Lemon Breeland and the 3 Pillars of Blog Success

I can’t believe I’m going to commit this to print, but here goes:

I love watching Hart of Dixie reruns on Netflix, and I love Lemon Breeland.

I know. The show’s sappy and predictable.

And to make matters worse, Lemon Breeland is pretty hard to like. She’s an uptight, lying, scheming devil. She’s only occasionally kind and altruistic.

So, what’s there to love about Lemon Breeland and Hart of Dixie?

I think it boils down to the show’s neat and tidy sense of order. There’s always clear-cut cause and effect working in the background.

Unlike real life, in Bluebell, Alabama, karmic justice reigns.

This core cause and effect makes sure every character, including Lemon, pays the price for his or her transgressions.  And it’s damned entertaining, especially when you’re looking for mindless, late night entertainment.

Cause and effect is logical, orderly, and 100% guaranteed.

This brings us to the theme of today’s post:

How well are you leveraging cause and effect in your author platform, in your blog marketing?

Are you actively setting your marketing wheels in motion, or are you sitting back hoping for some kind of viral miracle?

Unlike brick and mortar businesses with natural foot traffic and a trusted yellow page listing, no one walks past your blog or book offerings. It’s sad, but true: no one’s actually looking for you.

Unlike brick and mortar businesses with natural foot traffic and a trusted yellow page listing, no one walks past your blog or book offerings. It’s sad, but true: no one’s actually looking for you. Click To Tweet

So, what can you do to stimulate your own cause and effect?

How can you turn specific, daily practices into viable, reliable traffic, the kind of traffic that’ll support your blog, your books, your creative products? What’s it going to take to make all the hard work worthwhile?

The first thing you need to do is to get real. You need to dispense with all the ways you lie to yourself:

• My writing is good, so people will take notice.
• Eventually, something will go viral.
• My blog is wonderful, so I’ll naturally get discovered.
• Good content is all I need.
• Word of mouth will spread.

Once you realize that no one’s coming to save you or promote you into celebrity status, it’s time to get to work. Here are the three pillars of author platform and blog success.

Level Up Your Content

First, let’s talk about content quality. How do you know you’re delivering quality content?

It comes down to knowing your audience, knowing what they need, what they care about, and why they visit your website in the first place.

Is your reader looking for entertainment, for answers, for camaraderie, or inspiration?

What are the top keywords used to search in your genre?

What are the top questions people ask about your topic?

Once you can answer these questions, you can decide whether your author platform content focuses accurately on the needs of your audience.  But it’s not simply a matter of matching their interests with your content; we can’t stop there.

You need to write professionally, with proper grammar and punctuation. You must deliver on content knowledge as well as viable solutions. Are you telling your readers what to do or are you taking them through the actual steps, the how part of the equation?

Supply them with resources, with the latest recommendations to make their lives easier, more productive.

After you deliver on quality, you’ll need to address quantity.

You can’t expect to build reliable traffic with a few decent posts. You’re going to need an arsenal of material to keep them coming back. With a large portfolio of blog posts, you can create links across the Internet. You can pre-schedule them for a slow drip across your Twitter and Facebook accounts.

You can’t expect to build reliable traffic with a few decent posts. You’re going to need an arsenal of material to keep them coming back for more. Click To Tweet

Quantity has other advantages. You can interlink your articles, allowing readers to spend more time on your site.

Also, it’s important to think about preparing a content calendar, so your readers can expect and receive updated content at regular intervals. Choose an interval you can deliver.

Over time, if a visitor returns to your site without accessing any new content, they’ll turn their attention to other sites. Once you gain a reader, make sure you do your part to keep them coming back.

Grow a Large, Targeted Social Media Following

Everyone knows they need a social media presence; however, many assume that an account with a few hundred followers and a weekly post is enough to attract a following. You’re going to need a large following to receive traffic and leads from your social media account.

And just like content on your blog, you’ll need to deliver fresh content on a regular basis. For social networks, aim for daily updates. On networks like Twitter, you can update more frequently. And mix up the content. Don’t flood your readers with little more than links to your blog.

Share the best of the web. Link out to your favorite articles on other websites. Link out to helpful visuals, videos, and other media. Inspire them with genre-appropriate quotes. Mix your own content with the content of others.

Once you establish a sizable following, rinse and repeat on another social network.

Find a way to grab these visitors.

Include premium content they can download in exchange for their email address. You never know when a social network will change its rules, limiting the once-viable traffic you needded. Capture these visitors on your list, so you can continue your relationship with them regardless of the rising or falling popularity of the social medium.

Leverage Influencers

How well are you leveraging influencers?

There’s nothing like an endorsement from a thought leader in your industry. You can take your blog to new levels overnight with the right connections.

These connections take time and finesse. Avoid contacting a guru in your genre before establishing a rapport. Comment on his or her blog. Share this blogger’s articles with your social media audience. Mention this blogger with a link back to their site in your next blog post.

Over time, the blogger will notice you and appreciate the quality attention. In many cases, you won’t even have to ask. Influencers will follow you back on social media, and they’ll share your content on their own social accounts.

Once you’ve established a connection, these influencers will be more likely to accept your guest posts on their blog. They’re happy to receive quality content, and you’ll be happy to get a new stream of visitors to your website or blog.

There’s no mystery to blogging. Success requires a handful of well executed steps repeated at regular intervals. The days of overnight success on the Internet are gone.

Your success depends on hard work, consistency, and making positive connections with influencers as well as your target audience.

How well do you leverage cause-and-effect in your online business?

Share your thoughts in our comments section below.