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6 Ways to Get Your Team Ready for Holiday Sales & Marketing

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The Holidays Are Coming…Is Your Team Ready?

We’ve been talking about the holiday season on a regular basis at the Unbound blog and for a good reason: the holiday season is upon us! In a matter of weeks, we’ll be in the midst of the busiest shopping season of 2017.

If you have not yet started preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, now is the time to get the ball rolling, as those holidays will be followed by Christmas. Proper preparation is key to a successful (and profitable) holiday season.

Some teams start brainstorming marketing strategies by Labor Day, and by now, they are well on track. But how do you know whether your team is ready to tackle the holidays?

Here are 6 simple ways to tell if your team is ready to handle the holidays:

1. Your Marketing Department is In Sync

By now, you have brainstormed with your marketing department to discuss your overall strategy and agreed on the messaging that will be used to relay your offers to your target audience.  

2.  You Have Outlined Agreed-Upon Goals

The best way to improve upon your bottom line is to use last year’s marketing intelligence to set realistic goals for this year’s holiday rush. If you have already started posting teaser posts about your holiday promos, your audience is probably getting excited already. You’re off to a great start!

3.  You Have Started Investing in Holiday Marketing

By now, you probably have put in requisitions for holiday promotions, and set aside funds for your various marketing efforts.

4.  Extra Staff is on Standby

In addition to social media and pay per click marketing, you have already put out feelers for temporary staff to help handle customer service and of fulfillment.

Don’t forget to procure any prizes that might be needed for contests.

5.  You Know What the Competition is Doing

You know your team is on track to tackle the holidays when someone is keeping an eye on the competition. Keeping an ear to the ground and remaining flexible is a great way to ensure that your business is competitive throughout the season.

Use social listening software to set up holiday shopping keyword searches (Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, winter solstice, Kwanzaa, and Christmas) to help you gather intel as to how many of your customers are celebrating. This might give you great ideas to provide just the right content at the right time, thus boosting your sales for the entire season.

6. Online Marketing is Scheduled

When it comes to connecting with your audience, a serialized approach works best. You will know that you are ready for the season if your team has created a killer social campaign, and scheduled it in a cohesive manner. You should have a global campaign that ties together a range of elements, all scheduled and ready to go.

So, based on the factors above, is your team ready to tackle the holiday season?

Proof That Happiness Can Equal Success in Your Small Business

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Many people underestimate the importance of a holistic approach to small business growth. We fully agree with Albert Schweitzer’s quote:

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

Do you love what you do? Do you do what you love? In today’s post, we’re going to discuss the three reasons why happiness boosts success, and 5 easy ways to become happier in your career.

3 Things That Happen When You’re Happy

When you’re happy, these 3 things happen, acting as catalysts for business growth.

1. Happiness Breeds Creativity

While spending time on creative activities can make you happier, the reverse also applies. According to University of California, San Francisco, a collection of studies showed that a positive mood increases creativity. When you are happy, your body releases more dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that has been linked with motivation. In turn, dopamine increases the control you have over your mind. It also boosts activity in the areas of your brain where processing, learning, and decision-making take place.

It goes to show that happiness can help you come up with more creative ideas, which in turn will improve your business processes, whether it is marketing or better ways to handle people and processes.

2. When You’re Happy, Your Customers Will Be Happy

The University of California Riverside did a study, led by Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky, which investigated the link between happiness and success. She said that they found strong evidence to show that happiness causes people to be more sociable and generous, healthier (stronger immune system) and more productive at work. Likewise, happy people also tend to make more money.

When you’re sociable and generous towards your clients, they will, in turn, feel happy and more likely to use your services. It is contagious!

3. Happy People Work Harder

Economists at the University of Warwick carried out a number of experiments to see whether happy employees work harder, and indeed, they found that happiness made their subjects 12% more productive.

It’s clear to see that happiness has a positive effect on a person’s performance, but now do we cultivate a spirit of happiness in the workplace?

5 Steps to Becoming Happy at Work

Gallup revealed that in 2013, two-thirds of the workforce were unhappy. Many people believe that work and misery go hand-in-hand. Becoming happier at work does not need to be an insurmountable task. Here are some proven ways to be happier at work.

1. Find Meaning In Your Work

If you’re in your own business, you already have many reasons to be happier than someone who is pushing the clock from 9-5. If you don’t already do what you love, perhaps it is time to strategize a new approach. Find ways to change the world, even if it is in a small way, daily.

2. Create a Cozy Office Environment

Most of us spend many hours in our offices every day, and therefore, it should be as comfortable as possible. Decorate it as you wish; get some music going and put up pictures that make you feel good and remind you of why you do what you do.

3. Smile 🙂

Did you know that you can trick your body into believing you’re happy?

That’s right!

When you smile, your body releases neuropeptides that tell your brain to be happy. And when you smile, it will touch everything you do.

4. Leave Home at Home and Work at Work

Don’t bring personal issues to work and don’t take work problems home. It’s easy to do when you have a dedicated office at home – simply shut the door when you “go home” and return with a fresh perspective tomorrow. Likewise, when home issues are killing your focus, close the door, turn on focus music and get to work.

5. Say Thank You!

Gratitude is the ultimate happy-maker. Whether you express gratitude to your clients for their business, or to your family, or even to yourself, it will result in a heightened sense of self-worth that results in even more goodness.

Of course, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, taking a 5-minute breather can go a long way to making you feel fabulous again. Either way, you really should do whatever you can to get the happy hormones flowing, because it will not only make you feel good, but it will bring about a positive shift in your results.

6 Simple Website Hacks for Online Marketing Success

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So, you’ve got a great website and a strong business model, but you’d love to see a lot more traffic coming to your site. As a small business owner, promoting and maintaining your business, a website, and your product or service can be a full-time job. However, there are a few simple ways to hack your website to help work smarter instead of harder.

While most marketing tasks are complex and can require quite a bit of your time, there are a few things you can complete in less than 5 minutes to make your time more effective.

5-Minute Tricks for Online Marketing Success

The next time you’re overwhelmed by your online marketing task list, take a minute to do just a few of these things to increase your online marketing success.

1. Make Your Headlines Matter

Statistics have shown that, while 8 out of 10 people read headlines, only 2 out of 10 will go on to read the rest.

Try the Portent’s Content Idea Generator http://www.portent.com/tools/title-maker, which will help you generate great headlines for your content, based on your keyword. It’s a really cool tool!

Or, our personal favorite is the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer. This tool grades your headline and lets you know, in detail, what is good and what is bad to help steer you towards a viral headline.

2. Create Your Own Images

While quality stock photo sites are a dime-a-dozen these days, custom branded photos go the distance. Instead of sharing someone else’s images, create your own.

In fact, the Edgerank Checker revealed research that showed how created posts were so much more effective in areas of engagement, organic reach, and viral search, compared to shared posts.

Instead, use the other brand’s thoughts as a starting place for your own, unique content.

3. Repurpose Your Old Posts

When you don’t have time to write a new blog post, simply repurpose and share an old one via your social media channels.

Most people probably won’t remember seeing it the first time and those that have seen it won’t mind seeing it again if it’s quality, valuable content.

While this may seem like the lazy marketer’s option, it offers a range of significant benefits. From continuing to develop social proof (likes, shares, tweets, +1s) to extend your reach, you’re bound to get more comments, shares, and discussion on a post that already has comments.

People are more likely to participate when there’s already a buzz.

4. Add Oomph to Your Most Popular Page

Check out your Google Analytics to find the most popular page on your site, and add a call-to-action to it. This is one of the most effective strategies, and it takes only 5 minutes to implement.

Be sure that the CTA or link you’re adding is highly relevant to the page content. There’s nothing worse than an off-the-wall plug that doesn’t make sense for the reader.

5. Include an Outbound Link (or three)

Show that you’re not pulling your information out of thin air by including a link to relevant information on your site, this includes pages and articles.

People will take you more seriously when you include a link to an authoritative page or something that is written by someone who is an expert in the field.

6. Leverage Time-Saving Tools

There are many new tools that make your job as an online marketer easier. Hootsuite and IFTTT are two of the coolest tools for social sharing. Take advantage of these tools and enjoy the results.

Do you have more time-saving online marketing tips? We’d love to hear from you!

5 Steps to Better Market Your Small Business During the Busy Season

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Summer is such a wonderful time of year. Apart from the lovely sunshine, it’s the perfect opportunity for business owners looking to cash in on the happiness of their potential target market.

Bobby Unser said that success is where preparation and opportunity meet. We tend to agree with that, which is why we’d like to give you a few of our best tips to help you prepare for a spectacular busy season. If you’ve been overwhelmed by the tumult of changing seasons in your business, planning can help you make the most of your marketing efforts to balance out the low times.

Whether your busy season is only in December, or possibly in summer, these tips should help make it easier to cope the seasonal ebbs and flows.

How to Market Your Business During Busy Season

Making the most of the busy season starts with proper planning. Instead of flying by the seat of your pants, take the time to think things through and develop daily habits that become the cornerstone of your company’s culture.

1. Invest in a Planner

… and take the time to plan out a daily business strategy that will help you continue to grow wherever inspiration takes you. Set your goals – remembering that a goal without a deadline is just a dream – and plan the activities that will help you achieve it.

Instead of scrambling around reacting to unfolding events, plan each quarter, four months ahead of time. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using a spreadsheet, a notepad, notebook or a calendar, as long as you have space to write all your notes.

  • Brainstorm ideas
  • Make to-do lists
  • Mark dates when you will need time off
  • Mark dates that are optimal for big business move

2. Create a Marketing Plan

A marketing plan or strategy is the blueprint that will drive your brand marketing efforts now and into the future. Use this to plan out those projects that have been on the backburner for a few years, because busy season snuck up on you too soon. Assign deadlines to keep you on track.

Your marketing calendar should include:

Time off – Good marketers understand the value in taking off to recharge their batteries.

Goals and projects – You plan will help you stay on track so that you can cross it off your to-do list long before you release it to the public.

Promotions and sales – A marketing planner can help harmonize your marketing efforts to ensure that you are prepared for the busy season well in advance.

Blog posts – Your marketing plan will be an excellent tool to use for planning your editorial calendar. It will allow you to make the most of your marketing efforts, by enabling you to blog about significant sales and promotions ahead of time.

Social media – Likewise, by keeping a running log of all your potential social media activities will help tie your marketing themes together and help to optimize interactions for better results.

3. Always Be One Step (or one lap!) Ahead

Avoid the feast-or-famine energy trap by using the slower seasons towards planning and preparation for the busy season. Slump season is a good time to brainstorm, go for training, deep clean your office, catch up on admin, and other marketing and administrative tasks. By doing that during slump season, you free up time during busy season.

Find ways to stay in contact with your customers all year long. Subscriptions are a great way to do just that while making money even during the slower months.

4. Diversify

Consider whether you can diversify your offering to appeal to a previously untapped market. Take your time during the busy season to connect with your customers. When you surprise and delight your audience, they are bound to mention that “you really should…”  Don’t brush them off without giving it some through. They may just be onto something!

5. Stay Ahead of the Curve

Who’s to say your customers will only be interested in buying at the peak of the busy season? Take advantage of your competitors’ low activity levels by offering a promotion before they do.

Seasonal fluctuations add a lot of intrigue to the small business owner’s life. By using these smart practices, you can remain profitable during all the different seasons.

 

 

How to Effectively Target Your Google+ User Demographic

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Ok, you’re convinced – you should be on Google+.

You know it’s important to your business due to its integration with search functions and how it can increase your profile in the results. Having a profile doesn’t mean joining just another social network, but joining a whole host of programs and features that can empower your company.

So now you’ve signed up, how do you achieve effective brand messaging?

Google+ has a different user demographic than the other major social media platforms.  Check out these statistics:

*Males make up 71% of the Google+ base.

*The average age hovers around 24.

*Google+ users tend to work in the engineering, software, and design industries.

These users are intelligent, affluent, and tend to be early adopters of technology. They prize thoughtful discussions on latest trends and meaningful content over personal photos or updates of what you ate for dinner that evening.

Most folks are used to Twitter and Facebook, which cater to short attention spans and readers who skim over their newsfeeds.  Google+ users take the time to both read and write lengthy posts, valuing information over platitudes.  They utilize their design skills to create stunning visuals and videos and take the time to view and comment on them.

Google+ encourages discussions on topics through its use of interest groups.

In these groups, you may seek out themes relevant to your industry or market and hold professional discussions that exhibit your expertise.  Users on these forums tend to value a diversity of thought to increase their understanding, working towards collaboration versus competition.

This all may sound quite daunting, which could explain why this platform doesn’t experience the same wide acceptance that other networks enjoy.  But instead of fearing this demographic, seize it as an opportunity to crack a market of young, affluent, fearless users willing to demo your product or services and then advocate its effectiveness thoughtfully to the rest of their followers.

Here are 4 tips to help get your message across:

1.  Use “male” action words that evoke competition, such as sports metaphors.

For example:  “Crush your competitors,” “Score big sales,” and “Conquer your fears.”

2.  Stay away from technology basics and focus on features instead.

Users on Google+ generally come from technology backgrounds.  It’s ok to assume a base knowledge of widespread programs or hardware.   They know you can download apps on their smartphones.  They have more interest in the functionality of those apps and what they can do.

3.  Key on performance and cutting edge attributes.

Affluent male users care less about value and bargains and more about having a product that delivers and expands their personal and professional effectiveness.

4.  Don’t be “fluffy.”

Puffed-up marketing language means nothing to people who just want to know the nuts and bolts of what you can offer them.  It’s not about empowering their purpose, but empowering their current abilities.

5 Reasons to Jump on the Google Bandwagon

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It’s true, Google is a behemoth and very nearly a world power…for good reason. But, believe it or not, there are people and businesses that are still not on board with Google.

Google seeks to establish a strong digital platform that can integrate to create a holistic user experience on the Internet.

There are 4 concrete and important reasons to jump on the Google bandwagon:

1. Simplicity

Simple things really are the best in every way. Simplicity is the best for maintaining your sanity, your momentum, and your brand.

The definition of simplicity is freedom from complexity, intricacy, or ornamentation.

That statement accurately defines Google’s digital suite and every tool found within it:

  • Each tool is as minimal as possible while still offering incredible functionality.
  • There’s no unnecessary, flashy branding or advertisements.
  • Tools are clearly color-coded for ease of use.

Simplicity and accessibility go hand in hand, which leads us to our next reason to hop that bandwagon:

2. Accessibility

As a business owner or entrepreneur, there’s little that is more important than accessibility to your daily needs. Google gets that, and works to make your worklife and business dealings as easy as possible by offering everything you could possibly need in one compact place.

They desire to be the one-stop hub where you can:

  • Check your email (Gmail),
  • Surf the internet (Google Search),
  • Mark dates on a calendar (Google Events),
  • Get directions (Google Maps),
  • Share files (Google Docs),
  • Watch videos (YouTube),
  • Engage in an online video chat (Hangouts).
  • Engage in instant messages (Hangouts).

Or, if you’re using Google G Suite to market your business or someone else’s, you can:

  • Keep an eye on viral trends and keywords (Google Trends)
  • Set alerts for news relevant to your industry (Google Alerts)
  • Research and manage SEO (Google Keyword Tool)
  • Manage and maintain your website reach and statistics (Google Analytics)

Plus, there’s so much more that you can do with Google’s digital suite that isn’t listed here.

3. Mobility

In this day and age, your mobility can potentially mean the life or death of your business. Fortunately, Google makes each of their tools and products available via mobile and even offline if you need it.

Imagine for a moment that you’re having a very important business lunch with a new potential client, but forgot to print off your presentation slides. Big uh-oh. But, what could impress them more than a guided tour through your presentation on Google Slides.

This mobility could mean the difference between an excited new client and a lost prospect. Never lose a prospect again because you made a tiny mistake.

4. Expandability

While Google tools and programs are pretty robust and thorough, sometimes you need a little extra. Fortunately, Google offers the capability to add-on functions through sponsored plugins and open-source options.

Custom reports and goals in Google Analytics.

Enhanced Gmail functionality with Google Labs.

In fact, Google offers documentation for developers to help add more functionality to their tools without the overhead.

5. Shareability

Last, but certainly not least, Google offers premium shareability in all that they do. Plus, they make it as easy and user-friendly as possible.

You can add individuals, teams, and organizations to just about everything you do within Google’s digital suite. This not only makes things easy for contractors or remote teams, but it can also ease your mind. Never again will things get lost in translation or get missed in the stack of inbox files.

Do you have another reason why Google is the best? Share it with us in the comments!

8 Ways to Provide Real Value in Your Free Offer

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You ever see those people downtown handing out flyers on the street? They think they’re out spreading the word, but when you turn the corner, you see where everyone has just ditched the papers on the ground. Just because something’s complimentary doesn’t mean someone will want it.  People desire something of value, even if you’re giving it away for free.

To move people through the sales funnel of your hourglass, you need to offer a free item to get the word out as well. But don’t leave people thinking, “Great, what am I going to do with this?”  Instead, create a giveaway item of value that demonstrates your expertise.

An effective freebie offer helps your potential client and markets for you at the same time. You want to leave your target customers thinking, “Hey! If the stuff they give away is this great, imagine what they provide when you pay!”

So, how do you create something of value?  How do you catch people’s attention, so you stand out among all of the other competing messages out there? The following steps will help walk you through the process:

Ask yourself what problem does your business solve?  Think about this question. It may be trickier to answer than you think. Don’t just respond, “I build websites.”  Drill down. Websites for whom?  Why do they need one?  What value do your customers receive from your product or service?

What do you offer unique that your competition does not?

Your answers should frame the core of your messaging.

If you have trouble, think about what feedback have you received from those with whom you have worked in the past.  Do people say that you design great, user-friendly templates? Perhaps create generic web forms. Do people come to you with all of their computer questions? Perhaps write an e-book or how-to guide. Dig deep and find that one thing at which you really excel. Then capitalize on this strength by turning it into something tangible that you can offer your clients to help them solve their problem.

Give a strong sample of what you can do.  Treat this as an audition, or demonstration of your skills.  You want to impress.

Videos, e-series, coupons, or other electronic media items all work well as instant giveaways. Make it enticing! Remember, there’s a lot of competition for attention out there.

As people sign up, you’ll want to gather their names and contact information so you can add them to your distribution lists. Make it easy to collect that information by creating a web form through a program such as Aweber.

After you design your web form, grab the code provided and add it to its own landing page.  Share the link to your landing page in all of your social media channels to gain the most exposure.

Here are some other ways to draw people down into the sales funnel:

*Create buzz by letting your fans know that you’re working on the latest freebie. Continue tweeting and posting about your progress and include a link where anyone can sign up to get it when it comes out.

*As visitors come to your website, encourage them to sign up to receive your freebie. Add these names to your list, so you have the ability to email these people and bring them back to your website over and over again.

*Include a signature line on your forum profiles that invites readers to sign up for your freebie.  This will also grow your list and increase your reach.

5 Easy Ways to Drive Sales Using Email Newsletter Marketing

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Email Newsletter Marketing is All About Making Friends

The funny thing about working in marketing is that you become very cognizant of brand identification. Eventually, you’ll begin to see the values that each company expresses behind the brands you know and can decide whether or not you align with those values as well, or if you’d rather spend your money elsewhere.

It’s kind of like making friends.

Newsletters make a great way to show off your personality to your potential clients and make friends along the way. Your customers opted in to find out more about you, don’t disappoint them. Take this opportunity to express yourself a bit. Be bold. You won’t get attention if you avoid sticking out.

Your company should be an extension of your personality.

Remember, as an entrepreneur; you are your business. Reflect that in your newsletter! Don’t forget to include strong, relevant content, though. You don’t want to lose potential business by focusing too much on yourself. The purpose here is to provide value while making a personal connection. People will much more likely conduct business with a company to whom they feel connected.

Here are a few tips to help your newsletter connect with your target audience:

1. Include an article(s) relevant to your market niche.

Successful businesses stay ahead of the curve so help them gather information. Stay knowledgeable about the latest developments in your industry. Then share any relevant and important news that you find.

2. Write a personal connection piece.

Don’t just fill this with fluff. Use this as an opportunity to express your own personal business philosophy. If you struggle with what to write, discuss how do you integrate your lifestyle to fit your values.

  • Why did you choose entrepreneurship?
  • What drew you to your niche?
  • What specifically interests you?

Focus on articles that bolster your values and beliefs and your personality will show through.

3. Write a bio that stands out.

Don’t just follow your typical bio format.

Answer these types of questions:

  • What do you value?
  • What are you known for?
  • Where do you feel the most connected?
  • What do you hope to achieve?
  • What excites you?

Use the answers to these questions and craft a stellar bio that will seem a little more individualized, giving a greater sense of your personality. This helps your audience connect with you on a personal level.

4. Be clear about what qualitative results your clients receive.

People want value, and they’ll eat it up if you give it to them.

So, don’t beat around the bush. Tell them what they’ll get from working with you while stressing the benefits. Remember, it’s about value. Let them know what they’ll be getting for their money.

5. Give the message your clients want to hear.

People want to know what you’ll do for them. Just because you put out a newsletter doesn’t mean that readers will sign up. You have to sell the message that they want to hear. Solve their problems, and they’ll keep opening up your newsletter for more.

Have another email newsletter tip that you use? Share it with us in comments!

How to Get Started in Social Media Marketing in 9 Simple Ways

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Social Media is Hard, but Necessary. Learn How to Get Started Like a Pro Today

Jumping into social media for your brand? It’s scary business, going outside your comfort zone, right?

You have a personal Facebook page. You’ve seen videos on YouTube and you receive celebrity tweets. You know what it’s all about. From a consumer’s standpoint, that is. Once you became an entrepreneur, you realized that the perspective is quite a bit different from the other side.

You know you need social media to attract customers, but where do you even begin?

How do you gain traction?

Here are a few tips to help you get started with social media marketing for your business:

1. Have a purpose.

Consider your purpose for diving into social media.

Do you want to make connections?
Do you want to share updates of your blog content?

Think of your end goal and how you could use social media to get there. Then, based on that, make a detailed social media plan and stick to it.

2. Have a plan.

Not all social media platforms are created equal. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages, as well as target demographics.

Find out which ones best meet your needs and then create strategies for each independently.

3. Create a strong profile.

Fill out your profile completely and include relevant details for your followers. Use an appropriately professional image and update details as needed.

4. Put yourself out there!

Send out an email to your whole contact list announcing your new social media profile.

Add “like” or “follow me” buttons to your website and let people know where to find you. Engage on other pages, and those people will follow you back to engage on yours.

5. Let’s say it again: Engage!

Get out there and comment on posts, pictures, videos, etc. that relate to your business.And don’t keep it one-sided.Make sure to respond to comments made on your page. People won’t return if they think no one’s listening.

6. Share readily.

Sharing the content of others can also help generate a strong fan base. People appreciate having their reach widened and will reciprocate in kind, sharing and getting your material in front of more potential customers as well.

7. It’s not all about you.

While people love to hear from their favorite brands and receive their updates, the focus should always be on providing value. Keep your focus on sharing helpful information and avoiding blatant self-promotion.

8. Keep it coming.

Consistent messaging will build your reputation and maintain your exposure. If you keep putting your message out there, people will begin to see you as an influence in your industry and look to you when they need your products or services.

9. Be Patient.

Social media success takes time. Unless you already have a well-established online presence, you probably won’t get instant results. Don’t worry and don’t give up. Keep making connections and building your list. Eventually, all of your hard work will pay off.

Remember, social media is like a snowball rolling down a hill. Expect slow results at first, but once you get going, you will really gain momentum and begin attracting fans exponentially. Keep steady and focused, and you’ll be seeing the benefits soon.

7 Simple Steps to Engage People on Your Blog

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7 Simple Steps to Engage People on Your Blog

Ready to Get People Excited to Read Your Blog?

When you hear about the need to engage, a lot of people think about social media networks such as Facebook and Google+. Blogs often get overlooked.

Most popular blogging platforms provide various features that both allow for and enhance engagement and sharing just like you would see on a social network. Just like some social media accounts, blogger profiles exist that have tons of followers and generate a lot of comments, while there are some that seem to generate little attention at all.

Where does your blog lay on this spectrum? Do you desire more interaction on your page? Here are 7 simple tips to help you increase engagement and build a following with your blog:

1. Have a purpose.

Having a well-defined purpose will help give you direction on what to write, and a reason for visitors to keep coming back.

Ensure that you are specific and consistent in your focus, if you keep changing up your focus, your potential audience will get confused and eventually leave. By remaining consistent and narrowing your blogging to a certain niche, you can help establish yourself as an expert in that field and be the go-to person for those seeking advice regarding your particular area of knowledge.

2. Be relevant.

You hear about relevance all the time, and for good reason. Readers have a far greater likelihood of commenting on an article that speaks to them, so provide information that really resonates with them.

Keep up on current trends and relay the latest news. Give hints and tips your target audience would utilize to achieve success.

3. Don’t overdo it with text.

There are a TON of articles and studies out there that define the best or worst length of blog articles. The truth is, they’re all right…and all wrong.

While there is no real sweet spot in terms of blog length, it is typically best practice to keep a median word count between 400 and 700 words depending on the topic.

It hurts a writer’s ego, but few of your visitors care about your lengthy prose. Make it easy to scan by using bold highlights and bulleted lists. Break out key points using write short, crisp sentences, paragraphs, and bullet points.

4. Welcome conversation.

It may sound silly or like basic common sense to say this, but you really do need to ask for engagement from your readers.

  1. Pose a question.
  2. Ask their opinion.
  3. Get their feedback.

People love to be heard; it makes them feel important. Simply ending your article with “What do you think?” may be enough to generate a reply.

5. Answer questions.

Like conversation, honest answers can be the best thing you’ve got in your pocket.

Your readers want to know that you appreciate them and take the time to respond intelligently and promptly to any and all questions.

Never take your readers for granted, always greet them and thank them for their time. You don’t enjoy feeling like you’re talking to thin air, and neither do they.

6. Include sharing buttons on your blog posts.

Make sure you provide the ability to share your blog articles on the major social media platforms such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter. When a visitor shares your content on their social networks, it greatly increases the chances you will attract those with whom your content resonates.

If you’re using WordPress, there are tons of high-quality, reputable social sharing plugins that will serve your needs.

7. Make it easy for readers to subscribe to your RSS feed.

This allows your visitors to have your posts delivered to their reader without having to visit your blog each time you publish. That way, they’ll get notified when you share a new post and have even more encouragement to stop by and say hello.

What did you think? Please leave a comment below and let us know!