images <ul><li>Visually interesting and relevant </li></ul><ul><li>Attracts the eye, draws you in </li></ul><ul><li>Royalty free images- iStock, Flickr </li></ul><ul><li>Screen captures </li></ul><ul><li>Video </li></ul><ul><li>Very Important: Include the credit and link back to the photographer's page on Flickr, etc. </li></ul>

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Drive Traffic: Build Links <ul><li>Links are web currency </li></ul><ul><li>Google considers each link to your site a vote for the site </li></ul><ul><li>but </li></ul><ul><li>Where those links come from is important </li></ul>

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Creating Links <ul><li>Comment and post your url on other relevant blog posts </li></ul><ul><li>Guest post on other peoples blogs or sites </li></ul><ul><li>Add a hyper-link to your bio to help increase links </li></ul>

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Build Traffic with Comments <ul><li>Readers leave comments on your blog </li></ul><ul><li>You leave comments on other sites </li></ul>

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Leveraging Comments <ul><li>What percentage of visitors leave a comment on your blog? </li></ul><ul><li>You want them to return </li></ul><ul><li>So.. </li></ul><ul><li>Leave a reply, push the conversation, answer a query, thanks and acknowledge </li></ul>

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My Top Tip <ul><li>Email directly </li></ul><ul><li>and/or </li></ul><ul><li>comment on </li></ul><ul><li>the blog of </li></ul><ul><li>those that leave </li></ul><ul><li>comments for you </li></ul>

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Connect and Engage <ul><li>Make it personal - avoid automated software </li></ul><ul><li>Exclusive Free Offer - e.g. e-book </li></ul><ul><li>No Signup Required </li></ul><ul><li>Your Social Media Channels –include links to your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. </li></ul><ul><li>Their Social Media Channels - if they include a link to their Twitter account, follow them AND add them to a List you’ve created. Most people feel flattered when added to lists and tend to follow back. </li></ul><ul><li>Source: Ivan Walsh via Bloggertone 11-10-10 </li></ul>

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Extend the Conversation <ul><li>If the person writes a particularly interesting response </li></ul><ul><li>Create a new post and use their material as the starting point </li></ul><ul><li>Include the comments and use these are the framework for the post. </li></ul><ul><li>Or ask the person to guest post for you to extend the conversation </li></ul>

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Other Comments <ul><li>Add value – if you can’t add any value to the post don’t post links </li></ul><ul><li>Push the conversation </li></ul><ul><li>As I leave comments on other peoples' blogs I am building relationships </li></ul><ul><li>Try to post comments on blogs that have influence </li></ul>

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Drive Traffic: Host a Webinar <ul><li>Demonstrate an aspect of your expertise. </li></ul><ul><li>Remind your audience they can continue getting the same great content by subscribing to and reading your blog </li></ul>

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Run a Contest <ul><li>Social Media Examiner offers this idea: </li></ul><ul><li>Run a contest based on the content of your blog </li></ul><ul><li>Have an “answer hunt” where the answers to win the prize are found within the blog posts </li></ul><ul><li>That will get people reading while attempting to win a prize </li></ul><ul><li>Then use Twitter to post questions and the winner(s) </li></ul>

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Grow Your Online Community

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Tips for Building Community <ul><li>Share knowledge </li></ul><ul><li>Engage </li></ul><ul><li>It’s not about broadcasting yourself, it's about conversation </li></ul><ul><li>Develop a strategy to have them WANT to become part of the community </li></ul>

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Guest Blog Posts <ul><li>Inviting other bloggers to guest post on your blog </li></ul><ul><li>Offering to guest post on complementary blogs </li></ul><ul><li>MyBlogGuest (myblogguest.com) </li></ul>

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Benefits of Guest Blogging <ul><li>Reach new audience </li></ul><ul><li>Build your brand </li></ul><ul><li>Network </li></ul><ul><li>Build links to your site </li></ul><ul><li>Get free exclusive content </li></ul><ul><li>Get new fresh perspective </li></ul>

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Promote Your Blog

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How to Promote Your Blog <ul><li>Blog directories </li></ul><ul><li>Write and post a media release </li></ul><ul><li>Send an email announcement to your mailing lists </li></ul><ul><li>Create a video to promote Your blog </li></ul><ul><li>Release videos through YouTube </li></ul><ul><li>Publish a blog post from your own website with the video on it </li></ul><ul><li>Google loves combination of video AND WordPress </li></ul>

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Share the Love <ul><li>Make it easy for readers to share your posts </li></ul><ul><li>Share the love – return the favour </li></ul>

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Promoting your Blog on Twitter <ul><li>Write a strong bio </li></ul><ul><li>Add a link to your blog </li></ul><ul><li>Promote your posts to Twitter </li></ul><ul><li>Don’t be a spammer! </li></ul><ul><li>Engage with your Twitter community </li></ul><ul><li>Use a Twitter management tool such as HootSuite, Tweetdeck to monitor conversations by setting up searches for particular keywords </li></ul>

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Maximising LinkedIN <ul><li>Create a group </li></ul><ul><li>Join existing groups </li></ul><ul><li>Provide helpful answers to questions </li></ul><ul><li>Also Yahoo Answers </li></ul>

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LinkedIN Answers <ul><li>Sign into your LinkedIn account. </li></ul><ul><li>Use search bar, select Answers from the dropdown and enter your keyword. </li></ul><ul><li>Why not try answering some? </li></ul><ul><li>Use the Advanced Search option to find keywords specifically in questions only, and check the option to look for only open questions. </li></ul>

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In Conclusion….

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3 Keys to Success <ul><li>Keep Blogging </li></ul><ul><li>Keep Promoting </li></ul><ul><li>Keep Engaging </li></ul>