In our digital world, being a rockstar is more important than ever before. As more and more people turn to the web to seek information, entertainment, and connections, the importance of being the go-to source for your industry sharply rises. What exactly does it take to be a rockstar in online marketing? We analysed the top performing marketing blogs to find the common threads that bind them together. Below, you’ll discover the characteristics of a rockstar marketer in blogs and social media.
Top Blogs Perform Best When They Focus On Immediacy And Action
When someone seeks information or entertainment online, they usually want to obtain it now. Fewer words. More action. That’s the credo behind many of the top-performing blogs in 2019 and beyond.
To determine which blogs are the best in the industry, we searched for the terms “marketing blogs” and “online marketing blogs” in the Google Search Console. From there, we exported all the blog articles that returned in our search and imported them into a clean sheet of paper. Next, we analysed the the top-performing blogs to find the common threads that bind them together.
Attracting, Engagement, and Retention Are Key To A Successful Blog
To determine the key metrics that lead to a successful blog, we first analysed the articles that didn’t perform well. We found three main issues:
- The articles were too long. They were almost always more than a page in length, and that’s a turnoff for readers. They want quick, snappy reading material.
- The content wasn’t relevant to their needs. Even when they needed product or service advice, they didn’t find it relevant.
- The tone of the content was too much. It was more like advertising, so it came off as more annoying than engaging.
After we fixed those issues, we were able to determine the key performance indicators of a successful marketing blog. They are as follows:
- Attracting the right audience. This is more important than ever before since there are so many platforms and channels for marketers to target their audience.
- Engaging with that audience. This entails creating valuable content that will hold their attention and encourage them to come back for more.
- Retaining that audience. This means creating content that will encourage them to tell their friends about the blog.
Attracting The Right Audience
If you’re a marketer and you’ve been ignoring internet marketing, you may be wondering how on earth you’re going to attract the right audience to your blog. After all, you probably already know that most people aren’t that interested in what an internet marketer has to say. You need to discover a way to speak to your audience and encourage them to take an interest in what you have to say. That’s where becoming a thought leader comes in handy.
To determine the right audience for your blog, you need to consider things such as the demographics, psychographics, and digital behaviour of your existing and potential customer base. From there, you can craft the perfect mix of content that will encourage them to listen to you and subscribe to your blog. If you can become the go-to source for information on your topic, you’ll be able to attract the audience you need to sustain your blog content.
Engaging With Your Audience
Once you’ve attracted the right audience with your blog, you can begin engaging with them on a more personal level. This is where your content will get interesting. You’ll need to find a way to engage with your audience that encourages them to come back for more. In general, you can use the following methods to accomplish this goal:
- Use personal anecdotes to relate to your audience. Instead of simply regurgitating content, relate your own experiences to give your audience a more personalized takeaway.
- Interact with your audience through short, snappy responses to their comments and questions. Stay active and involved in the conversation, especially on social media channels where you can reach a broader audience.
- Use video content. The video content on your site may not perform as well as your written content, but it can easily act as a call to action. Create short videos to attract potential customers to subscribe to your blog, and longer videos to encourage them to come back for more.
- Use infographics and visual content. An infographic can help your audience understand complex topics in an easy-to-follow manner. When used correctly, infographics can add a wealth of knowledge and information to your content without overwhelming your audience.
- Create a community. You can use your blog to encourage your audience to participate in activities and discussions. Some of the more popular marketing blogs encourage audience members to participate in live chats with guest experts, engage with other bloggers via comments, and even subscribe to a mailing list.
- Use social media. One of the major ways people find and connect with others these days is via social media. If you’ve got a sizable audience on one of the major social media platforms, you can use that to your advantage by posting relevant, valuable content. Make sure to connect with other bloggers and content creators in your niche on social media.
Retaining Your Audience
If you’re able to retain your audience long-term, you’ll be able to continuously engage with them and increase the likelihood of them coming back for more. This is more difficult than attracting new readers and it takes a little bit of luck and a lot of careful consideration. As you already know, people aren’t that interested in what an internet marketer has to say. That being said, your audience may not know precisely what they’re looking for. With your help, they may discover a new interest or hobby that will pique their curiosity and get them to come back for more content.
Being The Go-To Source For Information
Being the go-to source for information on your topic will earn you a spot as an authority in your industry. When potential customers search for information on your niche, they’ll find your blog article at the top of the results page. This is more important than ever before because there are so many competitors out there trying to gain credibility in their industry.
To ensure that they find your blog article, you’ll need to ensure that the search engines optimize for your target keywords. For best results, you should use a combination of keywords and phrases. For example, if you’re a fashion blog, you may want to use terms such as “fashion trends,” “streetstyle,” and “style tips.”
The Importance Of Content Quality
When someone seeks information on the internet, they don’t usually want to waste their time reading poor-quality blog articles. Below a certain quality threshold, even the most fascinating article will begin to lose its impact. To ensure that your content remains interesting and easy to follow, you need to create content of a certain quality. Using poor grammar and spelling won’t do; it will only serve to frustrate your reader.
To put it simply, create high-quality content that you know you can stand behind. Then, when you have content that’s ready to be published, take the time to proofread it and catch any errors before putting it live.
Top-Performing Blogs Are Vary Well-Rounded
In today’s ever-evolving world, it’s essential to remain well-rounded in your knowledge base. To achieve this, you need to establish a blog in each of the major areas of knowledge that you possess. By establishing a blog in each of these areas, you can help provide your audience with a multi-faceted view of your industry. After all, an educated consumer is a profitable one.
Action Is Key
If someone is clicking on your affiliate links and making a purchase within a short period of time, that’s an action. That’s what you’ve got to work with. Instead of thinking about your blog in the abstract, determine what you can do with this information to make something happen. What will you do with this knowledge once you’ve obtained it?
Thought leadership isn’t just about speaking to your audience. It’s about pushing boundaries and challenging conventional thinking. Establishing a blog isn’t easy, but it’s definitely worth it if you’re able to develop the habit of writing regularly and find the joy in helping others. If you stick with it, you may just become the go-to source for your industry. And if that happens, you’ll be a true rockstar amongst online marketing experts.