We’re picky when it comes to the content we consume. If it’s not coming from an expert, we don’t want it. Who would want to learn from someone who doesn’t actually know what they’re talking about, anyways? Not me.
That’s why positioning yourself as an expert is so important. If readers aren’t convinced you know what you’re talking about the very first time they land on your blog, they likely won’t be back. And if you know anything about first impressions, you know that physical appearance has a big part to play.
A few things that come to mind when I think about what drives me away from a website are:
- Unattractive design
- Lack of guidance
- Mixed messages
- Boring, incorrect, or unbeneficial content
Guess what? Almost all those things can be fixed by incorporating a blog strategy. Today I’ll go over 4 ways a blog strategy will position you as an expert.
Overall Cohesiveness
Right now, think of the top 3 experts in your industry.
If you’re anything like me you thought of 3 people that appear to have it all together. Their physical branding is on point and not a thing is out of place, their blog gives off a clear message, and you have a clear idea of who they are and what they do.
Guess what? They have a strategy.
With defining your blog strategy comes some specific goal setting. And after that period of goal setting is a time to make sure everything on your blog supports those goals.
Through that process, everything starts to come together. Any missing pieces of your brand get filled in. Any fuzzy pieces of your message become more clear. And your whole blog becomes a cohesive unit because of it.
Valuable + Focused Content
I want you to again think about a couple of the leaders in your industry, but this time, focus on their content.
What do you think of? Are their topics all over the place or are they pretty focused? Is it hit or miss on whether their content will be valuable or do you know it will always be worth your time to read? And is their content disorganized and hard to get through or does everything flow together and make perfect sense?
The people I’m thinking of focus their content in one area. I know that I’ll learn something new with each post I read and I don’t have to fight to make sense of what they’re trying to say. Everything fits together perfectly and never fails to provide value.
That’s what you want for yourself too, right?
This is another area where a focused blog strategy can work wonders. Content strategy is one of the largest parts of your blog strategy. With a clear strategy you will:
- Provide true value to your readers
- Craft content that flows together
- Determine which content forms work best for you and your audience, and
- Create an editorial calendar that will make your life a whole lot easier
So first your blog strategy helped you create a cohesive blog and brand, and now your content is fitting in with that perfectly.
Your Readers Will Have Clear Direction
Something that can make your content even more effective is clear paths for your readers to follow. And guess what? These paths benefit both you and them.
Your readers benefit because they’re led through different tiers of content that interest them. If they read a blog post they love they may be presented with a free workshop that teaches them more on that topic. Then, maybe that workshop leads to a paid course that teaches them everything there is to know.
Guess what? If your readers didn’t see you as the expert before, they do now!
On the other hand, you benefit because your readers are led through your free content up to your paid content. While your readers are happy to be presented with content that helps them, you’re able to increase your revenue because of it.
Your blog strategy will help you create these paths. In creating different tiers of focused content, these paths almost create themselves. You just need to do a small bit of extra work. And let me tell you, it pays off.
No Distractions
Now I want you to think of a blog that you didn’t get the greatest first impression from. Maybe the content was great, but hard to sort through. There probably weren’t any clear paths for you to follow. And maybe there were even ads in a place or two.
Not only do blogs like these look sloppy, but you can almost feel it. As if you can feel yourself getting lost.
Your blog strategy can help you to avoid this. One of the beginning steps in creating your strategy is to clean up your blog. This includes things like ads, content, and anything that doesn’t support your overall goals.
Just that step makes a huge difference.
Look Like An Expert
Put the simple tips from today’s post into action and start looking like more of an expert right away!
