1 of 34

Research, Write, Reach: �How to Create Content That Makes People Click

1

2 of 34

2

Established in 2009�

We are a women’s lifestyle digital publisher, specializing in both free and paid digital content.

�35 Crafting, DIY & Cooking Sites

  • 16.2 million unique visitors monthly
  • 46.2 million page views monthly�

47 eNewsletters

  • 6.7 million subscribers�

Social Media

  • 4.8 million fans & followers

Digital Magazines, Cookbooks, Print Magazines, & More!

3 of 34

3

Stuart Hochwert

President, Prime Publishing LLC

  • Publishing and Database Entrepreneur
  • 4th Startup
  • Enjoys crunching the numbers

Kaylee Pope

Audience Development Manager

  • Content Editor and Team Lead
  • 5+ Years Content/Publishing Experience
  • Favorite Content Tool: Google Analytics

Jenny Bowden

Editorial Content Manager

  • 6+ Years Digital Content/ Publishing Experience
  • Host of 2018 Prime Networking Event
  • Favorite Social Media Channel: Pinterest

4 of 34

912,500,000

Blog Posts Created a Year

4

5 of 34

Creating Great Content

5

Research

Write

Reach

6 of 34

Research

Create content that people will actually come looking for.

6

1.

7 of 34

Picking Your Topic

  • Is it content people actually want?
  • What keywords should you be targeting?
  • How can you make your version the best version?

7

8 of 34

BuzzSumo.com

Look at the top trending pages on social media for your industry or topic.

8

9 of 34

Google

Leverage Google’s data for insight into popular surrounding topics.

9

10 of 34

Using Your Own Data!

Google Analytics

Look at your top content and pages with the most pageviews to gauge what your readers already like to brainstorm new ideas.

Social Media

Ask questions on social media, check top posts, and read comments for topic ideas.

Customer Service

What questions are your customers asking? What are they most interested in? How can you provide value?

10

11 of 34

Leverage research tools and your own data to make content people want.

Don’t just create content, create value.

11

12 of 34

Three Steps to Finding Your Main Keyword:

Google Your Phrase

What content comes up on this page? Google’s algorithm always serves up the most popular, relevant content.

Does it Match?

Is the content Google is serving a match for what you are making?

Reevaluate

If not, explore other phrases and keywords.

Can you “win” it and is it “worth” it?

Who is ranking on the page currently? Can you beat them? Do enough people search for it?

12

13 of 34

moz.com/explorer

Check for search volume and difficulty.

13

14 of 34

Finding Intent

  • What do people want when they search for this topic?
  • Can you make the best page on the internet for this particular topic?

14

15 of 34

Making the Best Page on the Internet:

What are other people doing?

What is ranking right now? What other content exists? Does it offer videos, printable options, images, etc?

How can you make it better?

What does the existing content not provide for a user?

If you can’t, consider sharing the existing content instead and creating something else!

15

16 of 34

Content should add to what already exists, not try to replace it.

Don’t just remake other people’s content.

16

17 of 34

Write

Create the best page on the internet for your topic.

17

2.

18 of 34

What Does Your Page Need?

Main Keyword/Topic

Something people are searching for regularly.

Added Value

A page that adds to the library that already exists on the topic.

Answers Questions

Are you covering every question people have about this topic?

Additional Keywords

Mention related topics in order to show Google you are relevant.

Visual Interest

Make sure people are engaged with your content.

People!

Reach out to bloggers to collaborate on the project.

18

19 of 34

AnswerThePublic.com

19

Find out what questions people are asking about your topic.

20 of 34

More Keywords to Use

Google

What is showing up in the “People Also Ask” and “Related Searches” boxes?

Moz.com

Provides keyword suggestions.

20

21 of 34

Adding Interest!

Videos

Videos increase the time a reader spends on your page.�

Photos

Add visual interest to the page.�

Infographics

Organize information in an interesting and engaging way.

21

22 of 34

Influencers & Bloggers

  • Reach out to popular bloggers for quotes and tips.
  • Add photos and testimonials to the page.
  • People are more likely to connect when they see a face.
  • Popular faces add social proof to your post.

22

23 of 34

Social proof makes it easier for customers to trust your content.

Your customers will want to be invited to the party.

23

24 of 34

Reach

Making sure your content is seen!

24

3.

25 of 34

Content Amplification

Social Media

Share your content on all channels in an engaging and channel-appropriate way.

Newsletters

Leverage email marketing efforts to boost your content’s reach.

Influencers

Reach out to featured bloggers to share content they collaborated on.

25

26 of 34

Social Media Amplification

Facebook

Consider link and photo posts.

Schedule 2-3x over the course of the next few months.

Tag influencers.

Twitter

Tweet 5-10x over the next few months.

Tag bloggers mentioned.

Include hashtags!

Vary posting types - try headline variations and quotes.

Pinterest

Create one long pin for your article, include multiple photos. Infographics are a great option.

Add copy to pin including call-to-action words like free, printable, download, etc.

Create a board surrounding the content type and pin other content, as well.

26

27 of 34

Email Marketing

  • Schedule call outs in upcoming email marketing campaigns.�
  • Test out new article title and variations as a subject line.�
  • Call out engaging elements like videos, infographics, and blogger names.

27

28 of 34

Bloggers and Influencers

Featured Bloggers

Make sure to tag and promote their elements on your own social media channels.

Email bloggers as soon as the content is complete - offer pre-drafted social media posts to make it easy for them to promote the content.

Offer buttons/images that say “featured on” to encourage linking back to your site.

Non-Featured Influencers

Reach out to bloggers who may be interested in your content. Ask for additional insight (not for links).

Offer content for them to post on their own blog - would it be beneficial for them to share an infographic?

Always follow up.

3rd Party Blogs & Sites

Submit your content 3rd party sites like FaveCrafts.com, CraftGawker.com, etc. whenever possible.

Republish content on platforms like Medium.com and LinkedIn.com (when appropriate) 30 days after your publish date.

28

29 of 34

Why Build Links?

Building links back to your content is one of the best ways to amplify your content as it accomplishes two things:

  1. Increases your reach with new audiences who may have never heard of your site
  2. Increases your chances to rank in Google. A quality link can tell Google that your page is a respected source on the topic.

What Makes a Good Link?

Google and users can be picky about when and how certain pages are linked. You always want to make sure that links add value.

  1. Links are a conversation. Think about how the pages “talk” to each other and if it makes sense.
  2. Links (like headlines) should follow through on a promise. Longer phrases make it easier for the user to know what the link leads to.
  3. Linking for the sake of linking is spam. Google is good at telling a relevant link from a spammy one. Cheating the system can lead to a decrease in rank.

29

30 of 34

Ways to Earn Links

Always Feature Bloggers

One of the best ways to gain natural links is to include people in your article. Bloggers are likely to link to something they contributed on. Make sure to follow up!

Create Shareable Content

Creating content like charts, infographics, and research is more likely to earn links. Create pages people want to link to as a resource (like guides or how tos) instead of general round ups or pages based on self-promotion.

Provide Value When Reaching Out

Find specific pages where featuring your content would be beneficial to a reader. Some great ways to do this are providing visual elements or offering an alternative to a broken or outdated link already on the page.

Create an Influencer Program

Having built-in brand advocates. Prime Publishing LLC has a Blogger Traffic Program where we work with bloggers to promote our content and pay-it-forward through newsletter links and promotions.

30

31 of 34

Hitting the publish button is not enough.

Make sure people see your content.

31

32 of 34

Evaluating Success

What Worked?

What worked and what parts of it resonated with your audience?

What Didn’t Work?

What steps might not be worth repeating moving forward?

How Will You Measure Success?

Once you have created several articles, determine what success looks like for your content and create benchmarks to move towards.

32

33 of 34

Repeat successes. Question everything.

33

34 of 34

Any questions?

Prime Publishing LLC

3400 Dundee Road

Suite 220

Northbrook, IL 60062

(847) 205-9375

34