I have three cats, which is really one cat too many. They can’t type, but their marketing skills are second to none. Here are their tips on running an amazing blog.
Running a Blog That Will Have Your Readers Purring
Keep It Clean
Next to sleeping and eating, staying clean is a cat’s favourite activity. I wouldn’t recommend spending all day licking your blog, but there’s definitely something to be said for keeping things neat and tidy. A cleanly designed and well-organised blog will appeal to your readers, making it easier for them to read your posts and to find what they’re looking for. A tidy, groomed blog should include:
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- A smooth and fast-loading design with plenty of white space and eye-catching images
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- Well-spaced content that can be quickly skimmed
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- Posts organised with categories and tags (but not too many)
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- A search function to make finding specific posts easier
- Proofread content to weed out spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes
Collaborate (Sometimes)
Cats are famously independent animals, but mine also happen to be family. While they need their own space, they love a cuddle pile too, as well as teaming up to get into mischief. When you’re running your blog, original content is important, but you don’t want to be too isolated. Collaborating with others can include inviting guest posters, publishing interviews or profiles of relevant people and their experiences, promoting other brands that your audience might be interested in, or just engaging with people in comments.
Know What’s Working
Cats know what they like. From lions and tigers to the most pampered house cats, they won’t let just anything fly, and they know when things need to be switched up if they’re no longer working. Just like my cats spurn food and toys that aren’t doing it for them and happily embrace the things they approve of, you need to know what does and doesn’t work for your blog. Keep an eye on which of your posts are successful using various metrics, such as number of views, shares, and leads or conversions. Unlike my cats, you should be able to clearly express why you’re making a choice.
Use Your (Creative) Energy When You Have It
A cat sleeps about as much as a newborn baby. But when they are awake, they make the most of the energy they have – often at 3am. It’s not always easy to find the time and creativity to keep your blog going. If you find that you have occasional bursts of energy and flurries of ideas, taking advantage of those times will help you keep your blog going through thick and thin. Inspiration might strike you in the middle of the night, but quickly jotting down a few ideas can make things easier later.
Get Someone Else to Do the Work
If there’s one thing that cats have mastered, it’s getting humans to do their bidding. From the ancient Egyptians to the modern day, we just can’t help loving cats and everything they’re willing to offer us. They are all too happy to get us to do the legwork to help them live their best lives, and we gladly feed them and supply them with all kinds of toys and cardboard boxes. They’re much too busy being awesome to bother with any of that (the lack of opposable thumbs doesn’t help).
If you’re also too busy being awesome, outsource your blog writing and management to someone who has time to do it justice. Working with someone who can dedicate their time to creating well-crafted blog content (like me!) eases some of the pressure off you and lets you get on with running your business.
