the how and why of professional blogging

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The How and Why Of

Professional Blogging:

A Complete Guide

John PattonPrincipal, Catalyst Digital Partners

catalystdigitalpartners.com

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TUTORIAL OUTLINE

Section One: Why Blog?• Content Appetite

• Expanding Influence

• Knowledge sharing platform

Section Two: Changes in News Consumption• Where do people get their news?

• How the web has changed news

• Snapshot of a typical blog reader

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TUTORIAL OUTLINE

Section Three: Writing An Effective Blog Post• Improving Scanability

• Format & Post Length

• Engage and Provoke

• Additional Tools

Section Four: Template Suggestions• Writing Headlines

• Intro

• Body

• Conclusion

• Call to Action!

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SECTION ONE: WHY BLOG?

Content Appetite

• Are people reading your posts?– Knowing whether your content is falling flat is a

blogging fundamental

• Develop metrics– Use Google Analytics to track readership growth

– Determine your most successful posts and build your success from that

– Is your blog trending upwards in readership?

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SECTION ONE: WHY BLOG?

Expanding InfluenceA well crafted blog post can:

• Influence trends

• Create a breakthrough idea

• Provide information

What does influence mean?• A single blogger can define a new theory, term or

idea

• That theory, term or idea can be virally shared across the web and influence something as large as an industry

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AN EXAMPLE OF INFLUENCESHARING AN INSIGHT:

Thought leaders in the Education space can share insights for the classroom via a blog post. That blog post can inform teachers and shape classrooms across the globe.

SECTION ONE: WHY BLOG?

Image courtesy of itprism.com

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SECTION ONE: WHY BLOG?

KNOWLEDGE SHARING PLATFORM

• Disseminate timely knowledge in your “thought network”– A single blogger with an internet connection can

break a story before CNN

– Become an exclusive provider of exciting and timely content

• Engage in two way communication– Audience and peers can comment directly with

you via a blog or social media channels

– Provides immediate feedback

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SECTION ONE: WHY BLOG?

A MEDIUM FOR IDEAS TO GO VIRAL

• Whether it‟s a news update, an infographic, case study, white paper or webinar, a blog post is the perfect vehicle for sharing your content

• Sharing your blog post in an email newsletter, social networks or via syndication in another blog makes the blog post the perfect medium

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SECTION TWO: CHANGES IN CONSUMPTION

WHERE DO

PEOPLE GET

THEIR NEWS?

Image courtesy of schools.com

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SECTION TWO: CHANGES IN

NEWS CONSUMPTIONHOW THE INTERNET HAS CHANGED NEWS

• Democratization of news– Online news sources can be created at almost zero

cost

• News is FREE– Blogs, twitter and other online platforms are free to

use

• Decentralization of News– News can come from anywhere at any time

– An unknown blog can break the biggest story

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SNAPSHOT OF A TYPICAL BLOG READER

Because your reader is looking at a computer screen it means that:

SECTION TWO: CHANGES IN

NEWS CONSUMPTION

People read 25% slower than reading on paper

Average reader spends only 96 seconds reading a single blog post

Only 16% of people read blog posts word for word

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SECTION THREE: WRITING AN

EFFECTIVE BLOG POSTIMPROVING SCANABILITY (IN YOUR POSTS)

The Problem:

This problem exists

across all platforms:

• Twitter

• Facebook

• Inboxes

• RSS Feeds

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SECTION THREE: WRITING AN

EFFECTIVE BLOG POSTIMPROVING THE SCANABILITY OF A BLOG POST

THE SOLUTION: – Grab your reader‟s attention by breaking through with:

photo, video and infographic content (multimedia!)

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SECTION THREE: WRITING AN

EFFECTIVE BLOG POST

FORMAT & POST LENGTH

• A distribution of blog posts by word

count

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FORMAT & POST LENGTH

Perception: Blog posts have to be long and heavily researched

Reality: Shorter, more frequent posts (150-600 words) are best

Some Tips:

• Take less time to write

• Consider the 96 second average!

• Increase your frequency in news feeds

• Increase RSS pings

• Increase SEO ranking

AN EXERCISE: What is your organization‟s average blog post word count?

SECTION THREE: WRITING AN

EFFECTIVE BLOG POST

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ENGAGE AND PROVOKE

• Problem: Blog posts can be boring, esoteric and too internally focused

• Soution: Create a list of provocative questions and set out to answer them in your post.

– Use a question at the beginning of your blog post to draw the reader into a two-way discussion

– Keep a list of your questions for when your blog posts get tweeted

SECTION THREE: WRITING AN

EFFECTIVE BLOG POST

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ADDITIONAL TOOLS

• Curate

– Help people see your organization as a

thought leader with a timely perspective

by offering insights on current events,

reports or studies

SECTION THREE: WRITING AN

EFFECTIVE BLOG POST

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ADDITIONAL TOOLS

• Add Value

– Offer critical observations or inquiries

• Link Up

– Use hyperlinks to reference other parts of

your website or external sites

SECTION THREE: WRITING AN

EFFECTIVE BLOG POST

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ADDITIONAL TOOLS

• When in doubt, post!

– Don‟t let this guide handcuff you

– If you feel like your blog post is out of line

with these principles, write it anyway.

SECTION THREE: WRITING AN

EFFECTIVE BLOG POST

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SECTION FOUR: TEMPLATE

SUGGESTIONSWRITING A GOOD HEADLINE

• Problem: Readers are often deterred by bad headlines

• Solution: Create something informative and engaging that leaves the reader wanting more

• Example of a BAD headline:– „Qatar TV Channel Acquires New Hardware‟

• Example of a GOOD Headline:– „Al Jazeera International Chooses Apple Technology‟

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INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH

1. Start with values and framing of why

the subject is important

2. Evidence, anecdotes or current

events

3. Focus on the unique knowledge

being discussed in your post

SECTION FOUR: TEMPLATE

SUGGESTIONS

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BODY

1. Support your key message(s)

2. Use language that is simple, straightforward and understandable by your target audiences

3. Think about how this post could be shared across different social networks

– Include a few sentences that could be used on these platforms

– Refer back to the initial questions being asked

SECTION FOUR: TEMPLATE

SUGGESTIONS

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CONCLUSION

1. Provide information about what your

topic means for your broader thought

network

2. Provide ways for people to get more

information if applicable

SECTION FOUR: TEMPLATE

SUGGESTIONS

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CALL TO ACTION!

Whether you are selling an ebook, promoting a cause, or providing consulting services, your blog post should push the reader to act

Different Calls to Action:– Download buttons

– Add to cart buttons

– Trial buttons

– Learn More buttons

– Sign Up! buttons

SECTION FOUR: TEMPLATE

SUGGESTIONS

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NEED HELP WITH YOUR BLOG?

Does your company or organization need help with their blogging strategy?

Catalyst Digital Partners offers custom tailored online strategy. We offer tutorials and seminars for Executives & Staff to illustrate the benefits of blogging.

Call or email us today for a free consultation

Phone: (202) 681-0814

Email: info@catalystdigitalpartners.com