I really loved attending #NicheParent14. (Check out why!) The sessions were full of great information to help bloggers improve and master their craft.
Here are ten important tips or tricks I learned during this great conference.
1. GET AN EDITORIAL CALENDAR STAT! I hate to say, I don’t have an editorial calendar. It is something that I KNOW I should be doing but I have always managed to get away with not doing it. Ella Rucker and Lorraine C. Ladish gave us great tips as to why bloggers need an editorial calendar. (organization, of course.) Organizing our content and what is coming up helps us better plan… along those lines, scheduling tweets and Facebook posts will also help drive traffic to our posts.
2. “OLD” CONTENT IS ONLY OLD TO YOU! Just because you wrote something six months ago, doesn’t mean it’s not relevant or that someone else won’t find it useful. Thank you, Laura Fuentes from Momables, for sharing this gem. This is definitely something I will remember, and remember to give some of my old posts some love.
3. It’s OK IF YOU’RE NOT ON EVERY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM: Know which ones are your best ones, where you have more engagement and followers… which ones do you love? Stick to what you love and do it well!
Caveat to no. 3: Embrace Google+ Why? Because If you share on Google+ they will index your posts, that helps with how you show up on their search engine.
4. YOUR STORY IS A POWERFUL STORY: Alberto Sardinas, one of our keynote speakers, radio personality and author, says “Think about who your audience is. Your personal story is worth sharing. People will listen.”
5. IT IS OK (and sometimes necessary!) TO OUTSOURCE! Time is money, you don’t have to do everything yourself… a great tool to outsource stuff you don’t know how to do or don’t want to do is FIVERR.
6. REGISTER WITH BING ANALYTICS: Google doesn’t cover 100% of searches! Make sure to register with Bing so you can be on their radar!
7. VIDEO,VIDEO, VIDEO! The truth is … a two minute video might not compete with a 1000 word post! Embrace video, says Iblog Magazine’s Matt Cherry.
8. Do you love pop ups? You should: 60-70% conversion rate!
9. TIME IS MONEY. (and KNOW YOUR WORTH!) Kim Garst, social media influencer and one of Forbes’ top social media influencers says “Content is king.” And, don’t be afraid to value what you know, and guess what? Start charging for it! To add to this, Matt Cherry explained that we need to treat blogging like our business.. think about the time we spend on a blog post, and assign monetary value to that! Think about what your hourly rate is… and don’t accept those assignments that are not-paid, or pay very little… if your rate is $50 an hour and you’re spending 8 hours on a post (writing, editing, etc) don’t accept the assignments that only pay $30 or $50.
10. CLEAN UP YOUR BLOG:
- Badges are clutter!
- Your media kit should be available on your blog and it should be EASY TO FIND!
- Build your email list! Create ways for your readers to become subscribers. You can do this by giving them something of value (ex. free e-book, weekly newsletter…something that is of worth to them and something you’re good at!) so they keep coming for more!
Here’s one more for good luck:
Did you attend #NicheParent14? What was your favorite part? What’s one thing you learned? Share with us below!
