This is Day 3 of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, a group project 60+ other bloggers are doing together in an effort to help each other become better bloggers. You can read more about it and still sign-up to participate here.
I’ve talked to a number of bloggers over the years who are frustrated that few people read their posts or comment on their blog. After asking them what they write about, I usually ask them what they’ve done to promote their blog and connect with new readers. Often, the response I get is just a blank stare.
There seems to be an “If you build it, they will come” mentality with some bloggers. Some believe if you start a blog and write something every once in a while, readers will magically show up, engage, and become regular readers.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Successful bloggers, proactively reach out to people to build their audience.
Today’s lesson in the 31 Day’s ebook, gives some good suggestions for how to promote a blog post. Here are some of the things I do on a regular basis to promote blog posts published here and my personal blog.
Twitter – Twitter and blogging are like peanut butter and chocolate, they’re a match made in heaven. To use Twitter well, you need good content to tweet (aka blog articles). And to blog well, you need channels to get the word out about new posts (aka Twitter). I tweet every post I write. And usually more than once.
Facebook – OurChurch.Com has a Facebook page, which we post our blog posts to. I post a link to my personal blog posts on my personal Facebook profile.
Commenting on other blogs – I try to comment quite a bit on the blogs I read. When doing this its important not to be spammy. You genuinely want to contribute to the conversation. But often times I can contribute to the conversation but posting a link to an article I’ve written on a related topic. I don’t do this often, but you could Google the topic you’ve just blogged about as a way to find similar blog posts, and then post a meaningful comment with a link to your post.
Email distribution – Most of the people who register a username & password on OurChurch.Com check the option to be added to our blog email subscription list. Once a week, we send a post out to that list.
Newsletter – Once a month we send a newsletter to all our web hosting clients. One of the regular features in each month’s newsletter is an exerpt from a recent blog post.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking about today’s topic when I wrote the list post on this blog yesterday. 6 Things I Learned from Day 1 of #31DBBB is not likely to appeal to people outside of our group, and so I going to find another post to promote.
Discussion
- What did you do to promote your list post from yesterday?
- What ways of promoting blog posts have you found to be most successful?
- What other innovative ways have you promoted your blog or posts, that weren’t listed in today’s lesson?
The Extra Mile
A few other things you can do to take your blog, other bloggers, and this project even further today…
- Reply & give other bloggers feedback on their promotion ideas.
- People continue to add comments to the Day 1 & Day 2 posts, check em out.
- Tweet, share, & bookmark this post. (You could win a $25 gift card!)
- Ask & answer questions about blogging but unrelated to elevator pitches in the forums.
229 Comments
My current promotional strategy consists of:
1) Twitter
2) Facebook
3) Posting on others blogs.
4) Networking @ conferences
5) I am putting together a couple of free conference for church leaders in my area to educate them on blogging and help some of them get started.
6) In this group, I have done what others are doing. I am not limiting my comments to this blog, but visiting others blogs and commenting there as well.
7) I have also talked with one person about swapping guest posts on each others blogs. I would be interested in doing this with others here that are writing similar content.
For today's post, I pulled several of the posts from yesterday and made them available on my blog today. I pulled the material that was most compatible with my readership. It probably won't help with lots of traffic as my blog is new and doesn't have much readership, but it is at least a link back to your blog.
Here is today's post: http://larrywestfall.com/let-me-introduce-you-to-…
My current promotional strategy consists of:
1) Twitter
2) Facebook
3) Posting on others blogs.
4) Networking @ conferences
5) I am putting together a couple of free conference for church leaders in my area to educate them on blogging and help some of them get started.
6) In this group, I have done what others are doing. I am not limiting my comments to this blog, but visiting others blogs and commenting there as well.
7) I have also talked with one person about swapping guest posts on each others blogs. I would be interested in doing this with others here that are writing similar content.
For today's post, I pulled several of the posts from yesterday and made them available on my blog today. I pulled the material that was most compatible with my readership. It probably won't help with lots of traffic as my blog is new and doesn't have much readership, but it is at least a link back to your blog.
Here is today's post: http://larrywestfall.com/let-me-introduce-you-to-…
Ah yes, guest posts are always good. Especially if you can get someone with a bigger name than yours to humble themselves 🙂
Larry,
I appreciate you including me on your list. Guest posting sounds interesting.
–Richard
Posting on others blogs. Guest posts and comments?
I find those to be the best way: actually for me it is a "do unto other what you want them to do for you" kind of thing. Otherwise some blog actuall give you Google juice for being loyal commenters: the blogs onhttp://8bit.io for example
Posting on others blogs. Guest posts and comments?
I find those to be the best way: actually for me it is a "do unto other what you want them to do for you" kind of thing. Otherwise some blog actuall give you Google juice for being loyal commenters: the blogs onhttp://8bit.io for example
Posting on others blogs. Guest posts and comments?
I find those to be the best way: actually for me it is a "do unto other what you want them to do for you" kind of thing. Otherwise some blog actuall give you Google juice for being loyal commenters: the blogs onhttp://8bit.io for example
Posting on others blogs. Guest posts and comments?
I find those to be the best way: actually for me it is a "do unto other what you want them to do for you" kind of thing. Otherwise some blog actuall give you Google juice for being loyal commenters: the blogs onhttp://8bit.io for example
I like your promotional strategies.
I knew just what to do. ; – )
Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me…
http://greeninventionscentral.blogspot.com/2010/0…
Lol! Great post LL. it actually helps me remember a lot of the stuff that Rowse was talking about in his book.
Thanks! Really, that is the point. I find it helps me remember stuff better when I actually try it out. And of course the post is completely tongue-in-cheek. Which is where I imagine I'll probably stay for the duration of the project. (It's a nice break from my serious and poetic sides. : )
You don't ask, you don't get – well who know 🙂
But the popular bloggers don't have to ask because everyone else does it for them.
Almost like: The rich get richer
Actually, I've been surprised lately by what people have been willing to for me as a blogger when I ask. I asked Darren if he would give us all $5 off the 31 Days ebook and he did.
I would have asked for $10… LOL! But I defintely agree… just asking has gotten me all kinds of cool returns!
Is there something you've been meaning to ask me? 🙂
YES!
I will give you $5 off my e-book if you ask. 😉
Oh, wait a minute. My book isn't an e-book.
Thanks for the fun read! I'm a little stressed about this one, so thanks for helping me chill out about this some.
Actually, I've been surprised lately by what people have been willing to for me as a blogger when I ask. I asked Darren if he would give us all $5 off the 31 Days ebook and he did.
Totally shameless, LL! But brilliant! Brilliant enough that it just might work!
LOL! You crack me up!
Ha! 🙂 Well, I wasn't expecting that he'd actually link to me. I think bloggers often make the mistake of asking too much of other bloggers, prematurely. Which is the Secret Message of the post. 🙂
You don't ask, you don't get – well who know 🙂
But the popular bloggers don't have to ask because everyone else does it for them.
Almost like: The rich get richer
Phillip, that is true. The thing is that genuine connection will eventually get us links. In my (humble) experience, too many bloggers try to work at getting links rather than simply finding their best voice and just being friendly.
Of course it still takes strategy! But that is a bit secondary.
Brilliant! Genius! Funny! Thanks, LL
I call shenanigans!
But then again…I have asked people if I could have their iPads. It COULD happen.
I knew just what to do. ; – )
Darren Rowse, Please Link to Me…
http://greeninventionscentral.blogspot.com/2010/0…
Since I am new to this blogging thing I have very few followers yet. I have plugged the blog at Facebook with not much response yet (maybe I don't have enough friends, boo hoo!).
I guess I don't understand the Twitter thing. Probably because I have not signed up and started using it yet. But most of my (non-internet) friends don't twitter either. Can someone explain to me what it really does?
I have found that by posting good comments on others' blogs I can generate traffic to mine–not just by the blogger but also by some who read the comments. My list post from yesterday promoted several other blogs, http://junctionforjesus.blogspot.com/
maybe someday I will write something others will want to promote as well.
Richard.. Not enough space here to explain the power of Twitter. In my main business I have found my greatest customer via Twitter. No joke. On one Twitter account I have that was simply posting tweets from an auto blog I had setup I now have 1200 followers.. Twitter is microblogging. Go get the book Twitter Powerhttp://amzn.to/b4kgcu by Joel Comm or the new version Twitter Power 2.0http://amzn.to/acDLPL
Another book that will change your opinion about Twitter is Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk. All about branding yourself and how to use Twitter and blogs to do it.http://amzn.to/aqpgYH
You all are beginning to convince me about Twitter. I'm gonna give in.
You all are beginning to convince me about Twitter. I'm gonna give in.
Hi Richard,
I read your list post from yesterday and if I was on the search or interested in following ministry blogs, I would find it very helpful. I created a list like this once and in my post I promised that I would follow up on some of the websites that I mentioned for a more in depth review. (http://knowyourstory.net/2010/02/23/photo-archiving-websites-%E2%80%94-which-ones-work-best/) Perhaps your list could be a base for a series on a more in depth post about each blog that you follow and/or, you could create another page or link within your blog that acts as a reference list for the blogs that you like. I did this after I made that I list I just referred to and I now have a helpful links page that I add to whenever I come across a site that I think is helpful. Just a thought, and great job!
I was the same way about Twitter a few months back. I first signed up and followed any kind of news outlet (CNN, MSNBC, Todd Chuck, E!, Larry King, ect) and then celebrities and it was through this that I found out that Haiti had an earth quake. I just read what others wrote about, but never joined in. I still never do for that account, but by just observing for a few months I started to see what was what. Then I started my blog this past February and knew that Twitter was a tool that I needed to use so I made an account @KnowYourStory and did a search for any key words that related to my blog (genealogy, family history, photos, organizing) and all those out there in Twitter land who have those key words in their profile description came up. There is another way of doing the search and anyone who wrote those key words in their Tweets would show up. When you do your search, read the persons description and then you can choose to Follow them. Most likely they will end up following you back, then start Tweeting! Now as for what to write, just observe those you are following for a few days and then do a test here and there until you get comfortable (you could just say Good Morning!). Or just take the plunge and tell everyone that you are doing the 31DBBB, what day it is and what the assignment is. Then followup later by sharing a few words about having completed the assignment and past a link to your post. If you need to get a shorten URL so everything you've written and your link all fit within the 140 character limit, go tohttp://bit.ly/ and paste your link into the field and it will generate a small weird looking link for you to copy and paste into your Tweet. I use the program "TweetDeck" to doing all my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and in that program it will shorten a pasted URL automatically for you if you have the correct box check marked. On a last note, I don't follow anyone that I personally know and they don't follow me because I haven't told them about my blog since I feel like I still need to prove my blog is more then just a hobby first. But yet, I find that by doing it this way, I am more comfortable with Tweeting. And by being comfortable with just being this person out there on the web, I have made some friends and I look forward to seeing their tweets and catching up with what is going on in their world. I hope that helps!
Brooke,
WOW! That's a lot of good info on how to use Twitter. You might want to send that stuff directly to Paul S. so he could make sure everyone gets to read it.
I will take the Twitter plunge soon, Lord willing!
Hi again, my link didn't work. If you are interested in seeing my link post that I hope to use as a base for a series and the helpful link page that came from it, you can go to my sitehttp://www.knowyourstory.net and do a search for "Photo Archiving websites". You'll first see the helpful links page and below that info will be the post with "Photo Archiving websites" in it's title line.
Richard, very few of my "real world" friends are on twitter as well. Instead I use twitter to connect with people who share my interests in faith, leadership, the web, and social media. Like most things online, your best bet is just to dive in and observe others using it.
Thanks Paul, I may have to take the Twitter plunge soon.
Thanks for posting about the blogs you are reading.
I have to second what Brooke said. I used to scoff at Twitter, because all I ever saw were people tweeting things like
"I'm at the grocery store. I'm thinking chicken for dinner."
"The lady in front of me is taking WAAAAY too long with all of her coupons."
I'm not sure what finally convinced me to take the plunge but I'm glad I did. Twitter is really great for sharing good quotes, interesting (short) thoughts, and links to things worth reading, and the people I follow on Twitter use it that way most of the time.
It's also great for sharing news – personal news or public news. Lots of people are saying that Twitter has been instrumental in getting the word out about the floods in Tennessee, because there's not a lot of prominent mainstream media coverage.
Twitter and Facebook are the big ones for me. I love that twitter allows you to have a link to your blog on your profile page, making it even easier to find what people are writing. There are people I enjoy following, but 140 characters can only tell you so much.
Staying with Twitter, I would use Twitter directories like WeFollow.com and Twellow.com to find other tweeps that have the same interests as you. This can be a great way to increase your followers on Twitter which can also lead to more blog readers.
On Facebook I use networked blogs as a way of getting my blog post out. Unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of success with this so far, but I think that is primarily because I have had blog identity crisis. In the past my blog has been a mix of too many different things, now it is more focused on a single topic.
Wow – I didn't know about WeFollow or Twellow. Thanks!
Wow – I didn't know about WeFollow or Twellow. Thanks!
My list post doesn't go up until tomorrow, so I haven't promoted it yet. (But I will, tomorrow, using Twitter and Facebook!) I have, however, promoted my last two posts on my blog using Twitter and Facebook. I also had a post up yesterday about why we homeschool that linked to another blog, where I was "guest posting." I got a lot of hits on my blog yesterday from her site. They read what I wrote and then used the link to my blog to see what else I've written!
About using Twitter and Facebook to promote your blog: I have noticed that people seem more willing to visit your blog and check out what you're "offering" if you've taken the time to build a relationship and rapport of sorts through interactions with them that are unrelated to promoting your "product" (whatever it is). I don't like it when others do nothing but "promote" themselves and their "stuff," and it would seem that others don't care for that either. Let's get to know each other! 🙂
Agreed on the getting to know each other.
I recently blogged about "Twitter Fail" wherein I bemoaned a particular day that I took stockof. I'd answered several queries (whether right, wrong, helpful or not) tweeted some useful stuff pointing to other blogs, news, etc, RT apporx 6 times and joined several conversations. Typically, despite my efforts, ONLYone person bothered to reply.
And the most amazing aspect of all that – the one that did reply is a world wide rugby star. Imagine that he could find the time, yet those professing to be networking couldn't and what's more the majority of them are christian. If we all come over that bad then no wonder the world is on our case.
Lets get to know each other or at least those in your circle.
Agreed on the getting to know each other.
I recently blogged about "Twitter Fail" wherein I bemoaned a particular day that I took stockof. I'd answered several queries (whether right, wrong, helpful or not) tweeted some useful stuff pointing to other blogs, news, etc, RT apporx 6 times and joined several conversations. Typically, despite my efforts, ONLYone person bothered to reply.
And the most amazing aspect of all that – the one that did reply is a world wide rugby star. Imagine that he could find the time, yet those professing to be networking couldn't and what's more the majority of them are christian. If we all come over that bad then no wonder the world is on our case.
Lets get to know each other or at least those in your circle.
Agreed! And in the spirit of getting to know you better, I'm now following you on Twitter! (I haven't been on much this week because of crazy circumstances here, but I'm going to be looking for you when I'm on!)
Have a blessed day, Stuart!
~Jennifer
I always link my blog posts on my facebook page. Though I must admit I have been avoiding Twitter. Why? Not sure. Maybe I am trying to rebel from the current trend. Though I am slowly being drawn to the tweet light. Do you really think Twitter adds that much more traffic??? just asking.
Absolutely! My three biggest referrals come from Facebook, Twitter, and Disqus (yes, the commenting system that allows me to send comments to Twitter and FB). This combination brings me more traffic than the search engines! I think that the key is (and I wrote about this over at churchcrunch.com) is to remember to not just use Twitter as a means of getting traffic to your blog… http://churchcrunch.com/remember-its-a-conversati…
Great question!
Absolutely! My three biggest referrals come from Facebook, Twitter, and Disqus (yes, the commenting system that allows me to send comments to Twitter and FB). This combination brings me more traffic than the search engines! I think that the key is (and I wrote about this over at churchcrunch.com) is to remember to not just use Twitter as a means of getting traffic to your blog… http://churchcrunch.com/remember-its-a-conversati…
Great question!
Great post, bibledude. I love the phrase, "It's a conversation." It's about people–us before our God making Him famous. Thanks for the feedback.
Great post, bibledude. I love the phrase, "It's a conversation." It's about people–us before our God making Him famous. Thanks for the feedback.
Thanks! And anytime! Amen!
With twitter as I noted in my latest bloghttp://ragamuffinray.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-to-… (hey, I am promoting!! : ) you can sync it to twitterfeed. I get more traffic from twitter than Facebook.
Personally, about 15-20% of my blog traffic comes from Twitter, so yep, I would say it's helpful. I think the important with twitter is that your tweets need to be helpful to the same people who you want to be reading your blog. Endless tweets about what you are eating aren't likely to increase traffic towards your blog.
Personally, about 15-20% of my blog traffic comes from Twitter, so yep, I would say it's helpful. I think the important with twitter is that your tweets need to be helpful to the same people who you want to be reading your blog. Endless tweets about what you are eating aren't likely to increase traffic towards your blog.
I agree. Twitter can be a good source of traffic for a blog. Even more so, I think Twitter really allows you to develop better relationships with people than blogging alone. Like you said, it's important to make sure your tweets are helpful to the same people you're helping with your blog, however, mixing in a fair amount of personal stuff and just "being real" with people really takes the relationships to the next level.
I am so grateful that I joined Twitter a year ago. (It's how I met Paul, after all! 🙂 ) I find that is a powerful and overwhelmingly positive place.
I second what everyone else is saying. A good chunk of my blog traffic comes from Twitter. Think of Twitter as a series of elevator pitches for your individual blog posts. One great thing about Twitter in this context is that it really does make you think about how to condense the content of the post you're pitching down into one attention getting phrase.
ok ok. You are all tempting me to browse the Twitter site and start an account. I'll let you know.
I am reluctant to promote my blog just yet. My website where my blog is attached is not in its final form and the free on-line bible studies available for download. In the next two months this will all change and I will certainly use a blog as a major way to draw people to the site. ____I am so thankful for the ability to be a part of this learning process. I can FULLY see the benefit of promoting an informative and encouraging blog entry as a means to draw in followers. ____THANKS
I have been posting on Facebook, but not Tweeting. My experience has been that the biggest draw to my blog has been posting my comments on other people's blogs. I have tracked this and know it to be true. Even participating in this project has increased what little traffic I have. The problem is time. With all of the rest of life pressing on me, it is very difficult o find the time to read and comment on other people's blogs.
I've been doing a little series on what makes a husband "safe" to his wife. Here's the latest installment of "The Best Safety Device is a Careful Man":
http://preparation4eternity.blogspot.com/2010/05/…
There are some tools out there to help streamline your time when commenting on blogs. Comment Kahuna is one of them. Great resource to search for a topic and then add your comment to different post. But don't be spammy.
I got a comment on one of my blogs today that went like this :" This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I enjoy seeing websites that understand the value of providing a prime resource for free. I truly loved reading your post. Thanks!"
That is a spam comment purely to try and get a link to their blog. Has no insight or information to add. And this person probably has an auto commenter posting this on 100s of blogs.
Be engaging and add to the content when commenting.
I know your blog is geared towards men but I really dig it!