Writing Challenge: How to Improve SEO and Grow Your Business
I started blogging five years ago. I didn't know much about how to do it, when to do it, or what would make an effective blog post.
Want to listen? There's an audio version below
So, for eighteen months, I struggled. Sure, I had traffic, but it was mostly me refreshing my blog roll every other minute to see if something had changed, and me harassing my friends about whether or not they'd seen my latest article.
But after a year and a half of struggling to attract people to my website, I started trying new things and experimenting with things that weren't guaranteed to work.
Growth Tactic #1: Be Less Boring
One of the tactics I tried was to be less boring. Ya, that sounds easy, but for me (and most people), putting more personality into our work can be a challenge.
If we don't put our personality into it, when people don't like what we're doing it's ok because it wasn't really “us” that was in the work. But when we put ourselves into our work and nobody likes it, we assume they don't like us!
But, of course, the opposite is true too. When we put ourselves into our work and people love it, they also love us. That's one of the reasons entrepreneurship can be so tough – we put so much of ourselves into our work and people judge us for it.
Growth Tactic #2: Increase Output
The other tactic I tried was blogging more times per week. Before I made this decision, I published a new post every Monday-ish. Not only was I not publishing consistently, I wasn't publishing with frequency either.
To be successful (in anything), you need both frequency and consistency.
One summer a few years ago, I published on my blog three times a week. It was a LOT of work, and it took a great deal of planning. But, the reward was pretty clear.
After posting with higher frequency and with predictable consistency, my blog traffic grew over 303%.
And the traffic didn't slow down when I stopped publishing three times a week. In fact, people continued to show up and read my blog. The positive effects of writing frequently and consistently were lasting.
The Challenge
I want to challenge you to a month-long blogging competition. During the month of August, when most people slow down, we'll step on the gas and write and publish a blog post every single day.
Sound like a lot of work?
Uh, ya. It is. And honestly, I'm not even sure I'll be able to do it. Other than when writing Exit Strategy, I've never written this much in my entire life.
But, if I've learned one thing after doing this for a long time (in internet terms anyway), it's that success comes from showing up regularly over a long period of time.
Sound like a lot of fun?
I hope so! I love writing! Writing will make you a better speaker, it will help you plan your thoughts, and communicate more effectively.
If you own a business, you should be creating content to sell your products, tell your story, and market your brand. Every business needs a blog, and this challenge will help you attract more visitors to what you're doing.
But Why Blogging?
A couple of my clients asked my why I was hosting a writing challenge instead of a podcasting or video challenge.
The short answer is that the medium doesn't matter as much as the content itself. If you want to blog, blog. If you want to record podcasts, record them. If you want to record, edit and publish videos, record, edit and publish videos.
The key is that you're creating value-adding and entertaining content. Blogging has the lowest cost and the lowest barrier to entry. You can start a blog in less than 5 minutes and with almost no money. It's more costly in both time and money to start a podcast or to edit video.
The long answer is that text on a page is STILL the best way to get search traffic. When you ask Google to index your site, it asks for a text-based sitemap. Google and Bing read text; they cannot listen to a podcast episode or watch a video and provide you with a summary. And no, transcription is not the same thing.
Regardless of what the search engines are doing, and regardless of what modern video-based media will tell you, people STILL love to read! Be it on the toilet or in a meeting, we still pull up websites, blog posts, news articles, and reviews to read.
Want to Do Both?
If you want to record and produce videos or podcasts, do it! I won't stop you.
BUT, I will recommend that you either transcribe those videos/podcasts and/or provide a summary of the material you talked about. Then, take that transcription, bulleted summary, etc., and post it into a blog post so you get some of the SEO benefits of having text on your page.
When you first sign up, you'll receive:
- How to Start a Blog in 8 Minutes or Less
- The ONE thing ALL successful entrepreneurs do EARLY and OFTEN
- The ONE piece of advice I share with all of my HIGH-PAYING clients
- The list of tools I use every day to build a global business that reaches people around the globe
During the challenge, you'll also receive:
- My best resource for identifying your ideal clients, customers, and readers
- How to write content that makes you IRRESISTIBLE to your clients
- 8 types of emails you can send to your subscribers TODAY that will help you build influence
- 4 Non-Typical Tips for Growing Your Email List
- How to Increase Open Rates and Clicks with Your Email Campaigns
- How to Create a Content Calendar
- 26 Ways To Manage Yourself Better and Be More Effective
- How You Can Figure Out What to Blog About
- 12 Tools to Make Your Website Faster
- How to Turn Around a Blog That's Going Nowhere (and Mistakes to Avoid)
- 6 Things Every Business Owner Should Know About Marketing Their Brand
- 5 Key Criteria of a Killer Lead Magnet
- 18 Free Tools to Help You Build Your Business
If I'm being perfectly honest, I don't know if I'll be able to publish every day either. But, the stretching, the getting out of the comfort zone, and the going after something you might not achieve… well, that's why it's called a challenge.
And, I hope you'll join me!
