Coming Up With Blog Topics

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Coming Up With Blog Topics

Who we are

Hall Internet MarketingPortland, MaineIn business over 12 years@hall_web

Amanda O’BrienVP of Marketing@amanda_pants

Got Questions?

• Use GoToWebinar “Ask a Question”

• Twitter with @hall_web

• Email [email protected]

• Great for search engines and SEO

• Establish yourself as an expert

• More viral and sharable in nature

• Easy to update

• Social Media Hub

Blogs are good!

Content people already want

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Check your inbox, ask coworkers

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Popular, not so popular and searches• What is most popular (visits, time on site)

• Keywords

LESS

MORE

NEW

What are people searching for?

Build content around things people are searching for

Google Insights: http://www.google.com/insights/search/

Wordtracker: http://labs.wordtracker.com/

https://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/keyword-questions/

What are people looking for already? LinkedIn Answers

What are people looking for already? Quora

Things that people can't find

• What do you want to hear more about?

• What are some of your favorite blogs?

• How often do you read blogs?

• Do you like video blogs?

• What is one question you want answered?

• Incentives Help

•Survey monkey

Survey your readers

Organize and work with you have have

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• Topic, type, how many and when

• Organized

• Posts begin to build

• Save things you see to refer back to

• Checks and balances

• Read more

Editorial Calendar

• Never waste content

• Update an old post

• Respond to a comment

• Give an old post new insight

– Review last year's predictions

– How is a new product holding up?

Recycle Old Posts

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• Ideas come all the time

• Write them down

• Old Fashioned

• New Fashioned

• Evernote

Keep a Notebook for Ideas

Events, Holidays and Just for Fun

• Industry, local or online events

• Upcoming holidays (early is on time, on time is late)

• Holidays for every day

Lists

• Top 10 Lists - 5s, 3s and 7s!

• Add value

• Collect posts from around the web

• Link back!

• Add your own commentary or synopsis

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Content INContent OUT!

• Your heroes

• Your competitors

• Industry leaders

• Blogging experts

• Completely out of your industry

• RSS

• Books! Call me old fashioned.

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Read

• Google Alerts

• Social Mention

• Twitter search

• Alltop

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Find news

React• Take someone's content and add your opinion

• Give credit, link back

• Add value, not just a summary

• Build relationships and credibility

• Vanilla doesn't get you very far – Have an opinion

Interview Someone

• Industry experts, customers, etc.

• Email interview

• Web interview, Skype, Camtasia, Flip, Google+

• Voice interview with transcript

• Add value – insight and takeways

Go Basic, Lighten Up, Provide Value

• Start with a point, prove it

• Add value to the space

• Have something to say, don't just say something

Overheard #Blogchat – 9PM EST Sundays

“Blog length? Like a mini-skirt. Long enough to cover, short enough to keep attention.”@hanelly

Finding good blog photos• iStockphoto.com

• Flickr

• Google Advanced Image Search

• Point and click

• Friends photos

http://www.hallme.com/blog/finding-good-blog-photos/

• Blogging is important

• Make more content that people want

• Be Organized

• Work with what you have

• Find inspiration everywhere

• You have to give to get

• You have to read to write

• Lighten up

• Add value

• Keep posts short

Recap

Learn MoreTwitter: @Hall_Web

@amanda_pants

• Blog – http://www.hallme.com/blog/blogging/• Webinars – http://www.hallme.com/webinars

• 1/31 - Your 2012 We Strategy• Archived webinars - http://www.hallme.com/archived-webinars

1-877-425-5932 (HALL-WEB)[email protected]

Download our new eBook: http://bit.ly/hall-ebook