The World’s Smallest Minivan at Cars and Coffee
Sally and I head to South Orange County Cars and coffee to check out all the cool cars, plus the world’s smallest minivan. That little sucker can sit six people and it no bigger than a VW Bug! from John Chow dot Com https://ift.tt/2R4HoO7 via Daniel via Blogger https://ift.tt/2CVXS8f October 20, 2018 at 07:57PM
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How To Create Audience Loyalty By Blogging
A loyal audience is very important when blogging because this can translate into some serious conversions. For example, with a loyal audience you’ll have a guarantee that you’ll keep growing as a blog within your niche. I’ll admit it can be hard to build loyalty, however once you have, it can go a long way. The problem I’ve noticed over the years is that many people don’t put enough emphasis on building their brand, and taking care of their customers. This means in the long run they have a higher chance of losing their readers to competition. The good news is we know a lot about reader loyalty because we can learn from those before us. For example, some of the best lessons I’ve learned come from authority bloggers I have networked with throughout the years. Over the years I have learned this can be split into “4” areas:
Let’s get started, and look at creative ways to build loyalty from your audience. ResearchSolid content always starts at knowing how to perform the right type of research. Through research you’ll be able to target the right audience which increases the chance of them building loyalty with your brand. I have written extensively about the importance of research, and how this can help build momentum quickly. By performing research you’ll be able to:
I believe there are “3” awesome ways everyone should use to perform the research they need. I’ll outline them quickly below: Google Search One of the best ways to find awesome keywords because you’ll find all different types of content. Not to mention, Google is great at providing a list of relevant keywords which are popular with searchers. Always try and start to type with your target keyword, and look for the others words provided by Google. Forums One of the best ways to gather popular topics, and niche relevant keywords. You have to first find relevant forums so head over to Google, and do a search using target keyword + forums. You’ll find a handful, but it’s important to only focus on the MOST popular. How do you know which ones are popular?
Once you have found the forums which provide you with all of the above, you can skim through finding topics. Hopefully you’ll know more about your audience so can focus on topics they want to read. CompetitorsI’ve used this strategy for years to find targeted keywords and popular topics within my niche. Keep in mind some of your competitors have been in the business longer so have a better idea of the topics, keywords and audience. Learn from them because it’ll save you enormous time going forward. It’s as simple as skimming through their content looking for content with the highest shares, comments and looking at how often certain keywords are used. The more familiar content you find published on the blog shows that the audience likes these types of content. Quality ContentOnce you’ve gathered the keywords, and know what to write about then putting together high quality content is very easy. You have to make sure your content is formatted correctly, and you provide the value you had in mind. It can be very easy to go off track however with solid keywords, you’ll have an easier time structuring your content. For example, your main and relevant keywords should be used as the headings as well as the sub-headings. Each time you approach a section you’ll be able to write about the target keywords allowing you to keep your focus. Here are a few more things to keep in mind: First, always make sure you provide the value you know your audience has in mind, and this is why you spent enormous time researching keywords + the right topics. Give yourself some time to write out content meaning until you have covered all the fundamentals. I often get asked the question: How long should my content be? My answer is as long as it has to in order to get the value across. Secondly, it’s important when writing content, you include the necessary elements to communicate your value. This means to include images and infographics where possible. These are two great ways to illustrate your points quickly, and efficiently within a short period of time. Third, value can only be communicated if you keep your “target” keywords, and points within your mind. This means you should always stop in between, and go over your complete master plan. Having focus will allow you to write what you think is valuable instead of going off track. Here’s something I read when visiting Neil Patel’s blog at QuickSprout.com. 96% of people decide to come back because of the quality of the content. This means the better the content, the higher the user retention. This also means you have a 96% higher chance of doing better than your competitors if you provide more value than them. In my first point I emphasized the importance of doing research, and provided some cool ways to use your competitor content to find creative material they missed out on. Find ways to make your content better by adding the following elements:
Responding to CommentsThis is a form of engagement, and respect for the people who take time to read your content. You have to keep in mind many of the people visiting are newbies which means they will have some questions afterwards. In my experience, there are two ways people will communicate the questions they have:
Whatever way they choose to communicate their thoughts or questions, it’s important you reply to them. Even though retention rate is much higher because of the quality of your content, it’s important to note that 24% of readers come back because of the relationship you have formed with them. There has to be something which distinguishes you from your competition, and building a relationship with your readers is definitely up there on the list. The good news is replying to comments is NOT tough because the interface on many blogging platforms is very easy. Another cool thing is many other readers will help answer questions because the comments posted are visible to everyone. You have the option to change up your comment box to make it more interactive. I hope by now your using a blogging platform because it gives you the option to customize your plug-ins. Add a box which is interactive, and allows leaving comments more easily. Your Brand and CredibilityYour company’s brand and credibility can go a long way in building loyalty with your customers or audience. When you have a brand people trust they automatically come to you for information. This means their first choice will be your blog to find an answer to their common problems. In the long run, you’ll save enormous money marketing because you won’t have to strategically plan how to get your content in front of people. Think about huge brands like Apple or even Coca Cola and you’ll realize one important thing… Both brands you trust to create awesome products so when you shop for a computer or go for a drink, you’ll most likely turn to them first. The point I’m making is you should always work hard at building a brand for yourself no matter what other objectives you have. Here are a few things to avoid going forward: Content without a strategy: You have to always have a clear vision about the direction you want your content marketing to flow to. Many times people will write WITHOUT having a clear vision about where or who they want to engage. Fresh content – A few months back Google introduced a freshness update, and they reward people with updated content with a boost going forward. However, you also want to keep in mind your readers, and what they are looking for. They are reading your blog to learn so it’s important you provide them with fresh ideas, content and news. Not connecting readers – Make sure you always provide a way for your readers to connect with each other through comments or social media. This is a great way to keep building your blog, and attract more loyal readers. Always include at least “4” social media buttons next to each post, and focus on the MOST popular like Facebook, Twitter, Google and LinkedIn. The good news is if your using a blogging platform, you can install a simple plugin which will add them for your very easily. Be Your Own VoiceSearchers are looking to follow someone with their own voice. Having your own voice will allow you to build a brand which is unique compared to all others. If people can resonate with your voice, then you’ll have NO trouble building loyalty with them in the long run. However, you have to always stick to the game plan because as a blogger I know it can be hard to stick to your focus and voice. The good news is that establishing your own voice is NOT hard because you are letting things flow naturally. The next time you sit down make sure you write in your own voice, and let the content flow from your mind. Speak as you would when talking to someone face to face, and let things flow naturally. Final ThoughtsBuilding reader loyalty is very important because with so much competition, it’s important you stand out compared to others online. However, I’m surprised at the amount of people who fail to utilize the strategies listed above to build customer loyalty. It’s NOT too late to start to implement the tips I’ve listed above so start doing that right now. Here’s the game plan I want you to follow going forward: Start by reading over my content again making notes about the important points outlined. When you have a better understanding of the strategies discussed, only then, will you be able to implement all of them into your blogging. I recommend NOT implementing all the strategies as once because it’ll be hard to manage which one’s actual work compared to others. Your trying to find out proven techniques within your niche which help build loyalty with your readers. Every niche will be different so you’ll have to tweak your approach going forward. from John Chow dot Com https://ift.tt/2NOow47 via Daniel via Blogger https://ift.tt/2yOVADH October 19, 2018 at 09:42AM
How To Work Less and Be Merry (Especially If You’re Over 40)
Depending on where you live, there are certain societal conventions that many of us have come to internalize. As a kid, I really enjoyed watching Saturday morning cartoons, for example. But really, was there actually a reason why Sunday morning cartoons weren’t more of a “thing”? Or early Wednesday evening cartoons? Why is it, for example, that most students in Canada and the United States typically attend school from 9 o’clock in the morning until 3 o’clock in the afternoon, Monday through Friday? Exceptions and variations exist, of course, but most of us have come to expect to see that as the “standard” schedule because that’s how it’s always been. Except it hasn’t always been that way. Just like how many students expect to have July and August off in the summer, but some schools operate year-round and other schools have different schedules for summer holidays too. The exact same kind of standard expectation extends into our adult lives. By and large, we expect to work 40 hours each week, split into five shifts of eight hours each, working from Monday to Friday. We call it the 9-to-5, because that’s the typical expected schedule… except a lot of people don’t necessarily do the 9-to-5, Monday to Friday type deal. Maybe they work Sunday to Thursday. Maybe they work 10 hour shifts, four days a week. Maybe they pile on 60 hours or more to make ends meet or to stay top of mine when an opportunity for a promotion comes up. Conform to the System?But why? Especially if you end up spending several of those hours daydreaming about how you’d rather be spending your time. And if you do, you’re not alone. And as it turns out, research might be on your side about this whole “working less” idea. A news article on Simplepost cited a recent study from the Melbourne Institute’s Working Paper Series. The study concluded that people over the age of 40 could be way better off if they shifted from a typical five-day work week to a three-day work week instead. They say that by working fewer days (and fewer hours) each week, these “older” workers would still be productive but they’d be less likely to burn out. The study looked at over 6,000 Australians over the age of 40, getting the volunteers to perform a number of cognitive tasks. What they found is that as people worked more, their cognitive functioning improved, but only up to around 25 hours a week. Beyond that, cognitive functioning actually worsened. This means that working up to 25 hours a week is good for your brain. It keeps you sharp. After 25 hours, though, you likely suffer from fatigue and set yourself up for burnout. Working a 40-hour work week is better than not working at all, in terms of cognitive performance, but working over 55 hours a week is actually worse than not working at all. Working Less, Making MoreYou can see how this all relates back to the appeal of the dot com lifestyle. Remember that John originally set out on this journey to discover if he could make a full-time income from part-time blogging. Seeing how he’s raking in six figures a month, I’d say he has accomplished that mission. Working less doesn’t necessarily mean your income has to take a hit. Instead, it’s about figuring out how to work smarter and deciphering how to get your business to keep generating money for you even when you’re not actively working at it. That’s the beauty of passive income. So, while we may look up to the incredible hard work and dedication and innovation of amazing entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Casey Neistat, working excessive hours might not necessarily be in our best interest. You still have to work hard, of course, but you’ve got to give that brain of yours a break sometimes too. Or, as John put it after partying hard with Gary Vaynerchuk at Affiliate Ball, what’s the use of “making a six-figure monthly income if you don’t have time to enjoy it?” from John Chow dot Com https://ift.tt/2RXcd8N via Daniel via Blogger https://ift.tt/2pZsKwc October 18, 2018 at 10:42AM 10/17/2018 0 Comments Why Just Blogging Is Not Enough
Why Just Blogging Is Not Enough
When I first started publishing content on the Internet nearly 20 years ago, I had no real ambition to make any money at all. It was just a hobby and I’d be thrilled with I’d get a message from just one random stranger. My words were actually reaching real people all around the world and this was an incredible power I hadn’t ever experienced in my life before. The Internet has been truly remarkable in this sense. And when I decided to give this “make money online” thing a go starting around 2006, the focus — outside of my freelance writing business — was my blog, Beyond the Rhetoric, which is still very much around today. Over the years, I’ve dabbled in a number of different ad networks, tried my hand at affiliate marketing, and taken on some paid post opportunities. However, whatever money I made was largely generated on the blog itself. But a lot has changed in the past decade. If you want to “make money blogging,” more and more you have to recognize that “just” blogging isn’t enough. It’s not just about using other channels as a means of driving traffic to your blog either. The opportunities have expanded far beyond that, especially since getting the kind of reach and numbers on your own site is arguably harder than ever before. Enter the Mommy BloggerThere was an article published in the Money section of the Time website that discussed “the new mommy blogger.” “But I’m not a mommy blogger,” you might say. Wait. Hear me out on this one. Even if you don’t self-identify as a “mommy blogger” and you have no interest in discussing the topics of motherhood, the key insights from this write-up should not be ignored. They’re just as applicable to practically anyone else who wants to make money from blogging, just adapted to a different vertical for a different audience. The Diversified PlatformThe first big takeaway, as you might imagine, is that making money from just your blog simply is not enough anymore. That’s not what the Internet looks like today and if you focus 100 percent of your efforts on just your blog, you could be leaving hundreds, thousands, or even millions of dollars on the proverbial table. One example they give is a “mommy blogger” named LaShawn Wiltz. She’s had a blog since 2009, but she makes a “full-time salary” by diversifying her income sources. In addition to the blog, where she hosts online advertising and sponsored content, she offers an online course of “aspiring Instagram influencers” where she charges $150 a head. If you’ve proven your success, you can leverage your success and experience into more success and more experience. There’s storytelling, sure, and there’s this “word of mouth on steroids” as Everywhere Agency founder Danica Kombol puts it, but there’s also this potential to offer “advice to the development of a vast coalition of female entrepreneurs and influencers set on not just making money themselves, but helping others do the same.” In other words, you make money online by teaching other people how to make money online. Sound familiar? And the point of making money as an “aspiring Instagram influencer” is not to be taken lightly either. Even Gary Vaynerchuk has said that the power of online advertising — via podcasts, social media, YouTube videos and more — is still greatly undervalued. There’s still a lot of money to be made and we’ve only seen the tiniest glimmer of what influencer marketing can become in the very near future. Make a Name for YourselfIt’s not just about sponsored content on your blog. It’s about sponsored Facebook Live videos, sponsored Instagram stories, sponsored Twitter discussions, sponsored YouTube videos, sponsored podcast episodes, sponsored mentions in an e-book or e-course…. the list just goes on and on and on. You need to do more than “just” blogging. When I first started blogging professionally in 2006, it was still the very early days of Facebook and Twitter. I had accounts on both platforms, but I used my Facebook business page mostly as a broadcast tool to announce when new blog posts had gone up. Today, I actively share content from other creators, actively elicit conversations with followers, and engage much more on the platform as “Beyond the Rhetoric” and not just as “Michael Kwan.” You can say the same about Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and every other social platform. Broadcasting isn’t enough. You need to engage. If you want your blog to be a profitable business, you have to treat it like a business. And just like a business, there are many more moving parts and opportunities involved than just your core product. from John Chow dot Com https://ift.tt/2EEoWuL via Daniel via Blogger https://ift.tt/2QVHCqY October 17, 2018 at 09:52AM
How To Increase Your Blogs Domain Authority
Domain authority is very important when building an online business especially when you want to generate organic traffic. For those of you NOT aware “domain authority” refers to the entire value of your domain as established over the years looking at such elements like size, age and link building patterns. It’s hard to manipulate simply because you are looking at so many factors which all have been combined, and make sense at the same time. I’m surprised at the amount of bloggers who don’t pay close attention to domain authority, and suffer in the long run. A high domain authority is a cool way to increase your worth quickly within the search engines increasing your organic traffic. Today, we’ll be exploring domain authority, and what I’ve learned over the years regarding the importance it plays. I’ll like to discuss some practical ways to increase your authority so you start increasing your rankings within the SERP’s. Let’s get started, and your feedback will be greatly appreciated. On-Page SEOAll great websites start with a solid on-page SEO portfolio. Without it, you’re going to have a hard time getting noticed within the SERP’s, and even indexed by Google. The good news is that doing your on-page SEO is very easy because you have to focus around a few solid keywords. If you do a quick Google search, then you’ll be able to find enormous resources on how to do this correctly, however I’ll explain a bit right now so you can get started. First, it’s important you have a handful of solid relevant keywords to work with. This will allow you to guide your on-page SEO better. Next, you have to worry about “3” areas of your on-page SEO:
When writing out your title it’s important you follow the character limitation. This number is usually around 60-65 characters, and must be relevant. It’s also very important because the text here gets displayed within search engine results so the more accurate, the higher chance of getting a click-through. Secondly, the description also gets displayed within the search results, so it’s important this is as relevant as possible. I like to include relevant keywords which are popular because this increases the likelihood of a conversion. The keywords section is NOT that important, however it is optional to add some relevant keywords around 3-4. Next, Make sure you have switched your permalinks to “post name” if you are using WordPress. What does this do? It will show the title of your content within the URL, and this is extremely important when your site is getting indexed. The good news is you have added relevant keywords into your title so your URL should be relevant automatically. Remove Poor Links to Your SiteThis is very important especially after Google introduced algorithm updates which target poor links to your website. Many people tried to manipulate search results by bulk linking from poor quality sites to their pages, however this is NO longer something which helps with rankings. Google has become smarter, and knows high quality content always attracts high quality links. If you have an enormous amount of low quality backlinks to your site, then it’s time to remove them from your profile. Google has provided you with a tool to streamline this process, and it’s called the Disavow Tool. How does this work? Simple… You go through your link profile using GWT (Google Webmaster Tools), and make a list of external backlinks which you feel are hurting your rankings. It’ll take some researching, but the end result can definitely help increase your overall domain authority. Once you have a collection of links you feel are hurting your domain authority, you can submit them to the Google Disavow tool using a .txt editor. Head over to Google search and do a quick search on this tool, and you’ll be able to find enormous tutorials which will guide you through the entire process. Remember,
Internal Linking StrategyThis is very important to help build the overall strength of your domain because you are pushing the authority of internal pages. Google has gotten smarter, and now ranks site which have a high overall score, and NOT just those with popular single pages. Why have they switched to this approach? They switched because bloggers would build links to only one of their pages, and forget the rest of the website. They would write awesome content, publish it, then hope to rank that page to increase ROI. Google, over the years, because their very familiar with this approach now require a solid internal linking strategy, and external links to every page. This will ultimately increase the entire domain authority of the website. It’s a great way to ensure you don’t get penalized going forward, and continue to be an authority blog in the future. Here are some things to pay close attention to going forward: First, make sure you write valuable content every time because this will increase the amount of linkable content on your site. The more value you provide the higher chance others will link to your blog. Secondly, each time you write it’s important you link out to some external sources because they get pinged whenever they have a new external link. They’ll MOST likely check out your website when they get alerted, and if they like your content they’ll link right back. The fact you linked out to an authority source means you’ll get an authority link back if they decide to do it. Third, you want to make sure if you are building external links to your website that you build from authority sources. One of the best ways to get the right type of links from influential sites is to guest blog. This gives you an opportunity to write content on a relevant website, and link back to yours at the same time. It’s an awesome strategy which I have been using for years. Social SignalsOver the years, Google is finding new ways to rank content, and build domain authority. This means new marketing methods are becoming more dominant. For example, one of the best ways for Google to determine what domain is valuable is by looking at the social signals. The more people share a specific content the more value it obviously provides. Next, Google will give those with higher social signals privilege within the search results because it ultimately increases the user experience. Next, It’s important you target the right social networks because some might do harm rather than provide a benefit. For example, by targeting a poor social network you’ll find people who are simply trying to build a profile of followers to sell advertising space to. This means your content will be shared on poor quality sites which can lead to low quality links being sent to your page. Instead of helping your domain authority, it can cause it to decrease which is why Google now gives you an efficient way to remove toxic links. Here’s what I recommend you do going forward:
Social media has become very important, and Google knows this which is why they give enormous ranking authority to them. When you share content it’s a great way for other authority bloggers to find your content which encourages them to link back adding value to your domain authority. Give It TimeAfter you have implemented the strategies above, it’s important you give the entire process time. Google will never rank your new website within a few weeks because you haven’t built your credibility yet. It takes around 3 months for your new links to get indexed and another few months to start building authority. It’s important you stick to the game plan because if you DON’T then you might give up right before you were going to see an enormous boost in your rankings. Here are a few pointers:
Final ThoughtsIn the end, it’s important you have a solid domain authority because this adds value in all aspects. For example, when you have a high DA, bloggers want to link to your content, purchase from your website, and will trust your content as a valuable source of information. I’ll admit it does take time when you are first starting off to build this, but any serious blogger will tell you: If your serious about blogging, and passionate about your niche, then you have nothing to worry about. Here are a few things to do right now to get started: First, read over this content and write out the elements you haven’t started to implement into your blog. Secondly, you need a way to track data so install Google analytics because they’ll provide everything you need to find out like what content is popular, where your audience is and the search queries. Next, You have to implement the strategies which are missing within your blogging or website because they’ll help increase your domain authority. Start by implementing the ones you can and keep track of how they improve your overall DA. It’s important to keep writing high quality content which is linkable because the more links you can get the higher chance of having your website indexed quicker. As mentioned, writing content more frequently is a great way for Google to index your content so keep a solid content writing schedule going. You can log into GWT to look over your current link profile. After, use the Google Disavow tool to start removing links which are harmful so you can build a solid high quality profile. From inside GWT, head over to search, then internal links to find your complete profile. Here are some final tips:
from John Chow dot Com https://ift.tt/2pVcJrd via Daniel via Blogger https://ift.tt/2pYpxNj October 16, 2018 at 09:07AM
Reputation Is More Important Than Information Now
I still remember when I was a kid, if I was unsure about the lyrics of a song and I totally misheard them, there was no real way for me to verify them. So, I’d go about my days and weeks and years, singing along with totally the wrong words. For the longest time, I thought that they were saying “psychosomatic, Alan Kinzane” in “Breathe” by The Prodigy, wondering to myself who this Alan Kinzane fellow was. Finding Correct InformationI remember playing “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego” on the computers at school when I was younger too. I remember having to locate the world almanac somewhere in the classroom so I could find out which country had “lira” as its currency. If I wanted to find a book at the library, I had to go through a physical card file, and the “facts” in that book could easily be over a decade old. And then the Internet arrived and evolved, and it changed everything forever. These days, we have practically all of human knowledge from practically across all of human history literally at our fingertips. No more misheard lyrics or arguing over trivial facts, because all of that is solved with a quick Google search or with a visit to the Wikipedia page. But there’s a problem with that, because the gate keepers to information aren’t really there anymore. But Who Said It?Anyone can have a voice on the Internet, which is good. But it is also bad, because it means that a lot of misinformation can be spread too. You’ve probably heard the term “fake news” tossed around a lot recently. The vast majority of people take what they read online at face value, judging it first by who actually said or wrote it. The reputation of the person or publication supersedes the actual information itself. Italian philosopher and tenured senior researcher Gloria Origgi calls this “the reputation age,” saying how it is effectively the successor to the “information age” from the early days of the Internet. Even if you have your facts straight and you present a compelling argument, if you don’t have the reputation to back it up, no one is going to listen. No one is going to care. And no one is going to believe you. So, what does this all mean for you? You Know Who I AmAs a blogger and an Internet marketer, you need to be paying very careful attention to your reputation. It is very much tied into your credibility, which in turn is very much tied into your potential for success. You need to amass as much social currency as you possibly can so that your words hold weight. When your words hold weight, you can leverage that weight for additional opportunities. And these additional opportunities, like speaking engagements, lend themselves to putting more dollars in your pocket. When you recommend a product on your blog, through your YouTube channel, on social media or anywhere else, if you have a strong reputation, people are more likely to follow through on your recommendation (and generate an affiliate commission for you as a result). So, You’re an Expert?This is why it’s more important than ever that you work toward establishing yourself as a trusted and reputable authority in your industry or niche. You want other people to see you immediately as the go-to expert. Your reputation will precede you and that’s far more powerful than being an unknown. There are many ways to build up this kind of online street cred. You can self-publish a book, because being a published author commands a certain level of respect. And here’s the curious thing that you may have noticed even with John over the years. The more prominent reputation you earn and the larger your audience grows, the more prominent your reputation becomes and the larger your audience grows too. Success builds upon success. Facts are important. But so is your reputation. from John Chow dot Com https://ift.tt/2QR7owr via Daniel via Blogger https://ift.tt/2OYtUpX October 15, 2018 at 09:27AM 10/13/2018 0 Comments Hillbank Motor Sports Open House
Hillbank Motor Sports Open House
Sally and I attended the open house of Hillbank Motor Sports. Hillbank Motor is a premier dealer for Shelby and Superformance Cobra, Daytona Coupe, GT40, Corvette Grand Sport cars, apparel and accessories. They’re also a Caterham Dealership and recently added Ruffian ebikes to their portfolio. from John Chow dot Com https://ift.tt/2RJ4dbo via Daniel via Blogger https://ift.tt/2yBdb1G October 13, 2018 at 06:12PM 10/12/2018 0 Comments How Long Should Your Blog Post Be?
How Long Should Your Blog Post Be?
I’ve always been asked this question about content length, and have heard many different points of view as they apply to this topic. I’ve been lucky over the years to be able to network with some of the top bloggers within my niche so I can drill them about this very question. I have learned a lot, and would like to provide some feedback about what is the right length for your content. There are many things you have to consider when writing content, and you don’t want to limited yourself because you have a certain word count in mind. For example, many times I would miss out on adding value because I would be too overwhelmed in reducing content length. Here’s the honest truth, Your content should be as long as it has to in order to get your point across. When you have finished writing, ask yourself this question: Is this the best piece of content you’ve written for your readers? If the answer is “yes” then publish your content, and if it’s “no” then you have to go back making it better. In the end, There are many myths which come in the way from you producing awesome content. Let’s look at the MOST common. Myth 1 – Make Content Enormously LongThis is a huge myth because you want to make it long, and right to the point, however you want to avoid writing simply for the sake of writing. Sometimes people looking to lengthen their content will add un-necessary elements so they can make it seem like they have added enormous value. I promise you that it’s incredibility hard to fool people, and they’ll know EXACTLY the amount of value you have provided when they finish reading through your content. I encourage all of you to write lengthy content, but only if you need that space to cover all the major points. Don’t write simply because you feel it’s important to go over 2,000 words. Next, Doing this will NOT fool the search engines because they have over 200 rankings factors which look at different elements to determine the value of your content. In short, when writing content make sure you:
Myth 2 – People Don’t Actually Read Entire ContentAnother huge myth is people don’t read the entire content so why NOT make it short…right? This is incorrect, and will cost you enormous readership if you continue to apply this strategy throughout your blog. I’ve noticed that people will skim through your content the first time around then will go back and read it over to pull out the value. With so much competition and manipulative content, people want to ensure they have found the right source of information they are looking for. The last thing they want to do is read over content which is 2,000+ words, and NOT find any value because this will be a waste of time. Here’s something else you want to keep in mind, There is NO shortage of content available online so people prefer to skim through initially then go back and read over. This way if they figure out what their reading doesn’t provide value, they’ll head over to another website to find what they need. Google search has done a good job sorting out high quality from poor quality so you’ll definitely find a handful of websites which provide you with the information you need. Here’s the game plan going forward:
Myth 3 – Keywords Don’t Matter When Content Is LongerI remember when I first starting writing longer content, I was under the impressive that Google will pull out the main keywords and automatically rank me for them. The reason I was thinking this was because I had written high value content so thought Google would give me preference on specific keywords as long as they were somewhat relevant. I could NOT understand that keyword-rich content, no matter what, is important because it helps Google organize the search results. They rely on us to give them signals on what we want to rank for, and what our content is about. Keep in mind, we know our content better than anyone so it only makes sense for us to add the signals required to rank for certain search phrases. Next, Google extended this focus by tweaking the way they rank our content, and what else they expect from us. For example, you’ve probably noticed over the last several years the importance of LSI and long-tail keywords increasing. This is to better serve the search patterns of people who are becoming more precise. No matter how long your content it’s important you continue to do research before writing so you target a specific audience. It’s true with better and more value content, you’ll rank higher than others, but this has to do with all the other factors involved:
Always start with Google Keyword Planner and Trends to find what keywords are important within your niche then start building from there. With longer content, you’ll have a lot more leverage going forward to embed a variety of keywords within your content. Stick to the 3-4 percent rule when adding keywords to your content, and mix it up whenever you get a chance. Myth 4 – Shorter Content Get More Link BacksAnother huge myth is that content length doesn’t matter when trying to attract back-links from authority blogs. The truth is very simple: When you write content which provides value, you’ll be able to attract more back-links because people will want to link to it much more. As bloggers we are always trying to find other resources which provide our readers with value so will link to content as an additional resource. It’s also our duty to ensure the content we link to actually provides readers with an all-in-one solution which is why longer content is more attractive. For example, What content would you link to if you wanted to provide your readers which additional information.
If you’re like me, then you’ll link to content which provides value because this will build your credibility at the same time for providing value. We all know the power of authority links, and how they can help boost your content within the SERP’s so make sure whenever you publish content it’s the best available online. It’s that simple! Myth 5 – Longer Content Reduces Frequency Which Is BadIt’s important to keep one very important thing in mind that it’s better to publish content twice a week instead of everyday as long as the value is enormous. I learned this the hard way because I was always under the impression that posting every day is better than every 3 days which couldn’t be more incorrect. What I learned is you can have a 3-day gap however it’s better to focus on quality, and length to provide substance to your readers. This way even with posting frequency reduced, you’ll still be able to engage your readers and build momentum online within the SERP’s. When it comes time to rank content then you’ll benefit in that realm too because there are 200 rankings factors, and high quality content always performs better. You’ll attract way more social shares, links, will reduce bounce rate, and increased on-page engagement. Here’s what I suggest you do going forward, First, publish content every 2-3 days to find out how that schedule works out for you. Secondly, spread out your writing because it’s much easier to write 400 words daily because in 4 days you’ll have 1600 words which is a great length when publishing. Third, always add social buttons so people can share with their friends online especially on the big platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google +. Focusing on these networks will be better then all others because 80% of the engagement is on these networks. Finally, Have a solid way to track data and statistics so you know what’s working. We forget to track certain elements of our campaign which leads us to NOT optimize losing out on much needed traffic. Final ThoughtsIt’s time for me to provide you with the game plan going forward because this will help you stay focused. I have discussed a handful of popular myths about content length, and hopefully you’ll have an easier time writing content going forward. From the content above, you can pull out things like: content, length, research, value, and frequency. Next, It’s time to go over your current marketing strategy looking for ways to improve to better engage your readers. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen my clients make is that they’ll read about optimization strategies, but fail to incorporate them going forward. There is no point in reading this content if you’re NOT going to implement what you’ve learned throughout my content. It’s a waste of your time, and you are NOT serious about growing your blog because you would take what I mentioned seriously if you were. Here’s what I need you to do going forward when writing content. First, go back and skim through this content writing down the MOST important steps because it’ll allow you to reference what you need quickly. When you are implementing these strategies, the last thing you want to do is waste time looking for the MOST important parts of the content. Secondly, you’ll want to look through the list, and find which ones are currently applied to your content. This will make it easier for you to narrow which ones you should learn how to apply into your niche or content marketing. No need in applying those marketing techniques which are already in your content because this will simply slow you down. However, you can look at finding ways to tweak or optimize the marketing techniques if they are NOT producing results. Third, it’s time to track your marketing efforts because some will work better than others. I’ve always stressed the importance of tracking because it’s a great way to optimize everything you do in business. Some things will work better than others, and you have to make sure you spend time on those which strategies which produce results because they’ll bring you closer to your bottom line. For example, Out of all the methods I’ve mentioned above 2-3 will work better so it’s on you to find out the actual ROI. If you’re getting a higher ROI using only 2-3 strategies compared to the others, then make sure you implement only those techniques. I look at marketing as a complete trial and error game because you have to take out the time to test different things in the beginning, however after you’ll have much less work because the tedious stuff has been taken care of. from John Chow dot Com https://ift.tt/2EhEeVW via Daniel via Blogger https://ift.tt/2pSSbzn October 12, 2018 at 09:12AM 10/11/2018 0 Comments Jeff Bezos on Work-Life Balance
Jeff Bezos on Work-Life Balance
When the richest person in history (with a net worth of over $100 billion… that’s “billion” with a “B”) has something to say about what it takes to be successful, our ears will naturally perk up. After all, he’s clearly doing something right to accrue that kind of fortune and he seems to be pretty happy about the whole thing too. And understandably so, I suppose. Common Sense Is MediocreWhat you’ll find with so many of these success stories is that these individuals have a habit of turning conventional wisdom on its head. Take Tim Ferriss as a prime example. Conventional wisdom will tell you that if you want to be successful at what you do, then you need to work hard and you need to put in long hours. The guy who is first to arrive at the office and the last one to leave at night, he’s the one that’s going places, right? Ferriss, counter intuitively, champions the notion of the four-hour workweek. He strives to work less so he can achieve more. Another popular tidbit of “common sense” is that if you want to be successful, you should go to college or university and get a degree or three. I’m certainly not downplaying the value of higher education — I have one of those degrees myself and I certainly don’t think it was a waste of time and money — but then you see that some of the world’s most successful people dropped out of college. Mark Zuckerberg is a good example, but you have to remember that he was going to Harvard. Just getting into that school makes you pretty remarkable, so he’s already on another tier than most people. A Strict Trade-Off?Which brings us back to the Amazon CEO. At an awards event, Jeff Bezos commented on how he views work-life balance, since he gets asked about it all the time. He said work-life balance is “a debilitating phrase because it implies there’s a strict trade-off.” And that’s how most people think about it. If you work more, it means you have less time, energy and resources for your personal life. If you focus more on your personal life, then it’s harder to get ahead in your work. Bezos disagrees. “It’s not a balance,” he said. “It actually is a circle.” Put another way, he says these two components shouldn’t be separate and compartmentalized. Rather, the relationship between the two is reciprocal. “If I am happy at home, I come into the office with tremendous energy. And if I am happy at work, I come home with tremendous energy.” One supports the other. An Easy DecisionYears ago, I wrote that you don’t necessarily have to choose between your career and your personal life. Instead of seeking balance, we should seek work-life integration, because work and play can be the same thing. Something that has come up in this blog before is that for John, blogging and Internet marketing are fun. The huge income is just a happy byproduct and he’d still do it even if it made no money. Money can be motivating, to be sure, but it shouldn’t be your only motivation. It’s much more about the kind of lifestyle you can achieve when you shed any notion of work-life balance. Work, life, it’s all the same if both sides energize you rather than drain you. It’s just living when you don’t feel like you’re working. Maybe work-life balance just is not quite my tempo. It doesn’t appear to be the goal for Jeff Bezos and his personal life — with lots of sleep, scouring the oceasns for NASA rockets, and taking his four adopted kids on submarine rides — looks pretty rad next to his $100+ billion fortune. from John Chow dot Com https://ift.tt/2yfRDsa via Daniel via Blogger https://ift.tt/2A574o9 October 11, 2018 at 09:42AM
The Top 5 Reasons Why Your Blog is Failing
Blogging is a tough business, and many others have set a standard of what quality truly is so have excelled in the business. Blogging is tough because unlike several years ago, you have to put an emphasis on specific things which didn’t matter before. For example, there is huge importance put on value, layout, marketing, and even proper link building. I forgot to mention, it’s important you always do your research before getting started because if you don’t then you’ll be focused about the direction you should be heading in. However, you also have many resources available to you which will guide you on track, and this is where you’ll benefit where others have failed. You have to know how to utilize what’s available so you create something very special for your readers. I’ll be discussing this in another blog post, but today let’s look at “blogging mistakes”, and why you’ll fail when others have succeeded. Let’s get started, and your feedback will be greatly appreciated. The blogging mistakes listed are what I think have impacted my growth over the last few years. No Email ListOne of the biggest mistakes you can make is NOT collecting email addresses from the very start. Grabbing email addresses is a way to build continued growth, and a way to build loyalty by sending updates on new content, and trends. If you ask any authority blogger they’ll tell you it’s important to start collecting email addresses right away because it’s something, you’ll be doing later on. Not to mention, signing up with ESP providers is very cheap, and cost effective so why NOT implement a form right away. Platforms like WordPress make it very easy for you to plugin forms in different locations. Here are a few things you can do with a solid email list: First, you can send them updates on continued content being posted, and keep your brand on their mind. It’s easy for people to forget about your blog once they leave, however very hard if you send them follow-ups every few days…right? Secondly, you can ask them for their opinion which is a great way to generate topic idea’s, and even ways to improve your blog. For example, it’s common practice for bloggers to ask their subscribers to fill out a survey, then implement what others have said. Asking to fill out a survey will give you a chance to learn about the type of content people want to read, or changes they want to see on your blog. Next, Third, if you sell products or services then sending out a newsletter is a great way to generate profits. Imagine having an email list of over 10,000 subscribers and launching a product? You can send these people a follow-up about the product and generate sales almost immediately. I know many of you think implementing a form is difficult, however these days it’s become very easy. Let’s look at how you can add a form to your blog.
The point is all of this can be done within minutes, and with very little investment which is why it’s important to have a form on your blog from day one. If you don’t add a form then you can have several missed chances to build retention, and not to mention your competition will have a solid email sequence which will allow them to compete for the same traffic. No Updating or NO ConsistencyOne of my biggest pet-peeves is when I don’t find a blog I love to read updated. This means they are NOT up to date with the changing trends within my niche, and I should go somewhere else to find the information I’m looking for. You can imagine if I feel like this how many others do as well? The point is it’s important to keep your blog always consistent, and up-to-date. This should definitely be the case especially when it’s so easy to come up with solid content if you really want to quickly, and with very little time. You have so many tools which will generate topic ideas for you like Topsy.com and Buzzsumo.com. It’s all about quality NOT quantity so you can post every 3-4 days, and spread out your writing to make it as streamlined as possible. If you write 600 words every day, you’ll have 2400 words of content to publish on day four. This means you’ll have more than enough words to add substance to your content. Next, You have the option to hire a blogger or even allow for guest posting opportunities if you feel you don’t have enough time to keep producing content. Many new bloggers are trying to breakout within your niche so are more than happy to produce content for you going forward. I started out the same way, and still write content for a handful of blogs going forward. It’s important you find the right people before letting them publish on your blog so it’s important to look for the following things:
A few years ago Google introduced the freshness update to their algorithm which means they’ll reward those blogs who update frequently. Google wants to ensure their users have the best experience when using their search engine, and one way is to make sure they find the best information possible. This means it’s important to Google that they have fresh content which is updated always showing first within the ranks. You’ll benefit from this algorithm change if you post high quality content frequently. It’s that simple! Personality MattersIf you think about the people or blog’s you remember, then something will stand out. You’ll notice they all have personality or are different than anyone else within the same niche. This is very important when starting a business, and if you want to continue to grow, so establish yourself as being unique so that readers will remember the experience they have on your blog. You might think this is difficult however it’s all about being unique, genuine and authentic. For example, What defines you right now as a person is your own voice, and the way you communicate with people when providing value…right? When blogging it’s important you use the same approach, and don’t change the way you present your content to readers. Keep your voice when writing content, answering questions or even replying to comments because this will help you stand out compared to others. No Passion Involved.One reason why people fail when getting started is because they have NO passion in what they do. They chose to blog because of the money involved, and NOT because they love the industry or niche. When you don’t love what you do, you’ve failed before you even got started. Passion is what drives you when you think everything else has failed, and this will distinguish you from your competition. No matter who you talk to they’ll tell you in order to succeed in what you do, you have to love what you do…it’s that simple! Many bloggers fail because they got involved for the wrong reasons which is money alone. I’m NOT saying this is a bad thing, however, it is if that’s the only thing which matters when starting a business. Even though many bloggers will make money if they hang in long enough, you need passion to keep you pushing forward during those first few critical years when you start out. No business makes money right away, and the chances of failure increases as time goes on, however with passion involved you have just decreased the likelihood of failure. Make sure whatever blog you get involved in you are passionate about the niche. Not Treating It Like a BusinessMany people will fail at blogging because they don’t treat it like a business. If you are starting a blog to make a living, then you have to worry about the business side of things. You have to pay close attention to marketing, user interaction, user retention, and how to grow your blog. You have to know how to utilize new trends entering the market, and how to stand out compared to your competition. If you are blogging as a side business then the finer things won’t matter, however if it’s a business, then you have to pay close attention to the following:
All these matter when you are blogging as a business because in the end it’s all about the bottom line. Final ThoughtsNow that you have a few important reasons why your blog will fail, it’s time to start re-evaluating some of factors as they apply to your blog. Go through looking for areas you can improve on your blog, and start implementing changes where you can. For example, if you’re just planning on starting a blog then consider jumping into a niche you’re passionate about so you’ll continue to push forward, Next, start improving your writing so it includes your own voice, and represents you when publishing content. Every great blogger has their own voice which has allowed them to stand out compared to other bloggers. This is why it’s important you keep writing using your own voice, and make sure this can be seen throughout your blog. It’s also very important to treat your blog like a business going forward. It’s time you start analyzing your data, spend on marketing and explore options to increase user engagement. Many times we fail because we don’t find ways to improve continuously throughout out blogging career. If this is truly your business then find ways to keep users engaged by writing on trending topics, introducing new products or making things much easier. This all falls under the idea of treating your blog like a business which caters to your audience. Finally, don’t forget to use the marketing tools you have available. Always build an email list because it’s a great way to build user retention, and get people coming back to your blog. Neil Patel once said it’s very hard getting 200,000 people to visit your blog unless you don’t have a way to get them back which normally means to have a solid email marketing sequence. ESP’s (email service providers) are very cheap so it’s something you should add to your blogs marketing strategy, and track results to find out what’s working. from John Chow dot Com https://ift.tt/2OfpPy6 via Daniel via Blogger https://ift.tt/2QFmsgx October 10, 2018 at 09:22AM |
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