JUMP START Blog and Online Community

Let's face it...we've all been there.

We start strong, vowing to blog every day or multiple times per day. But then, life happens.

We get busy and tired, and our blog starts collecting dust soon. If this sounds familiar, don't worry - you're not alone.

In fact, even the most successful bloggers have trouble maintaining a consistent posting schedule. However, there is a way to overcome this challenge: by turning intermittent blogging into a content creation routine.

Here are a few tips for how to turn intermittent blogging into a content creation routine:

One of the most important parts of a content marketing strategy is offering fun-to-read, informative and interesting content that make your readers excited to click and find out more. However, the title of your content can have a huge impact on how successful it is at generating interest and motivating your readers to take action.

A listicle or list article is one of the most effective formats for an article or blog post. A listicle is enticing, because it promises upfront to condense any subject matter into a manageable number of bullet points or steps that a reader can use and implement.

The listicle is a favorite for good reason: it works. The main reason for this is that it has the power to grab the reader's attention simply from the power of its headline.

This kind of content often lends itself well to evergreen topics and tips that are very popular. Readers love easy headlines that are also quickly consumable. Lists that offer a number of reasons, secrets, types or ways to do something will capture an audience's attention, because they make a very clear promise about what’s in store for the reader. They also entice the reader to click, but you'll have to deliver quality content if you want to keep the reader engaged. Listicles can do that effectively, time and time again —plus, they're usually very easy to build in your favorite blogging or marketing automation software.

These types of posts are perfect for building your authority in a certain field or demonstrating mastery in a specific area of expertise. When it comes to business blogging, it's key to show what you know and put it in a format that's easy to consume. Ask us how we can create weekly, SEO-friendly blog content (including listicles!) for you or look at the examples below to learn more.

Not getting as much traffic as you need to meet your marketing goals or grow your business? Here are five ways that you can start to drive more traffic to your website without a ton of effort.

1) Blog more
Don't like blogging? I don't want to hear it! This is, hands down, THE best way to get more traffic quickly and easily — but the key is that you shouldn't write long, "salesy" blog posts that push your products or services. Instead, offer helpful tips, ideas, news or content that helps your prospects solve their problems and provides real value to them.

Are you blogging with little to no reward or measure of success? It's frustrating, right?

We know...we've all been there. But what if I told you actually writing and posting your blog is really only half the battle?

Want to know how to IMMEDIATELY make your blogs more effective and more engaging?

I'll be honest – there is a lot to learn, know and do, but I promise you this: if you follow these (read: very simple) 11 tips, you'll begin to see more results from your blogging efforts, virtually right away. And isn't that what it's all about anyway? 

Check out the full infographic below!

(and, if you want to read more in-depth notes on the topic, you can check out my full blog too). 

I recently posted a blog on how to write killer content. In it, I discuss the top five resources the Flair team regularly uses when we create content. I thought I’d keep the convo going and let you in on our top tips for what we do just before we hit publish. Think of it as your pre-posting checklist.

1. Don’t write in long chunks of text – a recent study by Microsoft Corp. shows the average attention span of most humans went from 12 seconds in 2000 to just eight seconds in 2015. (For comparison, a goldfish’s attention span is thought to be about nine seconds...but I digress…)
   TOP TIPS: 

   • Short blocks of text, bulleted lists, headings and subheadings (brownie points for bolding) are your best friends when blogging. 

   • Keep in mind - you basically have about seven seconds to capture your readers’ attention – ultra long paragraphs and chunks of text will lose ‘em.
     
     

2. Link – embed high quality links, both to your own content and to others'. Link to older content you wrote (hello, thought leader…), link to studies and research, quote people you admire, be a resource to your readers.
   TOP TIPS: 

   • Be sure to set your links to “open in new page” so readers aren’t leaving your post.

   • Make sure you check your links – you definitely don’t want to include any broken links.

   • Find balance – don’t over-stuff your post with too many links.

   
   

If you're into inbound marketing even just a little bit, you should know the name Tom Fishburne. Founder and CEO of Marketoonist, which parodies the world of marketing in the form of comics, Tom delights with his creative take on various marketing ideologies and subtopics.

But of my many favorite Fishburne-isms, it's something he says in a recent CustomerThink interview that rings truest of all for me:

"The best marketing doesn't feel like marketing"

I couldn't agree more. In a world of research-at-our-fingertips and Google-searches-galore, consumers are savvier than ever. In-authenticity reeks, and brands that aren't true to their mission (or those who haven't taken the time to explore what their mission actually is) are going to have an increasingly harder time finding marketing that works.

Worse? Those same savvy consumers are also unforgiving. Making the wrong move with your inbound strategy could just mean the death of your brand. Don't get me wrong, we all make honest mistakes, and the brands who make them (and get caught), if they're smart, will own up and charge forward. But the brands who think they can scheme their way into the hearts and wallets of their consumers are in for a rude awakening. 

Marketing, inbound marketing, is about taking the time to:

• Understand your audience
• Think about how you can help them
• Figure out what problem you'll solve
• Create content that speaks to them
• Publish on a dependable schedule 

Content marketing is a commitment, not a campaign. 

How totally (and for some, dauntingly) true is this?! So often (too often, really), we get the same push back when it comes to content marketing.

“We tried. It didn’t work.”

My response, every. single. time. I hear this?

“OK…I understand. I really do. Would you mind sharing a bit more about how or what you tried? What did you do?”

And, it never fails. I get the same answer, time after time.

"We blogged for [insert any length of time…a month, a quarter, a year] and nothing happened."

And there it is. I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it a thousand more times – content marketing is NOT a set it and forget it project. It’s a commitment. A dedicated, consistent, concerted commitment to so much more than just writing and posting a blog. To successfully create and implement a content marketing strategy (that WORKS), you must be willing to do it all.

They say it takes a village. And nowhere does that apply more than when it comes to your content. Anyone who has managed their own digital presence will agree…just doing it at all is no small feat. Doing it well takes grit and diligence.

So whether you have a dedicated marketing team, or if you’re fighting the good fight alone, most of us can agree that any help is welcome help.

Luckily, in today’s digital age, help is out there and readily available. So don’t reinvent the wheel…take advantage of what’s there for you.

What's that? You say you don’t have time to weed through the hundreds of pages of sites claiming to make your content the best it can be?

Don’t you worry…we’ve got you covered.

Check out our current list of top five resources we can’t blog without.

You have some ideas. You want to share them. They seem interesting to you. You think others will be interested as well.

So you write and post a few blogs. And…crickets.

Why aren’t your blogs getting the red carpet treatment you thought they would? Well we at Flair Interactive gave you some potential reasons why in our #TBT April 2015 blog post, Why Aren’t my Blog Posts Generating Any Traffic? We offered some insights on how to set your blogs up for success.

Now, we’re sure you’ve since applied some of our tips to your overall approach and you’re now topping the ‘best bloggers of 2016’ list. In the event you’re not, or you’re just looking to hold that steady crown for 2017, here are a few more tips to get your blogs the recognition they deserve:

Are you putting a lot of effort into content marketing and not getting good results?

Undoubtedly, content marketing is an effective way to attract more visitors and transform them into customers. Almost every business wants to maximize its ROI, and so they invest a solid amount of time and money into this endeavor.

However, that doesn’t mean success is guaranteed since there are a lot of variables involved. Content marketing can be tricky, but there are a few ways to quickly address poor results.

We've identified five common issues faced by content marketers, as well as quick ways to resolve them. Follow some of the simple solutions below to improve your results and ROI.