A workshop presentation that looks at the benefits of blogs and blogging, how blog posts are structured, and the tactical elements (headlines, comments, links, etc.) to be successful.

1. Blogging Workshop

2. My blogging “resume”
• Blogging since 2004
• 6K+ posts
• 10,000+ hours
(Malcolm Gladwell’s
“Outliers” rule)

3. Current blogs

5. Thought Leadership

6. Deliver Value-Added
Content

9. • Search engines
love fresh content
• Google’s new
Hummingbird
algorithm makes
original content
more important

10. Blogs are
Content Engines
That Fuel:
• Newsletters
• Social Media
• Website Content
• Infographics
• Videos

11. Lots of people read blogs

17. Define your target audiences

18. establish your
What are the goals for the blog?
How will you measure its success?

19. Brand Awareness
Thought Leadership
What are the goals for the blog?
How will you measure its success?
Leads/Sales
Traffic
Engagement

20. establish an editorial

21. Develop Blog
Post Ideas

23. 100 blog post ideas
in less than 5 hours
– via Marcus
Sheridan (aka The
Sales Lion)

24. put together an

25. Exercise
create
blog ideas

26. • Make a long-term
commitment
• Keep an ongoing
list of blog ideas
• Define roles and
responsibilities
• Delegate

27. Tone
How will you talk to
your readers?

28. Tone Tips…….
Be
captivating
Write like
you talk
Be direct
Be
conversational

29. Create an Editorial Calendar

30. Create a Mix of Posts
• Commentary
• Lists
• News
• Q&A
• Videos
• Photos

31. The Blogging Mix
Raisin Bran – basic everyday posts
Spinach – Healthy, thoughtful posts
Roasts – Big Blog Projects
Tabasco – Posts That Start Fire
Chocolate Cake – The Sweet Stuff
Source: Sigma Web Marketing

32. So, Who
Writes the
Blog?

33. One or Many
Bloggers?

35. Structure

36. How Often?

37. How Often?

38. How Long?

40. Start with a
Summary

41. Paragraphs
should be short:
1 to 2 sentences

42. Sentences

43. "I never write metropolis for seven cents, because
I can get the same price for city".
- Mark Twain, who was paid seven
cents/word as a journalist

44. Take 10 minutes to do the following
sentence structure exercise:
http://tinyurl.com/concisetest

45. Headlines Matter

47. Good or Bad Headline?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Governor Swears in Legislature
March Planned For Next August
Lingerie Shipment Hijacked; Thief Gives Police the Slip
L.A. Voters Approve Urban Renewal By Landslide
Patient At Death's Door--Doctors Pull Him Through
New burger targeted for McLean times
Superman to die, so steel yourself
Include Your Children When Baking Cookies
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Experts Say
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

48. Tips to
Create
Great
Headlines
Ask
Questions
Be Short
Use
Keywords
Be
Snappy

49. Normal: Ways to Make
Drinking Tea More Delightful
Question: What are Ways to
Make Drinking Tea More
Delightful?
How to: How to Make Drinking
Tea More Delightful
Numbers: 30 Ways To Make
Drinking Tea More Delightful
Reader-Addressing: Ways You
Need to Make Drinking Tea
More Delightful

53. Headline Exercise

54. With summer on the horizon, Nelson Brewing
Company is already one step ahead preparing
for the patio season which means the need for a
cold beer.
NBC will be debuting two exclusive keg only
beers this summer:
A wheat beer - not yet named - which will be
served at The Royal to celebrate MarketFest and
the Shambhalager, which will be served at
Mike’s Place as part of Shambhala Music
Festival’s 15th anniversary.

55. Nelson Brewing Company celebrates
summer with new beers

56. Better Headlines?
What’s Brewing This Summer on the Patio?
Or
New Keg-Only Beers: Get ‘Em While They’re
Cold

57. Links

58. Blog posts
can have
links to
external
internal
Websites

59. The Value of Links
1. Gives people access to other information
sources
2. Makes you part of the conversation
3. Drives traffic to your older posts
4. Encourages bloggers to link to your content
5. Builds relations with other bloggers

60. Images
Break
up…..

61. Graphs

62. Charts

63. Cartoons

65. Comments Matter
• The blogging
“dividend”
• Creates conversations
• Showcases your
expertise
• Drives engagement
and relationships

66. What to do?
• Monitor
• Review
• Respond
• Engage

67. How to Get Them
•
•
•
•
Ask for them
Have a opinion
(aka don’t sit on
the fence)
Make it easy to
leave a comment
Link to other
peoples’ blogs

68. How to Give ‘Em
•
•
•
Offer context, or
make a point
Provide a link to
relevant content
Include your
name and
Website

69. Spreading the Word

72. Referrals
Visitors
Traffic
Time
on
Site

73. Analytics Tools

74. Other Blogging Tools

75. Writing a Blog Post
1. Select an idea
2. Write the post
3. Insert links
4. Insert images
5. Do a spelling and
grammar check
6. Write a headline
7. Save as a draft, schedule
or publish
8. Promote
9. Rinse and repeat

76. Blog Killers
- No long-term plan
- Lack of commitment
- Fails to meet needs of
target audiences
- Infrequent posts
- No engagement
- No promotion

78. Thanks!
www.markevans.ca
@markevans
mark@markevans.ca
http://bit.ly/startupscanada