As part of ours Daily Sparkz Interview Series, Today we have Intellectual Ann SmartyFounder of her latest company MyBlogU.comCo-Founder #VCBuzz & Brand Manager @NinjasMarketing. She will share her thoughts on building authority in your niche, building good relationships with online marketers, and building a strong community. So let’s start with Ann.
What does it take to create pillar content that the audience enjoys reading (other than a list post)?
It takes about a week of preparation and brainstorming (I use MyBlogU to collect quotes, case studies, etc.), an hour of active research (using Google and BuzzSumo), 2 cups of coffee, and about two hours of writing and proofreading…
How can you connect with like-minded people and build a strong community around you?
There are many options… The sky and 24 hours a day are your limit. Although my time is limited, I use the following methods:
How do I write guest posts on authority blogs?
Be a part of this community: Post great comments regularly, connect with writers and other commenters on social media, interact, etc. Also, have some great ideas and some great examples of your writing when it’s time to pitch.
Since spammers control Google SERP, they use exact match domains and use black hat tools for ranking. Do you think this will continue to work?
I truly believe that Black Hat SEO is here to stay and working. I also think they make Google better by forcing them to close gaps in their algorithm (Google doesn’t always choose the right ways to close those gaps, though). I can absolutely say that I respect the Blackhat community, even if I have no idea how the hell they keep winning 🙂
Are you holding a grudge against Google after myblogguest was penalized?
I’m slowly getting back to normal. What happened had to happen, so I have no bad feelings for anyone.
Can you tell us about your latest platform, MyBlogU? How did you come up with this idea?
I know how difficult it is to come up with ideas for content now that everything seems to be written. It’s even harder to stand out. And it’s even harder to build a community of people willing to promote your content. MyBlogU solves all three of these problems by allowing you to crowdsource brainstorming and even content creation, helping you attract people to your blog to share that content.
I’ve been planning this project for ages but didn’t have time until the MBG push
What are your plans for 2015? Will you be starting more projects?
I think I can handle projects well at the moment
My New Year’s resolution will be to write and publish my own book…
Which 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 the blogging industry when the competition among bloggers is very fierce?
You don’t really have to be a big influencer to get featured. Nowadays, it is also impossible to become known in your niche. All you need is your own unique voice and persistence. I also list some tips for additional protection here.
Do you think accepting paid reviews on blogs could harm blog authority?
I don’t mind sponsored reviews though
(1) The blogger writes them and is honest when it comes to reviewing something
(2) The review is useful and detailed
(3) The review is marked as sponsored.
How to target customers to offer our digital marketing services. Assuming I want to offer my SEO services to new clients, how should I target them?
The hard part… I’ve never had to look for clients before. I was building my personal brand and they were just coming to me. I’ve never tried it the other way around 🙂
How to Increase Blog Email Subscribers. Is there a trick to increase email subscriber base?
This is something I still need to figure out. Enabling people to comment worked well for me. It also seems like a good idea to give them a free e-book or white paper in return. Overall, I am far from an email marketing expert.
Which do you think is the best SEO tool for website audit?
I wouldn’t rely too much on tools when auditing. Tools are good for gathering information, but you still have to manually go from page to page and just put your thoughts on paper as you go.
I’ve heard good things about RavenSEO (I haven’t checked it out in a while). As far as free tools go, I would highly recommend using website crawlers and page comparison tools.
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