As part of our BloggersIdeas interview series, today we have Intellectual Ann Smarty, Founder of her latest venture MyBlogU.com, Co-founder #VCBuzz & Brand manager @NinjasMarketing. She will be sharing her thoughts on building authority in your niche, how to build good relationship with online marketers & how to build strong community . So lets get started with Ann.
What it takes to build a Pillar Content, that audiences love to read (other than a list post)?
It takes ~a week of preparation and brainstorming (that’s where I am using MyBlogU to collect quotes, case studies, etc), one hour of active research (using Google and BuzzSumo), 2 cups of coffee, and about two hours of writing and proof-reading…
How to connect with like-minded people and build strong community around you?
There are lots of ways… The sky and 24 hours a day are your limit. While I am limited with time, I am using the following ways:
- At least 2-3 Twitter chats a week
- At least 2 Google Plus communities
- A couple of Facebook groups
- Viral Content Buzz to reach more people through my content
- Consistent interacting on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Google Plus (through their notifications)
How to write guest post on authority blogs?
Become part of that community: Post regular awesome comments, connect to authors and other commenters on social media, interact, etc. Also, have a couple of great ideas and a couple of great samples of your writing when it’s time to pitch.
As spammers are ruling google SERP using exact match domain and using black hat tools for ranking. Do you think this will continue to work ?
I really think Black Hat SEO is there to stay and to work… I also think they are making Google better by forcing them to fix holes in their algorithm (Google not always chooses the right ways to fix those holes though). I can absolutely say that I respect the Blackhat community even though I have no idea how the heck they keep winning 🙂
Do you carry any grudges against Google after they penalize myblogguest ?
I am slowly back to normal. What happened needed to happen, so I have no bad feelings to anyone.
Can you tell something about your latest platform MyBlogU. How did you come up with this idea ?
I know how hard it is to come up with content ideas now that everything seems to be written. It’s even harder to stand out. And it’s even harder to build the community of people willing to promote your stuff. MyBlogU is solving all the three of those issues allowing you to crowd-source brainstorming and even content creation and helping you drive people to your blog to share that content.
I’ve been planning that project for ages but never had time until the MBG push 🙂
What are your plans for 2015 . Will you start with any other projects ?
I think I am good with projects for now
My New Years resolution will be writing and publishing my own book…
What kind of niche blogs should a blogger focus on ?
I don’t think I understand the question… Bloggers should focus on niches that excite, inspire and interest them 🙂
How to build authority in blogging industry as competition is very stiff among bloggers ?
You don’t really have to be a huge influencer to get featured. Nor becoming known within your niche is impossible nowadays. All you need is your own unique voice and persistence. I also list some tips here on getting additional coverage.
Do you think accepting paid reviews on blog could harm the authority of blogs?
I have nothing against sponsored reviews if
(1) The blogger writes them and (s)he is honest about reviewing anything
(2) The review is useful and detailed
(3) The review is labeled as sponsored.
How to approach clients for offering our digital marketing services. Suppose I want to offer my SEO services to new clients, how should I approach them ?
Tough one… I’ve never had to search for clients. I built my personal brand and they just started coming to me. I have never tried the other way around 🙂
How to increase email subscribers of blogs. Is there any trick to increase email subscribers base?
That’s something I am still figuring out. Opting in people who comment has worked well for me. Also giving them a free eBook or a whitepaper in return seems a good idea as well. Overall I’m far from being an email marketing expert.
According to you which is the best SEO tool for site auditing ?
I wouldn’t rely too much on tools when auditing. Tools are good to collect information but you still need to manually go from page to page and simply put your thoughts down in paper while proceeding.
I’ve heard good things about RavenSEO (I haven’t checked them for a while). As for free tools, I’d highly recommend using website crawler and page comparison tools.
If you have any questions about this interview, please do ask in the comments below !
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Hi Ann,
Awesome interview and thanks Jitendra for bringing this whole series of Interviews. I learn many things from these interviews as newbie in this industry.