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10 Tips To Make Your Blog Posts More Interesting
10 Tips To Make Your Blog Posts More Interesting
“I learned that by being entertaining you make a connection with another person.” – Robin Williams
There are several reasons why someone would start a blog. Maybe they wish to build an audience or an email list. Or maybe they wish to have an authoritative site and make money online with affiliate marketing.
Whatever your reason for building a blog, ultimately, you’ll want people to see it. To attract people to your blog, the content needs to be excellent and your blog has to look great.
In this article, you’ll discover 10 ways to ‘spice up’ your blog posts and your blog overall. Apply these tips and you’ll definitely make your blog more interesting and attractive!
By the way, if you are serious and want to take your blogging to the next level, check out the Rapid Blogging Blueprint. This is a premium level training that takes you through each and every step of setting up your own highly profitable blog and profiting from it. You can check it out here.
Are you ready to get started? Let’s go…
Use Attractive Images
A picture says a thousand words. If you want your blog to be interesting, you absolutely MUST break up the text with images – and ideally, all your images must have a caption between them.
When was the last time you came across an image and didn’t read the caption?
Almost never. People like making sense of the image and the caption reinforces their perception of what they’re seeing.
There are 2 types of images you can use on your blog:
- Creative commons images (free)
- Royalty-free stock photos (paid)
You can get creative commons images from sites like Pixabay, Pexels, Unsplash, etc. You won’t need to pay a cent for them and can use them in your blog posts.
Some of these sites will allow you to use their images for free, but you’ll need to credit the image creator. You can do this in the caption.
Royalty-free stock photos can be purchased from sites such as IstockPhoto. Generally, these photos tend to look much better than what you’d find in the free sites.
Furthermore, the sheer variety of images in the paid image sites will mean that you can find photos that very closely match your content.
Use photos in all your blog posts. They’re one of the best ways to make your blog posts ‘pop’ and capture the readers’ attention.
Use Quote Images
People love quotes. Social media is replete with motivational quotes. Even the latest trending, “Let’s go, Brandon!” is a quote. Ingenious marketers are using that quote on mugs, t-shirts, etc. and making tons of sales.
You can always do a quick Google Image Search for quotes related to your blog post. For example, if you’re writing a blog post on productivity, a quick search for ‘productivity quotes’ will bring back these results.
Now all you need to do is compile a few quotes and verify that the quotes and the attribution is correct.
You’ll then need to create your own quote images for your blog. Do NOT use the images you find via Google Image Search. Most of these will be copyrighted images. You need to make your own… and it’s easy.
There are 2 excellent solutions for creating quotes:
Canva is free to use. Stencil and Snappa are paid options.
There are also other websites that you can use such as Quotefancy, Quozio and MediaModifier.
Quote images have the same purpose as stock photos – to break up the monotony of the text and add a dash of color and ‘punch’ to your blog posts.
Memes And Gifs!
Memes have been all the rage for the past 7 years or so. They show no signs of waning in popularity. Because memes are shared all over social media and they’re usually humorous, people automatically look at memes hoping to be entertained.
You can make free memes with a meme generator such as Imgflip or Kapwing. It’s best to have a good sense of humor when creating memes. If you lack ideas, you can visit Me.Me for inspiration.
An important point to note is that not every niche lends itself well to memes. If you’re in a serious niche such as ‘coping with grief’, you’ll want to be very careful using memes. You might be able to get away with one or two memes just to lighten the mood, but you don’t want to appear flippant.
There’s a fine line to walk here. You’ll have to exercise common sense when using memes. The same applies to using gifs that you can find on Giphy, which you can embed in your blog posts.
Remember to use memes and gifs in moderation. They work wonderfully well for grabbing attention, but too many of them can be distracting.
Break Up The Text
Reading text on a screen is a lot more stressful on the eyes than reading a paperback. This is why it’s imperative that you break up the text in your blog posts.
For starters, keep your paragraphs 3-5 lines long. Forget what you were taught in school about paragraphing rules.
When you’re online, readability is everything – and if the reader gets tired reading your content, they’re just one click away from Facebook or Kim Kardashian’s Instagram account.
And they’ll leave your blog and you’d have lost them. So you definitely want to break up the text on your blog post into smaller bite-sized chunks.
As mentioned earlier, you can use images, quotes or even have sub-headings (H2, H3,etc.)
The sub-headings will make the content easier to read for skim readers and you can have an extra line break before every sub-heading so that there’s more white space in your blog post.
You’ll want to maintain the same format of headings and sub-headings throughout your blog so that there’s uniformity and consistency throughout your blog.
Use Videos
Nothing grabs more attention than a video. These days, most people prefer watching videos over reading. So, you’ll definitely want to embed a video in your blog post.
There are two ways you can do this:
- Create your own video (RECOMMENDED)
- Use someone else’s video
Creating your own video is the recommended option because it puts a face and a voice behind the blog. People like watching other people.
Even if you’re shy and prefer to do a screen recording using a tool like Camtasia, your voice will still engage your readers. Just make sure the video is interesting.
One of the benefits of creating your own videos and having your own channel on YouTube is that your videos will attract traffic. You can then have links in your video description that points viewers to an opt in page to build your list. Or you can point them to your blog posts.
If you decide to use someone else’s video on your blog, you’ll probably be embedding a video from YouTube. This is legal and nothing to worry about.
Just click on the share button…
Then click on ‘Embed’ and you’ll be given the code to copy and paste in your blog.
The video will show up in your post with the play button. You can use a video to break up the text on your blog.
Quality And ‘Flow’ Of Content
No matter how many attractive images and engaging videos you use, at the end of the day, the quality of your written content will decide how interesting your blog post will be.
The content needs to flow well and should not feel like a mishmash of clunky paragraphs virtually stapled together to form a post.
Each point needs to lead to the next and so on. That will make the reading process smooth and seamless. Being a proficient writer will definitely help here.
If you dislike writing, you can always hire expert writers on sites like Freelancer. Always make sure that the content reads well, and is interesting and engaging.
Many marketers try to optimize their blog posts for SEO (search engine optimization), and they end up adding keywords in parts of their content just to rank well. Very often, these keyword-rich sentences don’t fit in well with the content and can sound awkward.
So, if you’re trying to rank your blog posts for specific keywords, make sure the keywords are woven seamlessly into the content so that the reader experience is good.
Use Infographics
This tip is especially useful for content that needs to be simplified. Any listicle can have an infographic created on it.
When creating an infographic, you’ll want to distil the blog post and use the most important points as your infographic’s data points. Keep your points short and succinct.
An infographic doesn’t require too much text because the icons and symbols in the image will convey the message effectively.
What matters is that the infographic is a derivative of your content. This will make the it congruent to the entire blog post.
Once the infographic is completed, you’ll insert it in your blog post (somewhere in the middle or at the end. This will help to break up the text or sum up your content in one neat image.
If you have no idea how to make an infographic, you can easily hire a freelancer on Fiverr to create an infographic for you. It’s very affordable.
Typography And Readability
The font you use on your blog needs to be legible and easy on the eyes too. There are countless articles written about fonts and font pairing. You may wish to use 2 different fonts – one for your paragraphs and one for your headings.
The most popular and effective fonts for a blog are:
- Tahoma
- Arial
- Verdana
Avoid using cursive fonts or other fonts that look stylish but when used in large blocks of text becomes difficult to read (e.g. monotype corsiva).
When it comes to readability, the font size matters too.
Avoid making your font size too small. Many older people will find it difficult to read your content. 14pt is the new 12pt!
When your font is legible, reading the content becomes less taxing on the eyes – which means your readers will not get tired easily. Your blog’s bounce rate will be lower and this will give your blog posts an SEO advantage.
The color of your font makes a difference too. Avoid using light grey font on a white background. Some websites will mention that having lighter text is easier on the eye. That may be true, but if it’s too light, it’ll strain the readers’ eyes instead. So exercise common sense here.
Your WordPress Theme
If you’re using WordPress for your blog (and most people do), the theme you use will play a huge role in your blog’s appearance. Avoid using free themes. The paid ones have more features and usually look much better.
There are thousands of themes on the market. You’ll need to decide what theme you want, depending on the type of blog you’re creating.
Many of the most popular themes have a lot of flexibility so that you can toggle between the different options and make your blog look exactly the way you want it to.
Some of the most popular themes are:
A good theme will not only give your blog a clean appearance and make it look professional… but it will also load fast. We live in a day and age where people want everything fast.
If your blog takes ages to load, you can bet you’ll be losing visitors by the boatload. They’ll just close the page (while it is still loading) and will never see your blog. So, use a WordPress theme that has a fast load speed.
You can check the speed of your blog here: https://gtmetrix.com/
Your Opinions And Stories Matter
People love watching and listening to others. It’s why Oprah is a billionaire with her talk show. It’s why Joe Rogan’s podcast gets downloaded millions of times… and it’s also why reality shows still remain as popular as ever.
As a species, we’re curious to hear and watch what other people say and do. Why else do you think social media is so addictive?
When you’re writing a blog post, even if it’s a serious topic, you’ll want to inject your opinions and stories within the post. If you have no stories of your own, tell other people’s stories.
There are many movies based on other people’s life stories. Rocky, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Blind Side, and many other poignant movies are stories about people’s trials and tribulations… and how they overcame all odds.
There are always opportunities to add your own stories and opinions. It’s better to be opinionated than to have no opinions. Even if your opinions are polarizing, you’ll still benefit by building a tighter audience who agrees with what you’re saying.
They’ll feel that you’re authentic and are on the same page as them. This is the type of ‘loyalty’ you want. You don’t want your blog to be sterile and bland like vanilla. You must let your personality shine… and your readers will enjoy reading it.
In Conclusion…
These are just some of the many ways you can make your blog posts interesting. Always remember, you’re writing for other people. You want their experience on your blog to be an enjoyable one.
If you can do that, your blog will always have a loyal following, and if you monetize your content, you’ll see sales and profit.
It all starts with giving the people what they want.
“The currency of blogging is authenticity and trust.”
– Jason Calacanis
If you really want to know more about the power of blogging, you can take a look at the Rapid Blogging Blueprint training course or if you just want a few pointers for now you can grab the featured resource below for a free blogging report; download, read it and take action 🙂
3 Negative Beliefs That Hold Entrepreneurs Back
3 Negative Beliefs That Hold Entrepreneurs Back
“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.”
– J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Our lives are a reflection of our beliefs. Most of us know this, and yet, we cling on to old negative beliefs – even when they hold us back.
Discarding them and creating new beliefs seems to be a Herculean task.
These beliefs (which are usually assumptions and misconceptions) color our world views and justify our actions.
Yet, if we stopped to think about it and ask ourselves, “Where did we get these beliefs from?” … we’d realize that most of them were ingrained in us by our parents, teachers and other ‘well-meaning and sensible’ adults when we were young.
In most cases, these self-limiting and defeatist beliefs will impede your progress when you decide to become an entrepreneur. You’ll be setting yourself up for failure from the get-go.
Let’s look at some of the most common beliefs that are injurious to your goals…
Money Makes Money
This is probably the biggest fallacy of the lot. This misconception creates a catch-22 situation. You want to get into business to improve your financial standing… but you need money to get into business – and that’s money you don’t currently have.
So you’re doomed.
But is this reasoning valid? Do you really need money to start?
A quick look at some of the biggest business successes on the planet will show you that most of them invariably began from humble beginnings. They started off small and slowly built their way up.
In the same vein, nothing is stopping you from starting off small and climbing the ladder of business success. It’s resourcefulness and not resources that you need.
Do not count yourself out just because you lack the finances. Rest assured that enthusiasm, confidence, passion and hard work will help you find the resources you need, and you’ll be able to employ them to forward your business.
And when you do start to see some financial reward, don’t take it and spend it! During the early stages of your business it pays to put it back into the business, whether that be with outsourcing the stuff you don’t like or can’t do, or investing in tools that can move your business forward quickly.
Following Instead Of Leading
The world loves a winner and tends to put them up on pedestals. The media gives them coverage. Books are written about them and so on.
Parents, teachers, etc. often tell us to model successful people and read biographies. The goal is to be like these larger-than-life people who define the epitome of success.
Millions of people dream of being the next Michael Jordan or the next Elon Musk. Or the next pop star… and so on.
And yet, if you asked Michael Jordan who he wanted to be, he’d most probably say that he wanted to be Michael Jordan.
Herein lies a contradiction – the leaders of the world (whichever field they may be in) are almost always trailblazers who march to the beat of their own drum.
They’re so focused on being the best they can be that they don’t have time to try and be like someone else.
Using a role model to inspire you is a start… but if you want to truly see success, you’ll need to lead rather than follow. You’ll need to put yourself in the limelight and be willing to be seen by the masses, rather than quietly skulking in the shadows.
You’ll get the accolades and recognition, but you’ll also get brickbats and hate. This is par for the course. Just remember, leaders lead. You must lead if you want massive success.
Now I know that many people reading this will not want to become leaders, but if you truly want to succeed at the highest level, you simply MUST step up and become a leader in your niche.
Expecting Overnight Success
A lack of patience has sounded the death knell on more goals/dreams than any other cause.
The current society we live in encourages impatience.
Instant notifications, text messaging, microwaves, instant meals, entire 22-episode seasons of Netflix shows presented all at once, etc. have made us believe that anything can be had fast.
We want results and we want them now. Preferably yesterday.
Life, however, has quite a different set up. Any worthy goal will take you time to achieve. Usually, it will take you longer than you believe. SO, you must have patience, lots of patience!
Like Jeff Bezos said, “All overnight success takes about 10 years.”
You can’t shrink the journey to fit into a 90-minute Hollywood movie. There is no rousing soundtrack to inspire you. Success is an ugly, dirty fight where you’ll have to claw your way to the top.
It has ALWAYS been that way.
So, if you start on an entrepreneurial journey and are expecting overnight riches without struggle, you’ll be in for a rude shock. It’s just a matter of time before you discover pitfalls, hurdles, pain, struggles and a myriad of other problems that you’ll need to constantly overcome.
You may wonder, “Why is this happening to me? Why is it so hard?”
The truth is that it doesn’t just happen to you. It happens to every entrepreneur who wishes to level up. This is the turbulence you need to get past until you reach cruising altitude.
And it will take you time. So, if you lack patience, it’s time to tell yourself that you’re in for the long haul.
Try breaking down what you want into smaller chunks. Not only does this make your chances of success much more achievable, it also allows you to have some quick wins along the way which can satiate the desire for instant gratification that plagues so many of us nowadays.
Now that you’re aware of these 3 negative beliefs, you can take steps to fix them and be on your way to success.
Whatever you want in life will require discipline to achieve and overcoming negative thoughts and self doubt is a small part of this. So, if you want to know more about harnessing the power of self-discipline, then check out the featured resource below for a free report; download, read it and take action 🙂
7 Ways To Cut Costs In Your Online Marketing
7 Ways To Cut Costs In Your Online Marketing
There’s a common misconception that you can make money online for free. This is possible but in actuality is very difficult to pull off.
In order to have control over your online business, you’ll need your own domain, hosting, autoresponder and so on. Leveraging other people’s web properties for free will mean giving up control of your content and so on.
Building your house on rented property is NEVER a good idea and this includes using social media, such as Facebook pages or groups.
So it goes without saying that you’ll be spending money to build a successful online marketing business. That said, it’s nowhere as expensive as a brick-and-mortar business.
In fact, with around $200-$500, you’ll be able to build your very own online business from scratch and bootstrap it up to a 5 or even 6 figure business.
Below you’ll find 7 tips to help you reduce your costs so that if you’re on a tight budget, starting an online business will not seem so burdensome.
Start Small
This is the most important rule of the lot. When buying a domain name, use an affordable service like Namecheap. Choose a 1-year plan rather than choosing 5 years just because you get a discount.
When choosing hosting, go with a starter plan and pay monthly rather than paying yearly because you want a cheaper price. Use good providers such as A2Hosting or Siteground.
This is what starting small is all about. When your business is doing well, you can opt for the annual payments to enjoy cost savings – but not when you’re a beginner who’s scraping by.
Don’t Follow The Herd
The online marketing space is filled with sheep who will jump on every bandwagon that comes their way. You need to be more astute and alert.
When you’re first starting off, you may need a page builder for your sales pages. Software like OptimizePress or Thrive Architect are one-off payments that are much more affordable than Clickfunnels or Convertri.
Yet, you’ll see marketers praising the latter 2 all the time. The question now is, “Are you ready for these expensive options if you’re a beginner?”
The answer is probably no. So choose the cheaper options that work for you and reduce your recurring bills as much as you can.
Track Where Your Money Is Going
If you’re paying by PayPal, most of your recurring bills will be automated and it’s easy to lose track of your pre-approved payments.
Make a list of all the monthly expenses in your online business. You may be shocked to find that you’re paying for services you no longer use. For example, you may have a Stencil or Snappa subscription, but you’re hiring graphic designers from Fiverr.
So you’re wasting money here. By tracking your expenses, you’ll eliminate wasteful spending.
Making The Most Of Free Trials
A lot of software, tools, etc. come with free 7-day, 14-day or even 30-day trials. Make sure you use these free trials to save money – but before you sign up, ensure that you’re ready first or you’ll be wasting the trial.
For example, if you have a 30-day trial for an autoresponder, make sure your opt in pages are ready and you’re getting traffic before signing up for the 30-day trial.
In this way, you’ll hit the ground running from day 1 and build your list instead of wasting precious days getting the other components in your funnel ready.
Quality Is Important
You get what you pay for. Sometimes, it’s better to pay more for a product to get a better service. You’ll often find cheap self-hosted autoresponders sold by dodgy marketers.
Their selling point will be that you only pay a one-time fee. That’s true. But once you start using their software, you’ll find that the cheap software breaks down or has atrocious deliverability rates and so on.
You’d be better off paying monthly for a solid service like Active Campaign, or Aweber or and you’d have not wasted money on junk. You must find the balance between cost and value here and it might not always be easy.
However, if these services are making you money, and, more importantly, more money than you are paying for them, they are an investment rather than an expense.
Shop Around For A Bargain
You may find that some infoproducts, courses, etc. are priced differently in different places.
For example, you may find a PLR store selling you a resell rights product for $9. That same product may be sold in another website for $3.
This happens all the time and is no different from a can of coke costing 3X more in a cinema than at a supermarket. Shop around and see if you can get the product at a cheaper price.
Look Out For Coupons
Another way to save money will be to do a Google search for ‘product name + coupon’. You may find coupons that help you get a few dollars off.
Always be alert. Sometimes software is discounted during times like Black Friday, etc. Now is the best time to grab the opportunity and save yourself some money.
But it is important to only buy things that you will use in your business immediately. Don’t grab a bargain just for the sake of it because the likelihood is that you will never use it and probably forget that you even own it!
Alternatively, you can contact the product vendors directly and ask for discount coupons, etc. Many vendors will accede to your requests if you’re polite. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.
At the end of the day, you want to run a lean, effective online business that makes money round the clock without incurring too many costs.
One of the easiest ways to increase your bottom-line will be to trim your expenses and when you start looking, you may be shocked at what you are wasting money on!
Constantly look for ways to do this and your business will see higher profits and you’ll be able to earn more and save more.
By the way, if you want to learn about 5 lucrative online business models you can try, from affiliate marketing, to FBA/eBay and more, check out the featured resource below for a free report that covers 5 online business models that you can choose from. Pick one and get started today… 😊
The Easiest Blog Post You Will Ever Write
The Easiest Blog Post You Will Ever Write
Writing your own original articles and blog posts is mandatory if you own a list or run an internet business. Blogging is risk free and should be part of any online business.
Mandatory. Part of your standard operating procedures. A basic staple. Something you can’t do without. You get the picture.
Blog articles can be used in so many ways that I’d need to write an article just to explain all the ways you can profit from articles. 🙂
More on that another day.
By the way, if you are serious and want to take your blogging to the next level, check out the Rapid Blogging Blueprint. This is a premium level training that takes you through each and every step of setting up your own highly profitable blog and profiting from it. You can check it out here.
In today’s post I’m going to show you how to write an incredibly easy blog article that is specifically for beginners within your market.
The idea in a nutshell is this –
Answer a set of three basic questions related to a topic relevant to your target audience.
If you can answer just three simple questions, you can crank out article after article for newbies in your particular field of interest or expertise.
These three questions are –
- What is _________?
- Can you show me an example of _________?
- How can I get started with _________?
Let me walk you through writing an article with these questions as the backbone of your content.
Before we get into the 7 very easy steps, let’s take just a quick look at the schematics of your article. In order to write an 800-1000 word article, your basic needs for the various parts of the article would look something like this…
Opening (125 Words)
Question #1 (250 Words)
Question #2 (250 Words)
Question #3 (250 Words)
Closing (125 Words)
_______________________
Total = 1000 Words
Now, on with the show…
1. Determine Your Title
Most people don’t spend much time on their title and that’s a no-no. It’s a flagrant foul in basketball. A bounced check. A driver cutting you off in traffic. Things that are mindless.
As with everything I ever say about writing articles, your title is important. Very important. Imagine this scenario…
You’re searching the internet for blogs or sifting through articles at your favorite directory in hopes of finding some useful tips for selecting curriculum for your upcoming homeschooling year.
Which of these would you take a closer look at…
- The Easiest Way To Choose Your Curriculum
- Making Your Curriculum Choice
- 5 Questions To Ask When Choosing Curriculum
- Homeschool Book Decisions
- Choosing Your Homeschool Resources
While all of these are related to choosing your homeschool curriculum, “The Easiest Way…” and “5 Questions To Ask…” probably have more appeal. If you’re pressed for time, you probably aren’t going to read all five … you might read two.
And the title is going to determine which two gets your attention.
So, first things first, it’s important that you create an appealing title. We’ll talk more about this in another lesson, but three simple “rules” that I go by in crafting titles that I’d like to pass on to you are…
- Be specific. It’s not “Questions To Ask”, it’s “5 Questions To Ask”. It’s not, “Lose Pounds”, it’s “Lose 3 Pounds in 7 Days”.
- Make It Simple. Who would ever read an article, “7 Extremely Hard Ways To Lose Weight”? Or, “Top 10 Most Difficult Ways To Find A Date For Valentine’s Day”? Offer SIMPLE solutions. EASY ways to accomplish a desired result.
- Speak To A Group. If your article is intended for a specific group (I.E. Beginners, WAHMs, Christians, Senior Citizens, College Students, etc.) then say so in your title. Rather than “How To Write An Ebook”, go with “The Beginners’ Guide to Writing An eBook” or “How To Write a Christian eBook”.
So, determine your title and then begin the writing process.
Hint: Go to good old EzineArticles.com and review the titles of other articles (paying particular attention to which articles are viewed the most – indicating their popularity) and then use those titles to model your own after. I.E. If you see the popular title, “The Easiest Way To Lose 10 Pounds And Get In Shape Fast!” you could easily entitle your own article, “The Easiest Way To Learn Guitar And Play Songs Fast!”
And don’t forget Amazon.com. Go and find the bestselling books in your niche and take a look at the Table Of Contents for more inspiration for articles.
2. Write Your Opening
You’ve got about 30 seconds to get your reader’s attention if you’re going to get them to consume your entire article. That’s not much. It’s important that you get them interested quickly. I’m going to share three to get you started…
- “There must be some reason why some _________ outperform others.” . This opening is all about informing the reader that some people have an advantage over others. And, in order to level the playing field, they need to follow the advice in your article. Example: “There must be some reason why certain tennis players win more matches than others. Said another way, if two equally skilled tennis player compete … why does one get to go home a winner and the other a loser?”
- “I’ve always been impressed with those who could __________.” . This opening allows you to mention a specific result that is desired to, not only you, but the reader as well. Your article teaches the person how they too can experience the desired result. Example: “I’ve always been impressed with those who could hit a backhand winner on the run. It never came easy to me and I have marveled many times when others seem to hit that shot so effortlessly. Then, I figured out their secret…”
- “Do you find yourself _________?” This opening is a good one because it allows the reader to identify with what you’re writing about. When they say “yes” to your question, then they know the article is for them … and they’ll read on to discover what they can do about the problem they face. Example: “Do you find yourself double-faulting a lot? For years I gave away point after point – usually in critical times during my matches – by hitting into the net or just beyond the service box. Finally, I paid for a lesson from the local pro and this is what he taught me…”
Choose one of these openings (or one from the related article coming tomorrow) and write approximately 125 words as your introduction to the article. Be sure to transition from your opening into your first question.
You can do this in one of two ways: (a) Specifically mention that you’ll be answering the three most asked questions from beginners, or (b) Simply answer the questions without ever actually posing the questions in the text of your article.
3. Answer Question #1
If you’ll recall from earlier, question number one is…
“What is _________ ?”
Simply plug in the topic of your article into that question … and then answer it in approximately 250 words.
- What is tennis strategy?
- What is podcasting?
- What is virtual real estate?
- What is forex trading?
- What is retinopathy?
- What is a VoIP phone?
- What is Tai Chi?
Give a brief explanation of the topic in your own words and then move on to the next question which builds upon the first question.
4. Answer Question #2
That question again is…
“Can you show me an example of ________?”
Now the article is taking shape. We go from an introduction to an explanation and now we have an illustration. You’ve explained what it is and now you’ll explain what it looks like. Provide an example. A case study. An illustration. A method. Something the reader can identify with to better understand what you’re saying.
- You’ve explained what tennis strategy is … now give a scenario in which tennis strategy is at work.
- You’ve explained what virtual real estate is … now give an example piece of VRE property.
- You’ve explained what Tai Chi is … now share one of the key moves of the discipline.
After providing some sort of example, move on to question number three…
5. Answer Question #3
From earlier in our lesson, the final question is…
“How can I get started with __________? “
It all climaxes with 1-3 simple steps the reader can follow in order to begin practicing your teaching.
By this point the reader knows WHAT the topic is about, and they know a basic use or function of the topic. Now, they need a simple explanation of how they can get started with application. How can they use the information?
You can either give the reader ONE action step to take in order to get started (I.E. The first thing you’ll want to do is enroll in a class.) or you can provide them with a simple set of THREE steps to put into practice as a sort of mini-system (I.E. Step
One is… Step Two is… Step Three is…).
6. Decide Upon A Close
To complete your article, you’ll want to use your final 125 words (approximately) to close out your content. There are two components of the article close that I think are necessities if you want to see any results from your efforts.
- The Spark. You want to leave the reader with a desire to get started. You want them excited. You want them motivated. You want them to take action. I’m not necessarily talking about giving them a rah-rah pep talk (although that might not hurt either!). I’m speaking of getting them to realize that they can get the desired results they want if they’ll get busy doing something. Your job at the close of the article is to encourage them (gently or blatantly) and challenge them to achieve.
- The Segway. The other thing you must do during your close is to lead into your resource box. Your article is for the reader. Your resource box is for you. Your content is to provide useful information for the reader. Your resource box is to get the reader to a point where you present an offer. And the closing of your article is the place where the two roads meet. Lead the reader to a decision to make a positive change in their life – to take action. And then use your resource box to provide a means to do just that.
7. Create A Featured Resource Box
Most people use the same generic resource box with each of their articles. In other words, it’s the same resource box regardless of what the article is about.
That’s a big mistake in my opinion.
With an ever-changing audience reading articles about ever-changing topics why would you want to use a never-changing resource box?
Your resource box – in order to be truly effective – must be a continuation of the article itself. It must offer something more that is directly related to the content of the article.
I mean, think about it: the reader has warmed up to you at this point. You’ve shared something useful. They like your style. They are pumped up and ready to take action. Why blow that moment with a resource box that does nothing to really enhance or continue or build upon where they are at this moment in time?
Let me give you an example:
If I’ve just explained what tennis strategy is about, pointed them to an example of tennis strategy and briefly outlined how they can create their own tennis strategy – which is more effective at this point…
- Jason Daly is the publisher of Tennis Tips, a free weekly newsletter full of informative helps for tennis players of all skill levels. For your free subscription, drop by http://www.JasonsTennisTips.com today.
- Jason Daly is the author of How To Outplay Your Opponents By Outsmarting Them, a free strategy report for tennis players of all skill levels. Grab your complimentary copy at http://www.JasonsStrategyReport.com today.
Obviously, having just read the article on tennis strategy, you’d be more likely to take action if resource box #2 was in place … because it’s a continuation of the article. It’s part 2. The sequel. The rest of the story.
Note: And, upon visiting my site and registering for the free report, you’re automatically going to receive my free newsletter as well anyway.
The point is this: a carefully crafted resource box — one that is specifically relevant to the article itself — will outperform a generic resource box. You’ll get more results by using a resource box that builds upon what’s been shared in the article it is attached to.
So, that’s an incredibly easy way to write a good blog article.
You can crank out an entire series of these articles for beginners. All you need to do is answer three simple questions.
- What is _________?
- Can you show me an example of _________?
- How can I get started with _________?
It works for any niche. Any topic. Any person. So what are you waiting for?
If you really want to know more about the power of blogging, you can take a look at the Rapid Blogging Blueprint training course or if you just want a few pointers for now you can grab the featured resource below for a free blogging report; download, read it and take action 🙂
4 More Ways To Start Your YouTube Channel The Right Way
As I mentioned in my previous post, one of the best things you can do to expand your business is to start a YouTube channel.
It’s the most popular video-streaming service boasting massive online traffic, and constant streaming services – and ultimately, it will maximize exposure and help your brand become recognized within your market.
And if you can get YouTube monetization enabled, you can even make some extra cash right inside YouTube itself.
By the way, if you are serious and want to take your video marketing to the next level, check out the Video Marketing Insider. This is a premium level membership that contains training and software to make the most of YouTube and any video marketing and is highly recommended. You can check it out here.
So, let’s look at four more ways to get your YouTube channel more views and subscribers.
Be Consistent And Add Variety
Now it’s time to determine the types of marketing videos that you want to create.
Keep in mind that you need a good balance of variety while still sticking to your overall theme. The last thing you want is to confuse subscribers who are used to finding one type of content on your channel with a whole other thing.
On the other hand, viewers enjoy a variety of video content, and there are different ways that you can produce quality content while still sticking to your theme and brand.
Depending on the type of channel you are planning to create, you’ll be able to offer a variety of content.
For example, if your channel is being created to promote other products and services, consider creating case-study style videos that highlight the progress your existing customers have made.
You could easily mix those types of videos in with product highlight videos, product review videos and even unboxing videos if you sell physical products.
Another type of marketing video is a How-To, DIY, or Tutorial. This is a good idea for when you want to demonstrate to potential buyers exactly how to use one of your products.
If your company sells home furnishings, then a How-To video about how to arrange furniture is a great way to showcase your products and educate the consumer.
Another good marketing video idea is a Listicle. These are especially popular for when you have several points to cover.
For example, a baking company may want to create a listicle video that discusses their most popular bakery treats. They can go over each dessert they offer, and then next to it on the screen list, promote an event that it would be ideal for.
And for practically any type of company, a funny, behind-the-scenes, candid video is sure to engage viewers. Show some bloopers from videos you’ve created, how you come up with video ideas, and anything else that helps viewers see the human side of your business.
For example, a telecommunications company could shoot a video of their customer service department. In between shots of representatives helping customers, some employees could be shown having fun. This is a great way to humanize your company and connect with your audience on a deeper level.
Understand Your Audience
In order to both maintain and grow your YouTube audience, it’s imperative that you know all about your current viewers and overall market. You’ll want to be able to create a visual snapshot of who your average customer is.
In truth, market research should begin long before you create your YouTube channel. The more you know about your target audience, the easier it will be to create engaging content that they’ll be interested in.
When you’re inside of your YouTube admin panel, head on over to the Analytics tab.
This is going to give you a tremendous amount of information concerning your content and the type of visitors you’re getting as well as what they are spending time watching.
On this page, you will find:
View Counts– the number of times your videos are being watched;
Average Watch Time– how long people stay on each video;
Revenue Generated– money earned;
Interaction Rate– physical engagements with content.
Pay close attention to the demographics section as well, because this will tell you:
Location in the world that your videos are being played;
Age range of viewers;
Gender of viewers.
Use this information to help your channel grow by knowing who your market is and what they want from you.
For example, make sure that your videos are being watched where you primarily offer your services. If they aren’t, then think about marketing video ideas that can help localize your content.
Depending upon the type of company you own, you’ll want to make sure that the age group and genders it’s meant for are also watching your content. If they aren’t, then come up with some new marketing videos that target these specific groups.
Once you review all the available information, head on over to the comments section on each of your videos. Take some time to see what kind of comments your videos are getting and reply to ones that will help educate your viewers and promote your channel.
And finally, the YouTube Community profile is a fairly new feature that’s starting to become quite popular. It’s basically a timeline for you to post and interact with your followers.
This is where you’ll want to post pictures that are relative to your channel, polls that will help you understand your audience, and even some fun, engaging content.
Know Your Competition
Just like your business does in the real world, you should keep tabs on your competitors on YouTube. Not only can they help you better understand your audience, but you’ll be able to find inspiration from the successful channels in your market.
Set some time aside each week to review a handful of top channels in your niche.
Pay attention to the videos that receive both the highest and lowest number of views. Watch them yourself and pay attention to the different elements included in the video as well as the general style.
- What are they doing that you aren’t doing?
- How could they improve their videos?
- What did you personally enjoy?
- What did you personally dislike?
All this information will help you improve, as well as shape your content so that it will likely appeal to most your market.
Never copy someone else’s content! Just use them as a case-study and as inspiration for your own content ideas.
And just as you do for your own videos, take time to scroll through their comments. See how viewers respond, both negatively and positively. Perhaps someone has even referenced your brand in these comments.
Take notes of their descriptions and titles, what keywords they use, and see if you can apply it to your own content.
Learn From Your Favorite Channels
Another great way to learn about YouTube success is during your downtime, when you can relax and watch videos from some of your own favorite channels.
These aren’t the channels of your competitors, we’ve already covered that. This is when you spend some time in off-market channels, meaning that you’re studying how other channels outside of your niche are increasing engagement and driving in traffic.
Just because they aren’t in your niche doesn’t mean you can’t learn something valuable from them.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite. By studying other markets outside of your own, you’ll likely be able to generate fresh, new ideas that your own niche hasn’t yet seen.
You’ll also begin to see a pattern based on the content style that people are more excited about as well as how the channel owner chose to produce that content and in what formats (candid, professional, how-to style, etc.)
So, the next time you watch a video from one of your favorite creators, ask yourself a few questions.
For example, what about this video is holding my attention? Remember that YouTube is all about clicking, clicking, and clicking.
If this is a channel that you’ve been subscribed to for a while, then what keeps you coming back? Is it the graphics, variety of videos, tone, style, or something else?
Look at the techniques they use to keep viewers returning day after day. Perhaps they include giveaways, fun facts, candid interviews, or live streaming sessions. Are any of these something that you can do on your own channel?
Get those creative juices flowing!
If you want to know more about setting up your YouTube channel the right way, check out the featured resource below for an expanded version of this article covering 11 tips; download, read it and take action 🙂
