Write a blog post showing your expertise in _____.

ASSIGNMENT

Your assignment is to share an original blog post in the Project Gallery to grow your audience or brand.

The topic of your post could be anything you're passionate about, that shows you're a thought leader in that particular space. Personally, I chose to write a piece on how morning routines can make you more successful as an entrepreneur — but yours can be whatever you'd like.

Running into writer's block? My best advice is to simply get started. Jot your ideas down in the Project Gallery, get feedback from your fellow students, and refine the direction of your blog post.

DELIVERABLE

Write your blog post and share it in the Project Gallery (you can write directly in your Project Workspace, and revise it over time).

To get started, share your:

Topic
Objective + feel
Basic outline

Ultimately, your completed blog post should include:

Long-form post (300+ words)
Featured image

Remember, when you add statistics (the "meat"), make sure you link to their sources directly in your post to add credibility.

Feel free to refer to my example post for inspiration, as well as the tools and resources below.

I look forward to reading your blog!

RESOURCES

Get Inspired

The Beginners Guide to Online Marketing by Neil Patel and Ritika Puri
The Definitive Guide to Growth Hacking by Neil Patel and Bronson Taylor
Link Building Case Study: How I Increased My Search Traffic by 110% in 14 Days from Backlinko
How Search Works by Google
6 Stats You Should Know About Business Blogging in 2015 by Hubspot

3 Easy Blogging Styles

List Post example: Starting from Scratch: 6 Steps to Your First Content Marketing Plan
"How To" Post example: How to Tie a Tie (think about how you can improve on this!)
Roundup example: Customer happiness stories from Chris Ducker, Wade Foster, Bruce Hiatt and other great entrepreneurs from the Helloify Blog

Brainstorming Your Topic

Google Trends (free tool)
BuzzSumo (free tool, but you can also upgrade for more features)

Writing a Great Headline

How to Write Magnetic Headlines by Copyblogger
The Formula for a Perfect Headline by Neil Patel, Quick Sprout
5 Criteria for Writing Powerful Headlines by Joanna Wiebe, Copy Hackers
Portent's Content Idea Generator

Creating an Effective Featured Image

Canva (also be sure to check out their free class on Skillshare)
Pablo (a 100% free tool from Buffer)

Recommended Skillshare Classes

Context is Key: Social Media Strategy in a Noisy Online World with Gary Vaynerchuk
Email Marketing Essentials: Writing Effective Emails with Kate Kiefer Lee
Storytelling for Leaders: How to Craft Stories That Matter with Keith Yamashita

Monty Stilson

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