There’s more to blogging than just coming up with a bunch of content. You have to figure out and follow a strategy that best suits you. Often times, it’s a hit and miss kind of trial. Experience can definitely teach you a lot and it would be a smart move to learn from the experience of others, especially when it comes to blogging.
A lot of blogs about about blogging can be found on the Internet. Meet the Bloggers is our way of giving you a different, more personal, angle when it comes to learning from experts in various fields. In today’s episode, we introduce to you Shane Barker. He’s a digital marketing consultant who picked up blogging a few years back. Know more about Shane’s journey as you read along. He also shared his tips that you can definitely apply on your blog.
1.) Please tell us about yourself and how you got into blogging?
I’m a digital marketing consultant for over 18+ years and specialize in sales funnels, targeted traffic, and website conversions. I started doing blogging about 6 years ago when a number of my marketing friends were saying that blogging was a great way to generate inbound leads and that Google loves the original content. Ever since that day I’ve been blogging and do guest blog posts for 100+ websites.
2.) What is the focus of your blog and why did you choose that niche?
My blog mainly focuses on the digital marketing landscape, and covers everything from ecommerce marketing to influencer marketing. I chose the niche because I see a lot of brands and businesses failing to market themselves more effectively on the internet, and I want to help them.
3.) How are you currently monetizing your blog traffic?
I am currently monetizing my blog from inbound leads. Over the last two years, I’ve written for over 100+ authoritative websites. Not only is guest posting great for SEO and backlinks, it’s also a great way to drive traffic and leads to my website.
4.) What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started blogging?
One thing I learned that is important is to divide and conquer. Blogging, if done the right way, can take your business to the next level. But don’t be shy to delegate tasks to your team. There are a lot of moving pieces, and if you want to blog at a higher level, then you need to divide up the tasks. That may mean delegating keyword and trend research, outreach, and/or editing.
5.) What are three blogs that you visit almost daily?
There are tons of blogs that I find particularly helpful. My first pick would be the Forbes blog, particularly the Business, Entrepreneurs, and Small Business sections. I also love the Moz blog as it covers every aspect of SEO and inbound marketing on an advanced level. The Mediakix and Influencer Marketing Hub blogs are two more that I love to check out regularly. They keep . me updated on news and updates regarding influencer marketing.
6.) Can you give us three recommended tools/services that you use with your blogging?
BuzzSumo would be my first pick for content research. The tool helps me develop content ideas that would appeal to my target readers based on trending topics and top-performing content on similar topics.
For keyword research, the Google Keyword Planner has always been a trusty tool.
I also use the Yoast SEO plugin to ensure that the content I publish will be clearly visible in search engines.
I then use Buffer to schedule my posts and share them on social media.
7.) What advice would you have for someone who is just starting with their first blog?
Don’t just focus on quantity.
You don’t have to publish a new post every day, especially if the content quality isn’t up to par. Instead, produce quality content that’s relevant to your audience and that will be beneficial to them in some way or the other. Try to meet a one-post-per-week target.
8.) What’s the best advice or tip you’ve discovered about blogging since getting started?
It’s much better to produce one high-quality and actionable article in a week than to share 3-4 generic articles in a week just to meet your target. Although publishing regularly is important, you shouldn’t do so at the risk of compromising the content quality. Make sure that whatever post you publish has some value to your audience.
9.) If you only had $100 to start a new blog, how would you use it?
I would spend the money on registering my domain name and choosing a web hosting service provider. Since there is such a limited amount of funds, I would need to choose affordable options for both of these. I will also look for free blog software and plugins to save whatever amount I have left on building my brand such as on logo design.
10.) How can readers of the blog get in touch with you?
Readers can get in touch with me via the contact form on my website. Otherwise, they can always contact me through Twitter, LinkedIn or you can see my free ebooks here.