5 Blog Strategies to Add in 2018

2018 is upon us and we are already a month in! It is never too late to add some resolutions or blogolutions to your website, blog, and business. As you finalize your 2018 goals, take a look at some of these strategies to either add or re-evaluate so that you are set up for the most successful year yet!

Consistent Content

Having consistent posts is the number one characteristic of a good blog. It is so important to regularly post and the key to making sure that happens is to schedule out your blogs. Here are a couple ways to help:

1. Content Scheduling Tool

Save yourself the hassle of posting by working with a scheduling tool. Not only can you plan your calendar in advance, but these tools can help immensely with staying productive, setting goals and staying consistent. Not only that, but often times, these tools have the capability to post to your social channels. No more logging in multiple places. Find a scheduling calendar and tool that will do it for you in one simple location.

2. Blog Series

Sometimes coming up with content can be tough. Everyone can get writers block, but having a theme or series can help direct your content. For example, you’ll see that ShareASale posts our “Must-Have Merchant” series on Mondays. We know that the structure of our posts will always be the same; we just have to choose the theme and products that match the theme. Think about incorporating at least one blog series into your week, or month.

3. Writing Routine

Do you have a general schedule for the turnaround time needed for one of your blog posts? When do you start brainstorming content? When do you start writing? How long does it take to edit content or edit photos? These are all things to think about to prevent rushing through a post, publishing late, or worse, not at all!

Video

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that you be thinking about how to incorporate video into your marketing strategy or, if you are already using video, how to do it better. Over the last couple years, video has become a necessity.

Every social platform has a form of video – Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, Snapchat, and Youtube has always been a platform for video. It is a powerful tool to communicate your brand, your blog, and yourself. It is an added way to grow trust and build a stronger relationship with viewers and customers.

Bottom line, if you aren’t incorporating video, you need to start now. Don’t worry about creating professional grade videos – put more focus on creating content for your readers. You can do a lot with a cell phone and a social channel! 

Keyword/SEO

Don’t hit publish on any blog post without considering it’s SEO or doing keyword research. Whenever you are in a rush to finish up a post, it is so easy to brush past the SEO in an effort to post in time, but don’t do it! While it might not be the most exciting part of blogging, SEO is more important than you think. Plugins like Yoast make it easier than ever to add the necessary information to give your post an SEO boost. Without the information, your blog is going to rank low on search engines results. Being a top result for keyword searches can immensely help grow your blog. Your post will live and bring in traffic a lot longer if you take the extra time to add SEO!

Email Newsletters

Take personalization to a new level with your readers by encouraging them to sign up for your email newsletter list. Not only will you be top of mind by regularly putting your brand in their inbox, but newsletters are also a great opportunity for monetization. Try incorporating some of your favorite or top performing affiliate links into your newsletters. Email is usually an untapped opportunity for a lot of bloggers. It is never too early or to late to get started. Grow your blog this year by adding in email newsletters.

Attend an Industry Conference

You should consider attending an industry conference this year. Events have so many benefits for your blog business. They offer educational sessions from industry leaders, time to network with other bloggers, and even allow opportunities with brand representatives who could be a great fit for your audience. Especially in the online world, in person meetings and interactions are priceless. Nothing builds stronger relationships than being able to meet someone face-to-face.

*Pro Tip: ShareASale believes in conferences so much so that we are hosting our own event. Learn more about the event and apply today to attend!