Is Blogging DEAD | Should You Add Blogging To Your Marketing?
I have been blogging for many years. As of today I have over 3,000 blog post. Have I seen success with my blogs? YES. Some better than others. But as the years have gone by the question remains,”Is Blogging Dead and Should You Add Blogging To Your Marketing campaign?
Let’s talk about Blogging.
I hear people say they would like to have a blog, however they will make comments like: “I can’t write!” or “I don’t know what to write about!” or “I don’t have the time to set down and write a blog!”
These are all valid reasons.
I’ll start with, “I can’t write!”
Actually everyone can write. What they mean is “I don’t know how to write!” Writing is very simple. Start with something simple like, Write 300 words about your favorite movie. Or Write 300 words about your favorite sport or pet.
Easy wasn’t it?
Over time writing become easier and easier.
If you have a home based business, write 300 words about your business. Nothing fancy, just 300 words about your business. Again, over time you will be writing articles about your business.
Now what about, “I don’t know what to write about?”
Write 300 words about a TREE. Write 300 words about a sport, football, baseball…etc.
As you write, you will find that ideas automatically come into your mind and soon you will be writing about them.
The last one. “I don’t have time to write a blog!”
That one I can’t solve.
All I can say is devote 30 minutes to put something down on your blog article (Don’t Publish). Next day, devote another 30 minutes to the article. The following day add 30 minutes more.
This did not take long and now you have 90 minutes. Add more, if necessary and publish.
Blogging is not a race. Add an article once a week is great. Add two is even better or even 3-4.
Time is not your enemy….just use it wisely.
Something New
Here is how to solve your blogging issues.
Technology has move forward and today we have AI…Artificial Intelligence.
AI is becoming popular, however should you use AI to write a blog? Change the AI article to reflect you voice. What I mean is, add to it, change some words, Add Your Voice to the article.
While blogging has been around for quite a while, it’s still a popular way of sharing information. One thing is for certain: blogging is not dead, and there are many reasons to start a blog.
History Of Blogging
In 1994, Swarthmore College student Justin Hall is credited with the creation of the first blog, “Links.net.” At the time, however, it wasn’t considered a blog … just a personal homepage.
In 1997, Jorn Barger, blogger for Robot Wisdom,coined the term “weblog”, which was meant to describe his process for “logging the web” as he surfed the internet. The term “weblog” was shortened to “blog” in 1999, by programmer Peter Merholz.
In the early stages, a blog was a personal web log or journal in which someone could share information or their opinion on a variety of topics. The information was posted reverse chronologically, so the most recent post would appear first.
Nowadays, a blog is a regularly updated website or web page, and can either be used for personal use or to get your business noticed.
A blog is essentially a website run by you or me, and we are called a bloggers.
The blog will most likely have a focus on a niche, which can be on any topic that they are interested in.
On a blog, a blogger will post articles, like this one, share photos, and sometimes videos on anything related to their site’s topic.
Here’s A Not-So-Secret, Secret Of Today’s Most-Successful Digital Internet Marketers…
Not So Secret Secret!
If you’re not already building a brand and establishing your authority through a blog, then it’s time to get started today or you could get left behind.
And you don’t want that to happen…right?
There’s simply isn’t a more effective tool to convert traffic into leads, leads into customers, and customers into a sustainable, long-term business.
With that said, there’s an effective way to blog like a modern, 21st century digital Internet marketer…
And there are about a million ineffective ways to blog, which will eat up loads of time and get you nowhere.
So, before we dive into how to create an effective recruiting machine that drives real results, let’s get clear on the challenges you face starting out.
Here Are Today’s Blogging Stats…
….Today, over 4 MILLION blog posts went live.
There’ll be even more tomorrow.
Given these mind-boggling stats, it’s easy to think…
“How on earth am I supposed to compete when clearly the world doesn’t need another blog!”
Well, here’s the not-so-obvious secret of 99% of the content published today…
Useless, boring content
It’s useless, mediocre, uninspiring, inauthentic, impersonal, spammy nonsense NO ONE wants to read!
Ever heard the phrase, “content is king?” It’s been around for years.
But what does that mean?
Well, a few years back when marketers got wind that content is the most effective way to generate leads on the Internet, they started producing content.
Millions of millions of useless,baloney. bunk. foolishness. garbage.”content.
Search engines don’t like “baloney, bunk, foolishness, garbage”content, and even more importantly…
PEOPLE don’t want to read “baloney, bunk, foolishness, garbage” content.
Matter of fact, search engines are actually penalizing spammy marketers of “baloney, bunk, foolishness, garbage” content.
And no one’s going to share “baloney, bunk, foolishness, garbage” content.
The jig is up for spammers!
Spamming..Not Interested in your business
That calls for a celebration……HURRY!
What Is Spamming?
The term “spam” is internet slang that refers to unsolicited commercial email (UCE) or unsolicited bulk email (UBE). Some people refer to this kind of communication as junk email to equate it with the paper junk mail that comes through the US Mail. The most commonly seen spam includes:
Popular and dangerous form of email fraud
Foreign bank scams or advance fee fraud schemes
Pyramid schemes
“Get Rich Quick” or “Make Money Fast” (MMF) schemes
Quack health products and remedies
Offers of software for collecting email addresses and sending UCE
Offers of bulk emailing services for sending UCE
Chain letters
Illegally pirated software (“Warez”)
The days of hiring freelancers on the cheap to churn out 200 blog posts in a week—“spinning” and thinly rewriting previously posted articles—are over.
This is great news for all of us who use blogging as our marketing tool.
Did You Know That There’ s almost ZERO Competition For Exceptional Content!
All of that crap content currently online creates the illusion of competition.
It’s Not!
Blogging as a marketing tool
Therein lies your opportunity.
Let me say again, “This is great news for all of us who use blogging as our Internet marketing tool.”
Contrary to popular belief,
You don’t have to blog every day, or every other day, or even once a week – especially if all you do is add to the pile of humdrum, mediocre, useless information that’s already out there.
As a matter of fact, if all you’re doing is blogging for blogging’s sake, hoping you’ll stand out from all the others, you probably SHOULDN’T be blogging.
Even if you think you’re creating “good” content.
Create Content That’s BEYOND “good enough”
I want you to read this popular thought:
“If a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
If a tree falls…
To make sound you must have the following 3 components…
A media in which the sound moves such as air, metal, water…
The source. In this example it’s the tree falling…
The recipient. If nobody is there to hear the sound then there is no sound because one of the 3 requirements are not met.
Okay that’s the theory.
Now apply that same thought experiment to blogging…
“If 4 million blog posts are being added to the Internet and nobody ever reads them, do they make any difference?”
Let’s apply the theory…
Media…the Internet
Source…40 blogs per second
The recipient…nobody reads them
Then in theory…they don’t exist.
The truth is that most of what’s published online goes unread.
They just set there taking up ones and zeros.
According to a joint study by Moz and BuzzSumo, analyzing over one million online articles, less than half of those articles received more than two shares on social media.
And if the blog posts are not read or consumed, “then in theory” they are useless.
The question now is….
How Is A New Blogger Going To Survive?
“exceptional content”
“EPIC content”
Content that…
Is valuable, credible, unique information that establishes you as an authentic human being who can help solve real people’s problems
Is well-researched, deeply-felt, interesting, useful – even remarkable – information that your visitors won’t find anywhere else
Stirs an emotional response from your readers: joy, surprise, awe, admiration, or gratitude
Answers a question or solves a problem in a unique way, and provides information, insight, or resources your readers will find exceptional
Establishes you as someone your visitors can feel they know, like, and trust enough to do business with
Why?
Because exceptional content is what gets you noticed, generates traffic, and creates relationship with your visitors.
Exceptional content establishes your credibility and authority and positions you as a leader in your industry.
Exceptional content earns you a higher ranking in Google, Yahoo and Bing.
And exceptional content will become the backbone of your business and ensure your online survival.
Is It Easy To Create Exceptional Content?
In a word, NO!
Which is why almost no one does it.
There aren’t any shortcuts.
But here’s the Key To Successful Blogging…
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Creating an exceptional blog will require time, commitment, research, Key Words, SEO, and some degree of creativity.
After all, your blog is your digital home – your digital resume, if you will.
It’s the foundation of all of your online marketing efforts.
You owe it to yourself to invest the time to fill it with extraordinary content.
Is all your blog content going to be exceptional from the start?
Probably not, but you have to start somewhere!
I look at some of my earlier blogs and laugh at all the mistakes, useless information and poor writing.
I look at my blogs today and see a lot of improvements. Are they great?…Some are better than others.
Establish A Strategy For Creating Exceptional Content
In the movie The Imitation Game, Alan Turing tells an old joke you might remember…
If there is a bear…
“There are two people in the woods, and they run into a bear. The first person gets down on his knees to pray; the second person starts lacing up his boots. The first person asks the second person, “My friend, what are you doing? You can’t outrun a bear.” To which the second person responds, “I don’t have to. I only have to outrun you.”
The moral of the story is this…
You don’t have to be a great blogger starting out.
You just have to be better than the next person.
Begin By Analyzing Your “Competition”
Look at their blogs
Subscribe to their lists
Examine and analyze their content
Trust me, after you’ve explored just a few of your competitors, you’re likely to find that you can do much better.
In fact, you can use your competition for content inspiration.
Rand Fishkin, the co-founder of Moz, wrote an exceptional post where he offers a six-step process to help you analyze your competition.
Notice the questions that your competitor’s blog addresses. What did you search for to find them? How well did they answer or address your search?
What’s the quality of your experience in using your competitor’s site? Is it fast? Mobile-friendly? Easy to navigate? Is everything where you expect it to be, or do you need to click around to find the information you want?
Is the information detailed and thorough? Is it exceptional? Or is it “fluffy,” lacking in meaningful detail?
How well does your competitor’s site use visual content? Are there charts? Graphs? Diagrams? Video? Stock photos? Or just walls of words? What’s the readability? Are their strange fonts, colors, or other elements that interfere with your ability to see and understand the information?
Is the writing easy to read? Are there typos? Misspellings? Grammatical errors that make you stumble when reading? Did an obvious intern write it? The cheapest freelancer at Fiverr? Or an expert who took the time to write it well?
What is the quality of the data and information on the site? What is the source of the information? Are the sources credible, authoritative?
And once you’ve conducted your analysis, the next question is the most powerful question you’ll ever ask…
“What’s missing?”
Answering that question can lead you to creating truly exceptional content for your blog.
Create Exceptional Content That Earns Shares and Links
Remember what I said earlier about the illusion of competition?
The Moz/BuzzSumo study of over a million online articles mentioned earlier identifies a “sweet spot” for the kind of content that gets the most shares and links.
While more than 85% of the blog posts or articles online consist of less than 500 words, more than half of that content got fewer than two Facebook, Twitter, or Google shares.
In contrast, longer, more thoroughly-researched content of 1000+ words generates consistently higher numbers of shares and links…
3.4 shares on average for posts 1,000-2,000 words,
4.2 shares on average for posts 2,000-3,000 words, and
5.8 shares on average for posts 3,000-10,000 words
The most shared of these are “How To,” “Top XXX,” “Ask A Question”and “Why” posts.
Did you notice the title of this post I asked a question…Is Blogging Dead?
I could have titled the article as: “Why Blogging Is Critical To Your Success” or “Why Blogging Is Critical To Digital Marketing” or “Why Blogging Is Critical To Successful Marketing”
Write several titles and decide which best fits the article or blog post.
Most Internet Marketers Don’t Take The Time To Do Research
They are blogging for blogging shake.
There’s an opportunity. Find the keywords people are searching for and use those key word to rank on Google.
There’s another opportunity.
Create a video, or design a graphic to post on your blog, ask yourself a few questions…
For someone to actually find this article online, what are they searching for?
What is the searcher’s intent? Is it to get a question answered or solve a particular problem? Is it to be entertained or amused? How urgently do they want this information?
Where can I find credible sources for the information I’m about to deliver? What research do I need to conduct to address the issue thoroughly?
Now that I know what’s missing, what can I do to provide useful, relevant information in a entertaining, authentic way?
Then get to work.
Remember: “You Don’t Need To Outrun The Bear”
You just need to outrun the other person!
Also remember: all that “competition” you think you’re seeing in the first page or two of Google might just be an illusion.
Most of what you see is worthless.
If you can devote your time, energy, and resources into creating not just good, but exceptional content, your blog will stand a good chance of ranking on the first page of Google.
But remarkable, exceptional content isn’t enough.
To turn your blog into an irresistible magnet for prospects, leads, and customers, you’re going to need one more thing…
Traffic.
Traffic from visitors who are already looking for you.
But just like the Google rules for content have changed, so have the rules for finding qualified visitors.
You can’t just spam social media with hard-sell promos, or copy & paste pitch your products by direct messaging your friends.
You’ll get booted off faster than you can say “spammer.”
So, you have a choice…
You could spend countless hours scratching your head over how to drive traffic to the exceptional content you’ve created.
Or get Google to find your ideal prospect or customer
Get Google To Tell You What People Are Searching For and Why
People are already telling Google what they want and like.
Try it. Ask a question on Google or “How To” and you will come up dozens of ideas of what people are wanting.
Take that idea and find your Key Words to help answer their searches. Then write your exceptional article.
Finally
Blogging is not dead, it has evolved into a powerful Internet tool.
But creating a blog article requires research, and quality content.
Make your blog unique. Look at your competition and find the flaws, then write a blog article addressing those flaws and you will rank high on Google.
By creating quality content and staying true to yourself, you can develop a strong voice that will resonate with your audience.
Bill Fletcher is an experienced marketer and coach. My goal is to help anyone who is interested in building a business through a systematic approach to success. With a professional team of experts, we will guide you with some of the best articles and coaching program available anywhere. I have available some of the best coaches in the area of affiliate marketing willing to help and guide you to success. it is safe to assume that I am an affiliate for products that I recommend. Please note that I will make a commission if you buy through my link.
