30 days with none new posts? Egads!
Entrepreneurs are continually questioning concerning the how typically they need to put up to their weblog. However when the content material entrepreneurs at Buffer bought uninterested in the identical outdated “How typically ought to we publish?” query, they determined to ask one thing way more controversial:
What would occur if we have been to cease posting altogether?
That query result in a considerably nerve-wracking 30-day publishing experiment. On this episode of the Call to Action podcast, Buffer’s Content material Crafter Kevan Lee offers us all of the gory particulars.
You’ll be taught:
- Simply how a lot visitors Buffer misplaced throughout the experiment.
- The methods Buffer repurposed their weblog content material, and what introduced them the largest wins.
- Some good one-liners to feed household and mates after they ask you what you really do at work all day.
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Learn the transcript
On this episode: Dan Levy, Unbounce’s Content material Strategist, interviews Kevan Lee, Buffer’s Content material Crafter.
Stephanie Saretsky: Hey everybody, it’s Stephanie Saretsky right here from Unbounce and also you’re listening to Name to Motion, the podcast about creating higher advertising and marketing experiences. Final week, we talked to Ginny Soskey at Hubspot about their high quality vs amount experiment, which bought us pondering… what different issues are different entrepreneurs testing? Then, we got here throughout a weblog put up that posed a query we didn’t assume anybody would ever dare reply: what if an organization determined to cease posting all collectively? Buffer determined that they have been the corporate for the job, and launched into a considerably nerve-wracking 30-day weblog publishing experiment. So naturally, we needed to get the story out of them.
Unbounce’s Content material Strategist Dan Levy spoke with Kevan Lee, Content material Crafter at Buffer about how a dialog between Kevan and his fellow Content material Crafter impressed this daring experiment, and the way their findings have modified the way in which that Buffer views their older content material. Plus, you’ll by no means consider how a lot visitors Buffer misplaced to their weblog.
Dan Levy: So not publishing any new weblog put up for a month is a very scary-sounding experiment to anybody who runs a well-liked weblog. However earlier than we go into the main points, are you able to inform us a bit bit concerning the story behind it? The place did that concept come from and what have been you hoping to get out of it?
Kevan Lee: Yeah, I believe there’s sort of a shaggy dog story simply in that… Courtney and I… Courtney is my co-crafter right here at Buffer. We frequently simply spew concepts. Typically the stuff might begin out as a foolish concept the place we simply kinda point out, “I ponder if we couldn’t publish content material for some time and be okay with it?” I believe it perhaps got here from a spot the place we have been excited to do lot of different initiatives and we needed to kinda problem the notion of our weblog – is it one thing we have to continually be doing or is it one thing that we will kinda assume a bit bit deeper on and be actually aware of our strategy there?
And that makes it sound like a way more scientific course of than it was. It was principally simply, “This might be cool to strive…” after which we kinda mirrored on it and let it simmer for some time after which the timing with the summer time and our retreat was across the similar time. The timing simply looks as if it match very well to go for it, so we did.
Dan Levy: Yeah, and it nearly feels like one thing that will get introduced up half-jokingly after which it’s like nah…
Kevan Lee: Precisely.
Dan Levy: However I actually admire your bravery for feeling it, and for taking the prospect.
Kevan Lee: Oh, thanks, yeah.
Dan Levy: And also you reported that after the experiment you solely noticed a 4 % dip in visitors. Was that shocking to you?
Kevan Lee: Yeah, that’s an incredible one. I believe all through the experiment I didn’t take a look at numbers in any respect. And the rationale why I did that was as a result of I felt that if I noticed numbers, I might be motivated to toss the experiment out the window or simply kinda surrender on issues, regardless that it was in all probability a really unfavourable mindset for me to have been in. However I believe it was simply one thing the place I needed to be actually disciplined concerning the experiment. So I didn’t take a look at any stats all through and when it bought to the tip I used to be a bit relieved to see that it was a 4 % drop.
And there’s in all probability some seasonality at play additionally, so it didn’t really feel like a good portion of visitors was actually misplaced. I believe when it comes to the numbers that we get on the weblog, 4 % continues to be an honest chunk of individuals. So it didn’t really feel nice to lose any momentum from that facet however the purpose that we had set was a much bigger quantity – round 10 % perhaps – as an indication that we have been positively not profitable within the experiment. So 4 % felt fairly good on my finish.
Dan Levy: I believe there’s really one thing to that complete “set it after which don’t take a look at the numbers for some time” factor. We see that with A/B testing lots – the place in the event you’re watching the numbers too carefully, then perhaps you’re apt to name a check earlier than it has really reached any form of validity.
Kevan Lee: It was all about trusting the method for us. I believe I had some chats with Courtney all through the place I used to be like, “Oh, I’m simply actually tempted to jot down one thing!” and even write that I missed writing. Like I suppose not writing for 30 days is a really international idea for me too. And so I used to be actually grateful for her recommendation and encouragement all through the method. And I believe course of is perhaps the phrase that I saved coming again to all through – simply to belief the method that we had in place and to know that there’s a goal and a cause for the experiment and we’ll be taught from that – which is success sufficient I believe in the long term.
Dan Levy: And it’s not such as you didn’t publish something in any respect, proper? You didn’t publish any model new content material, however you probably did breathe some new life into some older content material?
Kevan Lee: I kinda cheated a bit bit by placing some stuff in it that perhaps was considerably unique however it was primarily based off of previous content material that we had refreshed or we had livened up a bit bit. So I believe we did an article on Slideshares and it was a group of some Slideshares that I had made throughout the month after which additionally simply another ones that had come to thoughts. So we did about three or 4 posts every week nonetheless. However none of it was model new, unique, large stuff we’ve performed previously. So it felt good to nonetheless publish however was nonetheless a bit attention-grabbing from the character of the posts that we did publish.
Dan Levy: And I believe that’s the form of factor that I do know over right here as effectively – we’re all the time speaking about the way to breathe new life into older content material and republish older content material – however the brand new stuff typically will get precedence so it’s good that you simply gave your self the time to really prioritize that stuff.
In your put up you really take us by way of a great quantity of element about all of the totally different methods that you simply tried. Are you able to perhaps discuss a couple of of them? Like those that labored the very best?
Kevan Lee: Undoubtedly, yeah, I believe e-mail programs was one which was actually nice for us. Electronic mail programs are kinda like a drip marketing campaign in loads of methods. So we might take some current content material and switch it right into a sequence of emails after which invite folks to enroll after which ship them an e-mail a day. So particularly throughout our month, I created a 25-day e-mail course about social media methods. And that was primarily based on perhaps three or 4 outdated weblog posts that talked about social media methods.
So I used to be in a position to repurpose that content material fairly simply in that method which felt actually nice. Prior to now we’ve additionally performed programs primarily based on explicit weblog posts. We had one which was fairly profitable a couple of social media advertising and marketing plan and that ended up working into a fast seven-day e-mail course. In order that was tremendous enjoyable to get to kinda experiment with that to see what we might do. A few others that come to thoughts are Slideshares, and that one was simply thoughts blowing for me with what number of views are achievable in Slideshare. I are inclined to neglect about it as a supply of visitors and engagement and it simply looks as if each time we put up one thing there, it does lots higher than I assumed it could. So spending the time purposely investing in creating extra Sideshare content material was an incredible reminder that there’s numerous worth there. And as soon as we sort of have a template arrange for these Slideshares, it doesn’t take as a lot time as I believe it can both. So it was a very good lesson for me and an incredible takeaway from the month that we will kinda work Slideshare into our weekly, day by day content material a bit greater than we now have already.
There’s good validation behind that and the opposite one is Medium. Medium labored out fairly effectively additionally and our strategy there was fairly fundamental and one thing that I’d love to enhance on shifting ahead. Medium makes it very easy to republish outdated content material. They’ve a function the place you may simply paste in an URL to a weblog put up and Medium will pull all of it in and also you’re kinda good to go from there. So it’s tremendous, tremendous straightforward and I’m very grateful that they made it really easy. And we did that with a couple of of our extremely validated weblog posts, those that had acquired numerous social shares and issues.
And the couple of occasions that we did it – we didn’t do it too typically – however a couple of occasions that we did it we might obtain loads of “recommends” and engagement throughout the put up. It might climb into probably the most extremely really useful put up of the day, which is an efficient sign for us additionally. So yeah, I believe perhaps the e-mail programs, the Slideshares and the Medium updates have been in all probability our large winners when it comes to methods that we tried all through the month.
Dan Levy: Yeah, you talked about that regardless that your Slideshares and I believe your Medium put up bought numerous fuse on these platforms, the referral visitors again to your weblog was really sort of minimal – and we now have the same expertise over right here, the place it’s nearly made the worth of republishing content material on these form of websites exhausting to measure due to it. Do you assume that referral visitors issues?
Kevan Lee: Yeah, that’s a great one. I believe for us it doesn’t fairly matter as a lot as perhaps it might or ought to. I’m all the time curious to kinda be taught extra and to develop in that route. I believe loads of the worth that we take from these locations is about sentiment and helpfulness and so we’re actually excited concerning the likelihood to supply content material in distinctive ways in which may converse to people who find themselves extra aligned with visible media in some methods. So we now have a 3000-word weblog put up, however for some folks that’s not the way in which they be taught finest.
So perhaps they be taught higher in a very properly formatted Medium article that may be a bit shorter or perhaps in a really visible sort of Slideshare. And we now have this concept of our North Star metrics, so to talk: be serving to folks, and the variety of folks we might help is our guideline. So if we now have a Slideshare that will get 100,000 evaluations and Medium put up that will get 15,000 views and perhaps none of these find yourself really changing to Buffer customers, or the measurement of conversion is a bit too tough to actually nail down – however I believe we’re okay with that.
So long as we really feel like individuals are getting worth out of it – and numbers like what we noticed have us assume that individuals have been discovering numerous use in these.
Dan Levy: Yeah. When it comes all the way down to it, whether or not they’re partaking along with your content material by yourself weblog or on Medium it doesn’t actually matter that a lot. In some methods I believe that’s a conceit metric or we simply should be a bit bit extra open with how we measure issues like views and classes.
Kevan Lee: Yeah.
Dan Levy: Even when it occur on our platform or not.
Kevan Lee: Yeah, precisely. I believe there’s that distinction the place whether it is on the weblog, yeah, we will have some management over that web page, and that have. And on Medium or Slideshare we don’t fairly have that management. So loads of it’s about, once more, trusting the method — that being there’s a good factor and serving to folks in that sort of method is an efficient factor — and I believe loads of time too it simply expands the notice of Buffer and consciousness of our content material. If we might help somebody with one thing that we now have written and that sort of their first interplay with us, that feels actually nice to me. And I believe we now have an incredible likelihood of discovering extra people who’re in that sort of bucket, so to talk, of not having a lot interplay with us earlier than, particularly in locations the place we haven’t spent a lot time, like Medium and Slideshare and the opposite locations that we tried. So… yeah, total the sensation that we bought from it was actually nice regardless that perhaps the precise conversions have been a bit robust to nail down.
Dan Levy: I wish to return to the e-mail stuff for a bit, in the event you don’t thoughts.
Kevan Lee: Positive.
Dan Levy: Since you rank that because the primary technique that got here out of the experiment. Are you able to inform me a bit bit about these e-mail drip campaigns? What was your purpose with these? Was it a lead era factor or was it actually about partaking and nurturing the individuals who had already signed up in your record?
Kevan Lee: My important purpose with it was we really feel like we could be shifting into a very neat house when it comes to schooling and coaching, so to talk. After which providing assets to folks to assist them share to social media higher. I consider the course sprung out of this need to assist and educate folks. And to do it in a method that was very actionable. So what which means for us is that the course itself was lots about providing numerous worth to folks in a method that we thought could be sort of cool for them.
Like I believe content material inside your inbox from me with my identify on it after which video content material at that and effectively formatted at that’s only a actually highly effective method of connecting with somebody. And that was the suggestions that we acquired from the course up to now too – that it that very private to lots of people, which was not one thing that I meant to do or supposed to do, however it’s an incredible facet impact. It felt like a sure sort of product/market match that’s fairly distinctive and extremely validated from us.
So it’s been tremendous thrilling. I believe my strategy to it was extra… I suppose perhaps even considerably exploratory on the time, the place it felt like the suitable factor to do and it felt like a great factor to strive. So the way in which that we set it up was we invited folks to only join advert hoc to it. So it’s not tied to any current record of ours.
Dan Levy: It wasn’t like they have been signing up for the weblog after which they bought this e-mail drip marketing campaign… they have been signing up for the course itself?
Kevan Lee: It was simply the course. Yeah and to be fully clear and trustworthy I don’t know the way it may go from there. Like whether or not we are going to kinda loop them into the e-newsletter and our entry record after that or if we’ll message each few occasions after. I believe loads of it was nearly offering worth, seeing if it was one thing folks loved after which sort of constructing from there. So perhaps like a lean method of approaching it. I’m unsure, I believe I in all probability might have thought it by way of a bit bit extra beforehand. However the good factor is it’s a 25-day course. So I had a couple of days to kinda take into consideration the place to go subsequent from right here.
Dan Levy: Proper. And you’ve got validated one thing that individuals really need within the course of.
Kevan Lee: I believe when it comes to lead gen, I’m fairly curious to be taught extra about what feels finest for people in e-mail. By way of getting you from a course, to signing as much as Buffer, to additional clarify Buffer. And I don’t need it to really feel like I’ve been gaming people the entire time by saying sure, I signed up for this course, we’re excited to share some stuff with you after which time beyond regulation it feels lots like a pitch or a bait and change. And I believe I’m making an attempt to be aware of that.
So I might in all probability get numerous ideas from you on perhaps what the very best strategy there could be, however I believe that’s one thing we’re nonetheless a bit nonetheless curious to search out out. And it was not essentially baked into the format from the start.
Dan Levy: And to be trustworthy, I really feel like… I don’t wish to say the soiled secret… however it’s a secret of entrepreneurs that generally we don’t do issues which might be fully strategic or tactical. We do issues as a result of they really feel proper and that we see that our viewers is focused on it, and has a necessity for it. After which we work out the technique later. Like I believe that’s completely superb and legit and a great way of doing issues as effectively.
Kevan Lee: Yeah, it doesn’t sound very marketer-y. I suppose, however it’s a positively been one thing that we do lots.
Dan Levy: Isn’t the very best advertising and marketing the least marketer-y – advertising and marketing?
Kevan Lee: I believe so sure.
Dan Levy: And the advertising and marketing kinda occurs alongside the way in which, I suppose.
Kevan Lee: Yeah. When somebody ask you what you do. What do you say?
Dan Levy: Oh, man, it relies upon who it’s. Truly, very like you, I come from a background in journalism, so – I inform them that I’m an editor, I’m a author, I create content material for entrepreneurs that helps them do their jobs higher. And often they take a look at me with a clean stare, however…
Kevan Lee: I just like the sound of that. That sounds fairly good. I like that. Can I borrow that if that’s okay?
Dan Levy: Sure, certain. What do you often inform folks?
Kevan Lee: Oh, man. It’s in all probability numerous various things. Typically I simply say I do content material and that’s sort of if I believe folks may know what means. I believe generally I say I write stuff that helps folks within the hopes that they may join my useful content material to the service that we offer. And sure, generally I simply point out I’m a author and depart it at that, except there are observe up questions. However generally there are, generally there aren’t.
Dan Levy: I believe it helps lots when your product is aligned with the content material that you’re producing. In our case, like I stated, we’re creating content material assets for entrepreneurs to do their job higher. That’s one thing that we really feel our product does as effectively. And I believe that you simply guys are in the same state of affairs on the subject of social media, proper?
Kevan Lee: Yeah, precisely. And I believe that dovetails properly with the useful academic content material. It’s a social media course which makes loads of sense on condition that we really feel Buffer is useful when it comes to helping people with their social media. So yeah all of it is smart within the large image.
Dan Levy: Ah, that is like content material entrepreneurs’ remedy. That is like tremendous useful.
Kevan Lee: Yeah, inform me about it. Yeah it’s all the time nice to speak with a fellow author, and thanks for validating a few of my ideas and emotions.
Dan Levy: So now that you simply’re again to publishing unique posts, how do you intend to work a few of these methods into your editorial calendar? Has the experiment made you strategy your content material technique in a different way?
Kevan Lee: It has. I believe we’re actually excited to do the issues that we really feel have been validating throughout that month and what that appears like particularly is together with a Slideshare in one among our 4 posts every week that we publish. It might be nice to do all 4. I believe I personally failed on my account this final week to do any Slideshares – so it’s simpler stated than performed, which I believe is kinda how I fell out of the behavior within the first place.
We’d love to do this. We’d like to double down on our Medium efforts. So we’re doing lots there at the moment when it comes to republishing a pair occasions every week and exploring additional methods to interact when it comes to publications or collections. I neglect precisely what it’s being known as now. Type of groupings to a sure class or theme. After which additionally perhaps some short-form content material, which we don’t sometimes do on the weblog however I believe could be a great possibility for Medium.
After which the e-mail programs are nice and great and like I discussed, there’s a 25-day course and when the 25 days are up, I’d like to have one other one able to go for people who wish to kinda continue learning with us. So I’m within the strategy of serious about what that could be after which creating it tremendous quick – and I’d kinda like to get on a tempo the place perhaps we’re doing a course a month after which ultimately have sufficient to kinda roll it into extra of a studying middle sort of hub the place folks can come and select what they wish to be taught and preserve going from there. So yeah, numerous thrilling issues to be making an attempt out.
Dan Levy: , one factor I really like about your put up is that among the many record of methods you tried on this experiment and that labored out very well are a bunch that you simply didn’t find yourself making an attempt or simply didn’t work very effectively. I really like that you simply shared some within the put up. Are you able to perhaps discuss a kind of and what you discovered from them?
Kevan Lee: Yeah, completely! It’s attention-grabbing being within the social media/content material advertising and marketing house as a result of I really feel like I’ve discovered lots about finest practices and issues to strive. After which I’m all the time desperate to do them and determine them out and make them work. And I don’t know if perhaps simply this month there sort of – historical past has taught me that it’s not all the time the case that all the things will work out the way in which that finest practices go and that there are positively particular person suggestions which might be fairly particular to you and your viewers and your business and issues.
So yeah, I used to be actually excited to sort of put these to the check once more and see which of them labored. One thing that we now have been serious about lots is infographics and the way these may finest match with our content material. I believe that may have been sort of a medium performer for us throughout the month and my senses are that they’re tremendous highly effective and might all the time be superb sources of visitors and issues.
And for no matter cause, it looks as if perhaps we’re dropping a little bit of momentum when it comes to infographics and we now have gone with loads of totally different freelance people and companions and collaborators with these previously. And my hunch is perhaps having a constant theme or constant type or constant schedule of infographics might be a bit extra useful there. However it’s one which we’re focusing much less on sooner or later, given the momentum of that in comparison with a number of the different stuff that we tried.
I consider the Quora was one which I used to be fairly excited to sort of experiment with, and my takeaway from Quora is that it’s an incredible place and such a cool community. And I really like the benefit and intuitiveness of utilizing it. The outcomes for us weren’t fairly validated in the way in which that I would spend some extra time on it within the close to future. It’s very a lot a user-driven community the place I might be posting issues from me, myself – versus internet hosting it from Buffer.
Dan Levy: Proper.
Kevan Lee: And I believe we found the identical with LinkedIn posts the place it comes from a person versus it coming from an organization. And I haven’t fairly found out the way to get that working but. In order that’s one which I plan to kinda continue learning on and pondering on, however not one thing we would deal with in the interim.
Dan Levy: I actually preferred the educational hub that you simply arrange. I assumed it was actually cool the way you set that up like a touchdown web page. That positively bought my consideration.
Kevan Lee: Superior. That was an incredible one. I believe that was a really lean one. Additionally, if I bear in mind the story proper, I used to be pondering this might be sort of a cool factor to do and I mocked one thing up actually quick. Now we have some actually cool instruments internally right here that we will try this with. And what I did it was certainly not full. However I believe I forgot to go away it as a draft so it like went out stay after which it bought linked to from another pages and I used to be oh, I suppose I ought to end that. And so I simply shortly completed it up and that’s sort of one other perhaps little soiled secret of content material advertising and marketing – generally we don’t all the time imply to have issues out after they do.
Dan Levy: Typically we make errors and other people don’t discover and it’s like all proper, I suppose we are going to simply run with it.
Kevan Lee: Let’s go repair it, yeah. So I went and kinda tidied it up. Like lengthy story quick, that’s one which I in all probability didn’t give the hassle or consideration that I might have and I believe that in itself was encouraging in that there was some constructive response. I’m excited to see what the response could be if we put a bit extra power and assets in direction of that. So yeah, it’s tremendous enjoyable once I assume it’s come again to love, a weblog the place we wish to make the weblog straightforward for folks to navigate and discover the stuff they wish to learn about. And that’s sort of one doable route the place we’re serious about it at this level.
Dan Levy: Properly, that is the Name to Motion podcast. So we prefer to ask our visitor to go away us with a bit little bit of a CTA of kinds. What recommendation would you give to different content material entrepreneurs or no matter you wish to name us, who wish to shake up our content material methods however could be petrified of sacrificing visitors within the course of?
Kevan Lee: Is it dishonest to decide on two calls to motion? I don’t know, that’s in all probability unhealthy follow to have two.
Dan Levy: Not suggested on a touchdown web page however for a podcast I believe we’ll let it slip.
Kevan Lee: Superior – perhaps like a high-level one after which an in depth one. So, like, from the high-level, I believe what was actually significant to us was this freedom and adaptability to have an experiment and to only exit and do it. So if there’s something that you’re pondering of and have been desirous to strive – I do know this may sound a bit cliché – however there’s no time like the current to strive it and simply to do it. And from my expertise, I believe even in case you are unsure what sort of outcomes you will notice from it, the massive result’s that you’ll be taught one thing and sometimes occasions that’s perhaps the largest results of all, like larger than visitors and conversions and all the opposite stuff that you simply may measure. It’s simply an opportunity to be taught from doing that.
Dan Levy: We be taught extra from failed experiments typically than we do from ones that succeed.
Kevan Lee: Precisely, yeah. Was it Michael Jordan stated, “You miss 100% of the pictures you don’t take?” Or one thing like that?
Dan Levy: Gretzky.
Kevan Lee: No that was Wayne Gretzky or one thing however.
Dan Levy: Yeah, was a kind of guys.
Kevan Lee: A kind of guys. Yeah, and we take into consideration that lots at Buffer when it comes to simply doing issues.
The second could be – and I really feel like it’s a sensible one – if you’ll find a bit of content material that’s actually common in your website and being extremely validated knowledge when it comes to social shares or visitors, go forward and spend quarter-hour and switch it right into a Slideshare. And share it on Slideshare and stick it to the highest of the put up and simply kinda see what occurs. In order that could be a fast win if anybody is curious in making an attempt that out.
Dan Levy: Superior, that’s such nice recommendation and there’s so many different tremendous good techniques embedded in that put up. So I encourage folks to test it out. However I thanks a lot Kevan for taking the time to speak immediately. I actually respect it.
Kevan Lee: Yeah this has been so nice, thanks for the invitation and the prospect to share from our facet.
Stephanie Saretsky: That was Kevan Lee, Content material Crafter at Buffer. To learn extra particulars about Buffer’s publishing experiment, go to the present notes at unbounce.com/podcast. Have you ever tried any wild experiments just lately that you simply assume we must always learn about? In that case, e-mail us at podcast@unbounce.com, we’d love to listen to about what you’re testing.
That’s your Name to Motion, thanks for listening!
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