learning to blog · yes, just as a website is a consumer must today, a company blog will be a...
TRANSCRIPT
LEARNING TO BLOG
WELCOME – WE WILL BEGIN IN A FEW MINUTES
NOT FOR PUBLICATION - PROPERTY OF GAIL MERCER-MACKAY
EXTENDING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND WITH BLOGGING
YOUR WORKSHOP LEADER
Gail Mercer-MacKay
Successful Entrepreneur
Personal Brand Coach
Digital Storyteller
Effective Social Seller
NOT FOR PUBLICATION - PROPERTY OF GAIL MERCER-MACKAY
NOT FOR PUBLICATION - PROPERTY OF GAIL MERCER-MACKAY
“One reason I encourage
people to blog is that the act
of doing it stretches your
available vocabulary and
hones a new voice.”
Seth Godin
NOT FOR PUBLICATION - PROPERTY OF GAIL MERCER-MACKAY
“One reason I encourage
people to blog is that it helps
you discover and clarify your
authentic voice – and it
makes you fearless.”
Gail Mercer-MacKay
WELCOME AND AGENDA
Why Do You Want to Blog?
What Are You Afraid Of?
The Blogging Framework
Exercise in Blogging
WHY BLOG?
Businesses who blog get 67% more leads
Marketing ROI – Increases by 13x
By 2020 – 85% of your customer relationships will only be online – no voice
“Free” – Blogging is an investment of time
Increase links to your website / platform by 97%
Trusted Advisor – Blogs are the 5th most trusted source of information by buyers
NOT FOR PUBLICATION - PROPERTY OF GAIL MERCER-MACKAY
Source: HubSpot – 6 Stats You
Need to Know in 2015
BLOGS ARE BECOMING A REQUIREMENT
“Over the next few years, as consumers embrace web technology even
further, and as they are more and more adept at judging a business by
its website, they will soon look for a company’s, or an
individual’s, blog.Yes, just as a website is a consumer must today, a
company blog will be a consumer must tomorrow.”
Source: The Sales Lion
#1 Blogs
B2B marketers are more likely
(74%) to increase blogging
activity compared to B2C
marketers (63%)
#2 You Tube
A significant 67% of
marketers plan on
increasing their YouTube
marketing efforts.
#3 Twitter
A majority of marketers
(67%) will increase their
activities on Twitter, up from
64% in 2013. Twitter moved
from the number-five slot in
2013.
#4 LinkedIn
B2B marketers are
significantly more likely to
increase their use of
LinkedIn (77% B2B vs 54%
B2C.)
Source: Social Media Examiner – 2014 Marketing Industry Report
WHAT MATTERS MOST TO MARKETERS TODAY?
EXERCISE ONE - WHY ARE YOU HERE?
Develop my Personal Brand
Attract new business
Establish authority
Reach wider community
Develop thought leadership
Other?
What do you think blogging might do for your life?
NOT FOR PUBLICATION - PROPERTY OF GAIL MERCER-MACKAY
WHAT PEOPLE TELL ME STOPS THEM
Fear / Lack of Confidence
Topics / What Should I Write About?
Interesting
Inspiring
Relevant to my target audience would want to read
Elaborating on a topic
Authenticity – finding my own voice
No Time to Write
EXERCISE TWO – WHAT IS STOPPING YOU?
Make a list of
everything holding
you back from
blogging
NOT FOR PUBLICATION - PROPERTY OF GAIL MERCER-MACKAY
BLOGGING BASICS – WHAT
YOU NEED TO KNOW
BLOGS MUST BE FED REGULARLY
Content Marketing is not static
Search engines, as well as consumers, want to visit web sites that are constantly
evolving and being added upon
Fresh content generates return traffic
Return traffic increases influence
Influence builds online “relationship”, it builds trust
People buy from people they like and trust
DON’T START SOMETHING YOU WON’T FINISH
NOT FOR PUBLICATION - PROPERTY OF GAIL MERCER-MACKAY
SOME ELEMENTS OF A GOOD BLOG
Killer Opening Line – give the reader a reason to read more; give others a reason to hire you;
Educational – content that is relevant, interesting and insightful, presented in an easy to read format
Establish Authority – reference thought leaders research, customer case studies, statistics
Familiar – develops a voice that is consistent – the reader returns because they trust they will not be wasting
their time
Controversial – you may develop different voices for the same client – controversy can be fun – who are
some voices you admire?
SEO Friendly – repeatedly uses keywords that will make it easier to find your blog on search engines
Visually Appealing
F-Pattern
Use
Headings
Bullets
Pictures
Quote boxes
Make it simple for a
scanner to consume
Eye-tracking by Jakob Nielsen and Kara
Pernice, Nielsen Norman Group. Source:
Letting Go of the Words, Writing Web
Content that Works
BLOG STRUCTURE
Minimum 300 words
Average 500-600 words
Longer blogs feature higher in Google search algorithm (1500-
2000 words)
Should always be positioning you as smart, thought leader,
someone the reader wants to know
TYPES OF BLOGS
Opinion (Op/Ed) Piece – Find a great / interesting article or piece of research and comment on it. Agree, disagree, show how an industry is benefiting by talking about a client
Q&A – Book a phone call with an expert (over Lync) and tape it. Write the blog as a Q&A –usually can be a two or three-part
How To – Provide a simple step-by-step for how to do something that you are an expert in
Top 5 Things – People love lists. The top 5 mistakes, the top 5 must-haves, etc.
Announcement – Repeat an announcement and then comment on why this is great and how it will benefit clients
LINKEDIN GROUPS – SOURCE AND BROADCAST
Get ideas and buy-in from your groups
Post a question in a (relevant) group discussion “I have to write a blog about trends in manufacturing. What do you think is the most important trend today?”
Thank everyone for their comments
Include the most important points in your blog
Include a post-script in your blog thanking the members of your LinkedIn group who contributed
Go back to your group and post a link to your blog once it is written letting people know how much they helped
SOME MORE THOUGHTS ON BLOGGING
Blogs can
Re-surface other great content
Bring you and your company to life
Connect disparate voices within the company
Personalize your company
Be creative & fun
Have a CTA at the end
SOURCES TO HELP
Ted Talks
Analyst Sites
Newspapers
University Publications
Press Releases
Slide Share
A COUPLE OF “DON’TS”
Don’t plagiarize (borrow and cite)
Don’t use swear words
Avoid grammar and spelling
mistakes
THE TRUTH ABOUT WRITING
• Begin with the starter sentence
• You cannot stop writing
• If you get stuck write the starter sentence again, and again, and again until
your pen takes off
• It’s okay to change topics – move in a different direction than the starter
sentence if your pen takes you there
• Don’t grip your pen too tight (your hand will cramp)
RULES FOR FREEFALL
HOMEWORK
Write free-fall for 10 minutes every day
Pick one of your free-fall exercises and create a 300-500 word blog posting
Use some of the tips we learned today
Pick a great photo
Use bullets and headings
Include an inspirational quotation
Share it with a trusted colleague or friend to get editorial feedback
