-Written by Ryan Gallagher
We live in the era of the online blog. The best and brightest companies post to their online websites on the daily with new, interesting, and enlightening content for worldwide viewers.
Blogs like these keep companies relevant by making sure that their new content appears in the most recent searches on Google/Bing/AskJeeves (simply Ask.com now, Jeeves lost his sponsorship apparently). Additionally, a strong string of blog posts can make an enormous impact on a person’s/business’ website traffic.
Creating a pervasive and seemingly endless blog full of awesome content seems like an impossible task at first. However, the only way to do blogs correctly, is little by little. Small steps get bigger, and soon enough you’ve populated your online website with an entire range of blog content.
Whether you are reading this blog page in order to create and market your website/company completely on your own, or think you’ll need some assistance; 20 Lemons is here for you. Read on, and make sure to get back to us with questions, concerns, and any work you have for us–we’re here to help you through it all!
Start Today…
So, first things first–get started! WordPress is widely used and is a fairly easy platform to start with. However, other platforms like Wix and SquareSpace also exist for new website owners.
Once you have a basic platform with a theme of your choosing/design, the next step is buying a domain name and web host. Providers like GoDaddy, HostGator, and 1&1 are usually safe bets when it comes to buying a domain name, and web hosting. Choose a name and plan that works for you and your blog. Once this objective has been completed, it’s official, you now have your own website!
20 Lemons does this very often and quite well for a variety of clients–from solo freelancers and startup businesses, to large corporations. We have a vast client base of happy customers from all fields and backgrounds.
Whether you want us to build your website, or you plan on going it alone–after establishing a working website, the next step is to start populating it with media.
Content is King
Having a variety of original and quality content is HUGE when starting and updating your website. Below, we’ve listed some different types of content that the best blogs will always feature…
Original Photos
You can always tell the difference between some stock Google photo, and something completely original. Interesting sites/blogs will always have new, engaging photos. Websites like WhatYouth (an online/print lifestyle magazine) have amazing, original photos in the “scrapbook” section to their online blog.
The company referenced above works with talented photographers who constantly submit their work. However, it does not take hi-quality cameras held by professional photographers to feature eye-catching photos on your own/company blog. Every cell phone has some sort of camera these days, offering the ability for anyone to take hi-resolution photos at a moment’s notice.
20 Lemons has had years of photography experience and can capture compelling moments for you to post on your new website. Don’t need any help? Take some intriguing pictures with your own phone or camera, and post them live on your blog in order to satisfy the viewers’ need for original photos.
Video
Similar to photos, a well-done, original video is even more interesting for viewers and possible customers. Taking and editing video (On Mac) can be much more involved than simply snapping an iPhone picture. However, if you’ve gotten this far with your own website, video editing (On PC) may be a piece of cake by now. If not, 20 Lemons can always help you with any videography needs.
Additionally, video (whether original or not) can really help a web page. Bloggers often use another person’s already-posted Youtube or Vimeo videos to spice up their page. While you must give credit to the video’s creator, video-sharing platforms make it easy for website owners to copy and embed videos into their blog page.
Whether you hire the 20 Lemons marketing team or go it alone, make sure to diversify your website’s media with plenty of video.
Podcasts
Podcasts are on the up-and-up. They have become a way for individuals to learn new subjects or receive news. Additionally, they often have some sort of entertainment value for the listener.
Podcasts can add another sensational element to a blog page. With photos, articles, videos, and podcasts, your blog can reach viewers’ eyes as well as ears. These various types of media can evoke different reactions from consumers, keeping them always interested.
20 Lemons is fairly new to the podcast scene, however the concept is simple. Record a conversation with a mic, in a studio, or just on your phone’s voice memo. Applications like Garageband, Audacity, or Adobe Audition can all easily edit audio files during the creation process.
Whether you want to figure it out on your own or need some assistance from 20 Lemons, podcasting is a type of media that can easily set your blog/website apart from the rest.
Industry News
People are constantly searching for news online. Individuals coming home from work would rather binge Netflix than watch the evening news team try to frighten every last viewer to death… More and more, consumers are starting to scroll for their news rather than just reading or just watching, according to latest trends.
For this reason, every blog and website must act as a niche news source for the site’s followers. Posting news media of this type may not be totally original, however it will keep the consumer informed and interested.
Having news on your blog that relates to your target market or industry is proper. 20 Lemons has been keeping their clients’ consumer base informed for years by posting news updates on clients’ social platforms and online blogs.
Company Press Releases
For some people/companies, press releases can be a clear and concise way to transfer a message to a wide-variety of individuals. The best companies keep their consumers informed about internal changes or external forces within the industry through transparent press releases. If these businesses don’t do releases in-house, these companies often outsource this job to marketing agencies like 20 Lemons.
Shop
Time is money, and it takes time to write a blog. There has to be something for sale to make your time worth the hours it takes to create a well-done blog (unless this is simply a time-wasting hobby for you).
Having a shop component to your website is crucial if you plan on connecting with your audience on a deeper, more tangible level. And, even more crucial for the dropping numbers in your bank account! Either way, setting up a WooCommerce plugin on a WordPress-based website is an easy way to start out.
The basic Woocommerce plugin allows a website owner to connect their Paypal account to allow for viewer orders. Once people begin to visit, revisit, and enjoy the content you post on your blog, the shop will become much more appealing to them.
Social Media Updates
Having social media accounts that connect with your blog is another HUGE marketing component when it comes to viewership. Clickable links to your blog should be spread across all of the social media applications that you/your company use (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
Having these accounts link back to your website and vice-versa is important. Viewers do not want to wait for information; they’ll lose interest fast. So, install plugins on your website that will post to your social media accounts when you make a blog post. Additionally, these plugins will feature your social media posts on your blog after posting on a social platform.
About/ Meet the Team
People like to see people! What a concept, right? Social media has taken off due to the fact that it feels like one huge human interaction. Whether that is real or not is another argument, however humans seek personal communication.
Viewers who sit down and read something (a blog post) are usually interested in seeing a picture or general bio of/about the writer. No matter if the website is run by one person or 50, there should be some “About” or “Meet the Team” page on your blog to ensure that the consumer can feel some sort of human interaction.
Overall, having an up-to-date, original website is completely necessary in today’s word of constant online communication. The 20 Lemons marketing team has pushed their clients’ to success in many cases. Often, this success is based upon the development of an amazing business/personal website. No matter if you need our team of marketing specialists to take over for you, or you simply need a push in the right direction, please reach out so we can think, build, and squeeze for whatever lemons life throws your way.
