To help you start a successful blog, we asked business leaders and PR professionals this question for their best tips. From starting with keyword research to leveraging your content on social media, there are several tips for starting a successful blog.
Here are ten tips for starting a successful blog:
- Start With Keyword Research
- Proactively Answer Customer Questions
- Know Your Niche
- Start A Mailing List
- Research Already Covered Content And Add Value To It
- Devise A Great Content Marketing Strategy
- Create A Schedule And Stick To It
- Bring Value Before Money
- Leverage Your Content On Social Media
- Answer Customer Questions
Tips to Start a Successful Blog
Start With Keyword Research
All content creation efforts for a blog should start with keyword research. Identify relevant keywords that have search volume, low ranking difficulty and have a higher CPC (cost per click).
You can utilize free keyword research tools to factor in these data points to create a prioritized content strategy. Let data guide your content efforts, and you’ll be able to create a blog that generates positive traffic value.
Brett Farmiloe, Markitors
Proactively Answer Customer Questions
First, get clarity on who buys your product or service. Then, figure out what questions they have. Prioritize those questions based on search volumes, which can be identified through keyword research.
You can see examples of this on our blog, where we have created helpful articles ranging from stair lift removal to a dedicated stair lift page with extensive FAQs.
By proactively answering customer questions on a blog, you can position your brand as a thought leader and attract the right website visitors.
Liz Riggleman, Arrow Lift
Know Your Niche
Who is your ideal reader? A collegiate athlete? CEOs of SaaS startups? Stay-at-home moms who want to be entrepreneurs?
Then, decide what the goal of your blog is. Generate website traffic? Generate revenue? Find business partners? Get brand sponsors? Make friends? Build your network? Add value to nonprofits?
Once you are clear, you can know what will make your blog successful.
Annika Ehrig, Whiteboard Geeks
Start A Mailing List
A blog lives from great content as well as great promotion. Especially in the early days, you need to score on both fronts. A mailing list is a key component to bringing prior readers back to your blog.
A simple pitch for your mailing list at the end can do wonders and should be part of any blog. Ideally, you want to word your CTA in relevance to the article—this increases conversions.
Peter Thaleikis, Bring Your Own Ideas Ltd.
Research Already Covered Content And Add Value To It
When writing on a topic that’s been already covered, analyze the top 10 Google search results for a particular keyword. Then, go and write a better article.
That means provide more value, share more insights, support with more facts and include better images. Depending on your niche, you can use infographics, gifs, videos, etc.
Also, it might be useful to outline the topics that you are going to write about on your blog. For example, at Chanty blog, we are writing about productivity, communication and collaboration.
Mia Naumsoka, Chanty
Devise A Great Content Marketing Strategy
Always remember that there are millions of other blogs online. The key to gaining a large audience and standing out from the crowd is found in devising great content marketing strategies.
Find out what your audience is interested in by doing extensive keyword research through tools like Moz and Ahrefs. This will help you see which topics and keywords have the highest search volumes.
Then, tailor your blogs to your audience, write with purpose and make sure your content is SEO-friendly so you can out-rank your competitors. Blogging isn’t just about writing your heart out; there’s a science to it.
Pearl Kasirye, Head of Growth
Create A Schedule And Stick To It
Believe in your abilities! Many experts look for external help to write their blog posts as they don’t feel confident with their writing skills. The truth is that practice makes perfect, and many things can be achieved by the “learning by doing” method.
If you have the expertise in your field, simply start writing. Create a schedule of articles, and stick to it even if you don’t see the immediate traffic peaks. Consistency is key. Don’t try to create a perfect piece of writing that you will spend days on polishing. Make sure it’s solid but not flawless.
Remember that you will learn as you go and can make adjustments along the way. Spend more time on doing things rather than overthinking how your blog should look like. In essence, less thinking, more doing!
Dorota Lysienia, LiveCareer
Bring Value Before Money
Start a blog that brings value, not just money. There’s nothing wrong with making money off your blog. But if the vision of fat earnings is your only reason for writing a blog, you get off to a bad start.
A successful blog should attract an active, loyal community that is willing to recommend your content further. Building a follower base requires systematic and devoted work that takes months, if not years.
Significant and tangible interest from readers and the blog’s popularity are a reward for a job well done, and only then does the idea of earning money off a blog stand a chance.
Nina Król, Zety
Leverage Your Content On Social Media
Platforms such as Twitter, Medium, Facebook and LinkedIn have powerful sharing capabilities and give the ability to go viral. Pinterest can be a great source of traffic when graphics and titles are attractive.
Repurpose content and graphics from the blog to create YouTube videos, podcasts or even Instagram posts. This way, you can drive more traffic to your blog and boost your SEO with the social proof aspect it brings.
Rebeca Sena, GetSpace.Digital
Answer Customer Questions
Conduct keyword research in advance of writing a blog post.
On our denture blog you’ll see a variety of articles that feature long-tail keywords in the titles. These long-tail keywords are phrases that our customers are searching for, and the purpose of the articles are to answer these customer questions.
If you are looking to start a successful blog, start the process by identifying the keywords that will attract the attention of your target audience and answer the questions they are asking.
Henry Babichenko, Eurodenture
