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My blog was my ticket to stardom... yours can be, too
Writing guest articles for others' blogs is a great way to get incoming links to your Website or blog.
I decided to take link-building one step further. My goal: land a column-writing gig for my local business journal.
Small businesses are my ideal target audience, and there are close to 16,000 of them in my county alone. I suspected that a monthly column would not only result in new incoming links, but would also result in new clients.
Step 1: Re-visit blog archives
As a long-time reader of the Snohomish County Business Journal (Washington state), I knew the monthly magazine didn't have a social media columnist on board. So I went through my blog's archives and listed several dozen topics I'd written about that I could re-package into a "relationship marketing" column.
Step 2: Prepare the pitch
Next, I created a "story ideas" document that briefly introduced the topics I thought would most appeal to their audience. I included a one page bio (which displayed a thumbnail version of my business portrait) and saved the file as a PDF.
Finally, I crafted a four-sentence query letter to the editor and e-mailed him the whole ball of wax.
Less than a week later, the editor offered me the job.
Step 3: Become "famous"
Four months into my stint as a columnist, I received an e-mail from the SCBJ editor, John Wolcott, informing me he'd be retiring at the end of April, but that he planned to write the cover story for the May issue.
He wrote: "I've chosen my cover story: you."
After reviewing that sentence several times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, I continued reading:
I've been curious about the long-term "life" of this social media chapter of our high-tech world history and would like to explore that with you. It looks like it will hang on much longer than an 'overnight phenomenon," as so many tech things become, because it's actually helping people growing their businesses, which makes it a prime story for the journal's audience.
John interviewed me at his office, snapped a couple of pictures of me sitting in front of his computer, and voilà, I became a cover girl.
It's not Glamour or Vogue, but it is a magazine cover!
Surprising things can happen when you blog
While it's unlikely your blog will bring you instant fame, it can serve as an effective reputation-building tool.
Try this exercise:
Browse your blog's archives.
Make a list of your "wow" blog posts - ones that generate lots of comments, follow-up questions, or sharing.
Also list your top 5-10 informational posts - ones that detail how to do something, how to overcome an obstacle, or how to improve your life.
How can you re-purpose those posts?
Rather than letting those great posts lounge around in your blog's archives, brainstorm ways you can put them back to work.
Here are some possibilities:
Create a themed e-book. Give away a downloadable blook (blog book) to everyone who signs up for your mailing list or e-newsletter. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, print your blook professionally and give it to customers as a thank-you gift.
Upload your content to Slideshare, add audio, and create a Webinar.
Give your posts a makeover and "sell" them to a new audience. I freshened up a post I'd written about "What's In It For Me" content and sold it to a trade magazine for hot tub retailers.
Who knows... maybe I'll create an Internet radio broadcast next and call my station "WII-FM."
Think waaaay outside the box. Visit your local library's magazine section. How can you re-work your blog post for a knitting magazine? A collegiate sports magazine? A bridal magazine? A children's magazine?
While you're at the library, investigate local/regional community groups, trade shows, and volunteer organizations. How can you adapt your topic into a presentation or service for these groups? Perhaps these groups have a publication or a radio/TV show and are seeking fresh content - your article might be a perfect fit.
Your Assignment
Sales Pitch
Need personal coaching to help you strategize how to re-purpose your blog posts? Visit BloggingBistro.com to learn more about our services and fees.
Makeover Mondays - New Blog Feature!
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 Laura Christianson founded BloggingBistro.com, a company that serves made-to-order social media solutions for individuals and businesses.
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