6 Amazing Neil Patel Content Blogging Tips

Damn dude! I just got done listening to Pat Flynn’s Smart Passive Income podcast, and man, his guest today blew the roof off.

Side Note: I’m definitely going to be using this post as my blueprint for both this site and my baby shower site. This information is that valuable! 

I urge you to first go listen to it (episode 214), then come back here to dig down deep into all the precious knowledge Pat’s guest revealed.

His guest was none other than Neil Patel. Who is Neil? He’s a powerhouse of useful content marketing information! Neil has also served as a consultant for companies like Amazon and Viacom. You can find him at Quick Sprout or at NeilPatel.com.

Now Pat has had many amazing guests (and I plan to write a post on my top ten Smart Passive Income guests next time) but I was compelled to write this NOW because of all the amazing information Neil presented.

Not only that, writing it out reinforces what I’ve learned, feeds my blog and more importantly; it helps you out too! Here is a breakdown of actionable steps you can take to drive tons of traffic to your site.

1) Find Out What To Feed Your Audience

Your target audience is a hungry beast with a particular appetite. You have to find out what your audience wants right now.

To do this, Neil’s recommends you head on over to BuzzSumo (free to use) and type in your niche relevant keyword to see what headlines and posts are popular now! Neil makes it clear that we shouldn’t use old content topics and headlines that worked 2 or 3 years ago because they won’t work anymore.

In the example above I searched for the term “content marketing” within a 6 month time frame. I found 3 prospects (red dots) that fit into Neil’s criteria:

• Successful content in my space (lots of tweets, shares, likes etc..)
• I can improve the content with more tips & details

Now it’s your job to create a better iteration of the content you found.

Extra Tip: if you’re having trouble writing on the topics you researched then set up a case study. Put the strategies you learned from the post and test it. Publish your findings as your content.

2) Write Click-Sexy Headlines

Having awesome content means nothing if nobody clicks-in. You need to make your headline irresistible. To do this, Neil recommends a word length between 6 to 9, anymore or any less won’t perform as well (based on Neil Patel’s research).

He recommends you use a good balance of trigger words like unique adjectives and negative words.

Don’t forget to use numbers and ‘How-To’ in your headlines because people love the idea of efficiency.

Also, personalizing your message adds to the headline but don’t over do it; because your audience will lose interest.

The formula he recommends for a click-sexy headline is:

number or trigger word / adjective / keyword / promise.

Here are some examples, take note of the color coding:

• 10 Unbelievable Ways To Remove Coffee Stains, Number 4 Will Shock You!
• 5 Astonishing Keto Kitchen Hacks You Can’t Live Without!
• How You Can Become Instantly Happier In 6 Steps!

Remember to word your headline in a way that your keyword is in it. You want your headline to be both click-sexy and searchable on Google.

3) Create Content To Rule Them All

You know now that you have to improve on what’s currently hot to crush it on social media, but do you know how to craft your post? Neil recommends that you outline your content first.

Begin by writing a kick ass headline then proceed to write out your introduction. After that, bullet-out your sub headlines and write up your conclusion.  Finally, go back and flesh out your post with detailed advanced information and knockout images!

Remember to fill your content with facts and data to support your claims. Explain why your audience should listen to you, give them your street cred (What you’ve done/Who you are). Be logical and speak plainly. Use simple logical patterns like:

• A because B
• B so A
• If A then B

Also, refer to your audience as much as you can. Use the word “You” throughout your content.

4) Reach out and reference someone

Read this carefully because this is the secret sauce other content marketers would charge arms and legs for.

Ok, this tip that Neil goes through is my favorite because it’s a double whammy! When you write out your content, make sure you out-link to other posts that support your overall message.

Neil recommends you do this about 10 times within a 1000 word piece of content.

After you publish it, you’ll need to email the other bloggers and let them now that you’ve linked to them. Here is the email template that Neil shared on the podcast:

Hey (Blogger), I just want to let you know I’m a huge fan of (Blogger’s Site). So much so that I even linked out to you in my latest blog post. Feel free to check it out here (LINK TO POST). Cheers, (Your Name). P.S. It would make my decade, not year, but decade, if you shared it on your favorite social site.

According to Neil this is a great way for a new content marketer to gain tons of traffic quickly and to build relationships with others in your space. Not all of the bloggers that you contact will comply but a good number will.

On top of that, you can take the url of the post you found on BuzzSumo (the post that inspired your content). Place that url in the Twitter search bar and look up the people that shared it, then find their emails.

Contact them and let them now about your newly published post too:

Hey (Blogger), I noticed that you shared an article called ‘6 Ways to Improve Your Love Life.‘ I’ve actually created a similar article that is about ‘8 Ways To Better Understand Your Lover’s Needs.‘ Let me know if you’d like to check it out. I think you’ll love it and it’d be beneficial to your followers, as well.

In this situation Neil advises you NOT to give your post url until they reply back giving you permission to send them your content. This is because they’re doing you a favor.

Once they ask for your content send them a reply, keep it short and sweet:

Here it is (URL LINK). Cheers, (Your Name). P.S. If you love it, feel free and share it on your favorite social network.

Another cool tip Neil shared was the ‘Blog Round-Up’. This is for more advanced bloggers but newbies can try it too.

First you gotta pick a topic and headline, just like we did in step 1, then you’re going to want the opinions from influencers and bloggers in your space. So lets say you’re creating a post on the ‘50 best ways to decorate your girl baby shower‘.

Once you got your topic you can create a free survey using Google Forms, it’s super easy to do. Make sure you have sections for the blogger’s info:

• Name
• URL
• Twitter Handle
• Answer Box

Check out this video to see how it’s done:

Once you have the form completed email your survey link to the influencers you’d like answers from. You can send them a quick email like this:

Hey (Blogger), I just want to let you know I’m a huge fan of (Blogger’s Site). So much so that I’d like your opinion on (topic question). I’d like to include your answer in my round up, I’ll make sure to include a link pointing back to your site and social media. You can find the one question survey here (LINK TO SURVEY).Cheers, (Your Name). P.S. Feel free to share it with anyone else you think can contribute.

Once you publish your round up, shoot them a quick email saying:

Hey, the article’s live (LINK TO POST), feel free to share it.

That’s it. I was really impressed by these relationship building traffic methods.

5) To Go Forward You Must Go Back

Towards the end of the podcast episode, Pat asks Neil:

How do we re-engage our older content? What are the best ways to bring people back or bring those old articles back to life?

Neil recommends you do two things. First,  you should make a habit of re-sharing old content on your social media on a daily basis.

Second, he recommends you go to your Google Search Console and find terms you are ranking for but not getting a lot of clicks on.

In the example above you see that I rank for ‘Baby Shower Family Feud’ but I’m not getting as many clicks as I’d like.

Neil recommends that I improve that old post by creating an awesome headline and add relevant tags. So I went to my WordPress and I gave that old post a new click-sexy headline.

He also recommends that I wait 2 or 3 days before Google refreshes my information. I can’t wait to see if I get more clicks!

6) “Feed Me Seymour” At Least Once a Week…

You gotta feed your blog at least once a week. Ideally, 2 to 4 times a week. Neil stated on the podcast episode that people aren’t consistent when publishing new content.

This is a big No-No. He recommends you stick to a schedule and keep at it. He also said ,not all, but most of your content should be epic! You should be cranking out 1000 word blog posts filled with advanced and detailed info for your audience.

Pat Flynn’s Podcast & Neil Patel’s Content Experiments

I recommend that you start listening to The Smart Passive Income podcast, it really is an incredible resource. Pat has a good mix of guests and solo podcasts where he reveals everything that made him successful.

He’s also very transparent and lets you see his monthly income reports.

As for Neil Patel, he seems to be a very data driven guy, as we all should be. I’ve been reading up on him and he’s putting his strategies to the test for all of us to see.

He started a new blog about a year ago, and his mission is to get it to make 100k a month without using his fame, just his skills as a content marketer and a modest budget for Facebook ads.

What do you think guys? Did I leave anything out? If so, write it in the comments section below. Also, let me know if you’ve tried any of these blogging tips. I’d like to hear from you.