A roundup blog post is a great way to gather actionable, practical information for your audience from other experts in your space. It’s a powerful secret weapon that keeps your content flowing when you need to lighten your workload. There are times throughout the year when we could all use a little break from our usual flow, and the holiday season is a prime example.
Putting together a roundup post adds variety to your content strategy by offering multidimensional expertise from your peers. It also opens the door for you and your chosen experts to promote one another via social media. What better way to drive extra traffic to your brand while you’re enjoying some well-deserved time off?
If you’re ready to put together your own roundup post, let’s get started.
1. Decide on a topic and an angle
You have tons of options to choose from when it comes to the topic and angle of your roundup post. Do you want to offer your target audience a gold mine of quick tips or favorite tools? A collection of insights, opinions, or how-tos?
Is there a seasonal topic you can cover that falls in line with your brand, your core message, or your area of expertise? What about gathering answers to your audience’s frequently asked questions?
Once you’ve determined what you want your roundup post to be about, it’s time to reach out to other experts for their tips and insights.
2. Make the asks
Identify 20-30 of your peers and mentors who you’d like to ask for tips and insights. (It’s important to slightly overshoot the number of answers you’d like to gather, just in case everyone isn’t able to participate.) Then, put together a brief email that details exactly what you’d like from them (for example, a 3-4 sentence blurb about their favorite mic for podcasting, or their weirdest productivity hack).
Reach out via direct message before you send your email. That way, your experts know to expect something from you in the next few days, and they’ll be on the lookout. Doing this also gives them an out if they aren’t able to participate this time.
Once you’re ready to roll:
- Send your question(s) via email as promised, with a deadline for response
- Send a kind reminder the day before your deadline
- Once you’ve received their responses, be sure to thank them
- Let them know when they can expect to hear from you again
3. Pull it all together
Compile your experts’ responses into a draft and schedule it to be published. Then, create and schedule promotional social media posts with links to your experts’ social platform(s) and/or websites. Draft a handful of promo posts for your experts to share from their platforms, too.
A day or two before your post is scheduled to publish, email your experts again to let them know it’s about to go live. Include any relevant social media copy and images they can share to help you promote the roundup post. You’ll not only have some ready-made expertise to share over the holidays; you’ll also create a buzz among your business peers as they share your post with their audiences. Win-win!
Remember to start early
If you’re putting together a roundup blog post this season, it’s important to give yourself (and your experts) plenty of lead time before this thing goes live. After all, they’re probably prepping for a holiday break, too. The fall is a busy time for everyone, so you want to make sure you ask early, before Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings sneak up on you.
Now, Bombshell, it’s time to get crackin’! If you’re putting together your own roundup posts, be sure to share them with us in the Bombshell Business App.
About the Author
Haley Walden
Haley Walden Copywriting/Editor & Author
Copy Writing and Editing
Haley Walden is a copywriter, editor, and author who helps businesses and authors effectively articulate their established brand stories. She had a knack for emulating voice, a keen eye for detail, and will stop at nothing to give her clients the cleanest, most concise final draft possible.
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