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What I’ve Learned After 5 months Of Blogging In English

On January 15, 2015 I launched my English blog – www.robertkatai.com. Back then I knew what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go but I did not know how the road was going to be.

It’s not an easy task creating content for 4 blogs: two in Romanian (Markataing and Instagramology) and two in English (robertkatai.com and Bannersnack’s Blog) though playing on two markets is challenging and especially interesting.

I’ve thought about writing this post many times and many times I’ve started putting it into words but I just found the courage to do it today. Perhaps because it would be silly of me to write it (different market, culture, language etc) or perhaps it wouldn’t have been relevant for the readers of this blog.

In the end, I finally made the decision to share with you what I’ve learned in 5 months of blogging in English.

1. Long posts vs Short posts

There was some talk at a time in the Romanian market about how a blog must contain posts that are neither very long nor very short. A post should preferably be somewhere around 200-400 words (3, 4 paragraphs) long and should contain an image. Why? Because long articles are boring and no one will take the time to read them.

I’ve personally experimented with both post lengths (short to medium and medium to long) and I’ve noticed one thing.

Long posts do not attract extraordinary traffic but they do create a more powerful engagement.

And this is something that also applies to the market abroad. The longer the post is (quality being a must) the more interesting and well received that post is. Articles such as listicles “10 things I’ve learned …” or “5 ideas to study in ….” or “10 challenges I am launching …” usually have the highest number of requests by readers.

Bloggers who write long articles (I repeat: quality articles) of several thousand characters (for example ProBlogger or QuickSprout) have managed to solidify their position of authority in the field.

Take Away: If you mean to write long posts then go ahead. Each blogger creates his own style and gathers his own community. But pay GREAT ATTENTION to the layout (text paragraphing, beginning/ content / ending, conclusion, call-to-action, etc.) and the quality of the content.

2. Content adapted to the platform

I have posts published on robertkatai.com that are taken from Markataing or from Instagramology and translated into English. Perhaps some would say this is wrong and that you need to create different content for each specific platform / community. From my point of view it’s not that big of a deal. Why? Because it is a content that is adapted to a platform / community.

Let me give you an example: if the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek, should we all be obliged to learn these languages in order to be able to read it? I think not. It was translated and adapted for each community so they can understand it better and easier.

Take Away: Communities / platforms are different from case to case and adapting the content for each of it in particular can be a good practice. Attention! Adapting does not mean copying 1: 1

3. Changing the social media strategy

When I launched my English blog I gradually began changing my social media strategy.

To begin with, I wrote the same description everywhere:

Short Bio: Visual Marketer & Content Strategist Bannersnack
Long Bio: Visual Marketer and Content Strategist Bannersnack. He writes regularly on social media about digital marketing, social media and content marketing. Passionate about visual marketing, Instagram and the future of digital marketing communication.

Next I began dividing my social networks in two types: those where I communicate in English and those where I communicate in Romanian. So I started using English more on Twitter and when I’d tweet something leading to content in Romanian I would announce it with “[RO]”. On LinkedIn, Slideshare and Google+ I am trying to communicate more and more in English. The only pages where I still constantly communicate in Romanian are my personal Facebook profile and the Facebook page of Markataing blog.

I am experimenting and investing more time in other networks, such as Medium, Slideshare, Snapchat and Pinterest. Even though these networks are not yet well recognized in Romania they have a tremendous impact abroad. At the moment I am more attracted to Slideshare than to Medium (perhaps because to me the first one is more appealing from a visual point of view). And on Pinterest I’ve created a board where I post a separate image for each blog post using hashtags.

Perhaps you have noticed that on my Twitter the same links to certain blog posts appear several times. I am doing this, especially at night, to reach the desired target – the one in USA.

Take Away: If you have to, change your social media strategy depending on the target of the project.

4. Connecting to different communities

Do you know why Twitter does not have the same success it has in USA? Because Romania does not have constant projects that attract more and more users.

For example I look at HootSuite, Buffer, Content Marketing Institute and ConvinceandConvert and I see that almost every week they have a Twitter chat, they address a specific topic and they launch questions and anyone can enter the discussion (haters are taken out of the equation, that’s a given). Thematic discussions with various guests and review after chat. I mean these people are not only consuming content on Twitter but they also create it. Perhaps that’s what is missing at the moment in Romania when it comes to Twitter.

Communities are a common thing for the outside market.

And when I say communities I do not mean Facebook groups, but forums like Inbound.org, GrowthHackers.com or niche groups on Linkedin. This is why I started entering communities, getting into discussions and exchanging opinions. It is not uncommon to catch a good deal on a product, read a very good article that has not gone viral, build professional relationships and even promote a blog or a business site.

The interesting part is that businesses like Kissmetrics, Moz, NewsCreed, HubSpot succeed in gathering thousands of people every day on their blog through content created by the community (contributors).

Take Away: Before you start asking from a community you have to be the first to give.

5. A small fish in a big pond

When you enter the world of social media you have to choose between two things: being a small fish in a big pond or being big fish in a small pond. Ohhh yes, I almost forgot, there’s also the possibility of being a big fish in a big pond. But guess what? Other big fish are already fighting for survival and I do not think this should be your main goal at the beginning of your journey.

That’s also the case of my English blog, I realize I am a small fish in a big pond and I am not even bothered by the fact that I only have about 30-50-100 unique readers per day. At the moment, the idea of this blog is to succeed in connecting with other people in the industry and to exchange experiences with others in the field. Something I manage to do every day.

I know there’s a lot of work ahead but that does not stop me from continuing on this path.

Take Away: Decide from the start what you aim to be in the near future: a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond?

6. A blogger does not simply write

When we’re talking about a blogger we usually think of a guy who must create content. That’s his primary and secondary role. Yes, I agree with that. But this content has changed a lot. From the written content to the visual content.

A blogger should do more than just write, he can also create video content, design infographics and Slideshare presentations.

This is something I’ve seen in many bloggers abroad. They don’t simply create written content for their blog but are also attentive to other platforms where they can create their own content and adapt it to the needs of the communities.

Take Away: I think today’s blogger should not just simply write – he could CREATE content (video, photo, infographic, .gif, presentations etc) for his blog and his community. It up to him if he aims at doing more or is satisfied with what he already has.