Sunday, September 22, 2013

Social Media: Putting together an effective blog




By: Stephanie Burkhart 

Social media has brought the world closer and opened up markets along with promo opportunities not available before. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other media are excellent marketing tools. Today, I wanted to touch on blogging, discuss its benefits and how to be an effective blogger.

As I was researching this topic, two important points stuck out to me: #1 Blogging helps you build a network and #2 it allows you to help others.

Networking
A blog is a great way to reach out to others, especially since being on the web has a global reach. So how to you appeal to the global audience? Find those topics that are valuable and interesting to you. Don't just talk about your writing all the time. What draws readers to you are the valuable and interesting topics you present.

Helping Others
A hook to your blog should include a way to help others. After all, the power of the blog is to inspire, educate, and bring people together. People and readers are attracted to those posts that talk about the challenge of weight loss, raising kids, and how others face life's adversities.

As a writer, using blogging as a marking/networking/promo tool, you've got to find balance. I'm learning it's 80% being interesting/inspirational/helping others, and 20% promo.

Some items to consider:

Blogging is a great way to ask for feedback. Don't forget to end your post with a question that your readers will feel compelled to answer.

Share ideas – what I like about Pinterest is how easy and fun it is to share ideas – especially recipes.

Post regularly. This can be a challenge, but one worth mastering. You don't have to post every day. I would suggest 2-3 times a week. I know people who post once on Mondays, but their topics are so interesting, readers always visit.

Remember:
Facebook and Twitter are blogging-like platforms, too. Ask questions. These platforms are great for feedback.

Expression
Blogging allows the blogger to expand their creativity and imagination. Go for it!

What you need:
A pound of passion, a gallon of purpose and a tablespoon of focus. Without these motivating factors your recipe for blogging will never reach its full potential.

Suggestions:
Before you blog or if you're in a blogging rut, make a list of your outside interests. (apart from writing) some ideas include: dancing, reading, being outdoors, traveling, scouting, swimming, Olympics, everyday challenges, breast cancer, football, etiquette, or music. Pick a few you want to explore on your blog. Research them. Write from the heart. Remember you have 200-300 words to keep their attention. End with a question and, depending, a small promo about your writing projects. Smaller is effective. Trust me. Use a one line hook., one buy link., and one review quote. Don't bang people over the head with how good your book is. Get their interest and inspire them to investigate.

Blogging ultimately comes back to inspiring and the more passionate you are, the more you'll attract readers.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.  What's your balance with blogging ? How much is promo and how much is other material that interests you? Do you have any tips/suggestions to share?


Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. Her book, "The Giving Meadow" is published with 4RV Publishing.

About "The Giving Meadow:" Caterpillar learns the value of caring and sharing as he travels through a meadow.

"A heartwarming story." – 5 Stars, Midwest Book Reviews

Publishers Buy Link: http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/burkhart.php

13 comments:

  1. I like your post. I only post twice a week. When combined with FB, Twitter, and Pinterest, that feels like a lot. The blog is circulated more nowadays too.

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    1. Vicki, I think that's great, especially when you combine FB, Twitter and Pintrerest. It's time consuming and I think you have to budget your time accordingly.

      Smiles
      Steph

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  2. Great post and tips, Stephanie, and came at the right time for me. I am in that blogging "rut" right now. o_0 Thanks for sharing. Have a great week.

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    1. Hope I helped, Sweetie. It's never easy for me to come up with topics on my own blog. I try to do a snippet Sunday, book reviews, a "California" post, and just now I'm going to start blogging about my adventures as a Cub Scout Mom. I also like to blog about the holidays and "national" month, but you need time to dedicate to research and time to promo. I'd like to branch out to other items - My son does gymnastics and I like the Olympics, but again, time and research always seem to hinder my efforts and I'm not as proactive as I would like to be.

      Smiles
      Steph

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  3. Hi Steph, This is a very helpful post for me because I want to start blogging once a week soon but have been hesitant to start for technical reasons. This blog post makes it seem more possible.

    By the way, I love your Caterpillar book cover. Did you illustrate it yourself? Best of luck with it!

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    1. Gemma, I'm glad to help. I can totally understand about being hesitant, trust me. Stephen Macquinon is the illustrator. He did a fantastic job with the pictures!

      Smiles
      Steph

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  4. Great pointers Stephanie! I strongly believe that Social Media is becoming more and more influential nowadays. The great thing I love is that you can be able to sync your 1 social media account to the rest. Let's say I share a post on Tumblr, once I post on tumblr, it can also be shared to other social media accounts just be one posting. Right?
    ___________________
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    1. Paula, yes, more sites are becoming "linkable" to others. That's what I like about Tirber/Twitter/ and my blog. It allows the blog to get more exposure. My actual comments are still low but my numbers say I average over 200+ a visit. It's a great start.

      Smiles
      Steph

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  5. Good info. Thanks for sharing. I find it difficult to keep a regular schedule of posts.

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    1. Barbara, I agree. You know what helped me? I got an actual physical month calender (I usually get them at Christmas when the relatives send them) and I make one my "marketing/promo" calender and then whatever I schedule, I put it on that calendar so I can see it and I always have it close by so I can refer to it.

      Smiles
      Steph

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  6. Stephanie, Great post. Content marketing is a must and blogging is a key element. I post three times a week and definitely share the posts to social networks - this is the only way a post can go viral. Thanks for sharing.

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