It’s nearing mid-June. How are you progressing on your business goals so far in 2019?
One of our goals in 2019 was to get back to blogging on a regular basis. In January, we committed to the following in order to deliver more valuable contact to you:
- Publishing at least two to three times per month—We’re about 50/50 on this goal right now, so we’re aiming to pick it up for the second half of the year. We published twice in January and April but missed February and March entirely. In May, we did manage to post while celebrating our 7th anniversary.
- Producing a variety of content types, including videos and long-form content—We’re doing a much better job of varying our content type, especially on social. We have noticed that videos perform best for us on Instagram and LinkedIn right now, while interactive polls work well in Instagram Stories. What type of blog content do you prefer? Are you looking for specific types of content on specific social platforms?
- Continuing to promote past content that’s still relevant—We’re doing a much better job of continuing to promote past content and repurposing content, a vital part of our content strategy this year. Are you repurposing content to maximize its value? Are you interested in tips on getting more mileage out of your original content?
- Sharing six guest posts to provide diverse view points—We need your help! Despite repeated requests, we haven’t published a single guest post so far this year. Are you interested in contributing? Please see below for more information, or contact us with your idea.
Why did we commit to these goals for our blog?
Publishing Frequency
We’ve noticed that we receive more consistent blog traffic when we’re publishing consistently. You probably will too. While we would all love to publish valuable content daily, it’s important to be honest with yourself. What type of schedule can you commit to? How many resources can you devote to your blog and content marketing efforts?
Our clients always come first at CCC, so we’re committing to a minimum of two blog posts a month this year and hoping to publish more. That will give us time to research our posts, ask for feedback from our audience and publish content that will help you with your marketing efforts.
We’ll be publishing on Tuesdays at 10 AM ET, because the most popular day and time to visit the CCC blog is currently mid-day on Tuesdays. [UPDATE: We’re seeing more visitors and views early on Wednesday mornings, but for now we’re sticking to our scheduling time for consistency. It hasn’t moved that much from the beginning of the year, so it’s not worth changing yet.] Check your analytics to find when traffic spikes to your blog, so you can plan your publishing schedule accordingly. Note that it will change, so it’s important to check in occasionally.
Content Variety
In the past, we’ve shared mostly traditional blog posts, so we’re looking to mix it up a bit in 2019. Over the past year, we did introduce our first vlogs (or video blog posts), and our ebook continues to be a hit. What types of content work the best for you? What types of content do you prefer to consume?
While there is no perfect blog post length (or publishing frequency), we’re also interested in creating more long-form content. While the criteria of this category continues to be debated, it does perform well overall. Some of our more recent posts were longer than normal, and they continue to draw traffic. We’ve also done a better job of continuing to promote these posts after initially publishing them.
Putting the ‘Marketing’ in Content Marketing
Promoting your content is just as important as creating it. You need a content distribution plan as part of your overall content marketing strategy. Do you have a distribution plan after publishing a blog post? Or do you just hope readers will share it?
We’ve been guilty in the past of only sharing our content shortly after we publish it and then forgetting about it. Don’t make the same mistake! You can get more use out of your content by continuing to promote it (as long as it’s still relevant), and re-purposing content in different formats for different social platforms. For example, you can share individual tips on Twitter from a long-form blog post, or you can create short marketing minute videos for Instagram from a written blog post. Then, refer your communities to your post for more helpful marketing tips.
Speaking of content distribution, how do you like to learn about new blog posts? Email notifications? RSS feeds? Social media? Let us know how you like to stay up-to-date on your favorite blogs.
What is Evergreen Content? A Guide to Long-Lasting Content That Boosts SEO
Guest Posts (This is where you come in!)
The CCC blog has benefited from an array of guest bloggers in the past, and we want to continue to add diverse voices to the mix in 2019.
We’re looking for people who want to share their experiences and ideas in marketing, writing, social media and small business/entrepreneurship. We don’t like to require a specific word count, although we are interested in publishing more long-form content this year. We’re also open to vlogs, mixed media posts and other interactive ideas you have.
Run a successful marketing campaign? We’d love to share how you did it. Want to give quick writing tips that work for you? Our audience is interested. Have you had success on a particular social platform or want to discuss ideas for a new feature? We’d be happy to publish your savvy social media marketing skills or tips for our readers. Have you achieved success as an entrepreneur or small business owner? Our audience is interested in hearing how you did it.
We realize that our guidelines aren’t highly specific. That’s because we’ve had success with a wide range of content in the aforementioned categories. The diversity of topics within marketing, writing, social media and small business/entrepreneurship keep our content fresh and readers tuned in.
We’ll be happy to discuss your idea or look over an outline before you write your post, so we can give you feedback. We realize what you put into a successful blog post, so we want to make sure you receive a return on your investment. In addition, we’ll publish your photo, company/blog name, social media handles, contact information and website along with your post.
Speak Up! Share Your Progress on Your 2019 Goals
We’ve shared progress on one of our 2019 goals—recommitting to providing you valuable content through the CCC blog. How are you progressing on your brand’s goals this year? Comment below or share your goal progress or updates with us on social!
We wish all of our loyal readers a strong second half!
Thanks for reading,
Jaime
Let’s get social! Share your 2019 goals progress, marketing questions or favorite summer activities with us on the platforms below.
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