5 ways we optimize old blog posts into super sticky landing pages
Web overlords often refer to “landing page optimization” when they talk about making users into “conversions.” The user is converted when they sign up for the email newsletter, buys the product, drinks the Kool-Aid, etc.
While blogging has its crossovers, what the Offbeat Empire wants our landing pages to do is get readers deeeeeper into the sites. We want to show them what we’ve got, what differentiates us from similar blogs, and secondarily, to get them engaged with our various communication and social media touch points. Web publishing loves something sticky.
The strategy we’re working on these days is to find older blog posts that are organically getting major traffic and, assuming that many of these readers are new to us, introduce them to the site and get them clicking on links. One example of this kind of “landing page” blog post is “Wedding invitation wording that won’t make you barf,” something Ariel originally wrote back in 2007 that still gets 47,000 unique hits a month.
Here’s how we try to get readers to stick around…
The Empire’s policies: syndicating and attributing content
This post features what used to be an internal document I created for interns, outlining the general guidelines for posting non-original content on the Offbeat Empire. At this point, I don’t see any reason why this shouldn’t be public — especially since there’s a lot of differing opinions about etiquette around these issues.
There’s a lot of grey area with this stuff (I’ve broken my own rules many times — FOR SHAME!), and obviously we can’t anticipate every scenario … but hopefully this post provides clarity on our general policies for sharing, linking, citing, etc.
Editorial diversity hacks: is tokenism ever ok?
Here’s a sad reality: 90% of the content submissions we receive to the Offbeat Empire’s websites feature young, white, able-bodied heterosexual Americans. When we go out and actively recruit more diverse content for the sites, is that tokenism? And is that kind of tokenism ok if it’s increasing the media visibility of minority communities?
This is why we can’t have nice things: the siren song of negative parenting talk
The most common question I receive about Offbeat Families is WHERE IS THE FORUM!? We get the question every once and a while on Offbeat Home, but with Offbeat Families it’s a weekly issue — a parenting website without a forum!? HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?!