As a popular blogger, Ann Smarty clearly knows a thing or two about online marketing. Guest blogging has been the key ingredient to her online success as she builds her own blogging community My Blog Guest.
“The only marketing strategy I believe in is content marketing” – Ann Smarty
Today Ann specializes in SEO consulting and guest blogs for some of the most famous online publishers around, including Search Engine Journal and Mashable.
First of all, I want to say thanks for agreeing to this interview. I truly appreciate your time. I am sure you are a very busy person and It truly is an honor to talk with you
Ann Smarty: Thank YOU for inviting me! So sorry for my late reply though. Sometimes things go out of control even though we are trying to do our best!
Being a popular blogger and all, you must have people contacting you left and right, so describe what a regular day is like for you?
Ann Smarty: You mean work-wise? I ask because, despite the popular belief, I do have a life and I spend most of my time with my family (my daughter and my husband). When it comes to work, here’s my typical work day:
- I am not an early bird, so I start working at about 10 a.m. I start by checking my mail which takes most of my time (I do get about 1000 emails a day, so sorting, replying, etc takes plenty of time)
- Then I go to MyBlogGuest to review articles, moderate, track our team’s work and results, welcome new members, etc.
- I then check my clients and see if my team is doing everything on time. I am a control freak like that and I like having everything done in advance;
- If I still have some time, I write something for one of my blogs or for the blogs I guest post for.
- I end my day by looking through my TO-DO list and compiling a new one for the next day
Starting out as a blogger who would you say you looked up to the most and why?
Ann Smarty: When I was starting Tamar Weinberg was on the rise and I always thought she was that woman I would always look up to. She is everywhere!
Rand Fiskin is another one. He has been a great example of a self-built entrepreneur. He is so passionate about what he is doing. It’s awesome watching him grow SEOmoz. He has always been my inspiration.
What are some marketing strategies you would recommend to any bloggers looking to make a name for themselves?
Ann Smarty: The only marketing strategy I believe in is content marketing. Providing content people want to promote is your best bet when it comes to solid web presence. It’s not the fastest way to promote your site but it’s the most effective and reliable one.
Starting out what were some of the worst blogging mistakes you made, and what are the top 3 reasons for your blogging success?
Ann Smarty: One of the worst mistakes I started out with was my attempt to spam the very first social network I joined, Sphinn. It took me a few weeks to understand how social media works and how it is not only about trying to promote my own content đ
3 reasons I still succeeded?
- The ability to learn and admit my mistakes
- The ability to work and work a lot without seeing actual (tangible) fast results
- Huge passion I discovered working for myself!
Ann Smarty: Honestly, I am hoping to see MyBlogGuest operate without Ann Smarty. It already has a great team of people working on it and I want to become less proactive. I love the community but I have plenty of other projects coming up and I want to try building them from scratch as well. See me at Viral Content Buzz and Buy Sell Articles (both are under construction)!
I am also planning to join the best team the girl could only dream about. The one of Internet Marketing Ninjas. I am hoping to learn a lot from Jim!
What advice do you have for anyone looking to build an online community such as MyBlogGuest?
Ann Smarty: Don’t listen to anybody. As long as you truly believe in what you are doing, you are good to go. Plenty of people were skeptical when I was starting. “There’s no monetization model! They won’t figure it!”, they were saying. But now that 3 years have passed, I can say, it worked no matter what!
What was the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Ann Smarty: Good question… Not really sure. I have learned so many awesome things since I started working for myself and building my brand. It’s hard to single out some particular pieces of advice!
Thank you for the interview I really do appreciate the talk but quickly tell us what’s your favorite success quote?
Ann Smarty:Â Something I have on my SEOchat sig:
Everything will be ok in the end, If it’s not ok, it’s not the end
Many thanks for having me!
