How simple is blog writing
You’ve come up with a brilliant idea for a blog post. You’ve carried out your research. And you’ve written up your thoughts into brilliant and engaging copy.
All you have to do is sit back and wait for the million visitors to click on and read.
If only life or rather
blog writing
was that simple.
True, some controversial blog posts have attracted instant worldwide attention. But by and large, the only way a blog is going to get ANY attention is through active promotion.
Business owners are always telling me that they’re no good at promoting themselves or their business. Unfortunately, I cannot give them the answer they want.
Self-promotion cannot be avoided if you want a successful business. There’s no other way of getting your business the audience it needs to flourish than good old-fashioned promotion. And that includes your blog.
Regardless of your current website visitors or your
‘Twitter’
followers, you should never stop looking for new ways of promoting what you write. There are always new prospects to attract and a blog can help you reach these people and convert them into customers.
The list below shows you just some of the ways you can increase your blog audience through active promotion:
1. Announce your new blog on your social media profiles
Most businesses have social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn where they communicate with their current audience. Every time you publish a new blog post, make sure you announce it to your followers and provide a link. The goal is to encourage your current followers to share your blog with their friends and colleagues, thus increasing your reach.
2. Comment in forums and on other people’s blogs
The purpose of a blog is to build an online presence. You can really enhance your online presence through commenting on other people’s blogs and building a reputation in the area you specialise. Be careful to avoid too many promotional statements about your own work, you can generate interest simply by your expert comments.
3. Respond to your own readers
A blog should be a live conversation, providing opportunity for interaction. Owners of small to medium sized businesses are extremely busy but this is no excuse to neglect their readers. If they’re leaving comments on your blog post, respond to them and initiate an ongoing conversation. This can draw new people to your blog.
4. Use your customer data lists to email a teaser for your blog
The importance of a customer database has been the subject of many previous blogs. This is one of those situations in which this data can be hugely valuable to your marketing efforts. Emailing a brief teaser alerting your customers to your blog and providing a link to make it easy for them to read will increase your readership.
5. Networking
The likes of LinkedIn has made it easier for businesses to connect but it’s not the only way of gaining an audience. Good old-fashioned ‘face to face’ networking is as pertinent today as it always has been so next time you visit that business breakfast meeting or that industry seminar, be sure to alert your new acquaintances to your blog.
6. Invite a guest blogger to post on your site
If you have an industry colleague who is casting waves in the blog world, why not get them to post on your site to capitalise on their audience? Some of the people who will be directed to your blog through association might want to stay.
7. Tease your next blog
Newspapers have long recognised the benefits of teasing exclusive articles in advance to increase demand and readership. You can achieve the same sense of anticipation through your social networking groups and your customer database. The important point to remember, however, is that you have to have a good store of blogs in reserve.
There are many ways of promoting a blog and you’ll get better the more you write. Monitor how the best bloggers promote themselves to find out what else you could or should be doing.
We hope you found our 7 tips to promoting a blog post’ useful. If you have a question regarding this article then please do not hesitate to contact us on 01268 439917.
