How to Grow a Blog to Millions of Pageviews – Jillian Tohber Leslie

Wouldn’t you love to have millions of pageviews?

In this week’s episode, I’m on the line with Jillian Tohber Leslie. Jillian founded Catch My Party with her husband in 2009, and it’s now the largest party ideas site on the web. This site gets over four million pageviews every month. Yes, I said MILLION!

Listen to This Episode

In 2015, Jillian and David built a custom popup app for themselves to grow their Catch My Party social media followers. It worked so well, they launched it as their second company 2016 called MiloTree.

When I heard all of this, I knew I had to get Jillian on the podcast to talk about how she was able to build her massive audience. Her secrets? Using smart SEO, embracing the long tail, and being early adopters of social media (especially Pinterest).

Jillian’s Story

Back before she was a blogging sensation, Jillian was writing teen movies for Hollywood, and her husband was Head of Product at Myspace (remember Myspace?).

Jillian Tohber Leslie

They knew that they wanted to find a project to work on together, so they started their website as a side hustle. The idea was to create a social photo sharing site for teen girls to post about their sweet sixteens, quinceañeras, bar/bat mitzvahs, and other parties.

So they hired a team of developers in Indonesia and started designing the site. It was hot pink and purple, designed to be appealing to teenage girls.

But there was a problem: how do you get teen girls to add their photos? The site doesn’t work if no one wants to put their pictures there. They tried a bunch of tactics, but they didn’t get a lot of traction.

Then, all of a sudden, they noticed that moms with Etsy shop had started putting party photos on the “teen” site. This is not the plan.

After talking things over, they decided to pivot, and they learned an important lesson: “you co-create with your audience.” There was no point trying to make a teen site happen if the interest was coming from moms.

But how did the Etsy moms find the site in the first place?

Jillian and her husband thought about SEO from the very beginning. This was before Facebook took over social networking, so there were some burgeoning, tiny social networks that were interest-based. These were places where people interested in certain topics got together, so Jillian put her site out there on those networks, too.

Catch My Party Website

Today, the people who add content to Catch My Party are all moms. “Moms are unsung heroes,” Jillian says. If a mom throws a beautiful party and posts it to the site, Jillian will try to find a way to feature it so that the mom feels appreciated and celebrated. She shows off the best ones on homepage slider and on her social media feed. It’s all about celebrating people.

Blogging for Catch My Party

Search for what's trending as idea sources for your blog

Jillian is not a party planner, even though her site is all about parties. Instead, she thinks of herself as an influencer and curator, “flying above” and looking at what’s trending. She started blogging for the site right away and always recommends blogging as a way to put your point of view out there.

But she wasn’t convinced at first: her husband said, “you need a blog.” She said, “Why? And what do I write about?” He replied, “You’ll write about what we’re doing.”

She is currently posting on the blog three times per week. She loves to do roundups, to show people a selection of what’s trending. The blog is also helpful for SEO.

Catch My Party Blog

Amazing Growth

When Jillian and her husband started out, they thought about SEO first. Jillian wants to emphasize that they get traffic via “the long tail.”

SEO Management

What does that mean? They’re not trying to rank for things like “party ideas” or even things like “princess parties” or “pirate parties.” They can’t directly compete with Party City and big retailers like that.

But if you type in “rainbow unicorn sparkly party,” that’s a lot more specific and niche. And it will lead you straight to Catch My Party.

So their traffic really comes from what Jillian calls “tiny little search results.” That is the long tail.

Jillian manages SEO by manually adding tags whenever someone adds a party. She has to be very intentional about keywords because Google doesn’t understand photos. You have to tell Google what’s in the photos or else they won’t come up in the search results.

Using Social Media

Jillian and her husband got in on social media relatively early. Back in the day, Facebook was awesome. People would respond to everything!

And then, as we all know, the algorithm changed. Facebook “tightened the spigot,” in Jillian’s words.

Look at your analytics for traffic sources

When that happened, Jillian and her husband looked at the analytics and saw that a lot of their traffic was coming from Pinterest. Jillian says you’ve got to look out for the “serendipities that happen in your business,” and this was one of them.

She had had the idea for a picture-saving app years before, but her husband never got around to making one. When Pinterest came around, Jillian started pinning just for herself. Her personal board was what initially drove traffic to Catch My Party from Pinterest.

So she started to create content specifically for Pinterest. She currently has 750,000 followers there. Pinterest is great for visual content, but Jillian recommends playing by their rules. It’s best to be making content that is just for Pinterest.

Catch My Party Pinterest Page

Also, pay attention to what’s trending on Pinterest to get inspiration for your next post. Jillian creates collages based on what’s trending and then thinks about how she can do her own version of that popular content.

MiloTree

Around this time, Jillian and her husband started focusing on growing followers. They built a popup tool to promote Pinterest for Catch My Party in 2014-15. This popup helped them to grow their following organically.

Why not just use the widget? Jillian says the widget wasn’t converting, and they needed to be actively growing.

They had so much success with their first popup that they decided to build a similar one for Instagram. They currently have about 130,000 Instagram followers, largely from the popup.

Instagram popup on their Milo Tree website

Then they thought that if their popup tool had been so successful for them, it might benefit other bloggers, too. So they started building that out as part of the business, and MiloTree was born.

Their initial popup just asked people to follow them on Pinterest. They would populate the popup with recent posts in order to show social proof.

They had the same strategy with Instagram. This means that when somebody clicks, they already have a sense of what your account looks like.
MiloTree is also “smart” because it can connect various different accounts, including Facebook, Insttreagram, Pinterest, and email. The plugin shows a different account from the slider every time somebody visits the site, so if you have your Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook connected, each visitor will get a random selection from that list. They also have a new feature coming that will let you set an order, so that every first-time visitor sees Instagram, for example.

MiloTree has been so successful because it is so simple. Bloggers have to wear so many hats and make so many decisions, so Jillian wanted to create a very simple product. She wanted to make lots of decisions on their end so that customers don’t have to.

For example, Google announced that it would penalize sites that used a big popup on mobile. So Jillian and her husband adjusted the MiloTree to be Google-compliant for mobile. The plugin can detect on its own whether your visitors are using mobile or desktop.

Getting Traffic

Jillian says one of the most important things you can do is “ride the waves.” Keep an eye on what’s trending and think about how you can make more of that content.

Catch My Party Posts Based on Trending Topics

For example, Catch My Party rode the Frozen and Minecraft phases. Jillian noticed that that content was “going gangbusters” and made more of it. Once you see a trend, start doubling down on that content.

How do you tell what’s working? Jillian has a few suggestions:

1. Always looking in Google Analytics. This will give you so much information that can steer you towards more popular content.
2. Use Pinterest analytics to see what pins are most popular. You should be pinning your own content, but pin other people’s content, too. You can see what things you’ve pinned are performing well and think: “How can I make similar content?”
3. Think seasonally. Halloween is huge for Catch My Party, so they think ahead and try to launch that content a month or two before the holiday.
4. Combine trends. Right now, unicorns are huge and Halloween is huge. So they created a cute party printable of a green witch unicorn that they give away for free. It combines two trends and puts a different spin on content that’s already popular.

Create content or resources based on combined trending topics

5. Learn over time who your audience is. Jillian knows hers very well: they live in the sweet spot of moms with little kids. Jillian totally gets the struggle of wanting to throw a great party for your kids, so she is able to relate to her audience.

The best part is that all of these tools are free! You can do this on any budget.

Jillian says you’ve got to go toward what’s working. If something isn’t working now, it probably won’t ever work. You can tweak it and see, and you might get a tiny bit of lift. But the ones that hit are the ones that hit.

If you are just starting out and you don’t have much of an audience yet, it can be hard to get that instant feedback. Jillian wants you to think about your WHY. Why are you a blogger?

If you don’t have a WHY, don’t be a blogger. It’s too hard. It’s a long slog. You’d better be in there, and you’d better have something to say that’s meaningful to you.

Once you have your WHY, the next step is to look around at people who are doing what you want to be doing. Think about why you like certain content, and then think about how you can put your own spin on that.

Ask, “What about it is resonating with me?”

Start from yourself and what you need to say to the world.

Also, remember that blogs evolve over time. Don’t think your blog is going to stay the same forever. Allow that evolution and be open to change.

Most importantly, think about co-creating with your audience. Even if one person reaches out to you through Instagram and loves what you’re doing, pay attention. This is something you can do at any level.

Be caught up in listening to your audience and co-creating with them.

If I have ten people following me, there’s a difference between eight responses and just one response. Don’t be so caught up in the millions (even though that’s the title of the episode!). Be caught up in listening to your audience and co-creating with them.

You also have to be double-checking stuff. There can be a fallacy of small numbers. If you don’t have a lot of followers, take interaction as a direction for the next post, but see how it goes. Don’t bet your whole business on 10 likes.

What does that look like in practice? For Jillian, if people email her, she’ll ask to get on a phone call with them. She tries to be available to her audiences. She is always wanting to learn from them.

When the numbers are smaller it’s easier to connect. When you’re starting off, you will do a lot of things that won’t “scale.” You can’t talk individually to a million people. But that’s a good problem to have!

Social Followers vs. Email List

Catch My Party is monetized primarily through ads and sponsored content, not through an email list. But for MiloTree, the email list is more important because they’re selling a product.

Think about why you’re growing your email list. If you monetize via traffic or by working with brands, your email list won’t be as important to you; a list is more helpful if you are selling a product.

If you are growing your list, you have to be very intentional about it. Lists get stale really quickly, so if you’re not selling short term, your list may not be very valuable by the time you actually have a product.

Think about what best works for your business.

Jillian makes sure to remind me that “These are best practices for US.” You have to “think about your business, your special sauce, and how you monetize.”

If you monetize via ads, you need the most amount of eyeballs on your site in the most cost effective way possible. If you do anything visual, right now that’s Pinterest. Jillian says it is better at driving traffic than Instagram.

But Instagram is important if you’re working with brands, because they care about how many followers you have.

It’s all about being intentional based on YOUR business. Do what’s best for you, not just what everyone else is doing.

Final Tips:

Remember that there is no magic bullet. “If there were a magic bullet, I would be using it,” Jillian says. It’s a long slog, but Jillian has two tips to get you through:

1. Enjoy the journey. Because it’s a lot of work.
2. You have to be nimble. Jillian says her biggest mistakes were when she thought something would work and it didn’t, but then she doubled down on it. What’s working today might not work tomorrow. Listen and be nimble.

If you want to get in on MiloTree, Jillian wants you to know that you can try it for free, risk-free for 30 days by visiting www.milotree.com.

MiloTree works by converting visitors into followers and subscribers. It’s best for people who have some traffic already. It’s like lighter fluid on top of your existing traffic. If you have traffic on your blog, it will work.

Success in blogging is about taking advantage of what you have. You’ve got to constantly let people know what you’re offering. MiloTree is one ask for your visitors. It’s quick and easy and doesn’t paralyze them with choices, which is why it’s so effective.

80% of your traffic will leave and never come back to your site. MiloTree is about bringing those people into your ecosystem.

Tell your audience what you want them to do. Be very clear. Don’t be subtle. If you want them to click on something, say “click here.” People want to live their lives on auto-pilot. The easier you can make those steps the better.

Jillian also says that you can email her any time. She actually answers every single email she gets, and she’s always happy to answer your questions!

Resources Mentioned

• Catch My Party website
• Catch  My Party Pinterest page
• Catch My Party Instagram page
• MiloTree –  offers a popup tool service also owned by Jillian Tohber Leslie and her husband, David.

Infographic

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What Camera Do You Use for YouTube Videos

So you wanna create videos on YouTube, but which camera is right for you?

In this video, I’m gonna answer that question, and the answer might not be what you expect.

I also break down 4 different camera types and share which is best for you.

Background

I love technology. And when it comes to video, some might say I have a problem

I have a bunch of cameras. And that’s the problem for many people.

There are so many options that it’s often difficult to know which one is right for you.

Here’s the truth – the best camera to use is the one you have right now.

You see – Content is king!

While quality does influence our perception to a certain extent, I’ve seen MANY examples of people creating awesome content using just a simple smartphone.

There are many viral videos that were shot on a poor-quality smartphone with terrible audio.

So – the key is to create videos, over and over. Learn to tell a story using this visual medium.

If you take care of that first, the rest will come.

That answer may not be enough for you, so I want to give you some specifics so that if you have some money to spend, you know where to look.

Here are four great options:

Option 1: Your Smartphone

Smartphones are the most convenient to use.

This is the best option for most people. Here’s why.

Smartphones are convenient, always with you, and shoot great quality videos.

In addition to that, there are a few accessories you can add to take your smartphone video quality to the next level.

Things like lighting, tripods or other devices to keep it stable and an external mic to increase your audio quality.

Option 2: Point and Shoot

Sony RX100

These smaller cameras very convenient for vloggers who are on the go because they are relatively compact and light.

You can even add an external shotgun mic.

Many of the newer versions even have a flip out LCD screen.

This allows you to see yourself while filming. The one I have (and love) is the Sony RX100.

Option 3: A DSLR

Canon 80D

This is the camera of choice of many professional video creators. They offer high-quality videos with a choice of many lenses.
You add lenses for very specific types of shots and you can get some of the best footage ever.

Depending on the camera you have, the autofocus is awesome. Also, the color profile you get with certain DSLR is so rich and vibrant.

The best thing is that you see when you look into the viewfinder is what you get as the picture.

There is one major downside – they are big and bulky. If you plan on shooting in a studio/office with a tripod, this can be a great option.

A popular example of a DSLR for video is the Canon 80D.

Option 4: Mirrorless Cameras

Panasonic Lumix GH5

These are relatively new on the scene. They can give you a very professional look and have many lens choices.

With a quality Mirrorless camera, you can get video quality that’s similar to DSLR, BUT they are much smaller in size.

One great feature is that many of them offer 4k video, giving you a much crisper image.

If you compare an inexpensive DSLR to an inexpensive Mirrorless, the DSLR will almost always win in terms of quality.

But as you go to the higher price ranges, especially when you’re talking about cameras over $1K, you will find that the differences become less and less.

At that point, it’s more a question of convenience. If you don’t mind the size of a DSLR, go with it, but if you want something smaller, then Mirrorless will be the way to go.

I use the Panasonic Lumix GH5 as my main camera for all my videos now.

Let’s wrap this up

Those are my general four recommendations for cameras to use for YouTube.

However, make sure to watch the video above. In it, I also share some tips that anyone can use to help them record better video.

Resources Mentioned

• Camera options mentioned:
  • Sony RX100
  • Canon 80D
  • Panasonic Lumix GH5

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How to Salvage 2017 and Plan for 2018

Are you satisfied with what you’ve accomplished so far in 2017?

Did you create goals for this year only to fall short?

In this episode, we talk about how to salvage 2017 and plan for 2018.

Intro

Listen to Episode

The post How to Salvage 2017 and Plan for 2018 appeared first on Become A Blogger by Noemi M.

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8 Ways to Make Old and Boring Topics Feel New and Exciting Again

I get it.

You don’t want to be one of the millions of bloggers stuck in the land of sameness — indistinguishable as you parrot the same old advice everybody else does.

You want your voice to be heard, and you want it to feel vibrant, fresh and new.

But your blog topic feels threadbare, and you’ve got no bloody idea how to make it exciting again. Every angle has been rewritten, rehashed and reused. It bores you so much you’d rather poke your eye out with a stick of spaghetti than write another post.

So you search for answers on how to stand out.

But all you find is airy-fairy platitudes. Provide unique insights! Be interesting! Write in your own voice!

It’s all surface-level hoopla that lacks the substance and specifics you really need.

So I scoured the Internet in search of posts that felt new and exciting despite having well-trodden topics. And I unearthed a handful of practical tactics you could add to your repertoire.

Enough small talk. Let’s get into it …

Tactic #1: Turn Fluffy Concepts into Living, Breathing Characters

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Procrastination. It’s a well-worn topic. It’s also a bit of an ethereal concept — untouchable, yet it touches us all.

But in this insanely viral post, Tim Urban skillfully brings procrastination to life by casting interesting characters to play the roles of emotions that live inside a procrastinator’s brain. See what I mean …

Mel Wicks also did it when she created the Imp to play the role of Imposter Syndrome —  another fluffy concept.

I have a nagging voice inside my head that constantly reminds me of my unworthiness. It tells me to give up before I’m laughed off the Internet. That I’ll never compare to other writers — the real ones.

[…]

I call this voice the “Imp.” Her full name is Imposter Syndrome, and chances are you’ve already met. If you’ve ever had that dread of being outed as a fraud because you don’t stack up to other writers, you’ve experienced Imposter Syndrome, and you have an Imp of your own.

 
Doing this makes reading about fluffy concepts much more fun and interesting for the reader. You bring the topic to life, as readers can visualize these characters better than ideas that only exist inside our minds.

So if you write about a topic that only exists in the abstract plane, consider breathing some life into it. Think of crazy names for concepts or aspects of problems that your readers may face, and cast human or animal characters in their roles.

Your readers will love it.

Tactic #2: Make Your Readers Choose a Side

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Trump or Clinton? Yankees or Red Sox? Ebooks or paperbacks?

You can’t help but choose a side. It’s a natural reaction, and it’s one that you as the writer can play to your advantage. It’ll create standout content for even the most dreary topics.

Devise contrasting sides or categories and compare them to spark your reader’s attention.

Like this:

There are two types of bloggers in this world — let’s call them Sameness and Fearless. Sameness writes posts that are as functional and beige as an L.L. Bean parka. Fearless reveals his deepest thoughts and dares to try new things —  even though he may fail.

 
Take, for example, Elle Luna’s post, The Crossroads of Should and Must, in which she rockets interest levels to amazing heights by contrasting two paths we can choose to take. It’s a home run of a post that takes the well-trodden topic of “living life to the fullest” to an entirely new level.

And then we have the $2 Billion Wall Street Journal Sales Letter, which is one of the most successful sales letters ever written:

It begins by introducing two young men, painting a picture of their near-identical happy lives, then throws in a surprising contrast to generate curiosity and emotion that makes it impossible to stop reading.

Contrasting two sides like this can be both engaging and persuasive. Readers will be swept up by the comparisons, and they’ll find themselves agreeing with the side you want them to pick.

So next time you write about a dreary topic, consider presenting two opposite sides, and force the reader to choose one.

Tactic #3: Make Them Laugh So Loud They Wake Up People in China

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Humor is the perfect way to flip the script on a humdrum blog topic. Oli Gardner proved this point beautifully in his highly entertaining post on landing page optimization.

His setup was gold and left no doubt in the reader’s mind that the post was going to be an interesting ride.

Landing pages rule. Blah.
Homepages suck. Blah.
Do some A/B testing. Blah.
Base your optimization strategy on customer feedback. Blah.

All of those statements are true. But they sound boring and being boring is lame. It’s twenty fourteen and I refuse to be lame.

If you want to be a non-lame marketer, it’s really easy. Read this post, have a laugh, and treat everything I say as gospel.

 
And he certainly continued to deliver throughout the entire post.

The experienced adult readers amongst you might remember that “Shit. The condom broke!” moment. Yeah you do. You might also remember that it felt like a good time to run a test. #STDsArentFunny. Perhaps. But, as we go through this epic journey together today, I’ll show you exactly when and how you should really be testing.

 
But what if you’re not funny? Humor can’t be taught, right?

Not true.

Humor writing is a creative art, and, just like all creative arts, it has structure and formula. And all artistic endeavours are built on teachable skills and techniques. — Mark Shatz, Comedy Writing Secrets

 
Sure, some people seem to be born oozing raw comedic talent, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us are doomed. You’ll have to do the legwork, but it’ll be worth it. Many of the most successful and memorable blog posts ever written contain humor or quirkiness.

Here are two of the simpler humor writing tricks to get you started.

Humor Technique #1: The Rule of Threes

Simply put, you write three statements. The first two are the setup, and they establish a thought pattern. Then you add a third, incongruent idea, which is your main point or punchline. Like this:

Let me predict a few things that will happen in the next year. Jon Snow will unite the Seven Kingdoms and save the world. The day you wash and wax your new Honda will be the day it rains. And your inbox will clog up with so many deathly uninteresting posts that you’d rather stab your hand with a freshly sharpened pencil than read another one.

 
The rule of three is a classic joke structure that you’ll see used by many comedy writers. Here are a couple of examples by the pros so you can see it in action.

Men are simple things. They can survive a whole weekend with only three things: beer, boxer shorts, and batteries for the remote control. — Diana Jordan

I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land. — Jon Stewart

When you die there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. When my father dies, he’ll see the light, make his way toward it, and then flip it off to save electricity. — Harland Williams

 
See how that works?

Humor Technique #2: Ridiculous Exaggeration

Exaggeration is an age-old trick used to emphasize importance and evoke strong emotions. It’s also a powerful way to inject humor into a post. You can embellish or stretch everyday truths, over- or understate distance or size, and express extreme or ridiculous emotions.

Geraldine DeRuiter’s side-splitting post I Went Paleo and Now I Hate Everything is a good example, as it’s riddled with exaggeration. Just check out these entertaining quotes:

Like most things in my life, I’ve jumped in headfirst without putting any thought or research into it (this is also how I ended up taking a workout class called “Insanity.” Afterwards, I was drooling and delirious. So I guess it delivered).

Parenthetically, I really should stop listening to people just because they’re attractive. If Jeff Goldblum told me to get a bowl haircut and rob a bank, I totally would.

The cookies look exactly the same before they are digested as after. They are eternal and unchanging. As time passes, they don’t decline in quality or taste because they can’t. They’ve already started out at theoretical zero on that scale.

 
Hilarious, right?

To do this yourself, begin with a common situation, such as having dismal site traffic. Then play with how it makes you feel, what it makes you want to do, etc. Here are a few I came up with:

• Dive into a pit of Kleenex and cry like a baby.
• Send a fire-breathing dragon to incinerate Google HQ.
• Run away and live in an igloo for the rest of your life.

You get the idea.

So dust off that funny bone and give it a go. It’s a hoot.

Tactic #4: Give Data-Driven Answers to Compelling Questions

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In his book, Contagious: Why Things Catch On, Jonah Berger reveals the results of a study of New York Times articles. He discovered that science articles that discuss research results are more likely to go viral because “they frequently chronicle innovations and discoveries” that evoke a feeling of awe in readers.

In other words, readers love data-driven content.

So instead of approaching your topic the same way as everyone else, perform an experiment or run a survey and share the results with your readers in a post.

That’s what Mark Manson did when he crowdsourced his article, The Ultimate Relationship Guide to End All Relationship Guides™.

Rather than share his own opinion, he ran a survey by the people in his audience who were happily married for 10+ years that asked for their best relationship advice. He then turned the most common answers into an article.

BuzzSumo took another approach. They analyzed 100 million headlines to find the commonalities that popular headlines share and the ones unpopular ones share. Lots of content has been written about writing headlines, but data-backed insights like these are hard to come by.

Of course, you may not have access to thousands of subscribers like Mark does, or to millions of headlines and their share counts, like BuzzSumo does, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create data-driven content.

You could run a survey through Facebook Groups or forums. There are plenty of communities online that you could tap into. And hey, you might just go out into the real world and survey people on the street. That works too!

Or you could run a small-scale experiment of your own. For example, if you write about social skills, you could try different conversation openers with strangers and track their responses, seeing which ones work best.

Or, you know, you could grab data and research results from studies that have already been conducted.

Creating data-driven content takes work, but the end result will be a fascinating post that will stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Note: If you want to make your data look pretty, check out online chart creation programs such as chartgo, onlinecharttool, plot.ly and rawgraph.io.

 

Tactic #5: Inject Your Post with a Healthy Dose of Attitude

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There’s a powerful theme that appears in many wildly interesting posts — they all ooze head-flicking, hip-swaggering attitude.

They’re unmistakable because the writer totally embraces their irreverence. They’re written with wit and quirk. They’re unconventional, confrontational and bold. And they border on unreasonable as the writer dances on the edge of insult.

An undeniable strength and passion is woven through every word. There’s total conviction and unwavering commitment to the main idea.

David Wong nails it in his post, 5 Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Own Life (Without Knowing It):

What I hate about articles like this is that they’re always trying to guilt you into bettering yourself. “What are you doing sitting on your sofa eating ice cream, you lazy bag of Dorito farts! Get off your ass and go become the high-achieving superman you know you can be!” That pisses me off because I know exactly why I’m on the sofa eating ice cream. It’s because I’ve had a hard day and this makes me feel better, so fuck you. Even if what I’m doing is a frivolous waste of time, I’m doing it for a reason.

 
Johnny B. Truant also does it well in his post, The Universe Doesn’t Give a Flying F**k About You (I mean, that title alone …) His irreverent message of “You don’t matter” hits hard, yet he turns it into something inspirational.

That means that although what you do doesn’t matter to the universe, it should matter one hell of a lot to YOU.

In fact, it should matter to you more than it currently does. If you knew how small you are and how short a time you have to do what you can, you wouldn’t waste time watching five fucking hours of TV a day. You wouldn’t waste time doing a job you hate. You wouldn’t waste the little time you have dealing with assholes, feeling sorry for yourself, or being timid about the things you’d really like to do.

 
And let’s not forget Jon Morrow’s How to Be Smart in a World of Dumb Bloggers. He just flat-out calls his readers dumb and gets away with it.

Well, it’s not because you haven’t found the right traffic strategy. It’s not because you need to change your domain name. It’s not because the Google gods have turned against you and cursed you to wallow in anonymity forever.

It’s because you’re dumb.

And if you ever want a chance in hell of anyone listening to you, you’d better smarten up.

 
Any post you write with irreverence will stand head and shoulders above the masses. Nobody remembers a fence-sitting, white-bread boring post. They remember the hilarious rant in which the writer unleashes daggers of unspoken truth upon a popular idea or common situation. They remember the posts in which the writer says the things that everybody wishes they had the balls to say — but don’t.

Be willing to put your neck on the line. And be ready to piss a few people off along the way. You’re not a blogger to lull people to sleep. You’re a blogger because you’ve got amazing ideas that need to be heard.

Do this by kicking your emotions into a higher gear. Give yourself permission to write freely — not as you should, but as you want. Don’t be angry, be furious. Don’t be happy, be delirious. Don’t be annoyed, be completely pissed off.

Tactic #6: Snare Your Readers’ Attention with a Surprisingly Mismatched Tone

---

Let’s start by imagining that all your readers are Walking Dead zombies.

They’re stumbling through their days on autopilot, scrolling through their newsfeeds in a stupor. Your only hope is to shove something unexpected into their eyeballs and shock them back to the here and now.

Contrasting your tone with the topic is a fantastic way to inject interest into your post. You can:

• Mismatch a story about disappointment with an appreciative tone.
• Be annoyed by simplicity.
• Find pleasure in the pain of something going wrong.
• Write about something you hate as if you love it.

For example, like this …

Ahhhh, tax time. I’m truly astonished by the painful and grim stories of hate and loathing I hear in the weeks leading up to the financial year’s end. Why would any sane person hate a justified reason to never answer their cell phone and leave emails unopened, unanswered and unactioned for weeks on end? And then there’s the crazy-sweet pleasure of spending hours searching for that needle in the haystack of receipts — and then finding it. It sends me into excited fits of high-fiving anybody within a ten-foot radius.

 
And check out this hilarious post about the worry of thinking you have cancer. A topic that summons expectations of gravity and worry.

So This One Time I Thought I Had Breast Cancer—And the Doctor Was a Huge D*ck

So today I placed my boobs into a giant, hospital-grade George Foreman grill and held my breath as the nurse took the X-ray.

 
The headline piques interest, and the wry and unexpected tone of the opening sentence snares your attention and commits you to an irreversible free-fall until the end of the post.

Tactic #7: Predict the Future

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The future is the devil we don’t know. And it’s cloaked in uncertainty.

Your readers desire for certainty about tomorrow is as guaranteed as day turns into night — and it can be used to your advantage.

Build your reader a safe haven of certainty by predicting the future as Jon did here by sharing his view on how to write great content in 2014.

There’s evidence everywhere to illustrate how not-so-interesting, written-to-death topics, such as content marketing, can continue to pull huge share counts every year by exposing trends for the immediate future.

Mike Blankenship also worked this tactic nicely in How to Write a Paragraph in 2017.

But what if you don’t know the future?

Remember that none of us do. Chances are, however, that you know the history of your niche (if you don’t, get researching), you’ve checked out your competition, and you have an opinion about how things are evolving.  

So be bold. Write a future prediction that becomes a magnet for attention as it creates hope, generates discussion and encourages new ways of thinking for your reader. If you get it wrong, no one’s going to call you on it — it’ll just vanish into the fog of forgotten posts. (You can always delete it too.)

Tactic #8: Pepper Your Post with Quirky Visuals

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You’ve probably heard that you should add visual content to your blog posts. And yes, adding infographics, screenshots or photographs can do a lot to liven up your posts… But you can also use visual content to add some whimsy and fun to your posts.

Several of the posts I’ve already featured as examples do this.

Take the aforementioned Medium post from Elle Luna, the Crossroads of Should and Must. She doesn’t just have her readers pick a side, her post is also full of line drawings like this:

The casual nature of these line drawings lifts the feeling from humdrum to fun and injects the post with an entertaining dose of personality and character. As soon as the reader scans the page, they instantly feel like they’re in for a treat.

Tim Urban also uses drawings in his post about procrastination (and every other post he writes).

Line drawings are a great way to move away from the dry formality of graphs and screenshots, but they’re not your only option.

If you don’t feel that artistic — though you don’t have to be that artistic to draw a stick figure — you can also use other quirky imagery, like memes, cartoons and funny pictures. These can be found on the web or easily created with tools like Canva and other meme generators.

If you look back on Geraldine de Ruiter’s I Went Paleo and Now I Hate Everything, she interchanges the expected photos of food with images and GIFs like these:

Dull topics are more likely to send your reader’s brain for a coffee break instead of paying full attention. Keep them riveted to their seats by entertaining them with unusual, surprising and vibrant visuals.

Time to Breathe New Life into Those Old and Boring Topics

No blog topic is too boring, too dull or too worn-out to ever be interesting again. It’s you, the writer, who has everything within you to make it interesting.

Because when you do, your voice will be heard and you’ll know you’re helping others as you share new ways of doing things, thinking, and approaching tasks, work or life.

Your posts will stand out from the masses of regurgitated ideas and cookie-cutter advice.

Your posts will open the doors of possibility for your readers, and let you shine brightly.

So which tactic are you going to try first? Pick one and start today.

Light up your blog topic with an explosion of freshness like only you can.

About the Author: Miranda Hill is a writer and coach who helps life-hungry souls get unstuck from the chaos of life. If you want to stop spinning your wheels, hopping from one thing to the next in search of answers, discover the 10 Mindset Secrets That Set Truly Successful Writers Apart and realise your full writing potential today.

 

from
https://smartblogger.com/old-and-boring-topics/

How to Create a Blog Sales Funnel

Are you blogging as a business?

Are you making sure that you are creating processes that actually build your business over time?

In this episode, I share a step by step process for creating your blog sales funnel.

Intro

Listen to Episode

Building a sales funnel is a crucial part of building an online business.

A sales funnel is the visual representation of the customer journey, depicting the sales process from awareness to action.

Those are two essential elements of a sales funnel:

• Awareness: If you are growing a blog, you are creating content to make people aware of your brand and what you have to offer.
• Action: In the case of building a sales funnel, the action you are trying to get is the sale.

But here’s the problem…

When it comes to blogging, most content creators don’t create their content with the end in mind.

What ends up happening is we create content as it pops into our minds. By doing so, sales funnels never make it to the forefront of our minds.

Today, we will fix that.

Here are six steps you can take to create your blog sales funnel.

Step 1: Start with the action

Determine what your audience wants

Answer the following question – What do you want your audience to buy?

This can be a product/service that you offer or one that you promote as an affiliate. By understanding where you want people to end up, you’re going to be better able to get them there.

In understanding what you want them to buy, here are some questions you should answer:

Who is it for? What is his/her goals? What struggles will he or she encounter?

What problem does it solve?

Getting clear on these questions will help you in step 2.

Step 2: Create the right kind of content (awareness)

Now that you know who you’re trying to attract, it’s time to create the kind of content that will attract him/her.

Ask yourself what kind of content he/she is looking for. Keep the goals and struggles in mind as you answer this question.

Create the right kind of content

Then, go out and create that kind of content. You can create articles, videos or podcast episodes.

EVERY piece of content is an opportunity to expose your audience to what you have to offer.

Here’s the key: EACH piece of content should offer significant value independent of that product/service.

Do the best you can to optimize each piece of content for the platform you’re posting it on and you will increase your chances of getting your content to more people.

Step 3: Create a free resource

Determine what products / services you can create / offer for your audience.

What can you create that can help him/her accomplish his/her goals or overcome a specific struggle.

Create that as a free resource so that you can entice your audience to get on your email list.

Some examples of what I’ve created are my Content Calendar and YouTube Growth Tracking spreadsheets.

Step 4: Include a call-to-action in all of your content

That next logical step is opting in to get your free resource.

This is where the rubber meets the road. Yes, you are creating the right kind of content to attract your audience.

However, there needs to be a next logical step from that content to getting to a deeper part of your funnel.

That next logical step is opting in to get your free resource.

Your job is to make it very clear that you have a free resource available. In other words, include a call-to-action.

In order to get access to that free resource, they need to get on your email list.

Give them the opportunity to do just that.

Step 5: Create a goal-directed autoresponder sequence

Create a Goal-directed autoresponder sequence

The goal of this sequence is to get some of the people who subscribe to purchase your product/service.

So the content of the autoresponder sequence will be very important.

It’s important for you to provide value and share resources that will be helpful to your subscribers.

But it’s also important for you to make the pitch. Let them know about the product/service you are promoting and how it can help them on the journey.

One tool I’m going to be experimenting with is called Thrive Ultimatum from Thrive Themes.

It gives you the ability to run time-sensitive offers depending on when someone opts into your email list.

Step 6: Wash, Rinse and Repeat

Wash, Rinse and Repeat

Now that you’ve built out one funnel, it’s time to do the same thing again.

This can be for another product that’s at a similar price point, or (ideally) it would be something more expensive.

The principles are exactly the same.

Let’s bring this home

If you’re building a business, you have to build a system for generating sales. A sales funnel is a great way to do this.

Now that you’re equipped to build a funnel, get to work.

Resources Mentioned:

• Examples of free resources I created:
  • Content Calendar
  • YouTube Growth Tracking
• Thrive Themes – where I get the Thrive Ultimatum auto-responder tool 

Infographic

How to Create a Blog Sales Funnel

The post How to Create a Blog Sales Funnel appeared first on Become A Blogger by Leslie Samuel.

from
http://www.becomeablogger.com/25481/create-blog-sales-funnel/

How to get Noticed on YouTube – YouTube Algorithm Explained

Do you want to get noticed on YouTube?

Wondering how you can use the YouTube algorithm to your advantage?

In this video, I share details about how the algorithm works and how you can set yourself up for success.

Background Info

YouTube is the #2 search engine in the world

YouTube is the #2 search engine in the world (I feel like all my YouTube content starts with that phrase).

It's true, and like every search engine, an algorithm defines its functionality.

The algorithm determines what you rank for and how high you rank.

If you can understand exactly how the algorithm works, you have the secret of success.

But to understand how it works, you need to understand YouTube's goals.

Follow the Money

YouTube is a video-sharing site. One of their main goals is to have you watch a lot of videos.

The more time you spend watching videos, the more ads you see.

The more ads you see, the more MONEY they make. It's that simple.

YouTube the Search Engine

YouTube Search Engine

Any quality search engine will want to give the searcher exactly what they want.

If they get exactly what they want, they will use the platform more.

In YouTube's case, that means they will watch for longer period of time.

And as already covered, that means more ads and more money. That makes YouTube happy.

Here's the key, you want to do whatever you can to make their job easier.

As a search engine, they have two goals:

• Show people exactly what they want
• Have them watch more content

How to Give YouTube what YouTube Wants

Tip 1 – Optimize your Titles, descriptions and tags

Optimize your Titles, descriptions and tags

These are the meta data of your videos and they are VERY important.

Your meta data does more to tell YouTube exactly what your video is about than any other factors.

Make sure to include all relevant keyword phrases in your meta data.

If your video is about “How blood flows through the heart”, don't call the video “First heart video”.

That's too vague. Get specific with your titles. Get detailed in your description.

And then include all relevant tags you can think of.

A great tool to help with this is TubeBuddy.

Tip 2 – Use Custom Thumbnails

90% of the best-performing videos on YouTube use custom thumbnails.

Why? Think about it.

When you do a YouTube search, you get a bunch of results. As you scroll through those results, some of the thumbnails stand out.

Create custom thumbnails

You want to be one of those thumbnails that stand out (in a good way).

That increases the chances that people will actually click on your video.

Tip 3 – Deliver value

Deliver value.

Do I have to say that? Maybe not, but I will.

If someone clicks to watch your video and it sucks, they will click away.

If it takes too long for you to get to the point, they're gone.

By creating an engaging, value-filled video, you will get more people watching till the end.

In other words, you will increase the watch time.

Tip 4 – Give them EASY access to the next video

Doing this results in an increased session time. That's the amount of time they spend watching videos in one sitting.

Here's how you do this:

• Create series of videos or related videos. This will make it easier for them to move from one video to the next.
• use YouTube cards to get people from one video to other related videos.

Combine cards with verbal cues and you'll get more people watching more videos.

Let's Wrap This Up

Give YouTube what they want and you'll increase your chances of success.

As you create more content, YouTube will test you out and start showing you in the search results.

Once they see that people stick around when they watch your videos, they will rank you higher.

Over time, your channel will grow in authority, and that's exactly what you want.

So go ahead, start making videos and use those four tips. Then come back and let me know how it goes.

Resources Mentioned

• TubeBuddy – a great tool to help with optimizing titles, descriptions, and tags.

Infographic

The post How to get Noticed on YouTube – YouTube Algorithm Explained appeared first on Become A Blogger by Leslie Samuel.

from
http://www.becomeablogger.com/25439/get-noticed-on-youtube-algorithm-explained/

How to Make Money with Sponsored Content – with Monica Pruett

Do you think your audience is too small to start making money?

Are you curious about how you can make money with sponsored content?

In this interview, Monica Pruett shares a step by step plan for pitching, landing and creating awesome sponsored content.

Intro:

Listen to the Episode:

About Monica Pruett

Monica Pruett, owner of The 6-Figure Blog

Monica Pruett, the founder of HappyandBlessedHome.com. She shares encouraging posts for moms, easy recipes, preschool tools and ideas for family fun.

In 12 months, Monica pitched, landed and created 100 sponsored blog posts. This generated over $22,000 in income for her blog.

She started with only 5,000 subscribers and 25,000 page views. By the end of that year, she grew her blog to over 60,000 pageviews and 15,000 subscribers.

Now Monica teachers other bloggers how pitch, land, and create awesome sponsored content. She does this in her e-course – “9 Essential Steps to Rock Sponsored Posts” on her website The6FigureBlog.com.

Click here to get her free guide

9 Essential Steps to ROCK Sponsored Posts

Monica’s 9 explains the steps using the following acronym: R.E.A.D. P.A.I.N.T.

Here are the steps:

R – Research

To be successful with sponsored content, you first have to do your research.

You also need to know and understand your audience and what they are looking for.

A great place to start getting that insight is by digging into Google Analytics. By doing so, you can understand get a better understanding of:

• What landing pages your audience is going to.
• How they are leaving your blog.
• Their demographic makeup

Monica also recommends doing a SWOT analysis. This will help you look at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and Threats for you, your audience and the brands that you want to work with.

You want your sponsored content to be beneficial for your audience, the brands you work with, and your business.

E – Equipment

Investing in good equipment is a great way to create the kind of content brands look for.

If your images are mediocre, it will be harder to get brands to work with you.

Monica uses and recommends the Canon T6S. It has a flip screen and you can focus on the object with the touch of a finger.

This will save a lot of time in editing. Do what you need to do to save time.

A – Avatar

Create a well-defined avatar of your ideal reader/customer.

A well-defined avatar allows you to talk to the brand and say that you know your audience.

Use Google analytics to find out some demographic info. To take it to the next level, do a survey.

Even better, call up people who take your survey and ask them probing questions. What do they love about your blog? What challenges are they facing?

By having a well-defined avatar, you are also able to talk to the brand and say that you know your audience. The more you know, the more value that provides them.

It shows them that you are serious about your community.

D – Develop

Before you write your pitch, you need to develop an idea.

Develop an idea

What experience do you want your audience to have? What do you want to showcase about the product?

Why would you recommend it to a friend? What is the USP of the product?

Do some more research on the product and see how it works.

It’s not just about you or the product. It’s about your audience.

P – Pitch

It’s time to pitch the brand. Make sure to include:

• 

  Pitch the Brand

  Let the brand know that you love their product/service. Tell them why you like what they do and what makes them special to you. Another thing you can do is what Monica calls “Having a party and inviting the brand”. In other words, create content around what they do and show them how much your audience enjoyed it.

• Why you make a good fit? You did your research. Now it's time to tell them how you and your blog fit into what they are trying to do.
• Why your audience will love the idea. This works best if you have past posts about their product/service that did well with your audience. If you don't have that kind of content, share from what you know about your audience.
• When you think the post should go live (especially if it’s seasonal). If it’s seasonal, pitch way in advance (like 3 to 6 months).
• Please respond by this particular date. If they don’t respond, you can follow up a week or so later.

Don’t get into pricing yet until you start to collaborate.

A – Audience appeal

Once you've won the pitch, it's time to deliver on what you say you’re going to do.

Drive Audience Appeal with giveaways, coupons, discounts, etc.

They will often have objectives. Ask them what those are.

Here are a few ideas of things that can help drive audience appeal:

• Giveaways
• Coupons
• Printables
• Stunning Photos
• Good tips
• Storytelling

These are the most popular (and easy) things to do that can increase your audience's engagement.

Inform, share, and get the word out there about the post.

I – Inform

Now that you've created the content, it's time to go crazy with sharing it. Do whatever you can to get the word out there about the post.

Monica recommends joining a few blogger groups to connect with other bloggers. These are key relationships that can help when it's time to get the word out about your content.

Help others and you’ll find people who will want to share your content.

Connect with other bloggers and network.

N – Network

This goes beyond the sponsored content you create. Relationships are the key to taking your blog and business to the next level.

Go to conferences, meetups etc. Connect with other bloggers in your niche in person. Make friends. Network with brands.

This will not only expand your reach over time, but will also open up all kinds of opportunities.

T – Transform

If you do all the steps mentioned this far over and over again, be prepared for transformation.

Your audience will grow. Your opportunities will expand. And you will take your blog to the next level.

In Conclusion

9 Essential Steps to ROCK Sponsored Posts

It's fascinating to see how Monica transformed her business using sponsored content.

And she outlined the steps very strategic way that anyone can follow.

If you want to experience what she experienced, I want to encourage you to TAKE ACTION!

You can start by downloading her 9 Step Guide to Rock Sponsored posts.

This will help you implement the steps she went through in this interview.

And be sure to listen to the interview. She shares a lot more that's not covered in this post.

Enjoy.

Resources Mentioned

• HappyandBlessedHome.com – Monica's blog
• The6FigureBlog.com – Monica's business blog
• 9 Step Guide to Rock Sponsored posts – Monica's resource free for download
• Canon T6S – Monica's recommended camera to use

Infographic

The post How to Make Money with Sponsored Content – with Monica Pruett appeared first on Become A Blogger by Leslie Samuel.

from
http://www.becomeablogger.com/25461/sponsored-content/