Content Creation Series: List Post
Jan 04
You should be all set up and ready to start writing today. Before we jump into the topic of this post I want to tell you a couple things.
1. New Internet Marketing Strategy for Beginners Facebook Fan page! (click the link to join)
Over the last week I created an “editorial calendar” for the blog. This lets me know when and what I’m going to post and is helping me stay focused on some goals I made for this blog. I am adding podcasts twice a month. (oh geez, now that I said it out loud I’m gonna have to do it! 
. Now that things are pretty scheduled out I find there are questions, topics, thoughts that don’t really “fit”. Since I love the conversation I decided to create a new fanpage at facebook. There we can chat, ask questions, stay accountable, whatever we want.
The wall is a great place to ask questions. The “discussions” page is a great place to start ongoing conversations. I have created a discussion about the 100 articles in 100 days challenge ~ which I hope you will all accept along with me. We can use that space to keep each other accountable, and energized as the next 100 days goes on. The challenge started a few days ago ~ but I’m starting today. So jump in and start your own when you are ready.
So that’s there, and I hope you all will come by. To participate you just need to click the “become a fan” button, and then you can play all you like.
2. The other thing I wanted to talk about is the 100 articles in 100 days challenge. Can you imagine what it would do for your lenses/sites/business if your wrote 100 articles? It is very doable, we’re not talking about 100 novels here, just 100 250 to 300 word articles. If that sounds way to terrifying, think about it in weeks, 7 articles in the next 7 days. That sounds easier right?
If you’re game ~ please come play along with me. Go to the new fan page and tell me your in. Click the discussion tab and you’ll see the thread about it! Just leave a comment and let us know you’re in! Hope to see you all there.
Now on to the topic of the day.
Content Creation for Niche Blogs:
Content creation for niche blogs is really no different than content creation for a Squidoo lens, an article, a blog post or anything you have to write online. It’s ALL the same ~ it’s all information provided to your reader to create a relationship and a level of trust between the two of you. It is information that provides them with a solution to some kind of issue or problem.
So how on earth do you do this and sell stuff too?
Simple ~ give people what they need. You’ve hopefully chosen buying keywords while you were creating your keyword list, now all you have to do is start answering questions and providing solutions. There are many many ways to do this and today we’re going to cover the “List post”. It’s one of the most simple and quick posts you can write (they make great articles too.)
Here’s the steps:
1. Identify the keyword you’re targeting.
2. Identify a problem people might have that the solution would be your product.
3. Create a list that will help them solve the problem.
Examples:
Keyword: torque wrench
Problem: how to use a torque wrench properly.
List post: The steps involved in using a torque wrench. In the post you can link to the product itself.
*****
Keyword: Giant mountain bike
Problem: Finding a quality bike under $1000
List post: the places/brands you can find that fit the price range. I would probably do places, and end with ebay and provide a listing to bikes on ebay in the site.
*****
Keyword: monkey crib bedding
Problem: how to decorate a room when you don’t know the sex of the baby
List post: different nursery themes that work for boys and girls make sure you use monkey crib bedding as one of your options and link to it in the post. A picture would probably work well on this one too!
*****
Keyword: Pasta gift basket
Problem: what do I get for someone who’s hard to buy for?
List post: list 10 different things you can get for someone who’s hard to buy for ~ make the pasta gift basket the last item and then link to where they can buy it. Tout it as one of the “best” options.
*****
Keyword: Ironman inversion table
Problem: how to cure back pain without drugs
List post: create a list of 5 or 10 things they can try to alleviate back pain. Make the inversion table the last option, provide a link to the product.
*****
Keyword: Easy chicken recipes
Problem: what can I make for dinner in under 30 minutes
List post: offer a list of recipes, recipe ideas, throw in a link to a book of 30 minute meals as one of the options.
Setting up your list post:
A list post is one of the simplest posts to make because as it says, it’s simply a list. You can use bullet points or numbers to create your list. You can also just have the item itself, or you can provide a little explanation along with it. The specifics are up to you, but the list post is definitely a great standby when you don’t have much time, or don’t feel like you have anything to say about the topic.
Just remember…
You dont’ want to use list posts for every post on your site. They are cool to sprinkle in here and there, but you want some meatier posts on your blog as well.
If you have questions about how to do this with YOUR keywords feel free to ask in the comment section. I’ll see what I can come up with. Or you can go to the facebook fan page and start a discussion, we can brainstorm together over there!
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Ah Ok then, always good to know I’m not going nuts.
Follow me @DennisEdell on Twitter!
This was the first in the series.
There will be more to come ~
Follow me @momtohanna on Twitter!
You put an awesome thought into my head – Content creation for niche blogs is really no different than content creation for a Squidoo lens…I never thought of it that way, each lens is like a teeny tiny niche blog; very cool.
I see the word series, which tells me there is more to it. I looked in the content creation category, but am confused as to what exactly goes with this?
Or is this the beginning of the series?
Follow me @DennisEdell on Twitter!
Thanks Jackie! Getting excited.
Hi Chad ~ there are some other people have the same issue with the fan page, apparently it is an intermittent facebook bug. I’m trying to find a solution but thus far have had no luck.
You don’t have to do the posting for ALL your keywords, but yes you want to have some good content up there. I’m going to be doing a whole series on link building/driving traffic but if you just can’t wait you can do the things I outlined to rank your squidoo lenses ~ that will work as well. You can at the very least start submitting your blog RSS feed to feed directories ~ that will get the ball rolling, but really don’t worry about promotion yet ~ just focus on content.
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Hey Jackie,
Great post as usual! It truly does pay to read the comments before asking a question as I was going to ask about the backlinking/promotion portion as well.
So is the key to have posts completed for all the keywords before we start promoting/monetizing the blog?
For some reason the facebook link still does not work for me and I am a regular facebook user. I will keep trying.
I finally feel like I am doing something that I can do on a consistent basis.
Chad
fan pages are public ~ it’s not a private area just a place with a little more room to talk about things.
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I am one of probably a few who have never signed up to be on facebook, so if I signup to be a part of this group, will everything be public or is it only viewable to those that are in this group?
Facebook Ignorant,
Thanks jackie
I am starting to put the pieces together,
much appreciation.
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Hi Malia,
Great question. You are creating a blog on a topic. Let’s say Paleo diet. You’ve gone and found keywords that relate to paleo diet. You’ve found a product that is related to paleo diet ~ that you can promote.
Now you’ve chosen keywords because keywords are what people use to find stuff online. Now you’re going to use them to let people find YOUR site over all the other paleo sites out there.
So let’s say your first keyword is Paleo diet eating (haven’t done any research ~ just an example). You would write up a post about paleo diet recipes. This post might be a list of all the things you CAN eat on a paleo diet. If the product you’ve chosen is the paleo cookbook you could then at the bottom say if you’d like specific paleo friendly recipe check out this cookbook.
The next post you do might be for the keyword paleo diet hints (again, no research, just example) then you could write another list post or you could choose to do another type of post. You could add a video, whether your own or someone elses.
Each keyword gets at least one post of it’s own ~ you provide content that talks about that kejyword.
Your blog IS your website.
You want to think about it as the best resource center online for your topic. That is what will get people to click through and buy whatever it is you’re selling.
hth ~
ps. Yes if you want your name to be clickable you can put malia@yourkeywordshere and then put where you want the link to go in the website field of the comment area.
That will link your keywords to your site.
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to get the Name field link.. do you add just the key words or the link to your page?
~Thanks
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Jackie I have a very elementary question… So If I go to WP and I have my KW’s
I am making a blog about that product (or related products) and I make a great list and that list highlights why my product will answer or solve the problem.
(that part I am getting) and create links purchase product….
You have made a few references to build content to attract traffic.. more content..
Are you talking about different sections.. within a page.. like a list and a review and a video .. just for example…
Should I be making many blog pages.. a page for each item I want to promote.
or should I be linking them all together? Now I may need to also say I not ready to get my own web site and I probable could put all my pages I am guessing on a site that I am hosting..
So for me who wants to use free sources.. I get that at squidoo you build a lens for each product.. But I am wanting to explore WP .. so would it be the same there.. or would I have one blog and each post would be about a different product? I am sure this is VERY elementary but oh well.
Thanks for your time
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wordpress will automatically ping it for you. You can do any/all of the promotional activities that we used for squidoo lenses. I will be doing a many many posts on promotion and driving traffic, but for now we’re going to focus on content. If people come to your site and there’s only 1 post there ~ they aren’t going to stick around, or probably “trust” the site ~ so let’s work on creating a content rich post for each of the keywords on your list.
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I think this is the last question of the day Jackie but of course before I ask it, thank you so much for all of the help this far.
Now for the question…
What about backlinking, pinging the site, etc. Do we do that when we are finished? For some reason a little tick is going off in the back of my mind that the pinging was mentioned in an earlier post…possibly with the plugins configuration, but when I went back I didn’t see it so my next course obviously is to ask you.
Thanks again.
Jolene
Follow me @santaslitlelper on Twitter!
no matter what you’re writing online you want your content to have as many of the 6 things to get google love as you can have. That is called on page SEO and every post/page/lens/hub/ whatever you’re doing needs to have the maximum on page SEO as you can.
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in the link you can use inversion table ~ you’d want to create a title for the post that has the keyword you’re targeting in it.
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Jackie,
So in your list, say example for the inversion table, would you use your keywords for the link or would you just say inversion table. If you say for example…to alleviate back pain #5 …would you say buy an inversion table and link the product to inversion table or would you use your Ironman Gravity…(whatever your keyword was), and link on that.
My concern is about sounding too “salesy”.
Thanks,
Jolene
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oh great point ~ I forgot they were giving out prizes. Here’s the link to their “rules” and contest requirements. http://blog.ezinearticles.com/2009/12/3rd-hahd-begins.html
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I wanted to point out that those who are doing the 100 articles challenge, if you want to get credit for the challenge through Ezine Artilces & get some nice little gifts too, the articles need to be at least 400 words.
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Kelly ~ I’ve installed the widget in the sidebar of this blog now ~ see if you can get there from there.
I also set up a new username for the fan page to make it easier to find ~ I’ve posted it in the comment above.
Jolene ~ I think 3 is plenty. Your RSS feed is set up automatically via wordpress as soon as you publish a post. You can find it by clicking the orange button in the address window at the top of your screen (if you’re using FF). You’ve linked back to your site already ~ just putting your kw in the comment name area.
Just a note ~ I’ve installed a new plugin where you can write your name then @yourkeywords and then just your keywords will come up as a link.
but you can still have your name there too.
Debbie ~ yes yes and yes.
Your best bet is to start posting. Your content is your foundational framework. You don’t really want to be putting up a bunch of advertising until you’re getting traffic and your site is ranked. (it will also help with your rankings in the beginning) I will be talking about that in tomorrow’s post. Monetization does you no good if you don’t have traffic and if you have no content for them to read when they do come. 
re opt in boxes and email marketing ~ I will be spending an entire month on this topic but not quite yet. Again ~ no content means no traffic, no traffic means no opt ins. Best to focus on content creation first and we’ll fill in more in depth things soon.
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Hi,
I’m grateful to god. I’m also grateful to you. I just wanted to start a blog as Squidoo has blocked my service provider due to automatic lens building problem.
Thank you
I just set up an easier username for the fanpage. You can now reach the page at http://www.facebook.com/internetmarketingstrategyforbeginners
glad to see you all!
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Hi, Jackie,
Do you plan to go over how to set up an opt in area, or an about me page, or how to insert aff banners, etc.? Or have you done that and I can’t find it?! I’d really like to have the entire framework in place before I start posting content. Thanks!
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Jackie,
I’ll take you up on your offer for article help. As you can see my site is about dansko nursing shoes and I’ve already written an article about ways for nurses to alleviate footpain. I’ve come up with 3 for my list, an herbal foot soak, foot massage, and buying a pair of quality comfortable shoes which is where my Dansko nursing shoe link would go. Do you think more than 3 ways should be given? If so, any ideas I can add?
How do we establish an RSS Feed or am I jumping the gun?
BTW, you mentioned in a post one time how a link back to our sites could be done through comments such as these but I couldn’t find the answer where you mentioned that. I’m not sure I’m doing it right. Can you help me with that too? Thanks.
Jolene
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When I click on the link, it redirects to my FB homepage. I tried doing a search for the fan page, but came up empty.
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Huh ~ are you a member at facebook? Maybe that’s part of it? login? I have no idea lol. Is it working for other people?
Jackie
Follow me @momtohanna on Twitter!
Jackie – the FB link isn’t working for me.
Follow me @fnnkybutt on Twitter!