How To Create A Sales Page For Your First Online Course Or Product

You feel the itch.

For months you’ve been churning out post after post, promoting it all over social media and slowly building your email list.

Now it’s time to take your blog to the next level and turn it into a business by launching your first product or course.

If you’re thinking about launching a course based on your experience, this is a great time to create one.

Why a course? Because the online learning industry has been growing fast. It’s already reached over $100 billion and will continue to grow.

Plus, if you don’t already know, online courses are one of the main ways bloggers make a living off their blog. According to Teachable, an instructor generates around $5,426 hosting their course on their platform.

Compare that to YouTubers making $15/month, and bloggers struggling to make even $100 from their blog.

Okay, you’ve been slaving away creating your course or product and launch day is next month. Apart from finalizing everything like your marketing campaign and blogger outreach, you need to start thinking about your sales page.

This bad boy is what will turn a visitor into a buyer and will help you generate the passive income you keep hearing about from other bloggers.

But, as a blogger, how the heck do you write a sales page? You’re not a copywriter or a marketer, so how do you convince a new visitor that your product is what they need?

The key is to have the right elements on your page. All high converting sales pages have certain elements in common and even if you’re a new blogger with a new product, you can have them on your sales page from day one.

1. Pick the perfect headline

The best sales pages start off with a powerful statement. They’re usually gripping, benefit-driven and speak to their target audience.

For example, Jeff Goins starts his sales page for Tribe Writers with this:

If you’re a struggling writer who’s trying to get their message out but is failing, this headline will speak to you.

Yes! I want my book to be read by thousands of people. Yes! I want to finally get noticed.

Headlines that cut through the noise and get to the heart of what your target audience truly wants will not only hook your readers into wanting to read more, but will also likely convince your readers that they need your product.

Nathan Barry has a product for writers. It’s a book called Authority, and his headline for his sales page challenges a common belief about authors – that you can’t make a living from writing.

Your headline doesn’t have to be flashy or jarring; good headlines can be simple and straightforward.

For example, Derek Halpern of Zippy Courses comes out and says what everyone is thinking:

Derek knows that a lot of bloggers are frustrated and overwhelmed at the thought of all the tech that’s needed to launch an online course.

His headline speaks to those bloggers.

2. Showcase testimonials

Do you find yourself signing up to lead magnets or free courses when you know tons of people have vouched for it?

Having social proof gives your course credibility and increases your conversions. Testimonials from buyers who enjoyed your course and succeeded as a result act as social proof on your sales page.

They can also help validate your method and the strategies you present in the course. For example, testimonials for Caitlin Bacher’s Wham Bam Instagram course prove that her course actually helps people land clients using Instagram.

If you want to enhance your testimonials, use video. It’s been proven time and again that people are 64% more likely to buy a product online after watching a video.

And you know what? People will stay on your sales page longer because they want to watch the entire video.

Melyssa Griffin uses video testimonials for her flagship course, Pinfinite Growth. These testimonials are success stories where Melyssa interviews her course students. Some of these videos are over 15 minutes long (would watching a 15-minute success story convince you to buy her course?)

Okay.

But what if you don’t have success stories for your course or product? I mean, you haven’t even launched it yet!

The best way to gather testimonials is to have beta testers or fellow bloggers try out your product in exchange for a testimonial if they found it useful.

Some tips to help encourage great testimonials from your beta testers are:

• Ask them to provide concrete examples of how your product helped them


• Ask them to paint a before and after picture


• Ask them to share their success with your product

3. Have a clear call-to-action

One of the most important elements of your sales page is your call-to-action (CTA) button. What should it look like and what should it say?

According to Unbounce, changing the color and shape of their client’s CTA button on product pages boosted their client’s conversion rate by almost 36%.

Let’s look at some examples to get an idea of high converting CTA buttons.

Contrasting color

Courtney Johnston has a course called The Launch Copy Kit.

Most of her sales page is branded in this blue-grayish tone. Here’s her CTA button:

What Courtney did was make sure her CTA button stood out from the rest of her sales page.

She did this by using a contrasting yellow color and by breaking up her sales page by using blue and gray sections.

For your sales page, use your main brand colors and choose a contrasting color that makes your CTA button easy to find if you’re scrolling or skimming.

A great tool to help you find the perfect contrasting color is Adobe Color CC. Just put in your brand color and change the settings to Complementary to see what colors might be a good choice.

Your CTA button is big (but not too big)

Here’s another example. OptimizePress is a WordPress plugin. Let’s look at their landing page and CTA button.

What do you notice about the CTA button?

It’s big! If your CTA button is too small, no one will see it. So, to make sure your visitors actually see your button, make it big. Of course, don’t make it too big; use your discretion.

Your CTA button copy is in the first person

Research has shown that changing the button copy from the second person (“get your eBook”) to the first person (“get my eBook) increased click through rate by 90%.

For example, on my sales page for my freelance writing course, I’ve had success using first person button copy.

You can use first person copy not only on your sales page, but also on your lead magnet or in your CTA for your blog posts.

Aside from using the first person, there are other high converting words you can use on your sales page like:

• Introducing


• Yes


• Step-by-step


• Investment

4. Use videos, diagrams or charts

Visual representations are incredibly powerful conversion tools that you can readily use on a sales page.

Things like video, diagrams or charts not only break up your copy, but also show visitors what the results look like after using your product. And when more than half of the population are visual learners, it makes sense to use visuals to your advantage.

Let’s look at the different ways you can incorporate visuals on your sales page.

Use a mockup

A digital product, like a course, can be hard for buyers to visualize. Worksheets, course books and checklists just aren’t that appealing.

What many bloggers and entrepreneurs are doing to demonstrate their product is to use a mockup.

For example, Kristin of Believe in a Budget uses this beautiful mockup of her latest course, Side Hustle to Success.

Charts

Charts work great for showcasing results before and after using your product. They don’t have to be complicated; rather, they just have to show a big improvement to help convert a visitor.

For example, Brie Beeks’ sales page for her course, Budgeting Beginners on Air, shows a simple chart of her email list growth after using webinars, giving readers a visual representation of what their list could look like if they buy her course.

Video

Shawn Blanc’s The Focus Course sales page uses images and video to help convey his message to creatives who struggle to balance work and life.

As soon as you land on his sales page, there is a video you can watch:

He also has a video of himself talking about his course later on down the page and a video walkthrough of The Focus Course.

5. Show what you get

You want people to buy your product, right?

Well, the best way to transition them from a looky-loo into a buyer is to show them exactly what they’re getting when they purchase your product.

The best way to convey this, if you have a course, is to provide the class curriculum, including any bonus material or extra guides that are part of the package.

If you host your course on Teachable, you’ll easily be able to showcase all the modules and lessons.

For example, Megan Minns’ course on learning Squarespace lists the topics covered in each module:

You can also show all the included extras your buyer gets with your product. Mariah Coz showcases all the extra resources you get when you purchase her Your First $1k course on her sales page like this:

People like to see the value they’ll get when they invest in your product, so make sure you use compelling visuals.

6. Copy that speaks to the buyer

Okay.

Here’s what will truly help turn visitors into buyers.

It’s your copy, and there are three elements you need to have on your sales page.

1. Convey your buyer’s pain points

A successful product or course launch occurs because the product creator zeroed in on their buyer’s pain points.

These are the frustrations, worries, and headaches your buyers have over a particular problem.

For many, the problem is that they’re starved of money or time. For others, it’s education or skillset that they lack.

So, when writing your sales page copy, try to tap into your buyer’s pain points.

Jeff Goins does a great job of this on his Tribe Writers sales page. He speaks directly to his target audience of struggling writers.

2. Mention benefits

A lot of bloggers create their product and can’t wait to tell everyone about it, but end up talking about the features, rather than the benefits.

What does this mean? It means, instead of showcasing how your product can help your target buyer, you mention things about your product like how advanced it is, or how the new format makes it easier to read or download.

And while you’re gung-ho about how you’re delivering your course via email – or that it’s fifty-two lessons packed full of useful tips and strategies – all your readers want to know is how it will help them.

What will they get out of your product?

For example, Sean Wes’ course sales page, Learn Lettering 2.0, starts off with the benefits of taking his course.

By immediately telling visitors what they will gain from using your product, you make it much easier for them to imagine buying and using your product.

3. Make your product the solution

We talked a bit about how important it is to highlight the pain points of your buyers on your sales page. What’s even more important is positioning your product as the solution to your buyers’ problems.

A lot of people may not know they have a problem, and they certainly don’t know that your product will be the solution to their issues.

So, make it easy by telling a story that relates to your buyers and then offering up a solution – your product.

For example, on Melyssa Griffin’s sales page for her course, List Surge, she hits the pain points that many bloggers and entrepreneurs have in growing their list.

She goes on to show proof that she’s credible at helping you grow your list. Then she presents the solution – her course.

Tools to get you started

With all the right elements for your sales page, the only thing left is designing it. If you’re hosting your sales page on your own domain, consider using a landing page plugin to help you get started.

Here are a few to look into:

1. Thrive Landing Pages

Thrive Landing Pages* is an affordable option for WordPress users. You get access to over 160 high converting and optimized templates that are easy to use – and you can create them right from your WordPress website.

Thrive gives you all the tools you need to customize your landing page or to build one from scratch. And with a drag-and-drop editor to add your touch and style to your sales page, you’ll have a highly optimized page within minutes.

Templates are designed in sets, so you can create a consistently designed sales funnel.

Price for use on a single site is only $67.

Get Thrive Landing Pages*

2. Leadpages

 

Leadpages* is a landing page builder with over 100 templates of high converting pages to choose from for your landing page, sales page, thank you page and more.

And it’s super easy to set up your sales page with their sales page templates. You can customize them to fit your brand and style by adding your logo and choosing your own fonts.

The main benefit over Thrive Landing Pages is that you aren’t restricted to WordPress. And certain plans have A/B split testing built in which is great for boosting conversions.

Prices start at $37/month.

Get Leadpages*

Wrapping it up

Congrats! You’ve finally moved from hobby blogger to professional blogger. Creating a product is both exhilarating and time-consuming. One of the last things to do before you launch is to create your sales page.

The sales page is what will help you convert visitors to buyers. If you include core elements like testimonials for social proof, a compelling headline to hook your readers, and copy that highlights the pain points of your buyers, you’ll have a winning sales page.

Add in a landing page plugin to help you optimize your sales page and you’ll have no problem consistently converting your visitors into buyers.

Now it’s your turn – what elements are you going to use on your sales page?

 

Disclosure: * Denotes an affiliate link – if you click and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. This helps us keeps the lights on (so to speak) and means we can keep delivering helpful posts like this one.

The post How To Create A Sales Page For Your First Online Course Or Product appeared first on Blogging Wizard.

3 Ways To Find Talented Freelance Bloggers For Your Business

Picture this: you own several businesses or several blogs.

You do well in the beginning to consistently post, but as your businesses boom and marketing takes more of your time, you realize you can’t do this alone.

You need someone to help you create consistent content that’s quality-driven and appeals to your readers.

Maybe you’re interested in running a multi-author blog. This is a great way to grow your business and always have fresh new content for your readers.

Or, you could be a solopreneur who just doesn’t have the time – or the writing ability – to pump out quality posts that are centered on your niche and brand.

You know if you find the right blogger, it’ll be an investment, so you want to get this right the first time around.

But, you haven’t a clue where to find these types of freelance bloggers.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Post a job ad

An effective way to find a freelance blogger or writer is to post a job ad on a specialized job board. Some sites – like ProBlogger – charge a fee for posting, so make sure to read the terms of each job posting site.

If you’ve gone this route and haven’t found the right freelance blogger, this may be due to your job ad. Maybe your ad:

• Was too vague and didn’t quite explain the content requirements.


• Was too long and not concise. New freelance bloggers may be overwhelmed by your job ad.


• Was too general and not specific. Your ad only says, “blogger,” and doesn’t mention what type of blogger (technical blogger, business blogger).

To attract the right applicant, make sure your ad is precise. Here are some tips to write a winning job ad:

1. Start with an informative headline

Darren Rowse of ProBlogger mentions having a headline that stands out. This means your headline should be specific and informative.

Since hundreds of bloggers are viewing job boards daily, you want your job ad to resonate with a blogger.

Specifying the type of writer you’re looking for – and how many posts you require – can weed out many bloggers that don’t fit your ad requirements. For example, “Entertainment blogger for 4-8 posts a month” clearly defines the type of blogger and the amount of work required.

2. List the project scope

Your job ad should clearly define the scope of the project you need from a blogger. While it’s important also to include your business and what your business does, it’s more important to mention what you want a freelance blogger to do for you.

Consider including:

• The topics you need written – providing samples from your blog or other blogs can help a freelancer know the type of content you seek


• Amount of projects needed – listing how many posts you need a week or month helps a freelancer know if they can fit this project in their schedule


• Approximate word count – do you require short, condensed posts of 500 words, or do you want in-depth, research-backed posts of 2,000 words?


• Other miscellaneous extras – do you want the freelancer to do interviews, source photos, upload content to your backend? Do you expect them to promote your blog posts on social media?

3. Include necessary qualifications

To make it easier to sift through the dozens – or hundreds – of applicants that will likely apply to your job ad, include the qualifications you seek. Remember, you don’t want any old blogger; you want someone with knowledge of your industry that has the credentials to back it up.

This might mean:

• Relevant educational background


• Expertise in your industry via previous guest posts or client work


• Certification, licenses or experience in your industry


• Samples to show writing style and expert knowledge

4. Pay rate

Many job ads don’t list a pay range, but that opens the doors for all bloggers – both over and under qualified – to apply for your job.

Not listing a rate can also backfire; many freelance bloggers won’t apply to ads without a rate or pay range. Since high-quality writers are in demand and can pick and choose the clients they work with, not listing a rate can mean you’ll miss out on finding your ideal blogger.

To eliminate unqualified bloggers and to encourage higher-quality bloggers to apply, list a rate or pay range, or ask bloggers to include their rate in the application.

2. The connect and wow approach

Many bloggers and other entrepreneurs are more proactive when it comes to finding a freelance blogger for their content needs.

The “connect and wow” is something Adam uses when he tries to find a freelance blogger for his blogs.

Let’s look at how this works.

The first step: connect

You – the blog owner – notice and respond to a comment on your blog from a freelance blogger.

You’re probably interested in hiring a freelance blogger, so when you receive a comment from a freelancer take note for when you have to hire some writers.

If your blog isn’t frequented by other freelance bloggers, then it’s a good idea to visit other blogs where they hang out or have guest posted on.

For example, Be a Freelance Blogger or The Write Life is a place for freelance bloggers and authors to connect and network.

Visit other popular blogs – like this blog, ProBlogger, Basic Blog Tips or Smart Blogger – to find freelance bloggers that have guest posted or commented.

If you connect with a freelance blogger – either through commenting or on social media – and become interested in learning more about them, you’re ready for the next step.

The second step: check out their blog

Head on over to the freelancer’s website or blog and take a look at their content.

Most of the time you can get a feel about a writer from their blog. Their blog can show you:

• If they treat their blog as a business or hobby – does the freelance blogger update their blog regularly? Is their blog established or new? These things can hint about their professionalism and experience as a writer.


• Their engagement level – does the freelance blogger have the option to share their posts? Do they have multiple shares and comments? Does the freelancer take the time to respond to each comment?


• Their writing style – does the freelance blogger know how to write for an online audience?


• What their niche is – does the freelance blogger have a niche blog? Is there one core theme with their blog posts or is it a mish-mash of topics?

By looking over their blog, you can get a good sense at the quality of writing this person does and whether they would be a good fit for your business. For example, Alexis Grant, an entrepreneurial writer and digital strategist, regularly checks out blogs for potential hires:

Whenever I look to hire new go-getters for my Socialexis team (which helps me with this blog, my guides and courses, and client work), I check out applicants’ blogs (as well as Twitter feeds, LinkedIn profiles and more). By looking at each person’s blog, I can easily evaluate their writing skills, social media abilities, even their network. And on top of that, I can judge whether I’d actually like them as a person. We all want to work with (and hire!) people we get along with.

This leads to the final step.

Step three: the freelance blogger wows you

For many business owners and solopreneurs, a freelance blogger really has to wow them with their writing before they even consider hiring the blogger.

So, if you find, after looking at this freelancer’s blog and reading their content, that you love their writing style, it’s time to ask them if they’re interested in writing for you.

Email the freelancer or fill out the contact form on their website to see if they have room for another gig.

3. Ask for referrals

Sometimes the best freelance bloggers come from referrals.

So, before you place an ad and before you actively seek out a blogger, look to your network of colleagues and other writers on your staff to see if they know of a freelance blogger looking for work.

Usually, if you have a writer on your staff, this means they know plenty of writers who might be interested in another gig.

Similarly, reaching out to other entrepreneurs can open the door to learning about other writers you’ve never heard about.

You can use Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook to ask for recommendations from your friends and colleagues – or just email them and ask.

Typically a word-of-mouth approach yields the best freelance bloggers.

Wrapping it up

Blogging is a great tool to bring traffic and sales to your business. If you’re on the hunt for a freelance blogger to provide world-class content, you’ll have to go out and find them.

Posting an ad is the quickest way to drum up hundreds of applicants, but to find the best freelance blogger for your business you may have to connect with them on a personal level. It also doesn’t hurt to ask around your network of friends and blogger buddies to see if they know of a freelance blogger wanting more work.

Over to you – what your best way of finding freelance bloggers for your blog?

Related reading: How To Avoid Getting Burned When Outsourcing To Freelancers.

The post 3 Ways To Find Talented Freelance Bloggers For Your Business appeared first on Blogging Wizard.

How To Find Clients For Your Freelance Blogging Business

Let me ask you this:

When you first started blogging, did making money from your blog ever cross your mind?

Maybe not.

Many new bloggers view blogging as only a hobby. It’s not until they generate a decent amount of traffic and develop a loyal following do they even consider monetizing their blog.

For some, this journey proves to be highly successful, but for many of us, earning a livable income from affiliate ads, Google AdSense or selling your own product is tough.

Amy Lynn Andrews, a blogger, says this about making money from your blog:

I’d say give yourself at least 6 months before you start pulling in an income. And even then, it’ll most likely be coffee money.

So, what’s a blogger to do? As a blogger, you probably enjoy writing, so one quick way to earn some cash and build a profitable business is through freelance blogging.

In essence, you get paid to write for other blogs. How great is that?

There are many businesses out there that need content writers, blog writers, copywriters – you name it – to help with lead generation and traffic growth.

And what’s great about freelance blogging is you don’t have to wait 6 months to get paid; you can often earn your first payout in as little as a few weeks.

Now, the real question is, where do you find freelance blogging clients?

I’ve been freelance blogging for over a year now and I’ve found three highly successful ways to land profitable freelance blogging clients.

You don’t need a journalism degree – or even formal writing experience – to do this.

Truthfully, you don’t even need a blog.

What you need is a passion for writing, for knowing how to write for an online audience, the motivation to learn and the determination to go out there and start freelancing.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Freelance blogging job boards

One of the easiest ways to source blogging gigs is to go to a job board. There are two types of boards – free and paid.

Free job boards are typically free for bloggers and freelance writers (or anyone really) to browse, but they usually charge a fee to place a job ad.

While free job boards can be competitive because every blogger and freelance writer knows of them, you still have an excellent chance to land a gig if you:

• Respond to the ad as close to the published date as possible. You typically won’t land a gig if you respond to an ad that’s more than two days old.


• Wow them with your pitch email by showing your expertise and relevant guest posts or samples.


• Did your research about the company or blogger posting the ad. This means you visited their site, read their content and became familiar with their brand.

1. ProBlogger

ProBlogger is probably the most popular job board for freelance bloggers out there. The quality of jobs is high – most job ads offer a starting pay of between $25- $50 for an average 800-word post – and there are usually new listings daily. There are a variety of niches advertised, from photography blogging to writing news for a viral blog to even fashion freelance writing jobs.

2. BloggingPro

Next to ProBlogger, BloggingPro is another go-to site for many freelance bloggers and writers. They don’t only list blogging jobs, but also copywriting gigs and even print job opportunities.

If you want to narrow the playing field even more, consider a paid job board. A popular paid job board for bloggers is Tom Ewer’s Paid to Blog Job Board.

Tom has a dedicated team that scours the internet curating job listings you don’t typically see on free job boards. This is a great job board for a new freelance blogger who wants to dip their toes into getting paid to write. The bulk of the job ads are blogging gigs – on the lower end of the pay scale – for a variety of niches.

2. Social media

Social media can be a goldmine for freelance blogging work. If you have an active social media presence and network with influencers and other bloggers in your industry, you should have an easier time landing paid blogging gigs.

Two places that have yielded me freelance work are Twitter and LinkedIn.

Twitter

There are some easy ways to optimize your Twitter profile to land a blogging gig.

• Fill out your bio – Under your picture there’s a spot to talk about yourself. Mention you’re a “freelance blogger for hire,” or something similar. You can also include personal details, your niches, relevant hashtags, other sites and contact info. For example, here’s David Hartshorne’s bio:

• Pin your ad – Tweet that you are a blogger interested in doing freelance writing. Then you can pin this tweet on your profile making it easy for new visitors to know what you are offering. Here is mine:

• Follow job posting Twitter handles – Here are a few that post freelance writing gigs consistently: @TweeLanceWriter, @jj­obs_tweets, @Writing_Gigs, @write_jobs, and @FreelanceWJ


• Build your follower list – Follow other bloggers and writers as well as influencers in your niche. Some popular freelance bloggers are: @sophielizard, @TiceWrites, @kikolani, and @youngprepro. It’s a good idea also to follow potential clients such as small business owners in your niche, entrepreneurs, startups, web design companies, and even local companies.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is also a popular place to land freelance blogging gigs. Here are four ways to tweak your profile to attract writing jobs.

• Fill out your profile – Just as you do for your Twitter profile, make sure to mention you are available for freelance blogging work. Using, “for hire” seems to do the trick in letting prospects know you are looking for freelance work. In your summary, mention your niches and the type of content you want to write (blog posts, emails, articles, white papers…).


• Show your sample work – LinkedIn is your online résumé, so show your best guest posts and personal blog posts for others to view. Once you land some paid gigs, include those posts (if they aren’t ghostwritten).

• Search for freelance blogging opportunities – LinkedIn has as job search function. Find gigs by using search queries like “freelance writer,” “freelance blogger” “freelance writing” or “freelance copywriter.”


• Connect with other freelancers – Start connecting with other freelance bloggers and writers. Develop a network of writers in your niche. Sometimes they may be swamped with work and, if you’re on their shortlist of referrals, they just might contact you for a possible gig.

3. Warm outreach

One of the best ways to land freelance work is to network and get on the radar of influencers and other bloggers to build meaningful connections.

It typically takes time to nurture a valuable relationship with a popular blogger. Just sharing their blog posts isn’t usually enough for them to really take notice.

Here is a four-step approach on how to connect with a prospective client with the intention of landing a blogging gig.

1. Comment consistently

If there’s a blog you want to write for – and that hires writers – start leaving engaging comments. Make sure your comment adds to the conversation. You can respond to the CTA or add to the post by adding your thoughts or providing additional tips.

Good blog owners make the effort to read their comments and respond to as many as they can as a way to develop a relationship with their readers.

So, to really make an impact, provide thoughtful comments that relate to the post and comment consistently to get noticed.

2. Follow them

Blog owners and prospects don’t hang out on their blog all the time; they are often found networking and engaging on social media.

As part of your warm outreach approach, start following bloggers you want to work with on Twitter and Facebook. If they have a Pinterest, Google+ or LinkedIn profile, go ahead and connect with them on those platforms as well.

Now, just because you follow them, it doesn’t mean they will follow you back. Influencers, entrepreneurs, and other popular bloggers might be selective in who they follow. But, if your outreach efforts are evident, they may follow you back.

3. Engage a blogger or prospect by sharing, replying and posting

The prospects you want to connect with probably don’t know who you are. So, at this point, start to share posts from their blog.

Sharing on Twitter or Facebook brings up notifications on their profile. This is great for you since your name and picture shows up, creating a stronger connection between you two.

Start a conversation by also replying to Tweets, Facebook or Google+ posts. Show the prospect your knowledge in your niche and your easy-to-get-along-with personality.

Finally, one way to get on a prospect’s radar is to link to their posts on your blog or mention them in your post. Perhaps, if you’re doing a roundup post, ask a prospect to contribute as a way break the ice and start a relationship.

4. Ask about work

You’ve spent some time warming up your prospects by commenting on their posts, following them and engaging with them on social media.

Now that they are are warmed up go ahead and send an email or message on social media inquiring about a possible blogging gig. Here are some points to consider when drafting up your message:

• Mention your relationship


• List a blog post you resonate with and why


• Compliment their blog or success


• Lead into asking if they ever hire bloggers


• Mention your interest in writing for them and that you’re a fan

Sending a message after you’ve built a meaningful relationship is an excellent way to put yourself out there. This can be a start to a lucrative blogging gig.

Wrapping it up

There are many ways to earn income from your blog; although not directly monetizing your blog, offering your freelance blogging services is one quick and profitable way.

While having a socially-driven blog with quality posts and loyal followers can help prospects find you, most likely you will have to put yourself out there and go and find them.

By looking at job boards, optimizing your presence on social media and working on building those key relationships, you’ll have no problem finding the right blogging gig for you.

Over to you – have you done any freelance writing before? Tell us your way of finding freelance blogging gigs.

Related reading: 4 Ways Freelance Bloggers Can Avoid Clients From Hell.

The post How To Find Clients For Your Freelance Blogging Business appeared first on Blogging Wizard.

The 7 Dumbest Mistakes You Can Make When Launching a New Blog

So, let me guess.

When you started blogging, you probably plunked your butt down in a chair, rifled out some thoughts on your trusty keyboard, and punched “Publish,” right?

After all, that’s what blogging is about. It’s the place where you write, and the world gathers to listen.

It’s supposed to be simple. It’s supposed to be easy. It’s supposed to be fun.

But is it?

For most of us, it’s weeks or even months later that we discover the deception:

Anyone can start a blog, but the real test is getting readers

As anyone who’s been blogging for more than a few months knows, getting readers is complicated. Getting readers is hard. And for the first few months at least, getting readers is certainly not fun.

Most people get fed up and quit. Others, like you, scour the web for answers.

Either way, it’s frustrating, because you can’t figure out what to do first.

So, for our very first post here at Boost Blog Traffic, that’s what I decided to talk about. Let’s start by inoculating you against some of the most common mistakes.

Dumb mistake #1: Betting the bank on SEO

Makes sense, right?

If no one can find your blog, you need to focus on increasing your search engine rankings. After all, that’s where people go to look for information.

So, you buy some tools to tell you which keywords you need to target. You stuff those keywords into your headlines. You improve the keyword density of your posts. If you’re really sophisticated, you might even change your content architecture to give greater weight to certain pages.

And then you sit back, waiting for Google to send you a flood of traffic.

Only nothing happens. Sure, maybe you rank for a few uncompetitive terms, but for the terms that really matter, you’re still stuck on page 14 where no one can find you.

Why?

Because you misunderstand how SEO works.

Nobody knows for sure how the Google algorithm decides your rankings, but any bona fide SEO expert will tell you keywords are only a tiny part of it. The biggest, most important factor is the number of links from trusted sources.

You can optimize your site perfectly, but if you’re not getting any links from the authorities in your niche, nothing you can do will raise your ranking. Yes, you can follow black hat strategies to cheat the system, but for the most part, those strategies fail to work after a few months, causing your traffic to vanish, and in many cases, they can even get you banned from Google forever.

Translation:

For beginning bloggers, SEO is largely a waste of time.

Dumb mistake #2: Thinking valuable content is enough

This is what Brian Clark refers to as Kevin Costner Syndrome (KCS).

The idea is simple:

Just focus on delivering value. Write articles with valuable information, genuinely try to help people, and be patient. Sooner or later, everyone will discover how awesome you are.

In other words, “Build it and they will come,” the phrase immortalized by the 1989 film Field of Dreams. It sounds great, but there’s only one problem:

It doesn’t work.

Yes, you should write great content. Yes, you should try to help people. Yes, you should be patient.

But if that’s all you do, you’ll have the greatest site no one has ever heard of.

The web is so active these days that valuable information goes unnoticed all the time. It’s like sitting in a stadium full of people and whispering the secret of life. You could be the first person on planet Earth to figure it out, but if no one can hear you, it doesn’t matter.

You also have to ask yourself:

If people could hear you, would they really care?

As any parent with a teenager knows, sometimes nobody cares how wise you are. What’s valuable to you looks like foolishness to them, and so really you’re just wasting your breath.

The bottom line:

Delivering value sounds nice, but it’s overly simplistic. Don’t get caught in the trap.

Dumb mistake #3: Telling stories about your life

You would think this one would work too.

People love stories. Just look at how popular movies and books and television are. The stories they tell captivate millions.

Surely, it should work on your blog too. No, you don’t have a movie or book or television show about your life, but you can start a blog and start talking about what’s happened to you and what you’ve learned.

Well, you can, but that doesn’t mean anyone will read it.

The harsh truth is that most of us overestimate how interesting our lives are. Yes, you have a story, but it doesn’t mean it’s a good story.

A good rule of thumb?

If it involves near-death experiences, explosions, naked people, or making millions of dollars, it’s got a shot at being a good story. If it doesn’t, probably not.

Also, storytelling is a skill, and it takes years to master. I’ve studied it for more than a decade, and I’m still just barely passable at it. When I first published my story, I had been working on the post for over two years. I spent more than 20 hours on that one draft.

The point?

Even if you do have a good story, chances are you will suck at telling it. Yes, you should work at getting better at storytelling, but don’t count on it lifting your blog out of obscurity. At least, not at first.

Dumb mistake #4: Wasting time redesigning your blog

When I used to do blog reviews at Copyblogger, the first question everyone used to ask me is, “So… how is my design?”

Here’s what’s probably going through your mind:

Someone stumbles across your blog. They take one look at your blog design, decide you’re a fool with no idea what you’re talking about, and decide to leave.

So, until you improve your design, publishing new content is a waste of time. You need to find a great designer to create a custom WordPress theme for you, and then you can get back to business.

Is that about right?

Well, here’s some good news:

For the most part, readers are oblivious to your design. If your content is impossible to read, then sure, that’s bad, but as long as they can find the navigation, and your content is legible, they’ll stick around and give you a chance.

Great design is really more important when it comes to converting visitors to subscribers, which we’ll talk about later, but if you’re waiting until you can get a custom WordPress theme to launch your blog, then you’re just procrastinating.

Get a premium WordPress theme (affiliate link), and get to work. You can think about a custom design later.

Dumb mistake #5: Writing every day

Can I be honest for a second?

This strategy irritates me more than all the rest combined. What’s worse, it’s evangelized by some of the biggest bloggers on the web who are unintentionally leading beginners astray.

In a popular blogger’s mind, it works like this:

They get more traffic by writing more often, so therefore you should get more traffic by writing more often. It’s the whole philosophy of modeling the masters.

The problem is, popular bloggers and beginning bloggers are in fundamentally different situations. Let’s do some simple math, and I’ll show you what I mean:

A popular blogger might have 50,000 subscribers. Out of those 50,000 subscribers, let’s say 10,000 read any given post. If you’re writing once per week, you get 10,000 visitors per week, not counting social sharing. If you write twice per week, you get 20,000 visitors per week.

It’s a big increase, and so for popular bloggers, writing more often makes sense. Beginning bloggers have totally different numbers though.

Let’s say you have 100 subscribers. Out of those 100 subscribers, 20 read any given post. If you’re writing once per week, you get 20 visitors, not counting social sharing. If you write twice per week, you get 40 visitors.

Yes, you’re doubling the traffic, but it’s only 20 freaking visitors! It’s nothing. At that rate, you’ll be like 840 years old before your blog is popular.

If you want your blog to grow fast, you need to expand your readership exponentially, and posting more often isn’t going to do it for you. The math doesn’t work.

Dumb mistake #6: Splitting your focus between your blog and Twitter or Facebook

Again, the logic is that Twitter and Facebook are huge sources of traffic for popular blogs. Why wouldn’t it work for you?

And again, the problem is math.

Many popular bloggers have tens of thousands of followers and fans, and so when they share a post, they have a huge audience waiting to help them spread the word. If you’re a beginner, on the other hand, chances are you have your mother, a few aunts and uncles, and maybe a small group of friends paying attention to you, and devoted as they may be, there simply aren’t enough of them to get your post much traffic.

So, doesn’t that mean you should invest time into growing your audience on Twitter and Facebook?

Not necessarily.

You see, the biggest problem beginning bloggers suffer from is a lack of time. You’re working full-time, taking care of your family, and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life, and blogging is just something you squeeze in when you can. If you try to add Facebook and Twitter into the mix, you’re just setting yourself up for failure.

The best strategy for most people is to choose one platform and focus exclusively on that platform until you have at least a few thousand people following you. Any platform will work, but if you want to be a blogger, then just focus on your blog and let everything else build organically over time.

The worst thing you can do though is get distracted and try to do everything at once. That’s just insane.

Dumb mistake #7: Waiting for your traffic to snowball

And last but not least, we have the biggest misconception of them all:

The so-called “snowball effect.”

The idea is that it’s perfectly normal to get only a little bit of traffic when your blog is new. With every new post you write, your audience will grow a little bit larger, similar to the way a snowball grows when rolling down a hill.

So, you have to stay persistent. Sure, your traffic numbers may be pitiful now, but over a period of years, the compounding growth will result in a massive audience.

It’s an alluring philosophy because it justifies your lack of results. You don’t have to feel bad about how no one reads your blog. You just have to keep going, and eventually it will all pay off.

But you know what?

It’s hogwash.

I’ve coached over 500 individual bloggers, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that the blogs that become popular grow fast. Usually, they are at a few hundred visitors per day within a month or two, and they are receiving a few thousand visitors per day before the end of the first year.

If you’re not getting that kind of traffic, it’s not because you need to be patient. It’s because you’re doing something wrong.

And if you ever want your blog to be popular, you desperately need to change your strategy.

So, what strategy works for launching a blog?

Well, I’ll tell you what’s worked for me and the bloggers I’ve coached.

It’s not jumping headfirst into your blog and hoping things turn out all right. It’s not exhausting yourself by pumping out pages after pages of content no one reads. It’s not wearing a necklace made from chicken bones, smearing yourself with Chinese herbs, and jumping up and down on one leg underneath a full moon.

In fact, it’s not about doing anything at all.

It’s about listening.

You see, the primary reason blogs fail isn’t because their content is bad or their keywords are poorly optimized or popular bloggers are ignoring them. It’s because they are publishing what they want to say and not thinking for a moment about what anyone wants to read.

If you’re writing about a topic lots of people want to know more about, you can do almost everything wrong, and your blog will grow anyway. The opposite is also true. If you’re the only person in the world who cares about your topic, then you can do everything right, and your blog will stagnate and die.

Yes, traffic tactics are important, but they in no way compare to understanding what’s going on in the minds of readers. The greater your understanding, the greater your traffic will be.

So listen to them, for God sakes.

Email readers who comment on your blog and ask them what they would like to hear more about. Call them on the phone. Schedule a Q&A call, and stay on the line with them for an hour, answering questions.

If you don’t have any readers yet, go outside your blog.

Read the comments on popular blogs in your niche. Listen to what people are saying on Twitter. Attend the Q&A calls and webinars and other authorities are holding, and write down the questions people ask.

And then look for patterns. Almost always, you’ll find one or two questions everyone is asking over and over again, and it never seems to stop.

That’s what you need to be writing about. You don’t have to guess. If you listen, your audience will tell you every single time.

If you’re smart, you’ll never stop listening. In fact, the larger your blog becomes, the easier it is to get distracted, and so the more intently you have to listen.

Which brings us to the point of this post…

Leave a comment, telling me where you’re struggling

For several weeks now, I’ve worried about this post.

This blog is launching with the most fanfare of maybe any blog in history. Before even writing the first post, it’s gotten over 13,000 email subscribers, and over the past few months, I’ve received literally thousands of emails from readers.

What could I possibly write that would be worthy of that kind of buzz?

I had lots of ideas, but none of them seemed quite right, and a few days ago, I realized why:

This blog isn’t about me. It’s about you.

It’s about your struggle to be heard.

It’s about your desire to become an authority in your niche.

It’s about your questions and me doing everything I can to answer them.

And if I want to be true to my own strategy, then the only appropriate way to begin is by listening.

So, I want you to do three things:

1. If you’re not subscribed yet, click here to get free email updates, so we can stay in touch.


2. Share this post using the buttons on the left. As one of this blog’s first readers, I’m not just hoping you’ll tell your friends about it. I’m counting on it.


3. Leave a comment, telling me where you’re struggling and how I can help

I’ll read the comments. I’ll think about them. I’ll plan the entire future of this blog around them.

Here’s why:

Over the coming months and years, I don’t just want to give you a few juicy tidbits of information about how to grow a popular blog. I don’t just want to entertain you with stories from my life. I don’t just want to persuade you to persevere.

All of those things are fine and dandy, but they’re not enough. My real goal is simple:

I want to turn your life upside down.

I want to meet you exactly where you are, right now, and give you the exact information you need to get immediate results. The only metric I really and truly care about is your success, because if I can help you, and we work together to spread the word, then I believe traffic and revenue and all of those other things will take care of themselves.

So, tell me where you are.

Tell me where you’re struggling.

Tell me how I can help.

And then strap yourself in.

Because you and me, my friend?

We’re going places. Fast.

About the Author: Jon Morrow is the Founder of Boost Blog Traffic and Associate Editor of Copyblogger. For more of his story, go here and here.

14 Devious Tactics for Getting More Comments on Your Blog Posts

You have a lot to be proud of, you know.

Most folks who start a blog quit within a few weeks, their dreams of fame and glory crushed by a cold and uncaring world who doesn’t give a damn what they think.

But you?

You hung in there. You kept writing. You’re even managing to get a little bit of traffic.

And you’re pleased with your progress. Rightfully so.

The only problem:

You’re not getting many comments.

Sometimes a post collects one or two. Sometimes none. Occasionally, you strike a nerve and get a handful of readers to say something.

But never dozens or hundreds of comments like some of the big blogs.

Granted, you’re probably not getting anywhere close to the traffic they are, but you can’t help wondering…

Are you doing something wrong?

Is there some trick you’re missing?

And most importantly, what can you do to get more comments?

Well, let’s see if we can help you out.

The Three-Part Formula for Getting More Comments

The first step to getting more comments is to understand how they work.

Here’s the formula:

Traffic + Engagement + Emotion = Bunches of Comments

The first part is obvious. The number of comments you receive is at least somewhat dependent on how much traffic you’re getting, so if you want more comments, get more traffic.

But what about engagement and emotion? How do those work?

Well, engagement is all about how much of the reader’s attention you have. If they’re just skimming your post, not really reading or digesting what you’re talking about, then you’re not going to get many comments.

It’s also about the length of time you can maintain that attention. To get visitors to comment, you have to convince them to read most if not all of the post.

Makes sense, right?

Well, the third part of the formula is the surprising one: emotion. Most bloggers are so busy trying to tell a story or make a point or pass along valuable information they totally forget to engage readers on an emotional level.

And that’s a huge mistake. If you look at posts that receive hundreds of comments, all of them provoke some sort of emotional response.

Maybe the post is inspiring. Maybe it’s a tearjerker. Maybe it’s so brutally honest it upsets people.

The point is, it makes them feel something, and what do we do when we’re overcome with emotion? We comment. Our emotions compel us.

It’s not just emotion or any one part of the formula that gets readers to react, though. It’s only by putting all three together, by compounding their effects, that you get dozens or even hundreds of comments on a single post.

So then the question becomes…

How?

It’s well and good to theorize about how comments work, but what are some specific steps you can take to start getting more of them right now?

Let’s talk about that next…

14 Ways to Get More Comments on Your Blog Posts

Here are some strategies you can start using immediately to boost your comment count. I’ve used them both on my own blog and the blogs of my clients, creating dozens of posts that have crossed the 100 comment threshold, so I know they work:

1. Get visitors to subscribe. Many readers won’t comment the first time they visit your blog. They need to get to know you first. To give them a chance, get them to subscribe to your blog by offering them an incentive like a free report, video, or webinar. Over time, the dividends are enormous, not only in additional comments but also in traffic and revenue.

2. Emphasize email over RSS. On average, the engagement of subscribers to your email list is about four times higher than subscribers to your RSS feed. More engagement means more comments, so emphasize email and make that RSS button a little harder to find.

3. Publish less often. The more often you publish, the less comments your posts will receive (on average). For one, the number of new comments a post receives drops dramatically when it’s pushed off the front page, but also, readers tend to get overwhelmed when you’re publishing a lot of content. By publishing less often, say once a week, you can actually increase your engagement, and therefore, your comments.

4. Email your unopens. If you email your subscribers a post, and they don’t read it, they must not be interested, right? Wrong. They may have overlooked it, been too busy to read it, or failed to receive it because of some technical glitch. So, here’s what to do: use an email service provider like AWeber that tracks who opens your emails, and email the post again to subscribers who don’t open it. You’ll get more traffic, and as a result, more comments.

5. Ask for links. Did you know not all traffic is created equal? When you get a link from an authority in your niche, the visitors are much more likely to comment than visitors who stumble across you on search engines or social sharing sites. So ask for links. Just hit them up on Facebook or Twitter and explain how the post will help their audience. Don’t be pushy. Offer it as a resource. You’ll be surprised how often they link to you.

6. Revive the archives. As a blogger, it’s all too easy to constantly be focused on the next post and forget about the great posts you wrote weeks, months, or years in the past. But it’s a mistake. Most of your audience won’t have read those posts, and so linking to them will not only help your readers, but it will get those old posts more comments as well. My recommendation: try linking to one old post per day on Twitter and Facebook, and set up an autoresponder sequence to send your best posts to new subscribers as well.

7. Write with more passion. When I write, I like to imagine the reader is sitting at their computer, half-asleep, and my job is to wake them up and get them energized. To do that, I get myself energized, and then I write with so much passion and energy they can feel it. It rubs off. If you believe passionately in what you’re talking about, it’s like connecting jumper cables from yourself to the reader and then revving your engine. You’ll wake them up and get them to comment.

8. Assault the norm. Controversy is probably the most reliable tool for getting people to comment, but you have to use it in the right way, or you’ll offend your readers. Here’s how to do it right: assault the norm. Find the commonly held belief in your niche that’s actually a myth or flat out wrong, and tell people why you disagree with it. You don’t have to be aggressive or try to provoke an argument. The more thoughtful the post is, the better it will do. For an example to model, click here.

9. Tell a tearjerker. You want a surefire method for getting people to comment? Well, here you go: make them cry. Tell a story that’s so sad, inspiring, or downright upsetting that it brings readers to tears. A good rule of thumb: if you tear up just thinking about it, it probably has a shot. The only problems with this method is you do have to be a good storyteller to make it work, and most of us don’t have more than a handful of tearjerker stories, so you can’t depend on them all the time.

10. Attack a common enemy. Politicians use this one all the time. The idea is simple: identify a person, company, or culture your audience hates, and then let them have it. Write a good old-fashioned rant. If you do it right, you’ll be a hero, because you’ll be giving voice to the anger and frustration your audience feels but can’t express. Not only will you get “I’m so glad you said this” comments, but you’ll strengthen your bond with your audience, transforming readers into converts who will hang on your every word.

11. Give a pep talk. This one is my favorite, and here’s why: the disease that cripples people and holds them back isn’t so much a lack of knowledge as a lack of confidence. They simply don’t believe in themselves. You can give them all the greatest information in the world, but they’ll either gloss over it or quickly forget, because their internal response to everything you say is, “I could never do that.” The solution? Be the one person in their life who truly believes in them, and end your posts with a pep talk about how they can do it. You’ll get more “thank you” comments than you’ve ever seen in your life.

12. Respond to the comments you do get. You may not realize this, but many of your commenters are expecting a response, and I’m not just referring to the ones who ask questions. They might elaborate on one of your points, tell a story from their own life, or simply thank you for the post, none of which obviously need a response. But respond anyway. They’ll be excited to get a response from you, and it’ll encourage them to comment more in the future. (Admittedly, this is an area where I could do better.)

13. Ask a question that’s easy to answer. The favorite closing paragraph of lazy bloggers is some variation of “What did I miss? Leave it in the comments.” And almost always, the close falls flat. Here’s why: it requires people to think too hard. Finding an example or a point you missed requires substantial thought, and if they’re not already super engaged, most people decide it’s not worth the effort. The solution is to ask questions like “What frustrates you?” or “What’s your favorite tool for such and such?” Those types of questions require almost no thought to answer, and so they get a lot of comments.

14. Resort to bribery. If all else fails, bribe them. Give away free products, consultations, feedback, the new iPad — pretty much whatever your audience desires. By getting people to comment, you employ the Law of Consistency, which means if people do something once, they’re much more likely to do it again. Commenting also makes readers feel more a part of your community, and they’re more likely to stick around, tell their friends, and buy your products and services. So, sometimes it’s worth giving them a little incentive to get off their butts and comment.

Is it really worth all that effort?

After reading all this, you might be thinking…

“Damn, I never knew getting comments was so much work. Is it really worth all that effort?”

In a word:

YES!

As I just mentioned, getting people to comment creates engagement, and it can actually help them succeed. By getting them off their butts, you’re not just boosting your comment count. You’re changing lives.

Comments are also good for your motivation.

If you’re writing and writing and writing, but no one ever comments, it’s easy to feel like you’re dumping your work into a big black hole. You can give up, not because your work isn’t good, but because no one is telling you it’s good.

The opposite is also true.

If you get dozens of comments on every post you publish, all of them thanking you and cheering you on, it’s really easy to stay motivated to keep writing. You can tell your work is touching people.

Whenever I get a little down, one my favorite things to do is go back to posts like this one and read the comments. Honestly, it makes me cry every time. Not because I’m a crybaby, not because I lack self-confidence, but because we all need to be reminded of how much other people treasure us.

Really, that’s what comments are.

They’re a hug from your best friend. They’re a pat on the back from your coach. They’re the standing ovation at the end of the speech.

And you know what?

You totally deserve it

The world is full of self-proclaimed experts offering to help in exchange for a hefty fee, but here you are, giving away your most valuable insights for free. The least you can ask for is a little bit of feedback.

But you can’t leave it to chance.

If you want more comments, you have to get more traffic. If you want more comments, you have to engage your readers. If you want more comments, you have to touch people’s emotions.

The good news?

After reading this post, you’re equipped with everything you need to do it.

So get to work.

Map out your strategy.

Write a post that makes your readers fall in love with you.

And then hang on.

Because those comments are coming, baby. In a freaking flood.

About the Author: Jon Morrow is the Founder of Boost Blog Traffic and Associate Editor of Copyblogger. For more of his story, go here and here.

Why Posting Every Day is a Silly Strategy (And What to Do Instead)

Note from Jon: This is a guest post by Dries Cronje from Trading Profit Lab. If you’re like me, you often turn your nose up to guest posts on popular blogs, because most of them are by beginning bloggers who are still learning their chops, and so the posts kind of suck. Not so here. I couldn’t have said this better myself. It’s a freaking awesome post, and I encourage you to read every word of it.

Someone, somewhere, told bloggers to post every day.

So you do. And you give it your best shot.

But posting daily just doesn’t work for you. You don’t meet your traffic and income goals, you don’t get a flood of visitors, and your subscriber numbers stagnate.

Now you’re doubting your ability to be a successful blogger, and you feel like a sweatshop worker, working super-hard with no real reward.

The post-every-day strategy takes all the fun out of blogging.

Deep down, you suspect this strategy is downright dangerous. And you’d be right for the following reasons:

Daily Posts Destroy Social Proof

Social proof is evidence, left by your readers, that your blog is interesting, popular and worth reading.

Your subscriber count, number of comments, number of retweets, likes and +1’s show new visitors that other people like and endorse you.

Without social proof, getting people to subscribe to your blog is much harder.

By posting too often, and thus continually replacing the latest post, you reduce the amount of social proof that each post will get. Few people will expend their present effort on yesterday’s conversations.

If you publish a post every day it’s only up at the top of your blog for that day. If you publish a post only once a week, it would be at the top of your blog for a whole week.

And a post will get more exposure if it is up at the top for longer… People will interact with it more since it’s the latest, most relevant content for a longer period of time.

Daily Posts Destroy Reader Bonding

Do you read all your emails as soon as they arrive? Neither do I.

In fact, some of my subscription emails can remain unopened in my inbox for days.

When I see I have, say, four unread broadcast emails from a blog I like, I will often only read the latest one. I miss all those that I couldn’t get to during the couple of days after they arrived.

I’m pressed for time. And so are my readers. And yours.

If you post too regularly, your subscribers won’t get around to reading every post you write.

As a result, you miss an opportunity to bond with them with each post they skip. And you miss an opportunity for them to spread the word about your work too.

Daily Posts Destroy Subscriber Counts

By sending out posts via email too often, you’ll force some of your subscribers to unsubscribe. This is particularly true for less-popular bloggers.

Most people have too much to read and will thank you for posting less often — especially if the quality of your blog posts improves as a result.

Some of my favorite bloggers post as infrequently as once every month to six weeks.

Every post they write is excellent, and contains helpful advice that I can apply right away. I devour every article.

But I only read about one in ten of the posts from people who publish daily.

Scarcity breeds value. Abundance doesn’t.

What to Do Instead

By now, you should agree that posting on your blog daily is neither wise nor productive. Yet when you start seeing the benefits of not posting every day, you need something new and constructive to fill the void.

Sure, you can still think about and work on posts every day. You’ll just be publishing less often and spending your remaining time with the following:

1. Plan Your Posts… Wisely

A remarkable post is almost always a well-planned post. Crafting excellent content starts before you sit down to write.

You have to come up with an idea that people will like, so do your homework.

Look at popular blogs in your niche. Which posts do well?

Look for similarities between successful posts.

Once you have an idea, craft an excellent headline — one that will get the click. No use spending days writing a post if readers will just glance at it, or ignore it and carry on with their busy lives.

You have to give them incentive to click through. Tell them why they need to read your post. Give them a compelling reason in the headline.

What problem do they have? What useful solution does your post offer them?

It’s wise to test your headline with a mentor. A wise guest blogging mentor —someone you might know very well — refined and improved many of my headlines (including this one).

You only start writing after all this.

2. Life is short — Make It Count

Remember that scene in Walk the Line where Sam Phillips, the owner of a small recording studio and record label, gave a speech to Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two about the tired gospel-type song they were performing?

Sam stopped them from playing and asked if they had anything else, stating a song like that wouldn’t sell. Johnny didn’t like this, but Sam sketched the following scenario:

“You were hit by a truck and you were lying there in that gutter — dying — and you had time to sing one song. One song people would remember before you’re dirt. One song that would sum you up. You’re telling me that’s the song you’d sing? That same Jimmy Davis tune we hear on the radio all day… about your peace within, and how it’s real and how you’re gonna shout it? Or, would you sing something different? Something real. Something you felt. ‘Cause I’m telling you right now, that’s the kind of song people want to hear. That’s the kind of song that truly saves people. It ain’t got nothing to do with believing in God, mister Cash. It’s got to do with believing in yourself.”

Whenever you’re writing a blog post, ask yourself these same questions. If you had time for only one post, would your current idea be the kind people want to read, the kind that saves people?

If you post only once every two months, but the content is truly awesome, you will be much more successful than someone publishing crappy posts every day.

Make it excellent, interesting and worthwhile. Over deliver! Blow your readers away. That’s the only way to turn readers into raving fans.

3. Hit Publish, then Promote, Promote, Promote

Okay. So you wrote your article, and if it were the last one you ever wrote, you’d have no regrets.

You had it checked and edited, and it’s live.

Now what?

Do you just move on and start a new post?

Absolutely not!

Now you have to promote the you-know-what out of it. And that could take as long as two weeks to do thoroughly.

Don’t know whom to tell?

Start networking with the five biggest bloggers in your niche or a related niche. Comment on their posts. Retweet their tweets. Purchase their products. Offer them your assistance.

Soon, some of them will notice you. They might even have a conversation with you on Twitter.

And then, when you tell them about a product of theirs that you reviewed, or a post that you’ve linked to, who knows? They might just promote your post for you.

They might even agree to do an interview with you.

I know this seems like hard work. I know it might take time. I know that it’s not a guaranteed payday.

But earning a solid income online is no get rich quick scheme. It’s called online business. It takes time and effort, but when it pays off, the rewards are awesome.

Nothing worth having comes easy, right?

4. Grow Your Online Business by Creating Valuable Assets

You shouldn’t post on your blog every day because you need to spend time creating assets to grow your business.

You should spend time conducting interviews with niche authorities. You should host webinars. You should create ebooks, all of which you can either sell or offer as free subscription incentives.

Your marketing efforts will pay off if you do. And a product that offers a clear solution to one of the pressing problems of your target market can make you good money for years to come.

Case Study: A Successful Post

Despite having built some successful blogs, I’m currently in the same boat as many beginners.

I have a brand new blog, with less than ten posts up. It’s in dire need of some attention, traffic and subscribers.

Recently, I posted a new article called 45 Kick-Ass Resources for Online Entrepreneurs.

It took me three weeks to nail the title of this post. And about two weeks to write the post.

On the day I posted it, it didn’t get that many visitors. But the day after that… Wow! The traffic soared.

According to Google Analytics, that single post brought me about 2,000 unique visitors over the ten days after I published it. It almost doubled my subscriber numbers too.

The overall traffic to my blog also leveled off at a significantly higher level than before this post.

People retweeted it 1,075 times, liked it 122 times, and +1’ed it 38 times. And it got 56 comments.

Yes, I know. That’s not so great in comparison to an A-list blog, but for a new one? One with only 3 posts at that stage? And for a relatively unknown author?

I was blown away.

If I had forgotten about that post right after hitting publish, and posted a new article the next day, I wouldn’t have gotten as much traffic or social sharing.

Brian Clark, Darren Rowse, and Chris Garrett probably wouldn’t have retweeted it. Johnny B. Truant probably wouldn’t have linked to it from his Copyblogger Weekly Wrap.

I promoted it. I told people about it — people I know online and who I have earned the right to speak to. I didn’t spam anyone with it. I didn’t ask for retweets or links from anyone I didn’t know.

But I knew it was good and helpful and the result of years of consuming online resources. And therefore I didn’t hesitate to ask others to share it.

5. Stroke Egos to Your Advantage

I admit. The post I highlighted in the case study used a crafty tactic. It employed the ‘ego bait’ factor — one that has viral written all over it.

Many people who saw their products listed in my post wanted to show other people that their products made it onto the list. So they shared it on the social networks and linked to it from newsletters and blog posts.

Does that make the case study less applicable?

I don’t think so. In fact, a clever blogger thinks about these things.

He realizes that certain factors make a post more attractive to other people and increase the likelihood that people will share it. And then he goes and writes a post specifically with that in mind.

It’s just another part of the strategic promotion game.

And using ‘ego bait’ is just one such strategy.

Derek Halpern tells how he regularly emails other bloggers to inform them about his Social Triggers articles.

He would point them to an article on a topic their readers might find interesting. More often than not, these people link to it. He has grown his subscriber list to tens of thousands of fans using this strategy.

Jon Morrow used guest posting to get 1,200 subscribers in one day! And who knows how many more subscribed over the course of the following two weeks.

These things don’t happen because these guys are in the right place at the right time.

No.

They study content marketing. They study copywriting. They spend many days thinking about their post ideas and coming up with good headlines. They spend weeks working on their posts, improving them with each iteration.

And then they spend countless hours promoting their posts after hitting publish.

Go Pro, Baby!

Do you want to become a professional blogger?

Steven Pressfield says going pro is essential if we want to overcome self-sabotage. You need to let the world and yourself know that you’re serious, that you’re not in this merely for a couple of laughs.

You mean business. This is your life. And you have something meaningful to say.

A professional blogger doesn’t just write one boring post after another.

Hell no.

The pro has a vision. And he has a strategy to achieve his vision. He realizes that marketing is part of the game. He knows that a business needs promotional material, products, and sales letters.

He understands the problems of his target market. He knows how to communicate the benefits of the solution he offers.

He knows the difference between boring content, and the stuff that really matters.

A pro doesn’t just fall into a rut of daily posts hoping that someday soon his luck will change. A pro grabs his opportunity with both hands and does something amazing. Something worth talking about.

So, who do you want to be? For a smart blogger like you, the choice is obvious.

It’s time to start taking online business seriously.

It’s time to start writing posts that matter — posts that save people.

It’s time to start promoting your blog posts like your future depended on it.

Because it does.

About the Author: Dries Cronje is the founder of Trading Profit Lab, a site that helps budding traders get a solid start in trading, and become consistently profitable in no time.