Blogging sounds quite common, doesn’t it?
For every topic you can think of, there is already something written about it.
Can you think of the total number of blogs out there?
Well, we are sure that the number is too huge. But does the number of blogs your write matter or the number of readers you have
Of course, it’s the readers that matter.
So, the most frequent question that comes into a blogger’s mind is – how to promote a blog and get more people to read it.
That is what we are going to focus on today. Blogging is the soul of digital marketing, and it’s crucial that we get more readers.
There would be no sense in blogging if you don’t have an audience, right? Unless you have a different motive for blogging.
Okay, if you are still hung up on this blog, I am sure we have the same motive – to promote blogs better!
There are tons of marketing avenues available under the digital marketing umbrella where you can promote your blogs.
In this article, we are going to discuss all the “How-to’s,” Do’s, and Don’ts of blog promotion. Let’s roll!
1. Share on Blog Promotion Sites
Sharing your blog on promotional sites helps a lot in driving traffic and boosting engagement on your blog.
You can post summaries of your blog or a few of your original content on these mentioned sites.
As these sites already have a healthy flow of traffic, your blog is more likely to receive more attention:
- Medium
- Growth Hackers
- Zest
- Blogger
- WordPress
2. Re-visit Your Older Content
If you’ve written a valuable piece of content that needs to get the limelight, then sharing it once does not solve the purpose.
Neither does creating new content every time. You need to re-visit your older content, update it, and re-share it with a fresh perspective.
If you’re struggling to create well-written copies, use the help of professional essay writers to ensure the high quality of your content.
How does one get more eyes on older content that has neither been republished nor discovered by the google bots yet?
Besides Google, you can leverage social media as well!
Nowadays, your audience is scouring social media channels as much as it is looking for information on a search engine.
These new-age search engines help you build a relationship with your target audience.
You can re-share your old posts on social media using digital marketing automation tools like SocialPilot.
How to do that, you ask? It’s simple.
Once you’ve made changes to your existing blog, you can dive back into the social media analytics of your page, find the blog you want to re-share or repeat, tweak your messaging, and voila! Your post has been re-shared.
3. Re-purpose your Blogs
Of course, you promote it. But did you know that you can promote your blog by turning it into different content formats for different platforms?
BTW, that is repurposing.
Repurposing the same content provides you with the opportunity to reach a larger audience and reinforce your message.
For a head start, you can repurpose your blogs that have been working really well so far. So, here’s the answer to the question, How to get your blog noticed?
You don’t need to create content day in and day out; just repurpose the already created content to reach more people!
Here’s a case study to tickle your brain:
Whiteboard Fridays by Moz
Team Moz creates Whiteboard videos every Friday to better understand their audience. But, it doesn’t just end there. They further distribute those videos individually and also turn them into blog posts.
Repurposing means using the same content ideas but just a different medium to present it.
You can repurpose your content as
- Infographic
- Video
- Podcast
- Slideshare
- Newsletter
And every other way you can think of!
People have various preferences of medium to consume content, and providing them with options increases your chances of being noticed.
4. Engage With Your Audience
Can’t put enough emphasis on this! Even if you have a huge following and connections on social, you won’t be able to convert them into your audience until you engage with them!
Comment, share, like, and engage with your followers in all possible ways.
- Message them a link to your blog. Ask them what they liked and, more importantly, what they didn’t! This will help your readers to know you personally as well as help you understand your readers better!/li>
- Don’t Miss the Small Platforms What’s fascinating for one person might not fascinate others, and that brings the possibility that readers are spread across all the small and big social media platforms.
Even if you are thinking of ditching the platforms like Quora and Reddit, then drop the plan. Quora helps a lot in driving back to your blog page. Focus on these platforms and create visibility for the users.
Suppose you want to promote your blog or your website or a new update and let your kind of audience know about it. Simply find the related questions and answer, mentioning a link to your blog or website.
Also, you need to stick to the guidelines for content these platforms ask. For example, one platform may support lots of images, one will support a lot of content, and some may support both and encourage videos as well.
5. Connect With Influencers
Regardless of the industry, you are related to, you will find certain people to be more active on social media.
These highly active members are termed influencers and often tend to have a high number of followers.
It would be beneficial for you to establish a connection with them and convince them to share your post on their network.
Simply find the influencer of your niche and start engaging them in the most natural way. You don’t need to sound like a greedy marketer who is trying to gain benefits with others’ efforts.
Reply and comment on the posts that interest you, and your next step will be to include them in your posts.
If you are giving them advantages for free, there are 100% chances that they will publish your content in their network.
Also, provide them an opportunity to post on your website and encourage them to promote it.
Also, you could invite them to post a guest blog on your site. This way, they’ll be promoting their blog, but your site indirectly!
6. Guest Post on Other Sites
Guest posting is one of the oldest digital marketing tricks in the book that still helps a great deal in promoting your blogs.
Essentially, guest posting is connecting with other websites relevant to your niche and publishing a blog. The collaboration helps both parties, as one gets quality content on their website, and another enjoys the perks of boosted SEO due to backlinks.
Now, the promotion game starts!
Your added backlinks send the other website’s ardent traffic to your website.
Plus, you get to establish yourself as a credible name in the industry and build a relationship with your peers, which will surely reap sweeter fruits in the long term.
7. Use Content Aggregators
You can say content aggregators are social media platforms for long-form content, such as blogs, articles, and news. Their feed shows content curated from around the web and stored categorically on the platform
You can use these content aggregators to showcase your content and tap into an entirely new audience interested in the topics you talk about.
Flipboard is one of the most popular content curation websites. The best thing about it is that you can post a blog blurb and then add a link to it to drive traffic to your website.
Here’s how:
8. Build a Community or Be Part of One
Every social media platform has a feature through which people of the same interests connect. Communities, Groups, and connections are the name given to these groups.
- Post Your Content in Several Groups You will have to identify ten such groups or communities where you can share your content. Make sure the group is active as there are a lot of dead groups too. Check the number of members in the group, and also by posting one or two blogs to test whether you get a considerable response or not! Share your content in each of these groups and see how the traffic boosts.
- Message Your Connection In These Groups You need to endorse your content so that people come to know about its goods. For this, you can directly approach your connections and ask them to share your post on their network.
In return, you can offer them your cooperation in promoting their posts. There are several groups on Facebook as well as slack where you can promote your blogs.
9. Don’t Be a Spammer
Less is more! Know when to stop.
Some of the users complain about accounts sharing too much content.
Sometimes people keep sharing the old content every hour, and this particular strategy might lead to a few clicks, but in the end, it will only be hazardous, annoying your regular followers. Stick to these rules if you want to avoid this ugly situation:
- Know what your followers like to see and when they are more likely to visit your profile.
- Rather than a crowded schedule, stick to a smart one
- Get into the follower’s shoe and see what you would like to read
- Never force something on your followers that you would dread to take
- Always provide value to your post, no fluff at all.
10. Befriend your fellow Bloggers
You are more likely to succeed if you are a part of a blogger community.
To be specific, cross-promote content to reach a wider audience. Try and connect to people from the same industry as you, with a similar profession, and collaborate.
If things go well, you might share their audience. However, the approach should be utterly professional and value-oriented.
Here is how you should approach:
- Create a List
Listicles are the most brilliant form of content, and if you can create a post saying – top 10 bloggers mentioning and linking each blogger’s name, it is going to work in your favor. - Share their Content
Read the blogs of your fellow bloggers and appreciate the information shared. Twitter is the best place to do so, as you can quickly mention their name and post a comment. Once you do so, the fellow blogger will get a little familiar with your name and might surf your profile and click on the blog linked to your profile. The chances are high that they return the favor by promoting one of your content.
11. Leverage Notifications/ Pop-ups to Build Email List
Email marketing is one of the most powerful ways to increase your blog readers and turn them into loyal followers.
It’s the personalized nature of emails that helps you make a more meaningful connection with your first-time followers. Once you get their attention, it’s easy to send them new blogs and other offers.
But the question begs, how do you get people to subscribe to your email lists at first?
The answer is using pop-ups.
Pop-ups are small windows that appear with a call to action while scrolling through a webpage. By now, you have probably seen one on this page (else, our web designer is in trouble).
There are several apps, such as iZooto, a web push notification tool, and Optin Monster, where you can create pop-ups. These are very useful to generate leads as well as retain your audience. Offering some valuable content, free or discounted subscription is always a good idea to encourage lead generation!
12. Leverage Social Media Platforms for Blog Promotion
Update Your Bio
Start with promoting your blog on your profile. Update your existing social media profile with a link to your blog.
Visitors might love to see your writing skills and can even turn out to be your loyal reader. Plus, this is the best way to start promoting your blog.
People who are already connected to you on social can access your blog easily!
Optimize for Every Platform
Every social media channel handles the images, texts, and videos differently, and you have to utilize them as your strength. For example, Twitter supports posts with images; if you post your content with a captivating image, it can bring you many clicks.
Use Hashtags the Right Way
Find out the trending keywords and club them with the hashtag too. Hashtags increase the visibility and reach of the post.
You can check the trending Hashtags on your Twitter and Instagram accounts and use them for your posts. However, you need to be particular with the use. For example, on a Facebook profile, use no more than 2-3 hashtags, but on Pinterest and Instagram, you can use 5-6 or more hashtags.
Schedule Your Content
Once you have linked your blog to the social media accounts, figure out the time slot in which you should post about your blogs. Every platform has its time of high and low hours, and you need to promote your content accordingly!
If we talk according to the current survey, Facebook sees a lot of users between the slots of 1.00 pm to 4.00 and then during the morning hours from 9.00 to 11.00 am, whereas the traffic for Pinterest surges during the night, after 8 pm. If you hit the traffic hours of these platforms, the results will be better, and you will directly get into a bunch of readers.
Write posts that hook the reader!
Write copies that prompt the reader to click on the link. Getting them curious about the topic always works. Ask questions that your audience can’t resist. Use a striking quote related to your topic.
After you hit the publish button, what do you do with that piece of content?
Such things tend to hook the reader.
Use Compelling Creatives
Text-based data has already taken a back seat, and it’s time for the visual-centric approach.
More than 65% of the people consider themselves to be visual learners and avoid reading long paragraphs. Understanding this simple phenomenon will help your content perform better.
Here is how you should proceed:
- Capture the Attention of Your Audience: Most people skim through the content to find out exactly what they are seeking. If you post a long para on your social media without any images, it will turn off the user. On the other side, if you take advantage of images or videos, you can grab the attention of the reader, and they might stick around exploring the benefits of your posts. You can use tools like Canva & PromoRepublic to create engaging images for your blogs to look attractive.
- Break the Text: Instead of writing the entire content in one go, focus on step-by-step guides. Breaking the text in between makes people stop and read what you are saying, and this would help you gain visitors for your blog posts.
- Add some colors to it: Adding images to your post has a connection with color psychology. When you add images to the post, you give a contrast to the boring text, and users stop by to see the exciting part. The trick here will be making your content more stimulating so that you can spice up boring posts. See the post below and how the image is adding a pop of color.
Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr are the best examples of how much people adore image-based platforms. Millions of users are using these platforms because the image is always better than the text.
Shorten Your Links as Well as Add Snippets
Don’t you hate the long stream of gibberish blue words added as a link in your otherwise perfectly crafted caption?
It’s time you turn your long URLs into shortened links to give your audience a better experience.
Experts recommend using the shortened form of the blog link on your social media profiles. The rate of clicks increases when you put a shortened link, and to do so, you can use link shortening tools like Snip.ly.
Automate your Social media
The key to getting successful on social media lies in consistency. However, being consistent on multiple social media channels can be a herculean task.
This is where you use a social media scheduling tool to make your life easy. What’s that? A Social media scheduling tool creates and schedules your social media posts way ahead of time, saving you a lot of time and effort.
Scribbling blogs is already too hard of a task. Let SocialPilot automate their promotion for you on every social channel.
The combination of its scheduling prowess and RSS feed automation puts your blog promotions on Fastrack. Simply add the URL of the RSS Feed, and SocialPilot will publish all your RSS content to your social media accounts. Decide the number of posts you want to publish daily, and SocialPilot will do it for you.
Using these tools, you can also reuse your old content. Just add a new title and share it on your social media platforms.
Are you Ready?
At first, it can be overwhelming to promote your blog on multiple marketing platforms. It’s best if you start with a place where you are already established.
Technology is evolving at a drastic pace today! It is important to keep up with the new trends to keep your blogs as marketing strategies relevant!
Start slow and lay out the foundation to invite success in the long run.
Sharing your blogs is fun, and the result is everything worth the effort. Also, the task and goal are very simple; you just have to utilize the tools around you, and traffic will be boosted for sure.