You just clicked on IFB’s “Get Right For The Spring Work Out Tape.” And bloggers, if you follow these instructions exactly, you might be able to pull better traffic, more followers, man, at least a more well-rounded site!
Does the above sound familiar? Remember this song? (Listen to the first few lines if not.) Kanye West’s “Kanye’s Work Out Plan” was once not only one of my favorite songs to shout along with alone in my room, but also blast in my headphones at the gym (obviously). It’s high energy, hilarious and apparently perfect inspiration for a blog post. You see, over the weekend I went to a yoga class for the first time in more than a year (shameful I know). It reminded me of two things a) I actually enjoy physical fitness and b) if I did this more often I wouldn’t be so sore today and I would be really strong and flexible.
Guess what? The same is true for blogging. No seriously – it’s true! In my experience, the concept of muscle memory applies not only to your delts and biceps, but also your brain. The more I write, the easier it gets and the faster words come to me. The more posts I produce, the better their titles and content become. The more pictures I take, the more clear, focused and purposeful they turn out.
So slap on your spandex, pull your hair into a high ponytail and let’s work out. One and two and three and four…
IFB’s Blogger Workout Plan
Exercise 1 – Get Tight Titles
- The Routine: Make a list of 5 possible post titles, using as many SEO-friendly keywords as possible. Try to incorporate trends, colors, designers, how-tos, and tips. Repeat 3x per week.
- The Results: Immediately you will see a bank of possible posts to develop whenever you get stuck with a case of writers block. In the long term, you will notice what keywords help drive traffic, and be able to whip up an irresistible and oh-so-click-through-able post title in no time flat. You’ll have trimmed the fat and highlighted your post’s best features for all to admire and comment upon.
Exercise 2 – Form Sexy, Super Timely Posts
- The Routine: Sit down with one of this month’s big glossy fashion magazines for 30 minutes. Browse the articles and find one that really speaks to you, whether it’s the writing, the images or the subject itself. Look especially for hot topics like upcoming trends and particularly well-styled looks. Compose a post for your blog that emulates that article or is inspired by it’s content. Repeat 1x per week.
- The Results: Reading magazines as well as blogs is important. Since magazines are updated so much less frequently, their content has to be both timely but also able to communicate the mood of a whole season. You can learn a lot from the care and effort put into print articles, when compared to the immediacy of online publications. Keeping up with traditional media and applying it’s techniques to your blog (in your own way) is a great way to practice creating content that is robust, relevant and worth sharing.
Exercise 3: Take Your Photos To The Next Level
- The Routine: Find a subject to photograph, and shoot it from all angles. It could be a person on the street, a scenic view, a meal you cooked or a DIY project. End up with at least 5 clear, in-focus photos that tell the story or give a complete picture of what you’re posting about. Try close-up shots, shooting vertically and moving around your subject. Repeat 1x per weekend, or more.
- The Results: Practice makes perfect, especially when it comes to operating a piece of technology. The more you play around with your camera, testing settings, trying new angles and lighting, the better you will get. No matter your skill level, you can only get better. After just a few photo shoots, you’ll be able to quickly assess how to pose, how close to get to your subject, the best time to shoot outfits, etc. Images are the cornerstone of a great blog, like six-pack abs. So the better they are, the better your whole blog will look.
Exercise 4 – Your Strongest Social Media Presence – Ever!
- The Routine: Find a blog post from one of your favorite sites, compose a tweet including the blogger’s handle giving them some love & linking out. Pin 5 images to your Pinterest boards. Post an Instagram or Facebook wall photo of some part of your outfit. Repeat each 1x or 2x daily.
- The Results: We all know how important social media is to the health of your blog. Each channel could be seen like one of the essential food groups. You need a dose of each in your daily diet, in different amounts. With Twitter it’s important to be a part of the conversation (it’s not a monologue), so talk to people and share interesting things! Instagram is unfortunately limited to iPhones at the moment, but you can still share daily outfit inspiration through Twitpics and the wall of your Facebook fan page. Pinterest is all the rage – like juice cleanses – but more long term, and a really, really powerful way to send your content to the far corners of the internet.
Boom! Follow these internet fitness tips and you’ll have the online presenence equivilent of a smokin’ hot bikini bod in no time.
*And finally, I’m going to rap a little for you. When you lose focus, when you’re tired, when you think you might just give it all up, repeat this stanza in your head and feel the beat of the workout plan in your head. Tap your toes and then start tapping on those keys!
That’s right, put in work
Social media, go bizzerk
Write your titles, use keywords
Get that traffic you deserve.
[Image via Ben Trovato]
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xx
Awesome blog, so helpful! I definitely need to get in shape!