8 Ways to Build and Promote a Group Blog

Not everyone has the time to maintain a blog. It’s more common now than ever for groups of writers to start a site together – that way they can share the load of blogging while still promoting their individual work.

I wrote up a few suggestions for someone who e-mailed me asking about how their group blog might improve. I thought I’d share with everyone the bulk of my reply.

A brief background on their site:

• 10-12 talented writers offering fresh commentary on social and culture issues
• writers have individual careers and wish to promote their own work/identity as well as that of the group site
• relatively new site, only a few months old
• appeals to a 22-35, educated, socially-aware demographic

I had the following suggestions, many of which apply to all sites with frequently-updated content. Apologies for some odd stylistic flubs; I deleted specific names and replaced them with generic words, e.g. “your site”:

1. Branding. I think that the site could benefit from branding itself more specifically. When one reaches the main page, one can tell that it’s a collection of writing from various authors but little more. The About Us page explains your mission clearly, but unfortunately few readers will click that on their own [the average time spent on a page is ~15-20 seconds]. I understand that you have a group of friends/writers with varied perspectives – that could be a powerful angle to express on the main page, possibly with a tagline or 2-3 sentence paragraph below the logo. You need to explain the branding because the site is new; sites like Slate, etc. simply don’t need to. The nice thing about developing a site like yours is that if you aren’t satisfied with your initial branding, you can scrap and replace it and lose little equity [especially with online media – everyone expects malleable identity to some degree].

2. Individual Branding. A corollary to above – I have the impression that your contributors want to have a solid group site, but also want to promote and advance their own work/careers. If I were to brand the contributors, I’d put labels by the authors’ names [e.g. "Education" with one name, “Arts/Entertainment” with another]. With so many authors, you can demonstrate broad coverage of society/culture that would make a reader see immediately that you have a publication with commentary on many relevant areas of interest and help define the individual authors’ roles on the site. There are downsides to this; you would have to decide if the authors wanted to narrow their focus a bit or restructure the site so that individuals could cross-post in as many categories as their writing fit. Defining and promoting clearly specific content areas and authors’ areas of expertise will benefit the site in the long run, especially when you synchronize those definitions with site navigation [an issue a bit too complex for this brief e-mail, but I can speak to it at a later date if you’d like].

3. Bringing more personality to individual columns. By this I mean customizing each author’s landing page so that it reflects their personal interests and professional connections – sort of like a blog. For an example, we’ll use mine – I’ve got links that show what/who I read. Some patterns emerge that define me [generally Conservative, concerned with public and higher education, etc.]. If each author does this, they can essentially trade links with similar media. This is critical – you need as many links as possible coming in to your site, and that starts by links going out. It’s a slow process for an individual’s site [again, like mine], but your site has 11 contributors; you’ll spread awareness very quickly this way. More links = more awareness, more awareness = greater reputation and readership. That leads to…

4. Increasing PageRank and internet presence. Google has an algorithm that defines a site’s “PageRank,” which is essentially the level of authority Google gives to a site. This determines how often a site shows up in search results and is derived mostly by how the internet as a whole [yes, this is a little vague] treats your site. The current PR for your site is 2 out of 10; my site is 4, EdNews.org is 6, edweek.com is 7, Yahoo.com is 10 – you get the idea. As other sites pick up content from your site and link to it, PageRank will rise and so will traffic.

Your PageRank will grow dramatically if individual authors start networking via links in their columns [if appropriate] and “blogroll” type links. The easiest way to do this is to e-mail the authors of sites you link, explain that you read their material and link to them and invite them to do the same. Again, a slow process, but with 11 people doing it you’ll see great results very quickly. Mix in the in-person networking you’re all doing now [giving your cards to friends/professionals, mentioning your site often, etc.] and you’re in good shape.

5. Use Social Media. Your content is young and fresh – it’s perfect fodder for “social media” like reddit.com, digg.com, stumbleupon, netscape, etc. I don’t know the exact demographics of your readership, but I assume it’s generally well-educated, socially aware urban 22-30s. That is, coincidentally, the general demographic of most social media sites. Sharing your articles on these sites will generate traffic and build readership. You just have to put the “sharing” icons at the bottom of each article – you can see an example on my site, though I have ~20, which is far too many [these will be culled soon enough]. ~8 of the most popular social media sites, including each author utilizing del.icio.us, would be an excellent way to bring attention to the site.

6. RSS and e-mail. RSS feeds are gaining popularity, especially in the demographic to which your site likely appeals. Being able to add a site to an RSS reader grabs a reader for the long haul when he/she may like the content but not come back – the internet’s a big place, it’s easy to forget]. You already offer an RSS feed – I’d just make it more apparent. You want to make it as easy as possible to add a feed – I’d use the RSS logo and a few of the most popular feed buttons [Google Reader, myYahoo, etc.]. Optimizing accessibility to RSS feeds will likely show a nice upward trend in your Feedburner graphs.

I’d also suggest an e-mail newsletter signup; as any site consultant should tell you, a reader’s/customer’s e-mail address is the most valuable thing you can have. Sending out periodic e-mails in the form of personal, informal ‘press release’ style events is a great tool to keep in touch with your readership, solidify your relationship with them, tweak your brand – there’s a long list of possibilities. This is especially relevant to your site since many of you have books in print or on their way. You can even make a buck by creating an Amazon Associates account so you get a commission every time someone buys a book via a link on your site or in a newsletter/feed.

7. Google Analytics and other web stats. You’ve already got Feedburner and I’m not sure if you use Google Analytics. Between the two you’ll be satisfied for a while. You said in an e-mail that the authors didn’t have time to have individual blogs; I assume that you also have little time to pore over nerdy webnumbers. The key to building web traffic in the most efficient way is data, data, data – Google Analytics will show you in a split-second who’s going to your site, what they’re doing there, how they got there, and everything else you’d want to know. Then you use that information to build more traffic and tweak the design of your site.

8. Some tiny details. Though seemingly insignificant, there are several tiny details that go a long way. For example, putting authors’ e-mails on articles to facilitate communication; having a ‘contact us’ page with a contact form, site e-mail, etc. – even if no one uses it, it shows accountability and willingness to communicate; changing the heading “books” to “books by us,” which further reinforces your brand and the authors’ connection to the publication; thinking of pieces and information that can go in a media kit, which will be both necessary and invaluable in ~6 months, etc. Unfortunately, the list of details never ends. You’re forced to ask constantly, “How does this detail fit with my site? Is it relevant to a specific goal? If not, how can it fit?”

This is just a glimpse into the nuances of growing a successful group blog. It’s a lot less overwhelming than it seems – you’ve just got to identify your goals, come up with a plan of action and then tackle it one piece at a time. If you combine these strategies with the key to a successful site – great content – you’ll be rolling in traffic in 4-6 months.

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Interested in an in-depth analysis of your site? Just send an e-mail to mktabor@gmail.com.