Doha, Qatar
You guys have figured it out by now: I am in offsite mode.
I publish most content offsite these days via:
- Facebook Groups
- LinkedIn Groups
The blogging answers are already on Blogging From Paradise.
Everything you need to become a successful blogger is contained within my:
- blogging courses
- blogging eBooks
- blog posts
as far as the blogging fundamentals.
This is why it makes sense for me to spend most time creating content offsite.
My onsite game is tight.
Now is the time to create offsite content to draw highly targeted, high quality traffic onsite to benefit from my blog.
What About Yourself?
Did you already cover the basics on your blog?
Can readers get pretty much all they need to know to succeed?
If so, get your ass offsite to publish a steady volume of in-depth, targeted content in targeted spots.
But if you find yourself in the early or perhaps intermediate blogging stages it makes sense to spend 50% of your time onsite publishing blog posts and 50% offsite to publish targeted content to targeted spots.
Beware Making this Error
Struggling bloggers often spend virtually 100% of their time onsite.
But no one offsite knows about their blog.
This is like building a mega mall in the middle of the desert.
The mall becomes worthless with no humans within 50 miles of the modern marvel.
Your blog becomes worthless if no humans know about it. Spending time onsite and never offsite pretty much guarantees that no one knows about it.
Look at the featured image above. I snapped it during a trip to Doha, Qatar. This massive mall with a canal, amusement park and hockey rink within it did serious business in the major Qatari city. But if it were situated way out in the desert than it would do zero business.
Ya kinda need people to know about your business to grow your business.
What About Google Traffic?
The Google algorithm factors in high quality backlink vetting.
This means that Google tends to rank blogs with high quality blogs pointing to it.
How do you get high quality backlinks?
Get offsite to:
- comment genuinely on blogs
- promote bloggers through social media
- publish detailed, targeted updates to social media profiles and social media groups
Skilled bloggers find your blog through your:
- genuine comments
- generous retweets
- detailed content published to social media profiles and social media groups
If you only publish content to your blog and never get offsite to help targeted people it gets difficult for people and Google to find your blog.
Many bloggers behave in flummoxed fashion when I ask ’em what they are doing offsite and they respond with:
“Nothing…..I never knew you had to do anything offsite for blogging?”
I get those exact words or a similar response often.
Offsite work is as important as writing and publishing blog posts.
Billionaire Secret
One well-known billionaire professed how a high percentage of entrepreneurs possess truly helpful ideas but have no distribution plan for spreading the ideas.
As a blogger, your truly helpful idea is:
- a well-stocked, well-rounded, single niche blog solving all basic problems in your niche thoroughly
As a blogger, your distribution plan is:
- engaging in genuine blogger outreach and helping targeted people in targeted spots
Another well-known entrepreneur who has been worth billions spoke of an unknown singing buddy of his who flashed brilliant talent but ran away from the distribution aspect of his craft. The iconic entrepreneur offered this singer major media, targeted interview coverage often but the entertainer replied with:
“I’m not ready yet.”
What Does “I’m Not Ready Yet” Sometimes Mean?
Like the skilled singer above, a blogger with a well-stocked blog who says they are not ready yet to get offsite and distribute uses that excuse as a delaying maneuver to:
- self-sabotage
- self-punish
- agonize
- struggle
- suffer
Skilled, scared bloggers who are “not ready yet” spend years publishing more dazzling content onsite that no one knows about because they rarely or never create content offsite.
They have no distribution, no quality traffic and no success.
No blogger is ready to receive a high volume of high quality traffic until they get offsite, distribute, and gain the invaluable experience of many people finding their blog, asking questions and offering feedback.
Of course you need to do the onsite work.
You need to be ready onsite.
That takes a while in terms of smart work and time.
But once your blog is set then you need to spend most or all time offsite engaging in outreach, publishing content and distributing through these channels.
Writing your 500th dazzling, in-depth post that no one sees because you spend no time offsite helps no one.
What About New Bloggers?
New bloggers; consider a 70/30 or perhaps a 50/50 onsite/offsite content ratio to build up your real estate while slowly distributing to be seen by the world.
I advise these ratios to get comfortable with putting yourself out there on a consistent basis.
What Type of Posts Should You Publish Onsite?
Publish long form blog posts to gain credibility and drive quality traffic.
1200 to 1500 word, detailed posts tend to hit the mark with readers.
Long form content solves reader problems thoroughly.
This type of content also keeps readers around for a while.
If readers stick around your site you better believe that all parties win.
What Type of Content Should You Publish Offsite?
Twitter loves short, punchy, frequent updates.
Facebook Groups and LinkedIn Groups favor long form content.
Followers and friends gravitate toward short updates on social media as far as what you publish to your profiles.
How Do You Know Whether or Not Your Blog Is a Thorough Resource?
Ask an experienced blogger to review your blog to get genuine 3rd party feedback.
Or spend a few minutes in silence to look at your blog posts. Compare your blog to one run by an experienced blogger in your niche.
Do you offer a thorough resource in somewhat similar fashion to their offering?
If not, keep drilling down on your blog, stressing the basics.
If yes, spend most if not all time publishing content offsite.
Conclusion
Running a blog involves publishing onsite and offsite content.
Visualize a bridge connecting readers between both forms of content.
The bridge is only as strong and sturdy as the quality, targeted content you create on your blog and through offsite sources.
Wherever you’re at with your blogging career, work both sources to steadily engineer a reliable bridge to promote your blogging success.
