The Marketing Interview

I recently received an email from a fellow marketer who said that he was in the process of "interviewing" the owners of popular and successful blogs. First let me say that I was flattered. I never in a million years would have believed that this "little" marketing blog would have such a loyal following. All I can do is thank each and everyone of you for being so interested in improving your online marketing. Keep the feedback/comments coming!

I thought that the questions the interviewer asked were interesting and have decided to reprint them here. Let me know if you have any additional questions you'd like to have answered:

1. What is your most successful blog (maybe you have other blogs as well)? "The Marketing Blog" available at http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com.

2. How long have been working with it? I launched the blog about a year and a half ago after a number of my customers suggested that I begin providing tactical information that would help them improve their day-to-day Internet marketing.

3. What was your biggest mistake/failure with this blog? My biggest mistake, which has turned into one of my greatest opportunities, was assuming that I knew what to blog about. What I've learned is that you need to blog about those topics your loyal readers find most valuable. This is in essence what blogging is all about. Ranting is fine if you rant with a purpose that can benefit others.

4. How often do you update content on your blog? More often than not, I'm providing posts on a daily basis. The only caveat is that I won't complete a post if it isn't valuable. I don't want to waste anyone's time - especially those who use the information to better themselves or their business.

5. Do you do any search engine optimization for your blog? Some. My primary SEO tactics to date have been related to "on-page" optimization but I also do a little off-page SEO (article marketing, reciprocal linking, etc.)

6. How do you monetize your blog? I monetize my blog in a couple of ways. First and foremost is Google Adsense. I think its a win-win because my blog readers gain access to relevant tools and information. The second, but much less frequent way is through affiliate marketing. We don't push products on ANYONE. That said, if a consumer is seeking a product for a particular purpose, we sometimes offer a suggestion if one of our staff has used a product for the same need. Again, a win-win because we connect product seekers with viable products that have proven to meet a need in the market place.

7. What is the key to success with blogs in your understanding of it? (2-3 sentences maximum). Value... what you blog about must be targeted to your audience and provide sufficient value. Information is only valuable if your readers find it valuable and if it solves a need.

8. What tools/solutions/plugins/platforms do you find to be the most useful for your blog? One feature that I absolutely love is the ability for individuals to sign up to receive blog updates by email. I can't believe how popular this has been. I think its because its so easy to use - you just enter your email and receive updates automatically. This negates the need for feed readers and so on.

Kind Regards,

Michael

Marketing Expert