John Lennon once said of The Beatles, “We were just a band who made it very, very big. That’s all.”
If you’re familiar with the story of The Beatles, you’ll know that’s not all — far from it. From the band members and a whole lot of hard work to global events and the people that came into (and out of) their lives, one thing’s for sure — a lot of factors contributed to their success.
So, what does their story teach us about making a blog successful? I’ve narrowed it down to 5 simple and successful blogging tips (which, believe me, was really hard because I’m a die-hard Beatles fan and historian!).
1. Getting better all the time.
When Brian Epstein came along, The Beatles looked like a bunch of Teddy Boys with their leather jackets and obscene behavior on stage (e.g. John with a toilet seat around his neck). So, what did he do? He turned The Beatles into the picture of polished professionalism with their matching suits and toned down behavior on stage — right down to the uniform bow at the end of each song. What made this work so well is that their personalities were still prominent despite the posh suits, so they came off as clean cut, fun, and irresistible lads. Look at what happened once he did that: they landed a recording contract and catapulted into the mass hysteria known as Beatlemania.
Take a page from Brian’s playbook and make sure your blog is also clean, polished, and professional, yet infused with your unique personality. Everything from the template you choose to color schemes and graphics can make a big difference. If your site still looks like it belongs in the ‘90s, no one is going to stick around — no matter how great your content is.
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2. It took me years to write it; will you take a look?
If it’s taking you weeks or months to publish a new post, people have no reason to come back to your blog. The Beatles were constantly writing new songs – more than they could fit on one album – so when they went into the studio, they had a lot of material to work with. The song “When I’m 64” is a great example. Paul wrote this when he was 15, the guys would perform it when their equipment overheated and/or broke down in the early days, then it was officially recorded about nine years later for Sgt. Pepper. It’s a similar story for “One After 909” and many other songs.
It should be the same for your blog. If you don’t already have a content calendar, now is the perfect time to create one. Jot down all the topics you know you want to write about and when you want to write them. However, don’t let the calendar restrict you. If something comes up that you want to write about because it’s timely – or simply because you feel inspired – you shouldn’t wait until there’s an open spot on your content calendar.
You should also build up a nice backlog of posts so you always have new material to post. Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans, so having a few posts at the ready can be incredibly helpful.
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3. Get by with a little help from your friends.
Not sure what to write about? Inspiration can come from almost anywhere. That’s certainly true for the Fab Four. Here are just a few examples:
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News, culture, and society
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“A Day in the Life”: According to John, “I was writing A Day In The Life with the Daily Mail propped in front of me on the piano. I had it open at their News in Brief, or Far and Near, whatever they call it.”
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“Blackbird”: As Paul once explained, “I had in mind a black woman, rather than a bird. Those were the days of the civil rights movement, which all of us cared passionately about, so this was really a song from me to a black woman, experiencing these problems in the States: ‘Let me encourage you to keep trying, to keep your faith, there is hope.'”
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“Come Together”: John wrote this piece for Timothy Leary’s political campaign to run as governor of California.
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Their own lives
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“Hey Jude”: One of the band’s most beloved songs, Hey Jude was written by Paul for John’s first son, Julian. At the time, John and his first wife (Julian’s mother), Cynthia, were going through a divorce. This was Paul’s way of telling Julian everything would be ok. Originally he sang, “hey Jules,” but decided to change it to “Jude.”
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“Norwegian Wood”: John had no qualms explaining this tune was his way of confessing to Cynthia he’d had an affair.
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“Dear Prudence”: Written during the band’s stay with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India, this song is about Mia Farrow’s sister, Prudence, who was also studying under the Maharishi. She took meditation very seriously and would seldom leave her room, hence the lyrics, “won’t you come out and play?”
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“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”: Despite the more controversial explanation believed by some, this song was actually inspired by a drawing Julian did about his friend named Lucy.
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Random items
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“Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!”: This song and its lyrics are the result of what was written on an old circus poster John bought – oddly enough – in an antique shop near the location they were shooting the promotional (music) video for “Strawberry Fields.”
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“Eleanor Rigby”: The mysterious name written on an old tombstone in Liverpool turned into one of the band’s most recognized songs.
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Dreams
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“Yesterday”: Paul awoke one morning with a tune stuck in his head and immediately headed to the piano and made up lyrics about scrambled eggs as he played. He of course changed those lyrics, and It became one of the most popular songs of all time.
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Other artists/bands
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Buddy Holly: Not only did Buddy Holly & the Crickets inspire a lot of The Beatles’ early songs, but also their band name as well.
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Bob Dylan: Meeting Bob Dylan for the first time in late 1964 marked a notable shift in the Fab Four’s lyrics–they became more poetic and complex. John has noted that songs like “In My Life” were heavily influenced by Dylan’s lyrical style.
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The Beach Boys: If it weren’t for Pet Sounds, we wouldn’t have Sgt. Pepper. We also wouldn’t have had Pet Sounds without Revolver. You get the picture.
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The easiest place to start is by asking friends and family what they want to read about, what questions they have, and/or what problems they have that a blog post could help them find solutions to. A lot of this information can also be uncovered by checking out what people are talking about in relevant forums, or by using tools like Google’s AdWords Planner, Ubersuggest, Topsy, and Buzzsumo.
What are blogs similar to yours writing about? Are there any areas they’re missing where you can fill the gap?
4. Think for yourself.
Did you realize The Beatles essentially created what we now know as music videos? Their schedules got so crazy they couldn’t make all the television appearances requested of them. So, they came up with the idea of shooting a video of themselves performing their newest single, and would then send it to the television shows for broadcast and promotion.
Concept albums, playing stadiums, live global satellite broadcasts…it’s a long list of ways The Beatles were innovators.
The idea here is simple: don’t do what everyone else is doing. For example, don’t create an infographic just because they’re popular unless you can contribute something unique and valuable. If you truly want to stand out from the many bloggers out there, you need to be original and have fun with it!
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The Beatles often invited friends into the studio with them for recording sessions in their later years, such as Eric Clapton and Billy Preston. Consider taking the same approach with your blog to keep things interesting and add a fresh perspective–invite friends and colleagues to write a guest post on your blog or ask to interview them if they can offer something relevant to your audience.
One last note here: don’t be afraid to play around with different media formats. Integrating original photos, videos, or even podcasts can go a long way toward engaging your readers
5. Got to get you into my life.
A successful blog also means growing your followers. Outside of optimizing your content to be found in search engines, you’ll also need to do a combination of outreach and promotion via social channels. Also consider partnering with other blogs and brands for contests to attract new visitors. You won’t get a huge following overnight, but these tried and true tactics will help you get there one step at a time.
Again, think about John, Paul, George, and Ringo. They had to start from the bottom and work their way up to the millions of screaming fans worldwide. In the really early days, they played at events and ballrooms around Liverpool. Then they got to go to Hamburg a few times and started to build a following there (and improved their skills through hours and hours of playing every single night).
When they came back to Liverpool and started playing the Cavern Club, their fan base kept growing–so much so that a young lad named Raymond Jones wandered into NEMS one day to inquire about the album they’d recorded with Tony Sheridan. Who worked at that store? Brian Epstein. That’s what prompted him to go down to the Cavern Club one day to see what all the fuss was about, and, well, you know the rest.
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