After writing 30 roundups (and counting) during my time here at Referral Rock, here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned. I hope these tips will help you compile your own roundups and connect with other marketers.<\/p>\n
Best practices for creating roundups<\/h2>\n
The roundups I create usually involve two sections: a statistical section with results of topical survey questions, and an insight section made up of organized responses to a long-form question.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019d like to see some examples of roundups I\u2019ve created that follow this pattern, I\u2019ve linked a few recent ones here.<\/p>\n
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- Developing A Consistent Brand Presence On Social Media<\/a><\/li>\n
- Must-Have Content Strategies For Building Links <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Below, I\u2019ve shared my best practices for creating this type of roundup:<\/p>\n
Choose topics you know will be of interest<\/strong>\u00a0to your target audience, and of interest to the marketers you would like contributions from. What questions do your readers have that other marketers could help answer? What topics would marketers want to hear others\u2019 opinions and perspectives on?<\/p>\n
For example, if you don\u2019t think many marketers (who will see your open survey) are currently running a successful loyalty program, don\u2019t pick loyalty programs as a topic, as you won\u2019t get enough responses. I learned that the hard way.<\/p>\n
But roundup surveys on branding, content marketing strategies, developing a consistent social media presence, and link building quickly racked up over a hundred submissions apiece because marketers are especially interested in these topics.<\/p>\n
Most topics that are inherently opinion-based also work well:<\/p>\n
- \n
- \u201cX vs. Y\u201d topics (e.g., Gated Vs. Ungated Content, In-House Vs. Freelance Writers<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- Advantages and disadvantages topics (e.g., Affiliate Marketing: Good Or Bad?<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- Topics that invite people to share how they feel about a current marketing or sales trend (e.g., Live Chat: Is It Here To Stay?<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Include answers to only one to two focused long-form questions in a single roundup.<\/strong>\u00a0This will keep your roundup centered on a specific enough topic.<\/p>\n
If you have two or three questions you want to ask on a given topic, you can ask both or all of them in the same survey. However, be sure they are distinct enough so you can split the answers off into two roundups, or simple enough that a single roundup won\u2019t become too long.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t ask more than three long-form questions in a survey, as this will make the survey feel too overwhelming.<\/p>\n
Know where and how to promote your surveys.<\/strong>\u00a0Promoting any content you create is key, but you first need to advertise your open survey, so you can gather the responses you need to construct a strong roundup.<\/p>\n
We promote our surveys on social media, via email, and via a dedicated contribution opportunity<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>page on our website.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t underestimate the statistical questions.<\/strong>\u00a0Although the bulk of your roundup will be long-form insights, asking statistical questions about your topic is key to a roundup\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
The answers to these questions will help you build backlinks because many other marketers are looking for current, validated statistics on different areas of marketing. You never know \u2013 your roundup might end up being used as a resource in other high-traffic blog articles.<\/p>\n
How to craft, collect, and share responses for statistical questions?<\/p>\n
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- Use a survey creator so all responses are collected in one place, and categorized by question. I use Cognito Forms so I can export and sort responses in a Google Sheet.<\/li>\n
- Give marketers a pre-set range of options for statistical questions. This way, their responses are easier to sort through. When applicable, you can still include a box for contributors to write in a response you haven\u2019t listed as an option.<\/li>\n
- Make sure the questions feel unbiased (they don\u2019t lead to a specific response).<\/li>\n
- Include statistical and long-form questions on the same survey form, and require all contributors to answer both.<\/li>\n
- Create graphics to share the results of your statistical polls. They\u2019ll enliven your article, make the results easier to digest, and provide engaging material from your roundup to share on social media. I recommend Beautiful.ai to create graphics because it lets people build charts easily, without needing graphic design skills.<\/li>\n
- Highlight any surprising or particularly striking statistical findings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Here are some examples of statistical questions we\u2019ve used in the past:<\/p>\n
For our roundup on link-building strategies: \u201cOn a scale of 1-5, how important is link building to your overall marketing strategy? (1= of lowest importance, and 5 = of highest importance)\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
![\"importance](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pasted-image-0-30-1024x552.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nFor our roundup on social media brand presence:\u00a0\u201cHow often does your brand post on its most-used social media platform?<\/em><\/p>\n
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- More than twice a day <\/em><\/li>\n
- 1-2 times a day <\/em><\/li>\n
- 2-3 times a week<\/em><\/li>\n
- Once a week <\/em><\/li>\n
- 2-3 times a month<\/em><\/li>\n
- Once a month<\/em><\/li>\n
- Less than once a month\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"how](\"https:\/\/referralrock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pasted-image-0-11-1024x523.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nDon\u2019t feel pressured to include every part of every long-form response<\/strong>, especially with roundups where over 100 people contribute. Rather, be selective.<\/p>\n
You might only include responses from marketers whose websites have a high DA, or whose niche and\/or audience appear to match with yours.<\/p>\n
Regardless of your exact criteria, all the long-form insights you include need to feel unique, not repetitive. The insights must also have substance \u2013 don\u2019t include any that are one short sentence or less.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s okay to trim portions of longer insights when a marketer echoes a point that another marketer articulated better.<\/p>\n
Also, make sure every insight makes sense. If an insight is too vague, is hard to interpret, or includes lots of mechanical errors you\u2019d need to edit, leave it out.<\/p>\n
- 1-2 times a day <\/em><\/li>\n
- More than twice a day <\/em><\/li>\n
- Advantages and disadvantages topics (e.g., Affiliate Marketing: Good Or Bad?<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- Must-Have Content Strategies For Building Links <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n