SEO & content marketing can help you expand your reach – if you get the strategy right! Content marketer Stacey Wall reveals the importance of understanding ‘audience intent’ for creating a strong foundation for your strategy.
So what is audience intent and how can you uncover it? Stacey answers these questions and much more in this timely SEO and content marketing masterclass.
Mark Thomson shares his expert ideas for start-ups and those who are planning their content marketing strategy – showing the way forward through use of the varying tools of the trade.
Make sure your blogging strategies are promoting your website and pushing visitors your way. Don’t waste time and energy writing posts that don’t engage – check out the infographic that talks you through the state of the blog industry, from creation to the way forward. Josh Wardini uses the insight to show how to boost your blog’s performance.
You have written an article for your website and now you hope that blog you post will attract and engage visitors. Make sure it does by deploying the best SEO practices, says Jay Kang – who details how careful use of WordPress and search engine optimisation can boost your site’s rankings and ultimately drive more people to your e-shop window.
There have been plenty of cases where vexed staff have criticised employers on social media – but what can companies do to prevent ‘brand-bashing’? Award-winning author Luan Wise says the key is in setting up an effective social media policy – here’s her strategy on limiting potential damage.
Brands aim to truly connect with their audiences and UGC is proving to be an excellent way of engaging existing and potential consumers. But does your brand know the rules? Do you understand user generated content licensing regulations? Avoid a litigious path of potential banana skins, says Simon Banks at Lobster – get to grips with the rights and wrongs of using UGC.
What does a successful affiliate marketer do to keep ahead of competitors and be top of their league? Phil Coleman from global self-service platform ClickSure says they should be relevant, reachable and unique – and use data analysis as their secret weapon. Here’s why . . . and how:
Recently, Optimus Performance Marketing looked into the average amount of money made by the average ‘lifestyle’ blogger in the UK; finding that they can make as much as £906 per year through affiliate sales and commission alone.
Following this discovery, the team at OPM have compiled a selection of advisory tips for bloggers who may be looking to start taking advantage of affiliate commission on their websites in the near future.
Top tips for bloggers considering becoming affiliates:
Are you doing it for the right reasons?
It’s all well and good thinking that your blog is at the stage where it could start making you money, and it’s true that affiliate marketing is one of the most effective ways to make money online.
However, simply because you want to ‘make money’ should not be the sole reason for wanting to continue a blog. Blogging and writing insightful and imaginative articles that strike a chord with your audience should be the ultimate driving force spurring your blog on. Readers will see through posts that are too promotion-heavy.
Do you have a wide enough following?
In order to start making some money from your blog, you don’t necessarily need to have thousands and thousands of existing subscribers. In our experience, much of the engagement and comments left on a lifestyle blog will be from individuals who have organically discovered your site through social media pages and not by those who are already subscribed to your blog. If you feel as though your content is generating enough unique views, engagement and comments from a wide plethora of readers, then becoming an affiliate site is absolutely something to consider seriously.
Are you driving enough traffic to your blog from social media platforms?
We cannot highlight enough the important role that social media will play in whether or not a move into the realm of affiliate commission is a successful one. By staying active and sharing original content on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google + and Pinterest, you can make sure you are continually building your following and chances of making commissions through sales made through your site. It is also worth actively encouraging shares, retweets and re-pins of particularly popular posts, especially by other high-profile bloggers who may follow you.
Is your content engaging enough for your audience?
If you are seriously interested in making money through your blog, you will need to start writing reviews of products and services with affiliate marketing in mind. You cannot simply throw links out randomly and expect a wave of commission to start rolling in. It is far more effective to think of the affiliate links as added resources that compliment your existing copy, and not the sole reason you have written the piece in the first place.
Do you have the extra time to dedicate to your blog?
Perhaps a rather straightforward point, but chances are you already juggle writing and managing your blog with full-time work or studying. Therefore, an important question to ask yourself is whether you can dedicate the required amount of time to monetising your blog, especially if it starts to do very well for you. Would you be willing to forego the odd night out or shopping trip with friends in order to stay in and work on your blog? If the answer is no, then you might want to re-think your options.
Would you know the kinds of affiliate programs to approach?
Affiliate links will earn you commission if you successfully drive a sale to the merchant, which means that a blog reader will need to click on one of your embedded links, and either purchase or sign up to something before you see any kind of commission. Therefore, the more relevant your affiliate ad is to your reader’s likes and preferences, the higher the chances they will click on the link and make a subsequent purchase.
Mark Russell, CEO of Optimus Performance Marketing, said: “In theory, using affiliate commission to boost your income could not be easier or more straightforward. However, in reality, in such a saturated market, it’s important that one is 100% sure of the things to take into account before committing to affiliate sales. It is our hope that the advice and tips included above will help any bloggers with their decision-making process and help them to avoid making a rushed choice.”