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How to Implement a Killer Blog Strategy for $8 Why spend countless hours creating a blog post but getting zero views?

By Jason Parks Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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Can you imagine if famous chef Gordon Ramsay cooked a delicious meal and didn't serve it to anyone? Even though the slow-cooked beef short ribs were top notch, nobody got to experience the ribs because he threw them away.

Ramsay tossing away his tasty meal is the equivalent to a business owner or marketer writing kick-ass content but not getting anyone to read it. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing an entrepreneur spend countless hours creating a blog post but getting zero eyeballs on the article.

I'm going to teach you to develop a two-way strategy to create great content while simultaneously driving traffic so your target audience can read your great story. The beauty is that if you spend just $8 per blog post and follow this six-step strategy, you will start to see a massive uptick in traffic, loyal readers and new potential business.

Related: Is Good Taste Tanking Your Content-Development Strategy?

1. Boost through Facebook for $8.

Facebook is an amazing social platform to get your target demographic to read your blog posts. It is also dirt cheap to drive website clicks so you can guarantee people will see your posts. Stop complaining about not getting any organic traction on your Facebook posts. Facebook is a business that needs to make money. If you spend a little bit of money on your online content, you will get a lot in return.

If Paul, a restaurant owner of a pancake shop in Cleveland wanted to spread the word about his new downtown location, he could write an article about his famous chocolate chip pancakes. He could target people within a 10-mile radius of the downtown area who are "foodies" or who like similar breakfast/brunch restaurants nearby. If Paul has a high relevance score on his Facebook post and it performs well, he could be driving traffic to his website for 10 cents per click. This would mean with an $8 budget, he could drive 100 visitors to his website. And this doesn't even include if his post went somewhat viral and foodies started to share it like crazy.

The mistake a lot of social marketers make is that they will boost the blog post directly from their page. The problem with this is that you can't guarantee website clicks, only interaction. Even though interaction is valuable, I like to make sure people visit my website.

2. Create great content.

Just because Paul posts a blog doesn't mean that the content is necessarily going to perform well. First off, the content needs to be killer.

He should ask three random people what they think of the article. Paul should make a post to his Facebook friends to see if anyone is willing to read the article before it is published. I recommend asking people outside of your office for an unbiased opinion. Go to a coffee shop and ask a random person what they think (I have done this numerous times). Break out of your cocoon and ask outsiders for insight. By taking this small yet uncomfortable step, you will be pleasantly surprised with how much better your finished article will be.

Related: Top CEO Blogging Strategies From A to Z

3. Take amazing pictures.

Whether you have a smartphone or a Cannon EOS 5D, take pictures that you know would crush it as a Facebook or Instagram post.

When you promote your blog, one of the most important components to luring people in is going to be the featured photo. Since Paul has a great smile and a big personality, his primary picture should be of himself cooking those delicious chocolate chip pancakes.

Make sure to have great correlating images throughout the blog that will keep the user engaged and entice them to share the content. From the beginning stages of the batter being stirred to the sprinkling of the chocolate chips, imagery is crucial.

4. Remarketing.

In step number one, I mentioned the importance of targeting your Facebook posts through the ads manager versus from your page so you generate website clicks versus interaction.

The reason why this is so important is because once the foodie lands on your website, they can enter into your remarketing funnel. If you are unfamiliar with remarketing advertisements, what this allows is for you to position targeted ads in front of a defined audience that had previously visited your website as they browse elsewhere around the internet.

Related: 6 Strategies for Launching a Successful Blog

Once people click on Paul's blog post, if he has a remarketing pixel on his site and creates display advertisements, the foodie will see his weekend breakfast special when browsing around the Web.

Remarketing is very cheap and has one of the best returns on investments if executed properly.

5. Gauging metrics to improve.

Paul followed all of the aforementioned steps and was able to write a great article about what went into making his famous chocolate chip pancakes. Through his photography, foodies got a behind-the-scenes glimpse into his kitchen. By asking for an outside perspective, Paul was able to craft great content. He also executed on his targeting by promoting his blog to a niche audience close to his restaurant.

What's next for Paul? He should always be looking to improve. This is where analyzing the statistics is crucial. He will want to look into the relevance score of his post.

According to Facebook, relevance score is calculated based on the positive and negative feedback we expect an ad to receive from its target audience. The more positive interactions we expect an ad to receive, the higher the ad's relevance score will be.

If Paul notices that his relevance score is a 5, it could be that his targeting was off or he served the ad during the wrong hours of the day. By constantly trying to improve on this benchmark, you should lower your cost per click or CPM (cost per impression).

TIP: Within Facebook ads manager, look at the "breakdown" column to see which placement is performing the best. Paul noticed that his cost per click was nearly quadruple on Instagram. He knew this network might not be the best place to promote a blog. He also realized that females from the ages of 25 to 34 were generating the lower cost per click and the highest interaction rate. He made the mistake of targeting 18 to 24 year olds, who weren't his target audience. By analyzing these metrics, Paul will find his sweet spot as he continuously posts new content.

6. Promote your content like crazy.

Just because you promoted your blog on Facebook doesn't mean the show is over yet. Post the blog onto LinkedIn as a post. This will ensure that Paul's friends and colleagues within the food industry will see it. Imagine if Paul is connected to someone on the Food Network and they just happen to be searching for someone in the Midwest who owns a pancake shop! You never know who will be reading your content.

Within each blog post, you should be able to grab at least ten excerpts to post onto Twitter.

I hate it when someone just promotes the title of their blog post and that is it. There is a treasure of content within each article that can be repurposed throughout numerous social channels.

Paul should use the five pictures of his badass chocolate chip pancakes and separately post all of these onto Instagram. Within his bio on IG, he can have the link to the article.

Paul should reach out to the Downtown Cleveland Alliance to see if they are looking for local entrepreneurs to write article content or "takeover" their Instagram account for a day. This will help him further spread the word about his pancake shop.

Your customers should crave more.

For just $8, you can see how much exposure Paul will get on this blog post. Foodies will not only crave his chocolate chip pancakes, they will desire more content from the pancake king. Paul's pancake shop can only fit 20 people inside at a time. The amount of traffic he can drive through a killer blog strategy is infinite.

After reading this article, save up $8 and follow this six-step strategy. You will be on your way to creating an unforgettable blogging recipe for your business.

Jason Parks

CEO of The Media Captain

Jason Parks is a proud native of Columbus, Ohio, and the founder/CEO of The Media Captain, a digital marketing agency. He has been featured in the New York Times, Yahoo News, Search Engine Watch and AOL on digital-marketing topics and success stories.

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