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Blogging is one of the most popular digital marketing strategies. In fact, Tech Client states that there is a 434% chance of increasing search engine rankings if a blog is a central component of a website.
You’re excited about posting your first article. Confidence in the quality of what you’ve written is high. You’ve applied the conventional strategy that most digital marketers suggest: use keywords in the title and throughout the piece. The expectation is that this strategy will suffice and website traffic will spike.
Reality check! There are thousands of blogs vying for your audience’s attention. Therefore, using keywords strategically throughout the article barely scratches the surface of what needs to be done so that people will see and read your article.
[h2 bgcolor=”c97a12″]Create a content marketing plan [/h2]A content marketing plan is pivotal to your blog’s success.
Before we discuss over 30 of the best ways to promote your blog, you must understand what a content marketing plan is and how to develop and execute a successful plan.
A content marketing plan maps out the content that you’ll produce for each quarter.
Here’s what you’ll include:
- A theme for each month in that quarter
- An ultimate objective for each month
- The number of pieces you must produce on a weekly basis to achieve this objective
- The types of pieces you must produce (articles, videos, images and so on)
- A possible title and brief description for each piece
It can take up to a week to produce a detailed content marketing plan. However, it will help you create a content calendar that promotes your blog and produces results.
Posting content haphazardly and sitting back waiting for views, likes and shares is counterproductive.
[h2 bgcolor=”c97a12″]Key points of content marketing plan [/h2]- A blog with diverse content has a greater chance of success. Include videos and images in your articles. Don’t rely solely on words.
- Use content of varying word lengths. Some readers prefer longer content because they perceive that it has more value. In fact, Curata states that “longer in-depth posts generate 9 times more leads than short ones.” Furthermore, Search Metrics states that content that has over 1,800 words is ranked higher on Google. Don’t post content that falls below this range. It’s better to go above than below.
- Consistently post content. In our example, the company was posting at least 2 articles and 2 videos per week. Posting less than 4 articles per month will get you nowhere.
- Treat your content marketing plan as a sales funnel. All the content you produce must meet potential customers at each stage of the funnel and help you achieve your objective by the end of the month.
Disclaimer: These strategies and website will only bring success if you post high-quality articles consistently. They aren’t a one-shot solution to help you promote one blog. Always keep your content marketing plan at the forefront of your mind. Your aim should be to use these strategies to effectively execute all elements of your content marketing plan.
Social Media
Social media is the best place to start when discussing how to promote your blog. According to the Pew Research Center, Facebook and YouTube are the leading social media networks, but SnapChat and Instagram are the most popular platforms for Americans between 18 and 24 years of age.
These statistics prove that social media is still one of the top ways to reach people, especially people in the younger demographic. Here’re some social media channels that you can use to promote your blog.
- Facebook Groups
Your personal and business Facebook pages are good places to promote your content. However, they aren’t the only nuggets in Facebook’s marketing treasure chest. There are a variety of Facebook Groups that bring communities of people with similar interests together.
The key to making a Facebook group truly work for you is to engage in meaningful discourse. Don’t use it exclusively to promote your content. Constant self-promotion is eventually ignored. Engage with other people’s posts. Show genuine interest in what other people in the group are saying. Pose questions and open discussions. Doing these things will increase interest in who you are and what you have to say.
- LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn is a professional network. Your profile should be built on this premise. Like Facebook, LinkedIn groups allow you to network with communities of people with similar interests. The best way to leverage the power of these groups is to actively engage in the same way that you would with Facebook Groups.
Here are some things that you should do in LinkedIn Groups:
- Pose questions that demonstrate your expertise (and respond to the comments)
- Post articles from other sources and ask questions based on key points in those articles. This shows that you’re open to new content and aren’t insular.
- Connect with persons you’ve interacted with consistently in the group. Send them a message requesting the connection and keep the connection alive!
- Google + Groups
Google + is essentially Google’s social network. The smart masterminds probably created the network as a way to get user information for their search engine and ad network.
Whatever the reason, Google + can be a miracle worker for your blog because it’s directly linked to Google’s search engine. Content posted in Google + circles can be found in Google searches.
Don’t use Google + to dump your links and overpromote yourself. Like with other networks, there must be meaningful engagement.
Use your circle to promote conversations about things that matter in your industry.
You can subtly include links to your blogs in these conversations, but don’t overdo it.
Pinterest is the social network that people use to get ideas. It’s a great way to promote blog articles covering specific themes and topics. The name you use for your Pinterest board should include the keywords of the blog’s theme so that the board can be found in search engines.
For instance, if you blog about personal finance, one of your boards could be called “Personal Finance for Beginners Blog.”
Each post you write should be pinned to a Pinterest board. The pin should include:
- Overlay text that describes your post
- A stunning image that’s relevant to the post
- A link to the article
Another way to use Pinterest to drive traffic to your blog is to personalize it. You can do this by creating a pin that features the writers who contribute to your blogs.
People love to get to know about a brand so posting this type of information makes it more likely that they’ll subscribe to your blog.
For more on becoming a Pinterest guru, read our post on Pinterest Marketing Tips
Instagram is a very visual social media platform. If you don’t have stunning images, don’t use Instagram!
Here are some ways that you can use Instagram to promote your blog:
- Include the link to your blog in your bio. This can be a general link or a link for specific blog posts that you mention in your feed.
- Use the Layout App to transform screen captures of your blog posts into great images.
- Share behind the scenes footage and images.
- Post creative videos that relate to content you’ve posted.
- Host interactive sessions with your followers using the Instagram Live feature.
- Use Instagram stories to group images of blog posts based on themes.
- Tease your audience by posting videos or photos of what you’re working on.
- Use relevant hashtags. Hashtags are what really help people discover your Instagram posts.
Twitter is one of the most underrated social media platforms. We often fail to realize the power that’s packed in short messages.
Tweets can be used to break your blog post into easily digestible chunks.
You can tweet important quotes from your blog and include the link to the blog in those tweets.
Some other ways to use tweets to promote your blog include:
- Tweeting the blog’s post link at least 3 times on the day the blog is published. Ensure that the tweet includes a relevant image and relevant hashtags.
- Include shareable tweets within your blog articles. This allows readers to share elements of your article on their Twitter pages.
- Create a 30-second video related to the blog’s content and tweet it.
- Mention people or organizations you’ve included in the blog post in the tweet using @___.
- Pin your latest blog to the top of your timeline. Doing this ensures that it’s the first thing people see when they visit your timeline.
- Include a relevant hashtag in your Twitter description. This hashtag helps people find your profile. For instance, if your brand focuses on content marketing, use #contentmarketing in your description. People interested in content marketing will find your profile and see your posts.
- Tumblr
Tumblr is a cross between a social networking site and a blog. You already have a blog on your website so we aren’t suggesting that you must create another blog on Tumblr.
In fact, most people use Tumblr to post snippets of content instead of long-form articles.
Most writers use Tumblr as a space to brainstorm ideas for new content.
Some other ways in which Tumblr can be used that will help you promote your blog include:
- Testing different content ideas to see what potential readers prefer
- Sharing your thoughts on themes you discuss in your blog. This helps attract readers who are intrigued by your perspectives to your blog.
[h2 bgcolor=”c97a12″] Niche blogging platforms [/h2]
We’ve discussed general social networking platforms that you can use to promote your blog.
There are other platforms, however, that bring people within specific sectors together.
If you write content related to any of these niches, joining the relevant platform would be useful for promoting your blog.
- Biz Sugar
Biz Sugar is a platform where users can post content related to small businesses. Users can give each post a “sugar” or vote.
The most popular posts are featured on the home page of the site.
You can post a brief description of the article, along with its link and relevant picture, and hope that you get enough votes.
- Bored Panda
Bored Panda was created specifically for artists, designers and photographers to share their experiences and work. There are several categories in which you can post content.
Post something interesting and include a link to your blog. If it’s interesting enough, people will click, read and find their way to your blog.
- H.A.R.O.
Journalists are constantly searching for the latest scoop, the latest big thing. H.A.R.O is the bridge between journalists and sources. Your business, and ultimately your blog, can be a valuable source of information for a journalist.
Create the right pitch and submit it in response to a source request. If your pitch is strong enough, the journalist will contact you and you’ll probably get the exposure you need.
- DZone
DZone is a website for all the latest news and trends in the technology sector. If you have a blog that focuses on a technology niche, this could work for you.
DZone is great to post your unique perspectives. Include links to your blogs in your posts so that people can be directed to your website.
The more views and likes that your posts get, the more likely it is that it will be featured on the main page.
A main page feature equates to more views and ultimately more people visiting your blog.
Therefore, aim to write content that will attract people’s attention. Use creative headlines and put a unique spin on existing ideas that someone else may not have thought about.
- Inbound
Inbound is an annual event hosted by HubSpot Inc for marketing professionals. It focuses on inbound marketing strategies and connects thousands of marketing professionals around the country.
Although the website doesn’t offer opportunities for people to post content, attending the event is a powerful networking opportunity if your blog is in this niche.
- Growth Hackers
Growth Hackers is a digital marketing company that helps companies grow through energizing their teams.
The beauty of their website is that people who sign up can post content on the Community page. This provides a good opportunity for you to promote content related to marketing and human resource development.
[h2 bgcolor=”c97a12″]Keep up with the trends [/h2]
There are some sites that people always turn to for the latest information about what’s trending on the internet.
You can use these sites to find inspiration for your blog articles or to post snippets of your content that relate to the latest trends. Both strategies help drive traffic to your blog.
- Stumble Upon (now called Mix)
Mix shows its users the best of the internet. Users can input their preferences and Mix will show them trending content based on those preferences. There are collections for each topic and these collections include articles, images, videos and music.
It’s a good place to get inspiration for your next article. Additionally, if your article is ranked highly on search engines, it will more than likely be featured in Mix’s collections. This gets your content in front of the eyes of more people.
- Guest Blogging
Guest blogging not only gives you exposure to promote your blog posts, but it helps improve your search ranking. The key is to guest blog consistently and it can really have a significant impact on your blog growth.
- Viral Content Buzz (now called Viral Content Bee)
Viral Content Bee is the place social media influencers go to find interesting content. They help users boost their social media strategy by allowing them to post quality content that social media influencers want to see.
If a social media influencer likes the content enough, it’s shared on that person’s page. Boom!
There’s your exposure and opportunity to significantly grow your audience.
- Google News
Google News collates all the top news headlines in one place. You can capitalize on these trending topics on your blog. Here’re some suggestions:
- Write an op-ed article surrounding a trending news story that interests you.
- Ensure that the op-ed article fits into your blog’s theme. Going too off track will throw off your subscribers and may cause you to lose some of them.
- Include keywords that relate to the news headlines in your title and throughout the piece.
- Share on social media and other relevant platforms.
- Quora
Quora is the website for asking questions.
It’s a great place to go for inspiration because you’ll see the types of questions people are asking in your niche.
The most popular questions should become a part of the articles you write for your blogs.
People perform internet searches to find answers. So, if your blog has all the answers to the questions they have about a niche, they’ll keep coming back.
That’s what you want…more website traffic.
- Scoop It
Scoop It allows both individuals and businesses to post and find content. Individuals can create topic pages where they post content related to that topic. These topic pages can then be shared and discovered by businesses and other individuals.
Users can also use Scoop It to find a collection of information from various website surrounding a topic. They call this content curation. You can, therefore, curate content from your blog that can be distributed to other Scoop It users.
- Digg It
Digg It features the best content on the internet in a variety of niches. You can use it for article inspiration. Also, your content can probably be featured on the website if that content goes viral.
Flipboard, like Scoop It, is a site for finding curated content. They focus on finding great stories in technology, news, entertainment, design, and health.
With 145 million users, it’s a good idea to become a Flipboard publisher so that your content can be featured.
Reddit combines the beauty of social networking with content curation. Gaining traffic for your blog through this site, however, requires more than posting your own content.
You must be an engaging member of the community.
Here’re some tips for achieving this objective:
- Use an interesting photo or video to support the article.
- Post in the correct category (reddit).
- Comment on other people’s posts…be authentic. You’ll look like a spammer if you don’t do this.
- Medium
Medium allows writers to publish their content and share it with other Medium users. The articles on the platform offer in-depth perspectives on topics that matter.
The beauty of Medium is that it’s a platform that attracts readers and writers as its core audience.
With over 30 million visitors, Medium is a great platform to post your articles.
It’s more likely that you’ll get a lot more readers on your Medium profile than you’ll get on your blog.
You can direct these readers to your blog by embedding hyperlinks into your post or including a link to your blog in your author profile.
- Blog Comments
This is one of the most common strategies used to promote a blog. Doing it exceptionally well means that you should:
- Actually, read the article or watch the video on which you’re commenting. Your comment will only be meaningful if you pay attention to the content of the piece.
- Choose at least one point in the content that stood out to you. Make this the focus of your comment.
- Include a sentence at the end of your comment that directs people to a similar blog article that you’ve written.
Approaching your comments in this way makes it more likely that you’ll get responses.
The mistake many people make is to only post a hyperlink to their blogs in the comments section of the post or video. It’s, therefore, no surprise that few, if any, people click on the link. Don’t make the same mistake.
- Email Signature
Your email signature is one of the best places to set a professional tone for any email you send. It’s also a good place to include links to your social media profiles and website or blog articles. Someone reading your email may just click on that link and love what you write!
- YouTube
Although blogging is your focus, don’t exclude videos as vehicles for promoting your blog.
Create a video to promote the key points in your blog post.
Here’s how you get people directly to the blog post. Use Links in your description below the video. With just the click of a URL, someone viewing your video should be taken to the relevant blog post.
Learn more about how to use YouTube here. YouTube Marketing Tips
- Pingler
Pingler is an app that sends pings to search engines, crawlers, indexers and ping servers about your website so that its ranking can be improved. Paying the almost 3 USD per month is a worthy investment to increase the number of pings you receive.
The platform is simple to use and you’ll see results.
- Slideshare
SlideShare is the PowerPoint of LinkedIn. It offers an inexpensive way for LinkedIn users to learn more about important topics.
Create a stunning SlideShare post with pictures and videos and you’ll catch the eyes of other LinkedIn users who find you through the platforms search engine. Additionally, include a link to your blog at the end of the presentation to direct people to your website.
- Look for Interview Opportunities
You have important things to share. There are podcasters, YouTubers, and even other writers who’re looking for people with interesting stories and perspectives.
Do a Google search and identify a list of about 10 podcasters, Youtubers or other writers who you’d like to collaborate with.
Narrow this list down to your top 5 based on the following criteria:
- Number of followers.
- How closely this person’s content is aligned with the content you produce.
- How often this person interviews others and the type of people interviewed.
Send the person a lively email explaining how an interview can help you both form a mutually beneficial collaboration. Steps for writing an effective email can be found here.
- Write an Article About a Major Event…Chance of Going Viral
This point was previously mentioned but it’s so important that it needs its own space in this article. Whenever something major happens, people go to the internet to find the latest news about the event.
Look at the number of blog posts and videos that were produced about gun violence after the Las Vegas shooting incident.
The trick to making your article about a major event work is to hop on the bandwagon as early as possible. The longer you wait is the more likely that it’ll become stale news and have minimal effect on your website traffic.
Write something meaningful, something that provokes your readers to think differently about the topic.
The more controversial you are, the more likely that people will comment on and share your post.
Not all niches can write about events- unless of course, it fits into the theme of your blog.
- Use sound bites
According to Enchanting Marketing, “sound bites convey a profound message in smooth language.” They’re short, simple sentences that people will want to turn into quotes. For instance, Sheryl Sandberg made the following statement while promoting her book, “Men still run the world. And I’m not sure that’s going that well.” This witty comment is something that resonates with women and something that they’d want to share.
Sound bites capitalize on the beauty of literary devices to create meaningful quips. Some strategies that you can use to improve your sound bite game include:
- Reading advertising slogans
- Searching for famous sayings from authors in your niche
- Look at famous sayings and identify how words, contrast, rhyme, rhythm and repetition are creatively used.
- Compile articles to create a free report that can be sold as an eBook
You’ve probably spent several years or months creating content for your blog. Look back at what you’ve done and determine whether you can collate articles based on a particular theme.
Those articles can probably be compiled to create a short guide based on the topic.
Design it well and you can use it as a lead generating magnet on your blog.
- Run a Traffic Contest
People love competitions. Your readers will be committed to helping you build your brand if they believe that they can get something, besides free content, from the partnership.
Traffic contests provide the perfect solution.
Here’re some tips for creating a successful traffic contest:
- Be clear about the contest’s purpose. Do you want more email subscribers? Do you want blog traffic? Do you want people to download a free resource?
- Determine the best time to run the contest.
- Choose the right type of contest for your audience and potential audience.
- Make your prize attractive. Answer the question, “Why should people participate in this contest?”
- Use Social Locker Technology
Have you ever clicked on an interesting article only to be directed to a site that shows you some of the content and prompts you to click on a View Full Content option? That’s the result of the work of Social Locker technology. This technology is available on WordPress as a plugin and is free to use.
The beauty of this technology is that it only unlocks the content when users like or share it. Website visitors are essentially forced to share on their social media platforms which can work against you if not done strategically.
Here’s an article that explains how to use Social Locker technology effectively.
- Use Keywords Strategically
Finally, we can’t escape the use of keywords as tools to increase your blog’s visibility. Keywords and keyword phrases should be used in your blog’s title and throughout the piece. This makes it more likely that the blog’s URL will be ranked higher for these phrases or keywords.
Keywords and keyword phrases should be used naturally throughout the piece. Overuse will result in your article being marked as spam. So, use them well.
Putting It All Together
You spent a lot of time writing your blog articles. However, all that effort will be futile if you don’t put in even more effort to promote the articles.
The strategies outlined in this article are some of the best to help you promote your blog.
Leave a comment below telling us the strategy you’ve used and how it has worked for you.