This being the beginning of July, it marks the halfway point for 2008. As I looked over my stats for the first half of the year, and considered the direction I want to take for the last half, I decided that my focus for the month of July would be content.
There are many different types of content: blog content, website content, newsletter content, profile content, audio & video content, content that makes sales, content that gets links, content that builds relationships...
My personal goal is to generate content all month long. The kind of content that is evergreen, that gets linked to, that sparks discussions, that resonates with my target market, and that results in a more solid relationship with my readers.
I started by asking them what they wanted, both in a fun blog post here at Clicknewz and also in a heartfelt email to SSWT readers. This is always the best place to start when it comes to content development, and there are several ways that you can put your ear to the ground and find out what your target market truly wants. Three of the easiest ways are to:
1. Ask them.
2. See which keywords they use in their searches.
3. Listen to what they are talking about on forums.
If you dont know what your readers want, you're going to have a hard time getting and keeping their attention. So step one is research. Next you have to weave those topic ideas into a content plan.
Not every topic is best used in a blog post, or as a product idea. Some content will be used to lead into a sale, other content will be used as a lead generator, and some may be used as link bait, etc. Its important to look at your overall objective and use all of your content accordingly. To ultimately lead into your primary call-to-action.
I'll be talking more about that throughout July here on ClickNewz. Not only is it my personal goal to develop more quality content this month, but it will also be the focus for tips that I share with you here over the next few weeks.
This is an incredibly important topic - no matter what type of online business you operate - and the timing couldnt be more perfect. Generally speaking, summer months tend to be a bit slower in regards to traffic and online sales. People are outdoors, on vacation, and generally away from their computer more this time of year.
Its the perfect opportunity for you to research, write, publish & get your content well established in the search engines... before the traffic tide rolls back in.
Stay tuned, and be sure to subscribe either by RSS or by email using the form towards the top right of this page.
Best,
p.s. If you have questions regarding content development, or specific topics you would like to see covered during this series, feel free to mention them in the comment section below.
About Lynn Terry
I am interested in newsletters, thinking about starting an iContact account. Thoughts? Advice? Pointers would be appreciated.
I love this topic Lynn!
One thing that I would like to get back to, which was working really well for me 2 months ago, was a scheduled daily topic themes. For example...
Motivation Mondays
Tune-Up Tuesdays
Workout Wednesdays
There's A Solution Thursdays
Fit Food Fridays
Smorgasbord Saturdays
I was delivering video and written content on each of those days.
It really helped to have the themes. It made coming up with a topic to discus much easier and helped keep me focused.
I'm really looking forward to reading your evergreen content this month.
Scott Tousignant
http://www.TheFitChic.com
The reason that I stopped was because I became wrapped up in integrating my product websites into my blog, creating some free reports, and other important things that took priority.
I was also doing regular Twittercise videos at http://twittercise.ning.com but had to put that on the back burner as well.
I look forward to getting back at the regular routine.
When I had that regular routine I was getting more people subscribing to my daily updates then the weekly.
Is that proof that I should get back on track or what?
Scott Tousignant
http://www.UnstoppableFatLoss.com/blog
Both great topics! Scott - I'm curious why you stopped doing the scheduled topics? Was it just a matter of getting out of the routine, or were you trying something different in place of that?
Stephen - I highly recommend Aweber for mailing list management. They offer the best features & service & support for the price, and are the industry leader in email marketing.
For pointers, see:
7 Important Elements of an Email Message
How To Set Up Your Mailing List With Aweber
The Money That Is Hiding In Your List
Sounds like it to me 😉
I think its key for us to look at scheduling our content out in advance, just like John mentioned in his recent video. Especially when we are developing content that people keep coming back for on a regular basis.
I'm looking into the idea of mapping out my content for the rest of the year, a base blueprint at least. We discussed this during the BABB (Be A Better Blogger) series and it was a great concept. Its easy to get out of the routine though...
See: Using An Editorial Calendar
I always look into a blog post to find at least one useful idea...
"See which keywords they use in their searches." is an awesome idea, I can't believe I never thought of it!
I'd bet many others haven't either though. It will always "force you" to check stats more often, if you don't do it enough as you should...I don't.
As for "asking readers", you may also want to look into "Skribit".....you can see it on my sidebar. 🙂
Good post Lynn...Let me join with you on this for the month of July. Here is my goal for July - I am going to use my analytics and see which keyword is driving the most traffic for all my websites and create some content, specific to that keyword for all sites.
I definitely will be looking forward to this content series. I have been trying to plan out my content more, and have been toying with the idea of starting some type of schedule of topics on my blog.
It will be good to see what kind of information I can gather from you!
Planning! Scheduling! Writing! Oh my!!
Habits worth developing, no doubt about it.
This is some seriously timely stuff, especially with my screwy summer hours all the screwier with a houseful of kids...