When was the last time you went to a really epic party? What made it so great? Were you surprised by how much fun you had, or was the host notorious for throwing amazing parties?
Either way, there’s a good chance that a lot of planning went into throwing such a successful bash. Great party hosts know better than to adopt the “if you build it, they will come” mentality. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes in order to make sure a party is a big hit, and the same type of planning is essential to running a successful blog.
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, here are cinco things bloggers can learn from great party hosts:
1) They know their guest list like the back of their hand.
You have to know exactly who to invite, and who not to invite. There’s a good chance I wouldn’t invite my antisocial, elderly neighbors to a wild New Year’s Eve bash. Why? Because they wouldn’t enjoy it and they would likely be in bed before the party really even got started. By catering to them, I would get to spend less time connecting with my other guests.
If you’re trying to run a blog that appeals to everyone, you’re going to end up attracting no one at all. You have to be crystal clear about who you’re writing for and make sure that every aspect of your planning is developed with them in mind.
2) They know that their invitations need to be top notch.
You wouldn’t plan a party and then not invite anyone, would you? Then why is it that so many companies take the time to write content, publish it, and then stop there? You have to promote and share your content if you want it to reach your intended audience.
Even more importantly, your content must have compelling titles and headlines, or no one is going to want to read it, no matter how great it might be.
The timing also has to be right. You wouldn’t plan a party for a weekend that you knew most of your guests would be busy or out of town, would you? The same thing goes for selecting when you publish your content and send out messages promoting it. Do some research to figure out the best times to post in order to reach your audience most effectively.
3) They make sure their guests are having such a great time that they’ll never want to leave.
A party is planned with the guest list in mind, and they know that if they do it right, everyone’s going to be having such a great time that they won’t want to leave. Just because the guests are enjoying themselves, doesn’t mean that they wont feel like its time to head out if they get the feeling they’ve seen all that the night has to offer.
By including relevant links within your posts and calls-to-action, you’re giving your audience a reason to stay and explore more of your great content. You should also make sure there’s a form right on the page for them to fill out if they decide they want to subscribe so they never miss another one of your amazing blog posts again.
A good host also knows how to repurpose old party favors. If you’ve been creating content for a while, you’ve got an arsenal of quality content at your disposal and you should use it. Don’t be afraid to link back to old blog posts and promote your old content on social media just as you promote your new content.
4) They know how to be the life of the party by making everyone else feel like the life of the party.
First of all, regardless of what your company does or what your blogging about, make sure you’re making it interesting and putting your own unique twist on things. No one stays at a boring party. No matter how uninteresting and dull the topic may be, there’s always a way to spin it so that your audience will connect with it and be so entertained that they read the whole post and then look for more.
Even worse than a boring party, is a party with a host who can’t seem to talk about anything but themselves. Your blog is not an outlet to advertise every little detail about your company. Your content needs to provide your audience with information they care about and connect with. It should address real-life problems that your target audience might have and offer solutions. By becoming a valuable resource, your audience will do much more than just make a courtesy appearance; they’ll be eagerly anticipating your next invitation.
5) They already have their next party in the works.
A good party host pays attention to what works and what doesn’t, and takes notes in order to make sure their next party is an even bigger hit. A good blogger does the same. What posts get the most clicks? Is there a certain topic that your audience responds to significantly better than others? Which CTA’s aren’t getting clicked? Why? These are all things you need to pay attention to and analyze in order to figure out what adjustments you can make to improve and be more successful next time.
So next time you’re putting together your editorial calendar or sitting down to start writing your next blog post, don’t forget to get into party planning mode. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
