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People consume digital content daily, and traditional marketing platforms will soon give way to digital ones.
Digital Marketing offers numerous advantages; its costs are much lower than those associated with conventional forms of promotion.
What Is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing refers to using digital channels - websites, mobile devices, and social media - for promotional or marketing activities by an organization or business.
How Successful Is Digital Marketing?
Digitalization has led to a gradual decrease in people shopping at physical markets.
Now, more shoppers prefer shopping online for themselves and their families - an ideal opportunity for promotion online that allows high-quality content to reach your target market directly.
What is a Blog Post?
Blog posts are articles, guides, or news pieces posted to a website's blog section.
Typically educational blog posts cover one topic or question with 600-2,000+ words of text and additional media such as videos, images, infographics, or interactive charts. Your company and you can share stories, insights, and thoughts on your website to increase brand recognition, credibility, and revenue while simultaneously drawing traffic to its search engine optimization.
Before creating a blog, one must learn how to start one. So let's dive in.
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Starting a blog
- Understand your audience.
- Check out your competitors
- Decide what topics you will cover.
- Identify your unique angle.
- Name your blog.
Understand Your Audience
Make sure that you understand who your audience is before writing your blog. Use these steps to do so.Start Exploratory Questions Begin your discovery process by asking exploratory questions such as, Who are my audience members? Do they resemble me or does anyone know? What interests and resonates with them,digital marketing efforts.
Consider recording your thoughts in a notebook or document for later review. Make a list of audience attributes - even those which seem oddly specific - while considering factors such as background, age, goals, and challenges when creating this list.
Market research is crucial. Though it may appear daunting initially, market research can be conducted quickly using social media platforms like LinkedIn to browse user and blog profiles in your target market easily.
Use market research tools to uncover more details about your target audience or verify what you already know about them.
For instance, when starting a blog about work-from-home hacks, it is safe to assume the audience primarily comprises Millennials; it is still necessary to conduct further research in this regard. Once your market research and brainstorming are complete, the next step should be creating buyer personas formally.
Knowing this will allow you to use this knowledge when writing blog posts about those individuals.
Suppose your readers are Millennials attempting to start small businesses. In that case, most are familiar with social media and how it works. Instead, please provide them with information about adapting their strategy (for instance, from a casual and personal approach to a more business-savvy networking-oriented process) to produce content that resonates with audiences' digital marketing efforts.
Also Read: Role Of Digital Marketing & Its Importance In The Business World
Check Out Your Competitors
Popular and highly-rated blogs should serve as inspiration; their strategy and implementation have earned them credibility among readers, providing insight into what makes for an ideal blog.
Taking note of what readers expect in a perfect blog may provide a better understanding of their expectations of such an experience social media strategies.
Consider the branding, color scheme, and theme of your blog when considering its branding, color scheme, and composition.
Study their methods so you can attract similar readers. Your colors and themes could make or break your niche; for instance, a blog promoting eco-friendly products should opt for earthier tones rather than bright, unnatural hues such as neon yellow or pink to better align with marketing strategy for that specific topic.
Decide what topics you will cover
Before writing, select an initial topic. Starting broad will enable you to identify one that suits your blog perfectly eventually.Discover which topics your competitors frequently cover.
By reading other blogs and following what issues they write about, it can be easy to select topics for your blog quickly.
Once you have identified your competitors' blogs, browse their category email marketing and archive pages to see what issues they often write about and create a list of potential topics to investigate further.
You might discover that they only provide surface-level coverage of a subject matter; diving deeper into their range could provide your readers with more excellent value by writing further posts on that topic yourself.
Select topics you know well. No matter the subject matter of your blog, make sure that it's something that you feel confident discussing authoritatively and comfortably.
Discuss topics related to your career experience so far; interests; studies at college; etc. - explore any or all of them further here digital marketers target customers! Make sure the topics you select are appropriate for your readers.
Once you've identified potential writing topics, evaluate if they meet the needs of your intended target audience in step one or may draw in another group altogether.
Once identified, ask yourself whether this audience would find them appealing. Keyword Research involves conducting searches using keyword research tools and establishing whether demand is based on search volume for each topic (or keyword).
Even if you find an ideal issue combining your knowledge and readers' needs, its impact will only become tangible if people actively search for those terms; that way, you'll capture an audience waiting to listen to digital marketers!
Identify Your Unique Angle
What sets you apart? Understanding what defines the future of your blog is crucially important, and there are various options to consider.Write Your Professional and Personal Biographies.
Understanding yourself and the experiences that have shaped your blogging is crucial in finding your voice as an author.
Write a professional biography as your starting point - this should explain who you are, as well as which events have had the most significant influence on it.Though I could talk for hours about my childhood experiences, they're usually not required unless starting a parenting blog content strategy.
What distinguishes you as an expert or thought leader on any topic or issue? Your answers can help reveal your expertise or position in this regard.
Use this data to expand upon yourself in the form of an "About Me" page and display more of who you are in digital marketing campaigns.
Your readers must trust and return to you once you actively assist in solving their problem(s).
While deciding your angle, consider how your blog topics could help their audiences overcome challenges associated with them (if creating a sustainability blog, help your readers learn composting organic materials at home, as an example).
Make an editorial strategy choice. Stake out your position on current debates; share your expertise by teaching something or comparing or sharing original research.
Your editorial strategy will depend heavily on the topics and issues your blog addresses; for instance, if your blog specializes in marketing trends, such as keeping readers updated on new developments using journalistic techniques, you would likely use such an approach as an example of how to select a system.
Name your blog
Your blog name should convey what readers can expect from it and show creativity and imagination on social media.
Here are some tips for selecting your blog's name: Keep it easy to read and spell. No need for your blog name to be complex - in fact, the sheer variety may tempt you - remember it should be easily recognized by readers as URL and character.
Your blog name should reflect your brand's message and the topics it covers. DIY MFA, for instance, encapsulates this perfectly by being about writers who attempt to obtain their Master of Fine Arts degrees without formal degrees - something any brand is striving towards achieving through writing at home.
Do the same with your blog: incorporate the value proposition and message in one name!
What Are They Searching For? Your blog title should directly correspond with what you hope your readers can learn, accomplish, or solve.
DIY MFA caters specifically to writers without access to graduate school but who still wish to develop their writing abilities. At the same time, Marketing features marketing tips and trends.
Blog names needn't be complicated; in fact, simple ones often work best at drawing in readers while accurately conveying what your blog is all about.
If you need additional assistance, use a name generator. As a final tip: Double-check that your choice hasn't already been taken by another business, as this could reduce visibility or mislead readers searching for your content.
How To Write A Blog Post
Step 1: Planning
Establishing a blog takes over two hours, even with excellent typing skills (80 words per minute).
Writing posts may take several days or even a whole week to compose, taking into account time spent planning and contemplating. Before beginning writing, make sure that you have all of the tools at your disposal. New bloggers often overlook this step, but planning will save time and help establish good blogging habits.As a blogger, your chosen topic must be of interest to YOU.
No fun means no readership in any industry.
Select a topic you find interesting before beginning any of the steps below. A lack of enthusiasm from you, the blogger, can do more damage to a post than anything else; it's easy to tell when an author doesn't care about their subject matter; their lack of care causes a cringe-worthy lack of enthusiasm that leaves an audience cringing with boredom.
Accept that not every post will spark your imagination; writing some may feel an obligation.
But as the one in charge of content creation, choosing topics you find enjoyable to read (even if they fall within niche industries) will increase reader enjoyment of your post and likely attract more interest than an academic article alone. Bloggers (myself included) often remain vague when discussing subjects they know little or nothing about; we may not fully comprehend a given issue until after writing about it! So it is always necessary to conduct proper research before blogging platforms about anything new.
That doesn't necessarily imply all bloggers are frauds; instead, their natural curiosity makes them so adept at what they're doing.
You need to be able to move between topics without getting bogged down - knowing how to research posts allows us to do that and write authoritatively on unfamiliar subject areas.
Wikipedia should never be relied upon as an authoritative source of information.
Although its articles are typically well-researched, editors could still insert incorrect details unknowingly. Any verifiable truth on Wikipedia comes from elsewhere - no need to cite it! Whenever possible, utilize information from authoritative sources when writing blog posts based on third-party sources.
Such citations include government websites, official associations, highly cited research papers, or industry experts. Everyone may not always be right; therefore, you should approach each source cautiously until all provided data is accurate.
Check Your Facts
Under pressure and with limited time available to him, the writer created an impressive piece but failed to check his facts, including citing an article from Forbes which falsely implied Steve Jobs used PowerPoint on stage - an assertion which never happened - though my colleague made no such error in their copy.
Unfortunately, both articles suffered as both writers failed to perform their due diligence in researching one piece before writing another one that relied upon one another's failure; both writers failed their due diligence obligations by failing research efforts on both sides, affecting one another's articles directly resulting in one or both articles not being adequately researched directly impacting upon one another's due diligence obligations in different ways involving each piece by failing their due diligence commitments affecting both writers' articles negatively affecting one another!
One mistake can be enough to derail your credibility, so you must avoid making such errors.
Your readers will quickly notice and act upon any discrepancies in the information provided; even if your blog boasts millions of readers, their eyes will quickly spot your slip-ups. Whether the damage done is intentional, misinformation spread widely, or an honest mistake made, be upfront about any changes you need to make in the editing.
Your readers will quickly call you out if any attempt at sneaking through messages slips by them; being accountable, honest, and fast with correction will only compound matters further.
Step 2: Writing An Amazing Headline
Headlines remain an engaging subject. Some experts advise avoiding being vague to manage reader expectations and prevent misleading them.
In contrast, others advocate taking a more general approach. While Seth Godin may get away with vague headlines, most of us would benefit more by being specific with our headlines.
Writing blog headlines offers two distinct approaches. First, you could decide upon an overall headline before beginning to write your entire post; this can then serve as an outline for what follows in its wake.
Or you could start by writing your piece first before selecting an appropriate headline that works well with it. Writing headlines for blogs requires both art and science and experimentation to find what works for your readership.
Give them hyper-specific case studies that illustrate what they need to do; avoid copying someone else's style unless you think they would appreciate it.
Step 3: Writing Part
Writing a blog can be done one of two ways; either all at once (my preferred approach) or in stages.
What works for one may not suit another.Do as much work in one sitting since this makes it easier to focus on your subject without forgetting essential points, and you'll finish faster.
Write in short bursts for maximum output. Beware of making changes as soon as you revisit your draft; otherwise, you risk straying off topic more quickly than you expect.
Even if it takes you several sittings to write one blog, try and complete as much of it in one go. Writing becomes easier the more you practice it. While initial blog post completion might require several weeks or longer at first, with practice, you'll soon be producing great material in just hours! There are no shortcuts or "hacks" in writing; time must be dedicated to practicing the craft.
Also Read: Most Popular Digital Marketing Trends
Step 4: Use Images Effectively
Writing for the Web can be quite different than writing for print; people don't usually want to read long blog posts if they aren't visually stimulating; however, an engaging text-only post could quickly go viral on Reddit and Twitter!
Images Can Help Make Your Blog Posts Flow More Effectively
Images are an ideal way to break up text in blog posts. Since most readers quickly scan them rather than reading every word by word, adding pictures makes the copy more visually appealing and less intimidating for the reader.Images Provide Visual Punchlines A great image can add humor and liven up any post, particularly those about dull topics like law.
This strategy works particularly well when writing about legal jargon that's otherwise difficult to grasp.
Images make complex topics easier for newcomers to comprehend Digital marketing, amongst many other niche subjects, may not always be easy for novices to grasp.
Images should be part of any blogger's toolbox if they hope to expand their readership; diagrams, charts, infographics, and tables help readers learn abstract or complex subjects while understanding your point better.
Step 5: The Editing Process
Writing a blog can be challenging. Editing blog posts is even more complicated. To identify contextual errors more efficiently and correct any typos that arise, consider running your command through Grammarly as well as performing traditional spell-check.
Editing is not limited to grammar and sentence structure - editing also encompasses overall piece cohesion; sometimes, that means forgoing your precious words for the greater good of coherence.
Repetition can be disorienting; once your first draft is complete, read it carefully to identify any words or phrases that could be altered to ensure an engaging reading experience.
Reading aloud can help you check the flow of your post by reading it out loud. Many writers are taught this trick in workshops; if a piece sounds awkward when read aloud, it likely sounds uncomfortable to your readers as well.
Though you may find this strange, reading your posts out loud to look for wordy sentences or bottlenecks may help with flow issues; otherwise, rework until it flows easily again.
Experienced bloggers or those just beginning can benefit greatly from having someone else read over their work before publishing it online.
Asking a trusted friend to review it shows commitment to creating something great! Get someone with editing experience to review your work. Make sure they understand that you're not looking for help in finding typos and grammatical mistakes (though if that happens, it would be great!), but rather their opinion as to whether the piece flows well or makes sense; your points were well received; was your position clear when discussing an opposing viewpoint; did the advice make sense; etc.
An independent pair of eyes will provide answers.
Keep Sentences And Paragraphs Short
Your sentences should be as brief as possible to make reading easier for your audience and reduce any chance of digressions or sidetracks.
A recent opinion piece published by Wired contained one sentence with seven clauses; this represents an incredible editorial oversight!
Paragraphs should be short and direct; readers are likely to continue reading with shorter sections.
Since web publishing has become the norm, "rules" for paragraph structure have become less rigid. However, each concept should remain in its short paragraph.
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Conclusion
Internet use has become an integral part of life! From social media posts and Google searches to our favorite apps, digital marketing is increasing as more people access it online.
Social media marketing continues to flourish and will increase further as more people engage with it in future years.
