A well-to-do father once reproached his son for “shady financial dealings” and “improprieties with another workman's wife.”
This prodigal son abandoned the opportunities afforded by his father, turning his back on higher education and government service to seek his fortune plundering foreign lands as a mercenary. His father wrote a letter lamenting the errors of his ways, pleading that he reconsider and return to the straight and narrow.
How does the story end?
We don't know.
Only the letter remains. As recounted in The Instruction of Amenemope, by Dr. James R. Black, this letter dates to the era of Ramesses III, between 1186–1155 BC.
…a few years ago, to say the least.
What's striking is that there's surely a similarly-distraught father composing a near-identical letter (or perhaps email) somewhere in the world today, well over 3 millennia later.
After all…
Some things NEVER change.
And this is precisely what I've noticed over the years receiving requests for blogging critiques:
99% of all bloggers make the exact same mistakes!
And just like that troubled father from a few thousand years ago…all I can do is write about it.
So… today I'm here to plead that you cease your careless ways and heed the following instruction, lest I continue my bereaved lamentations and furious protestations!
Let's dig into the 12 mistakes even smart bloggers (myself included) make.
Have a listen to the top 3 right here…
Read on for the full dastardly dozen…
1. All steak; no sizzle
While most people read blogs to learn something new or simply to be entertained, every reader is a potential customer, and a blog should seize every possible opportunity to compel readers into taking action.
In short, you've got to SELL your goods.
For instance, a blog could be advertising the best lead magnet in the history of the Internet, but if the pitch isn't compelling, no one's going to opt-in to get it.
Don't be afraid to plunge considerable time and effort into crafting your pitch. Write out 25 variations before choosing one. Seriously.
Blogging is one of the most effective online network marketing strategies!
Unlike traditional salesmen, bloggers can easily overcome the fear of rejection, since they can’t have a door slammed in their face. However, this also means they have to work twice as hard (at minimum, really) to get readers to actually take action.
An effective pitch should:
- Solve one specific problem.
- Be short and to-the-point.
- Provide clear instructions on what to do next.
Keep in mind that “get updates” or “free newsletter” or “email list” aren't a strong benefit to a casual browser.
Try something more like, “get X result in Y number of days…all without having to ever do Z.”
For dozens more examples of strong offers, check out this special report on writing killer headlines.
2. Vacancy in neon
Results are a product of consistency. Period.
“If you want to continually grow your blog, you need to learn to blog on a consistent basis.”
– Neil Patel, co-founder of Quick Sprout, KISSmetrics, and Crazy Egg
According to HubSpot's Marketing Benchmarks from 7,000 Businesses report, companies that blog 15 or more times every month get at least 5 times more traffic than companies that don’t even have a blog. And successful traffic generation is, after all, the name of the game.
It's difficult to achieve momentum and it's all-too-easy to lose it, so keeping a schedule is crucial. Writing your next blog post should be a regular item on your calendar.
While content creation may be an uphill battle sometimes (I’ve certainly taken a walk around “writer’s block” more than once), figure out what gets you in the “writing mood,” and then take advantage of the productivity surge.
This 3 step process capitalize on your creativity helps tremendously with inspiration.
Try batching; write two or three posts in a single session to publish them at a future time. This will not only help you maintain consistency, but will also reduce the stress of churning out last-minute content.
Finally, set expectations and stick to ‘em.
3. All hat; no cattle
“Fake it 'till you make it” doesn't mean inauthentically representing yourself. It’s perfectly acceptable to be exactly where you are in your growth as an entrepreneur.
You don’t have to be THE expert on any given topic, you simply have to be an expert in someone else’s eyes. Chances are strong you know a thing or two someone else doesn't.
“Ask yourself, what simple twist on a familiar theme will entrap your audience?”
– Andrew Davis, author of Brandscaping
Share what you're learning while building your business. Be a journalist. Chronicle your education and subsequent success all along the way. It's totally cool to be a student. You think a med student knows more about medicine than the average joe? Right.
Embrace your failures and turn them into lessons so that your readers may learn from your mistakes.
Remember Sonny Lanorias' story of going from foreclosure to generating 10k in 60 days? Just like him, you should let your audience in on the hardships you’ve overcome to get where you are today.
4. Talkin' the leg off a donkey
In order to prepare for possible objections, an effective door-to-door salesman will attempt to get to know a customer BEFORE pitching a product to understand exactly how he or she can benefit from it.
“Blogging is a conversation, not a code.”
– Mike Butcher, Editor-at-Large, TechCrunch
Blogs should not be treated as bullhorns.
In fact, blogging is closer to dating than it is to selling.
It is one of the online network marketing strategies that actually helps you build trusting relationships.
One of the biggest differences between bloggers and traditional salesmen is that door-to-door salesmen need to “woo” their prospects and “propose” just moments after they met.
Blogging, on the other hand, is a slow courtship…
So when you write a post, be sure to solicit feedback from your audience and encourage engagement. Just like your audience gets to know you a little bit better with every post, you should also get to know them!
Read and reply to all of your comments and don't be afraid to reach out over the phone or Facebook. It's the quickest way to get your audience to trust you enough to take the “next step.”
5. All form; no substance
Some people focus entirely on how their blog looks, and pay too little attention to the content.
And it should come as no surprise that failing to create genuinely valuable content is one of the main reasons why most marketers SUCK at content marketing (and get poor results).
Your blog can be drop-dead gorgeous. You can spend ages obsessing over your font selection and color scheme, but if your blog is not helping readers solve their problems, they're NOT going to return…thank you very much.
Luckily it's easier than you might think to quickly and almost effortlessly create high-value, problem-solving, and traffic-exploding blog posts.
And your #1 priority is to have people coming back to your blog over and over again, so they can slowly “fall in love” with your content. Why? So they can sell themselves on the idea of buying from you!
“Content isn't King, it's the Kingdom.”
– Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Marketing
Furthermore, you should strive to continuously and consistently deliver quality content. It is easy to lose an audience if you stop delivering value and just try to “cash in” with empty pitches.
6. All substance; no form
Similarly, your blog can deliver a metric ton of life-changing value, but if it looks like it's headed to a GeoCities theme party, you're in big trouble.
“A bad website is like a grumpy salesperson.”
– Jakob Nielsen, renowned author and web usability consultant.
Users should be able to easily get around your blog and navigate through your content.
The most valuable content in the world is worthless if the reader is unable to find it underneath a barrage of oversized images or if he/she has to struggle with gawdawful color combinations to actually read it.
Importantly, avoid the temptation is make your blog too “busy” – stuffing your navigation and sidebar with too many banners, widgets, and offers. Less is more. Simple and straightforward is always more effective.
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like – Design is how it works.”
– Steve Jobs
Your blog’s appearance and the quality of its content should be well-balanced. ‘Nuff said!
7. Don't know when NOT to quit
Most bloggers get excited, write a few posts, get discouraged, throw their hands up in the air, and say, “this isn't working for me!”
Well, I hate to point out the obvious: blaggin' takes time.
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”
– Robert Collier
Many people enter the ‘blogosphere' much like the first time they join a gym: they sign up hoping to see results in the first couple of weeks, and when those results are nowhere to be seen, they simply throw in the towel, seek refuge in a large tub of ice cream, and scoff at anyone who ever suggests they should work out regularly…
As I mentioned in The 5 Worst Traffic Mistakes and How to Avoid Them:
“Entrepreneurs don’t quit; they fail and fail and fail until they succeed.”
8. Barking up the wrong tree
I'm about to say something that isn't true, but I want to you behave like it is. Cool?
SEO is dead.
It's so dead, don’t even think about it.
SEO, or “search engine optimization,” are strategies designed to appeal to the “robots” that crawl and ultimately index Web pages. SEO tactics usually involve stuffing keywords and hunting for backlinks.
Forget all that. Unless you've been blogging for a year or have written over 100 posts, SEO is not where you need to focus your energy. Not even close.
Write for people – living, breathing folks with emotions; not target keywords.
Your readers are looking for leadership, and expect to be engaged and educated.
9. Cat ‘n gloves
Look, you're doing this to make sales.
They’re not just going to magically happen. You've got to ASK for the sale. Don't be timid about it or you won't catch any mice.
“Make the prospect a more informed buyer with content.”
– Robert Simon, Four Seasons Hotels
This doesn’t mean you should bombard readers with banners and links to your products and business opportunity.
Some people publish marketing messages—almost like a text-based infomercial—and expect readers to become customers just because they ask them to.
You wouldn’t ask a girl to marry you on the first date, now would you?
Your offers need to be naturally integrated into your content and congruently provide additional value to the topic at hand. This way readers won’t be caught off-guard when you reveal your offer, and they will appreciate your efforts to complement the information you’ve shared with a relevant, valuable product.
10. They're just not that into you
You know what they (your customers) are into?
Themselves.
Their problems. Their dreams, ambitions, excuses, and “reasons.”
Whether you’re telling a story or writing a step-by-step guide, you’ll want to pull your readers into your content.
Using “you” is a surprisingly effective way to get up close and personal with your audience.
People who read your blog will become more involved in what you’re sharing, and it will allow you to build stronger relationships with them.
Use 10x more “you” and 10x less “me” and you'll be all right.
11. Use it or lose it
Despite the fact that we live in a world of amazing technological advancements, there is still a possibility for something to go terribly wrong, causing you to lose your blog (knock on wood).
Imagine: after spending countless hours creating compelling content for your audience—knowing they’ll keep coming back for more—you log into your blog to discover your database is corrupted or someone hacked in and deleted all your content…just for kicks!
And there goes one of your most effective online network marketing strategies!
Don't let this happen to you.
Have a regular plan to back up your site and stick to it.
Automate it if possible.
Do it before tinkering with anything. Do it before updating anything.
Heck, how about you go back it up right meow?
12. Failure to promulgate and propagate
If you've spent the time to create a post, you've got to spend an equal, if not greater, amount of time shamelessly promoting and syndicating it!
“What you do after you create your content is what truly counts.”
– Gary Vaynerchuk
You’ll want to let everybody know there’s a new piece of content on the blogosphere.
Send an email to your list, tweet about it several times on the day it is published, and make sure your Facebook followers are aware of it.
Keep posting comments and new updates about it on social media on the days following the piece’s publishing, and keep sharing it until the cows come home…
However, relying solely on free traffic is one of the worst traffic mistakes you can make!
Especially when you’re just getting started.
Setting an advertising budget to promote your content—however small it may be—will allow you to quantify your results and, more importantly, scale your operations when you feel your business (and your budget) is ready for the next level.
Romancing Readers into Customers
“Always remember that before your prospects will buy FROM you, they have to buy INTO you.”
– Ferny Ceballos
In short, you need to “woo” them.
Think of it this way: you wouldn't just go running around with an engagement ring in hand, desperately chasing after random passers-by, asking to get hitched on the spot, now would you?
Didn't think so.
First you'd want to exchange numbers, go on that awkward first date, and then experience the fun (and qualification process) of a prolonged courtship, all before taking the next step.
Well, this is precisely what your blog allows you to do!
Your blog's opt-in form creates the initial attraction and gets interested prospects' contact information.
Easy peasy.
Once you've got their “number,” which in this instance is usually their email address, you're ready to turn on the romance through your follow-up and convert your prospects into paying customers.
You've got to do this right:
Tastefully not timidly, and in a value-added way. (Else you'll turn them off!)
So if you'd like to learn proven ways to romance your prospects without coming off as pushy or aggressive….
Then make sure you get access to Elite Marketing Pro’s FREE 10-Day Online Recruiting Bootcamp.
You’ll learn about the specific tools and techniques you can use to connect with prospects online, so you’ll never have to chase anyone to make a sale, or deal with cold calling and rejection, ever again.
These methods allow you to build your business automatically—where prospects reach out to you (instead of you having to reach out to them).
You can take advantage of these methods starting today—no matter how much (or little) online prospecting and recruiting experience you currently have.
The bottom line is that, in today’s age, you don’t need to be pushy, obnoxious, or overly-aggressive to build a successful business!
So don't wait a second longer to communicate your story and value to the world…
Simply click here and you'll get access to EMP's 10-Day Online Recruiting Bootcamp.
Here’s to your success!
Until next time,
Andrew Draughon
Director of Content
Elite Marketing Pro
FREE INTERNET RECRUITING COURSE
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