Top Blogging Tips for Consultants

by Jay Niblick | Mar 29, 2018 | Blog, Marketing Your Consulting Business

What do Consultants need to prepare for in order to successfully market their services via Blogging?

1. Know your niche market. Don’t try to please everyone. Do you consult to bankers? Speak their unique language. Restaurant Owners? HR Departments? Knowledge Workers? CEO’s? They all have a language that they use in business.
   

   TIP: VISUALIZE WHAT YOUR TARGET CLIENT LOOKS LIKE AND WRITE YOUR BLOG POSTS TO HIM OR HER.

2. Know your keywords. Know what your prospects are typing in the search engines and target your articles to match the requests. Google has a keywords tool that is available for you to search.
3. Google likes blogs but Google also likes EVERY blog. Try to find ways to stand out by being engaging to your readers with dynamic calls to action. (See more below) Donʼt be afraid to give away valuable education. Your followers and Google will love you for it.
4. Keep your motivation level high. Stay consistent with your blog posts. Focus on your goals, objectives and clear cut reasons as to why you are doing this. Remember that by staying consistent you are building authority, trust and brand recognition.
5. Your brand is YOU! A brand is not just a logo but an emotional connection to your audience through everything that you say speak, write or show visually both online and offline. Reflect a positive brand image when you write.

What can I do to grow my Tribe through blogging?

(Excerpts taken from the book The Profitable Consultant by Jay Niblick.) Here are the top 6 tips to building a large and loyal following of readers of your blog. These are in the order in which you should complete them:

1. Write your first five Lead Articles: Get them written and posted within the first week or two of opening your blog
2. Be Prolific: Write a follow-on post at least once a week, preferably two. These are 250 words long and simple to write when you are feeding off the Lead post you started with. As your tribe grows you wont have to be as prolific, and you will spend more time in discussions with readers on existing posts
3. Spread the wealth: Don’t hoard your expertise on your blog. Comment on other people’s relevant blogs, but do so in an education-based mindset, not a marketing one. Never hijack someone else’s blog
4. Scratch backs: Be sure to reference other posts you’ve read that are relevant and provide links to that blog. Give links to them and credit where credit is due. Don’t approach this with a scarcity mindset and worry about sending prospects to the competition. Share links to other blogs that aren’t direct competition, but more importantly to content that would be interesting and helpful to your readers
5. Repeat: Go back and write more lead articles, more follow-on posts and keep attracting comments. By repeating this process, and monitoring old posts, you will soon build your own tribe of followers, wherein you will find prospective clients who already see you as an authority even before you speak with them
6. Submit your blog: there are numerous blog submission sites where you can submit (i.e., register) your blog and the site will list it for all of their viewers to find. These sites draw a lot of viewers. You only submit your actual blog site once and you’re done. I’m telling you to register them now instead of when you first set your blog up because you should have some posts on your site when you submit

What are Some Blogging Details for Successful Blogging?

• Make your intro sentence easy to read and your paragraphs short
• Create lists instead of long sentences
• Write as much as you need but no more. Around 500 words ideally.
• Write stellar headings that answer pain point questions. Whatʼs in it for the reader, not you.
• Use storytelling to let people know you understand
• Make a list of FAQs and SAQs and turn them into Blog Posts
• Provide a Call to Action
• Show some personality
• Be open and honest (Just be you!)
• Use Emotive Language
• Use short sentences
• Promise an Outcome
• Use links in your posts back to other blog posts
• Be positive or offer solutions to negative problems

Consultant Marketing Tips: Avoid Marketing Meltdown

by Jay Niblick | Jan 26, 2015 | Blog, Marketing Your Consulting Business

Independent consulting means tackling pretty much every aspect of your business yourself. Cause, you know, that whole independent thing.

Something I tend to see independent consultants struggle with in droves over other aspects is how they market themselves. Here are some tips you can follow to make sure you’re marketing yourself and your business efficiently:

Stay Easy to Connect With
Seems like a basic enough idea right? You market yourself, and if that marketing works, you get business. People have to be able to reach out to your for your business. Following me here?

Far too often, I see independent consultants prattle on with multiple channels to reach them on some “CONTACT” page buried at the bottom of their site. You’re not doing yourself any favors here. A phone number and email address are all people are looking for, so make them easy to find. Rather than stuffing them down through layers of your site map, plop those suckers down right at the front page of your website where everyone will see them.

And while we’re on the subject of your website…

Don’t Skimp on Paid Hosts
I’ve sang praises before about free blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger, but let me make it clear that they should really only serve as temporary platforms to get your content rolling. You should be making the transition very quickly to a site you host yourself.

These free sites are great tools to build some momentum at the beginning, but can become significantly sticky situations down the road. Why? Because whoever runs that free platform is in control of your marketing. What if the host is down for maintenance or, even worse, folds altogether. Or perhaps a recent update changes the host’s Terms and Conditions and excludes a hearty chunk of your marketing, if not your business entirely. Say goodbye to potentially years of self-marketing work in a matter of minutes.

It’s really not worth it to stay on these free platforms for any longer than you have to. You’re running a business, so chalk up the hosting costs as overhead, migrate your content, and be on your way with you in charge.

Keep Things Appealing
I want to outline two specific ways to approach this notion. First and foremost, your appeal starts with your content and the way you present yourself. So keep things professional. Don’t go spouting off about some sociopolitical ideology of yours on your public pages. Unless your business is predicated on promoting a certain set of beliefs, things are often better left unsaid. The last thing you want is to alienate or off-put a potential client with your personal crap.

Another way to keep your content and tone presentable is to refrain from pandering to potential clients. Don’t buy clicks, don’t buy email lists, and don’t send out obnoxious notices. This kind of behavior usually gets you labeled as spam by ISP’s, and is a great way to trash your credibility real quick.

From another perspective, keeping things appealing can also apply to your visual presentation. It’s 2015, and there are virtually limitless resources you can use to make your website look stellar. Far too many independent pages look like repurposed Geocities sites, and it ain’t pretty. Keep things sleek, orderly, and easily accessible.

Also, present yourself with the same dignity as your site. Don’t have a headshot you’re proud of? Then spend the money to take a new one—first impressions really do mean the world.

Running the show yourself means you’re taking care of your own marketing. No one’s going to do it for you, so you should make sure you’re taking the right steps to keep your site as appealing and as effective as all the major consulting firms. The suggestions above are great places to start, so take them to heart and good luck on your own site!