by Marelise da Silva | Oct 8, 2015 | Blogging, Website Optimization
So who needs email subscribers anyway? Well, anybody wanting to sell more products or services and get their message out to the world, of course. Searching on Google for the mystery answer generally leads to the same suggestions: start writing a blog, market yourself on social media, add an opt-in form to your blog…same old, same old. There has to be something else, something new to try…Here are nine cunning tips to getting more subscribers.
Find out what is trending in your niche, exactly what it is that is keeping people up at night and focus your efforts on that specifically. Posting up-to-date and relevant blogs on the platform most suited to it will create a lot of interest.
- Grab the reader’s attention
There is so much out there and people have limited time so it’s really important to seize the attention and make your article eye-catching. The obvious way is to create an edgy headline (List format: 10 hacks you won’t learn at school; How to format: How to hypnotise friends; Be specific by using numbers and dates: Lose 20 pounds in just 30 days). This also applies to newsletters sent by email – make the subject line short, sweet and to the point.
Blogging every day to the followers on your website will only reach a small amount of people, over a long time. Guest blogging or posting your articles on social media sites is a very effective way to reach a relevant target audience. When guest posting, ensure the host site will allow you to reference your website/author bio, or there’s not much point. Make sure your links are noticeable, i.e. on the same page. Also, check the comments to find out how engaging your content is.
- Get influencers to share your content
Add top influencers within your niche market to your blog post or newsletter and give each of them a heads-up that you referenced them in your article. Chances are they’ll check out what you wrote and share your content with their followers. To find out the influencers in your niche, try: authorityspy, technorati or buzzsumo.
After you have published your blog, add the people you’ve mentioned in your post to the end, using their Google+ name. They will get a notification from Google that their name has been used and will check out where. This gives them the opportunity to share your content with their Google+ platforms.
Give your readers the chance to download a version of your article in pdf format, so they can refer to it later. Use a download option with an opt-in requirement – some readers will pass on it, but it the content is great, others will opt-in. Putting the download option at the top and bottom of your article is a good idea too.
Making it easy and quick for people to sign up for your newsletters will lead to more subscribers. Here are some tips for sign up options:
- Don’t ask for too much information, an email address is all you need at first.
- Include a special offer or new subscriber’s gift when signing up – people love things for free and incentives work well to drive subscriptions. The DMA report (consumer research to email marketers) says 60% of users will sign up for a newsletter to receive special offers/sales.
- Place an opt-in box in the comments
- Add sign-in options to your social media accounts.
- Use pop-ups that appear during the newsletter, but again, ask for only the email address and use a big X for those not interested.
- Use the word ‘free’ in your opt-in copy (e.g. when you subscribe, you will receive a free eBook).
- Be upfront about the frequency of the newsletters – people are nervous of a flooded inbox. Use words such as weekly, monthly or periodically.
Use a postscript at the end of every blog or newsletter to share a link to related content elsewhere on your site. Research has shown that readers often skim read, but always read the postscript. You can also use a postscript to subscribe, e.g. P.S. If you enjoyed this post, why not subscribe to our weekly newsletter? Sign up here.
by Marianna Muscat | Oct 6, 2015 | Blogging, Digital Media Marketing
When the trend of blogs first started, it was all about expressing an opinion, sharing your thoughts or relaying information and posting on a website, to be perused by your friends and other followers. The world has moved on since then and blogging has become a far more strategic tool to market products or services, promote your brand or offer advice or thoughts that could lead to work opportunities or partnerships. With the advent of Twitter and Facebook, blogs are now tweeted, liked and shared which can lead to readers across many audiences seeing your work. But unless you are writing every day and constantly updating your website, it’s unlikely your blogs will be viewed by that many. So what started as sharing something online, with the hope of it garnering a following, is now an opportunity to reach more readers than you can imagine, more easily.
LinkedIn and Medium, both platforms for professionals to interact with each other, are great places to cross-post your blog entries. They both have huge existing audiences, with millions of people visiting their home pages every day. Their publishing tools offer you the chance and place to put your content out there and receive quick feedback.
Cross-posting is a very effective way to lead people to your website. People reading your posts will get a sense of your style and if they like what they see, will follow you back to your original website to read more.
Is there a negative angle to cross-posting? Digital sharecropping, a term coined by Nicholas Carr, refers to the practice of placing too many resources into growing your following on outside platforms you don’t own, instead of focusing on your own website, of which you have total control. You might say that cross-posting your blogs on as many platforms as possible could hurt your SEO – what happens if Google penalises your website and only indexes your content on more authorative sites? [Luckily, this won’t happen, since Google engineers have said the algorithm they designed to punish aggressive guest posting would only reduce spam guest posting that exists to build backlinks.] Something to be aware of though, is that all platforms are not the same, so your content might not be ideally suited for a wholesale posting – some tweaking of the blog to make it relevant to the specific platform will go a long way.
If you want to reach people, the tables have turned. It’s no longer about waiting for the readers to come to you, but to put your content where the readers are.
by Marianna Muscat | Jun 23, 2015 | Blogging, Content Marketing, Online Marketing
Connecting with your readers is vital for your success as a blogger. Knowing how to boost your communication with your desired target audience is vastly important if you wish to better yourself in the game. This is why these few pointers will help you understand how to connect with your reader more effectively and ensure your following grows with you.
Do not make your reader feel stupid
This point is perhaps one of the most crucial ones to follow. If your reader feels belittled or dumb, there’s not a big chance of them returning to your posts next time. Avoid using acronyms as not everyone knows what they stand for.
Also, never assume that your online reader has prior knowledge about your background. Cracking inside jokes as to what you did in the past, for example, will leave a new reader feeling utterly alienated.
Imagery can be powerful if you allow it to be
The use of images not only looks aesthetically pleasing to your reader, but furthermore boosts your likelihood of your article or blog being shared, however using any old image won’t do. You need to be sure your initial picture has relevance to the content of your blog
Use your diction to trigger emotion
Obviously within a blog, your reader cannot see your facial expression nor hear the tone of your voice as to which emotion you may be showing. This is why you now need to be a wordsmith of note and choose the correct words which will trigger the emotions you are trying to convey.
If you need help know where to find it
Not all people are well versed in the online world. If you wish to be a blogger, but don’t know where to start, don’t give up. Just get in touch with Wsioms today and take a look at our training courses which we offer. Wsioms will help you achieve the blogging goals you wish to as well as offering you other digital skill advice. Contact us today for more information.
by Marianna Muscat | Jun 16, 2015 | Blogging, Content Marketing, Copywriting
As an aspiring, or already established blogger, you need to understand the necessity of marketing for your blog. There is nothing worse than wishing to share your passion through writing with no subscribers to read it. Therefore take a look at these tips on how to boost your marketing through email in less than an hour.
The ten person rule
This is a fairly simple step to take. Go through your email contact list prior to beginning your blog and try find ten names who you think would be interested in your content. Do not stop until you find ten names and once this is compiled, create an email in which you ask them three things:
- What is your biggest frustration when learning about (the topic of your blog)?
- Which blogs, websites or forums do you visit to learn about (the topic of your blog)?
- I’m starting a new site to teach (the topic of your blog). I’d appreciate it if you would be one of my beta readers. Are you interested?
Ask for replies to your posts
This is an extremely beneficial exercise for you as a writer. For instance, pretend that your blog is about surviving the freelance world. At the end of one of your posts, you ask the readers to email you their biggest frustration they are facing right now as a freelancer. Place your email address for them to click on and when you get responses, save them as ideas for topics for new material. This is an extremely beneficially way to understand what your audience relates to and seeks.
These are just a few suggestions as to what you can do to boost your marketing through email. If you require any assistance with social media marketing, mobile marketing and much more, please contact Wsioms today. We have a team of efficient individuals ready to help you in which ever digital way we can.
by Francois Muscat | May 11, 2015 | Blogging, Content Marketing
Social media experts have a set of rules and pointers for using Twitter to boost traffic to their clients’ websites, but popular bloggers are obviously winning at this game. They don’t follow the rules and they’ve got a massive list of subscribers and followers on social media. What are they doing differently? Here are a few key differences.
Don’t limit your following count to influential people
It’s true that it doesn’t reflect very well on your Twitter profile if you’re following thousands of people but only have a few people following you. Social media experts tell you to follow movers and shakers, thought leaders, clients, competitors and that’s it. What popular bloggers do differently is they follow everyone who engages with them online. If someone replies on their posts, offers their own insights or shares their blogs, they get followed. This is a good tactic to experiment with on your company’s Twitter page.
Catchy headlines don’t work if they’re not shared
Writing articles with ‘clickbait’ headlines (very catchy and curiosity-provoking headlines) is one way that many popular news websites such as Buzzfeed grew their fan base, but the only way this works is when your followers shares your articles for you. You can be writing all the catchy headline articles you want, but if other people aren’t sharing them for you, you’re not going to generate more traffic to your website. Make sure you’re writing interesting contact that will reflect well on the people who are sharing them. Remember people want to look smart, opinionated and thoughtful when sharing content on social media.
WSI can help you create a social media strategy that will boost traffic to your website. Contact us for more information today.
by Marianna Muscat | Sep 17, 2014 | Blogging, Content Marketing, Copywriting
Unless you are Apple, McDonald’s or another huge business, the content you generate and distribute as news will be done by you. Being able to make use of user-generated content is the ideal position to be in, but many small to medium sized businesses (unfortunately) don’t yet have the brand loyalty to expect bloggers to scrutinise their new product developments and other news for them.
If you’ve got a website and a blog, you need to be your own journalist (or at least hire a digital marketer that will act as a journalist for you). Everything from new hires, promotions, company events, product launches and expos should be regaled to your readers and followers as news. If you’re not recreating what you do in real life online, then you are missing great opportunities to market yourself to potential customers as well as existing customers.
Finding newsworthy things to blog about
Blogging about your own business isn’t good enough – you have to stay on top of what your competition is saying and what’s being said in your industry. If there’s a controversial issue, new research or changes in the industry, you should be the first one to break the story to your followers. Take a news article that relates to your business, link to it and write your own opinion on the subject to customise it to your target audience.
If you need someone to be a journalist for your business, we can help. Contact our creative content marketing team today.
