How To Grow Your Business by Blogging or Podcasting
Comprehensive Tips from Amy Porterfield, co-author of Facebook Marketing All-In-One for Dummies
creativeLIVE is one of my favourite places to constantly educate myself in the world of business, marketing and public relations. Recently I attended this online course by Devin Duncan, Make Your Website Work For You, where he had Amy Porterfield present one of the segments on blogging and podcasting. Here are the notes I took, feel free to share this with anyone whom you think will benefit from it.
1. Why Blog Consistently?
Why should you have a blog?
To build brand awareness, otherwise no one is going to find you online. When people hear your name, do they know what you’re known for?
Be a go-to source in your niche
Facebook is the perfect place to be the go-to source
Blogging consistently builds your authority quickly
Get the conversations going, comment, and you’ll have a natural relationship
People want to know about your personal side, they will want to know about your husband and your son
They are always interested in what happens behind the scenes
When you’re blogging, infuse your personality into the post. Tell them who you are and what you are outside your work, this is when the relationship building really starts.
If you’re not continually putting out original content online, people are not going to sign up
The more content you have, the more leads you’ll get
List building is a huge benefit to blogging
You build your trust with your content and then people are more likely to opt in
We All Process Information Differently
Amy started her podcast in January this year.
1. Selfish, personal reason: Got tired of talking about Facebook marketing all the time
2. Strategic reason: To expand beyond just Facebook because she has a lot to share and she can reach out to a wider audience and expand her reach.
Most people learn in different ways. Since she began her podcast, people started listening to her in the car, on the train, in the gym - her email list skyrocketed.
It’s an intimate moment, all they hear is her voice. It’s a connection. In the ear, you and that person in a private moment. This goes beyond just a blog or putting a bunch of stuff on social media sites. It opens up the horizon.
How To Generate A Steady Stream Of Really Good Blog and Podcast Ideas
Are you experiencing writers block? Here are some suggestions by Amy on how to produce more content:
a. What Are The Top 5 Questions You Are Asked Frequently
When you meet people on the subway, in restaurant; what’s the one question you get asked all the time? What are questions that you get on your Facebook page? Via email?
Answer those 5 questions on your blogpost. Start here.
b. What’s a blog topic you can write about that compares _______ to _____?
One of the course participants gave an example of comparing Pilates to Yoga
This will ignite conversation. It’s a bit controversial as well… but that’s good as it gets the engagement going.
c. Fill In The Blank...Top 10 Tips To ____________
Note: Amy’s Lists Posts generate the most traffic for her!
Everybody can do a How To post :)
Really easy. It’s pretty much a must! Especially for your podcast.
Start reading logs and listening to podcasts that you think do a great job. This will get you to think outside the box.
Model the best. Surround yourself with someone more successful. Don’t copy, but find out what people are doing right and learning their strategy.
You will have a favourite blog that you follow. Don’t rip them off but observe what they’re doing right. Are they doing a lot of Lists Posts? Are they doing the comparison post? Study the best and model them. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel.
Step outside your work once in a while. Go for a stupid movie. Go to a museum. Do something different. You’ll get ideas for yourself.
Bonus tip: Subscribe to podcastanswerman.com. There are so many great tutorials out there, even if you’re not techie, you can still set up your own podcast.
These soda bottles have nothing to do with Amy’s podcast. One’s about webinars, one is about ads. It just grabs attention. Have fun with this, it’ll help you to be consistent, this got lots of engagement.
Now she has 2 podcasts in the bag because of her questions and the answers on Facebook.
ALSO, this remind people of three things
3. You care about what they have to say
Remember, people love to give their feedback online. They love to be asked their opinions. One thing to note is that you have to listen if you’re going to ask. So Amy made sure the the podcast was out the next week.
This is a really quick diagram that Amy put up. People responded on what font they liked. She asked for feedback and they gave so many great suggestions.
Again, it wasn’t all about the font. She was telling people about her NEW newsletter! Smart, eh?
Do you know it was her first time mentioning the newsletter? Doing stuff like this gets the news out there.
Another example would be how entrepreneur Melanie Duncan takes a picture of herself working on her computer - “I’m working on something secret, can’t wait to share it with you!” She’s reminding people that she’s creating content, don’t miss out on it. Come to my website, she says through her visuals.
The whole idea is to get the word out and get great feedback.
Contrast this with something that didn't work too well.
This was just too wordy and Amy was asking too many questions. There were too many options. People won’t respond if there are too many questions.
Use Twitter. Mix up the social sites.
Question: What do you do if you have TOO many ideas for blogposts and podcasts?
Answer: You take your top 10. And from there, ask people: Do you like this idea or this idea? Compare. And then, take action. Many entrepreneurs have too many ideas and that prevents them from taking action.
Amy will share the same content in a blogpost and in a podcast. But she’ll also mix it up.
You don’t want the same content everywhere. For example, write a blogpost on 10 Tips to Work Smarter with Facebook Ads. Then from there, take 3 or 4 of those tips and expand on a podcast by going deeper.
So use one medium to do a List Post and use another media to go deeper. For video, she said: Hey guys Amy Porterfield here and took them through the podcast, what to expect, what’s coming up in the pipeline, come check it out, I’d love for u to be there. She put that teaser video on it YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. She basically put it everywhere.
The reason she did a video for a podcast was because she knew a lot of people on Facebook never ever listened to a podcast before. But they would watch a video and this would pique their interest.
Think of what is it in your business that you can use as a video to tease it, and then use it across all your channels to drive traffic.
Make a video saying: I just wrote a blogpost all about XYZ. So you’ve got to come over to my blog, I’m going to cover this and this and this, come over and check it out. Short 1-minute videos will drive traffic to your blogposts and podcasts.
Try clicktotweet.com - free tool allows you to generate a tweet. Now you have a link to put anywhere - Facebook, website, etc
The whole idea is to tell people: Click this link and I’ll make it easy for you.
She uses it on her Thank You page for her webinar. If you want to tell your friends about this, click here. If you help people do their advertising for you, they’ll take action. You can even mask it and put it on your own url.
You’ve got to ask for the engagements. To go up the ranks so that iTunes will put you on a special list - new and newsworthy or business podcast. The more reviews you get and the more downloads you get, the higher you go up.
Also ask for comments on your blog. This is one area which you might not be comfortable. Do it this way, at the end of every podcast: Hey, if you like this podcast, I would love for you to help me out and write a review. All you need to do is go to this link….
If you like this podcast, I would really appreciate if you could spread the love. Just go to amyporterfield.com/love and you can spread the love. This has made a huge difference because she made it really, really easy for them to tweet.
A no-brainer. A lot of people are missing the sharing buttons. Even if you might not be spending time on Twitter or Google+ but your audience might be. Why not get the additional exposure? Every single blogpost or podcast where you have shownotes on your website, you should have these sharing buttons. Have it to ramp up exposure on your site.
Use this tool, Slideshare.net - Amy promises it will Rock Your World. People who came from Slideshare spent an average of 8 minutes on her website - that’s quite a long time, and it indicates that these are quality leads.
Take any presentation that you’ve done and upload it and people can go through your slides. You can even add in your voice if you want.
There’s also an option where you can add embed links where you can collect links from.
Amy uses SlideShare to grow her email list as well. And when a thousand people view your slides, SlideShare will boost you up and place you on their main page.
If you have any current presentations that you’ve done which is just sitting there, why not try SlideShare?
Remember, it’s great for SEO. You want to use your keywords. Amy just repurposes her content. She doesn’t create any presentations just for SlideShare, she uses those that she’s already created for her training sessions. You’ll get your leads up and get the traffic as you can link right back to your website.
Question: Can you think of content that you have right now that you can repurpose for something different?
You don’t need to start from scratch. For SlideShare - think of How Tos. Just 10 slides, and literally walk people through step-by-step on how to do something.
That’s where the brand awareness, the relationship building and the authority comes in. To become the go-to source in your field, showing people how to do stuff is the number one way to get there.
Notice she doesn’t give the answer? Everyone wants more traffic and they want to know where it’s coming from.
Every post counts - knowing every word you’re using on every post.
Teasing content and using images is another way to attract traffic to your blog/podcast.
If you want it to actually happen, you’ve got to document it.
You’ve gotta fill it in, and you’ve got to be consistent. If you want to win at this game of online marketing, you’ve got to be consistent.
If you post once a week consistently with good content (but not stellar) vs the guy who produces stellar content but not consistent, you’ll will win.
The way to be consistent is to document it. Posting a few times (and not just once) is what’s going to work. A lot of people spend so much time on their content creation but forget to spend time on marketing.
Have a process - know when you’re going to blog and know when you’re going to promote.
What happens if you’re not getting enough engagement? Try this:
What’s one word that best describes <insert something related to your niche or even something fun>
Eg. Photographer posts up and image and asks “What’s one word that best describes this image?”
Or “In 3 words, tell me how you’re going to spend your weekend?” - you have to tell them EXACTLY what you want them to do and make it as easy as possible.
Knowing your audience - you know their pain points, what keeps them up at night. Asking questions that sometimes will sting a little bit but it will get them thinking is a great way to create engagement.
Asking for advice (see examples above).
To increase engagement, ask for feedback and advice on very specific things.
You get lost if your questions are too general and people aren’t engaging.
How to Land The Perfect Guest Blogging Spot (or a podcast guest interview)
If you’re not ready to start your own podcast, try get interviewed on other people’s podcast first. Gives you the experience to work on your messaging as well. It allows you to hone in.
Get your exposure and also introduce your content to new audiences.
Find a blog that has your ideal audience, it doesn’t have to have a million people, it should however have the relevant audience.
Amy started doing guest blogs by writing blogposts based on studies. Then she moved up by writing her own posts. She got to interview top social media marketers, find out their best tips and then got invited to speak on stage, be part of their e-books -- built relationships.
When you first start guest blog posting, you may not have your best material but do it anyway. But it will lead to something. Do the work upfront. Do what you’ve got to do in the beginning. Start where you need to start and build up from there.
How Do You Start Guest Blogging?
1. Become Known In Your Niche By Creating Signature Content
You’ve got to have something different from everyone else. Amy doesn’t just talk about Facebook marketing, she talks about how to turn her fans into leads.
Check out LizDialto.com who is an expert in landing guest posts. She got on DailyLove.com, Lifehack.com and USNews.com
“Be yourself, be creative and find ways to stand out. Also remember, it’s not about you, it’s about them.”
You HAVE to tell them what’s in it for them. You have to add value to the site.
Create a “Super Power Solution” - see Derek Halpern
What makes you stand out? What makes you unique and different?
Eg. LizDialto - “willpower sucks”. Moderation, enjoyment - that’s what’s gonna get you the success you want.
People need to know more about your Super Power Solution. What are you going to do for them?
Do your research and identify 5-10 websites where you’d like to blog
This may take you the longest. Might even take you longer than writing the post.
Don’t start with a site that has a HUGE audience, go to a site which will give you a genuine perfect audience. Quality over quantity.
Use the above to find out what people are asking about. For example, Amy would key in “how to use facebook marketing for business” and see what websites come up? Alexa.com will provide you analytics of a website so you can make sure there’s traffic going to that blog.
If you can find someone to make an intro for you, ask for it.
Network on Facebook, network in real life. Instead of asking them to do something for you, ask them “what’s the best way of going about doing this?”.
Pitch your idea. Make sure you understand who their audience is and what content will resonate best.
1. Craft a killer subject line to grab their attention
2. Include the entire blog post or the title of the post and the most important points outlined
3. Keep it short and to the point
4. Link to your website and social sites
5. Follow their instructions!
1. Craft a killer subject line to grab their attention.
Remember they get hundreds of emails every day
2. Include the entire blog post or the title of the post and the most important points outlined
Amy writes the entire blog post out because this works very well for her. And if they say no, she can use it on her own blog.
3. Keep it short and to the point
People do not have time and do not want to read a novel.
4. Link to your website and social sites.
So people know where to find you. And to show that you’ve got engagement with your audience.
5. Follow their instructions!
Very important. Most websites have instructions. Don’t break the rules. You’re causing more work for them if you want to do it your way. There is a reason for the rules and guidelines and if you follow it, you’ll be able to get through the door quicker.
Dos and Don’ts of the Ask
DO include why you enjoy their site. Make sure your request indicates that you are familiar with their work or mission.
Instantly identifying why you like their site is going to create a connection. They’re going to know that you’ve read their site and you know their content.
DO include how you can be of service to them and what’s in it for them - a big one across all social media in general. Be very specific.
For example, if you wanted to write for a financial website:
DON’T say this: My wife and I have a business, this is our story, this is why I’m so passionate about your website (that’s about you!)
DO say: I’ve got 5 tips and if people take this tips and actually apply them, they could see their budgets…. (very actionable, look what I can do for your audience)
DO NOT talk about yourself or your goals or how you would benefit. This is a huge turn off.
If you’re linking them to articles you wrote, make sure those articles resonate with the audience.
The Secret to Attracting Guest Blogging Opportunities is...
…Make Connections In Real Life!
Everything that Amy has gotten is from face-to-face connections. Could be a local meet up in her town, or a paid event.
She landed a book deal with Wiley Publishers all because she got out of her comfort zone and met with people.
When you meet people in person, the whole game changes.
A Strong Platform = Free Admission
When you have a strong platform whether it’s a blog or a podcast or a video, that makes a difference. It’s free admission in their ear, on the train. It’s free admission to get into their head and become that go to source. And that’s what really matters.
Q: If I blog in 2 languages, should I keep it separate?
A: Yes, so that when someone comes to your site, it’s exactly what they’re looking for.
Q: How long should my podcast be?
A: It should be as long as it should be in order to create the impact you want. However, I do believe people want content that is short to the point. But if your content is really good and you’re teaching them something they cannot live without, they’re going to hang on. If you’re not really making an impact, it doesn’t matter how long or how short it’ll be. I try to make mine 40 minutes max. It really comes down to your audience. How long would they want it? Ask them on Facebook or experiment with different times.
Q: In a service industry, how do you give something away, but not all of it away?
A: Don’t be afraid to give a lot. Wipe that mindset and instead think in terms of what can I give them which they cannot live without and see how I can expand from that to provide a paid programme/service. If you’re skimpy on your giveaway, they’re not going to take out their wallet.
Q: Help! How do I get a team?
A: Two resources: James Wedmore and ChrisDucker.com has great content on how to build a team. Also, you’ve got to jump out on the ledge - get support before you’re totally comfortable with.
Really great content from Amy which you can immediately put into practise. Thanks Amy!
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This was part of the Make Your Website Work For You course on creativeLIVE where Amy Porterfield was the guest presenter. To purchase the course, go here. If you’re interested in more of what Amy can offer you, visit her website here.
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