But, unfortunately, one of the hardest things to get as a new blogger is more blog traffic.
How do you get people to come to your blog when you’re just starting out?
One of the best ways to increase your blog traffic and build relationships with other bloggers in your niche is to create a roundup post.
Roundup posts do take a while to put together, but luckily for you, I’m about to break down everything you need to do to create a roundup post that will get you a lot of traffic – even if you’ve just started your blog. Psssttt…
It’s the first thing I get my new clients to do!
What is a roundup post?
In a nutshell, a roundup post is a compilation of expert answers to a single question.
Roundup posts are very valuable to readers because they get many expert opinions in one place. The post brings in traffic because many of the experts will share your post with their audiences. You also build relationships with the experts because you’ve featured them on your blog.
Now I’m going to dive in and show you exactly how to create a roundup post for your blog.
Step 1: Choose a question your audience is dying to read about
The key to writing a successful roundup post is choosing the right question.
Think about your audience and what their pain points are. Then choose a question that directly speaks to their pain points.
Don’t ask a yes or no question, because you want your experts to write detailed responses. And if you can write a question that gets them to tell a story, your responses will be much more interesting.
Roundup post question starters:
What is the biggest mistake you made when you first started…?
What is the best thing you’ve done when it comes to…?
If you could change one thing about how you… what would it be?
What is your number one tip for …?
You’ll notice that all of these question starters ask the experts to tell you ONE thing. Remember, experts are busy, so you want to make it as quick and easy as possible for them to answer your question.
Step 2: Create your list of experts
You are now going to compile a list of 10+ experts to email your question to.
Remember, not all the experts will answer, so put enough names on the list that you’ll still have a good number responses even if some people don’t get back to you. At the same time, keep in mind that the more responses you have, the longer your post will take to put up. So don’t ask 50 people if you don’t want to spend hours and hours putting your post together.
When compiling your list of experts, choose bloggers that have larger audiences than you do. But don’t just approach bloggers with huge audiences, as they will be likely to reject your request for the roundup post. Ask a few really big bloggers, but also ask experts with medium-sized audiences that will be more likely to respond to your request.
You can find your experts by:
Googling “Top [YOUR NICHE] blogs”
Searching for other roundup posts in your niche and seeing who participated
Asking your readers (if you have them) whose blogs they read
Once you create your list, write the names and email addresses down in a spreadsheet so that you can keep track of who you’ve already contacted.
EXPERT TIP: To find your experts’ email address, go to their “Contact” page. If you don’t see it in the top menu, scroll to the footer. Most bloggers’ contact pages are listed there. Or you could just try http://blogname.com/contact.
Step 3: Create a Google Form for them to submit their answers
Go to Google Forms and create a simple form with the following:
The question
Name
Twitter handle
Website
Short bio
Then set it up to feed into a spreadsheet.
Now, all of your answers will be nicely organized so that it will be easier to put your roundup post together.
Step 4: Email your experts
Once your Google form is ready to go, it’s time to email your experts. Make sure that you give them plenty of time to answer your question before the due date.
Here is an example of what you can email them:
Subject line: Quick question
Hi [EXPERT NAME],
I’m [YOUR NAME] from [YOUR BLOG] and I am doing an expert roundup post about [ROUNDUP SUBJECT]. I highly value your opinion, and I would love for you to participate in the roundup post.
If you could fill out this Google Form [LINK] by [DUE DATE], I would really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance,
YOUR NAME
To make this as quick and easy as possible, add the template into your Google “canned responses”, or copy and paste it into each email, and change the expert name, and send it out.
When you get responses back, make sure to email your experts and thank them for their responses, and then tell them when you are going to publish the post.
Step 5: Put your post together
For each expert in your post, include:
A headshot (you can grab it on Facebook or LinkedIn)
Their Twitter handle
Their website address
Their answer to your question
Their 1–2 sentence bio
Optional: A click to tweet pulled out of their answer.
Examples of well put together roundup posts:
110 Top Bloggers And Entrepreneurs Share Their Most Successful Social Media Action
25 Valuable Lessons from Seriously Successful Writers
35+ Bloggers Share Their Top Secret Strategies for Google+ Traffic
Step 6: Email your experts and let them know the post is live
On the day you publish your roundup post, make sure to give yourself time to email all the experts to let them know you’ve published the post.
You can use this template to email them:
Subject line: The roundup post on [SUBJECT] featuring you is live
Hi [EXPERT NAME],
I am emailing you to let you know that I just published the roundup post on [SUBJECT]. Thanks again for your response. I know it will be a big help to my readers.
If you’d like to check out the post, here’s the link. [LINK]
And if you think it would be helpful for your audience, here’s a tweet you can copy and share with them. [Tweet with the link, your handle, and your roundup headline].
Thanks again,
[YOUR NAME]
And when they share your post, be sure to thank them!
if you are too busy and you can’t afford to spend so much working on a roundup post, you could reach out to an expert in roundups. Minuca has done several great (and well-read!) roundups for me.
Now that you have everything you need to create a roundup post on your own blog, go out and make it happen!
You will be amazed at how much traffic you will get and how many relationships you will build.
What’s your idea for a roundup post? Share in the comments below.
