Monetizing a blog
A blog considerably improves website SEO and increases the strength of the online presence of a brand. A blog can garner mass attention and go viral. It can bring business, recognition, sales, and traffic. With skilled marketing, a blog can be successfully embedded in consumers’ perception of a brand. The following list might help to increase engagement with a brand with the help of well crafted blogs.
1) Add authenticity- To turn visitors into subscribers, a blog must be filled with knowledge, expertise, empathy, and individual taste. Readers will get a sense of credibility if they find the given content authentic. Telling a story and having humanizing elements in a blog helps to build a rapport with readers. For instance, Hayat Rida’s blog, which shows her whole new outlook on life from a previous unhappy place of negative body image, is extremely popular.
2) Consistency- Customers will take note of how a business responds in these unprecedented times. So, a blog needs to be consistent as it builds trust. Do research to include pain and pleasure points that your targeted audience can relate to. Consistency will result in leads, growth and attention. Moz churns out great content in a consistent manner and has become the hub of it all.
3) Affiliate marketing- Writers often partner with a brand to promote products and earn a commission from every sale that originates from the blog. This is a win-win situation when both parties involved share the same target audience. When a brand seems relevant to the content of a blog it makes a stronger sales pitch.
4) Create interesting blog post headlines- A headline is the most important component of a blog. The title is seen first. If the title has strength, then it can lead people to read a blog even if it is not in the best line of sight. It is important to know the targeted audience well, and to understand what solutions they seek and what mistakes they make.
5) Key phrases – Adding key phrases will help searchers track down your blog and get the answers you are looking for from it. Keywords should match the interests of the target audience. If it is a fitness blog, it could be something as uncomplicated as ‘fitness enthusiasts’. If the business is a hairdressing salon, a longer key phrase such as ‘ where to get a haircut post the lockdown’ might affect the rank of a blog positively.
6) Variety- A blog does not have to restrict itself to the written word only. It can include images and videos. Videos and images boost engagement. It is important to mix it all up cause not everyone likes to consume content the same way. Creating images would be better than using stock photos, as this would add a personal touch.
7) Avoid clutter- Trim the fat in the blog. Avoid using unnecessary words that have no real value. Clunky phrasing can confuse readers and turn away potential customers. Content should be powerful and devoid of clutter to enable generation of leads. Distracting images also lead to negative user experience. This can hamper conversions.
Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR, a leading PR agency.
