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How To Get More Blog Traffic With Less Work

February 9, 2018 by Marc Guberti Leave a Comment

If you ask a blogger about his/her goals, it won’t take long before you hear “get more blog traffic” as one of those goals.

It takes a considerable amount of work to boost your blog traffic, especially in the beginning. The work is worth it in the long-term, but you can take some shortcuts along the way. These shortcuts will cut down on your workload so you can commit more time towards other priorities.

Even then, you may still find yourself committing a significant amount of time towards promotion. However, certain tasks can be reduced or even eliminated.

Create Evergreen Posting Cycles

If you’re the person continuously scheduling your social media posts, put this as Priority #1. Scheduling your social media posts seems like a priority, but with so much automation available, it’s more harm than good to continue scheduling your content.

Instead, you need to create an evergreen posting cycle. That way, all of your social media posts sequentially get posted over and over again in an infinite loop. I only create new tweets 2-3 times per year when I want to incorporate more of my new content into my current evergreen posting cycle.

I don’t have to constantly copy, paste, and write social media posts over and over again. This is the beauty of automation.

For a while, I used HootSuite’s bulk uploader which allowed me to schedule over 100 tweets in just six clicks. Since then, I now use ViralTag which may be more expensive, but it has evergreen posting cycles for Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and many others.

I set up these evergreen cycles once and forget about them. The rest takes care of itself.

Republish Your Old Content

It’s great to publish new content. In fact, I write a new blog post every day. However, you can republish your older content to save time.

The idea behind this tactic is that instead of writing a 1,000 word blog post (or more depending on your preference) you update an existing piece of content. Preferably, update one of your top pieces of content.

By updating your top content, you’ll get search engines to notice and point more traffic to that content. You can also use successful content to drive more traffic to your new and emerging content.

Some bloggers have such massive libraries of content that all they do is republish and hone their existing content. You may not be at that point yet, nor may you want to implement that approach, but it’s worth considering.

These same bloggers that only update their new content frequently write guest posts to drive more traffic to their content. These bloggers often publish their best content on other people’s blogs while still providing immense value on their blogs.

Delegate Tasks

I always look for more ways to delegate tasks within my business. The more tasks you can delegate, the more of your time you can commit towards other areas.

And not all tasks are created equal.

You only perform certain tasks because they are necessary for your business. These tasks generate no revenue but help keep everything in place. Scheduling new content, editing the content, growing your social media audience, and other tasks fit the list.

You need to delegate these types of tasks and focus on what only you can do (i.e. creating videos for a training course).

Some of these tasks may be difficult to hand over. I know it was difficult for me to hand over my Twitter growth to someone else. However, that decision was well worth it and allowed me to pursue other ventures.

If I had to continue growing my Twitter audience on my own, there’s no way I would have hosted the Breakthrough Success Podcast or any virtual summits.

Delegating more tasks opens the doors to more opportunities, and more importantly, time to think. You can think about how you’ll expand instead of just doing.

Taking 10-15 minutes to do nothing but think of ways to expand is one of the most powerful ways to grow your business. It’s similar to creating an outline for each blog post you write. You know that the initial time it takes to create the outline will save you massive time and result in a higher value blog post.

Think of the 10-15 minute daily “Thinking Time” as writing a blog post outline for the longest piece of content you’ll ever write. It’ll definitely come out better with the initial Thinking Time.

Craft Email Rubrics

Most people spend an extraordinary amount of time in their inboxes. It seems like for every email we reply to, three new emails come to replace it.

Your inbox is a crowdsourced to-do list which, without moderation, will pull you away from what you’re actually supposed to do.

You may also send emails to reach out to more people. While this can be delegated, many people prefer to do the outreach themselves or at least in the beginning.

Eventually you’ll find yourself writing the same kinds of emails and answering the same questions over and over again. Understanding this principle is essential for getting out of your inbox quicker.

Instead of writing a different email each time, begin crafting email rubrics. Keep those emails in an easy to access folder on your computer.

The next time you respond to the same question here’s what you should do:

Head over to the email rubrics folder

Copy the appropriate email rubric

Paste the rubric into the email

Include the person’s name

Send

This will save you a lot of time. Instead of writing the email word-for-word over and over again, you can click a few buttons and then the exact email shows up. You can also apply this for outreach emails and any emails you find yourself sending often.

As bloggers, we will get the same types of emails. Developing rubrics for our responses will streamline the process so we can respond to and send more emails in a shorter period of time.

In Conclusion

Blogging take a lot of work. You have to create, promote, and monetize your content. None of those three key factors can be missing.

However, there are ways to streamline the process and cut through the noise. Delegation will help you streamline any process, but you should consider automation first. There is no reason to delegate a task that can be easily automated.

Regardless of how much time you shave off from your process, commit to implementing at least one tactic from this blog post. Whether it’s contacting potential employees on a site like UpWork or getting started with ViralTag, get in the habit of taking action based on what you read.

What were your thoughts on these tactics for getting more blog traffic with less work? Do you have any additional tactics for us? Do you have a question for me? Sound off in the comments section below.

How To Get Out Of Writer’s Block

February 8, 2018 by Marc Guberti Leave a Comment

Writer’s block is the last place any content creator can be. This affliction results in the blank screen that stays blank for a very long time. When writer’s block strikes, we need to put it out as quickly as possible.

This article will show you how to get out of writer’s block so your creative mind can continue to flow and provide ideas with ease.

#1: Ask Your Audience For Topics

Asking your audience is one of the best ways to get out of writer’s block. Not only will you receive many ideas, but these are ideas your audience wants more of. By providing more of what your audience wants, you’ll attract new visitors and have a more loyal audience.

In our effort to amplify our voices, we must remember that our audiences appreciate when their voices are heard. Listen to them by asking them for topic ideas. You might just stumble across a content idea that ignites your blog traffic.

#2: Consume More Content

I consume as much content as possible, especially when I’m running out of ideas. I read anywhere from 10 to 30 books every month (lately it’s been closer to 10). I read paperbacks and Kindle eBooks. I listen to audiobooks and podcast episodes.

I also publish five episodes on the Breakthrough Success Podcast every week. This isn’t just a shameless plug. Understand that for me to continue publishing episodes at this rate, I must, on average, interview at least five people every week. That’s over 250 people I interview every year, and since I usually interview more than 5 people every week, that number is closer to 300.

If I choose to turn Breakthrough Success into a daily podcast or run some more virtual summits this year, I’ll interview over 400 people every year.

I consume a lot of ideas just by interviewing people. Combine that with all of the time I spend reading and listening to content, and you can understand how much content I’m willing to consume to get better at my craft.

#3: Hack Your Mind When In The Writing Flow

Writer’s block doesn’t just happen when you can’t think of a new idea. Writer’s block sometimes happens when you’re in the middle of an idea.

You briefly leave your computer, return to the idea, and then you find yourself stuck. A blog post that once flowed so easily now feels stuck in a traffic jam.

How do you continue writing midway through a blog post when the ideas aren’t flowing out as well.

The answer is to hack your mind when you are in the writing flow. The best approach is to finish a piece of content from start to finish. This isn’t always possible, especially for a book, but there is another solution.

Before you stop typing and give yourself a break, type part of a sentence. Not the whole sentence. Just part of one.

When you return to that piece of content, your mind will quickly retrace its steps and you’ll remember where you left off. You’ll finish typing the second half of that sentence and then continue as if there was no interruption.

#4: Stop Writing & Stop Talking

It’s very common for most content creators to stop writing for a moment. Writer’s block is in the way.

It’s much less common to be without any words to say. In fact, it’s so rare for anyone to be speechless or out of words that it’s a big deal when it happens.

Writer’s block is different. It’s one of those universally understood idea among most bloggers. But if you struggle to find words to say when hanging out with your friends and when it’s your turn to talk…that’s more shocking.

If you find yourself struggling to write a blog post, speak it. Let the words naturally flow and don’t think for a second about what you’re saying. This is off-the-cuff and can be edited later. All you have is a basic outline to steer you through the content creation process.

You can either keep the content in video form or transcribe the audio so you have a completed blog post. Just because it’s called writer’s block doesn’t mean the only solution is to write your way out of it.

#5: Write About Something Else

The very first book I planned to self-publish as a Kindle book was horrible. I knew 3,000 words in that this book was going to be an utter bust. Not only that, but I knew it would be painful for me to write.

I gave up on that book, and I’m proud of it.

If you find yourself in a project heading towards the dead end, don’t continue. Get out of that project so you can pursue something else with more promise. When you choose something promising, that’s when you don’t give up.

On some days, it will feel difficult to continue. I have many feelings like that with my own brand.

But the first book I was writing…horrible. I would need a lot of time to think what I was trying to get at in the book.

For blog posts, if you feel like you’re about to hit a dead end, you have two choices. The first choice is to scrap it like I did with my first book draft (and others). Each blog post you write makes you a better blogger, even if you don’t publish the blog post.

The second option is to write a new blog post. After you write that new blog post, return to the previous blog post that proved to be difficult. If you still find it difficult to write that one blog post after multiple attempts, scrap it. Until you scrap it, you’ll keep thinking about it and continue struggling to think of ways to finish it.

Even if you finish that type of blog post, it won’t be your best work. The best content you’ll ever produce is the content you enjoy creating.

In Conclusion

Writer’s block gets all of us at certain points. My favorite way for conquering writer’s block is to speak my way out of it. Even if I don’t transcribe videos and turn them into blog posts, I’ll speak about the topic.

As I speak about the topic, ideas will quickly flow out like a rushing stream. With these ideas in place, it will be easier for me to finish writing the blog post.

What were your thoughts on these tactics? Do you have any tactics for getting out of writer’s block? Do you have a question for me? Sound off in the comments section below.

Myth Busting: Offering Free Content Doesn’t Bring In Money

April 13, 2016 by Marc Guberti Leave a Comment

The blogging journey is a whirlwind of emotions, especially in the beginning. It’s a privilege to put your voice on the web. However, there are the days when newbie bloggers look at their revenue and find zeroes.

When the mentality shifts from fun to profit, some bloggers focus more on offering products than writing content. At this stage, the myth that offering free content won’t make any money arises.

Although the name doesn’t suggest it, free content is essential for making revenue from your online business. In the video, I’ll tell you why that is the case.

If you like this video, then I would love it if you subscribed to my YouTube channel and spread the word.

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How To Make A Comeback With Your Blog

October 21, 2015 by Marc Guberti 4 Comments

The main reason most people give up on blogging is because they don’t make money right away. These people look for a short-term way to make money, hope blogging will be the solution, and then get disappointed.

In the long-term, blogging can become very profitable, but in the short-term, blogging doesn’t make a lot of money. This realization results in many people leaving their blogs behind and leaving them in the back of the internet’s closet.

Some of these people come back to their blogs and ask themselves, “How do I start over again?”

These people want to become bloggers again and understand that although there isn’t much short-term profit, the long-term profit can be huge.

But blogging isn’t all about money. If you don’t enjoy writing blog posts, you won’t have fun and you won’t make money. The most successful bloggers also love what they write about. That shouldn’t be shocking.

If you find yourself returning to your blog for the first time in several months, or if you need to renew your blogging spirit, it’s time for you to make a comeback.

Type Away

If you consistently write over 1,000 words per day, it will quickly become a habit. Habits are easier to stick with since they eventually become encoded into our work ethic without second thought. For me, writing thousands of words per day is a habitual process because that’s how many words I write every day.

So how does typing thousands of words per day become a second-nature habit? The first step is to understand how habits are formed in the first place. If you do the same activity every day for a little over two months, that activity suddenly becomes a habit.

For two months, it was difficult for me to keep the commitment of writing 1,000 words each day. Now keeping that commitment is just as easy as keeping my commitment of eating food and drinking water. Writing thousands of words per day has become an essential part of my day.

The other step is to give yourself an incentive to continue. Give yourself a reward for staying commitment and a reason to avoid stopping. No technique works better than the Jerry Seinfeld technique. Here’s the technique in a nutshell:

Get a calendar
Put a red “X” on each day you stay true to your commitment (i.e. writing 1,000 words in a day)
Make that streak go as long as possible

Soon enough, you will be riding on a hot streak. Once you are on a hot streak, you will never want it to end. It’s one of the reasons I still play on the piano, write over 1,000 words, and do something for my Udemy courses every single day.

I have hot streaks in multiple areas. It would be a shame for me to let any of those hot streaks go back to zero.

Figure Out Why You Left Or Lost Your Enthusiasm For Blogging In The First Place

We’ve all heard of the phrase, “Don’t make the same mistakes again.” If you make a mistake the first time, it is still possible to make the same mistake a second time. Some people make the same mistakes dozens of times.

Identifying why you took a course of action that led to a mistake is one solution to not making the same mistake again. Knowing why you stopped blogging or lost your enthusiasm for it will let you know how to avoid making the same mistake.

Once you know what happened, you can then create adjustments that prevent you from making the same mistake again. Build habits that prevent you from making the mistake(s) that resulted in you losing your enthusiasm or stop blogging all together.

The Best Is Yet To Come

Each time I felt down about my business, I would always think of this saying. I’ll never forget the impact it had on me the first time I heard it. Depending on how seriously you take this advice and how you combine it with your work, these six words may become your prophecy.

When you write your blog posts and look at your stats, understand that the best is yet to come. Just because you may not be getting many visitors now does not mean that will always be the case. This saying doesn’t guarantee success, but it will inspire you to put in more work than you have ever put in before.

This was the piece of advice that made me realize I had to outsource most of my business now so I could repurpose my time towards more important goals. The more work you put in the more luck you get. Believe that the best is yet to come, and you will always have something to head towards.

In Conclusion

On some days, blogging gets challenging. For some reason, our goals seem to become the most challenging as we approach the accomplishment of those goals. During one stretch, I felt incredibly challenged with trying to grow my Twitter audience. In five years, I wanted to have 100,000 Twitter followers. It felt impossible.

Then, I hit a breakthrough and now have over 250,000 Twitter followers. In my original plan, I still wouldn’t be past 100,000 Twitter followers.

Maybe the reason why you feel uncomfortably challenged is because you are about to hit a breakthrough.

How To Get Your First 1,000 Blog Subscribers

September 4, 2015 by Marc Guberti 2 Comments

Get More Blog Subscribers — It’s all about the approach (and a few other things)

It’s a warm day in August 2014. I am in Cape May—a true paradise in its own right. I have over 100,000 Twitter followers. Over 150,000 people have visited my blog ever since I first launched it. I am approaching 20,000 Pinterest followers.

I have written over 1,000 blog posts for this blog alone. It would be unfair to not mention the hundreds of thousands of words I wrote for Squidoo webpages (now on HubPages) and my other blogs.

I made just as much money as when I had less than 10,000 Twitter followers, less than 500 blog posts, only a few hundred monthly visitors, and no Pinterest account.

Everyone wants a large social media audience these days for the ROI, but even with my social media audience, I wasn’t generating any ROI. I felt frustrated. Luckily, I was in Cape May, so the frustration left quickly.

During that vacation, I made the most important decision for my growth. I finally created an email list, and I couldn’t be happier.

The good thing about having 100,000 Twitter followers was that it was easy for me to gain subscribers. I immediately went from gaining zero subscribers to gaining over a dozen subscribers every day. It was an overnight change that was made possible by years spent growing my Twitter audience.

More and more often, I woke up to making more money online. Now, I make money every day. It’s a great thing to see my products bringing in revenue.

I started taking my email list seriously when I got my first 1,000 subscribers. With a little under 2,000 subscribers, I made over $200 from my first promotional email. It was a starting point, and I now get more results from my promotional emails.

I want to help you reach your first 1,000 subscribers so you can establish a strong base for yourself. Here are five methods you can implement to get more subscribers.

Create A Landing Page

A landing page is a page on your blog that is dedicated to getting more subscribers. There is no menu or navigation other than having the person enter an email address. Here is an example of one of my landing pages that I created with Optimize Press:

Optimize Press Landing Page

This landing page gets numerous people from Twitter every day. My landing pages are responsible for a majority of my subscribers.

Promote Your Landing Pages On Your Social Networks

The only way to get subscribers from a landing page is if you promote that landing page. The reason my landing pages get conversions is because I promote them on my social networks often. I use Twitter to promote my landing pages every 1-2 hours. Here was my most successful tweet

Although Twitter is my top social network, the promotion doesn’t end there. I also promote my landing pages on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and my podcast. I am always exploring other options to promote my landing pages.

Use A Pop-up

Pop-Ups work, and based on my experience, they have an insignificant impact on bounce rate and the amount of time people spend on your blog. In other words, people will either click the x button and continue reading, or they will subscribe. It’s hard to go wrong there.

When I started using a pop-up for my blog, I quickly doubled the amount of daily subscribers I gained. I use the pop-up to promote my free eBooks that I would otherwise use my landing pages to promote.

I recommend timing your pop-up to show up within 20-30 seconds. That way, your visitor has enough time to look at your blog and get a feel for it. You want your visitor to feel comfortable on your blog so that visitor feels comfortable with giving you his/her email address.

Opt-In Box Above The Fold

I recently bought PlugMatter, a brilliant plugin that lets you put an opt-in box at the top of every blog post you write. It even goes on top of your blog’s homepage. If you didn’t notice it when you visited my blog, here’s what it looks like

Plugmatter Optin Form

This opt-in box allowed me to more than double my daily subscribers in a few days. This plugin essentially turns all of your blog posts into opportunities for you to get more emails.

The most important thing about PlugMatter is that it appears above the fold. Anyone who visits my blog will immediately see the opt-in box. People who are interested immediately enter their email address. People who aren’t interested simply scroll down and then see my blog posts.

While PlugMatter has resulted in a big increase in subscribers, it also leads to an indirect increase in subscribers. As people visit my blog again and again, they will constantly seeing my opt-in box. Seeing the same thing over and over again results in familiarity which results in that person eventually subscribing.

Host A Webinar—The Cool Way

A webinar is a live event on the web in which you empower others with knowledge. Webinars are basically seminars on the web. To some people, it may sound complicated to host a webinar, and hosting a webinar can get quite expensive.

It costs around $49 per month for an entire year just to get 100 people on the webinar. If your webinar already has 100 people, and person #101 tries to join in, that person gets blocked out.

What if I told you there was a free way to host a webinar? What if I told you the free way to host a webinar is better than most paid options?

That option does exist, and it’s called Periscope.

I know what most people are thinking: Wait, Periscope is a social network. Since when did it before a place to host webinars?

Periscope is a social network with many capabilities. Hosting a webinar with a Periscope is just one of the options. Just get a stand for your iPhone or iPad, position it right by your computer, and deliver the presentation just like any other person with a webinar would do.

Want to see what a webinar on Periscope looks like. Contact me marc@marcguberti.com and ask me when my next webinar goes live.

Promote sign-up for the webinar with a landing page. Don’t forget to promote a product or landing page during the webinar.

In Conclusion

When you get your first 1,000 subscribers, you will be more motivated to surpass 2,000 subscribers. As you accomplish each milestone, you will be moving closer to an email list that can generate a full-time income.

What are your thoughts about using an email list to generate revenue? Which of these methods do you use to get more subscribers? Is email marketing in your strategy? What tips do you have for us? Sound off in the comments section now!

7 Reasons Why You Need To Schedule More Blog Posts

January 2, 2015 by Marc Guberti 2 Comments

7 Reasons Why You Need To Schedule More Blog Posts

To some, the idea of scheduling blog posts may sound unnecessary, but in reality, scheduling your blog posts in advance is a utopia. Is that a bit of a stretch? Maybe, but scheduling those blog posts in advance does come in handy. Here are seven reasons why you should start scheduling more blog posts.

#1: You get more comfortable as a writer

The key to producing valuable content is to be comfortable as a writer. If I had to rush this blog post and have it done by the end of the day, it would be tough to read. Being forced to write a 1,000 word blog post (which could sometimes turn into a 2,000 worder) with a time limit removes the comfort of writing.

However, I always have a month’s worth of blog posts scheduled in advance so I can comfortably write my blog posts. I can go in depth and provide more examples.

#2: You get to write longer blog posts

When you schedule numerous blog posts in advance, you are giving yourself extra time to add more meat to your blog posts. The reason why longer blog posts are better is because your readers stick around for a longer period of time. I could have listed these seven tips in just 50 words, but then my readers wouldn’t stay on my blog for a long period of time.

In addition to making your readers stay on your blog for a longer period of time, longer blog posts allow you to bring the main points home. I could have just mentioned that you have to get more comfortable as a writer and then went into this method. However, going more in depth allows more people to understand that something is important.

You must go into detail about why something is important instead of just stating that it is important. Being able to write longer blog posts allows you to develop a stronger why for your readers.

#3: You have the option to focus on more important goals when necessary

If you have months of scheduled blog post, you can take a month off of blogging and consistently publish new blog posts at the same time. In essence, your blog will temporary be systematized. Now you have the option to temporary focus all of your attention on more important goals.

When I have three month’s worth of blog posts scheduled, there is no reason for me to write blog posts at the same pace. Rules and concepts occasionally change in my niche which means if I continued at my pace and had 6-12 month’s worth of scheduled blog posts, some of them would be outdated by the time they got published.

Instead of writing more blog posts, I put more content into my books. Instead of writing 2,000 words for one of my book and a blog post each day, I am writing 4,000 words for one of my books and nothing for my blog for an entire month. That’s an extra 60,000 words for the book. The best part is that I continue to publish content on my blog at the same rate as I was before without writing a single blog post in an entire month.

#4: You have more control over your schedule

One of the biggest things I feared as a new blogger was getting home from an event at midnight and having to write the blog post at midnight so I could publish it at 9 am Eastern–the same time that I always publish blog posts on this blog. Luckily, that has never happened, and that’s only because I write blog posts in advance.

Scheduling blog posts gives me the ability to take a day off. I never have to write a blog post or send an email on major holidays because they are all scheduled. I get to spend time with my family instead, which is more important to me. Scheduling blog posts in advance makes sure that you never sacrifice family time so you can write the blog post that you need to publish tomorrow.

#5: You can do more research

Providing research in a blog post makes that blog post more interesting. If your research is related to your blog post, your readers will enjoy learning about the useful facts. For example, there are over 1 billion Facebook users. This is an interesting fact that I stick into many of my blog posts about Facebook.

Doing more research will also allow you to learn new things about your niche. The prime purpose for some of the research I conduct is to obtain new knowledge about my niche that serves as inspiration for my future blog posts. Knowledge is power, especially when it is on your side.

#6: Your content will grow in value

Since you are writing more comfortably, and you are able to write longer blog posts, your content will grow in value. When I first started this blog, I understood the advantage of having scheduled blog posts. As a result, I went on a complete working frenzy to schedule as many blog posts as possible.

When I rushed my blog posts, I was not doing a good job. Some were filled with basic typos that a spell check would have caught, and there were a few that confused me when I looked at them a few months later. I started to get comfortable with writing when I had numerous blog posts scheduled in advance. Then, I wrote better blog posts that, since being published, have been shared thousands of times across the web.

#7: You will be more a committed blogger

The more of your time and work you put into a project, the more committed you become. The typical college athlete is more committed to a sport than the typical athlete in elementary school.

The same concept applies for blogging. If you have numerous blog posts scheduled, you have more commitment because you know at this point that you have written thousands of words for your blog. I am committed to blogging because its fun, but another factor is that over 400,000 words are on this blog. It would be very difficult to simply walk away from all of that hard work.

Scheduling blog posts in advance will allow you to see the work you have accomplished. Seeing this work may make you think of your future in blogging, and that thinking process may boost your commitment.

In Conclusion

Scheduling blog posts in advance presents bloggers with many benefits. The main benefit of scheduling blog posts is that you become a better writer in a variety of areas. You may learn how to write more content in a shorter amount of time, write higher value content, and become a more committed blogger. I attribute the value of my blog’s content to the fact that I was able to schedule blog posts in advance, and therefore I could write comfortably knowing that I have months of blog posts scheduled in advance.

How many blog posts do you schedule in advance?