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THE 17 SUPER DUMBASS BLOGGING BLUNDERS Page 4
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words (Forrester Research). Video
engages your visitors on a totally different level than written content does--
they can SEE you and feel like they know you.
WHY IT’S DUMBASS
While people crave consistency in focus on blogs, you also need to keep them interested
and engaged through the range of information you present and the formats you present it in.
The most engaging blogs offer content to their readers in many ways. People like to consume
information differently, and by not offering variety, you’re limiting the reach of your content
only to people who like consuming information in one specific way. Plus, a one-track blog
can get really boring.
UN-BLUNDER THE BLUNDER
Just start doing video. But do it the easy way with the Blog Beast platform. Forget all the
steps you’ve had to remember to attempt video with your current blog. Even your Grandma
can do it with this simple one-click setup! (Don’t let your Grandma get HER video blog online
with Blog Beast before YOU do…)
CLICK HERE TO BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN
THE BLOG BEAST PROGRAM IS OPEN TO JOIN!
BLOGBEAST.COM
30
31
POWERED BY EMPOWER NETWORK
NOT USING
MULTIMEDIA: AUDIO
WHY IT’S DUMBASS
It’s not about you. It’s about your audience. Are you ignoring those in your community
who would love your content but don’t love reading and would much rather listen?
You’ve heard of Audible and BlogTalkRadio, right? Stand out and attract those listeners
by using audio on your blog!
Offering your content in more formats allows you to grow a wider following. With audio,
your “readers” can listen while they commute, jog, or when ever else they want.
And to make it just a little bit about you… do you type as fast as you talk? If you’re not a
speed demon on the keyboard, then hitting record and sharing your thoughts via audio
can be a super time saver, allowing you to create content faster and more consistently for
your blog.
WHAT’S THE BLUNDER?
Many bloggers overlook the power of sharing audio on their blogs or creating an audio
podcast of their content because it’s complicated to setup and takes too much time to figure
out.
UN-BLUNDER THE BLUNDER
CLICK HERE TO BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN
THE BLOG BEAST PROGRAM IS OPEN TO JOIN!
Give your followers what they want and make your content creation easier. Share your
blog posts as audio. It’s easier than ever before with the Blog Beast platform. Click
record from your mobile phone and post straight to your blog.
BLOGBEAST.COM
32
33
POWERED BY EMPOWER NETWORK
WHY IT’S DUMBASS
NOT REGULARLY
POSTING ENGAGING
CONTENT
WHAT’S THE BLUNDER?
You have a blog but you aren’t publishing posts on a regular basis, and when you do post, you’re not
publishing enough articles with engaging content to make your blog effective.
FACT: BUSINESSES THAT BLOG AT LEAST 20x PER MONTH GENERATE
OVER 5x MORE TRAFFIc THAN THOSE THAT BLOG FEWER THAN 4 TIMES
PER MONTH.
FACT: BUSINESSES THAT BLOG AT LEAST 20x PER MONTH GENERATE
NEARLY 4x MORE LEADS THAN THOSE THAT DON’T BLOG.
In addition, there is a direct correlation between the frequency of blogging and the volume of traffic
and leads. Remember the data earlier in this report from HubSpot’s research and its lead generation
lessons from 4,000 businesses, which indicated that the more often a company blogs, the better that
company is able to generate traffic and leads.
Ignoring your blog rather than keeping it updated with fresh content means you are leaving
prospective customers on the table.
Research shows that the companies benefiting most from business blogging are the ones that
blog frequently and consistently. Adopting a laid-back approach to business blogging won’t
move the needle; creating a blog that actually generates business success takes time, effort,
and dedication.
According to HubSpot’s State of Inbound Marketing 2013 report, 82% of marketers who
blogged daily acquired a customer from their blog, as opposed to 57% of marketers who
blogged monthly (still a great result!). And 79% of companies that have a blog said they
had a positive ROI.
UN-BLUNDER THE BLUNDER
Make a commitment to the upkeep of your blog. The most common frequency for business
blogging is weekly, so start by striving for at least one blog post per week and work your
way up. If time or bandwidth is a major concern or deterrent for you, consider other ways to
source content for your blog.
Keep in mind there is no rule stating that only one person can contribute content to any
given blog. Encouraging other employees in your company, or your friends or colleagues,
to contribute content is a great way to divide the responsibility and workload of content
creation as well as include new and varying perspectives and insight, which can add depth
to your blog.
“REBLOG”
Most Facebook users do it with that little button that says “share” and millions of us every day
are constantly consuming the content from those shares. One of the key features of the Blog
Beast platform is the Reblog button. This button allows your followers to instantly share your
content with their network. This gets more backlinks and traffic than just about anything else.
For some reason, the term “content curation” seems to be one that few people are talking
about in the marketing and blogging world, yet it’s a helpful strategy that many are taking
advantage of. Content curation is the process of finding and sharing information in one place
that creates more value for information consumers. In this case, while the information itself
may not necessarily be original, the collection of content from different sources on a specific
topic can be great! It’s an alternative way to create good, fresh content for your blog. By
reblogging and curating, you offer a lot of value to your readers since they don’t have to
look for the “good stuff” themselves amongst the tons of content noise already on the web.
BLOGBEAST.COM
34
35
POWERED BY EMPOWER NETWORK
UN-BLUNDER THE BLUNDER
Use a tested blog layout like the ones found in the Blog Beast platform.
AWFUL BLOG
LAYOUT
WHAT’S THE BLUNDER?
You’re focusing 100% on content and ignoring valuable design elements of your blog that
can act as powerful boosters of traffic and leads for your business. You may even be driving
away readers who can’t focus on your content because of your awful layout.
A CLEAN SIDEBAR
A blog’s sidebar can easily become the junkyard of the page. It’s all too easy to keep
cluttering a sidebar until it has a seemingly endless list of useless widgets. Look at the sidebar
of your blog. Does it really serve a purpose? Are those individual elements encouraging
the behavior you want your readers to take? If the answer to either of these questions is “no,”
then delete that element from your sidebar. The focus of your sidebar is
to get users to take
the actions you want.
SIMPLE SORTING OF CONTENT
Depending on how prolific of a writer you are and how long your business has been
blogging, your blog design needs to make it easier for visitors to find older and relevant
content. Keep your blog organized and create categories.
SUBSCRIPTION CTA
Every visitor to your blog isn’t going to convert into a lead instantly. Some visitors will need
to learn about your business over time. A way to help expedite this process is to get more
visitors to subscribe to your blog via email. To do this, you need to have a clear call-to-action
that encourages people to subscribe.
PROMINENT HEADLINE FORMATTING
In your blog design, make sure that your headline is formatted correctly. This means it needs
to be the star of the show when it comes to the text on a page. Make sure it is significantly
larger in font size than the body or subhead text on the page. This may seem like a small
detail, but making your headers pop makes a huge difference!
WHY IT’S DUMBASS
Yes, as an inbound marketer, your blog content has to be amazing. However, a bad
blog design can hamper even the best content. Think about it this way: would you buy an
expensive sports car and drive around with four flat tires? You’d still be able to go fast, but
not nearly as fast as you could be going. A clear, lead-focused blog design will help turbo-
charge the results of your inbound marketing content.
BLOGBEAST.COM
36
37
POWERED BY EMPOWER NETWORK
DISTRACTING
COLORS
WHAT’S THE BLUNDER?
This is having a color scheme that distracts from your blogs message and causes visitors to
leave sooner rather than stay and interact with your blog.
WHY IT’S DUMBASS
This one might not seem like a biggie, but having total control over your blog’s color scheme
and having pre-done combinations is super key.
UN-BLUNDER THE BLUNDER
There are two ways to remedy this particular Blunder:
1) You could study color theory and then go out and purchase an expensive blog template
(assuming you can even find one with the colors you want, that doesn’t require more
customization) and install it on your blog or…
2) You could simply decide to join the Blog Beast program and get access to the pre-done
themes
engages your visitors on a totally different level than written content does--
they can SEE you and feel like they know you.
WHY IT’S DUMBASS
While people crave consistency in focus on blogs, you also need to keep them interested
and engaged through the range of information you present and the formats you present it in.
The most engaging blogs offer content to their readers in many ways. People like to consume
information differently, and by not offering variety, you’re limiting the reach of your content
only to people who like consuming information in one specific way. Plus, a one-track blog
can get really boring.
UN-BLUNDER THE BLUNDER
Just start doing video. But do it the easy way with the Blog Beast platform. Forget all the
steps you’ve had to remember to attempt video with your current blog. Even your Grandma
can do it with this simple one-click setup! (Don’t let your Grandma get HER video blog online
with Blog Beast before YOU do…)
CLICK HERE TO BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN
THE BLOG BEAST PROGRAM IS OPEN TO JOIN!
BLOGBEAST.COM
30
31
POWERED BY EMPOWER NETWORK
NOT USING
MULTIMEDIA: AUDIO
WHY IT’S DUMBASS
It’s not about you. It’s about your audience. Are you ignoring those in your community
who would love your content but don’t love reading and would much rather listen?
You’ve heard of Audible and BlogTalkRadio, right? Stand out and attract those listeners
by using audio on your blog!
Offering your content in more formats allows you to grow a wider following. With audio,
your “readers” can listen while they commute, jog, or when ever else they want.
And to make it just a little bit about you… do you type as fast as you talk? If you’re not a
speed demon on the keyboard, then hitting record and sharing your thoughts via audio
can be a super time saver, allowing you to create content faster and more consistently for
your blog.
WHAT’S THE BLUNDER?
Many bloggers overlook the power of sharing audio on their blogs or creating an audio
podcast of their content because it’s complicated to setup and takes too much time to figure
out.
UN-BLUNDER THE BLUNDER
CLICK HERE TO BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN
THE BLOG BEAST PROGRAM IS OPEN TO JOIN!
Give your followers what they want and make your content creation easier. Share your
blog posts as audio. It’s easier than ever before with the Blog Beast platform. Click
record from your mobile phone and post straight to your blog.
BLOGBEAST.COM
32
33
POWERED BY EMPOWER NETWORK
WHY IT’S DUMBASS
NOT REGULARLY
POSTING ENGAGING
CONTENT
WHAT’S THE BLUNDER?
You have a blog but you aren’t publishing posts on a regular basis, and when you do post, you’re not
publishing enough articles with engaging content to make your blog effective.
FACT: BUSINESSES THAT BLOG AT LEAST 20x PER MONTH GENERATE
OVER 5x MORE TRAFFIc THAN THOSE THAT BLOG FEWER THAN 4 TIMES
PER MONTH.
FACT: BUSINESSES THAT BLOG AT LEAST 20x PER MONTH GENERATE
NEARLY 4x MORE LEADS THAN THOSE THAT DON’T BLOG.
In addition, there is a direct correlation between the frequency of blogging and the volume of traffic
and leads. Remember the data earlier in this report from HubSpot’s research and its lead generation
lessons from 4,000 businesses, which indicated that the more often a company blogs, the better that
company is able to generate traffic and leads.
Ignoring your blog rather than keeping it updated with fresh content means you are leaving
prospective customers on the table.
Research shows that the companies benefiting most from business blogging are the ones that
blog frequently and consistently. Adopting a laid-back approach to business blogging won’t
move the needle; creating a blog that actually generates business success takes time, effort,
and dedication.
According to HubSpot’s State of Inbound Marketing 2013 report, 82% of marketers who
blogged daily acquired a customer from their blog, as opposed to 57% of marketers who
blogged monthly (still a great result!). And 79% of companies that have a blog said they
had a positive ROI.
UN-BLUNDER THE BLUNDER
Make a commitment to the upkeep of your blog. The most common frequency for business
blogging is weekly, so start by striving for at least one blog post per week and work your
way up. If time or bandwidth is a major concern or deterrent for you, consider other ways to
source content for your blog.
Keep in mind there is no rule stating that only one person can contribute content to any
given blog. Encouraging other employees in your company, or your friends or colleagues,
to contribute content is a great way to divide the responsibility and workload of content
creation as well as include new and varying perspectives and insight, which can add depth
to your blog.
“REBLOG”
Most Facebook users do it with that little button that says “share” and millions of us every day
are constantly consuming the content from those shares. One of the key features of the Blog
Beast platform is the Reblog button. This button allows your followers to instantly share your
content with their network. This gets more backlinks and traffic than just about anything else.
For some reason, the term “content curation” seems to be one that few people are talking
about in the marketing and blogging world, yet it’s a helpful strategy that many are taking
advantage of. Content curation is the process of finding and sharing information in one place
that creates more value for information consumers. In this case, while the information itself
may not necessarily be original, the collection of content from different sources on a specific
topic can be great! It’s an alternative way to create good, fresh content for your blog. By
reblogging and curating, you offer a lot of value to your readers since they don’t have to
look for the “good stuff” themselves amongst the tons of content noise already on the web.
BLOGBEAST.COM
34
35
POWERED BY EMPOWER NETWORK
UN-BLUNDER THE BLUNDER
Use a tested blog layout like the ones found in the Blog Beast platform.
AWFUL BLOG
LAYOUT
WHAT’S THE BLUNDER?
You’re focusing 100% on content and ignoring valuable design elements of your blog that
can act as powerful boosters of traffic and leads for your business. You may even be driving
away readers who can’t focus on your content because of your awful layout.
A CLEAN SIDEBAR
A blog’s sidebar can easily become the junkyard of the page. It’s all too easy to keep
cluttering a sidebar until it has a seemingly endless list of useless widgets. Look at the sidebar
of your blog. Does it really serve a purpose? Are those individual elements encouraging
the behavior you want your readers to take? If the answer to either of these questions is “no,”
then delete that element from your sidebar. The focus of your sidebar is
to get users to take
the actions you want.
SIMPLE SORTING OF CONTENT
Depending on how prolific of a writer you are and how long your business has been
blogging, your blog design needs to make it easier for visitors to find older and relevant
content. Keep your blog organized and create categories.
SUBSCRIPTION CTA
Every visitor to your blog isn’t going to convert into a lead instantly. Some visitors will need
to learn about your business over time. A way to help expedite this process is to get more
visitors to subscribe to your blog via email. To do this, you need to have a clear call-to-action
that encourages people to subscribe.
PROMINENT HEADLINE FORMATTING
In your blog design, make sure that your headline is formatted correctly. This means it needs
to be the star of the show when it comes to the text on a page. Make sure it is significantly
larger in font size than the body or subhead text on the page. This may seem like a small
detail, but making your headers pop makes a huge difference!
WHY IT’S DUMBASS
Yes, as an inbound marketer, your blog content has to be amazing. However, a bad
blog design can hamper even the best content. Think about it this way: would you buy an
expensive sports car and drive around with four flat tires? You’d still be able to go fast, but
not nearly as fast as you could be going. A clear, lead-focused blog design will help turbo-
charge the results of your inbound marketing content.
BLOGBEAST.COM
36
37
POWERED BY EMPOWER NETWORK
DISTRACTING
COLORS
WHAT’S THE BLUNDER?
This is having a color scheme that distracts from your blogs message and causes visitors to
leave sooner rather than stay and interact with your blog.
WHY IT’S DUMBASS
This one might not seem like a biggie, but having total control over your blog’s color scheme
and having pre-done combinations is super key.
UN-BLUNDER THE BLUNDER
There are two ways to remedy this particular Blunder:
1) You could study color theory and then go out and purchase an expensive blog template
(assuming you can even find one with the colors you want, that doesn’t require more
customization) and install it on your blog or…
2) You could simply decide to join the Blog Beast program and get access to the pre-done
themes
THE 17 SUPER DUMBASS BLOGGING BLUNDERS