If one of your 2011 SMART goals is to blog more, then great! Blogging is a great way to build your long-tail and strengthen the search engine optimization (aka SEO) on your website with fresh content. Were you lost at “long-tail?” Well, fear not. Basically, the more you blog about certain subjects, the more likely that search engines will acknowledge your site for it. That is why it is good to use well-placed phrases or keywords in your posts, because when the search engines comb your site, they will note them.
Now you might wondering, “how do I know what keywords to try to be known for on Google?” This is a segment that I plan to discuss extensively here on FiV Alive. You will find that there are opportunities to be had on the interwebs for specific things that may resonate well with who you and your music are. In the meantime, consider writing down who you are and what you create in the form of a mind map.
photo by dumbledad
What is a Mind Map?
A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea.
When working on your music blogging strategy, it is best to have your blog posts to be linked to you and your music. A mind map can help you visually figure out where to start. If you are as bright as I think you are, then you probably realize blog posts about you will get boring pretty quick if you are posting at least once a week. That is why it is better to spread the love around and share things that may be near and dear to you, but not so YOU-specific.
Mind mapping can help you segment your interests in neat sections. It is in these sections that you can pull blog ideas. If you are passionate about muscle cars, 50s paraphernalia and leather, then it will be good to share those things. When Google, Bing and Yahoo! pick up on it, so will the people that are interested in the same things. Post the right stuff and you can get a post to go viral, then you are really cooking with gas!
Organizing Your Mind Map
The other day on Hip Hop Distribution, they posted a content checklist PDF to help you organize your blog ideas, which is crucial if you really plan to blog regularly. Sometimes the creativity may be running a little low and you will want to post something. It is always best to work on your ideas in advance. Download their checklist and put it to use after you mind map your music identity. There is a cool tracking section of the checklist, which is also great in terms of figuring out where you should concentrate your writing time.
Now this is where you help me organize my post topics, is there anything in this article that you would like fleshed-out? Would it do you any good to see mind mapping in action? Let me know!