Back in the day on Spin Sucks, I wrote a piece about authenticity and my fear that analytics would rule the word (that was “world” but that works better!). Alas, my fears are now reality.
Bloggers who want to get anywhere online need to write with key words handy. It’s what my colleague and digital marketing partner Jon Buscall of Jontus Media dictates every day.
In fact, he’s been lecturing me that I don’t blog with key words enough. My writings are what strike me. I’m writing for my peers. Indeed.
So we set on a journey to develop a list of key words for Jayme Soulati to use when blogging. Have you seen me blogging here of late? Pretty much nope. I’ve been seriously stymied with this key word thing.
Key Words For Public Relations
Here are the biggest issues with my writers’ block (the longer it goes on, the easier it gets NOT to write):
- No one hunts for PR people online; public relations pros are typically word of mouth.
- What kind of key words should I write with when I’m an agency brat? I know a little about a wide berth of topics and that’s how I like to write.
- Should I narrow and write every day about message mapping, my latest rebrand? Would that get boring for the reader, or boring for the writer?
So, I’m asking for your counsel here. Mind you, this is my 615th post. I’ve been at this awhile (4+ years) and have loved my journey. Now, as disruption has disrupted me, I need to get on a faster track, improve, force myself to learn, quit whining, etc.
Blogging For Dollars
The issues at hand are:
- Get traffic flowing to the website
- Reduce the bounce rate
- Build the list
- Earn business from digital marketing
- Write more specifically using key words that appeal to a buyer (this is the biggest ouch for me)
What can you share about your experiences? Especially if you’re a PR person blogging for dollars?
Related articles
My fatigue, overwhelm, disenchantment and disillusionment with the online world, and the constant hue and cry for keywords/SEO/panda/hummingbird/write here/do this/do that/longtail/….has taken so much of my spirit. I haven’t blogged in weeks. Can’t abide all the regurgitated verbal vomit. Not including you in this. Your writing has been, and is, great. And Jon is absolutely correct in his counsel. I’m just so over working so hard to get it “right” that I don’t even feel like getting to it. I’m doing my writing offline, in lined ledgers…poetry/haiku/cinquain/fiction. Maybe it will see light of day one day. You’re doing great my #RockHot friend, and you and Jon have worked to create an awesome site. I just can’t get enthused about what’s going on generally online. And that’s a shame, because the gems have to shine so much brighter to cut through the clutter. Cheers! Kaarina
KDillabough I agree with the above comment. There is way too much clutter online.
Definitely gotta toss a keyword in there here and there Jayme to target, for our content simply speaks a targeted message based on the specific words we use. Thanks for the share 😉
RyanKBiddulph Hi, Ryan! Any ideas of key words for PR peeps, though? We’re a dime a dozen! Thanks for popping over; I very much appreciate it especially as I’ve been MIA of late!
KDillabough Truth be told, Kaarina, I thought of you as I was writing this, wondering if you’d agree.
You did! And, I do (til death do us part)! Because we’ve been doing this so long and have experienced every change that required adjusting and re-targeting, we’ve (I’ve) grown very weary of the uphill climb.
I’ve been seeing people talk about the demise of the single blogger. Back in 2010, I launched the SMB Collective — it was a group blog before its time! Need I resurrect that again and find folks to join in and write for small businesses?
Should we align forces and let each of us showcase our talents again with key words and offerings and products?
I need more time, more money, and more help. Sigh. Thank you for you!
mrsstarstatus KDillabough Thanks for coming by to say so!!!! Appreciate that!
Blogging is simple. Find your happy place and work it.
Joshua Wilner/A Writer Writes Heh. That’s why you are a rich blogger man, eh, Josh? Great counsel; I am going to follow that to a J. Good Morning, LA!
Nowadays, everybody knows something about SEO, so its value has diminished. What is more important now is to provide quality, then promote it as best as possible, to the right target. That’s more of a challenge, but clearly the correct way.
Soulati | Hybrid PR Writing a post that I’ll publish today that revolves around this topic. You will see a kindred spirit in it:)
Blogging for dollars is a seemingly sisyphean task – especially if a blog gets under a 1M visitors per month. I admire your courage and tenacity, Jayme.
Even 1M views in themselves don’t pay the bills, because, ultimately, it’s the client work that brings the pay checks, big paypal payments and bank transfers.
At its best, blogging is a labor of love. Keyword stuffing, reciprocal commenting and back link chores kills the buzz like nothing else. Perhaps, partly, because the value of such comes out to about a penny on the dollar for endless hours – if we are lucky.
Myself, I often consider the Jack B’s advice regarding blogging – just write.
Soulati | Hybrid PR KDillabough
There was always hope in collaboration. But too often vanity gets in the way of deep and enduring collaborations.
That’s just it — writing (via keywords in this case) for the readers you want vs. the ones you have, for what would help you and your blog vs. what would just fly off your keyboard.
What are people searching for relative to my business .. and it’s always ‘free publicity’ or press releases; cheap logo design; how to make money off a Facebook page. So if I write around that, I get more low hanging fruit that’s not worth the effort. Do I write more on my job search, as I look to move to a full time gig (and maybe still do a LITTLE small biz consulting on the side)? That’s all that icky ‘me me’ branding stuff, which no one searches for either.
In a way writing for dollars is it. Circling back to what those that do the hiring (be they owners or managers looking for an agency, consultant or employee), they are searching for ways to better their business, make it more money. Hmm.. now you’ve got me thinking and thinking, how to write (and keyword) for that. FWIW I’ll let you know if my thinking ever pays off. 🙂