It’s a lazy, sunny Sunday here in New Zealand. My husband and I have just purchased a 4 acre lifestyle block – eeee! – and it is sucking away every moment of free time we have right now. It’s wonderful to be spending so much time outside, doing physical labour, feeling the satisfaction of dirt under your nails and a sun on your arms. I haven’t had such restful sleep in years! We have a lot of work ahead of us before we can even begin to build our dream home, but we’re excited about building our future in this place.

Since it’s a lazy Sunday, and you might be spending the day thinking about your business and catching up on your Internet reading, I thought I’d link you up to some of my most recent articles for writers and small businesses around the web:

Read On…

Ghost-blogging (or staff blogging, outsourcing or freelance blogging) has been a huge part of my income for at least three years now, ever since my other blogs have gained enough traction that I’m able to show people I have what it takes to produce viral/high traffic posts. Personally, I like the term ghost blogging, because I’m a horror movie nut, but you don’t have to call it that. Since I often get asked by other writers and business owners about the opportunities for ghost blogging, I thought I’d do a little guide for anyone who wanted to either hire a ghost blogger or find this kind of work for themselves.

What Is Ghost Blogging?

Basically, a ghost blogger writes blogs for a company or individual other than themselves. Usually this is because the client wants a blog but is either not a writer themselves, or has no time or energy left to maintain a blog. The ghost blogger takes some of the pressure off by writing and uploading articles, and in many cases managing the content of the blog itself.

Read On…

For years I’ve been an advocate of a regular posting schedule for your blog. I reckon if you set a goal to write a post every day, or every week, and you work hard to stick with it, you become a better blogger. Because you’re forcing yourself to practice everyday – in the same way a guitarist noodles away every night no matter how shite his day at work was or how much he’d rather finish that George R. R. Martin book – you’re going to get better. Right?

Not necessarily. Sometimes you just get pissed off.

Sometimes you don’t have anything to write about. Sometimes you’re terrified of facing that blank page again. Sometimes you think, “Goddammit, if I have to write ANOTHER word about death metal/weddings/cat pictures/personal finances/zombies/tofu recipes/chicken coops today, I am going to stick that chicken coop so far up the universe’s backside it will be raining chickens in Russia.”

How many blogs do you actually read? I mean, really read? Not just add to your reader, skim the titles and think “oh, that sounds mildly interesting, I’ll come back to that”, and never do. How many writers are so awesome they create something new every day or every week that you have to devour, word by glorious word? How many?

Read On…

Hypothetically, of course. Anything else might get me into trouble.

In my ebook, the Grymm & Epic Guide to Blogging, I talk a lot about figuring out what to blog about. A successful blog strikes a balance between writing about what interests you, and writing that helps you find and build an audience – the right audience. The audience that will go on to buy your art. And sometimes, that audience isn’t whom you’d expect.

A lot of artists get stuck in the habit of writing about the business of selling art. Often, they’ll get quite in-depth, writing epic 2000 word posts about their successes and failures at craft fairs, etc. These posts will be extremely useful for other artists, and they’re profoundly interesting for the artist writing them, because they offer the chance to put thoughts about business down in a cohesive way and analyse what is and isn’t working. But whenever I see an artist with a blog that’s all about running an art business, I wonder if the artist knows whom their audience really is.

Who wants to read a blog about how to run an art business? People who want to become full-time artists, of course. And yes, many people who are full-time artists want to support other artists and love to buy art, but they are a small slab of an infinitely larger pie.

Read On…

• You want a blog that’s talked about in every corner of the blogosphere? WHAM – there you go.
• You want your blog to draw in readers and convert them into customers … from the very first post? SMASH – done and dusted.
• You want a sales page that skyrockets sales of your ebook to numbers only dreamed up by scammy internet marketers? SQUISH – you got it.

Blogging has proven to be a solid way to launch or promote a business online.

The Blog-Shothoth package is designed for a specific type of business. You’ll understand the benefits of producing high-quality content on a regular schedule, and you’ll know the difference placing targeted, high-quality content on your site can make. You’ll also recognize that blogging doesn’t end with hitting “publish”. A successful blog requires constant attention – promoting posts on other sites and getting them linked on other blogs.

But even though you understand the value of a blog, you don’t have the time or skills required to create content and market it correctly. You’re too busy doing what you do best – creating and selling your products and services. Here’s where the Blog-Shothoth package can help you. I’ve designed this package for businesses looking for an easy solution to their blogging woes – you’ll know that your blog is regularly updated with high-quality posts, that your content is being promoted across various channels to help raise your profile, and that your blog is focused on achieving your business’ strategic goals.

The Blog-Shothoth package includes:

• An initial blogging consultation: We sit down together over skype, email, or in person and hash out a strategic plan for your blog, including the aims, traffic report, content, keywords, long-term strategies, and tools.
• 12 posts of premium blog pillar content. These posts are scheduled to appear on your blog over the course of the month. These are high-quality articles written specifically for your business and relevant keywords to draw in readers and keep them interested.
• Sourcing of images: Each post will be accompanied by suitable royalty-free images.
• Internal Back-linking: Part of a blog’s success is having a thorough internal link structure – where each post leads the reader to more posts or features on your site. It’s all about keeping the reader on your site as long as possible. Creating internal back-links on every post is included in this package.
• Search-Engine Optimization (SEO): As part of the initial consultation, I generate a list of keywords for your blog, and the content plan is based around these keywords. Using SEO-best practice to create blog posts means your site will quickly move up the rankings.
• Social Media promotion: Each post will be promoted across various social media channels, including the writing of updates and campaigns for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other platforms. (2 hours)
• Additional blog promotion: Each post will be promoted to other experts in your niche to increase exposure and links to your site. (2 hours).
• Site Traffic Report: Provided Google Analytics is installed on your blog, every month I generate a traffic report outlining changes in traffic and user-behaviour on your site. Based on this report, we create goals for the future.

All this is included in the basic package price. I prefer to charge a package rate over a per-hour rate. That way, you don’t get any nasty surprises.

I’m Very Concerned about Quality. What Type of Content Do You Write?

I blog based on the concept of pillar content. I call it pillar content because it becomes the foundation of your blog – just like the foundations of a building. I create 12 articles based on topics that are popular with your target audience, usually answering a common question or offering advice on a topic. These are based on keywords that are commonly searched for, and designed to generate views, links and referrals to your blog. Just live an Elder God, it’s on these pillar articles you build your temple of blogging greatness.

I’m not giving you some re-hashed content nicked from the archives of popular probloggers. We’re talking about your own, original articles and posts, written in your voice for your audience.

How does the Blog-Shothoth Package work?

You tell me what you want. I ask a few silly questions. You might send me a few pictures. I might do a little voodoo dance. I email you a draft. You tell me how terrible it is. I then rewrite it into something perfect and awesome. You love it so much you send me flowers and chocolates and offers of marriage. I respectfully decline, although I do eat the chocolates.

Seriously though, here’s my step-by-step method.

Step 1: Blog Consultation and Report

Together (in person, over the phone, or via email) we hash out a Blog Content Plan. This includes the content overview, a “style guide”, branding information, target audience and a list of article topics. I generate a list of keywords for SEO. I also have a look at your blog stats and generate initial numbers to work from. Once I’ve completed the Blog Content Plan and you’ve approved it, I can get to work on the posts.

(The Full Blog Content plan only needs to be generated once – at the beginning of the first month. If you work with me over additional months, we re-evaluate the plan every month based on site stats to check on progress and make any necessary changes).

Step 2: Topic Generation

I generate a list of topics for the month’s posts. I send this list to you for approval. At this stage, if you have topics you particularly want covered, you can brief me on them. 

Step 3: Generation and Approval of Blog Content

I write the month’s posts and submit them to you for approval. You have a week to read through them and ask me to make changes where necessary. 

Step 4: Uploading Blog Content

I upload and format blog content, insert backlinks and images, and schedule posts to appear throughout the month ahead.

Step 5: Promotion and Social Media

As posts go live, I promote them on your social media platforms, or provide you with content and resources for you to post on social media yourself. I contact other bloggers and have links to your blog posts placed strategically on sites in your niche.

Step 6: Generate Traffic Report

At the end of each month I send you a short report outlining progress for the month. Monitoring traffic is essential because it allows us to see which are the most effective articles, keywords and techniques so we can further target the campaign.

Turnaround time varies depending on the amount of work I have at any one time. My monthly retainer clients take priority over one-off jobs. I can accommodate most urgent jobs, but please email me before purchasing if you’re on a tight deadline, so I can let you know if I can complete your job in time.

Buy Blog-Shothoth NOW for US$810

Buy Blog-Shothoth NOW for NZ$990

Here’s What My Blogging Clients are Saying

“We engaged Steff to produce a wide range of copy for us including articles, blogs, SEO web copy and more. Steff could quickly pick up any subject matter with limited research and consistently produced top quality work and always on time. I would not hesitate to work with Steff again.” – Phil Shacklady, The Web Company, New Zealand.

“I first hired Steff as a writer in January 2011 after she won our blogging contest. Since then she has consistently provided regular, well-written blog posts to a deadline. I would have no hesitation in recommending Steff for a similar position.” James Dunworth, The Disabled Shop

“Steff is a copywriting queen. Her prose leaps from the pages and grabs you, riveting the reader’s attention and directing your customer where to go next. She’s thorough, convincing, and a pleasure to work with. I’ve hired Steff several times and she just gets better every time. If you’re looking for a great sales writer with a heavy metal attitude, Steff Metal is definitely a great find.” – Cory Huff, The Abundant Artist.

Can I see samples?

I’ve posted some samples of my blogging work in my blogging portfolio. I can also send additional samples via email if you request them.

The price for the Blog-Shothoth package is $990 NZ (US$810). If you want to work with me for more than a month, email me to discuss your needs, as I offer discounted prices for my monthly retainer clients.  Payment plans and customized packages are available. Please email me with your needs and I’ll see what I can do.

Buy Blog-Shothoth NOW for US$810

Buy Blog-Shothoth NOW for NZ$990