Whether you’re planning to start a blog or have been producing content for some time now, promotion is the key to getting more eyes on your beautifully crafted words.
Why does that matter? Well, your blog might be your main endeavor, or just a part of it. Either way, blogging is a tool for establishing your expertise in a specific area, driving more traffic to your website via SEO, and engaging with your audience, among many other positive reasons.
If you’re new to the world of blogging, take a step back and read through this complete guide on how to start a blog, and then you may begin writing your blog posts. When doing so, note that images and text aren’t enough these days if you want to stand out among the countless blogs that already exist.
Getting your blog noticed involves being active on social media and other advertising outlets, modifying your content to meet your audience’s needs, and learning the best strategies for SEO. Below, we’ll walk you through 25 unique and highly recommended tips on how to promote your blog:
Turn to the most popular social channels
Share with like-minded communities
Use the power of other blogging sources
Combine your efforts with vlogging
Engage with influencers
Build a member’s area
Advertise on Google
Create a weekly newsletter
Add a link in your email signature
Guest write for other blogs
Speak at events
Add social sharing buttons
Include powerful CTAs
Create cool visuals like infographics and charts
Use mixed media
Write an ebook
Translate your posts to other languages
Get serious about your keyword research
Optimize your meta tags
Write alt text
Learn from competitors
Gain backlinks
Sprinkle in internal links
Add schema markup to your blog
Enable AMP features
Get active on social
01. Turn to the most popular social channels
Your brand without a social media presence in the age of 2020 is similar to the life of Patrick from SpongeBob SquarePants: you’re basically living under a rock. If you want to get your blog noticed, social media is the most recommended place to share your posts.Turn to the most popular platforms first, we recommend starting with promoting your blog on Facebook. Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn are also excellent options. This complete social media marketing guide will walk you through the ins and outs of each one.
On these platforms, the most common way to promote your blog is to create a social media post which includes a link to your blog article and a short description enticing readers to click on it, such as a snippet of your story. You might also find that more unique options are valuable for you too, such as Instagram Stories, Facebook Ads, and other paid promotions.
02. Share with like-minded communities
Facebook groups, forums, and LinkedIn groups are all excellent places to reach a specific audience that’s interested in a particular topic. When you find a community that’s relevant for you, you’ll have a greater chance of targeting quality readers and ensuring you’re not spamming anyone. If you choose this route, post sparingly, engage with other people’s posts, and make sure that your shared content provides value with a personalized method of introducing your posts. You don’t want to be that one person who always posts in the group without a clear intention, because that will devalue your work.
03. Use the power of other blogging sources
Another place to find your community and drive traffic to your blog is through content and information focused sites, like Reddit and Quora. The threads within these platforms are conversational in format and offer casual, not overly promotional opportunities for you to share your blog posts. Notice how we said “not overly promotional,” as you want to come off as both natural and relevant to the thread when sharing a link to your work. For best results, try coupling your own post with posts from other media sources that you trust, so that not all of your content is strictly advertising yourself.
04. Combine your efforts with vlogging
Vlogging (video + blogging) might even be more popular than blogging due to the powerful presence YouTube has on the web. More precisely, almost one-third of Internet users are on the platform. So maybe it’s a good time to take interest in this market by starting a YouTube channel of your own. That is, if videos are your cup of tea. The combined presence of your videos linking to your blog posts, or even embedded in your posts, can potentially do wonders for promoting your content.
📷
05. Engage with influencers
Expand your reach to a whole new audience by taking advantage of the massive market that social media influencers are able to reach, known as influencer marketing. Influencers have established high credibility in their industry as trend-setters, with a vast following of users on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and the likes.
When influencers give advice and link to posts, it’s usually honest, relatable, and unbiased - making their opinions more authentic and believable in comparison to companies and celebs. So, if they are interested in sharing your blog posts, know that this effort will certainly lead to more eyes on your content.
To test out this tactic, begin by doing some research on the social platforms you’re most present on, and create a list of popular accounts related to your industry. Then, engage with their content and start up conversations with the individuals on it, and offer them something in return. Be an asset to these influencers and they will be more willing to help you by sharing your posts.
Advertise through other outlets
06. Build a member’s area
If you’re blogging through Wix, you’ll find that the Member’s Area is invaluable for engagement. That’s not only because it’s the home to your number one fans, but also because a Member’s Area keeps them coming back to your blog by allowing them access to your latest posts via email notifications. It will also give members permission to comment and like your posts, and become guest writers upon your approval.
On your side, you can see what conversations they are participating in, what posts they are interacting with, and which topics they choose to follow. Through this, you will get to know your community on a personal level and be able to expand your marketing efforts in the right way to the right people.
07. Advertise on Google
Search engine marketing isn’t free, but if you’re willing to spend a few bucks, your money could go a long way. Google Ads is the most popular way to pursue this blog promotion tactic. It’s an online advertising platform where users pay to share their content to a large pool of potential site visitors across the Google Ad Network. Over 90% of Internet users can be reached here, so you won’t want to miss this opportunity. Among those people, you’ll be able to target who you are looking for via specific criteria: location, demographics, keywords, etc. Get started with this complete guide to advertising on Google.
08. Create a weekly newsletter
One of the oldest forms of online promotion hasn’t lost its stamina. Email marketing is not dead, in fact it’s more alive than ever. It’s a consistent way to share your content with subscribers, one that those who opt in can enjoy on a regular basis either with their morning coffee or post-lunch break.
In order to become the email that your readers look forward to opening, there are multiple stages you’ll need to follow. First, you’ll want to build your mailing list by drawing attention to it on your blog site. A lightbox and a custom online form are two great ways to do so. Once they sign up, greet newcomers with an automated welcome email to your blog, giving them a taste of what they will get by providing links to a few posts. Only then can you start sending them your weekly (or bi-weekly, or monthly - that’s up to you) dose of blog posts via your regular newsletter.
Looking for some design inspo? These newsletter ideas will get your creativity flowing. To create your own, utilize the custom email templates provided to you by Wix. These are integrated with your blog site and your contacts in order to save you time and allow for an intuitive process for your own promotions.
09. Add a link in your email signature
This is an easy way to slip in a few more potential blog site visits. To get you started, here are a few ways to create a professional email signature. Don’t forget to link the URL of your blog too. And if your blog is a big part of your personal brand, you’ll want to link to it everywhere. So, make your email signature just a starting place. Imagine the other opportunities you have for linking your blog posts, such as your social media accounts and while engaging with users’ posts.
📷
10. Guest write for other blogs
Getting your voice heard outside of your own publication can allow you to access an even bigger crowd of potential blog subscribers. Guest blogging is the process of writing blog posts for external publications in hopes of tapping into the markets of popular websites and industries.
Begin by doing your research on publications that accept guest bloggers in your whelm. Also, consider writing for widespread publications that are more available and accepting of guest bloggers, such as BuzzFeed, Freelance Writing, and BigCommerce.
If your stories make it to the pages of these publications, it can likely result in either backlinks (links that lead back to your blog) or a chance to leave a short bio at the end of your post talking about your blog. Either way, you’ll be experiencing some form of publicity boost.
11. Speak at events
We often underestimate the power of face-to-face marketing efforts. As many brands are gradually becoming more personal to meet the needs of consumers, actually getting to know your audience in person puts you at the forefront of this much-needed trend.
Think of it this way: aren’t you more likely to regularly replay the songs of a talented musician after seeing them live in person, versus hearing them online a few times? Be that inspiring voice that catches your audience’s attention through guest speaking at events around town, making sure to mention your blog a fair amount throughout (without overdoing it). As a bonus, hand out business cards which include your blog’s web address on them.
Modify your content
12. Add social sharing buttons
Here’s one hack to allow your current readers to do the promotion for you: make it as easy as possible for them to share your content online. And since social media is where most Internet users are spending their free time, you’ll want to give your current blog visitors the ability to easily repost your content on their very own feeds.
It’s as simple as adding social share buttons to your posts to achieve this. And in some cases, this is already taken care of for you. For bloggers who utilize the Wix Blog product, social share buttons are automatically embedded at the bottom of each post - therefore, you can already check off this promotion technique before you’ve even begun to write a post.
13. Include powerful CTAs
Calls-to-action are short phrases that have attached links and serve to prompt readers to take immediate action. The action can be to subscribe to your blog’s newsletter, share a post, shop your online store, etc. To encourage more readership on your blog, use this method to your advantage within your website’s microcopy text and directly on posts.
Browse these call-to-action examples as sources of inspiration to guide you. Also consider making your CTAs stand out by using buttons with colorful, bold backgrounds and a different, bolded font from the rest of your website text.
14. Create cool visuals like infographics and charts
Text and images are the norm of blog posts, but if you want to stand out you’re going to need to get creative. Depending on what you’re writing about in your blog posts, an infographic, illustration or chart could be a great addition to your visual content.
And if a picture’s worth one thousand words, an infographic is worth an entire article. For example, this website user stats infographic we created provides in-depth information that can stand alone from the article’s text. So, if you have some basic graphic design skills and content worth sharing, consider switching up your content with this creative outlet.
15. Use mixed media
Speaking of different creative outlets, you don’t have to just type words in this digital era. Combining your talents among multiple sources of media can help you promote your blog across platforms, reaching people with varying interests. In addition, different visitors prefer to consume their content in different ways throughout their day. For example, some people might prefer podcasts while commuting to work, some might be more visual and engage better with a slideshow of photos, and others might prefer video content.
Start with two types of media per post in order to not overwhelm yourself as well as your readers. If you’re interested in hopping aboard the current popular trend of podcasting, we have a comprehensive guide to starting your own podcast. And if you want to explore vlogging, Wix Video has everything you need to make the most out of this media, such as uploading content straight from YouTube, starting a channel, and making your videos available for a price. Lastly, this professional media gallery is an excellent way to show off a combination of images on your blog in different layout options.
16. Write an eBook
Long-form content works when it serves a useful purpose. You started a blog and therefore you enjoy writing, or at least the results you hope to gain from it. An eBook is a way to truly show off the full scope of your expertise in the field. It’s an extensive version of a blog post, offering more comprehensive information. If you’re an Italian chef and blogger, for example, you could upload a guide book on perfecting the creation of several types of pasta for your restaurant website.
A guide book includes a table of contents, chapters or sections, an intro and conclusion. Deciding to take on this task is not going to be a walk in the park, but it could help you promote your blog and knowledge to mixed crowds.
17. Translate your posts to other languages
Are you fluent in more than one language? If so, put your skills to good use for your blog. You can target a larger audience simply by translating your content into other languages. Make this part of a complete multilingual site and you’ll definitely expand your reach. When doing so, be sure that the posts are relevant globally, as some cultural references and topics are harder to grasp across cultures.
Boost your SEO efforts
18. Get serious about your keyword research
SEO is the process of helping your content get found on Google. In order to do that, you’ll want to devise a personal SEO plan. As a first step, aim to rank high in search results for particular keywords, or short phrases commonly searched by Internet users you’re targeting. For example, ‘entrepreneur blogs’ or ‘moroccan lentil stew recipe.’
To know which phrases are best for you to target, you’ll want to perform adequate keyword research. Here are some top keyword research tools we highly recommend. Once you’ve determined which phrases to use, sprinkle them throughout your content, from your paragraph text to your titles, descriptions and more - we’ll point you to a few places in the following tips. Note that this is just one of the steps to follow in your personal SEO plan.
19. Optimize your meta tags
When we refer to meta and title tags for your blog, it includes the descriptions, titles, and URL for the blog as a whole, and each of the pages, or blog posts within. This is what will appear in search engine results for your blog publication.
In order to optimize these components, put your keyword research to use. This is the top place to focus on implementing those short phrases. Do so by including your number one keyword choice in titles, descriptions, and URLs. You can customize your meta tags from directly within your Wix site’s dashboard and from within each individual blog post.
📷
20. Write alt text
Alt text, also known as alternative text, is a written description of an image that’s not visible in the front end, but is in the code. It’s one important step in making your website accessible for people with disabilities via screen readers. On top of that, it also helps search engine algorithms understand what your image is all about. Search engines will use this as part of their ranking process for results’ pages. In other words, use your keywords here too! For more information, follow these tips for writing SEO friendly alt text to get started.
21. Learn from competitors
This is a top recommendation when it comes to SEO for bloggers. It’s important to take some time to check out the competition. Do so by typing your keywords into Google and see which publications’ articles show up first. The first page of search results is where you want to be, so pay close attention to what’s currently up there. Browse through the articles to see which topics are covered, how the article is structured from headers to the length of the content, the SEO title on the SERP (search engine results page) and the title in the article itself.
Combining your own expertise with a mixture of all of the topics covered by the best articles from your competition, will make yours the most comprehensive. This will give it a good chance of ranking high and helping your promotion efforts.
22. Gain backlinks
Links direct users to your site from external online sources. It’s one excellent method for boosting your site’s SEO, as search engines deem your site more relevant if reputable sources care about your content too. To get started, here are some strategies to help you gain backlinks, such as guest blogging, submitting your site’s URLs to directories, and more.
23. Sprinkle in internal links
Another linking strategy is to promote one blog post through another. Throughout your writing you will find opportunities to talk about other content you’ve already written. For example, we could be talking about blog promotion, which could lead us to link to a different post about blog templates. See what we did there ;)? As your blog is focused around one or a few topics, you’ll find that this promotion tactic is not so hard to implement.
24. Add schema markup to your blog
This and the following step are two of the methods that Google recognizes in order to gather information, and display search results in the most user-friendly manner. Schema markup is code used to help Google understand the structure of your blog in order to be eligible to be featured in different search result queries known as “rich snippets.” These include things like ordered lists and carousels. To add schema to your blog, you can simply turn on ‘enable schema’ from within your site’s dashboard.
25. Enable AMP features
AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) is another method of directing Google to information about your publication. AMP specifically increases your blog’s speed on your mobile site by making the blog pages lighter in storage size and more readable on these tiny devices. It’s also a determinant by Google’s algorithm as to if they should factor your publication into their list of sites to pull for specific mobile search result features, like carousels. Just like schema, it’s also easy to enable AMP on your blog from within your Wix site’s dashboard via the blog settings.
Now create your website in the intelligent Click here to see our other services click here!
Make your sign up now on our blog so you do not miss anything!
* Source https://www.wix.com/blog/
Comentários