How long does it take to create a blog post? About 2.5 hours. Andy Crestodina, founder of Orbit Media, explains why your blog posts that contain original research create the greatest traction and impact online. Learn how to create unique, data-driven content that will make your blog posts standout and rank higher in Google on this episode of The Brand Journalism Advantage Podcast.
Andy Crestodina has been in the web design and interactive marketing space since January of 2000. 15 years ago, he founded Orbit Media, which an award-winning 38 person web design firm in Ravenswood. Since then, he’s helped thousands of people do a better job getting results online. He’s a true evangelist for content marketing and ethical digital marketing.
Together with the team at Orbit, Andy has put out some of the best digital marketing advice available, including hundreds of articles, including posts on virtually all of the top marketing websites. Then there’s the book, Content Chemistry, which is currently in it’s third edition.
Andy is also a regular speaker both locally and nationally. Not only is Andy a founder of Content Jam, Chicago’s largest content marketing conference (currently in it’s fifth year) but he’s also a regular face on the national circuit. Andy was recently named by Forbes as one of the Top 10 Online Marketers to follow in 2015.
Think Like A Journalist Quote
You can’t be everything to everyone but you can be something to someone. –Drew Davis, Brandscaping
Success Tip
Don’t be a control freak. Empower people to help you and your company.
Career Highlight
Hear Andy’s highlight and what has created his successful entrepreneurial future and why a large driving force for him was the idea that he was “never going to write a resume” again.
When It Didn’t Work
Find out what happened when Andy brought a partner into his company that wasn’t the best fit. Find out how this turned out for him.
How To Create Blog Posts That Use Original Research & Data For Greatest Online Exposure
- Interview even just a small group of industry leaders on a trending but under-reported topic. Gather the research and create your unique blog post based on the research.
- Use Alexa.com to research and study online trends. Create an article or report on this.
- Be a thought leader by digging deeper and creating blog posts that contains information that isn’t anywhere else on the Web. This type of content attracts consumers, businesses, and traditional media.
- Thoughts on removing blog posts dates: think about if the blog post contains a timely event. If so, readers should know the dates. However, if the content in the blog post is “ever green” (timeless and relevant for a long period of time), then you might want to remove your blog post dates.
- Make sure that the excerpt for your blog post is accurate and relevant because the snippet or synopsis that Google posts to explain your blog post will impact the click-through rate.
- Pay attention to psychology: write your blog posts by leveraging human psychology.
- When writing for semantic search: Include full question and full answer in your blog post snippet. (Andy gives an excellent example at [21:26]).
- Keep people on your Website: use video on pages, add infographics, images, and long-form blog posts.
- Put your high-value content on the most highly-trafficked pages of your Website.
- Create a video profile story that explains your “why”. Revealing why you’re in business is a powerful way to reach your audience and relate to them.
Multimedia Resource
Blog To Read
Mentioned In This Episode
TBJA 120 Building Your Personal Brand With Infographics, Barry Feldman
TBJA 123 Maritza Parra: Build Your List Before You Do Anything Else
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