by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

When you tell people that you blog for a living, they think it’s easy, that you just sit at home all day on the internet writing. They say anyone can do that!

But, when they actually try it, they realize it’s much harder than they thought. At first, they make many mistakes like any beginner.

The challenges are pretty easy to avoid if you know they’re coming.

Below are some common mistakes most beginners make and some tips for avoiding them.


What is a blog?

A blog is short for weblog, a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page. — Wikipedia

Blogs can help you establish authority in your industry, drive traffic to your website, convert traffic into leads, and grow your business.


What are the most common blog post mistakes?

1. You think of ideas that only interest you.

No matter how great you think your post is, you’re writing for other people.


Solution: Blog posts should reflect your company’s or your site’s larger goals.

You’re blogging to offer solutions to your audience’s problems and to grow your business. All of your blog posts should be written with these goals in mind and have a natural tie-in to issues in your industry while addressing specific questions and concerns of your prospects.


2. You forget about your persona.

If you want your blog content to generate traffic, leads, and sales, it must resonate with your audience and make them take action. You have to have an idea of the person you’re trying to reach – age group, interests, male, female, income range, etc.


Solution: Understand your persona’s problems and frustrations and solve them.

You can bridge the gap with your content by defining your buyer persona and the things that are important to them.


3. Your writing is too rigid.


You should write like you talk, in a style that is effortless to read.


Solution: Write blogs that are personable.

So, relax your style of writing and be more conversational. Use contractions. Throw in a pun or two.


4. You think people care about you as a writer.

People care more about what you can teach them than they do about you and your experiences.


Solution: Show your personality without obscuring the subject.

You can introduce parts of your personality in your writing to make people feel at ease. Some people crack jokes, some reference pop culture, and others use vivid descriptions in their writing.

The choice is yours. Make your tone personal and engaging, as if you’re in a face-to-face conversation.


5. You digress

Although you’re encouraged to let your personality shine through when you’re writing, don’t abuse the privilege. Don’t bring up too many personal experiences that bury the point you’re trying to make.

Don’t digress into these personal anecdotes and analogies too much — your readers aren’t sitting in front of you, which means you can’t guarantee that you have their undivided attention. They may lose patience and bounce from your article.


Solution: Assert your argument repeatedly.

Restate your point in every section of the article, to prevent your writing from losing its audience. Commit to an overarching message and deliver it gradually, repeating it several times throughout the post.

State your main point upfront. Don’t spend several paragraphs telling a story of how you came to do a certain thing before getting to the main focus of your post.


6. Not narrowing your topic.

Don’t use topics like:

“Internet Marketing”

“How to do Social Media Marketing”

“Digital Marketing”

These topics are too broad. To get the most short-term and long-term benefits of your blogging, you need to be very specific.


Solution: Start with a clear, concise idea.

A working title isn’t final — it’s just a solid perspective to keep your writing on track. Once you get this stage right it’s much easier to write your posts.

This is a link to some sources to get ideas. (I get no commission)

https://coursemethod.com/blog-topic-generator-tool.html



Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

What is burnout?

Burnout is the accumulation of work-related stress coupled with continued pressure to perform at an increased level over time without sufficient breaks and downtime.

What are the signs of stress?

1. Fight response

People who have a fight response to stress may have increased irritability and anger. They may have an urge to lash out, raise their voice, be accusatory toward others or the situation. This response can also show in their physical demeanor such as tightening of parts of the body and muscles, and high blood pressure.

2. Freeze response

The freeze response is manifested in an inability to concentrate, the mind freezing or locking up, brain fog, and forgetfulness. Those suffering this response may be avoiding certain situations and distancing themselves from others, and are becoming demotivated at work and in other parts of life.

3. Flight response

The flight response can cause people to become restless, fidgety, and unable to sleep. People suffering this response to stress may be having anxiety-like symptoms, such as a tight chest, affected breathing, stomach pains and excess sweating.




How do you manage stress?

If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s important to manage them as quickly as possible in order to avoid burnout and to keep your brain and body functioning in a healthy way.

Following are some things you can do to avoid burnout.

Sleep

Establish a consistent bedtime routine, so your body and brain know when to start winding down. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

Do not exercise, use caffeine, nicotine or alcohol for a half hour before going to bed, and limit blue light exposure from mobile devices. This will improve sleep and good quality rest.

Exercise and movement

Aerobic exercise will pump endorphins through the body, reducing stress. And, physical activity leads to positive physical effects, such as improving cardiovascular, digestive and immune health and can protect the body.

Do not over-exercise. Exercising too much and too hard without adequate recovery can add to the burden on the nervous system. Those who like to do intense exercise might want to do less to give their nervous system more recovery time. Choosing other types of exercise like walking, yoga, and pilates instead of some of the more strenuous workouts during the week, can be beneficial.

Along with exercise, daily pick-me-ups such as spending 10 minutes in a park or the garden can be beneficial in minimizing stress. Fresh air and greenery are instant mood boosters that do not require putting time aside like a long, strenuous workout. These also provide the necessary regular breaks from work and help avoid burnout.

Journaling

Reflecting through writing is an effective way to manage stress, since it encourages you to explore the cause of your stress. It’s a good way to gain a deeper understanding of stress by putting it into words and then working to improve the root causes of negative stressors.

Reflecting will also provide the tools to mindfully treat stress triggers, rather than simply managing the symptoms of the stress. This will reduce overall stress as problems are solved and removed, leading to greater long-term confidence and avoiding burnout.

Take a break from technology

While on a morning walk before starting work or while attempting to wind down after dinner, we can be tempted to check messages and emails. Thus, the home office space becomes blended into the living space. This constant exposure to work-related technology can have psychological consequences and lead to an inability to switch off.

Social media can lead to distraction and prevent you from getting tasks done, and this can lead to work backlog, and ultimately contribute to burnout. Set clear parameters for work time.

Be conscious of how much time you spend on social media and look for ways to reduce this.

Maintaining Social Connections

Control what you can. Feeling like you have no control over your situation is another common burnout contributor.

It’s very powerful to accept that you cannot control certain things, and work on what you can.

Try some relaxation techniques, from breathing to mindfulness, which engage the parasympathetic nervous system.

And you can always share your concerns and fears with your trusted social connections.

Prioritize and plan

Regularly step back and look at what needs to be done in order of priority, and direct your energy accordingly. Do not let the small, less-important tasks overly absorb your limited energy.

Look at the big picture and make a plan. Then break the plan down into smaller tasks that you can direct your energy toward on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis, until you feel like you’ve got things under control.

At the beginning of the day write a to-do list. At the end of the workday look at what you achieved to remind yourself of how much you do and recognize what you can let go of.

Remain focused and don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ to things that distract from your plan.

When you have the tools to recognize and manage stress and burnout, you can take control and manage many of the variables that can contribute to this. Stress and burnout are something that we all experience at various stages in our lives, but we have inner resources such as adaptation skills and resilience.

So, the first step in avoiding burnout while working from home is recognition and then taking the necessary steps to alleviate it.



Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

What is creativity?

This is in the dictionary:  1: the quality of being creative   2: the ability to create

A Google check shows this: the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.

These are just for starters. Of course, you can find many more definitions and even come up with some of your own.

Anyone can be creative. Creativity is not something that is bestowed upon a few seemingly extraordinary people.

Research shows, that once you get beyond the average I.Q. of about 100, intelligence and creativity are not at all related.

You still have the potential for great creativity when writing copy.



Why Are Some People, Seemingly, More Creative Than Others?

Seemingly is the operative word here.

You may not be striving to write a book. But, when it comes to writing copy for your online business endeavors, you’re trying to get prospective clients’ attention and to get them to take a specific action for a particular purpose.

It’s a matter of immediacy, a sense of urgency. 

You want to come up with different ways to get prospects attention and to engage them. It may be time for another blog article and you need new ideas.

In these situations creative thinking is crucial.

You may have tried what someone else has advised that didn’t seem to work for you, or you may have some mental blocks.

Imani Campbell of The Sage Neuroscience Center states “A mental block is your brain reaching a barrier in accessing creativity, motivation, or productivity.”



So, What to Do?

This inability to clearly think or process information can be caused by many things.

If you really care about the outcome of something, you can become very anxious. For instance, that article you need to write looms like a giant question mark. What ifs begin to creep into your thoughts – what if it’s not good enough, long enough, clever enough, etc.

Whoops! Here we go with the blockage.

People learn bad habits that are mental blocks to creative thinking. These seven things may be holding you back:


1. Using different types of thinking simultaneously

Creating is generating new ideas, picturing, looking forward, considering possibilities.

Evaluating is analyzing, judging, picking apart ideas, and categorizing them as good and bad, helpful or not.

You need to separate the two. Set down your ideas first, then go back and evaluate their worth.


2. Following advice without question

There are many gurus who tell you their success secrets. It’s fine to listen, but following advice without question could lead to stifled creativity. Many have found success doing what others said wouldn’t work.


3. Fear of failure

No one likes making mistakes or failing. However, trying too hard to avoid failure sets you up for avoiding success.


4. Lack of confidence

There’s some level of uncertainty in every creative undertaking. A little self-doubt is natural.

Just have confidence that you can create and effectively carry through with solutions to challenges.

You’re on your way to becoming more confident and more creative when you understand that ideas often seem ridiculous at first, that failure is a learning experience, and nothing is impossible.


5. Discouragement from others

Most people will not see things as you do.

You may be all excited about some new venture you’re considering and they say you need to be sensible or they subtly imply that it won’t work.

Ignore them and once you’re successful, they’ll have to reckon with you.


6. Information overload

Over analyzing and cramming so much information into your brain before actually starting a project can cause you to lose the ability to act. You have to know when to stop collecting information, for that article, and start writing.


7. False limitations

Don’t become trapped by false limitations, self-imposed products of your experience. Be open to new things.

Step outside your comfort zone and explore something unrelated to what you do. Consider how people in those areas do what they do. You may find something that seems impossible today doable in the future.



How do You Regain Creativity?

Now that you know what may be holding you back, there are several things you can do to free your natural creative abilities:


1. Establish routines

Plan your necessary daily activities so you can have free time for creative ideas to show up and proper space to develop them.


2. Rest your mind

Block out the noise in your brain with scheduled time for daydreaming.


3. Move around

To create space for mental clarity you can walk, jog, run, etc. each day.


4. Complete mini projects

For practice in completing goals that require long-term commitment, perform a small task each day so that at the end of the week you’ve finished a project.


5. Take steps that help you achieve your long-term goal

Break down your long-term goal into a list of manageable tasks for each day, and check off one daily no matter how small. Don’t do more.

This is about sticking with a large project, rather than doing a lot of tasks fast and suffering burnout or losing interest.

You want to get into the habit of taking steps that help you achieve your ultimate creative goal.


6. Relax

Do something every day that you love. Spend 10 minutes daily doing just that and focusing on the good feeling you get.

You’re more likely to get new ideas when you feel relaxed.


7. Play around with your thoughts

Don’t always accept thoughts as truth. Think of the opposite as being true. If you’re worried that a situation may not go as planned, see the possibility of it going smoothly. Envision how you want it to go.

Playing around with your thoughts allows more creative solutions to arise.


Remember, creativity is not something that is bestowed upon only a few individuals. People learn bad habits that are mental blocks to creative thinking, and there are ways to regain your creativity.

These are just a few suggestions to increase creativity in your writing.



Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

While you’re using great copywriting skills to convince your readers to take a particular action, make sure your content is grammatically correct.

Be careful when using autocorrect while typing. It won’t catch grammar mistakes, because a word may be spelled right and be grammatically incorrect. For example:

Your my favorite dancer.
You’re my favorite dancer.

Both words are correctly spelled.


Here are some common writing mistakes that can weaken the sparkle and credibility of your message.


1. Incorrect subject verb-agreement

If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular.

Example: There is so many great ones.
Correct: There are so many great ones.

Example: Everyone was willing to participate. (This is correct.)



2. Missing commas

How you use commas in a list depends on the specific writing style you follow.

An Oxford, or serial, comma is the last comma in a list. It goes before the word “and.”

Example 1: When you go shopping, be sure to get eggs, milk, bread and peanut butter.
When you go shopping, be sure to get eggs, milk, bread, and peanut butter.

Although there are different schools of thought regarding the use of the Oxford comma, when you want to write a good sentence, it’s proper punctuation to always use commas to separate the multiple items you reference in a list.

Technically, it’s grammatically optional in American English.

Example 2: If the shop is closed when we get there we’ll have to wait until next week.
If the shop is closed when we get there, we’ll have to wait until next week.



3. Apostrophes

Apostrophes are generally used in two instances:

For contractions (I’m planning to go tomorrow, if it’s not raining)

To show possession (Susan’s computer means the computer belongs to Susan)

They’re also used to indicate missing numbers in a year, ’89 for 1989 and ’07 for 2007.



4. Hyphens

Example:

Wrong: my 90 year old grandmother
Right: my 90-year-old grandmother



5. Loose or lose

Loose means not firmly or tightly in place.

Example:

Your shoelace is loose.
He might lose the money.



6. Could of, would of, should of

These are incorrect uses of contractions for I could have, I would have, or I should have.

Correct Example:

I should have gone to the reception, and could have, if Tom had been on time.

Slurring in speech results in the common grammar mistake of substituting of for have.



7. Affect and effect

Affect and effect are often confused, although one is a verb and the other a noun.

Affect is a verb that describes something that causes or influences change. Effect is what happens as a result of the change.

“Here’s a mnemonic: A is for action. Verbs are about action. Affect starts with an A, so it’s a verb.”

Correct Examples:

Not getting enough sleep will adversely affect your health.
The effect of not getting enough sleep is bad health.



8. There, their, they’re

There is a location, their shows possession by more than one person, and they’re is a contraction for they are.

Examples:

We live here not there.
They work there but it’s not their shop.
They’re happy to be home.



9. Your and you’re

Wrong: Your my inspiration.
Correct: You’re my inspiration.

Your is the possessive of you.
You’re is the contraction for you are.



10. Then and than

Use then when referring to time.
Than is used when comparing things.

Example:

I’m going to the library then to the store.
That is better than this one.

You can use Grammarly.com (no compensation received here) to check your writing.

Of course, there are some exceptions, to these rules, that are not discussed here.

Always check and recheck your writing for mistakes.

This article only covers 10 common grammar mistakes to avoid in your writing.

Remember that autocorrected writing must be checked for correct grammar usage.

Your Autoresponder and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

In my last article we covered what to do before you start blogging.


Now, you need to actually set up your blog.


How do you go about setting up a blog?



1. The first step to setting up a blog is picking the right topic.

For a personal blog you’re only concerned about enjoying the topic and having fun.

But, if you want to create income you need a winning blog topic.

Don’t try to be unique or clever. Pick a topic that has an existing audience and popular blogs already competing for the audience attention.

Who will link to you if there is no competition? Where will you get your audience? How will anyone find you?



2. The correct blogging platform is vital. To test the water you can start with a free blog at Medium.com and check ideas for viability. (A suggestion only. No compensation for me.)

When you’re ready to build an audience and make money online, use self-hosted WordPress.

That’s WordPress.org NOT WordPress.com

You can check out the difference here.



3. Now, decide on a domain name. Make a list of topics that interest you. These could be topics you think might be profitable, hobbies, or something random you’ve read about.

When your list is complete, check out these questions:

Do blogs on this topic have a Facebook page with more than 10k fans?
Do any blogs on this topic more than 50k followers on Twitter?
Does Amazon have any books with more than 30 reviews on this topic?
Are there any Google ads when you search for words and phrases related to this topic?
Do any words or phrases related to this topic have more than 100k searches in Google’s Keyword Planner tool?

If the answer to these questions is yes, you’re good to go.


Your domain name needs to represent your audience, a specific topic, and a benefit. For example:

Name the Audience.   TheBlogStarter.com

Name the Specific Topic.   TechRadar.com

Name the Benefit.   MakeALivingWriting.com


Once you’ve made a decision on your domain name, you need to check its availability and purchase it through a domain registrar. Any one of the following would be a good choice, and the fee is about $8 to $10 per year for a .com extension.

http://www.godaddy.com
http://www.namecheap.com
http://www.networksolutions.com
http://www.onlydomains.com



4. Purchase a web hosting plan. You need a place for your website on the Internet. You can pay a small fee to keep your website on the Internet, handle all your visitors, back up your website, provide customer support, manage the security of your website, and so on.

There are loads of WordPress hosts, but I recommend HostThenProfit.com (affiliate link).


Do not purchase anything else when you buy a domain name. The registrars will try to get you to do so, but don’t take the bait, as you’ll be setting everything up under your web hosting plan.

You’re now ready to roll.


So, how do you set up a blog?

By following these steps you can create your blog, grow an audience, and start earning a real, tangible income.

Don’t wait days, weeks, or months to get started. Start a blog today — right now.

Get Your System With Autoresponder Here

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

If you’re just now thinking about setting up a blog, the first thing you need do is start building your list, on the first day.



Why Build a List First?

You need to start building your list ASAP! It’s absolutely necessary if you want to run successful email marketing campaigns and reach people who are truly interested in your business.

Despite the popularity of social media channels, email marketing remains one of the most used digital marketing techniques.

If you want a successful business, you need people to market to.



What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing as defined in Wikipedia, is the act of sending a commercial message, typically to a group of people, using email… Email marketing strategies commonly seek to achieve one or more of three primary objectives, to build loyalty, trust, or brand awareness.

An email is often the first step in a customer’s journey with you, the initial communication.



What is the Connection Between an Email and Your Blog?

You can think of your blog as your main base of operation, the place where you send people for your products/services or any related information. It’s a marketing tool.

It is also the place you can acquire their information in order to begin a relationship with them so they can get acquainted with you, and begin to like and trust you.

These are the people who will receive your emails. This is a part of your list building. Once your blog is set up, you can strategically place opt-in forms on it asking visitors to fill in their information – full name and email address – so you can contact them. Stick to the basics, name and email. Nobody wants to fill out much more than that.



How Do You Get People to Give up Their information?

1. Pick an email marketing service. I use Host Then Profit (affiliate link).

If you’re just starting out and your budget is tight, you can use a free service. You’ll need to check around and compare the pros and cons so you can choose one that best suits your purpose.

2. Place opt-in forms on your blog.

3. Give visitors a reason to give you their email address. Offer them an ethical bribe (subscriber bribes, lead magnets, opt-in bribes, free offers, free gifts, and content upgrade).


Most people won’t give you their email address out of the goodness of their heart, even if they like you.


Freebies are proven lead magnets.


Give them a free worthwhile gift.


Your subscriber’s bribe should be simple.

Don’t fall into to the trap of trying to get too large and creative with your lead magnet, which could end up in you not creating one at all.

You can educate your visitors by giving away free downloads filled with actionable tips and helpful tools they can use.


Some things you can give away:

Free blog articles
Emails with coupons
Videos
Tutorials and courses
Templates
E-Books


You can start with a one-page simple short PDF checklist offering tips on a particular subject.



To build an email list from nothing you need:

 1. To understand your audience

Decide who will be your audience — name, job title, work, demographics like age, gender, education, etc. In other words, create a persona.

You can find out a lot about people through social media channels.

2. A website

Your blog will, eventually, become your website.


In the meantime, you can use a landing page, a single-page website that contains your email opt-in form.


You can use any of the services below to create an opt-in form.


Some of them have free trial periods.

Landerapp.com
iContact.com
Hubspot.com
Leadpages.net
Wix.com


Note: Some advertising channels require that you have a multi-page website that includes pages such as Contact, Terms of Service, and Privacy Policies.


3. An email marketing service. I use Host Then Profit (affiliate link).


4. A great offer, a free worthwhile gift.


Now that you have some pointers on what to do before you start blogging, start building that list.

Hosting and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

On the web most of the entries in an average comments section are spam. Akismet is a tool that filters out comment spam for you. Comment spam can have a negative impact on your site’s search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.


Do blog comments still matter or help in any way?

You might think that, with so many social media platforms available to discuss pieces of content, blog comments no longer matter. That depends on your goals.

Many businesses with a large following see no need for blog comments as social media allows them to interact with more people.

However, if you’re a small business just getting started online and only now taking steps to grow a social media following, having a comments section on your blog can prove to be beneficial to your business.

Top brands often benefit by commenting on blog topics. You may not realize this because you don’t see influencers’ names in the comment sections of popular industry blogs.

That’s because they outsource the task. They hire virtual assistants and other freelance writers to write useful comments on recent blog posts.



How do you write good comments that people will notice?

Blog comments are still powerful, if you write high-quality, genuinely-good comments worth noting. They can still get you noticed by popular bloggers and influencers.


Writing a good comment requires:


#1 Letting People See the real You

Don’t use an animal or a generic faceless silhouette. Show you and all your pearly whites with a smile.

If your message is flagged as spammy, a gravatar gives you an increased chance the blog owner will approve your new comment.



#2 Using Your Real Name

Don’t use a fake name or a nickname that your friends and family use or any other name. And don’t use a fake or inactive email address. That will break the communication avenue between the commenter and author.



#3 Not Embedding Links in Your Comments

WordPress, Disqus, and other commenting systems view these links as spam. They come across as sales pitches, a cheap attempt to sell something. The blogger will feel no inclination to view it.



#4 Reading the Post Before Commenting

Although it takes time, reading a post thoroughly before commenting is a must. You don’t want your response to be inappropriate or silly.



#5 Not Having a One-Sided Long Conversation

Long-winded blog comments are not better than short ones. They’re just boring.



#6 Not Being a Parrot

Do not repeat what you’ve just read. Your comments need to offer some insight.



More Pointers:

A) Include a friendly greeting using the author’s name, spelled correctly.

B) Offer a compliment about the post, something about why you chose to be on this blog. Be sincere.

C) Do something that makes you appear valuable to the blogger you’re aiming to entice— anything that establishes you as a person worth knowing and helps develop a personal relationship.

D) Let the blogger know you’re interested in a longer-term relationship. Make a promise at the end, like telling the author you’re going to share the post on your favorite social media platform.

Be sure to do what you promise. When you share the post on your favorite social media platform, be sure to tag the blogger — let them know you followed through.

Show some personality. You can craft your comments like you’re writing an email to a friend.



Good comments alone won’t launch you to world domination, although they’re effective and often overlooked, now that so many bloggers think they’re extinct.

Good comments can get influential bloggers’ attention.



So, you can still use blog comments to benefit your online marketing and SEO and get more traffic to your site when utilized properly. However, not every comment will drive traction and credibility for your site and brand.

You cannot use blog commenting to build backlinks.



Hosting and More

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

What is Link Building?

According to Wikipedia, “Link building is the process of establishing relevant hyperlinks (usually called links) to a website from external sites. Link building can increase the number of high-quality links pointing to a website, in turn increasing the likelihood of the website ranking highly in search engine results.”



How Important are Links?

Link building for your online marketing is very important.

Before, Google search engines ranked their search results 100% based on the content on a webpage. Things changed with Google’s PageRank Algorithm which looked at how many people linked to a page.

Backlinks still remain the best way of determining the quality of a webpage. That’s why they’re still Google’s go-to ranking indicator.

With more updates Google’s focus is not just on quantity but also linkquality.


Page Authority

The authority of the page linking to you matters most. Links from authoritative pages pass more PageRank to your site. Google doesn’t share PageRank information publicly, although it’s the foundation of their algorithm.


Relevancy

When it comes to links page authority matters as well as relevance.

For example, if you operate a website all about photography and you get a link from an authoritative site about sports, that link won’t really count.

Generally speaking, you want to get links from authority sites that are closely related to your site.


Position

Your link’s position on a page is very important. If it’s embedded in a section of content, you get more notice. Don’t place it in a footer or sidebar where it counts for very little.

You want to place your links in the main body of the page. They should be “editorially placed,” where someone clicks it because they think your site is amazing, not in a profile you created on a random site in which you dropped a link.

These unnatural links can be considered a violation of Google’s guidelines.


Anchor Text

The clickable text section of a link is known as the anchor text. Anchor text needs to be relevant to the topic of the page you’re linking to rather than generic.

Don’t use anchor text excessively as that is considered spammy, just as excessive keyword use (keyword stuffing) is spammy.

A spammy anchor text is a link with an anchor text that has no relationship to the page on which it exists or the page it is linking to.

For natural anchor text links to your website, create beneficial content and the links and anchor text should come naturally.

You don’t want to be penalized.


Guest Posts

Be careful of guest posts. They can be spammy if:

Someone is paid to publish the post
The post contains exact match anchor text
The site exists solely to publish guest posts
The site is unrelated to yours

But, if you publish an awesome guest post on an authoritative, relevant site, that link CAN help your rank.


Nofollow vs. Dofollow

Both types help boost your SEO for search engine rankings because you get lots of clicks from many different sources. For instance, social media.

Nofollow links may not build you as much SEO juice as dofollow links, but they still drive traffic and build your SEO.

After all, your end goal is to drive leads, traffic, conversions, and revenue. SEO just happens to be one of the best ways to accomplish these goals.


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by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Your moneymaker is content.



Why is this?

You must have a plan because your content is also your sales pitch, billboard, brochure, and portfolio all combined into one.


Successful Internet marketing requires planned content.


Therefore, you must lay out a plan for implementing your moneymaker – content.


Your content must be structured and organized to reach your audience.


Whether you’re a blogger, a professional marketer, or a social media strategist, you need good well-organized content.


When laying out your plan consider the following for content development:


How to reach a larger audience through organic promotion
How to design content for different readers
How to produce new quality content
How to create trust
How to convert visitors into repeat (paying) customers


It needs to be well-written, shareable, and educational, and it should confirm your reputation as an authority.



What is content development?


Content development has two sides.

1. Engineering

The engineering is strategic planning of how and when to distribute content.


2.  Architecture

The architecture is side two, content creation – the actual writing.


You have to master both. Put as much effort, or more, into planning as you do producing content.



Content development is very important.

It’s the plan you use to envision the structure of your goals and the strategies to achieve them.


Content development prevents you from missing deadlines and eliminates procrastination and other distractions. There are steps to take when developing content.



What are the steps or stages in content development?


1. Define Content Goals

The first thing you need to do is define your content goals.

Does your content add value such as education and problem solving?
Who is your audience?
Where will you post your content?
What is your schedule for getting out your content?
What is your strategy for having your audience find and interact with content?
What makes your content unique and innovative?



2. Learn About Your Audience

Research your customers’ buying habits and behaviors. Pay attention to their comments and suggestions. Use Google Analytics tools.



3. Create a Content Development Calendar

This calendar shown contain what to post, how often, and dates of postings. The calendar helps avoid duplication and gaps in content. They also help you plan for milestones, so you make the most of important events and holidays.



4. Use a System

Use a system for your writing process for efficiency and performance. Utilize templates for blogs, white papers, infographics, video scripts, charts, and graphs. Set up writing guidelines to ensure consistency in branding and quality.

Test out content variations and different tones for different audiences. Collect performance data and which content generates the best results?



5. Study Your Competition

Analyze your top competitors and stay relevant using their best practices. Find out what they’re lacking and fill that gap.

Don’t give visitors any reason to bounce to your competitors. Ask your audience what they want and start giving it to them.



6. Use Social Media

Use a variety of social media channels and post regularly but not too often, and make it easy to share your content.



7. SEO

You need search engine optimization for effective digital marketing.

Know and use the fundamentals of good SEO writing:

Make sure all your web content is indexed.
Be sure to use proper formatting tags (H1, H2, etc.)
Keep individual page URLs short and use dashes to separate words.

Learn to rank for Google.  Produce authoritative content and Google will prioritize your content.

Regularly perform keyword research.  That means using tools like SEMrush to find the best and most relevant keywords for your content.

Keep up with changing trends.  SEO marketing changes all the time. It pays to stay abreast with industry experts.



8. Free Content

Give away free content to your visitors. Educate them with free downloads filled with actionable tips and helpful tools they can use. Teach them a skill, so they feel empowered and grateful.

If visitors don’t stay on your page, they can revisit your portable download later.

The downloads establish you as an expert, expand your network, and are easy to share, spreading word-of-mouth interest.


Your free content can be:

Blog articles
Newsletters
Infographics and memes
Emails with coupons
Videos
Tutorials and courses
Templates
E-Books


Freebies are proven lead magnets that make visitors happy and draw them closer to buying your products or services.



9. Know What Constitutes Top-Performing Content

Capture the attention of visitors with a platform rich in quality content so they convert into paying customers.

The best content promotes interest, solves a problem, and leaves customers wanting more.

It establishes your reputation as an industry expert.

Generating consistently top-performing (and high-ranking) content is easier than you might imagine:

Stay focused and concise.
Be engaging.
Answer your readers’ questions.
Quote industry experts.
Be adaptable and agile.
Write for your audience.
Link to High Domain Authority (DA) Sources
Learn to Write for “Scanners,” those who only scan and glance.



10. Educate While Entertaining

The best content creators use compelling storytelling to captivate readers and sell their message; to explain problems and solutions through relatable narratives using analogies, humor, and emotion to make their stories memorable. So, tell some stories, and don’t get lost in the narrative. You’re not writing a novel. You still have to get to the point.


Now, develop your winning strategy that includes your calendar with short -and long-term goals for success. Remember that successful Internet marketing requires planned content. Write your content with this information in mind.


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Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Email marketing is an integral part of everyday business. Having a solid game plan when you send out an email to your subscribers is the first step to seeing a higher conversion rate.

Sometimes, even if you follow every email marketing tip there is, you have no guarantee of total success. There is always room for error. Here are nine email marketing mistakes to avoid.


1) Sending Out Poorly-Focused Content

Do not send the same email to all your subscribers. Everyone on your email list is interested in the same content. Segment your audience. Do this by having different opt-in forms that offer different information and freebies.

If you have a blog you can place an opt-in form in different areas for your visitors. For instance, your blog’s main focus may be Internet marketing which includes different sub-topics like home-based business, affiliate marketing, marketing information, etc.

Place a relevant opt-in form offering a freebie in each of these categories. When people opt in, they’ll be added to a particular categorized list. As the site owner, you can then send relevant information to this list of subscribers instead of inundating them with irrelevant emails.


2) One-Way Conversations

You want your readers to get to know, like and trust you. Make sure they have a way to connect and interact with you. Your email should be personable and identify you and your company.

At the end of your emails, initiate a two-way conversation by asking your readers if there is something in particular you can help them with, and include a link to your social profiles.


3) Lots of Offers and no Information

When someone subscribes to an opt-in form, they want useful information and not a bombardment of sales and promotional emails. There’s nothing wrong with promoting your products and services in an email. Just be sure to include useful content.

This can be an informative video, a link to a useful blog post or a great infographic. At the end of the email, you can mention any promotions you have and always add value by actually giving away something for free. Constantly promoting your products and services without giving away anything of value for free will only annoy your subscribers and push them to unsubscribe.


4) Unclear Call to Action

To ensure people see your CTA (call to action) for your awesome freebie or discounted product you need to be sure the CTA is clear. Send out an email to your loyal subscribers to let them know about your offer and include a link.

If that link is hidden in a small piece of anchor text, some of your subscribers will have a hard time finding it. Boldly highlight the link, add bright buttons or ask people to click on a picture to get to your landing page. A few considerations are:

1. Make what you need very clear by including words like ‘Head here’ or ‘Click here.’
2. Very clearly highlight the text that leads to the landing page.
3. Repeatedly mention the CTA throughout their email.


5) Belabored Subject Line

Get to the point! Although you want to make the subject line interesting, if your subscribers can’t figure out what your email is about, they become annoyed. A few tips:

1. Keep it short

Make sure your subject line fits in the subscribers’ view screen. There’s no point in having an awesome subject line if they can’t read half of it.

2. When possible use numbers

Examples:

Join 475 people who signed up for my free online course today!
Happy Valentine’s Day! 50% off all our products.
Here is why 85% of small businesses rely on email as their primary acquisition source.

3. Be personal

Use the name of your subscribers in the subject line.

Hi (first name)! Want access to my free new course?


4. Tell your audience what’s inside (be truthful)

Make your subject line descriptive and honest. It should immediately help your readers figure out what is inside the email.


6) A Welcome Email

Sending a welcome email to your subscribers is fine. Just don’t make it a generic one. Make it informative and useful. Include a great freebie or a link to resources that are only for your subscribers. Make a good first impression by saying something other than just ‘hello.’


7) Attention to Data

If you’re not paying attention to data you could end up with an enormous amount of information each time you email subscribers. This includes the open rate, the time of day when most people opened your email, which links they clicked on, etc.

This data can help you improve upcoming email campaigns you’re working on. You can figure out what’s working, what content your audience likes, and what to get rid of permanently.

Optimizing your email marketing campaigns requires four clear factors:

Personalized emails
Clear headers to optimize email marketing open rates
Clear CTA to optimize email marketing click rates
Updated email list


8) Quantity Over Quality

Focus on the quality of your subscribers rather than how many. Every so often you need to clean your email lists.

Remove those people who are not opening your emails. In the long run, you want only an engaged list of subscribers. Most email marketing services have a ‘Clean Up Inactive’ feature that makes this process very simple.

Doing this will reduce your monthly outgoing cost. You may be paying for a plan that is dependent on the number of subscribers you have.


9) Sending Emails at the Wrong Time

Many studies say the best time to send emails is in the late morning during work hours, at around 10-11a.m. If you send emails when no one checks them, your campaign will probably fail.

Use the tips in these nine email marketing mistakes to avoid to help you build a large list, and create relationships with your subscribers by focusing on a good email marketing strategy.


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