Free social media guides – for when you need a hand

content marketing cover Google plus mistakes WP membership plugins coverpodcast interviews Video marketing mistakes For more click on Likeable
You are here: Home / Blogging tips / New to blogging? Gain some inspiration here
post

New to blogging? Gain some inspiration here

October 6, 2011 By 18 Comments
Send to Kindle

Last week I published two posts here:  the 5 life stages of a blogger and SEO for your WordPress blog for more traffic. Both proved to be really popular posts.

I also published the 7 formulas of blogging for when you run out of ideas  and using abandoned but  free sites to build micro niche blogs to send you traffic. All in all I had a massively busy writing week.

When you are starting blogging to write that much can seem overwhelming. My purpose of bringing you here was not to overwhelm you but to share some inspiration :)

This week I just wanted to introduce you to some people new to blogging.

Meet Mariette.

Mariette is one of my coaching clients and she didn’t blog all over the summer and I began to despair of her ever writing a thing! Since September 16th she has had 1000 page views and 5 or 6 posts go live. Mariette and I devised a plan to interview people and help promote them on Mariette’s stress free living blog.

This series is called “Reflections” and as I type this up Mariette is getting ready to publish her second interview. She is also recording a series of podcasts to sell via her blog, so that her readers can access lower priced products to get to know her before booking into one of her meditation workshops. I have invited her to blog here as we were talking about the hidden health benefits of blogging, so look out for that post in a few days.

In a nutshell – 3 weeks of hard work, 1000 page views, 400 new visitors and a new product line to add to her blog and I didn’t have to “nag” her once.

Meet Lisa

Lisa Parkes coaching picLisa took up blogging on Sunday. Yes, Sunday 2nd of October. She has posted 4 or 5 posts and is studying hard to to get her ideal customer visualised so she can write directly too them. She’s tweeting her posts and thinking of what additional products she can create and how she can reach the parents of the kids she wants to help.

We’ve had two rewrites of her about page as Lisa finds her voice and an additional page added so she can separate her core skill sets.

Lisa’s not called the smiley coach for nothing the joy in her voice as she writes a post that she knows is going to help someone is amazing. She and Mariette have already met for coffee and shared blogging plans and no doubt will be swapping guest posts very soon!

Meet Fiona 

Fiona is a journalist, PR specialist and a veteran writer, and she started blogging a few months back. I met her at the Inner Flame event in Swindon and persuaded her to guest blog. She has down two really fab posts over at Birds on the Blog and I have one for Food on the Blog. One of the things we discussed when we met was interaction on a blog post and in “What’s wrong with this press release? Answers please!” Fiona got interaction through a question in a title to hook the reader in.

If you are struggling for readers and interaction take a leaf out of Fiona’s book; a well phrased question and a strong call to action and it will be a winner.

One thing I train all my clients in is blog post promotion. You have to get into positive, good habits right from the start.

You are fighting for attention, when you promote your post you have to think of a few things first

  • Who are my target audience for this post and where can I promote it so they can see it?
  • Does my headline talk to them?
  • Does my headline grab attention on Twitter?
  • Have I filled in the Meta Description so that when I share on Facebook and Google Plus people see a snippet of what the post is about?
  • Have I done that SEO thing Sarah keeps reminding me about?
  • Did I add an image?
One thing that Lisa, Fiona and Mariette will tell you is you have to keep on going. If one post doesn’t work then try another and another and another until you and your audience are happy.
What tips do you have for people starting out blogging?

 

An alternative to RSS?
Updates in your Facebook notifications when a new post is live. Get the smart advantage over your competitors:
 

Or subscribe to my newsletter for awesome blogging goodies 


Powered by WPSubscribers
Your privacy will never be compromised
Filed Under: Blogging tips

Comments

  1. Linda Mattacks says:
    October 6, 2011 at 2:59 pm

    Hi Sarah

    Is this the Fiona I met recently at the Grow Your Business retreat recently?

    I can’t tell as she’s the only one without a photo… ;-)
    Linda Mattacks recently posted..Social Media, Networking and PR – Linda ‘Goes Back to School’ Day Two a.m.My Profile (dofollow)
    Twitter:

    Reply
  2. Yolanda says:
    October 6, 2011 at 3:23 pm

    A solid look at why blogging works and why you might need a coach! There are so many different ways to look at content and promotion. Blogging is definitely different for every type of business. You’ve got me thinking!
    Twitter:

    Reply
  3. Mary C. Weaver, CSCS says:
    October 6, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    I think your infectious enthusiasm for blogging is another reason your clients are doing so well. I’m not new to blogging, but I’m certainly inspired by their success.

    Thanks for the bulleted list. It’s sometimes easy for me to overlook those key points when rushing to get something published.
    Mary C. Weaver, CSCS recently posted..How potatoes make you fatMy Profile (dofollow)
    Twitter:

    Reply
  4. Lisa says:
    October 6, 2011 at 10:10 pm

    Sarah, what great success stories! They definitely need to have someone teaching them and cheering them on in order for them to have the motivation that they do. :)

    Great checklist – all important – and like Mary, sometimes we just want to hit that publish button…thanks for the reminder. I’m guilty of forgetting about a few of those things.
    Lisa recently posted..How to Redirect a DomainMy Profile (dofollow)

    Reply
  5. Suzanne says:
    October 6, 2011 at 10:23 pm

    Thank you for the tips, it really is inspiring – and less lonesome – when I see these kinds of posts. I’m in a bit of slump with my blog currently… I’m having trouble getting to posting and feeling uninspired. Will keep reading your insightful posts to help get it going again!
    Suzanne recently posted..A Pro Shares His Secrets to Killer AbsMy Profile (dofollow)

    Reply
  6. Anita says:
    October 9, 2011 at 4:10 am

    Hi Sarah

    I’ll be honest, not only do I have the privillege of calling you my friend, but I also definitely see you as a mentor. A lot of good things has come from starting out at BT Tradespace ;) which I’m very greatful for!

    This year hasn’t gone quite as I planned, with where I wanted to go blogging wise, but instead of feeling sad about it, I am looking onwards and upwards – the future’s bright you know LOL :)
    Anita recently posted..Female relation Christmas cardMy Profile (dofollow)

    Reply
  7. Anita says:
    October 9, 2011 at 4:14 am

    p.s I would really value some more pointers on keywords, as even after all this time, I’m still rubbish at it! …goes and hides ;)
    Anita recently posted..In-law Christmas card for a coupleMy Profile (dofollow)

    Reply
    • Sarah Arrow says:
      October 9, 2011 at 9:22 am

      More on Keywords :) Ok, I may kick that Mr Hunt (no, not your one, the other one ;) ) and snag a guest post off of him :)

      I use two things – market samurai for external keyword research and Scribe for internal keywords (very quick and useful)

      If it’s any consolation my blogging year hasn’t gone as I had planned either! We can work on that though :)
      Sarah Arrow recently posted..Get more eyeballs on your blog postsMy Profile (dofollow)
      Twitter:

      Reply
      • Entrepreneur Solo says:
        October 9, 2011 at 9:59 pm

        I am kicked.

        I actually have just posted something on my blog about buying domains and it mentions some of the work I go through with Market Samurai before making that decision. It can equally be applied to a blog post although in most cases it is going over the top a little for a blog post in my humble opinion.

        A couple of points on keywords which are basic but worth remembering.

        1) Keywords is the wrong term. It is more often key phrases
        2) It is the long tail that you can compete on easily (ie three words and upwards). However the long tail doesn’t often have good quantities of search.
        3) Every post you place on your site gives it more authority if the keywords used are closely related to your main focus. Therefore every post will get more important over time as long as they have some backlinks pointing towards them. This is known as latent semantic indexing or LSI.
        4) Blog posts usually have a short shelf life in the SERPS unless you backlink like a demon.
        5) Pages might work better for your most important keywords ie your categories

        Does that help a little
        Entrepreneur Solo recently posted..To Buy A Domain Or Not To Buy A DomainMy Profile (dofollow)

        Reply
  8. Christine Miller says:
    October 9, 2011 at 10:06 am

    Really useful Sarah, my ‘blogging’ has been somewhat sporadic because I tend to write articles rather than blog posts, and IU can see the importance of linking it all together to gain traffic and also raise profile.

    Also have been very lax in the ‘call to action’ department, so thank you for the reminder.
    Christine Miller recently posted..How to write a book proposalMy Profile (dofollow)
    Twitter:

    Reply
  9. Jacqui Malpass says:
    October 25, 2011 at 7:51 am

    Sarah

    My tip would be for would be bloggers / writers to start journaling. This is a fab way to capture thoughts and ideas. I generally have a scribble before I go to sleep and over the next few days find that some of this filters through to my conscious mind and helps me to find inspiration for other writing.

    J
    Jacqui Malpass recently posted..7 reasons to start a journalMy Profile (dofollow)

    Reply

Speak Your Mind

*

CommentLuv badge