Have you hopped on the blog bandwagon in 2013? So many people have. They blog about personal finance, puppies, making money online, restaurant websites, and more.
There are millions of blogs out there - and it’s not like blog creation isn’t going to stop anytime soon. This makes your blog a tiny spec on a large radar of blogs.
So how do you get noticed?
90% of starting a blog is simply keeping up with content - generating a list of ideas, writing, and editing. Many new bloggers think simply posting more content would get them to blog stardom, but the it gets you nowhere. You try a couple posts a week - or even daily posts for a couple of months. Ghosttown.
If you just write more, people won’t come.
Yeah, it’s harsh. But, it’s the truth.
Simply writing makes it increasingly hard to get anyone to look at your blog. To get someone to spend a couple of minutes out of their hectic day to read your new post is more challenging than figuring out what flavor of ice cream to get at Baskin Robbins. (Ok, both are tough)
Why aren’t you getting more readers to your blog?
It’s simple. And it’s one word: PROMOTION.
That’s right! Promotion.
Prospective readers don’t know they have to look for your content because you’re not letting them know it’s there.
Lucky for you, you can get your content noticed in 5 easy steps. You’ve just got to be willing to do them! Here we go...
Promote Your Blog in 5 Easy Steps:
1.) Build a social media following (before you share)
Starting a Twitter account or Facebook page from scratch is not an easy task. You’re in the single digits for followers for quite sometime. This means you’ve got to manually build your following. Start with friends and family, then move on to industry contacts, press, and locals who are active in social media. Make sure your account is active with tweets and posts so people know what you’re all about. Then, start promoting your content over social media.
2.) Start Making Friends - locally and online
Social media activity leads to meeting people locally and exchanging emails with those farther away. Take advantage of these relationships and brainstorm ideas of how you can help each other out. This is the foundation of your network. Cherish it and nurture it.
3.) Promote Their Content First
Before you ask for anything from your new network, do something for them, Read their content, share it on social media, comment, and get involved in the discussion. You could also offer to guest post (bloggers always need more content!). Doing things for them first sets you up for the “if I scratch your back, you scratch mine” mentality. You’ll get a big reward from these mutually-beneficial relationships.
4.) Spread the World About Your Content
Now, it’s your turn. You’ve writen an amazing piece of content. You think this is the ticket to get your blog noticed? Then it’s time to call on your network. Send it to friends, family, and colleagues who you believe will get value out of your post and ask them to share it. You’ll get more traffic and strengthen your relationship. Congrats - Your viral snowball has just begun!
5.) Rinse and Repeat
Many people share the same content (with different headlines and calls to action). This means promotion is never ending. In fact, it’s probably more important than actually writing content. Keep a log of the relationships you’ve built and who you haven’t followed up with in a while. Send them a quick note to see how you can help promote them - then get them to share your content. See how the cycle repeats?
Starting a blog isn’t easy. You’ve got to do a lot just to keep it populated with content. But that’s only half the battle. Promotion is where you should spend the bulk of your time. With these tips, you’ll have more readers - and subscribers - to your blog in no time.
Author Bio:
Michael Adams is the Marketing Manager at Fourtopper. Fourtopper builds results-driven websites for restaurants by bringing more to the table. Follow them on twitter, too.
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