Wednesday, 23 November 2016 / Published in Blogging 101, Hacks All Successful Blogs Use to Get Noticed, online business

5 Hacks All Successful Bloggers Use to Get Noticed, By Using Simple Blogging Essentials

Blogging Essentials

Blogging can turn into a full-fledged career if you play your cards right. Blogging methods always stand out in the crowd!

A great blog stands out in its niche and becomes a go-to source for advice, trending information, news, data, engagement, and even free gifts.

But what’s really the secret sauce for successful blogs?

Every blog begins with just a simple website address, so let’s delve into five tricks blogs use to rise above the pack.

Diversify Your Content

It’s one thing to set up a blog, but the real work begins with the first post. You want people to actually share your content and their opinion.

Since you have only a few seconds to capture your readers’ attention, blocks of boring text just won’t cut it. Successful blogs diversify their content with a wide range of media to keep things interesting.

There are many types of content you can use, but if you really want to increase blog traffic, try these research-approved methods:

Infographics

Studies show that color improves your attention by 82%. So, readers are much more likely to give your content a chance if you include captivating photos, illustrations, or videos for example.

But there’s one type of content that’s shared three-times more than any other content on social media. Infographics.

Infographics are effective because they present data in an uncomplicated yet visually compelling way. So they’re great for presenting chronological timelines, statistics, research study findings, survey results, processes, and more data-driven material.

Listicles-Yes! Listicles are Blogging Essentials

If you’re sick of seeing listicles, you’re about to change your mind right now. Truth is, our brain love lists and can’t get enough of them.

Listicles are the “attentional sweet spot” according to Psychology expert, Maria Konnikova.

They’re organized with just the right amount of pauses, visuals, short sentences, and small paragraphs to prevent your brain from going into overdrive. The more mental gymnastics your brain has to do, the quicker you’ll lose your attention span. Every successful blogger has a few listicles running around somewhere!

Publish Content That Inspires

If you want your blog content to go viral, think about why people share content in the first place.

In the content marketing study, “Why Content Goes Viral: What Analyzing 100 Million Articles Taught Us”, sharing content is motivated by the following emotions:

Awe
Laughter
Amusement
Joy
Anger

Overall, positive content is shared more than negative content. However, 6% of content shares are driven by anger. If your niche is appropriate for it, don’t be afraid to publish opinionated or more fiery content if the occasion calls for it. For many successful blogs, this sparks debate, and thus, increases shares!

Successful Bloggers Are Active On Social Media

If you’re serious about blogging, then you can’t be invisible on social media.

Today’s power bloggers also function as social media influencers.

They’re constantly posting to Facebook, Instagramming, pinning, responding to tweets, and uploading YouTube videos. Because their network is so vast, these bloggers can attract sponsorship deals, partnerships, and more paid opportunities for their blog.

But how can a new blogger manage so many pages?

Simple. Today, it’s easier than ever to implement and manage a social media strategy with management apps like TweetDeck and Hootsuite!

This way, you can track your competition, analyze activity, and schedule posts in advance so your strategy doesn’t skip a beat, even while you’re on vacation.

When it comes to scheduling posts, some time frames are better than others.

Keep these research results in mind when creating your social media calendar:

Facebook: The best times to post are Mon-Fri, particularly Thursday and Friday, between 1-4pm. Other sweet spots include after 3pm on Wednesdays, and between 12-1pm on the weekends.
Pinterest: This is definitely a weekend thing. According to research, the best times to pin are Fridays after 3pm and Saturdays between 1-3pm and 8-11pm.
Twitter: The best time to tweet is between 12-3pm and 5pm Monday through Friday. Include after hours tweets too, as those get traction as well.

To grow your social media audience, don’t pass up an opportunity to get in on a trending conversation in your niche either.

You’ve seen hashtags in the news, but now you’re going to use them yourself.

It’s true that including relevant hashtags with your content increases visibility, but it’s also a vital research tool for creating shareable content. Hashtags help you discover new content, trends, keywords, social media influencers, and relevant conversations.

Grow Your Readership With Email Lists

As you grow your blog, you’re essentially growing a community of readers. Your readership is a valuable asset, so don’t hesitate to connect with them when they’re not hanging out in the comments section.

Think of your blog as a business and email as customer service.

Just like a good ole fashioned mailing list, you can also create an email list with your readers’ names and email addresses. An email list is a great way to alert your readers to your latest blog post, but it’s also a fantastic blog marketing tool for expanding your readership and participation.

Consider these email marketing ideas for your blog:

Mail out exclusive freebies to subscribers.
Promote your latest social media chat.
Send out personalized birthday messages.
Advertise your latest product giveaway.
Email exclusive content that can’t be found on your blog.

These email content ideas are just the start, but how do you get people to subscribe? Remember! Successful bloggers need others to survive.

No one likes junk mail, so to avoid ending up in the trash bin, it’s important that your email content has value and intrigue for the reader.

A professional marketing email should have these basic copywriting elements:

A short subject like that encourages the reader to take action.
Use personable, second-person language.
Keep the email body short and sweet.
Include a URL to the landing page or post.
Use a professional template, image, or graphics
Include a call to action to encourage readers to click or download.

To encourage more email list subscriptions, include a lightbox on your blog with a call-to-action or offer a free gift for signing up.

Turn Your Blog Into A Brand

Blogs have the ability to grow into recognizable brands.

And that’s exactly what happened to blogs like PopSugar, TechCrunch, Perez Hilton, Humans of New York, and more blogs worldwide.

Having a brand allows you to flex more marketing power across different channels, from print to video.

Ask yourself the following questions to help formulate your brand:

What is the overall goal of my blog?
What is my message?
What is my target readership? Age? Occupation?
What makes me different from the rest of the blogging niche?

Research is crucial to building a brand, and asking these basic questions will help you design the following blog elements:

The right blog name
Domain name address
Website design
Color scheme
Blog logo
Tagline
and content strategy.

For example, if you have a logo of your own, you can put it on mugs, stickers, t-shirts, blogging event flyers, and of course, include it in your marketing emails.

Plus, if you want to expand your blogging business into digital products, having a brand is crucial for marketing your guides, ebooks, online courses, and digital videos too.

Build Quality Backlinks To Your Blog

Last but certainly not least, you need to build quality backlinks to your blog.

It’s great when your readership shares your content, but when a fellow blogger shares your work to their network, you’re golden.

You’ve heard a lot about the importance of SEO, and a big part of that is getting other websites to link back to you, also known as backlinking.

But not any backlink will do.

Google has rules against building backlinks with low-quality websites. Their algorithms will find you and even de-index your blog altogether if you’re not careful.

You want to build natural links that create positive ranking signals for algorithms. So the more high-quality backlinks you have, the better your blog will perform in search engines.

Here are a few tips for building backlinks the right way:

Build relationships with similar blogs in your niche. Share and comment on their content to increase the likelihood they backlink to yours.
Find broken links on high-authority sites where you would be a good replacement. Email the webmaster about switching the link out for yours.
Constantly promote your content so you don’t miss an opportunity for a backlink. You can also automate your content promotion to make your life a little easier.
Run a backlink report on your competition to find potential backlink sources for your own blog.

Ready to put in the work to create truly successful blogs, with easy blogging essentials ?

Let’s recap what you need:

A wide range of high-quality content.
Social media presence and engagement.
Email marketing
A recognizable brand
Quality backlinks Google will love.

You can even get a head start by purchasing a customized website with your unique brand and feel!

This lets you focus on what you do best, driving traffic and turning a profit.

Please remember that blogging essentials really are simple essentials to help you become more noticeable and successful. It doesn’t have to be complicated.

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Chris Kinney

CEO at TurnkeyWebsiteHub

Freelance web designer. Explorer. Devoted blogger. Twitter trailblazer. Travel fanatic. Computer nerd. Internet fanatic.