Blogging is no longer seen as a way for bored, stay-at-home moms to entertain themselves during naptime; moreover, it’s now a viable way to build rapport with consumers and, when all is said and done, bring in additional cash. Seriously, marketing agencies are now blogging both for themselves and their clients more than ever before.
Honestly, when taken at face value, none of this should seem too difficult. All that’s needed is a solid platform from which to blog and a few posts here and there, right?
Wrong. It’s much more than that.
In fact, if you and your brand begin blogging with the mentality that it’s a “Set It and Forget It” sort of endeavor, you’re in for a world of hurt. Simply put, if you want to avoid looking like a complete and total newb, there are a few mistakes you’ll need to avoid at all costs:
1) Forgetting to Think Long-Term About a Name
Blogging is a journey. Just as you wouldn’t start a cross-country trip in an old, beat-up automobile, so too should you not lack the foresight to look beyond what you’re currently writing about when choosing a domain name for your new blog.
Sure, now you’re writing about marketing agencies and how they can bring more clients onboard, but if you choose a domain name that’s heavily linked to such a finite topic, you’re setting yourself up for real disappointment once the creative juices start flowing in a handful of weeks or months.
Obviously, your blog’s title should have a great deal to do with your niche, but keep your options open. Case in point—don’t treat the naming of your blog as you did choosing an email address when you were in middle school.
2) Painful Self-Promotion
Marketing agencies know a thing or two about this. No audience wants to subscribe to a blog that does little more than toot its own horn.
Listen, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of strategic backlinking or the sharing of personal experiences or stories, but things should be kept to a minimum. Unique ideas are what draw people to blogs, not your name.
By the way, as your blog begins to grow and you start to allow for guest post activity—should you opt for such a course of action—make certain that your community of writers takes seriously your stance on editorial arrogance.
Your audience—be it through social media, a post’s comments section or the size of your email list—will most assuredly thank you for your consideration. Successful marketing agencies recognize these kinds of indicators and have, because of them, have perfected the art of blogging.
3) Not Giving Headlines the Attention They Deserve
America’s finest content marketing agencies will be more than willing to talk your ear off about the importance of headlines. Why? Well, they play an important role in earning invaluable clicks.
Believe it or not, back in the day, major publications such as The New York Times and Chicago Tribune actually had on-staff writers whose sole purpose was to produce engaging headlines for the articles their journalists had written.
Furthermore, the little kid on a stool shouting for people to take note and buy his towering stack of papers isn’t only a scene made for the movies, but something that actually happened in real life. In today’s day and age, according to experienced marketing agencies, your headline is the best promotional tactic you’ll ever use.
The basic editorial makeup of the current publishing world is somewhat different than it was a few decades back, but the need for awesome headlines hasn’t changed one bit. A simple Google search on how to write an effective headline will provide you with all you need to know to do just that.
4) Brick-Like Paragraphs
When in college, remember being assigned a disgusting amount of reading before the next class? Regardless of how studious you were, the subsequent dread that was felt could’t be avoided.
Similarly, after having opted to click on an intriguing headline, should the first thing a reader see be a page filled with brick after brick of written text, you can count on said reader never visiting your site again.
Long paragraphs are intimidating and tough to glean for the most relevant of desired information. Yes, you’re a great writer or are employed by one of the world’s most jaw-dropping marketing agencies, but in a world filled with competing distractions, the readability of your posts needs to be a real focus of yours while posts are being created.
5) Bypassing Social Media
Let’s face it—most blog posts, whether they be a product of one of America’s many marketing agencies or an individual organization—are read by few people outside of close friends and family members.
Yeah, your blog’s content might rival that of the Huffington Post, but if people don’t know about it, they can’t come to that conclusion for themselves. Help them help you and get busy with social media. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter are awesome for building digital audiences and should be used on a daily basis.
That said, it’s not necessary to be active on all of them. Choose what best serves your marketing needs, but stay consistent with it. In time, the readers will come.
As can clearly be seen, both marketing agencies and individual bloggers have much to do in order to keep themselves relevant out in the “blogosphere.” While much of blogging excellence is learned through experience, set yourself up for success by making a conscious effort to avoid the most common blogging mistakes.
