1. Blogging Basics
What Makes the Most Successful Blogs and How Yours Can Be One of Them
Blythe Daniel, Jessica Kirkland, & Stephanie Alton

2. How many people are
blogging?
164 million bloggers
1.5 million published books per year - this has tripled
in the last 5 years because of self-publishing
Amazon has 27 million books in its database
* According to Michael Hyatt as of July 2014

3. Brand Before You Blog
“A personal brand is a promise that you’ll be the same wherever people find
you.” ~ Stephanie Bryant
If you share your writing publicly, you are a brand wether you claim to be one
or not.
Creating a brand is your ONE opportunity to tell readers what you are all
about. They will make an assumption if you don’t offer them a suggestion.
Your brand tells readers what they can expect from you (ex. Humor?
Encouragement? Advice? Stories?)
Your brand should be something that you can maintain for a long period of
time. Example: A blog entitled “Raising Toddlers” might be your current
season, but won’t have longevity.

4. Scouting Bloggers: What
an Agent Wants in a
BloggerIs there a clear message that might translate well into a book?
Can I visualize how I will market your book(s)?
Are you branded?
Do you have a unique voice or writing style? Do you show or tell? Is the writing
vulnerable or plastic?
Are you writing consistently? Journaling or cultivating a community?
Are there followers? Are you talking back to your followers through comments?
Does the blogger seem like they will be easy to work with?
Are you active on at least 2 social media platforms? What does your actual
engagement look like? Ex. Facebook page versus Facebook group

5. Scouting Bloggers: What an
Agent Wants in a Blogger
(cont.)Is there visual evidence of beneficial partnership? What other bloggers might use their
social media platform to help you?
Do you show knowledge of SEO (are you hyperlinking to other bloggers, other sites,
ect…)
Do you show knowledge of platform building?
Are you giving away any content for free?
Are you participating in blog tours?
Guest posting for others/allowing guest to post on your site?
Are you strategically building a subscriber list?
Leveraging Pinterest for growth?

6. Blogging Platforms
Wordpress
Blogger
Genesis - a frame work for Wordpress. Considered
the “Gold Standard” of Wordpress themes with many
premium options not available in the standard
Wordpress software. It functions within Wordpress.
my.studiopress.com/themes/genesis

7. Blog Essentials
About Me page
Photo on Home page and About Me page
Email Subscriber List
Related Content
Social Media Icons (Pinterest, FB, Twitter, Linkedin)
Content Page (please make your email address visible)
Social media sharing options beneath your blog posts
Grab button for other bloggers to put on their sites
Offer a free printable for a subscription after every blog post

8. How Your Blog Audience
Won’t Grow
Make yourself too available on social media. Give
people a reason to come check out what you are up to
on your blog.
Send readers away from your blog
Make content too lengthy, not relevant to your core
message (no more than 500 words for a blog post)
Direct people to a landing page instead of current
content (there is a time and place for a landing page).

9. Protecting Yourself from
Weirdos
Yes, “weirdos” exist
Safeguards for your blog
Be careful about how much personal information you share
Don’t announce your travel until your return
Consider the use of your last name or simply being known for
your brand
Consider protecting the identity of your children with
nicknames

10. How often should I blog?
Initially, once a week or no more than once every two weeks is a
good patten to establish your voice
Once your demand picks up, you will want to think about blogging
twice a week to give your readers what they want to hear from
you. You can point to a video or another blog and comment on it to
help fill your blog spots.
When you have a good-size, consistent following, you will want to
build in blogging daily since you have built your base to a place
that they expect content from you.
Remember: Crawl, Walk, Run!

11. Guest Blogging
Ask authors you know who can offer your audience great content to guest
blog for you
You will also want to ask if you can guest blog for them as well
Don’t know very many authors or bloggers? Consider joining a network like
ours, The Blog Spot
Gold mine: the contacts you will get from others coming to your blog from
your guest’s post is very valuable
Promote your guest blog on your blog and social media sites to build buzz
In addition to guest blogs, keep your own blog post on file so that you can
have a minimum of 5 blog post ready to post.

12. Keeping Up with Your
Readers
Blog stats show an agent and editors that you are
serious about writing and developing your audience
Keep up with your unique visitors and subscribers so
you can mention to those looking at your work
Continue to look for ways to grow your readership,
moving readers from just being a casual onlooker
(unique visitor each month) to a regular subscriber.

13. Are some blog designers
better than others?
Yes, we recommend you talk with several to decide how you want
to set up your blog
Don’t know where to find a designer? Go to some of your favorite
blog sites and look at the bottom of the page to find the designer
logo
You will want to ask about a flat set-up fee and, if you need it, a
maintenance fee. You will save money if you input your own
content each time you blog.
YouTube is an excellent source to help figure out how to design or
maintain your blog

14. What Blogs are Getting it
Right?
We read the following blogs and recommend them as good examples:
michaelhyatt.com
dashingdish.com
journeyofsarah.com
upcycledjane.com
shaunaniequist.com
motheringfromscratch.com
atthepicketfence.com
These blogs create interest, are visually appealing, structurally sound, and invite the
reader to plug in for engagement

15. What are the best
resources to read for
blogging?The Sits Girls www.thesitsgirls.com
Blogging with Amy www.bloggingwithamy.com
problogger.net
How to Become an Authority Blogger by Kenneth Byrd
How to Write Great Blog Posts that Engage Readers by
Steve Scott
The Blog Post Writing Formula by Ian Stables

16. Our Blog Network
You may want to offer reviews
on your blog to be able to
network.
Or you may need bloggers to
review your book.
The Blog Spot offers at least 2
resources per month for
bloggers to provide honest
well written reviews, and
sometimes giveaways are
included

17. What does our agency
provide to bloggers and
authors?We provide blog critiques to bloggers. You can email Stephanie
Alton, the Blog Resource Manager for The Blog Spot, for a
critique or further information on how to partner with our
network: stephanie@theblythedanielagency.com. Stephanie’s
personal blog is: theprincessdisciple.com.
Jessica Kirkland, an agent in our agency, also does blog
critiques. You can ask her for a quote:
jessica@theblythedanielagency.com. Her blog is under
reconstruction now.
Blythe works with bloggers to help them craft a book from a
blog and also blogs some at theblythedanielagency.com/life-
love-books.