Some time ago I wrote about how to start a pet blog. It’s a nice, short guide on how to get started and there is a little about the strategy for a pet blog.
In this new post I want to expand on that strategy discussion. I’ve seen the question since I wrote that original post and the strategy is very important and many seem to be stuck on that part about starting the blog.
And that’s something that seems to occur a lot in life. Getting started is the easy part. It’s the continuing that is difficult. And that’s certainly true in blogging. It’s relatively easy to start a blog. It’s easy to write a few posts. It’s difficult to see it through for years.
So here is a little more in depth info on creating a pet blog strategy…
What Is A Blog Strategy
A blog strategy is creating content for a target audience. Think of it like any other form of content creation. A movie strategy is creating a movie for a specific audience. A songwriting strategy is creating songs for a specific audience. A book strategy is creating a book for a specific audience.
It’s not entirely a step-by-step process. But it is a mix of following traditional guidelines and using creativity.
So here are some steps for creating a pet blog strategy, which is what you’ll be writing about…
1. Define Your Audience
“Pet Lovers” or “Pet Owners” can be fine for your target audience. But if you have something a little more targeted that will work even better. In blogging, I like to think about one person that is reading the post. This helps me hone in on really giving that person something worthwhile. And as a result, the post is typically good enough to attract and help a wider audience.
So really think about a targeted reader. Maybe you focus mostly on dog owners. Maybe you focus mostly on dog owners that live in cities. Maybe they only own small and medium-sized dogs. Maybe it’s really only women that you are focusing on.
Don’t be afraid to narrow your focus. You will really help that specific person and you’ll be able to pick up readers outside of that focus as well.
2. Question & Answer
The strategy I’ve had the most success with in over 10 years of blogging is Question & Answer. You identify questions the audience is asking and do your best to provide the answer with the blog post.
The post you’re reading is an example of a question and answer blogging strategy. I’m guessing you saw this title because you had a question like, “How do I create a pet blog strategy?” or something like that.
With this strategy you end up with a lot of How To posts, but you can also create titles that are lists and things like that. Just focus on what question the audience has and provide the answer. It’s the best strategy for SEO because it aligns with what Google wants. It also works well for just about any other channel. If someone is on social and has a question and they see your content, they will read it.
3. Stories
If you’re looking for a set percentage for a breakdown of your pet blog I would start with 80% that are question and answer. A little more or less is fine. Heck, you could even go 100% for Q&A and that will likely work over the long-term. But I like to also mix in a little experimentation.
Another type of blog post you can create is a story post. You can even mix these into your question and answer posts. A personal story or a story from a customer is a great way to make your content different than the competition. When you tell a story about you and your pet, it’s something that nobody else can create.
There are only so many ways to answer the question, How Do I Feed My Dog?
But if you add personal stories and insight, from your or someone else, it creates unique content that also helps to communicate the message and the content.
4. Product Insights
A small portion of posts can be about your products or services. I typically like to leave this content for the product sales pages. It’s not really meant for the blog, but there are some instances when it makes sense. You don’t want the product pages to get too long and involved.
It could be a story about a customer that found a great way to use your product. Or maybe you were doing a service for a customer and an interesting question came up. That can make for a good Q&A and story combination blog post in some cases.
5. General Musings
A final little piece of the blog strategy that I like to include in most blogs is general musings. These could be little rants or random thoughts about you and the pet industry. Maybe your point of view on a topic or some little news item. Basically you’re looking at something and saying, “I’ve been thinking about this recently…”
You’d be surprised, but these posts can do well. Not all the time, but they are unique and if they hit the right cord with readers they can really do well for the long-term.
I don’t like to do them all the time or really that often, butI like to mix them in maybe one out of every 100 posts or so.
Conclusion
A blog strategy doesn’t have to be a big complicated thing. It’s mostly about honing in on your target reader and identifying the things they are looking for relating to your industry. Pet owners, or whoever your target reader is, are likely looking for all kinds of information. You can use keyword research to identify their questions. You can ask them in person or read their comments on social media.
If you’re looking for a starting point, that is as good as any.