How to Create a WordPress Blog in a Few Hours (or Perfect the Blog You Have): AMA with Merrill Cook

27 Shares

Blogs are popular because they’re easy to use. And if you’re the do-it-yourself type, you can even install one yourself.

If you’re not, you can either learn how or hire someone to do it for you. It is well worth it as long as you commit to publishing at least some quality content.

So how do you go about installing WordPress? For that, we have our guest Merrill Cook who has explained how and answered all our members questions.

Find out everything you want to know about installing and optimizing a WordPress blog for your business in the BizSugar Mastermind Community.

If you are not already a member, first join the BizSugar Mastermind Community by clicking the button below.

Once you’re a member, click the button below to go directly to this event in our Mastermind Community Forum.

Come ask your questions and read all the excellent questions and answers given during this AMA to find out how to have an excellent business blog.

We will also talk about whether you can create it yourself or you may want to hire a developer.

Why Does Your Business Need a Blog?

Every small business needs a blog. There are ample 2019 statistics to prove the benefit of blogs to businesses. Here are some of the most compelling from that excellent list:

59% of B2B marketers consider blogs the most valuable channel (Source: DemandMetric)
Marketers who prioritize blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see positive ROI (Source: HubSpot)
Blogging is responsible for 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links (Source: DemandMetric)
On average, companies with blogs produce 67% more leads per month than those without (Source: DemandMetric)
Longer, in-depth blog posts generate 9x more leads than short ones (Source: Curata)
82% of marketers who blog consistently see positive ROI from inbound efforts (Source: State of Inbound)
60% of consumers feel engaged/positive with a brand or company after reading custom content on their blog (Source: ContentPlus)

When businesses contact me about why writers aren’t linking to them, I tell them they absolutely must have excellent content to attract those links.

Blogs Are How Business Sites Attract Links

You don’t get links because you want them; business sites attract links with long-form, exceptional content that contains current statistics.

Somewhere on your site, you must have that type of content or there is no reason for a journalist or writer to link to your business.

Having a blog is the fastest, easiest way to publish the kind of content that can answer your customers’ questions, increase sales, and attract links.

Who is Merrill Cook?

Merrill entered online media as a data journalist, and has helped to create hundreds of infographics. He’s authored a best-selling course on D3.JS.

Currently he manages a full-service SEO firm at Nosferdatum. Their main services are marketing automation, link building, and content management.

Merrill has so many skills you could ask him about that you need to look at his LinkedIn profile to see them all.

They include content creator, SEO, developer, affiliate funnels, branding and much more. Verticals he has focused on include education, legal, and automotive.

Improving the Blog You Already Have

Many of our members will already have a blog. But is it the best it can be? Here is your opportunity to get answers about plugins, development, and site design. Merrill also answered questions about creating content.