Blogging 101: Design Ideas to Make Your Blog Stand Out

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The Internet is teeming with blogs and for every topic you can think of, you can be assured that there are dozens if not hundreds alike to yours. So when competition is this stuff and with the online community inundated with millions of content each day, how does one compete? True enough, bloggers have all sung praises and lived by the proverbial adage of “content is king” and while having epic content is the crux of every blogger’s designated website, it is not necessarily sufficient.

The bitter truth is:  great content may give your blog that much needed meat that it needs, but it would fail to garner notice amidst the deluge of other blogs and write-ups similar to it. And if you want your blog to grab that much-needed attention from the online community, you are going to have to look a lot further than providing great content—you would also need to call their attention.

So how is this achievable? Well, a few tweaks and design innovations are essential to draw attention, and when you have adequately done this, you need to find a way to maintain it. Your online followers, fickle as they are, can get easily sidetracked, distracted and bored so if you have a tedious design, chances are they would not be sticking around. If you are looking for ideas on how to go about this, read on as this article provides you with different design tips you can utilize on your blog website.

ALLURING AND ATTRACTIVE WEBSITE NAVIGATION

Having great website navigation, one that is equally alluring and user-friendly plays a pivotal role in making online readers stay on your blog. Blogs that have clunky navigation often confuse potential readers and turn off visitors making them less likely ever to visit your blog again. So tweak your navigation design, a great way to start is to base this on the overall theme of your blog. In this way, it will feel more personalized and will make more of an impact on your audience.

INCORPORATE ATTENTION GRABBING FOOTERS 

Most bloggers make the vast oversight of neglecting to spruce up their footers with the mistaken notion that readers hardly ever notice it. But the reality is, many people actually do take a look at footers. Find a fantastic way to end your blog and spice it up to give it a nice touch.

DEDICATE A SPACE THAT TALKS ABOUT YOU 

People who would be reading your blogs would most likely want to get to know the author behind those posts. Essentially, having an “about the author” section in your blog gives them an insider view of the purveyor of the interesting posts they have read. After all, it is comparatively more practical to tell them about the author than just having your name written at the end of your post. Add a small avatar as well to make things look personal.

DESIGNATE A BREAKING NEWS FEATURE 

Designating space for a breaking news feature allows your readers to direct their attention to the current events, issues and things that are happening which are in relation to the theme of your blog.  It gives your content a certain urgency and importance that would update your readers regarding current developments.

A SEARCH BAR 

Most blogs typically do not incorporate this feature to their blogs but what they have failed to factor in is the fact that recurring readers would not want to be encumbered with scouring through all your content just to find a particular post. Integrate this feature into your blog and give your returning readers an ease of access to the previous posts they want to read.

UTILIZE A COLLAGE FOR YOUR BACKGROUND 

Collage style backgrounds are trendy and are pleasing to the eyes. Additionally, this is a surefire way to make your website stand out and will give your blog that much needed visual aesthetics. Realistically, your audience is there for your content but it helps if you provide them with great imagery. So with that in mind, use a collage as a backdrop but do not go overboard lest it detracts your readers attention away from your content.


Keeping your blog interesting, up to date and relevant does not have to be hard as shown above. However, a word of caution: Although, blog customization allows for a more personal feel and would make a more striking and impacting impression on your audience, make sure you customize with moderation. Do not go too overboard and introduce all of the customizations you can think of into your blog as it will leave it looking unprofessional and clunky. Strike a balance and your blog should definitely stand out.

Why Joining an SEO Training Program is a Great Idea

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Achieving a guaranteed SEO is not that easy as you think it is. Agree? For some people, especially for starters, making a blog or website rank higher on the search engine is going to be a struggle on their part. And I'll tell you, the struggle is real! If you want your target audience to notice your blog, you'll be doing SEO strategies for you to achieve the desired traffic. Well, if you are one of those people who are still struggling, then joining SEO training Philippines would come in handy.

Some of you here might not agree when it comes to spending time and effort in joining such programs, since perhaps, all the information they need to know can already found online. So why bother spending, right? However, do you know that there will be a lot of advantages when you learn about SEO? To give you some idea of how it can be to your benefit, below are some examples of advantages you can get when you do such.

Increase motivation and engagement

An SEO training program will not be complete when there are no activities where aspiring marketers can get involve. Of course, it is where you can actively engage in the things you have just learned. And for you to fully understand what you have learned, it is best for you to volunteer and joined workshops. With that, you will be motivated to engage more in the activities they have for you.

Moreover, the feeling that you have the knowledge of doing SEO is going to be one of your fulfillments in your career. Who would not want to that, right? And mind you, when you are motivated to do SEO, the more SEO engagements you do.

Improve knowledge and skill set

When we talk about SEO Training Program, its main purpose is to improve the knowledge and skill set of an aspiring marketer. They will teach on how to enhance your communication skills, the importance of listening to the customer, problem-solving approaches and the need to organize. Of course, it doesn't just end up regarding customer services. They will also guide you on the basic SEO strategies to effectively and successfully rank your blog and website on the search engine.

If you think that you still don't understand on a particular strategy, you have all the rights to raise a question or any concerns that you have. With that, they will answer and let you clearly understand that particular strategy. Well, that is the perks of joining an SEO training program.

Boost confidence and morale

When you enter the world where doing SEO is a must, you better also get ready to enter a competitive world. For you to be on the move, you should also be competitive any many ways. And of course, it is impossible for you to rank above them if you don't have any knowledge and confidence that you can be on the top rank in the search engine. However, joining an SEO training program can help boost your confidence and morale, since you already know and understand how a particular SEO strategy works.

Boosts your audience's satisfaction

If you have an SEO knowledge, you will most likely pass it down to your audience regarding your blogs posts, on how you treat and value their opinions, and through giving and satisfying them with the information or interesting topics for a good read. Of course, you can't successfully and effectively do those things if you don't have the right knowledge on how to grab your audience's attention. It is also your duty to make their read worthwhile.

Improves your reputation and standing

When your target audience like you as a marketer or even as an individual, they will most likely recommend your blog to their families and friends. Some of them will even share your blog post on their social media accounts. With that, your reputation and standing as a marketer will gradually improve. Moreover, the more people who will notice your blog, the more people will most likely follow you. Well, it's real to your benefit.

For Marketers: You Need To Stop Doing These 4 Time-Wasting Habits

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Procrastination is the number one enemy of productivity. This is the time where we tend to unconsciously and consciously do things that hinder being productive.  Although we all know that doing things that are not in line with our work is not a good idea, we still continue to do these things since perhaps, it's just simply a temptation.  Sad to say, even marketers who are working in a digital marketing agency Philippines, they also can't escape procrastination sometimes. And I'll tell you, it is still ongoing.

As a marketer, we always have to know that the amount of time we have every single day is very limited. We don't have the luxury of time, especially when we are aiming for a high-quality traffic on our blog posts or websites. However, there are things that keep us from doing the right thing to do – and that's being productive.

Well, if you are one of those people who are struggling and wondering why things aren't getting done on time, then you might be procrastinating whether you realized it or not. For you to know the things that keep you busy without being productive, then below are some examples of those.

1. Trying to do everything yourself

If you are not a believer in the statement ‘no man is an island', then this time, you better do. As a marketer, it is a normal thing for you to have a lot of things to think of and do. And that includes on how you are going to manage and divide your time for you to accomplish the things that need to accomplish. However, there are just times that you need a helping hand to make the work easier and faster. It is in those helping hands where you can do a lot without worry about forgetting important matters.

2. Saying ‘Yes' to everything

Saying yes might be a good thing to do. It is also in the 'Yes' where we can find good opportunities to try. However, it is also in the 'Yes' where we can find our downfall. Of course, saying yes to everything is a dangerous thing to do. And as a marketer, you have to be very careful on to what and who are you going to give your yeses. Moreover, saying yes without knowing a specific plan or the overall idea on a particular matter will lead you to disappointments, anxieties, uncertainties and stress. And I'll tell you, experiencing these kinds of disturbance is not healthy physically and mentally.

3. Waiting for perfection

To those people who are waiting for perfection, you better stop waiting for perfection doesn't exist if you wait for it. It is in committing mistakes you can achieve perfection. It might not be that perfect but at least, it is close to perfection. Moreover, waiting for perfection is one of the many excuses marketers tend to have when they are not motivated enough to do and try a particular strategy. If they think that a particular strategy won't work out, they just sit and do nothing, rather than trying and making it work. These kinds of people who wait for perfection will not succeed unless they change their attitude and approach towards their goal.

4. Allowing distractions to constantly interrupt your day

I believe, we are all guilty of this! Of course, who would not be tempted to open his/her phone with expectations that there are messages in their inbox? Or tries to open their social media accounts if there are any interesting and engaging topics that are in trend? Or even secretly conversing with their friends, crush or boyfriends/girlfriends on messenger? Well, I couldn't agree more since I too sometimes tend to do those things. But do you know that allowing these distractions interrupt our work contributes to being a procrastinator?

Yes, this might sound harsh but we are already procrastinating in such a way that we can't focus and give our one hundred percent attention to our work. And sometimes, due to our negligence, this can lead to a poor quality of our work. And I'm sure you don't want them to name you as a procrastinator. Right?

What Top Bloggers Do Differently to Succeed

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You stare in frustration and mild consternation at your screen as you watch your blog linger away in insignificance.  How is it that some blogs gain so much readership and success while yours is rotting in some obscure part of the net? What are these writers and bloggers doing differently that you have failed to pick up on?

Is there a secret technique to have your blog read more widely?

Bloggers who do it for fun do not seem to care so much. But if you are doing this because you are associated with link building services or are perhaps garnering pecuniary support from advertisers, then you need to switch it up.  Success in blogging is converted to a loyal following and higher readership rate.  The crucial things to think about is not to think whether or not your blog stands a chance of being read or being ranked; you should believe your blog to be already that instead.

So what sets these top bloggers and writers apart? What makes their blogs truly successful? Read on and find out.

PICK A BLOG TOPIC CAREFULLY 

There is an endless stream of content on the net and every single day, it gets inundate with an avalanche of more blogs and write-ups. So how do you compete? Well, your initial course of action is to meticulously pick a topic—one you think is of high caliber. Additionally, you should consider that for every topic you select and write about, a hundred—if not a thousand more similar to yours already exist. A great tip would be to scour the net for top blogs and content sources, weight them and assess them for you to determine whether or not there is an applicable gap where you could fill in. Take advantage of that and exploit that and utilize that in your blog.

HAVE OBJECTIVES

Like any undertaking, you should set long-term, and short-term goals as these will help you track your overall progress.  This is all the more imperative if you are working for a company and as it is, your goals should be parallel to the voice or the message your company wants to convey. Create, define and employ specific goals for your blog and align them with your objectives.

COME UP WITH A DEFINITIVE PLAN FOR CONTENT CREATION

Blogging does not only require you to get behind a computer and start typing away whenever the urge to write consumes you. It requires you to create a plan for your blog—one that will make your readers more receptive to reading from you again and again. Develop a calendar where you can cover core and key topics weekly that would meet the needs of your readers and followers adequately. Publish them regularly as well to make sure you stay relevant.

HAVE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR READERS AND THEIR NEEDS

Who is the primary audience of your blog? Who makes it relevant? What are their needs? These are key questions you must answer before you can truly comprehend what your readers want you to write about. Consider that your blog is for your audience’s benefit and consumption. It should encompass more than your primary market and extend itself beyond prospects and customers. Semantics aside, your blog should be inclusive of the needs of your prospective readers which may differ from what you occasionally write about. Appreciate comments and feedbacks, apart from it being free market research, it propels you to the right path in your content creation.

QUALITY CONTENT, NOT QUANTITY IS KEY 

A significant aphorism that most bloggers are acquainted with is “Content is King”. The truth in this statement still resonates until today. There is no better way to build a good following and a loyal base of readership than creating quality content—ones that make an impact and are relevant. Do not write content for the sake of writing content and meeting up a weekly quota lest you sound like a redundant content provider. Instead, provide the actionable information that you audience actively seeks—product information, customer FAQs, how-to lists, reviews—the list is endless. Take note, a top blogger consciously creates better information, not more information.

The logistics of being a top blogger may not always be straightforward, and the reality is, other blogs—especially ones written by seasoned bloggers get to read more than the obscure ones written by writers new to the industry. But taking these tips is a start, and it might just be the five failsafe ways to get your blog out there and read.

Essential Features a Blog Should Have

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Blogging has now become a rather commonplace feature on the web.

At almost every nook and cranny of the Internet, you can find a write up about almost any topic you can think of.  In this modern age of digital evolution where everyone seems to be going paperless, blogging has become one of the conduits for a successful content marketing.  A smart digital marketing agency would massively exploit this and use this modern avenue of writing for launching various products or services. 

However, launching a successful blog is not as straightforward as bloggers would want it to be. There are some blog posts that inexplicably get neglected and unread while there are some of the more effective ones that get more views by the day. You might ask what the secret is, a simple, direct answer would be: Fresh, great and riveting content. Without this imperative factor, all of the effort you have put into crafting your blog post will be all for naught. Assuming you already have the appropriate, interesting content, you find yourself inadequate in terms of readership. Well, the reality is, no matter how amazing your content is if you have not covered all the necessities and essential features a blog should have, your readership would largely be insufficient.

So what are these lesser known features that your blog should have? Read on and let this article walk you through the often overlooked facets a successful blog should have.

LINKS TO SOCIAL PROFILES

People online have stalked someone over social media at some point. Though not necessarily a priority for every blog, your readers would thank you if you gave them links to your public profiles on either of the many social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Etc. The simple reason is that your readers would want to know the person behind the articles and perhaps, they would want to discover and unearth for themselves the other articles you may have written which you might consistently feature on these social media websites. 

A NOTICEABLE SUBSCRIBE BUTTON

And while on the subject of readers wanting to read more of your content, it would only make sense if they desired to be notified should you update your blog or post something new. Assumingly, you would want the same thing as you invested the time to create a blog and write posts that you would want read. If this were to be the case, then your readers need to know that you have released new content, and the easiest way to achieve this is to have them—no, rather encourage them to subscribe to your blog employing a noticeable subscribe button. Make it stand out and conspicuous enough that your readers would not hesitate to click on it. 

Do not hide it underneath a block of text—make it easier for your readers to find you again should they want to read more from you.

Additionally, you should give your readers the option to subscribe via email.

CATEGORY PAGES

Your readers, potential subscribers and visitors would not want to scour your entire blog page just to find that single blog post their friend told them about or had recommended to them by word of mouth. Moreover, a majority of your readers are interested in several topics you may have written about but do not necessarily want to go over each and every blog post you have written. Organize your blog posts into categories and help your readers find the post they want to read best. Do not simply lump them together and give them a rather taxing time trying to find that one post—you will lose readership this way.

SOCIAL SHARING ICONS IN BLOG POSTS

The more your blog gets read, the better. And what better way would there be than to have it shared multiple times on social media? Sure, this is something you can easily do yourself by sharing it multiple times on Facebook and flooding Twitter. But let us face it, that would be shameless self-promotion, and your friends and followers would waste no time hiding your future posts. Give this avenue of sharing to your readers instead and feature a button that allows them to share your blog posts on popular social media websites.

A FEATURE BOX

Designate a place or a box where you feature your most read posts, your most popular post or perhaps, your most recent post. Feature a blog post in there to direct your new readers somewhere. In that way, they will get the natural feel of your blog and would know what to look for the next time they visit.

Blogging is a hit or miss, and as previously stated, the most imperative characteristic a blog post should have is great content. For a failsafe way to succeed in blogging and gain more readership, compound your riveting posts with these features and let your readership grow.

Marketer's Anxieties: 8 Things You Probably Don't Know That Stress Them Out

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Do you know that being a marketer is also stressful? Even if most marketers are working in a prestigious digital marketing agency, they still can't escape situations that makes them anxious and stressed out. Although some situations are considered minor for some people, but for marketers, these minor things can already make a great impact on their career if not taken care of immediately. Like any other jobs, working as a marketer is not a joke.

Whether you like it or not, marketer's role is not for everybody. There are certain qualifications that make up a good marketer – which sometimes leads to marketer's physical or mental pressure. And if you can't take serious pressures, then you probably are not fit for the position.

Marketers also worry. Of course, it is a normal thing to experience even if you are not a marketer. However, there are certain things you probably don't know about what makes a marketer stressed out. Well, you'll find out below:

1. Access to capital

We all do know money is very important. You cannot do business when you don't have enough money for your capital. And it's not all the times that marketers can keep the cash flow to pay their bills and workers. There are even times they seek help from loans just to keep their business going. And this is one of their financial concerns.

2. Pending promises

The promises made by the marketers are very vital. It Can make or destroy their career. If they lie on a particular promise, or even if it is a simple or minor situation that marketers was not able to manage the said promise, this might not be a good idea to retain a good reputation of their company. Of course, they are the face of their respective companies.

3. Making decisions

Like committing to promises, making decisions are also vital to marketers. Even making the smallest decision, it can change their entire career. Whether their business will grow or a failure, it will all depend on the decision making of the marketer. And mind you, overthinking can also cause some fatigue and can negatively interfere with your mental health.

4. Staying strong as leader

Being a leader can sometimes give you a satisfying feeling, but with the sense of responsibility. As a marketer, you should not show your weakness to your co-workers or employees. Yes, it is normal for you to feel that way since being a leader can also mean pressure. But if they see you weak, they will labelled you incompetent and not fit for being a leader. If there are anything that troubles you, it is also your duty to remain calm, positive and contained when it comes to the decision that you are going to make.

5. Clients

One of the reasons why marketing business is going strong is because of the clients. Without any clients at all, it is impossible for the business to grow and continue. And we all know that not every day clients are on its way to conduct some marketing transaction on your business. It is also one of the many things most marketers tend to think about how they are going to make and engage more clients on their business.

6. Nailing a presentation

As a marketer, you have so many things that you need to think of aside from having the presentation. And it is their struggle to organize a messy situation.  The presentation conducted by the marketer can close a deal. Of course, if it's clearly and properly presented. If not, then say goodbye to your clients.

7. Retaining great talent

Marketers know that they cannot do business on their own; they need someone or a team for them to boast a business. And let's admit, choosing the right person with the right capability is hard to find. And with hundreds to thousands of people who are willing to work with you, only a few are worthy of your trust. Not to mention marketer's competitor who is also willing to get what you have, it is also their responsibility to build a good tandem between the marketer and the employee, to avoid any departures or resignations.

8. The unknown

Doing business also means taking a risk. Even if you are not a marketer, doing business will take some of your time, effort, and money. And if you are not careful in handling situations that can ruin your career, then doing business might end up in failure. Facing these unknown or unexpected situations that might come on their way is also a challenge. That is why, marketers also have their back on up plan whenever something is going to be out of its place.

When you enter the world of marketing, you have to expect that all things are not permanent. You have to know that business will eventually make a bang when it comes to its sales. And you also have to know that there are also times a business will become slow and might reach rock bottom. However, it will always depend on how you are going to handle situations that can change everything in your career.