Features

The world’s most successful bloggers can influence the masses and amass massive amounts of money seemingly at will. But how do these ultra successful and popular bloggers do it? How do they convert possible readers into fans and followers and then monetise the process so well?

In this post we’re going to explore the nine techniques, identified by John Stevens at problogger.com, that they tend to employ so you can learn from the best and improve your content marketing strategies.

9 Conversion Habits of Successful Bloggers

1. Opt in sign up forms are a must – Commonly a successful blogger will use more than one opt in box to sign up users emails. Some implement pop up boxes when a user is attempting to leave their site, many will include an opt in box at the end of each blog post, some will include a sign up box in the right hand column of the blog, some as you finish reading an article and attempt to scroll back up a page and some will deploy a prominent opt in form on the homepage.

The key depends on the market and audience you are targeting. In some markets, such as on marketing blogs, an aggressive approach may pay dividends whereas in less commercial spaces like recipe blogs, a pop up hungry strategy would be off putting. As such it’s important to ride the gap between annoying and productive, with not too many pop-up subscription boxes to frustrate your audience, but just enough to be effective. In short “Know thine market!”.

Not sure how to add a pop up opt in form to your blog for free? Then this video tutorial is just the ticket.

2. Focus on Above The Fold content – Successful bloggers also optimize the above the fold parts of their page (the area you see on your screen before you have to scroll) so that you understand who they are, what they are about and what you will learn from them if you stick around. They also include social proof like testimonials and awards, so you’re not just taking their word for it, whilst also providing an easy to understand opt in form that promises a specific outcome.

This example from conversionxl.com is a case in point. Note the simple bullet points that first explain their offering before promising a desired outcome. The opt in email box does a great job of explaining what you get (the bribe) in return for your email address.

3. Content is easy to share – They make content easily shareable on different social media platforms, so getting their name out there and earning links to their blog (SEO important). Most people are time poor these days so you need to make it easy and simple for your users to share.

Jeff Bullas does a great job of this on his homepage. Note the left hand social media counter that provides multiple social sharing tools with visual, numerical social proof.

4. Welcome mat overlays – Many successful bloggers also use overlays when you first enter their blog. These overlays allow the user to sign up quickly to whilst explaining the outcomes of why they should. Unsure what I’m talking about? Then watch this short video on how you can install your own welcome mat overlay.

5. Static Homepage – Rather than sending users straight to the latest blog post, a number of successful bloggers now direct users to their homepage and, if the user is a repeat visitor who has been cookied, will personalise the content the user see’s.

6. Social Proof is key – Successful bloggers often get people of authority to vouch for them through testimonials, showing prospects from the get go that they are an authority in themselves on their given subject. In addition they will include media mentions, i.e. As seen on Oprah, Letterman, 

Susan Harrow of PRSecrets.com is an excellent case in point.

7. Start Here Page – By using a start here page, they give new readers clear instructions about who they are, what the blog is about and where a user should start on the blog depending on their particular situation.

8. Well Designed Footer Area – They utilize the footer of their blog to help drive users to their best evergreen content as well as contact info, social proof and opt in forms.

9. Clear Calls To Action – They use eye catching, color contrasting, calls to action so a user’s eye is drawn to the action the blogger wants them to take, i.e. sign up here, get started now, etc. 

Key Takeaways:

• There is a greater importance now more than ever on conversion.
• Keeping consistent and proven habits can make a big difference to a bloggers success.
• The worlds most successful bloggers got to where they are with discipline and learning about their consumer base.

“Sharing might sound intuitive to us marketers and bloggers, but your average reader might never share your content unless you make it seamlessly easy to do so.”

Read more: https://problogger.com/the-9-conversion-habits-of-the-worlds-most-successful-bloggers/

Are you struggling to have a rinse and repeat winning social media formula? Do some social posts fly with retweets, likes and shares whilst others die a stone cold death? If you’re in this boat you might want to look back over your content and look for patterns amongst the content that had high engagement against that which didn’t. 

The following points are all the result of a deep analysis performed by the hootsuite.com social media team. 

Takeaways from High Performing Social Content

1. Short Copy Wins – Generally speaking, summarizing complex text can be difficult, but it is important to be very concise with the content you curate, especially in headlines and titles. In other words, short and sweet wins the race.

2. Be True To The Content You Share – If you know that you have good content, there is nothing wrong with sharing the same post twice. Think about how you can appropriately simplify and/or change the title the second and third time round when reposting.

3. Numbers Rule! – Social content and posts that have numbers in the title perform extremely well. It helps to shorten the title and is easier for the viewer to skim.

4. What’s In It For Me? – For a post to be successful, the audience/viewers will want to know what they will get from taking the time to read the post. Make sure that audience knows from the get go how they will benefit from reading your post. Think the features, benefits, advantages copywriting paradigm.

5. Test New Social Formats – Trying out new ways to format your content is a valuable way to repurpose what you already have, while testing what does and doesn’t work. Can you make a funny animated gif out of a longer video? Could you repurpose a team discussion via Facebook Live? How will you know until you test, analyse and adapt?

6. We Are The Robots…Not – Sorry to go all Wayne’s World on you there, but we are still in the age of the human (just) so be true to yourself and your team. Provide a value to your audience by being human and relatable.

7. Everyone Loves Free Stuff – People love getting free stuff so offering giveaways is an easy way to have your audience engage with you.

Key Takeaways:

• The most effective and user friendly social media posts are more often than not short.
• Including how the audience gains from a post will increase its effectiveness.
• Giveaways are always great to attract attention to a cause and your platform.

“These days, you don’t need a film degree to make an excellent social media video.”

Read more: https://blog.hootsuite.com/lessons-from-top-performing-social-posts/

Content on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter used to mainly focus on pictures. But in the last few years these social media giants have made it simple and easy to post videos through users accounts. It’s gotten to the point where if I see a still image on my Facebook feed I’m kind of stopped in my tracks (good interruption marketing!) because it’s a pattern break, such is the prevelance of video now on these social channels.

Video Content = Emotional Connection + Reduced Brain Strain + Faster Processing Speed

Videos are considered by many marketers to be the highest quality form of content. In fact psychology plays an important part in the process as the human brain is said to process video 60,000 times faster than text. Think about that for a second. 60,000 times faster. That’s a huge differential in the way the brain processes information.

In addition video requires less of a cognitive strain on those cerebral pathways and creates an emotional connection with the audience. All combined, these are key reasons why video has become so key to online marketing campaigns.

Twitter’s Video Options

Twitter has made some interesting developments in this field over the last year or so. Users now have the ability to:

1. Stream Live Recordings – Great for those intimate “this is where I am, this is what I’m seeing, I think it’s of value to you too dear Twitter follower” moments.

2. Post Pre-recorded Videos – Great for those that like to spend their time in post production ensuring the right message is delivered in the right light with added audio clarity…That’ll be me then.

3. Short Looping Videos – Posting any video under 6.5 seconds to Twitter will ensure they loop it into a never ending, till the end of time, Mobius strip kind of undertaking.

Someone did it to this legendary Darth Vader edit for 10 hours of farcical youtube fun…until the powers that be deleted it.

So far, so off the point. But the key to remember is that videos of under 15 seconds are the best performing kind on Twitter.

If posting to Twitter there are some key points to keep in mind:

1. Mobile Audience Friendly: Creating a video is one thing but creating a video that engages people is completely different. So ensure you optimise your videos so they work on mobile devices. Keep them short and sweet so they engage in the first few seconds…no over elaborate branding intro. Get straight to the point and ensure it’s silent friendly. Captions and subtitles are a must.

2. Welcome Content Suggestions: Let your audience be your guide. Find out what they want to know more about and deliver it. Run polls or simply ask your followers what they are interested in. Maybe its behind the scenes footage or some gap in their knowledge base they need filled. Whatever it is, ask and then deliver.

3. Match Videos to Live Events: Pre-record or live stream from a given event to add your voice to an existing Twitter conversation. Think of live festivals like Glastonbury or the Olympics, how can you chime in with a video that connects?

4. Weekly Videos: Just like TV, if you condition your audience to expect a weekly video that entertains, educates or inspires, then people will tune in for it. Do a little pre-launch promotion, get a bunch of videos pre-recorded and edited and away you go. If you can solve people’s problems in the process then all the better. Research what problems your prospects are having, look in forums, FAQ’s, etc, and go about delivering short videos that solve those problems. Week by week, inch by inch, you build an audience that values and trusts your thought leadership.

5. Say hello to new followers: What better way to build instant rapport than by taking the time to great each new follower with a personalised video. Just be honest and real, no fakery!

Video is a key content marketing strategy that should be employed whenever possible. Find a rinse and repeat process path that works for you so you can create high quality, informative video content at scale but at an ROI friendly price point, and you can take your content marketing to the next level. 

Now relax with 10 hours of the Cantina band from Star Wars on a loop!

Key Takeaways:

• Creating live and short looping videos to post on twitter is a fun way to share your social activity.
• The majority of Twitter users will view your media on their mobile device.
• Letting users suggest your content and aligning content with major events are effective ways to increase your Twitter traffic.

“Using live video lets you capture moments on the go and take advantage of Twitter’s real-time nature.”

If you have a product or a business then you know how important good marketing is. There are a lot of different social media platforms that you can advertise on and they are all good in their own way and for slightly different things.

To pick the best social channel for your product or service largely depends on what you are offering and who your target market is. Each platform offers slightly different targeting possibilities however, for me, there is one that stands head and shoulders above the rest and that is Facebook.

The level of personal information people freely give up to Facebook and the way they monitor user behaviour both onsite and off the platform is in part staggering…and creepy. However, for advertisers like us, it is an absolute boon and needs to be part of your marketing mix.

How to run an effective Facebook Ad campaign

To run an effective Facebook Ad campaign there are some things that you need to do:

1. Define your KPI’s at the start – Do you want new leads, higher engagement with your content, more engagement with your existing audience, more direct sales to your ecommerce store…
2. Custom Audience – Use your existing mailing list to find past and present customers/leads, load them into Facebook and get them to like and follow your Facebook page.
3. Copycat Audience – Use your custom audience profile to find prospects who share similar demographic and buying behaviour traits.
4. Post more than once a day and at times when people are on the platform.
5. Don’t post in the middle of the night, unless this is when your target audience is online, as few people will see it.
6. Don’t start campaigns late in the day or Facebook will burn through your budget in a very short time.
7. Install the Facebook Pixel on your site so you can optimise campaign performance and get the most bang for your buck with your campaign budget.

Key Takeaways:

Advertising with Facebook ads can be time consuming and cost a lot of money if you don’t know what you’re doing.

• To help increase engagement with your Facebook ad, provide free additional information, utilize your email list, and target returning visitors.
• To start a Facebook ad campaign, select the campaign objective which best meets your KPI’s.

“Before creating your Facebook campaigns, take the time to define your campaign strategy and where in your sales funnel you can use Facebook ads to grow your business.”

Read more: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-set-up-an-effective-facebook-ad-campaign/

If you are working on a new website design, make sure that you are make a strategic search engine optimization plan before getting started. This can be a tricky thing to do as there are so many routes to go.

SEO is a way to get your target prospects, the people that you most want, onto your website. These are the people that are more likely to become customers. Some SEO planning at the vert start will help to ensure that your wider strategic plan is both focused on and implemented.

Make sure that you know the technical SEO areas that your web developers need to cover. For example,

1. The makeup of your robots.txt file,
2. The site wide navigation plan,
3. The meta data mark up and optimisation for each page,
4.  The user navigation pathways,
5. The site speed testing – will you be using a cdn? Will you be rendering data via Javascript? If so what impact will that have on page load times?
6. The agreed compression standards of images loaded to your media library,
7. Are you going to launch as an HTTP or HTTPS url?
8. Are your web developers implementing canonical tags?

You want to make sure that you have everything fixed before you launch or the people that do come to your site will not come back. You also need to make sure your design, look and feel are all agreed from the start as you do not want to get toward the end of your development timeline before changing your mind.

Key Takeaways:

• It’s important to understand what terms describe your mission statement and then decide if those terms are being searched online.
• When identifying customers, it’s important to know their demographic, needs, roles, motivations and if there are likely to be more or less of them over time.
• Sussing out the competition means identifying those that outrank you on online searches as well as those who are fulfilling the needs of your customer base directly and indirectly.

“After you identify your classic marketing ‘value proposition,’ next comes working out how you communicate it online.”

Read more: https://moz.com/blog/strategic-seo-decisions-before-website-design-build