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    Blog Genius
    Blog Genius
    Blog Genius
    Ebook189 pages1 hour

    Blog Genius

    By Chris Hornak

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A blog is arguably the most powerful part of a website. Through blogging, you create content that fuels your social media marketing, email newsletters, advertising campaigns, SEO, and it even helps your sales team close deals.

    If you're not taking advantage of blogging now, you'd better start building that knowledge. Download our ebook and use the advice shared here as a roadmap to creating an effective blog.

    Inside are 15 chapters of blogging advice covering everything from choosing the right blog platform to converting blog traffic.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChris Hornak
    Release dateMay 12, 2016
    Blog Genius
    Author

    Chris Hornak

    A little about myself... In high school, nothing was more important to me than skateboarding. I dreamed, drew, watched, wore, talked and did skateboarding. Unlike traditional sports the only person you are competing with is yourself. Other skateboarders can inspire you but "winning" was about reaching your personal goals. It's a lot like business in that sense. Sure you have your competitors but winning at business is about working on reaching milestones. It was this love for skateboarding and my entrepreneurial spirit that sparked my first career path; I wanted to go to college for business and start a skateboard shop. Halfway through high school I got my hands on my first windows computer. It was a hand me down from my uncle and since it wasn't the best it forced me to figure out how to get more power out of it so I could play the games I wanted to play. It was during this time I got into a video game called Quake. It was a competitive online shooter where players battle it out in an arena with guns a blazing. Much like skateboarding it required me to spend time alone honing my skills, it even had movement system where you could learn tricks that gave you an advantage. It was this passion I formed for online gaming and computers that caused me to switch my career plans to computers and specifically I wanted to learn computer programming. Shortly after this realization a tech school visited my homeroom, and they said all the right things. The next thing I knew I was heading to Pittsburgh, PA to go to college for computer programming. It was during my first few years at college that I formed a competitive gaming clan. I had to get a website built, find members that worked well together, hold practices and lead our team through online leagues. I spent so much time gaming I often wondered if I was wasting my time. Ten years later would I look back and think it was a waste of time? Now over ten years later I can look back and realize how much it taught me about the business world. Through leading the team and forming tournaments taught me skills that would then make me a better leader and business professional. After college, I found myself working at an IT help desk for national clothing and apparel chain. When a store had a problem with their computer systems, they'd call us. It wasn't the most existing work but it paid the bills, and the people were great. One day a coworker, who I am still friends with now, approached me with an idea. He wanted to create a website and make money from promoting coupon codes for Dell Computers, and he wanted to know if I'd help out with content. It sounded cool, and I said yes. As the months went on, the site was growing, but it wasn't making much money. I started researching how to increase a website's traffic, and it was during this research I stumbled upon SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I realized that with enough know how we could get his website ranking for significant keywords. We even got a different domain name as a result (keywords in your domain name weighed heavily at the time). Through my research and applying these SEO tactics his site did get more traffic... so much so that Dell told him he had to take the site down. During the Consumer Cowboy project, I realized I had a genuine interest in SEO and found out you could get paid to do it. I knew this would be my next career path, and I took the first web job I could get. I took the role as web design project manager of a brand new web department at an agency that provided on-hold music services. I spent a year gaining web design and optimization experience and in the late hours, I was worked to get my personal website ranking on the first page for "Pittsburgh SEO". Once it ranked third, I knew it was time to take the next step and find an SEO agency. I did my research, emailed the number one ranked company, and got an interview. Luckily they had an opening for what I'll call a web monkey ( a person who did whatever website stuff that needed to be done). I came in with so much interest and passion in SEO that within three months, I became the lead project manager and within another six months, I became Director of Operations. OK, it was a small team (6 people), so the titles were a bit glamorized but hey, I was excited, and I was learning so much from working on dozens of SEO projects at a time. We later produced SEO software, added a web design branch, became one of the top growing companies in the city, and I got to work with businesses of all sizes from small businesses to Fortune 500s. Nearly eight years later I was still Director of Operations at the SEO agency, but it was no longer enough. I conquered that goal and by this time, it started to feel the same day-in-day-out. It was at this point I knew I had to follow the dream I had way back in high school and became my own boss. The idea from Blog Hands came from a simple observation: Ever since my first SEO project, Consumer Cowboy, blog content still plays a role in a successful digital marketing campaign. Whether your focus is on SEO, email marketing, social media or online advertising, blog content is extremely valuable. Virtually any company that wants to do business online could benefit from blog content. I also realized that it was hard to find a good content company for outsourcing blog posts. Most of the services in the space were established at a time when content was being churned and burned. The focus was on quantity instead of quality. Search engines weren't thrilled with this content. I set out to create the blog writing service I would want to hire. Since I was starting Blog Hands, from the ground up, I knew I had to show expertise quickly. Who would want to buy blog content from "blog experts" who hardly have any content themselves? I quickly put together a list of virtually everything people would research around creating and optimizing a blog for personal and business use. The result was not only enough content to get BlogHands.com off the ground it was also sufficient to fill a book.

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      Book preview

      Blog Genius - Chris Hornak

      Blog Genius

      Blog Genius

      The Ultimate How-To Guide to an Effective Blog

      Chris Hornak

      This book is for sale at http://leanpub.com/bloghands

      This version was published on 2016-05-09

      publisher's logo

      *   *   *   *   *

      This is a Leanpub book. Leanpub empowers authors and publishers with the Lean Publishing process. Lean Publishing is the act of publishing an in-progress ebook using lightweight tools and many iterations to get reader feedback, pivot until you have the right book and build traction once you do.

      *   *   *   *   *

      © 2016 Chris Hornak

      Table of Contents

      About the Author

      Learn Why Your Business Should Blog

      Only Great Blog Content Will Win

      Blogging Can Work For Any Business

      Businesses that Blog Rank Better

      Opportunity for More Digital Word of Mouth

      Put Focus on Quality Over Quantity

      Choosing a Blogging Platform

      Hosted vs. Self-Hosted Blogs

      A Close Look at The Top Blogging Platforms

      Conclusion

      The Many Types of Blog Posts

      How-To’s

      What is…

      Lists (or Listicles)

      Link Lists

      Curated

      Newsjack

      Reviews

      Controversial

      Survey or Poll

      FAQ or Q&A

      Interviews

      Series

      Thought Leadership

      Media Posts

      Conclusion

      Blog Frequency: How Often Should You Post?

      Put Your Readers First

      Do Some Research

      Adjust Your Blog Frequency Gradually

      Be Realistic to Maintain Your Schedule and Quality

      Use a Content Calendar

      Conclusion

      Creating a Content Calendar for Your Blog

      1. Identify Your Target Audience

      2. Identify the Needs of your Target Audience

      3. Create Categories of Needs

      4. Start a Topic List and Organize by Category

      5. Think About Seasons and Events

      6. Convert Each Broad Topic into a Series

      7. Diversify Content Type

      8. Diversify Your Social Media Channels

      9. Start Using That Calendar!

      Remember to Evaluate and Adjust

      How to Generate Ideas for Blog Posts

      Create a Content Calendar

      Try a Title Generator

      Read Related Blogs and Learn to Pickpocket Ideas

      Curate Content

      Check in on Social Media

      Just Ask

      Read Relevant Q&A or FAQ Sites

      Balance

      Creating Killer Blog Headlines

      7 elements to seriously consider when writing a great headline:

      Test Your Headlines

      Headlines Take Time to Perfect

      Uncovering the Best Blog Post Length

      Ask Your Audience

      Key factors impact the ideal length for your blog posts.

      What Does Google Think About Blog Post Length?

      Longer Post Do Better, But Why?

      Use Images in Blog Posts and Get More Engagement

      Why do people engage with photos to this level?

      What Kinds of Images Work Best?

      How to Optimize Images

      Break up blocks of text with images.

      Use Quality Images in Your Quality Content

      Optimizing Your Blog Posts for Search Engines

      Basic SEO Strategies

      Advanced SEO Tactics

      Striking a Balance with SEO Through Taking a Tiered Approach

      How to Promote Your Blog Posts and Grow Traffic

      Free Blog Promotion Techniques

      Paid Blog Promotion Techniques

      Nurturing Your Users to Grow a Blog Community

      How Do You Nurture a Blog Community?

      Monetizing Your Blog: 8 Techniques

      1. Become a Thought Leader in Your Industry

      2. On-Site Advertising

      3. Join an Affiliate Program

      4. Sell a Book

      5. Sell Your Services

      6. Sell Products

      7. Setup Membership and Subscriptions

      8. Sell Your Blog

      Converting Blog Readers into Business Customers

      Think of How Your Content Fits into Your Customer’s Buying Journey

      Use premium, Value-Added Content to Create Leads

      Create Landing Pages

      Incorporate Call to Actions (CTAs)

      Reduce Distractions

      Think Long-Term / Don’t Go Straight for the Kill

      Analyzing the ROI of Your Blog Posts

      Regularly Audit Content

      How often should you perform analysis of your content?

      Use Google Analytics

      SEO Performance (Give This at Least 3 Months)

      Look for Gaps in Google Webmaster Tools

      What to do with branches that are not bearing fruit?

      Analytics is an Ongoing Process

      About the Author

      A little about myself…

      In high school, nothing was more important to me than skateboarding. I dreamed, drew, watched, wore, talked and did skateboarding. Unlike traditional sports the only person you are competing with is yourself. Other skateboarders can inspire you but winning was about reaching your personal goals. It’s a lot like business in that sense. Sure you have your competitors but winning at business is about working on reaching milestones.

      It was this love for skateboarding and my entrepreneurial spirit that sparked my first career path; I wanted to go to college for business and start a skateboard shop.

      Halfway through high school I got my hands on my first windows computer. It was a hand me down from my uncle and since it wasn’t the best it forced me to figure out how to get more power out of it so I could play the games I wanted to play. It was during this time I got into a video game called Quake. It was a competitive online shooter where players battle it out in an arena with guns a blazing. Much like skateboarding it required me to spend time alone honing my skills, it even had movement system where you could learn tricks that gave you an advantage.

      It was this passion I formed for online gaming and computers that caused me to switch my career plans to computers and specifically I wanted to learn computer programming. Shortly after this realization a tech school visited my homeroom, and they said all the right things. The next thing I knew I was heading to Pittsburgh, PA to go to college for computer programming.

      It was during my first few years at college that I formed a competitive gaming clan. I had to get a website built, find members that worked well together, hold practices and lead our team through online leagues. I spent so much time gaming I often wondered if I was wasting my time. Ten years later would I look back and think it was a waste of time? Now over ten years later I can look back and realize how much it taught me about the business world. Through leading the team and forming tournaments taught me skills that would then make me a better leader and business professional.

      After college, I found myself working at an IT help desk for national clothing and apparel chain. When a store had a problem with their computer systems, they’d call us. It wasn’t the most existing work but it paid the bills, and the people were great. One day a coworker, who I am still friends with now, approached me with an idea. He wanted to create a website and make money from promoting coupon codes for Dell Computers, and he wanted to know if I’d help out with content. It sounded cool, and I said yes.

      As the months went on, the site was growing, but it wasn’t making much money. I started researching how to increase a website’s traffic, and it was during this research I stumbled upon SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I realized that with enough know how we could get his website ranking for significant keywords. We even got a different domain name as a result (keywords in your domain name weighed heavily at the time).

      Through my research and applying these SEO tactics his site did get more traffic… so much so that Dell told him he had to take the site down.

      During the Consumer Cowboy project, I realized I had a genuine interest in SEO and found out you could get paid to do it. I knew this would be my next career path, and I took the first web job I could get.

      I took the role as web design project manager of a brand new web department at an agency that provided on-hold music services. I spent a year gaining web design and optimization experience and in the late hours, I was worked to get my personal website ranking on the first page for Pittsburgh SEO. Once it ranked third, I knew it was time to take the next step and find an SEO agency.

      I did my research, emailed the number one ranked company, and got an interview. Luckily they had an opening for what I’ll call a web monkey ( a person who did whatever website stuff that needed to be done). I came in with so much interest and passion in SEO that within three months, I became the lead project manager and within another six months, I became Director of Operations. OK, it was a small team (6 people), so the titles were a bit glamorized but hey, I was excited, and I was learning so much from working on dozens of SEO projects at a time.

      We later produced SEO software, added a web design branch, became one of the top growing companies in the city, and I got to work with businesses of all sizes from small businesses to Fortune 500s.

      Nearly eight years later I was still Director of Operations at the SEO agency, but it was no longer enough. I conquered that goal and by this time, it started to feel the same day-in-day-out. It was at this point I knew I had to follow the dream I had way back in high school and became my own boss.

      The idea from Blog Hands came from a simple observation: Ever since my first SEO project, Consumer Cowboy, blog content still plays a role in a successful digital marketing campaign. Whether your focus is on SEO, email marketing, social media or online advertising, blog content is extremely valuable. Virtually any company that wants to do business online could benefit from blog content.

      I also realized that it was hard to find a good content company for outsourcing blog posts. Most of the services in the space were established at a time when content was being churned and burned. The focus was on quantity instead of quality. Search engines weren’t thrilled with this content.

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