Case studies are so powerful and if you’re not using them you really need to consider creating a case study every once in awhile to prove your points.
They can be a lot of fun to write and they provide tons of value. If you need to learn the correct format Erik has written a post on the proper case study structure.
Assuming you already know how to write one; there are a number of ways to go about a case study, and make it a very powerful marketing tactic for your blog.
First thing you need to keep in mind is case studies are really just a piece of writing that are done to persuade your readers. You will need to have solid evidence on why or why not something works or doesn’t.
All to commonly I will “Google” something looking for more evidence on whether or not something works or doesn’t.
My mindset is I need to see proof on a product or service with solid evidence. I commonly see a number of mistakes that drive me up the wall.
Mistakes of a Case Study
They need to be appealing to people visually.
This could mean putting in a powerpoint slide show, infographic, video, or simple bar chart showing what you have discovered (whatever you decide just make sure it’s creative).
If you don’t have the technical know how on how to create something appealing visually Fiverr or oDesk can be one of the best investments to save you time to creating a more appealing case study.
Nothing is worse than reading a case study that is 3,000 words long but fails to incorporate any pictures or videos.
Opinions are not facts.
Just because you believe something doesn’t mean it’s true. Say you are writing a case study on something in the Internet marketing world that you just doubt but don’t really have any facts to support your argument.
Chances are your case study will just fall flat and people will see it as a weak argument.
Think about if for a minute; would you trust something that just says “I believe this is a scam?”
No you would rather see a well thought out case study that shows why it’s a scam or simply doesn’t live up to the hype.
Proof reading goes a long way in building creditability.
I am not stating that your case study has to be perfect by any means. But, make sure what you are writing is decent and doesn’t have any broken english or sentences in it that make little to no sense.
As anything we read on the net if it’s just such low value content we will just be turned off by the case study and will stop reading it.
Promoting Case Studies?
Actively promoting your case study is a fantastic way to get more viewers to see your case study. This doesn’t mean you have to go around to a lot of blogs and leave a spammy comment with a backlink back to your blog.
In fact, if you take part in this you’re just wasting a lot of valuable time. I think we have progressed a little since the days of spamming others to get backlinks to your blog.
I would go out and find several blogs in which you could guest post on and reference my case study in the bio or possibly throughout the article, as long as the webmaster allows you to do this.
Don’t make the mistake of writing an article on something not even relevant to your case study and then at the very end provide a link to your case study. People will be turned off by this and probably just ignore your link altogether.
Press releases are fantastic for getting exposure to your case studies. For instance, you could write an epic case study and then use PRweb.com or some other press release site that syndicates your content through Google News, Yahoo, and Bing.
A great press release that has a link to your case study will build lots and lots of natural links to your blog!
Turn your entire case study into a video and upload it to YouTube. Not only is YouTube a very powerful backlink, but it gets more traffic than Yahoo and Bing combined.
Not to mention Google owns YouTube right now and they show up on Googles first page all the time because YouTube is a massivly authority website.
Use social media and build relationships with people that would be interested in your case study. This doesn’t mean you send them a message saying, “hey I love your blog check out my case study.”
For a couple weeks participate with them on Facebook, Twitter, Google +1, ect. and then send them a personal message asking for their thoughts on your case study.
Chances are if your case study has some value and is done correctly they will comment on it and share it on their social media properties.
Have you seen mistakes people are making when doing case studies or do you have some more suggestions on how to promote case studies?
I would love to hear your thoughts down below.
About Rasmus Lindgren
wow, nicely produced thanks for sharing
Gajendran Megajolla recently posted..Why choosing blog for business
Hi Gajendran thanks for commenting and good luck with your own blog
Rasmus recently posted..Thoughts of the Frustrated Blogger
This is really good published article. I will apply it to my self to improve my blogging. Such a great yet interesting post. Thank you very much for sharing this useful stuff.
Hi Jessica,
Thank you for your kind words
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Rasmus recently posted..Thoughts of the Frustrated Blogger
Good thing you referred to Erik’s “how to” article, now I have everything I need to create one. I’ll follow Erik’s advice to create a case study and yours to promote it. Thanks!