Blogging tools
In today’s jammed market, every skill you add to your arsenal can help set you apart.
And blogging may be the single most powerful skill to hone.
Discovering the tools and learning how to use them can help your blog.
The blogging tools are:
- Imagery
- Specify
- Judge what’s newsworthy
- Quality content
Let’s dive into the topic.
1. Blogging tools will make you a better designer
The web is mostly words and images.
So if you’re a web designer, you’re going to spend a fair amount of time typing.
Your blog post needs to be fresh for reading.
Just think of all the times you’ve run into a web interface, with language that disturbed you so much you simply skipped.
If your attractive, engaging, useful UI drops due to a single unclear sentence (or button), all your design work’s been for nothing.
If you think every pixel, every icon, every typeface matters, then you also need to believe, letter concerns.
If you’re lucky, you’ll have a trained copywriter or proofreader reviewing your language to clarify or jazz it up.
But even then, clear language can help communicate the purpose of an element, page, or workflow to the copywriter (or your freelance design clients).
That not only makes their job easier but, also saves you both a confusing, time-consuming back and forth.
2. Specivity is key
Once you’ve established your presence online and have a newsworthy story, be prepared to write a lot of emails.
You won’t copy and paste much since each subject line you write will be tailored for each recipient.
In the subject line, mentioning exclusives or embargoes (this is when you can’t offer an exclusive to a single outlet, but set an agreed-upon date for all outlets when it is ok to publish) may help you get higher profile coverage.
However, just remember that once you offer an exclusive, your story will be unavailable to shop around until you get a firm yes or no.
In the body of the email, make it clear in a few short sentences what the value of your story is to the outlet’s audience and include all of the information they’ll need such as social media, links, and any images you are providing.
If you don’t get a response, be persistent, and follow up.
Writers can be found one way or another through the publications they write for, their social media, or sometimes even a personal website.
3. Determine what’s newsworthily
For your startup, every win may feel important enough to reach out to your blog to celebrate your success.
However, take a step back and consider the interests of those outside your own company.
If you are in an early stage and want to announce the launch of your beta, think, “Is this the kind of story a major publication will want to feature?”
The answer? Probably not.
However, that doesn’t mean a local organization, blogger, or influencer won’t find it interesting enough to cover.
Consider the value they get from sharing your news. Get granular with the outlets you want to reach and research the audiences they serve.
4. Produce high-grade content before you ask to be written about
If you submit a press release about successfully finishing a prototype, and lead visitors to a half-completed website and sparse social media–don’t be surprised when you don’t get a response.
It isn’t enough to want to be featured, you need to show consistency in your presence online, and in the content you produce.
Not sure where to start? Early blog posts could include insights on your industry, advice, or perspective on current events that are trending.
Whether you post once a day or once a week, building a body of content shows media outlets that you engage with your audience and contribute to the greater community.
Put yourself in the shoes of the blogger or journalist you want writing about you.
If your site and social media following need more work to appear robust and legitimate, take the time to build up your catalog of content.
Conclusion
News moves quick. It also leaves a trace online that is hard to erase. Don’t race towards a big media coverage ratio until you are ready to handle it.
Building your reputation through niche outlets establishes authority and legitimacy for your business as you work toward the larger media channels.
With blogging, you have to manage your online reputation to become a stable source of information in your market.
Using my 4 blogging tools, you are fully equipped to create a cool successful online brand for your business.
Don’t forget to like, share, or follow my blog.
Do you agree with this? Then type I agree, in the comments.
