You spend hours or even days pouring your soul into a blog post. And your “readers” move on with hardly a second glance.

Imagine something like that happening in the offline world. How would you feel if you spent all that time putting together a detailed report, and your boss flipped though a few pages before tossing it in the waste basket?

Now imagine that it’s not just your boss doing that, but hundreds of people. That’s what’s happening when your time on page analytics look like this:

It’s not entirely your fault. You’ve been following bad advice. In this article, I’m going to let you know what you’re doing wrong and what you should do instead.

Why you’re practically begging people to leave quickly

You’ve probably been told to make your content scannable. This is about the worst thing you can do if you want people to spend time on your page. Think about it. How long does it take you to scan an article?

Instead you want to give the perception that your content is scannable. Let me explain.

Most readers try to skim marketing content rather than investing the time to read it. They look for the points that stand out, such as subheads, callouts and images to get the gist of your article. If your reader can successfully do this, then there’s no reason to actually read it. You obviously don’t want that.

But if your article is a wall of text, it will look like too much work, and people won’t read that either.

What you need to do is give your content the appearance that it is scannable and use those elements to draw readers in.

Let’s take subheads as an example. Most articles use them to introduce a new point or section of the article. They are informational. Instead, try to treat them like headlines of their own. The goal is to get people reading the copy that follows.

When I wrote this article about ways to get more mileage out of existing content, I could have used subheads like:

                  Syndicate articles on other websites

                  Repurpose content for other formats

Instead, I crafted these messages that tease a benefit:

                  Get published on multiple sites without guest blogging

                  Double your content creation in half the time (or less)

See the difference? The first set of subheads gives the story away. The second set piques your interest and you can’t help but read on.

Take a similar approach with your images, captions and callouts. The job of each is to get people to start reading. Don’t you want to dive into the article to find out how Brian Dean accomplished the results shown in these charts?

The opportunity most blogs miss

Your content can be like a magnet. If it’s compelling and valuable, it attracts readers and makes them stick. But magnets have another side that repels objects with the same magnetic pole. That’s the side most blog posts start with.

How often have you seen an article that begins like this?

Or this one?

These examples push readers away before they even have a chance to get into the article. People’s attention spans are minuscule these days, and you only have a few seconds to grab them.

But when you do, you can suck them in before they realize what’s happening. That’s why I often spend more time on the introduction than any other area, even the headline.

Here are a few ways to make your opening magnetic:

Make an emotional connection. Take a look at the intro to this article you’re reading now. Can’t you just feel the frustration, and perhaps a little bit of anger, build? Didn’t that emotional investment make you want to continue on? You don’t want to walk away feeling like that.

Anger and frustration aren’t the only powerful emotions you can use. Fear, greed, envy, guilt, pride, love and hope can all be used to engage readers from the get-go.

Tell a story. Facts and figures are boring. They are easily forgotten. But stories can bring information to life. We can visualize them in our minds’ eye. We can relate to them. We feel empathy for the people in them.

Tell me you don’t get sucked into Alex Turnbull’s story on how his first business almost failed before it even got started in this article:

Build curiosity. Remember, your objective is keep people reading. Adding a little mystery or suspense is one of the best ways to this. I’ll share some specific tactics and examples for this a little later because it applies to more than just the intro.

Make your first paragraph short. Your introduction is the main entry point to your article. It’s vital to eliminate barriers at this point, including long text.

Which of these would you rather read?

or…

How the world’s best blog writers keep people reading

The intro isn’t the only place you can lose readers. You need to keep their attention throughout the article. Bad advice causes problems here, too.

You see the data that long-form content performs better than shorter content. And it makes sense. More content takes longer to read, so your time on page should go up. But that’s only true if people read the whole thing.

By focusing on length rather than value, you increase your risk of pushing readers away. So what you leave out is as important as what you put in. Take this article for instance.

Many writers would have included a section in the beginning about the benefits of keeping people reading your article. But you already know the benefits. Otherwise you wouldn’t have started reading this article in the first place.

What you want is to learn how to do it. You want strategies and tactics you can put to use. So instead of telling you things you already know, I delve right into the good stuff and don’t let up until you reach the end.

Unfortunately, providing helpful information is not enough to hold attention today. You have to build intrigue. That’s where these tactics come in.

Grease Slide Copy

The end of a paragraph. The conclusion of a thought or message. A definitive statement. There are several natural stopping points throughout every article. These call for grease slide copy.

These phrases go by several names. Brian Dean calls them bucket brigades. Joseph Sugarman refers to them as seeds of curiosity. No matter what you call them, they are a great way to move readers through your content.

They do two things:

First, they build anticipation by delaying the information ever so slightly. In fact, the sentence above is a good example. You want to know what those two things are, so you are compelled to keep reading.

Second, they provide a bridge from one paragraph or message to another. Look at these examples from one of my articles:

Notice how you slide effortlessly to the next paragraph?

Here are a few other words and phrases to try:

• Why?
• Let me guess
• Be honest
• Admit it
• Listen:
• Get this:
• Then it hit me
• Or is it?
• Let me explain
• Here’s why
• Here’s the thing
• Here’s the best part
• You’re probably thinking…

Insert one of these phrases anywhere people may lose interest or feel like pausing.

Open loops

Remember when I introduced the idea of building curiosity in the section about your introduction? That is an example of an open loop, and this is where I’m paying it off. You had to keep reading if you wanted to get these.

And that desire is fueled by more than just the value of the information. We’re wired to seek closure. Open loops actually cause anxiety that is only satisfied by closing the loop.

This is one the tactics TV shows use to get you to binge-watch. You sit down planning to view a single episode. But the cliffhanger at the end is too compelling to wait. So start the next episode. And then the next. And so on.

There’s no reason you can’t do the same thing in your writing.

Here’s an example from Larry Kim.

The phrase “start with the bad news,” signals that there is good news to follow. You have to read on to find it.

Pattern interrupts

Have you ever found yourself driving around without even thinking about where you are going? You turn down a road almost through muscle memory because you’re so used to the route. That’s your subconscious mind following a pattern.

The same thing can happen with your content.

Readers expect paragraphs to follow paragraphs and on. This familiar pattern allows the brain to go on autopilot. You don’t want this. You want readers’ attention.

Break the pattern by adding testimonials, sidebars, callouts and other devices that temporarily interrupt the narrative of your text like these examples.

Pattern interrupts aren’t limited to visual elements, though. Use unexpected messaging to break the patterns that make your content predicable and boring. This could be taking a controversial view, using a tone that doesn’t quite fit the ordinary fare, or suddenly changing pace.

Take a look at how Jon Morrow uses pattern interrupts to engage readers in this popular post.

It starts right with the headline. Being a mediocre blogger is not what you’d expect in a “how to” article. That’s not what people strive for. As a result, it gets your attention and piques your curiosity. Compare that to a more traditional headline like, “How to be a successful blogger.”

Morrow continues to interrupt what you’d expect to read throughout the article. Take the section on storytelling. How many times have you heard that you need to tell stories? So when you read that you shouldn’t, you just have to learn why.

Involvement devices

The more your readers feel like active participants, the more they become engaged. In most articles, you can’t use devices that physically involve readers. But you can involve them mentally. Here are three ways:

1. Ask questions. When someone asks you a question, your brain automatically starts searching for an answer. It’s an involuntary reaction. And you can use that to your advantage.

Pepper questions throughout your articles to get readers to inject themselves into the narrative. Try these for starters:

Which would you rather…

Have you ever…

What would you do if…

2. 2. Get readers to insert themselves in your article. Use phrases such as “imagine” or “picture” to introduce hypothetical scenarios starring the reader. Paint the picture with your words. That’s what I did in the introduction to this article when I asked you to imagine your boss tossing your report in the trash with nary a second glance.

2. 2. 1. 3. Assign a simple task to demonstrate a point. That’s what Brian Clark does in this article on storytelling.

The final ingredient to content that keeps people reading

Last, but not least. Don’t forget or underestimate the importance of writing well. All of the tips and tricks won’t do a lick of good if your writing is convoluted, verbose or just plain boring. Those are all barriers most readers won’t work to overcome.

Make your content easy to read. Use mostly short sentences and paragraphs. They are easier to read, especially on smartphones. That’s more important than ever now that more people access the internet on a mobile device than a desktop or laptop.

Also choose simple words and phrases whenever possible. Our brains can process this information more easily. If someone has to re-read a section, they may just as easily give up.

Short paragraphs are also easier to read on smartphones. That’s vital since more people now access the internet on the phone than desktop.

Tools like Hemingwayapp.com can help you calculate reading level and see where you can simplify your messaging.

Write the way your target audience speaks. Think about it this way:

Would you rather sit through an academic lecture or engage in a conversation with a friend?

You want your article to feel more like the latter. Ditch the formal language. Feel free to bend or even break some grammar rules if it helps you sound more conversational. Compare these sentences:

“Who are you writing your article for?”

“For whom are you writing your article?”

The former is bad grammar. You’re not supposed to end sentences in a preposition. But the proper English sentence sounds too stiff. It’s not how people speak, so it distracts us from the message. In this case, the bad grammar is more effective.

Jargon is a bit tricky. Sometimes these words help your writing. For instance, if you tried to avoid using terms like SERP in an article for SEOs, you wouldn’t sound like a credible source. That jargon is conversational for this audience. But other times, jargon can kill your writing.

A sentence like “This enterprise-wide solution enables you to reconceptualize big data within your blue ocean strategy,” is likely to get only eye rolls.

So how do you decide which jargon to use and which to leave out?

If it’s something your audience would use in conversations when they aren’t trying to impress anyone, go ahead and use it. If not, rewrite your sentence.

Use images and examples. People process images faster than words. Don’t believe me? Look below and tell me which you comprehend more quickly.

It makes sense when you think about it. The brain will translate the text into a visual whenever possible. If I tell you to think about a car, you imagine an image not the letters c-a-r.

Of course you can’t use images to convey everything. That’s why you need to choose wording that helps readers form images in their minds. That’s what examples do.

For instance, the definition of irony is:

(1) :  incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2) :  an event or result marked by such incongruity

And here’s an example of irony:

A billboard promoting public school has a spelling error. (This really happened, by the way. Check out the image here.

Which one helps you understand the concept better? Most would agree that it’s the example. Unlike the abstract definition, you can visualize the example.

Conclusion

I’m not fool enough to say that people will read every word of your articles if you follow my advice. But I’m confident they won’t pogostick either.

Getting people to engage with you for even a few minutes more can open the door to a world of possibilities.

And you won’t have to mutter anything about those ungrateful (insert your favorite insulting name here) any more.

The post Why Nobody is Actually Reading Your Content — And What You Can Do About It appeared first on SEAN KIRBY.

But before diving in, if you haven’t already, read this post. That’s going to help you develop a plan for long-term success that will make all of these tactics more effective.

One other word of advice before moving on: This blog post is massive (over 5,000 words), and not every content promotion tactic covered is going to be worth the time and effort for every blog. Focus on the ones that provide the best results for you and don’t worry about the others.

To make it a little easier to navigate, I’ve included a table of contents.

Content Promotion Tactics

• SEO
• Email your content to subscribers
• Include a link in your email signature
• Post to your social media accounts
• Send direct messages in Twitter
• Include Click to Tweets in your posts
• Use snip.ly to turn curation into promotion
• Guest blogging
• Syndicate your content
• Submit your content to aggregator sites
• Share articles in online communities and forums
• Submit to social bookmarking sites
• Microblog with Tumblr
• Reach out to influencers
• Reach out to people who curate content
• Answer questions on Quora
• Leave comments on other blogs
• Promote on your own site
• Run Facebook ads
• Run Twitter ads
• Use content syndication networks

SEO

Search engines have the potential to deliver massive amounts of targeted traffic on an ongoing basis. Google alone processes over 40,000 search queries every second on average.

The problem is, most of that traffic never gets beyond the first few results on the page. That’s where SEO comes in.

Getting your content to rank high in search engines takes considerable time and effort, but it’s well worth it. Sites like Wordstream and WebMD, just to name a couple, get the majority of their traffic this way.

If you’re not familiar with search engine optimization, check out this beginner’s guide put together by the folks at MOZ. It’s an excellent resource for learning the basics that won’t overwhelm you.

It would be impossible to include everything there is to know about SEO in this post. (There are entire websites dedicated to these topics that continue to regularly publish new content.) But at the risk of oversimplifying, it all boils down to three things:

1. Creating content that meets the needs of your market based on their searches

Keyword stuffing is not a viable strategy in 2020. But it does no good to create content that nobody is searching for. That’s why keyword research remains an important part of SEO.

Finding good keywords can be a tricky balancing act. You’re looking for something that has enough search volume to generate worthwhile traffic, but isn’t so competitive that you’ll never be able to rank.

Here are a few tips that may help:

Search for long tail keywords. These are phrases that include multiple words like the example below.The search volume decreases with the length of the tail, but so does the competition. And because it’s specific, it’s easier to match the searcher’s intent. In the example below, that would be learning beginner SEO strategies.

Use a tool like Google Keyword Planner to find information on how many times per month that term is searched and how competitive it is. Use the suggestion feature to find the specific phrasing that gives you the best mix of volume vs. competition.

Plug your terms into Google Trends to see how much interest there is in that search over time. If you notice any that are trending up, you may want to prioritize those first to take advantage.

For in-depth keyword research instruction, I recommend Brain Dean’s Definitive Guide.

Once you know what people are searching for, it’s time to create content to meets those needs. At a minimum you want it to be:

• Unique in some way. There’s a lot of parroting on the Internet these days, and it feels like you read the same articles over again and again with just different wording. Add something new to the conversation.
• Easy to read and understand. If it feels like work, I’ll just go to the next option.
• Entertaining. I know a lot of people think of content as more educational. And to an extent it is, but the education has to be enjoyable or nobody will bother.
• Satisfying. Great content answers the questions readers have and gives them the information they need to put it to use. There should be no reason to go and search another source after consuming great content.

2. Organizing that content so that it’s easily accessible to search engine spiders

If search engines can’t access or index your content, it will be impossible for you to rank. That’s why it’s important to make sure your site and content is structured properly and that you’re technical SEO is in order.

There are several sites that offer free audits which may help you discover technical SEO issues. Just do a google search to find one. Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights are also helpful resources to check out.

3. Demonstrating the value of that content through key metrics

Search engines use several factors to determine the value of the content they index, which can improve your rankings.

Many of these factors are related to user behavior, such as time on site and bounce rate. The advice in Why Nobody is Actually Reading Your Content and What to do About it can help with these things.

Backlinks are another big quality signal. It makes sense when you think about it. You’re not going to link to something unless it adds value. It’s like a vote of confidence from the linking site.

But it’s not just about quantity of backlinks. The quality of the referring site is important, too. In fact, too many low quality links will actually hurt your score.

So how do you get sites to link to your content?

This epic guide to link building strategies will give you lots of actionable ideas.

Email your content to subscribers

You know who is likely to be interested in your content?

People who have expressed an interest before. Emailing them when you publish new content is an easy and effective way to drive high quality traffic to your site.

Email is an easy and effective way to drive high quality traffic to your content. Get even more ideas here. #contentmarketing
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The most challenging part is building your email list to the size where this strategy makes an impact. But when you do, it can continually bring people back to your site.

If you need ideas or instruction on how to build an email list, check out this comprehensive guide Sarah Peterson and Sean Bestor created for Sumo.com.

When creating the content promotion email, you have a couple of options.

You can automate the process in email solutions like MailChimp. With this option, the program picks up information such as the title and URL from your site’s RSS feed and drops them into a set template. If you publish new content often, this method can be a real time saver. But it can be limiting, too.

Your second option is to create a specific email for each piece of content you’re promoting. It takes more time and effort, but you have the opportunity to build interest in the particular content you’re promoting.

Include a link in your email signature

Did you know that the biggest driver of Hotmail’s growth was a simple link at the bottom of those emails? Over 100,000 new users signed up within the first month of adding it. And it just kept growing form there.

I’m not suggesting that a similar link in your email will drive anywhere close to that kind of growth in your blog. But it is an easy way to get some extra mileage out of something you are already doing. And it only takes a few minutes.

Ask everyone on your team to do the same to reach even more people.

Post to your social media accounts

This is probably the first thing you do when you publish a post, right? No, I’m not psychic. That’s what just about every blogger does. So why is it that some blogs drive a ton of traffic through social and others barely see a blip?

Part of it has to do with the type of content you’re sharing. Emotional, inspiring or surprising topics are more likely to get noticed and shared on social media than how-to information.

But part of it also has to do with strategy and effort. You won’t realize the potential of these networks for content promotion if you just add a link and call it a day.

First, it’s important to remember that what drives success in social media is different than what works for SEO. You need to adjust for that.

While the images in blog posts are often used to help explain concepts or illustrate points from the text, the main purpose of images in social media is to get attention. Choose your images accordingly.

When it comes to text in social, keywords aren’t nearly as important as intrigue and emotion.
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And the extra effort doesn’t end there. You should also customize your posts for each platform.

Facebook. The text you add to your post will appear above the image and link. Use it to set up the content or add a more personal message. The ideal image size is 1200 x 630 pixels.

Twitter. You only have about 140 characters to play with, so you need to keep the text short and sweet. Pithy calls-to-action like retweet requests can work well. Use a URL shortener such as Bit.ly to save some space on the link text. The ideal image size is 440 x 220 pixels.

Tweets move quickly through timelines, so be sure to include hashtags and @ handles to maximize views.

LinkedIn. This is a professional networking social media site, so your updates should be professional and relevant. Be sure to include unique comments that add context. Asking questions and encouraging feedback is also a good way to get people to interact with your post. A featured image of 1104 x 736 pixels is ideal.

Pinterest. With this one, the image most important thing, so this is perfect for infographics and other visual content. Choose your best images, describe what the pin is about and include link to the full content.

Instagram. Like Pinterest, Instagram is a visual medium, but the lifespan of a post in people’s feeds is much shorter. Think of it like Twitter for images, and communicate main points succinctly in the captions. Shoot for an image size of 1080 x 1080 pixels.

The timing also makes a difference. While many sites recommend the ideal time to post on each platform, I chose not to include recommendations here. Many have more success posting on off-peak times when there is less competing for users’ attention. It will also vary by audience. So you should experiment with different times and roll out whatever gives you the best results.

Send direct messages in Twitter

Sending a direct message to someone on Twitter is easy. Sending that message to a large number of followers can be more challenging. You can only message people who follow you, and the group messaging feature can’t include more than 20 users.

For these reasons, you’ll want to pick and choose when and to whom you message.

One option is to send a message with a link to your blog when someone starts following you.

You can also message your most influential or active followers related to the blog topic. Segmenting these people into lists for each category or topic you blog about can make this task easier.

Include Click to Tweets in your posts

As mentioned above, the lifespan of a tweet is short. That’s why social media gurus like Guy Kawasaki recommend you repeat your tweets multiple times. But that still only reaches people who already follow you. Ideally, you want people to retweet or share your content with their followers.

Enter Click to Tweet. This nifty plug-in lets you create prewritten messages that users can tweet with the click of a button. Place them in your blog posts and be sure to include a link to the post.

Social media gurus like Guy Kawasaki recommend you repeat your tweets multiple times.
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The best Click to Tweet messages are things that make the reader look good or have a high emotional aspect to them. Here are a few ideas.

• Include an inspiring quote or pick out a line from the article to use as a pull quote.
• Provide a pearl of wisdom. This works especially well for list posts where you can use one of the points and link to the full article for the rest.
• Highlight surprising facts or statistics. Everyone wants to be seen as someone “in the know.”

Use snip.ly to turn curation into promotion

Finding and sharing great content other people have created is great for providing value and building a following. But it doesn’t bring much direct traffic your way. That’s where snip.ly comes in.

This solution adds a custom call to action on top of the content you share, so that you can bring people to your site.

By creating unique snips for each of your articles or videos, you can align your content promotion with the context of the reader’s experience. Say, for instance, you publish an article on how to monetize a blog. You could place a snip on articles around blogging or making money online inviting people to read your article.

That’s the approach I took to promote my CRO copywriting ebook.

Guest blogging

I’ll be honest. Guest blogging doesn’t make sense purely as a content promotion tactic. The impact is low compared to the effort involved. However, guest posting on a popular blog is a great way to establish yourself as a thought leader and build your personal brand. And if you do it for that reason, you might as well get some direct traffic as well.

The best way to do this is by including a link to your content within the post. But you have to do it the right way.

Nobody wants to read a sales pitch in the middle of an article. So you need to make sure that whatever link you include fits within the context of the piece. It should also provide unique value. That could be to provide examples or to offer information on a related subject.

It’s also a good idea to include outbound links to other sites. It shows that you’re trying to provide genuine value to the reader rather than just gaining traffic. That’s what readers want, which makes it what the site you’re posting on wants.

You can also include a link to an article in your bio, but I wouldn’t do it with just any random piece of content. The bio area is not likely to be updated regularly, so it’s best to save it for some sort of lead generator or cornerstone content.

Take a look at this guide for ideas on finding guest blogging opportunities.

Syndicate your content

What if instead of just including a link to your content on someone else’s site (like in guest blogging), you could include your whole article? That’s what content syndication is.

There are three basic types of syndication.

The easiest form of this is self-syndication, where you republish your content on Medium or LinkedIn.

Next, there are services that place your content across networks of syndicated sites. See the section on paid content distribution services.

Finally, you can try to get third party sites to republish your content. This is the blueprint Buffer used to get syndicated on Huffington Post, Fast Company and Inc., among others.

You may be thinking, “Won’t Google penalize me for duplicate content?”

As long as you and your syndication partner have your technical SEO in order, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

One thing that you should consider, though, is possible cannibalization of traffic. The site you are republishing on may get take potential traffic away from the original content on your site. The extra visibility is usually worth it, but it is something to keep in mind.

Submit your content to aggregator sites

Aggregator sites like Alltop are 100% curated content collections. They need content. You need places to distribute your content.

However, like most things, it’s not quite that simple. Many aggregator sites are full of spammy content. That won’t reflect well on your content or your brand. So you want to be choosy about where you submit.

It works in reverse, too. The best aggregator sites only want to collect and display the best content. So you need to ensure that your content makes the grade.

You’ll also want to find aggregators specific to your industry. Zest.is is good example of an aggregator specific to the marketing industry.

Share articles in online communities and forums

Communities and forums are great places to find engaged readers. If they leave comments on these sites, there is a good chance they could comment on your content as well. But you need to remember that it’s a two-way street.

Nobody joins communities to be sold to. If you go on there and just start pushing your content, you’re likely to get kicked to the curb.

"Nobody joins communities to be sold to." Here is the right way to promote your content in on these places.
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As a general rule, before you promote any content in these places, spend some time to actually become part of the community. Familiarize yourself with the rules and etiquette. Participate in a few discussions. Demonstrate your value.

When you’re ready to share your content, give a reason aside from just promoting your stuff. For instance, you could ask a question related to the topic or share insights about what you learned while researching and creating the piece.

Here is a short list of the top communities and forums to check out.

Reddit

This popular site is a collection of forums, known as subreddits. Each subreddit is run by its own moderator and has its own set of guidelines. Make sure you know what they are so that you don’t get blacklisted.

But simply following the rules is not enough. Reddit has a built-in voting system to help maintain quality. Users can upvote or downvote any comment, so it’s important to make sure you are adding value with every contribution.

Getting featured on the first page of a subreddit can drive significant traffic to your site.

Industry-specific forums

Many industries or niches have their own forums. With smart content promotion, these can be excellent sources of targeted traffic.

For example, coders frequently visit HackerNews. And GrowthHackers.com is a great place to engage with marketers.

Social media groups

LinkedIn and Facebook groups allow you to reach people beyond just your immediate connections on these platforms. But just like with subreddits, each group has its own set of rules. Before you share any content or links, make sure it’s allowed.

Blogging communities

The concept behind these communities is to bring bloggers together to help promote each other’s content. These are some of the most well-known blogging communities:

BizSugar. This community focuses on topics related to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

BlogEngage. This community has a large membership but there is a fee to join. Actually there are multiple tiers of membership. You’ll want to carefully consider what the different benefits are worth to you before committing to anything.

Social Buzz Club. This community uses gamification to encourage collaboration and reciprocal sharing, assigning points for such activities.

Viral Content Bee. In order to ensure you put in what you get out, Viral Content Bee uses a credit system. You earn credits by sharing others content. You can then use your accrued credit to incentivize others to share your content.

Triberr. The platform organizes members into “tribes” of like-minded bloggers and influencers with the goal of amplifying content. There are both free and paid plans.

Submit to social bookmarking sites

You’ve probably used or at least seen the bookmarking feature in your favorite web browser. Social bookmarking sites are like the public version of that. Not only can you go back to find the links you saved, but you can see what other people save as well. And they can see yours.

Content marketers have been known to see large spikes in traffic by making it on the first page of these social bookmarking sites:

Digg

Digg is a popular site for discovering new and interesting content. And it can provide a significant boost if you get yours featured on the main page. Of course that’s easier said than done.

Lifewire offers some tips on how to use this platform to get more traffic to your blog.

Scoop.it

This is billed more as content curation tool than a bookmarking site, but the premise is similar. You add content where it can be discovered by others. The main difference between Scoop.it and other social bookmarking sites is that the content is organized into collections curated by each user.

That means simply reposting your content here won’t give you the traffic bump you’re looking for. But you can use it to build a following and pull in new traffic to your site over time. This guide from Search Engine Journal explains how. 

Diigo

This site is popular among academics, thanks in part to features like annotation. If you are in the education niche or if your audience includes students or teachers, this could be a good platform to leverage.

Microblog with Tumblr

Microblogging is like blogging, but with bite-sized pieces if content rather than the long form content most regular blogs publish. Many people prefer to consume this type of content, especially when they are scanning their feeds rather than searching for something in particular.

Twitter is probably the most popular and best known microblogging platform, but it’s certainly not the only one. Tumblr is a popular option that offers a bit more flexibility, especially with design.

Here’s a quick guide to help you get started.

As with any type of platform used for content promotion, building a following is key to success on Tumblr. For valuable tips on doing just that, read this post about how Eli Seekins was able to get 8k followers on Tumblr in 5 months without ever logging in.

Reach out to influencers

It’s not hard to understand why influencer outreach is a popular content promotion strategy. You want lots of people to view your content. Influencers have lots of followers to promote your content to.

The first step is finding these influencers. You can probably think of a few well known and respected leaders in your industry off the top of your head.

Popular blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels are great places to find more influencers. You can also use a tool like BuzzSumo which lets you search for influencers by topics.

When evaluating influencers, you want to look at more than just their reach, especially with social media. Look at what types of people are following each influencer to make sure they are in your target market.

Also look at how engaged the influencer and his or her followers are. It’s better to attract a smaller number of highly engaged readers than a large number of apathetic people.

When you have a good list of influencers, you’ll need their contact information. Email is the best way to reach out to these people, but in a pinch, communicating via social media is an option, too. You can find most emails with tools such as VoilaNorbert and Humter.io.

That’s the easy part. The hard part is not getting ignored when you reach out for content promotion.

The most important thing to do is give a good reason for reaching out. I know you want them to share your content on social media and link to it. But that’s a good reason for you, not them. Why should they care? For example, you could:

• Let them know you’ve mentioned or quoted them
• Tell them about how it improves or expands on something they already link to
• Play to their ego and ask them for input before publishing your content

Here are a few more tips:

Personalize your message. Influencers will ignore you if they think you’re sending a mass form email.

Try to establish a relationship before you ask for anything in return. Think about it. Would you be more likely to do something for someone you know and like or for a complete stranger?

Don’t email the same people every time you publish something. That can quickly get annoying and they may stop looking at your emails all together. Instead, select a few key people who are the best fit for that particular topic. Keeping a log of your contact activity in a CRM or spreadsheet can help.

If you think an influencer may be receptive to more frequent updates about your content, ask if you can add them to your list. This works best when you have a good relationship already.

Reach out to people who curate content

Let other people help with your content promotion. Simply do a search for link roundup or newsletters in your industry and suggest your content to the curator. Here are a few search terms to try:

“weekly roundup” + your industry

“monthly roundup” + your industry

“link roundup” + your industry

“inurl:roundup” + your industry

“intitle:roundup” + your industry

“best of” + your industry

You can also find link roundups by exploring your competitors’ backlinks. Simply plug the URL to one of their content pages into your favorite backlink checker and explore the referring sites. There’s a good chance that many of those links are coming from link roundups.

The people who put together these roundups may be the perfect target for your outreach. Not only have they proven that they share other people’s content, it’s actually a promotion strategy.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy, though. These people get emails all the time from content creators, and the standards are high.

Treat your pitch the same way you should when reaching out to influencers for social shares and backlinks. Make sure you give a good reason why they should include your content. How will it benefit their audience? Why is it better than other content on the subject?

See the tips above for more ways to improve your odds of success.

Answer questions on Quora

This works for the same reason SEO works. The internet is usually the first place people turn for answers to their questions. But you have much less competition for your audience’s attention on Quora than on Google.

Capitalizing on this requires more than simply answering questions with links to you blog posts.

Remember, people are smart. They know you want to get traffic to your site, and if content promotion is all there is to your answer, they’ll simply move on the next without a second glance.

The key, just as with many of these strategies, is to build credibility and establish trust by providing value.

Spend time crafting well thought out, detailed answers, even if your blog posts include all the information a reader needs. Including links to your blog as supporting information is good, but your Quara answer should be able to stand alone.

Why? Because people are looking for answers on Quora. Making them go to another site for the answer adds friction.

So how do you drive traffic back to your site, then?

Some will come by placing non-intrusive links towards the end of your answers or mixed into a list post among external links. You can also drive a good portion of traffic from your profile page if you consistently provide great answers and build a following.

For a deep dive, including how to choose which questions to answer, how to optimize your profile and other pro tips, check out this article from the “Top Quora Writer of 2017.”

Leave comments on other blogs

I’m not advocating comment spam. That’s likely to get blocked, and even if it does get through, people are more likely to view you negatively than to click through to your content.

Instead, you want to include your links in a non-promotional way. There are a couple of ways to do this.

1. Look for questions within the comments you can answer. That adds value directly in response to someone’s request. Use Control F to search the page for “?” to save time.
2. Add unique insight that extends the value of the original post. For example, let’s say you wrote a case study on a particular link building technique. You could look for articles that mention that technique and talk about the results while referencing the case study.

But you don’t need to include a link in every comment to make this content promotion strategy work for you.

Many sites use comment systems that include profiles of the commenter. When you leave comments readers find valuable, they have a reason to check out your profile and follow the links you include there.

Consistently leaving messages that contribute to the conversation also helps you get noticed by the articles’ writers. Often these people are influencers who can help amplify your content promotion now and in the future.

Promote on your own site

When you think about promoting your latest blog post, you probably go straight to external sources. But your own site is a great place to start. Who is going to be a more targeted audience than people already reading your content?

Here are two good ways to drive readers to your other content:

1. Internal linking within content

It’s a good idea to include links to other pages on your site whenever you create new content. Not only is it good for getting more page views, it also helps with SEO. But that’s only one side of the coin.

Don’t forget to go back to your existing content and add links to the new posts you publish as well.

1. Related posts listings

It’s easy to add links to related content at the end of your posts, especially if you use a plug-in like Related Posts by AddThis.

Run Facebook ads

The reach and affordability of Facebook advertising makes it an attractive option for paid content promotion. For promoting blog posts in particular, you have a few options:

Boosted posts are the easiest option when you already post your content on your Facebook page. There is nothing new to create. You simply need to specify your audience and Facebook will display your post to those people with the word “sponsored” at the top.

Another option is to create dark posts promoting your content before you post anything on your timeline. This can be helpful if you want to test and optimize your headline, images or copy without cluttering up your page.

Run Twitter ads

Just like with Facebook, the simplest option for advertising on Twitter is to promote something you’ve already created.

When selecting your objective, be sure to choose website clicks or conversions. That way you pay only when people click through to your blog or whatever content you’re promoting.

Don’t rush through the targeting, because this is the most important aspect of the process. Remember, you don’t simply want traffic. You want high quality traffic. Try to target the people who best fit your ideal reader personas.

Use content syndication networks

Most of the time when promoting your content, you’re trying to stand out. But sometimes it makes sense to do the opposite. That’s the idea behind native advertising. Making your content look like part of a site people know and trust can attract people who normally don’t give ads a second glance.

While this type of advertising has been around since long before the internet, it’s risen in popularity recently thanks to content syndication networks like Outbrain and Taboola.

You’ve likely come across sponsored stories like these before:

There are multiple content syndication networks to explore, including:

Outbrain

Quuu

Zemanta

Taboola

For more information on how you can use content syndication networks for content promotion, check out this article from Quicksprout.com.

Conclusion

At this point you may be thinking, how am I ever going to do all this?

You probably won’t. And you shouldn’t. That wouldn’t leave time for much else. Instead, focus on the content promotion methods that deliver the most impact and don’t worry about those ones that don’t give you a return. Remember, your time is worth money, too.

Have I missed anything? Is there a content promotion method you swear by? Let me know in the comments.

The post The definitive guide to content promotion appeared first on SEAN KIRBY.

So why aren’t I doing that?

Because it wouldn’t be as helpful to you. At least not yet. In fact, it would probably do you more harm than good. You could spend hours every day completing a list like that with very little to show for it. That’s one reason “How do I get more traffic to my blog?” is one of the questions I hear most.

It’s not that those promotional tactics are bad. In fact, you’ll need to use many of them to build your audience. But you need to know how and when to use them.

The first thing you need to do is change your mindset away from “I have a new blog post, now how do I drive traffic to it?” Really, you need to start way before you write your post, especially in the beginning. Blog promotion is the epitome of flywheel marketing.

If you’re not familiar with the concept, read this excerpt from Jim Collins’ book Good to Great:

Picture a huge, heavy flywheel—a massive metal disk mounted horizontally on an axle, about 30 feet in diameter, 2 feet thick, and weighing about 5,000 pounds. Now imagine that your task is to get the flywheel rotating on the axle as fast and long as possible. Pushing with great effort, you get the flywheel to inch forward, moving almost imperceptibly at first. You keep pushing and, after two or three hours of persistent effort, you get the flywheel to complete one entire turn. You keep pushing, and the flywheel begins to move a bit faster, and with continued great effort, you move it around a second rotation. You keep pushing in a consistent direction. Three turns … four … five … six … the flywheel builds up speed … seven … eight … you keep pushing … nine … ten … it builds momentum … eleven … twelve … moving faster with each turn … twenty … thirty … fifty … a hundred.

Then, at some point—breakthrough! The momentum of the thing kicks in in your favor, hurling the flywheel forward, turn after turn … whoosh! … its own heavy weight working for you. You’re pushing no harder than during the first rotation, but the flywheel goes faster and faster. Each turn of the flywheel builds upon work done earlier, compounding your investment of effort. A thousand times faster, then ten thousand, then a hundred thousand. The huge heavy disk flies forward, with almost unstoppable momentum.

Getting traffic to your blog is just like pushing that flywheel. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to get it going, and you just can’t afford to spend time and effort on a spray and pry approach. You need to exert your energy on the things that are going to get the wheel moving.

But when you do build momentum, everything becomes much easier. For instance, when you get more subscribers, there are more people likely to share your posts, which brings in new readers who may subscribe. That’s one turn of the wheel. And you can see how it builds each time around.

And that’s just one simple example. The ideal blog promotion plan for you may include a combination of compounding tactics and factors. But you have a little work to do first.

Start here for best results

Before you jump into promotional tactics, you need to develop a strategy. And I’m not just talking about a marketing strategy. I’m talking about a business strategy. Here’s why.

Your potential readers don’t need another blog. They already have dozens to choose from in just about every niche. What they need is something better. They need something more actionable, more insightful or more relevant. They need something they can’t get elsewhere.

You need to determine how you are going to differentiate and provide this unique value.

For example, when Peep Laja decided to start ConversionXL, he studied the competition first. He noticed that most posted short articles that were a little thin on the content. So he decided to go in-depth. The results speak for themselves.

Groove is another example of a blog that found success through differentiation. Instead of writing the standard “how to” articles most start up blogs post, Groove’s founder offered a transparent look at Groove’s successes and failures in their Startup Journey blog. He has stated that this is their biggest driver of new customers.

If you want blogging to work for you, it’s essential to figure out what’s going to make you different than the sea of other options.

Study the other blogs in your niche. What are their strengths? What are the weaknesses? Are there any content gaps you can exploit? Can you niche down? Can you establish a unique voice or angle that stands out?

But don’t just think about the topics of your blog. Your audience is even more important to your strategy. Determine who your ideal reader is and formulate a promotion strategy around that.

If you know that your target readers are active on reddit, for instance, it makes sense to spend effort establishing and leveraging a presence on relevant subreddits. If they aren’t, then don’t waste time there.

When researching your audience, consider questions such as:

• Where do your target readers hang out online?
• How do they discover new content?
• How do they prefer to consume that content?

The simplest and most effective way to research your audience is to talk to them directly. Identify people who might benefit from your blog, let them know what you’re doing and ask them if you can set up a quick chat. Here’s a few places you can find potential readers.

Similar blogs

The comments section is a great place to find potential readers. These people have shown that they not only read this content, but also actively engage with it. And many comment apps include the commenter’s profile.

Look, this handsome fellow commented on this blog.

With that name, image and profile, it shouldn’t be hard to find a way to reach out. Here are just two options:

Look, his site is listed. I can use the contact page to reach out.

Here he is on LinkedIn. Maybe send an InMail?

Forums and communities related to your niche

The idea here is the same as with the comments section. To increase your chances of building relationships that can drive blog traffic, be sure to participate in the community before asking for favors.

BuzzSumo

Social shares are another action that may indicate a reader is a good fit for your content. For that, there is no better tool than BuzzSumo.

The app shows you the most shared content for your search term, and even breaks it down by social channel. Simply click the View Sharers link, and you can see people who shared that content in the first 2-3 days after it was published.

And here’s one last consideration as you plan your strategy:

Your content will dictate a large part of your strategy. SEO won’t be as important for a blog of your poetry as it would for a “how to” blog, because people don’t typically search for random poems. Instead, finding ways to generate social shares and word of mouth would be critical for driving traffic. Ask yourself: how and why would a reader likely come across my content?

Consider the difference between these two sites:

Most of the traffic to Upworthy comes from social media, while most Forbes gets the majority of its traffic from search engines.

That being said, you’ll most likely want to focus one or more of these things.

Build an email list.

Email gives you direct access to your readers. So every time you publish new content, you can let them know about it. And it’s not just effective at bringing traffic to your site. It also converts readers into paying customers. According to the DMA, email has an average ROI of 3800 percent and one in five companies report an ROI of over 70:1!

One of the most popular ways to collect email addresses is to offer a resource such as an ebook, special report or email course. Just make sure that what you’re offering gives enough value for readers to justify giving you their email address.

Get backlinks.

You may be wondering why I listed backlinks specifically rather than the more complete SEO. It’s because generating backlinks give you a single SMART goal to focus on. And like all good flywheel marketing tactics, the results compound.

This resource offers some good information on link building campaigns and offers practical ideas on generating backlinks.

Develop your brand.

It’s easier to get backlinks, social share views and other benefits when you are known as an established expert in your field. Think about it, which would you be more likely to link to and share: an article by someone you’ve never heard of or someone generally known and respected in your industry?

Guest blogging is a great way to do this. So don’t save your best articles just for your site. The value goes beyond direct referral traffic.

You can also invest in strategies outside of blogging to build your reputation. For instance, you can leave well thought out, helpful answers and comments on sites like Quora and Hacker News. Or you could try to get featured on podcasts or in news stories.

When you’re ready to implement your strategy, follow this framework.

The 3 Step Content Marketing Process to Drive Blog Traffic

Step 1: Lay the groundwork

It’s tempting to want to jump right into the creation part of content marketing. After all, that’s the fun part. But you shouldn’t. This old ad explains why:

Make no mistake. You’re trying to sell your content, even if you aren’t charging money. If you want people to link to or promote your content, you’re asking people to spend their time and effort. And you’re more likely to have success if they know a little bit about you first.

The easiest thing you can do to get on influencers’ radars is start sharing their content. You probably shouldn’t share everything they’ve ever written. That would be disingenuous. But if you share enough over a period of time, those influencers should start to recognize your name.

Make sure to tag them when you share on your social media accounts. This way, they’ll get notified and start to recognize your name.

Another option is to comment on their blog posts. I’m not talking about generic comments like, “Great post!” Nobody is going to remember you for that. I mean thoughtful comments that add to the conversation.

Similarly, you can participate in forums and online communities these influential people belong to. This can be a great way to start a dialog directly.

If you really want to stand out and get on an influencer’s good side, use your unique expertise or skills to him or her out. Let’s say, for instance, that you are great with technical web development. You could offer some suggestions on ways to speed up the influencer’s site.

No matter how you choose to get noticed and connect, the key is to add value without an expectation of anything in return. Give multiple times before you ask for help promoting your content.

Step 2: Create something worth promoting

Think about all the big promotional tactics you hear about. Getting influencers to share your content. Building high authority backlinks. Syndication. None of those will be effective if the content doesn’t warrant it. Nobody wants to share or link to crappy content.

At a minimum, you want to make sure your content is:

Unique in some way. There’s a lot of parroting on the Internet these days, and it feels like you read the same articles over again and again with just different wording. Add something new to the conversation.

Easy to read and understand. If it feels like work, I’ll just go to the next option.

Entertaining. I know a lot of people think of content as more educational, and to an extent it is, but the education has to be enjoyable or nobody will bother.

Satisfying. Great content answers the questions readers have and gives them the information they need to put it to use. There should be no reason to go and search another source after consuming great content.

For more specific, in-depth advice on crafting compelling content, check out these articles:

Why No One is Reading Your Content – And What You Can Do About It

How to Write Engaging Content in a Boring Industry

But this step is about more than just creating content that’s good for readers. You should also optimize your posts for your promotion strategy while you are still creating it.

Does your strategy focus on influencer outreach? Find ways to make the influencer look good. Mention them in your article, quote them, or validate something they wrote about. That’s what Brian Dean did with is infographic on the shrinking dollar.

He saw that a lot of popular financial bloggers were writing about the topic. So he knew that backing up those rants with visually interesting hard data would be appealing to these influencers.

How about building links? Make sure to turn your content into link bait. Here are a few ways:

• Be controversial. Many sites will link to information they agree with. But sites also link to content they disagree with. Being a little controversial is a great way to invite debate.
• Include an infographic or interactive tool. These types of resources get a ton of backlinks.
• Make it epic. Super in-depth content takes a lot of work and time to create. It’s much easier for most influencers to link to this information rather than do all the work to create it on their own.

What if your strategy centers around generating shares among readers? Then craft your post with that goal in mind. Be surprising. Be funny. Make the sharer look smart. Appeal to their sense of identity (or challenge it).

Consider this article on Wait But Why, which checks a couple of those boxes. It has racked up 1.2 million shares so far.

Step 3: Promote smart

It’s finally time to start promoting your content. But you have to be smart about it, otherwise you’ll waste time on things that don’t give you enough of a return on your investment.

Start by going for the low hanging fruit first.

Share your content to your owned media. This includes things like emailing your subscriber or customer list, posting a link on your social media accounts, and republishing on LinkedIn and Medium.

Reaching out to everyone you mentioned or featured in your content is another easy tactic that usually produces good results. After all, who doesn’t like to be featured in stories that help increase their exposure? People will often help spread this content without you even asking.

If you can find these people’s email addresses, shoot them a short note letting them know that you included them and provide a link so that they can read t for themselves. If you can’t find their email, you can send a tweet tagging them.

Finally, ask people in your close circle to share your content. This is a great place to start, especially if you are just getting started and don’t have a big social media following or email list.

Next focus your promotional efforts on your priorities from the strategy phase. If your focus is on SEO, concentrate on link building. If it’s social, do outreach to get shares.

Conclusion

I’ll be honest. This isn’t an easy process. In fact, it can be downright agonizing. You’ll wonder if it is worth it all. But stick with it.

After building momentum, you can then add more tactics to keep growing your traffic. But that’s a post for another time. Stay tuned.

The post How to drive blog traffic, even if nothing has worked before appeared first on SEAN KIRBY.

Getting results without breaking your back. That’s why these are some of my favorite content marketing techniques ever.

None requires hours of additional effort. And you don’t need an advanced degree to understand them. In fact, you can put these easy content marketing hacks to work today.

Get 30% more people to view your emails with this ridiculously simple trick

W hen it comes to ROI, email is right at the top of the marketing list. According to a survey conducted by the Direct Marketing Association and Demand Metric, ROI is more than four times higher for email than social media, direct mail and paid search.

That’s despite the fact that most of your email list never even sees the content of those emails. According to GetResponse’s 2017 Global Benchmark Report, the average open rate is just 23%.

You work hard making your emails persuasive. I’ll bet you sweat over all the details, no matter how minor. And all that hard work is wasted on over three quarters of your email list. But it doesn’t have to be.

The solution is so simple you’ll wonder why you never thought of it before.

Change the subject line and resend your email to all the people who didn’t open the first time.

Think about it. There are many reasons those people might not have opened your email. It could just be that they were busy that day and didn’t get around to it.

Email marketing guru Noah Kagan got 30% more opens by using this technique. Imagine how much more you can make when you increase your open rate by 30%.

Not bad for a few minutes work.

Get 4 times more page views with a couple of extra minutes work

Twitter feeds move incredibly fast. In just a second or two your tweet could be buried under dozens of new tweets from other users.

If you want your tweet to be seen, you need to hit people’s feeds multiple times. That’s why Guy Kawasaki sends each of his tweets 4 times a day.

“The reason for repeated tweets is to maximize traffic and therefore advertising sales. I’ve found that each tweet gets approximately the same amount of clickthroughs. Why get 600 page views when you can get 2,400?”

-Guy Kawasaki

It makes sense. But there’s a catch.

If you just tweet the same thing every time, you’ll end up with a profile page that reads like a broken record (for everyone old enough to remember those).

The solution is simple.

Tweet your links with different variations in the text. For instance, you could schedule tweets like this:

Tweet 1: Announce your article

Example:

Check out my new article on underused marketing hacks
Click To Tweet

Tweet 2: Article Headline

Example:

Easy marketing tactics you’re probably not using
Click To Tweet

Tweet 3: Include a teaser about the article

Example:

Learn the technique @noahkagan uses to get 30% more email opens.
Click To Tweet

Tweet 4: Pull out a quote or excerpt from the article

Example:

“Get 30% more people to view your emails with this ridiculously simple trick” and other marketing hacks
Click To Tweet

Tweet 5: Ask a question related to article

Example:

Which of these hacks are missing from your marketing efforts?
Click To Tweet

Start back at square 2

You probably already know you should be creating evergreen content. But are your treating it like evergreen content? Or do you forget about it almost as soon as you hit the publish button?

Sure, people may find this content on their own through a search engine. But they may not. And what’s the point of having content that stays relevant for years if it just sits there?

There’s no reason you can’t promote your older content on a regular basis. Here are a few ways to do it.

1. Set a reminder or schedule re-promotions at set timeframes. For instance, you could promote your content every four months. So an article originally published and promoted on January 9 would be repromoted on May 9 and September 9.
2. Promote related content around themes on your editorial calendar. If you are focusing on say, affiliate marketing, one week, then you could pull out all your content on that subject and promote that throughout the week.
3. Take advantage of trending topics. If you notice a topic generating a lot of interest in the news or on social media, that’s a perfect time to promote content your related content.

The Samuel L Jackson marketing hack

People share content pretty regularly on social media. Email is a different story. Why?

(In your best Samuel Jackson voice)

Clicking a button to share content on Twitter or Facebook is easy. Sharing through email is more work. You have to open your email client, write a subject line, write a note and include a link. Ugh.

Enter this smart technique developed by Noah Kagan that does all that by clicking a single link.

Here’s what you need to do.

1. Write the email you want people to send to their contacts. Don’t forget about the subject line, too.
2. Convert that text into code using this tool or something similar. Convert the subject line and email body separately.
3. Now it’s time to construct your link. Simply copy this and replace the red portions with the codes you generated in step 2: mailto:?subject=SUBJECT CODE&body=BODY CODE
4. Now create a hyperlink using the code in step 3 as the address.

When someone clicks on this link, it will launch a pre-written email. All they have to do is fill out the “to” field and click send. Easy, peasy.

Here’s the example Kagan used in his original blog post introducing the concept:

This code:

<br /><br /><br /><br />
mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20free%20Summer%20of%20Marketing%20course&body=Check%20out%20the%20new%2C%20free%20course%20Noah%20Kagan%20is%20offering%20this%20week%20about%20marketing%20called%20%22Summer%20of%20Marketing.%22%20%0A%0AHelps%20you%20put%20marketing%20tactics%20and%20lessons%20into%20action.%20More%20info%20at%20summerofmarketing.com

Generates this email:

Write one extra line to boost your success metrics

“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

-David Ogilvy

I’m sure you’ve read that quote before. It’s cited in almost every article and blog post on headline writing. Yet most never bother testing and optimizing their headlines.

The folks over at Thrive Themes have come up with a great solution that makes testing blog headlines easy: Thrive Headline Optimizer

(Full disclosure: The link above is an affiliate link. That means that if you end up purchasing the plug-in, I get a commission.)

Here’s how it works:

1. Choose something from your list of posts, pages, or other content types.
2. Enter your headline variation(s).
3. Select your engagement and automatic winner settings.

The plugin tracks engagements through metrics such as click throughs, time on content and how far reader’s scroll. The engagement settings let you determine when these activities are counted as an engagement.

In this example, an engagement is triggered only when a visitor is on the page for 78 seconds or longer.

All of these criteria can also be turned off, so you determine winners on the metrics that are important to you.

The automatic winner settings will end the test and declare a winner when the set criteria is met.

4. Click start test.

That’s all there is to it.

Over to you

Which of these marketing hacks are you going to try first? Are there any easy underused or little known tactics you would add to the list?

Let me know in the comments.

Feature image by Jeremy Mikkola

The post Easy Content Marketing Tactics You’re Probably Not Using appeared first on SEAN KIRBY.

A Hubspot benchmark study found that companies that published 16+ blog posts per month got about four and a half times more leads than companies that published between 0 – 4 monthly posts.

The takeaway is clear. If you want more leads, you need to blog more.

That’s easy enough for big companies with plenty of resources. But if you’re in a small company, you’re probably asking, “How can we pump out that many posts every month?”

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. Each of the strategies outlined in this article can work, but there is also a tradeoff for each. You have to decide what is most important to your success.

Option 1: Hire a full time blogger (or a team of bloggers)

Pros: This is probably the easiest solution, at least in the long term. As someone inside your organization, a hire will gain familiarity with your target audience and your brand. As time goes on they should be able to work more independently. That allows you to devote your time to other tasks.

Another benefit of hiring a dedicated blogger is consistency. The tone and quality of the writing should remain steady as long as you employ that writer.

Cons: Hiring anyone is a significant investment. In addition to salary, you need to account for expenses like benefits, paid time off and training. If you’re committed to blogging as a marketing tactic, then the investment is probably worth it if you can afford it. But not all small businesses have the budget.

Tips: Choose talent over subject matter expertise. A direct hire should be a long-term investment. Even if it takes a little more time and effort getting that person up to speed, it should pay off in the end.

Option 2: Outsource to freelancers or an inbound agency

Pros: Like with a full-time hire, you’ll benefit from the skills a professional writer or blogging team brings to the table. But outsourcing isn’t as big of a commitment. And you don’t have to worry about scheduling around vacation days.

While you’ll want to review the work your outsourced talent is producing, it’s less work for you than if you did it yourself.

Cons: This is another option that requires a decent budget, especially if you want posts that are any good.

In addition to that, you will likely be one of several clients the agency or freelancer has. And you may not be their biggest priority.

Tips: If you choose this option, make sure you do your homework first to find the right fit.

Don’t just look for the cheapest option on sites like Fiverr or Upwork. You typically get what you pay for. Instead ask around for recommendations or contact people who create blog posts you admire and if they are available for freelance.

Option 3: Do it yourself

Pros: This is the most economical approach on the list. Yes, there is a cost associated with your time, but it won’t eat into your marketing budget. When you can’t afford to hire outside help, then that trade off could be well worth it.

This approach also gives you the most control over the tone and messaging of your blog. And because you already have an intimate knowledge of your industry, company and customers, this is also the quickest to implement.  You bypass the learning curve the options above require.

Cons: It’s hard work. Blogging is not something you can automate. You need to devote time and energy to every post. That means that you may have to sacrifice your free time and leisure activities. Marcus Sheridan, who credits blogging with saving his pool business, would often write his posts at 11 p.m. or later. That’s when he arrived home after a full day of working.

Tips: Getting started is the often the hardest part, especially for non-writers. Block out specific time in your schedule to devote to blogging. Make it part of your regular routine.

When you’re under a time crunch (and you usually will be with a DIY approach) it’s important to maximize your productivity. Close your web browser and email notifications. Shut off your phone. And eliminate any other potential distractions.

The Pomodoro technique can also help you maintain your focus and productivity. Set a timer for 25 minutes and work until the buzzer goes off. Then take a five minute break and start the process over again.

You’ll also want to take advantage of tools like Hemingway app or Grammarly to check your writing for grammar and readability.

Option 4: Enlist your employees

Pros: Getting employees to blog can be an effective way to spread the work around while preserving the budget. Depending on how many employees participate, the added workload can be manageable.

Those who participate will also have incentive to promote what they write. It gives those employees a sense of ownership.

Cons: As rewarding as blogging can be, getting people to participate is not always easy. Employees’ regular work will take top priority and they may be reluctant to add blogging to their plates. Plus, some people are intimidated by writing.

With multiple contributors, including many with no professional writing experience, maintaining consistency can also be a challenge. You’ll need to devote time and resources to editing and managing the creation process.

Tips: You can’t expect people who have never blogged before to jump right in and produce great posts out of the gate. You need to give specific direction. Provide guidelines and examples of the types of posts you’re looking for, deadlines, and where they fit into the process.

It’s best to make someone the point person to manage the blog. He or she should schedule, review and edit the posts, manage the workflow, and provide feedback and updates to the team.

Providing an incentive is a great way to encourage participation. This could be monetary, extra recognition, a special perk or anything else that motivates your employees.

So which is the right approach for you?

It depends. First, determine your budget and how much of your own time you can devote to blogging. Focus on the options that are closest on the sliding scale below to your situation.

If you’re not on either of the extreme ends, consider using a mix of these techniques. For instance, if you can realistically write 8 posts per month on your own, then you would only need help on 8 more posts to reach 16. You might be able to fill those in with freelance help.

The post 4 ways to blog more, even if you’re a small or solo business appeared first on SEAN KIRBY.

So today I’m going to take a page from Trump’s book and tell you how we’re going to build a content marketing machine … and we’re going to get our competitors to do the hard work for us.

It’s gonna be huuuuge.

Find and optimize for high-converting keywords in your competitors’ PPC ads.

Not ranking well for your keywords is frustrating. But ranking for the wrong keywords is even worse. Think about it. It takes months of hard work to rank for a term. And that’s all wasted if your traffic doesn’t convert.

Luckily, your competition is nice enough to spend their hard earned money testing which terms convert the best.

Head on over to Google Keyword Planner and plug in the keyword terms you are considering. When you find some with decent traffic, then sort by the suggested bid amount. This is a good indicator of how likely that term is to convert. After all, nobody is going to keep paying for traffic that doesn’t bring a return on the investment.

Now you have a list of top-notch keywords to target, validated by your competition. But you’re not done yet.

Next enter those terms into Google and study the PPC ads that show up. Many advertisers spend a good deal of time and effort tweaking and optimizing the text here. And you can use that to your advantage without spending a cent!

Look for words, phrases and themes that are used in multiple ads. These are perfect for punching up your meta description, finding synonyms and related terms to use in your blog post, and using in calls-to-action or landing pages.

Build on your competitors’ successes

Keywords are great and all, but that’s not all there is to a successful piece of content. The overall topic, format and approach are equally important. Enter Brian Dean’s skyscraper technique.

The idea is simple. Find content that performs well and create something better. The beauty of this method is that you already have most of the building blocks ready. All you have to do is enhance it.

There are a few ways to find popular content. The easiest is to simply enter your search term into Google and look at the top results. Google’s algorithm is smart. It can usually tell which content is truly useful from tricks designed to game the system.

Shares across social media are another indicator of popular content. BuzzSumo is a great tool for finding heavily shared content. Simply enter your term and you’ll get a list of the most shared content within your selected time frame. You can even sort by social network.

Now use the research and insights the content’s creators spent so much time and effort on to create your own improved content.

Repurpose your competition’s content.

Here’s another sneaky way to take advantage of your competition’s content creation efforts. Create something similar in a different format. That’s what Eugene Cheng and the team at HighSpark (formerly SlideComet) did.

After seeing Seth Godin’s ebook on really bad PowerPoint, they spun the idea into a presentation that’s gotten over 1.6 million views and delivers around 400 email leads a month.

You don’t want to use anything word for word. That would be plagiarism. Just ask Melania. But there’s no reason you can’t expand a popular blog post idea into an in-depth ebook or white paper. Or you could use a popular presentation as inspiration for a video. Your possibilities are endless.

And now that your competition has helped you plan and create your killer content, it’s time to promote it. Your competitors are once again happy to oblige.

Hijack your competitors’ most active followers and influencers.

When it comes to content marketing, influencers are worth their weight in gold. Get the right people to share your content, and you can instantly increase your views by triple, quadruple or more.

Of course, getting in front of these busy people can be a challenge. First you have to identify them. Then you need to come up with a good reason to reach out. Even then, who knows if they even share the type of content you produce?

Your competition has done all this, and you can once again take advantage with BuzzSumo.

Plug in your keyword and find a popular post from one of your competitors. Then, click the View Sharers button to see who shared it on social media.

You now have a list of people and companies who may be willing to share your content based on their past behavior. I recommend exporting this list to a spreadsheet for future use.

You’ll want to follow at least the influencers with the most reach so that you can start to build relationships before asking them to share your content. You can do this right from BuzzSumo.

When you are ready to reach out to them with a sharing request, you can say you thought they may be interested because they shared something similar. Giving a reason may seem like a small thing, but it can make all the difference in the world, as this classic social experiment shows.

Poach backlinks

If you want to rank well in search engines, you need plenty of backlinks. Unfortunately, you can’t just reach out to website owners asking them to link to your stuff and expect any success. That’s one reason SEO campaigns take so long.

It’s hard enough to find sites that are a good fit, let alone individual pages where it makes sense to add a link. But what if you could convince site owners to replace the links to your competitors’ sites with your own?

This is not an easy task, but it is possible. Remember the skyscraper technique? If you did a great job and created something that’s far superior to your competition, then site owners will have a reason to link out to your content instead of what they had.

Log into your favorite backlink checker to find out which sites and pages link to the content you want to replace. Then reach out to the site owner with your suggested replacement. Make sure to clearly demonstrate why yours is better and how it will benefit readers.

Conclusion

These strategies are perfect if you find yourself looking up at your competition.

You still have to put in time and effort to be successful, but you’ll have a significant head start and a clear roadmap to follow.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to make your content marketing great again.

The post Trump your competition with content marketing strategies inspired by the Donald appeared first on SEAN KIRBY.

Reach out to influencers in your industry. Get them to spread the word with their followers. Watch your traffic, conversions, and brand recognition skyrocket overnight.

Only it’s not that easy. In fact, it’s damn hard. But you know that.

Since you’re reading this, you’ve probably tried it and failed. You reach out to the influencers on your list and… nothing. Not even a “Thanks, but no thanks.” It’s as if your email went into a black hole or wherever it is all my mismatched socks end up after going into the wash.

Why are influencers ignoring you? Clearly, you’re doing something wrong. Chances are it’s one of the following.

You’re coming off like a jackass

Picture this:

You’re at a party. People are having a good time. You’re laughing with some friends you haven’t seen in a while, when a stranger walks up and introduces himself.

You extend your arm to shake his hand. But instead of hearing “Nice to meet you,” or some other pleasant greeting, he immediately asks you to do something for him.

Some nerve, huh? Who does this guy think he is? And what makes him think you should do anything he wants when he doesn’t even know you?

It sounds like an absurd scenario. But that’s exactly what a lot of people do when reaching out to influencers. And it makes them look like jackasses (or a stronger term if you prefer).

What to do instead.

Build relationships with influencers and provide value before you want or need something from them.

This isn’t just the polite thing to do. It will also increase your chances of getting influencers to do what you’re asking of them.

Robert Cialdini, perhaps the world’s top expert on persuasion and compliance, claims that all compliance tactics fit into six psychological principles. Two in particular are especially helpful when dealing with influencers.

According to Cialdini, “People prefer to say ‘yes’ to those they know and like.”

Think again about the party scenario, but replace the stranger with a friend. Aren’t you more likely to help them out with a request?

So how do get influencers to like you?

Here are a couple of things you can do.

Give honest compliments. Everyone loves flattery. Even people who are already admired by thousands of their peers and followers.

This is easy to do in today’s connected world. Simply shoot an email to the person or do it in a more public way by mentioning them on social media or leaving a comment on their blog. But don’t just write “great post” or some other generic compliment. Let the influencer know specifically what you liked and how it will help you or your comment will be seen as a BS attempt to kiss his or her butt.

Find common ground. We bond with people who are similar to us. So if you can find and mention something you have in common, you have a better chance of forming a bond.

The second principle of influence you can use to get influencer’s help is reciprocation. When someone does something for us, we feel indebted to him or her. If you get a Christmas card from someone who isn’t already on your list, don’t you make sure to send her a card, too?

For this reason, it’s important to do something for the influencers you’ve identified before you ask for anything. Share their work with your network. Feature them in your content. Provide a testimonial. Make an introduction to one of your contacts. There are a lot of ways you can add value.

Jason Quey offers a great guide on how to do that.

You’re aiming too high, too fast

Influencers are busy people. And the more in-demand they are, the more competition you face for their attention. Neil Patel illustrates this well in this page of QuickSprout.com.

Influencers need to prioritize when they get this many requests. And if you aren’t well known or personally connected with them, you aren’t likely be very high on that list. But there is a way to fix that.

What to do instead.

Target mid-tier influencers and work your way up. There’s a little less competition for their time. And the best part: Influencers are often on other influencer’s radars. So once you start having success with these people, you have a better chance of getting noticed by even bigger influencers.

Think about it like this. If you had a political cause you’re passionate about, how much luck do you think you’d have trying to go straight to the president?

But if you start by rallying community support, that could get the attention of local politicians. And if they spoke out about the cause, you could gather support of state representatives. And it could eventually build like that all the way to the top.

Look for influencers who have a larger active following than you currently have, but not as many as the mega followers. But it’s not just the size of an audience that makes someone and influencer. Try to find people who actively engage their audience.

Build relationships with these people. Then, slowly work your way up to connecting with mega influencers over time.

Your outreach emails suck

How you ask for what you want is just as important as what you’re asking for. And I don’t mean just saying “please.”

I mean being friendly, authentic, personal and respectful. And far too many aren’t.

“But I use a great template,” you’re saying to yourself. “It worked gangbusters for the person who shared it with me.”

It may well have worked for them. But once everyone starts using it, influencers recognize it for what it is. And they delete it, as Tim Soulo of Ahrefs explains, without remorse.

Can you blame them? An obvious template says that you’re too lazy to take the time to reach out with a personal email. Or that you don’t respect them enough to do it.

Often the templates themselves suck, too. They provide no value to the influencer. Instead, it’s all about the person doing the outreach.

What to do instead.

First, focus your strategy. Instead of spamming every influencer you can find, identify a handful of people who would truly get value from your outreach. Make sure that reason is specific to each person. No generic “their audience would love it” or “they’ve written about something similar” is going to cut it.

As you craft your email, imagine you are in their shoes. Why would you share, link to or do whatever it is you’re asking of them? Again, make it as specific and unique to each as possible.

Don’t be pushy. Nobody likes to be told what to do. Some marketers say they have more successes asking influencers if they would like to view the content rather than sending it in the initial emails and asking for a share or link.

Be concise and make it easy for the person to do what you’re asking. Remember, these are busy people who receive a ton of email.

Rand Fishkin provides a good framework in this Whiteboard Friday.

Conclusion

I’m not going to lie and say that building relationships with influencers is easy or quick. It takes time and work. But the results are well worth the effort.

The key is to start making connections before you need anything from those people. After you’re done reading this sentence, make a list of the influencers you want to connect with and figure out the best ways you can add value for them.

Feature Photo credit:Peter Alfred Hess / Foter / CC BY

The post Why influencers are ignoring you, and what to do about it appeared first on SEAN KIRBY.

You’re struggling with your content creation.

You want it to be engaging and entertaining. But the topics in your niche are just not exciting.

So you stare at the screen. You make a few attempts to start, which you quickly delete. And then, facing a deadline, you give in and write an uninspired post just to get something—anything—published.

It doesn’t have to be this way. If you use the tactics in this article, you can write content that keeps readers captivated from beginning ‘til end and compels them to share it—even in a “boring” industry.

Change your mindset

No tactic is going to work unless you first come to this realization:

There are no boring topics. Not even accounting or insurance.

They may not be topics you’d get excited about. But you’re likely not the target audience.

Boring is a relative term. I’d rather stare at a blank wall for a couple of hours than watch most of the reality shows on TV. But the ratings indicate that there are plenty of viewers who feel otherwise.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that everyone has the same interests as you. You’ll never be able to engage the readers you’re supposed to be writing to that way.

So how do you find the interest in a topic you’re not interested in yourself?

Focus less on the topic and more on what readers get out of the content. To put it even more simply, provide value.

Let’s use accounting and insurance as examples. You’re probably not thinking, “I can’t wait to read about that.” But if you saw an article explaining ways to save money each month without sacrificing time or resources, I doubt you’d yawn and move on.

See, I told you accounting and insurance weren’t boring.

Use a conversational tone

If your writing is boring, then even the most exciting topic will seem boring, too. Consider these two examples:

Example 1:

Stored hematoxylin-and-eosin–stained sections from each participant were evaluated by a breast pathologist who was unaware of the initial histologic diagnoses and patient outcomes. Biopsy findings were classified according to the criteria of Page et al. into the following categories: nonproliferative fibrocystic changes, proliferative fibrocystic changes without atypia, and proliferative fibrocystic changes with atypia (atypical ductal hyperplasia, atypical lobular hyperplasia, or both). Biopsy specimens were designated as having proliferative fibrocystic changes if they contained any of the following: ductal hyperplasia (greater than mild), papilloma, radial scar, or sclerosing adenosis. Cysts, fibroadenoma, or columnar changes were considered nonproliferative unless they also contained one of the lesions denoted above.

Example 2:

A breast pathologist looked at participants’ biopsies and put them into the following categories:

• Nonproliferative fibrocystic changes
• Proliferative fibrocystic changes without atypia
• Proliferative fibrocystic changes with atypia (atypical ductal hyperplasia, atypical lobular hyperplasia, or both)

Proliferative fibrocystic changes included ductal hyperplasia (greater than mild), papilloma, radial scar, and sclerosing adenosis. Cysts, fibroadenoma, or columnar changes were considered nonproliferative unless they also contained one of the lesions above.

To prevent biased results, the pathologist had no knowledge of the initial histologic diagnoses and patient outcomes.

Which engages you more?

If you’re like most people, it’s the second one. That’s because the conversational tone is easier to read and understand. It comes more naturally.

Here are a few ways to make your writing more conversational:

Imagine you’re writing to a single individual. Try to picture someone in your mind and write to him or her. A persona can be helpful with this.

Replace jargon with common, everyday words. You don’t have to eliminate your target audience’s buzzwords entirely. In fact, you shouldn’t. But you should have enough plain language to make it sound how the reader would speak.

Use contractions. Sure, this is a little thing, but that’s the way most people speak. Not using them can make your writing sound awkward or robotic.

Break a few grammar rules. If our conversations got graded on grammar, most of us would get poor marks. So don’t worry about starting a sentence with and or but. It’s OK to end a sentence in a preposition if it sounds better. You can even use sentence fragments.

It’s important to remember that these aren’t hard and fast rules. If your brand and your niche are more formal, then you don’t want to sound too casual. Do what’s best for your situation.

Tell stories

In sure you’ve heard before that storytelling is a powerful form of communication. But did you know that there is actual science behind it?

According to research from neuroeconomist Paul Zak, our brains produce the stress hormone cortisol during tense moments in a story, which increases focus.

And that’s not the only neurological response our brains have to stories. They also release oxytocin and dopamine, chemicals that affect mood and feelings.

Which brings us to the next tip.

Tap into an emotion

When was the last time something boring made you mad? Or happy? Excited? How about anxious?

Probably never. If you are feeling those emotions, you are engaged.

If you can create this type of emotional response early in your content, then you’ll hook your target audience, regardless of the topic.

So how do you do that?

One way is by amplifying their pain.

Think about the problem your content is trying to solve and speak to that. But don’t just mention it in broad, matter-of-fact terms. Create a hypothetical situation the reader can see herself in or has already experienced.

Use concrete terms and mental images to capture the emotions involved. Target the readers’ senses to simulate the experience.

Creating an antagonist is another effective tactic. It creates drama and tension. The antagonist could be a company, an individual, or even the status quo.

That’s the approach Dr. Andree Bates took in a series of columns for EyeforPharma. In No More Lip Service and Rethinking Pharma parts 1, 2 and 3, she paints the current state of the pharmaceutical industry as the antagonist standing in the way of innovation.

Focus on the reader

The most interesting topic in the world for most people is themselves. Even you. Admit it, you perk up when you hear your name mentioned. If you saw it on a piece of paper or computer screen, you’d take a closer look to see what it is all about.

It’s not because we’re egotistical. It’s just human nature. And you can use it make your content more engaging.

Obviously, you can’t personalize the content with each reader’s name. But there are other ways to make your content about them.

One way is to call out an attribute most of your target audience shares, such as job function. If your topic is about management, using the term manager should get managers’ attention. The more specific you can get, the better.

Using the word “you” throughout your content is another way to make it more about readers. It helps you focus your messages on what your audience can do.

Surprise your readers

Predictable is boring. Rehashing the same old advice or information isn’t going to cut it, especially in a so-called boring industry.

Find a way to instead surprise your reader, and you’ll instantly create interest.

So how do you do that?

Defy conventional wisdom. Take a contrary view on a popular topic. It’s not as easy as it sounds. You have to be able to back up your stance. And you need to be authentic. But it’s a great way to stand out.

You could do something unexpected, like Jeff Deutsch. He became wealthy as a self-professed internet spammer, but did a complete 180 and is now a white hat advocate. His article explaining the transformation quickly went viral.

Build suspense

Have you ever kept watching a TV show or movie that you didn’t really enjoy because you felt compelled to see what was going to happen next? That’s the power of suspense.

We’re hardwired that way.

That’s why TV shows put cliffhangers before the commercial break and at the end of the season. It keeps viewers tuned in. Given the short attention spans people have today, that’s something we need in every piece of content we create.

When writing your content, don’t give everything away in the beginning. Give readers enough to care about your topic. Let them know what they’ll learn or what they’ll miss out on if they bail. But leave some of the details for later in the piece. Slowly reward readers who stick with it with the information they crave.

Even little delays can build anticipation. You can do this with what’s known as grease slide or bucket brigades. Successful writers these words and phrases to bridge points together and keep people reading longer. Here are a few examples:

• Why?
• Here’s how.
• And that’s not all.
• Let me explain.
• It gets even better.
• You may be wondering:

KISS

In case you’re not familiar with this acronym, it stands for Keep It Simple Stupid.

Complex content can be hard to read and process. In other words, it’s work. Even people who enjoy their work appreciate things that make their tasks easier.

Keeping your content simple doesn’t mean dumbing it down to remedial level. If your audience needs advanced information, you should deliver it to them. But you should eliminate the roadblocks and distractions that get in the way.

How?

Limit your content to a single topic with a clear purpose. It’s easy to go off on tangents when writing. If you’re well versed in your niche, you may be tempted to try to cover several things.

Don’t. Every time you go off topic, you give the reader an opportunity to exit.

Your topic isn’t the only thing you should limit to a single thought. You should do the same with your writing structure.

Whenever possible, eliminate compound sentences. Use short sentences and paragraphs. People process them more quickly and easily. That keeps them reading. And it’s visually more inviting.

Involve the reader

Most content is passive. It merely presents information. The reader is on the outside looking in. But truly engaging content makes the reader an active participant.

Fortunately, there are several involvement devices and techniques you can easily add into your content.

Ask questions. You’ll transform the narrative from a lecture to a dialogue, even if the answers are just in the readers’ minds. The best questions to ask are specific and relatable, such as the classic headline “Do you make these mistakes in English?”

Questions can also be an effective way to pull the reader into your stories and anecdotes. For example, you could ask, “Has this ever happened to you?” leading into a hypothetical situation. It helps the reader see himself in that situation.

Include a survey or poll. These are great involvement devices for a couple of reasons. First, people love to give their opinions on things. It makes us feel important.

Plus, if you use a plug in or widget that requires typing or clicking, it also gets people physically involved. That may not seem important, but those actions typically increase response rates in direct marketing efforts.

WP-Polls and YOP Poll are two popular options.

Create tasks or challenges. This is another way to get your target audience physically involved. And it doesn’t require any additional technology.

For instance, you could instruct your audience to jot something down before continuing on. Or you might include step-by-step directions that the reader can perform as he progresses through the post.

Quiz readers. Testing your knowledge can be irresistible. It involves readers the same way asking questions does. And it’s easy to include in any post.

You could use a plug in or widget such as Wp-Pro-Quiz. Or you could simply pose the questions and answers in the text within your post.

Whichever you decide, try to keep it brief and simple. While people love the challenge of a quiz, it shouldn’t feel like work.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, the boring industry excuse is just that. An excuse. Don’t let it stop you from creating the engaging content you’re capable of delivering and your audience deserves.

That’s not to say it’s going to be easy. Even with the strategies I’ve outlined, it’s going to take hard work and practice. But nothing worthwhile comes without those things.

Start with just one or two of the techniques above for your next campaign. Then, when you’ve master those, experiment with some of the others.

I’d love to hear how you make out. And if you have any tips or techniques of your own, share them in the comments below.

The post How to write engaging content in a boring industry appeared first on SEAN KIRBY.

When you get a lot of positive comments, shares and high engagement metrics, all your hard work is worth while.

But it sucks when your writing is mostly ignored.

We’ve all been there. You check your analytics with eager anticipation only to be greeted with disappointment. No comments. No shares. Few page views. High bounce rate.

While there is no way to completely guarantee the former, you can stack the odds considerably in your favor before you even write a single word.

How?

Choose the types of posts proven to drive massive engagement.

The Expert Roundup

This type of post is a collection of insights from industry authorities. It works for several reasons.

First, it instantly adds credibility to a post. It’s not just you giving an opinion. It’s a recognized and respected third-party expert. Their words carry more weight with readers and yours or mine.

Second, people like to associate themselves with successful individuals. That’s exactly what readers do when they share an expert roundup.

Finally, it puts these influential experts in your corner. After all, who doesn’t like to be recognized and appreciated? Often, the experts in the roundup will share the post with all their followers, which can give you a huge traffic spike. Even more importantly, it opens the door to a potential relationship with those power players.

That’s what Tor Refsland found when he published a roundup.

The results were impressive, including 20,231 views in just 6 days, over 1,500 shares, 84 comments and 185 new email subscribers.

Here’s how to do your own roundup post:

Step 1. Identify experts and influencers in your industry.

You can probably think of a few top influencers off the top of your head. That’s a great place to start. Then you can fill out your list with a tool like BuzzSumo.

BuzzSumo also shows you how many followers each influencer has. Choose influencers with a large following to increase your potential reach.

Another way to find influencers is to search for other roundup posts in your niche. People who have contributed to these types of articles in the past may be willing to do so again.

Step 2. Find their email addresses.

There are a few ways to do this. The easiest is to sign up for the influencers’ email lists, if they have one. If they don’t, then you can try guessing. HubSpot Sales can help you determine if the address you enter is valid.

If all else fails, you can try a paid solution like BuzzStream, ContentMarketer or VoilaNorbert.

Step 3. Reach out with a brief email.

These are busy people, so you need to make your request quick and easy. Get right to the point and limit yourself to one specific question.

Tip: If you have trouble getting enough responses to your email, you can supplement your answers with quotes an expert has already given. You can often find what you need on their websites or in published interviews.

Step 4. Write your post.

The responses will make up the majority of the post. Be sure to include a photo and short bio of each expert to leverage the power of their personal brands. Then simply add a unique introduction, conclusion and headline.

Step 5. Be sure to let your experts know when your post goes live.

This way, your influences can share your post with their followers and drive traffic to your site.

The Case Study

It should be pretty obvious why case studies are so appealing to readers. They offer real, tangible proof. If someone else was able to achieve these results, they could, too. And it’s easier to visualize a real example than a best practice in the abstract.

It doesn’t have to be a formal case study to be effective, either. It can even be your own journey. All you really need are specific outcomes and the path that led to them. Here are a few examples.

Case Study: How I Increased Traffic 272% In 30 Days (Without Spending A Penny)

This article was shared nearly 8,000 times on social media and generated 120 comments on Robbie Richards’ blog.

Brian Dean from Backlinko was able to produce multiple case studies on his skyscraper technique. Here are two.

Link Building Case Study: How I Increased My Search Traffic by 110% in 14 Days

White Hat SEO Case Study: How To Get a #1 Ranking

If you want to know how successful these have been, just type the term skyscraper technique into Google and see how many other sites have since written about the subject. Dean coined the term.

To write your own case study post, find a quantifiable result and determine the path that led to it. It can be something you achieved or results someone else got, like in the second Backlinko example above.

Follow these tips to make your case study truly stand out:

• Make sure the results are impressive. Few people would bother to read an article titled How I Increased Traffic 3% in Two Years.
• Provide step-by-step instructions, including images when appropriate. People don’t care what you or your client’s accomplished if they can’t replicate that success.
• Back up your claims for added credibility. For instance, if your case study is about how you increased traffic, you could include a screenshot from Google Analytics showing how your site visitors increased.

The Experiment

Admit it, whenever you come across an article like Water Fasting Results: Why I LOVED Not Eating for 5 Days, you can’t resist taking a peek. Even if you have no interest in doing this yourself, you want to learn more.

This burning desire comes from a curiosity gap. And experiment blog posts create them naturally. It isn’t quickly closed in the first few paragraphs, either.

Experiment stories can hold uncertainty and suspense throughout the length of the experiment. Each step in the journey has the potential to derail the entire experiment or lead to an epiphany.

But that’s not the only reason people can’t resist experiment posts.

When you play up the human element, your article becomes more interesting, more relatable and creates a stronger emotional response. Take Drew Manning for example. The fitness trainer purposely gained and then lost 70 pounds to inspire a client.

The story does more than just inspire, though. Having never been overweight before, Manning became more empathetic to his clients. His emotional journey mirrors what many of us go through. That has just as much to do with the popularity of the story as the remarkability of his feat.

If you want to get extra mileage out of your experiment, you can have your audience follow along as it happens. Announce what you are planning to do and post regular updates throughout the length of your experiment. That’s what Neil Patel did with his $100,000 Challenge.

This gave him a monthly topic on his editorial calendar for a full year. Even more importantly, it built anticipation among his readers. Those following along were sure to check back in for the latest update.

The Research Post

Posts based on studies, benchmarks and data analysis always seem to do well in just about every engagement category. They are credible, newsworthy and shareable. Not only that, but they tend to get a lot of backlinks from sites that use the data as supporting information.

These types of posts have been a staple at Hubspot. In fact, they have worked so well, that the inbound marketing company now has an entire subdomain devoted to it.

If you want to publish your own research post, you have three options.

1. Use your own data and write about your findings.

This is the most labor intensive, but it does establish you as an authority on the subject. After all, you are the source for the data. If you’re a SaaS of technology business, you might be able to collect data from the way your clients use your solution. For instance, an email service provider could provide insights on best practices for deliverability by looking at the combined analytics of their customer base.

Another option is to survey people in your industry and publish a benchmark report. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort to collect, parse and analyze enough data, any type of business could pull this off.

2. Collaborate with another company.

Working with another company on a co-branded research project has several benefits.

It’s a great way to gain access to proprietary information. Approach the company who controls the data and offer to do the work analyzing and creating original content.

If you are the one with the relevant data but you don’t have the time or resources to turn it into reader-friendly content, you can partner with someone rather than hiring contractors to do the work. Many companies are willing to do this because the benefits of a co-branded article, report or infographic is more valuable than their time for the work put into it.

It’s a great way to increase your reach. Chances are whoever you partner with will promote the content to their customers and followers. Many of these people you wouldn’t be able to reach on your own.

Last, but not least, you leverage the brand authority of your partner. If you can collaborate with a well-known and respected brand this may be the most valuable reason to take this approach.

Even if you are already an authority in your niche, you can partner with an authority in a related topic. Moz and BuzzSumo are both big brands in the content marketing world, but they focus on different aspects. By collaborating on this research, they were able to capitalize on both of their strengths.

3. Curate research.

Your final option is to take research that already exists and deliver it in a uniquely valuable way. This is probably the trickiest approach of all.

Since the data isn’t proprietary, you face more competition. You need to create a reason for readers to get the information from your content instead of all the other options out there. Here are a few strategies to consider.

Combine data from several studies for a more authoritative resource. CoSchedule did that for “What 16 Studies Say About The Best Times To Post On Social Media” and got over 4,800 shares (hopefully perfectly timed! : ))

Repurpose the data or analysis into another format. Can you turn that great infographic you found into a compelling slide share branded for your company? Or expand on a research-based blog post and offer a report or e-book? Just make sure to change up the words and images a little so you aren’t completely ripping off another company’s work.

Give the data visualization an upgrade. Humans process images 60,000 times faster than words. So improving how the data is displayed can have a huge impact on your content’s appeal and value. Check out these examples for inspiration. Handle your data visualization as well as these, and you’ll be the clear choice for your target audience.

Conclusion

I won’t lie. Creating popular posts isn’t an easy task. Nothing worthwhile ever is. But the payoff is well worth the effort.

Fortunately, you don’t have to create all of these at once. Choose one type to try and get to work. Remember to promote it and track your results.

I’d love to know how it goes.

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