Why Blogging Is Critical | Should You Start Blogging?

Not So Secret Secret!

Well, here’s a not-so-secret secret of today’s most-successful digital marketers…

If you’re not already building a brand and establishing your authority through a blog, then it’s time to get started today or you could get left behind.

And you don’t want that to happen…right?

There’s simply isn’t a more effective tool to convert traffic into leads, leads into customers, and customers into a sustainable, long-term business.

With that said, there’s an effective way to blog like a modern, 21st century digital marketer…

And there are about a million ineffective ways to blog, which will eat up loads of time and get you nowhere.

So, before we dive into how to create an effective recruiting machine that drives real results, let’s get clear on the challenges you face starting out.

Here are today’s stats…

….Today, over 3.5 MILLION blog posts went live.

….That’s over 145,000 posts every hour…

….2,500 posts per minute…

….40 every second.

That’s just today.

There’ll be even more tomorrow. Lots more.

Given these mind-boggling stats, it’s easy to think…

“How on earth am I supposed to compete when clearly the world doesn’t need another blog!”

“I’m new at this blogging thing so why should I even think of blogging as my marketing tool?”

Well, here’s the not-so-obvious secret of 99% of the content published today…

Useless, boring content

It’s useless, mediocre, uninspiring, inauthentic, impersonal, spammy nonsense NO ONE wants to read!

Ever heard the phrase, “content is king?”  It’s been around for years.

But what does that mean?

Well, a few years back when marketers got wind that content is the most effective way to generate leads on the Internet today, they started producing content.

Lots and lots and lots of content.

Millions upon millions of pages of utter “baloney. bunk. foolishness. garbage.”

But here’s the thing…

“Baloney. bunk. foolishness. garbage” content doesn’t work!

Search engines don’t like “baloney. bunk. foolishness. garbage”content, and even more importantly…

PEOPLE don’t want to read “baloney. bunk. foolishness. garbage” content.

Matter of fact, search engines are actually penalizing spammy marketers of “baloney. bunk. foolishness. garbage” content.

And no one’s going to share “baloney. bunk. foolishness. garbage” content.

The jig is up for spammers!

Spamming..Not Interested in your business

That calls for a celebration……HURRY!

But what is spamming?

The term “spam” is internet slang that refers to unsolicited commercial email (UCE) or unsolicited bulk email (UBE). Some people refer to this kind of communication as junk email to equate it with the paper junk mail that comes through the US Mail. Unsolicited email most often contains advertisements for services or products, but very few reputable marketers use UCE to advertise. The most commonly seen spam includes:

• Popular and dangerous form of email fraud
• Foreign bank scams or advance fee fraud schemes
• Pyramid schemes
• “Get Rich Quick” or “Make Money Fast” (MMF) schemes
• Quack health products and remedies
• Offers of software for collecting email addresses and sending UCE
• Offers of bulk emailing services for sending UCE
• Chain letters
• Illegally pirated software (“Warez”)

The days of hiring freelancers on the cheap to churn out 200 blog posts in a week—“spinning” and thinly rewriting previously posted articles—are over.

And you know what?

This is great news for all of us who use blogging as our marketing tool.

That’s because there is almost ZERO competition for exceptional content!

Once again, this is great news for all of us who use blogging as our marketing tool.

All of that crap content currently online creates the illusion of competition.

Most of the content on the first couple of pages of Google results for any given topic (aside from the paid ads) was created years ago.

Trust me, I’ve checked.

Blogging as a marketing tool

Therein lies your opportunity.

Let me say again, “this is great news for all of us who use blogging as our marketing tool.”

Contrary to popular belief,

You don’t have to blog every day, or every other day, or even once a week – especially if all you do is add to the pile of humdrum, mediocre, useless information that’s already out there.

As a matter of fact, if all you’re doing is blogging for blogging’s sake, hoping you’ll stand out from all the others, you probably SHOULDN’T be blogging.

Even if you think you’re creating “good” content.

Because “good” content isn’t enough.

Instead, if you want to get noticed, there’s only one thing you MUST do…

Create content that’s BEYOND “good enough”

I want you to read this popular thought:

“If a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

If a tree falls…

To make sound you must have the following 3 components…

1. A media in which the sound moves such as air, metal, water…
2. The source.  In this example it’s the tree falling…
3. The recipient.  If nobody is there to hear the sound then there is no sound because one of the 3 requirements are not met.

Okay that’s the theory.

Now apply that same thought experiment to blogging…

“If 40 blog posts per second are being added to the Internet and nobody ever reads them, do they make any difference?”

Let’s apply the theory…

1. Media…the Internet
2. Source…40 blogs per second
3. The recipient…nobody reads them

Then in theory…they don’t exist.

The truth is that most of what’s published online goes unread.

They just set there taking up ones and zeros.

It’s all “sound and fury, signifying nothing,” to quote Shakespeare.

According to a joint study by Moz and BuzzSumo, analyzing over one million online articles, less than half of those articles received more than two shares on social media.

And if the blog posts are not read or consumed, “then in theory” they are useless.

All that effort to write and promote is wasted.

The question now is….

How is a brand new blogger supposed to survive?

Well, you must create, share, and promote exceptional content on your blog.

EPIC content.

Content that…

• Is valuable, credible, unique information that establishes you as an authentic human being who can help solve real people’s problems
• Is well-researched, deeply-felt, interesting, useful – even remarkable – information that your visitors won’t find anywhere else
• Stirs an emotional response from your readers: joy, surprise, awe, admiration, or gratitude
• Answers a question or solves a problem in a unique way, and provides information, insight, or resources your readers will find exceptional
• Establishes you as someone your visitors can feel they know, like, and trust enough to do business with

Why?

Because exceptional content is what gets you noticed, generates traffic, and creates relationship with your visitors.

Exceptional content establishes your credibility and authority and positions you as a thought leader in your industry.

Exceptional content earns you a higher ranking in the search engines.

And exceptional content will become the backbone of your business and ensure your online survival.

Is it easy to create exceptional content for your blog?

In a word, NO!

Which is why almost no one does it.

There aren’t any shortcuts.

But here’s the Key To Successful Blogging…

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Creating an exceptional blog will require time, commitment, deep research, and some degree of creativity.

After all, your blog is your digital home – your digital resume, if you will.

It’s the foundation of all of your online marketing efforts.

You owe it to yourself to invest the time to fill it with extraordinary content.

Is all your blog content going to be exceptional from the start?

Probably not, but you have to start somewhere!

I look at some of my earlier blogs and laugh at all the mistakes, useless information and poor writing.

I look at my blogs today and see a lot of improvements.  Are they great?…They’re Better.  Every day you create a blog you become better.

Establish a strategy for creating exceptional content for your blog

In the movie The Imitation Game, Alan Turing tells an old joke you might remember…

If there is a bear…

“There are two people in the woods, and they run into a bear. The first person gets down on his knees to pray; the second person starts lacing up his boots. The first person asks the second person, “My dear friend, what are you doing? You can’t outrun a bear.” To which the second person responds, “I don’t have to. I only have to outrun you.”

The moral of the story is this…

You don’t have to be stellar right out of the gate.

You just have to be better than the next person.

Which, nine times out of ten, simply means you just have to start.

Don’t spin your wheels or waste your time banging out pointless 500-word blog posts every day just to furnish your site with content.

Instead…

Start by analyzing your “competition”

• Look at their blogs
• Subscribe to their lists
• Examine and analyze their content

Trust me, after you’ve explored just a few of your competitors, you’re likely to find that you can do better.

In fact, you can use your competition for content inspiration.

Rand Fishkin, the co-founder of Moz, wrote an exceptional post called, “Why Good Unique Content Needs to Die,” where he offers a six-step process to help you analyze your competition.

To paraphrase…

1. Notice the questions that your competitor’s blog addresses. What did you search for to find them? How well did they answer or address your search?
2. What’s the quality of your experience in using your competitor’s site? Is it fast? Mobile-friendly? Easy to navigate? Is everything where you expect it to be, or do you need to click around to find the information you want?
3. Is the information detailed and thorough? Is it exceptional? Or is it “fluffy,” lacking in meaningful detail?
4. How well does your competitor’s site use visual content? Are there charts? Graphs? Diagrams? Video? Stock photos? Or just walls of words? What’s the readability? Are their strange fonts, colors, or other elements that interfere with your ability to see and understand the information?
5. Is the writing easy to read? Are there typos? Misspellings? Grammatical errors that make you stumble when reading? Did an obvious intern write it? The cheapest freelancer at Fiverr? Or an expert who took the time to write it well?
6. What is the quality of the data and information on the site? What is the source of the information? Are the sources credible, authoritative?

Now, see what I did there—turning my research into original content by synthesizing my source material and citing its source?

You can easily do that too.

You don’t have to be the expert, you just need to do your research (hint: this is what authors do).

And once you’ve conducted your analysis, the next question is the most powerful question you’ll ever ask…

“What’s missing?”

Answering that question can lead you to creating truly exceptional content for your blog.

If you take a day or two to analyze the first page of results for your competition, you’ll be well on your way to discovering where your blog can make an impact.

And once you’ve discovered that, the fun begins.

Create exceptional content that earns shares and links

Remember what I said earlier about the illusion of competition?

The Moz/BuzzSumo study of over a million online articles mentioned earlier identifies a “sweet spot” for the kind of content that gets the most shares and links.

While more than 85% of the blog posts or articles online consist of less than 500 words, more than half of that content got fewer than two Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ (RIP) shares.

In contrast, longer, more thoroughly-researched content of 1000+ words generates consistently higher numbers of shares and links…

• 3.4 shares on average for posts 1,000-2,000 words,
• 4.2 shares on average for posts 2,000-3,000 words, and
• 5.8 shares on average for posts 3,000-10,000 words

The most shared of these are “How To,” “List,” and “Why” posts.

Did you notice the title of this post for an example of “Why” content…  “Why Blogging Is Critical”

I could have titled the article as: “Why Blogging Is Critical To Your Success” or “Why Blogging Is Critical To Digital Marketing” or “Why Blogging Is Critical To Successful Marketing”

Write several titles and decide which best fits the article or blog post.

Most marketers don’t take the time to generate long, well-researched posts for their blogs

Nor are they concerned with establishing a reputation as a leader.  They are blogging for blogging shake.  To put up the numbers without valuable content.

There’s an opportunity.

The other online content that earns the most shares and links is video – specifically video designed for entertainment or education.

Most bloggers never even attempt video, never mind think of ways to combine education and entertainment for their audience.

There’s another opportunity.

Before you write a word, sit down to create a video, or design a graphic to post on your blog, ask yourself a few questions…

1. For someone to actually find this piece online, what must they be searching for?
2. What is the searcher’s intent? Is it to get a question answered or solve a particular problem? Is it to be entertained or amused? How urgently do they want this information?
3. Where can I find credible sources for the information I’m about to deliver? What research do I need to conduct to address the issue thoroughly?
4. Now that I know what’s missing, what can I do to provide useful, relevant information in a surprising, entertaining, authentic way?

Then get to work.

Remember: you don’t need to outrun the bear

You just need to outrun the other person!

Also remember: all that “competition” you think you’re seeing in the first page or two of Google results for your topic might just be an illusion.

Most of what you see out there is worthless.

If you can devote your time, energy, and resources into creating not just good, unique content, but exceptional content, your blog will stand a good chance of ranking well and getting the likes and shares that drives clicks and eyeballs.

But remarkable, exceptional content alone isn’t enough.

To turn your blog into an irresistible magnet for prospects, leads, and customers, you’re going to need one more thing…

Traffic.

Traffic from visitors who are already looking for you.

But just like the Google rules for content have changed, so have the rules for finding qualified visitors online.

You can’t just spam social media with garish hard-sell promos, or copy & paste pitch your products by direct messaging your friends.

You’ll get booted off faster than you can say “spammer.”

So, you have a choice…

1. You could spend countless hours scratching your head over how to drive traffic to the exceptional content you’ve created.
2. Or get Facebook to find your ideal prospect or customer

Get Facebook to tell you who is already willing to join your business and buy your products!

People are already telling the social media platforms what they want and like, and you can get these platforms to help you target your prospects like never before.

Personal Branding

A blog is a great way to build your personal brand and share your expertise with the world.

By writing quality content and promoting your blog, you can attract readers and followers who will appreciate your insights.

And as you build your blog and expand your reach, you’ll have more opportunities to connect with other professionals and collaborate on projects.

Finally, Your Voice

As you develop your blog, it’s also important to find your voice.

What makes your blog unique?

How will you share your thoughts and ideas with the world?

By creating quality content and staying true to yourself, you can develop a strong voice that will resonate with your audience.

Another great article:  Blogging On The Internet

Until next time,