The Power of Blogging for Pool Builders
Blogging is an incredibly powerful tool for SEO and customer engagement, especially for pool builders. Regularly updating your blog with relevant content not only drives traffic to your website but also helps in converting leads into loyal customers. By sharing your expertise and insights, you establish yourself as a trusted authority in the pool building industry.
"Even if you don't hit the one a week publish mark, you hit one every two weeks, or, maybe you manage to get one a month up. Just start with that and then it'll become progressively easier."
The Blogging Process
The blogging process can take just 3 days or less for experienced writers and editors but that shouldn’t be your benchmark. A realistic timeframe for planning, writing, editing and posting content for most of us is between 1-2 weeks (or sometimes longer). In this section I want to run you through the process of producing a blog post for your website form strat to finish so you have a template for you and your team to follow.
The blogging process is broken down into 10 parts those parts are;
- Topic selection or ideation
- Research
- Outline
- Writing
- Revision
- Vistuals and Multimedia
- SEO optimization
- Final review
- Publishing and,
- Distribution.
Each one of the above steps is its own skill but, you can cut your learning curve but, as with most things practice and time makes perfect and you can improve dramatically in just a few months of following the above process. Lets review each step in turn.
Topic Selection (1 day)
Choosing the right topic for you website content is crucial and there is a tendency for people to overcomplicate it. When in doubt though remember to focus on topics relevant to your audience and aligned with your business. Consider the level of interest, search volume, and potential impact on your target audience.
The three best ways to get ideas for your content are;
- Write what you and the team know – Ask your sales people, your customers and your team what questions people have or what surprised them about the process of building a pool.
- Look at industry magazines and your competitors websites. What have they written about? What posts are popular on their blogs? Note down some of these ideas and write your own article.
- Use AI to help you come up with new ideas. Here is an example from ChatGPT
Any one of these methods will help you come up with more than enough ideas to be able to start blogging.
Outline (1 day)
Once you have chosen an idea open a new document in Word or Google Docs and create a clear and logical structure for your blog post. Outline key points, subtopics, and supporting details to ensure coherence and flow. Include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
"The best way to do this is go through your topic selection, do your outline so you can think about what I might put in there before you do your research."
While your school education or writing workshops might suggest to do your research first I disagree. Researching your ideas first will cloud your brain with other people’s ideas and force our originality. Do your outline first even if its just barebones and then do your research to support your points or get clarification on things you’re not 100% sure about. That way you will research with the mindset of helping your article stand on its own rather than morphing it into a copy of what someone else has written.
Research (1-3 days)
Now you have your outline you can gather information from reliable sources like industry publications, academic journals, and reputable websites. Take notes, bookmark relevant resources, and compile a bibliography. Or book and conduct interviews with experts on your team for added credibility.
Google loves a well-researched article (you also should state and link those research sources where possible). The amount of research you need is going to vary based on the article and your expertise but be sure to at minimum add a research source to each major section of your content. Even if you know you’re right, signalling to users and Google that you are right by backing up your claims adds trust.
All the research for your article can live in the same document as your outline. When we here are Singularity research a post for our clients we add those sources to the article outline so that it’s always on hand once we get to the next step.
Writing (3-5 days)
Write the first draft based on your outline and research findings. The best to do this is to just write whatever is in your head without any regard for spelling or grammar or making the words “sound good”. Just get it on the page. There is plenty of time for editing and you’ll find that it’s always easier to remove words from your article than it is to add words later on.
When you come to your 2nd draft you can start to focus on clarity, accuracy, and engaging storytelling to keep readers interested. The same goes with incorporating relevant examples, case studies, and data to support your arguments unless you know it off the top of your head it’s best to mark it with a comment or a highlight and then come back to rounding it out later. The rule is don’t break your writing flow once you’re in it.
If you’ve grabbed our content brief template mentioned above the writing process should be easy because you’ve essentially already done a lot of the hard work in organising the information you want to include in your outline.
"The benefit of doing the outline the way that we do it... is that each one of these points now is already in there, so you don't have to think about what headings to put in when you come to writing."
Revision (1-2 days)
Revision should take 1-2 days once you’re finished with your first draft. The best thing you can do when revising your work is do it at least one day after you’ve wrote your draft. Let the words and ideas settle in your mind and come back to it with fresh eyes.This is how you catch poorly worded phrases, bad examples and areas you need to cut down.
You should sit down 24 hours after writing your draft and review and revise the draft for clarity, coherence, and consistency. Edit for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style errors.
Seek feedback from colleagues, peers, or beta readers for additional perspectives and things to include. You want to come out of this process with an article that is 80% ready to go.
Visuals and Multimedia (1-2 days)
Now you’ve edited and made your words look pretty its time to enhance your blog post with images, infographics, videos, or other multimedia elements. Adding any one or a combination of these elements should increase understanding and engagement with your content.
Ensure that visuals are relevant, high-quality, and properly attributed to avoid copyright issues. If you are having trouble with images remember there are easy design tools out there like Canva to create your own images, you could hire a professional designer to help you for a fee or, use AI. Whatever it is make sure you don’t lose momentum here, people have a tendency to get bogged down in creating the perfect images and won’t post for weeks waiting on a blog header. When in doubt a Canva template and 20 minutes of your time is better than waiting days or weeks for a professional solution – you can always replace the images later anyway.
I encourage pool builders, if you don't have images for the things that you're trying to post about... try generating something using AI."
SEO Optimization (1 day)
SEO optimization for your post is going to sound daunting but I am going to give you the facts. Optimize your blog post for search engines by incorporating relevant keywords, meta tags, and descriptive titles and headings. Use internal and external links to improve search visibility and user experience.
Final Review and Formatting (1 day)
There is no special instruction here. Final review is straightforward – make a final pass over your article reading each word and looking at each image to ensure all elements are in place and the post meets your quality standards. Ensure you format the content for readability and consistency, including headings, bullet points, and numbered lists.
Publishing (1 day)
Upload the blog post to your website. Add relevant metadata, such as tags and categories. Share the post on social media channels and other marketing channels to maximize visibility.
If you can get one of these out a week, you're on a really good clip. If you can get one over two weeks, that's better than what most people will do with one a month.
Overall, the time it takes to complete each step may vary depending on factors such as the complexity of the topic, the depth of research required, and your writing proficiency. However, allocating sufficient time for each stage ensures that your blog post is thorough, well-researched, and informative for your clients.
Practical Tips
Maintaining an effective blog requires the right tools and a consistent schedule. Here are some practical tips to help you streamline the content creation process and ensure your blog remains active and engaging.
Using AI Tools for Ideation
AI tools like ChatGPT can significantly streamline the ideation process. They can help generate topic ideas, create outlines, and even draft sections of your blog. Using these tools ensures that your content is both relevant and comprehensive.
"So I could say, you know, hey ChatGPT I have a pool building and installation business. And I want to, I want to write more content for my blog. Can you help me come up with, let's say, 10 ideas for my blog that would be relevant to people looking to buy a pool."
Using Templates and Tools for Better Content Creation
Using templates can significantly simplify the blogging process. Templates provide a structured format, making it easier to organize your thoughts and ensure you cover all necessary points.
For instance, our blog outline template can be a valuable resource for creating well-structured content. You can find it here: Blog Outline Template.
Consistency and Scheduling
Consistency is key to maintaining an active blog. Aim to publish regularly, whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Create a content calendar to plan your topics and schedule your writing sessions. This helps ensure that you consistently produce new content without feeling overwhelmed.
"Even if you don't hit the one a week publish mark, you hit one every two weeks, or, you know, maybe you manage to get one a month up. Just start with that and then it'll become progressively easier."
Outsourcing your blog writing can also be beneficial, but it’s important for your team to review and suggest changes to ensure the content aligns with your brand and expertise.
Distribution and Promotion
Creating great content is just the first step. You also need to promote it effectively to reach your audience. Use your social media channels to share your blog posts. Break down your content into smaller pieces, such as images or short quotes, and share these as individual posts to keep your audience engaged.
Think about how you can create multiple social media posts from a single blog post. For example, a detailed blog post can provide material for 3-5 social media posts, each highlighting a different aspect or key point.
Conclusion
Maintaining an active blog offers numerous benefits, from improved SEO to stronger customer engagement. By following a structured process and leveraging tools like templates and AI for ideation, you can create high-quality content that resonates with your audience. Start blogging today and watch your pool building business grow!