» Fitness Marketing


Overcoming Blogger’s Block Even if you enjoy writing, you might


be intimidated about debuting a blog. For one thing, you have to gener- ate a steady flow of new and inter- esting ideas if you want to keep your blog alive. Plus, blogging can be time consuming.


Generating ideas “Ideas can come from virtually any-


where,” says Alsac, whose blog can be found at www.befitwithbiray.com. “It’s just a matter of keeping your eyes and ears open,” she says. For example, take cues from those around you. “I often take questions I receive in emails; or comments on my blog; or questions from friends, family or clients and turn them into posts,” says Tousignant, who also garners ideas from free subscrip- tions to news feeds and blog feeds. (Click “more” on Google’s homepage and select Google Alerts; then sub- scribe to keywords related to your blog’s theme.) “News feeds may report on a


new study, which you can research and share your opinion on,” says Tousignant. “And blog feeds allow you to see what your competitors’ opinions are.” You could then disagree or agree, offering your own perspective. Finally, consider using current events


and pop culture as a springboard. For example, what’s happening in the news, online or on TV that you might be able to tie back to your blog’s theme?


The time it takes Coming up with ideas is half the


battle. But you still have to sit down and write. Even if you struggle in the beginning to write quickly, keep at it; the more you write, the easier it gets (sort of like exercise). Remember, also, that it’s best to write in a casual, con- versational tone, which helps make the writing process go more smoothly. No one expects your blog to be a lit-


erary masterpiece; however, do your best to rid posts of typos and spelling mistakes. Finally, save time and hold readers’ attention with brief posts. There’s no rule about how long a blog post should be, but the average seems to be around 250-700 words.


SEO and Your Blog In addition to capturing the atten-


tion of your blog visitors, you must write your posts with the major search


engines in mind if you want your blog to be found through sites such as Google. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes into play. Alsac notes that if your blog is only complementary to your business ef- forts and doesn’t serve to directly gen- erate revenue, increasing SEO might not make a significant difference to your bottom line. Still, you never know when you might pick up new clients from traffic to your blog. You can increase SEO in a number


of ways. “The more often you update your blog, the more likely your blog rank will increase, making it easier to find in a search,” says Alsac. You can also focus on specific key-


words for each individual blog post. “For example,” says Tousignant, “if you write a blog post on how to slam dunk, include the phrase ‘how to slam dunk’ in the post title, the first para- graph, throughout the post and in the tags.” Bear in mind, though, that you’re ultimately writing for humans, not Google. “When you force key- words into your blog posts just to sat- isfy the search engines, you run the risk of turning your visitors off,” says Tousignant. Another method for increasing


blog traffic is to incorporate outbound links, especially to large reputable sites. For instance, if you post about being certified with canfitpro, you could add a hyperlink leading to the canfitpro website. “The more outbound links you in-


clude within a blog post, the more likely these links will track back to your blog and increase traffic to your site,” says Alsac. In addition to ensur- ing that outbound links open in a new window (you don’t want to lead people away from your blog), use a permalink to avoid “dead” links. A permalink is a permanent url that won’t change even when a blog entry or news item is no longer displayed on a website’s front page. And use outbound links within reason to avoid distracting readers. Another trick for increasing SEO is


to link to other posts within your blog, says Tousignant. Take the previous ex- ample about “how to slam dunk.” You could create a hyperlink using those words – e.g., how to slam dunk – that leads from one of your posts to another one of your posts. “Search engines look highly upon this type of internal link- ing within a blog,” says Tousignant.


Finally, don’t forget to promote your


blog on popular social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. That will help drive traffic to your blog, encourage inbound links to your blog (also good for SEO) and generate word-of-mouth marketing.


Exercise Your Writing “Muscle” To become good at blogging, you’ve


got to exercise your writing “muscle” so your posts are clear, informative and entertaining. Open a line of com- munication with your readers. “Besides being true to your topic, purposeful in your content and authentic to your professional voice, remember that blogging is a starting point to a con- versation with your audience – so keep them engaged!” says Alsac. FBC


Amanda Vogel, MA human kinetics, is a Can- Fit-Pro-certified fitness pro in Vancouver, B.C. and the owner of Active Voice - a writing, edit- ing and consulting service for the fitness indus- try. She regularly writes and presents at fitness conferences on Twitter, Facebook and blog- ging. She blogs at http://FitnessWriter.blogspot. com and www.FitnessTestDrive.com. Amanda can also be reached through her website www.


ActiveVoice.ca and Twitter @amandavogel. More Blogging Tips


• Take a stance; don’t be afraid to express your opinion.


• Encourage readers to comment on your posts; interaction helps keep a blog alive.


• Wait about 20 minutes before you publish a post – this gives you time to go back and do a proper edit.


• Make your posts reader-friendly with lists and bullet points.


• Post pictures and other forms of media, such as video and audio.


• Ensure you have the right to use images; www.istockphoto.com (low-cost photos) and Flikr (search for Creative Commons-licensed photos) are two popular choices among bloggers.


• If you post digital pictures you’ve taken, be sure to get written permission to do so from anyone who appears in the photos.


• Post as often as you can; even several times a week or month is better than not at all.


March/April 2011 Fitness Business Canada 33


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