Very few things are more frustrating than brainstorming blog ideas when you’re suffering from writer’s block. You just sit at your desk and stare at your desktop screen. Your mind is a total blank—it’s like you’ve forgotten how to link words together to form a coherent sentence.
Inbound Marketing Blog
Truth be told, I’ve never fancied myself a writer. I would classify myself as a reader--someone who enjoys reading fiction and non-fiction book, blogs, and stories. I’m not bad at writing, and I don’t dislike the thought of having to write a blog or any kind of content to be put on the internet, I just never thought of myself as a writer in the way I had perceived that title.
Let’s be honest - if you aren’t blogging, then you need to be; and if you are blogging but don’t see the benefit, then it’s time to re-evaluate your blogging strategy.
There are a number of ways to determine the ROI of your blog, and those ultimately depend on your goals. However, we’ve determined one way that may help you in determining if you are getting the ROI you need and what’s included in that calculation.
See, here’s the thing: if you are only blogging for blogging sake, then you are going to see a minimal return on investment. Read on to learn about what it takes to get a maximum ROI for blogging.
It's unfortunate that we continue to see common misconceptions about the merits of blogging. Blogging may have gotten a bad reputation over the years, with (it seems) everyone who has an opinion having a blog, sharing their educated (and sometimes uneducated) opinions to the “blogosphere.”
Although that particular kind of blogging can be unprofessional and (many times) unimportant clutter, company blogs are actually a great way to upload fresh, relevant content to your website.
Did you know: Search engines like Google LOVE valuable content and reward you for it? Search is not all about keywords anymore; it’s about creatively combining keywords, context, and topic. The more you do this, the more Google will love you and show you through increased rankings and impressions.
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Confession: I am obsessed with research. I will spend hours poring over information to ensure that I have all the facts and angles figured out.
I also happen to be very skeptical when doing research, wondering: Who’s credible? Is what I’m reading just a ploy to convince me of something or are there others who agree?
That said, I am a huge believer in reading reviews, Googling additional information, and… checking the comments section.
If your company has been blogging for years, you have likely had many campaigns that have inspired blogs posts. But now that those campaigns have ended, you may be wondering: “What purpose do these posts serve now that my campaigns are over?”
Besides the obvious SEO benefit of blog posts, there is another benefit to keeping them in your repertoire: You can recycle them.
Here are a few ways to repurpose your old content to drive user engagement and traffic to new campaigns.
Safe content sucks. It certainly isn’t a revolutionary statement. It’s actually a pretty obvious statement. However, the concept becomes extremely daunting when you think about applying it to your veterinary practice’s marketing plan. You’re probably thinking: “Damn it, Jim, I’m a Doctor, not a risk taker.” (if you got that reference, I like you already).
Imagine this scenario: You publish a blog on your prestigious and professional site about….
Dog crap.
In my first writing job (at a college newspaper, mind you), I learned that I should write to an eighth-grade reading level. When it comes to writing marketing content for the web, I actually recommend writing to a fifth to eighth-grade reading level. Not because I think every reader is an uneducated dope, but because people consume content differently on the web. Even the person who can read "War and Peace" without picking up a dictionary, consumes web content under different conditions and with a different purpose than when they are feeding their intellect with classic Russian literature.
Bluffing Hipster Blues
Some of you may remember the joke that Jimmy Kimmel played on Coachella attendees a couple of years ago. He had a camera crew ask these people about a bunch of bands that didn't exist. The interviewees pretended to know all about these groups and how awesome they were.
It's a really funny bit. In a way, though, it's also a little painful. Some of you may have tried bluffing your way through a conversion on some topic you didn't know anything about. I've done it myself, so it makes me wince to see those folks get caught doing it.