A Killer Three Post Content Strategy To Drive Traffic To Your Blog
You are about to discover A Killer Three Post Content Strategy To Drive Traffic To Your Blog.
This is a powerful strategy for new bloggers, and really, for any bloggers looking for better ways to drive more free traffic to their blogs.
My guest author, today, is Joe Elliott.
He’s done a lot of work with creating traction and traffic using variations of things like roundup posts, guest posting and influencer marketing.
Joe has become someone of an expert on these strategies, and I know you’re going to learn a lot from him.
So, I’ll let Joe take over from here 🙂
Special: FREE Guide… 4 Things I Did To Build My Blog Using Only Free Traffic
A Killer Three Post Content Strategy To Drive Traffic To Your Blog
Setting up your blog so that it is ready to start showcasing your content is the easy bit.
Creating content is the nuts and bolts of the operation, though.
If your content doesn’t capture your audience your blog is pointless.
People rush to get 20 or more posts, link them all internally and get them on social media to get some traction.
The truth is they are still waiting on traction.
This was me!
I have been there.
What was holding me back?
Why was I not living the freedom lifestyle?
When launching a new blog, you have to be very specific.
Have you heard the saying, “Jack of all trades master of none?”
If you are just writing for the sake of writing you are an expert at nothing… or so it appears, anyway.
You need to position yourself as an expert so that you can start to build a relationship with your audience.
To do this, your content has to resonate with them.
Today I am going to share with you a simple 3 Post Content Strategy that has traction hard-wired into its design.
Warning: This could seriously transform your blog!
Are you ready to put all the struggles behind you, and launch your blog like a superstar?
Let’s Go!
You Need To Know Who Your Audience Is If You Want Traffic
The mistake that most people make (myself included) is that they create content that they want to create… with no thought on what their audience really wants.
When checking their analytics, their jaws hit the ground when they see little tiny bumps but no proper traction.
If you are not drawing your audience to your blog like a magnet, then you will get high bounce rates and this can lead to poor Google rankings!
When you give your audience what they want, though, they will glue themselves to your site.
Your bounce rate will get lower, conversions will improve and traction will appear!
Image credit: http://coschedule.com/blog/how-to-find-your-target-audience/
What Is Your Blog About?
For my blog, my audience is comprised of new and struggling bloggers.
I know what content they like to consume and I know their major pain points.
In return, they engage with my blog!
Answer this, what is your blog about? (in one sentence only)
My blog provides actionable tips to help new and struggling bloggers improve traction to their blogs.
Your turn…
If you find yourself rambling on then you have not drilled down enough to operate or launch your blog successfully.
Example: My blog is about teaching new dog owners to raise their puppies to be well-behaved dogs!
This is clear and targets a specific group of people… new dog owners.
Who Is Your Ideal Customer?
Your end goal should be to make money.
Blogs don’t run on fresh air!
Once you know what your blog is about, repeat the above exercise.
This time, though, do it to decide who your ideal customer is.
If people will buy from you, then they will consume your content.
This will take a bit of digging.
Once you work it out, though, things will become a lot easier.
I know my ideal customer hangs out on other internet marketing blogs.
If I go there and look at comments, I will get a good idea of what new or struggling bloggers look like.
I can see how my competitors structure their content, the tone they write in, all I need to do is add my personality.
You can also look on Quora and look for questions you think your audience would ask.
Look at the results and see what the people are like.
What time do they post at?
Do they appear desperate?
Could you write an article around their question?
Lastly, enter your competitors one by one into Buzzsumo.
This will show you their most popular content.
This is content that has resonated with their audience.
Now I have a picture of my customer.
I know what they are looking for and I know where they are.
All I have to do is create a better resource and bring them to it.
If your competitor is a guru. remember to look for top performing content that fits your niche.
Most gurus write about broad topics because they have a wider audience now.
After doing this research you should have a list of top performing content ideas, questions from Quora that you can turn into blog posts and an idea of how to write for your audience…
Your Content Should Take Readers On A Journey
My name is James, I am 300 pounds and my health is at risk, I really want to lose weight.
Introducing the secret for maximum conversions…
James has arrived on your blog and he’s feeling pretty crappy because he has to lower his weight.
This is the start of James’ journey.
To get James to buy into what you offer, you must take him from point A to point B.
In between these two points, there will be little milestones that will tell him that you rock because he feels like he is on track.
Your blog content is point A, this is where you show James how you can help him.
You need to make him trust you so that he can move onto the next stage in his journey.
Your opt-in could be a lead magnet that shares a cheat sheet to a healthy diet.
Your blog content has to show James that the cheat sheet is what he needs.
If this was my blog, I would want to publish big meaty guides on topics related to a healthy diet.
I would include case studies of other dieters to help me build the trust with James.
When you think of your customer as a person, you know exactly what their problem is.
Now you can tailor your content to take the person from A to B.
A Killer Three Post Content Strategy To Drive Traffic To Your Blog
There is a common misconception that you need loads of articles to launch your blog. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
I have seen brand spanking new blogs with one article receive high Google rankings.
If you create content that really is worth it and delivers value for your audience, then it doesn’t matter how many articles you have.
If you promote your post properly then you will see the traffic needle move.
I believe we should always create content that has traffic generation in its design and that is how I came up with my three post strategy…
- Skyscraper Article – Everybody loves high-quality articles. By using this technique by Brian Dean you are ensuring your blog post is the best there is. These are very highly shared and also perform very well in the search engines because of the amount of value they provide.
- Expert Roundup/Top List Post – By showcasing experts on your blog, you are getting your content in front of a wider audience and important influencers in your niche. Most experts that have contributed or been featured will be more than likely to share and promote your post.
- How To/Tutorial – An ultimate guide or a tutorial is the best way to show your audience you know your stuff. If you create an epic guide that people get that “quick-win feeling” from, then you are on to a winner.
One thing to remember is that these posts should aim to build trust with your audience, keep their goals in mind and always remember the journey they are on.
Let me show you the best way to make these posts work for you.
Use The Skyscraper Technique To Blast You Ahead Of Your Competition
This is a technique that was created by Brian Dean at Backlinko.com.
Brian states that a skyscraper article is a blog post that is based on a proven topic.
You take the best articles on the topic and improve them considerably to make them the best out there.
Now, the research you did earlier when you were nailing who your ideal customer is, should have given you a list of the hot topics in your niche. So step one is already done… finding that proven topic!
I want you to pick the most popular topic you came across and search for it in Google. This will show you the best content on the topic in Google’s eyes.
For each of the top 10 results, take notes on what they divulge.
Do they have a lot of images? Do they use video? How well does the design complement the article?
Once you do this for all of the top 10, you will have a massive list on what to cover in your article.
Now to make sure you can make it better.
To make it a lot better you need to see if you can make it more thorough, make the user experience better (i.e. improve design), add images or videos etc…
Once you are certain that your post will blow the others out the way, then you can get started creating your post.
I mentioned that you want to design these posts in a way that encourages traffic.
The best way that you can do this is to link out to authorities in your niche.
This helps back up your claims.
Another way is to feature quotes from influencers.
I would say for your first few skyscraper articles you should include a minimum of 10 expert quotes!
Once your post is ready. just publish it.
If your blog hasn’t launched yet, no one will see it.
That is ok because you want the other two posts to go live before you start promoting.
Devote A Post To Feature Your Favorite Influencers And Get On Their Radar
You really want to provide value to your influencer buddies or potential influencer buddies.
Creating an article that puts them in the spotlight is a great way to do that.
You have two choices…
An expert roundup post… this is a post that features a list of expert tips and tricks with links to the experts. These work great because most of the experts will share your post with their audience just because you have featured them.
As a newbie with no track record, you might struggle to get the attention of some big influencers.
Don’t let this stop you.
You can still create a top list post.
Top List Posts are great because they come as a surprise to the experts in question.
Again, most will share because you have put the effort in without trying to steal their precious time.
So again, you have your list of hot topics from your previous research.
Head back to Google and insert your next topic. You are looking for list posts.
What is the highest number of lists in the results? If you see something like…
25 Ways To Get Traffic
Then your expert roundup post has to beat it. Yours could be…
75 Expert Traffic Generating Tricks
If yours is a top list, you just find a post your chosen expert has done and then put it into your own words.
Then add it to your roundup.
This should still appear like an expert roundup post to the reader.
When your post has a killer headline, introduction and conclusion… hit publish. Don’t outreach until your next article is done.
Here is some examples of Expert Roundup Posts:
- 59 Experts Reveal Their Best Link Building Tactics For 2017
- Get The Best Results For Your Next Expert Roundup – 39 Expert Tips Inside!
- 36 Content Marketing Tips from 6 Experts
- How To Get Featured On 85 Blogs In 12 Months – Blogger Outreach Strategy
- How to Promote Your Blog Content: 40+ Experts Share Marketing Tips
Teach Your Audience How To Get Instant Results
You’re on your last article, for now, you’re on fire, well done!
Pick another hot topic from your list of topics but this time it needs to teach your audience to do a specific task. Here are some examples…
- How To Create A Bokeh effect with your DSLR
- How To Get A Link From Buzzfeed
- How To Train Your Puppy To Poop Outside
- How To Make A Realistic Wound With Makeup
Get the idea?
At the end of this post, your reader should be able to take action and complete the task. This provides that “quick-win feeling” and will help build trust with your readers.
Write your post, add images, and if possible, I would advise adding a video. Video is the best way to connect with your audience. It helps speed up the relationship building process because people can actually see you. They can see how you talk and act.
Now, you do want to add more links to experts and quotes or tips. This should be used to complement the article.
This type of article is not here to be complemented by the experts.
Instead, adding these links will provide more value as the readers will have more pro tips to help them complete the task.
It also gives you another opportunity to reach out and get your content shared! Again at this stage no less than 10 quotes!
Drive Traffic To Your Blog By Reaching Out To Influencers
By now you have three epic articles waiting to work for you, but it is not enough to wait for them to get traction. You have to go out there and create the traction.
The best way to do this is to reach out to influencers and borrow their audience.
In all three of your articles, you have links and quotes to experts and influencers.
Now it is time to make this work for you and drive traffic to your blog.
Reach out to all the experts you have featured and ask them for feedback. Never ask someone to share or link to your post in the first email, this is just too pushy!
For this kind of request, you want to make sure you have a strong relationship with the person. Having said this, most people will share if they like your article.
If the person comes back to you with some great feedback you should take one of the two methods below…
- Re-word their feedback into a few sentences and ask the influencer if you can publish it as a testimonial. Social proof is so important at this stage and a testimonial from an influencer is a perfect way to help you build trust with your audience.
- If they like your writing enough to share, then this is the best time to pitch them a guest post.
By now, you should have reached out to at least 30 influencers, hopefully, a lot more. Keep this going by telling your friends and associates. They will be more than likely to share your article just because it is by you. Just because they aren’t interested doesn’t mean their friends won’t be.
Wrap It Up
That is it folks, this killer three step post content strategy is perfect to drive traffic to your blog. If you have struggled to get traction for your blog, then it would be a great time to implement this. This content strategy has traction hard-wired into it.
Outreach is so important, and you should always work on building your relationship with influencers in your niche. Always think about giving them value instead of taking from them. When you do this they will be more than happy to help you.
Thank you for reading but now it is over to you… Have you tried any of these content strategies to drive traffic to your blog?
Leave a comment below and let me hear what you think.
Don’t forget to share this article on our favorite social sites, too.
-Joe Elliott
About The Author
Joe Elliott is the founder of One Man Wiki. He has been the struggling blogger, but has now mastered his craft. He helps new and struggling bloggers start a blog so they can increase subscribers and make more money! If you want to learn how to super-charge your blog, then visit Joe on his blog. You can also connect with him on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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