There are tons of methods to promote your blog and you shouldn’t limit yourself to only a few of these methods because to ensure a successful blog you need to utilize all of them. If you’re new to blogging then you don’t need to worry about using all the methods listed below right away but as time allows you should start implementing the methods listed below. Everyone says content is king, which is true because you’ll need awesome content in order to keep your visitors but without promoting your blog properly nobody will find your content that you’ve spent time writing. This is why I believe promotion is just as vital as the content you write because without people reading the content there is no point in writing it. I think many new bloggers get lost in the hype of writing killer content and then lose their way once they realize they have no traffic coming to the blog. You should make sure you have a good ten to twenty posts of solid content before promoting your blog, but once you hit that number of posts you need to start promoting right away, and frankly I begin using some of the methods below right from the get-go. The methods and techniques I list below will all be beneficial to your blog and you should work on implementing them as soon as possible.
Social Bookmarking
Bloggers have the ability to utilize social bookmarking everyday and if you want traffic you need to use them. I use them everyday when I post to my blogs and it doesn’t take long at all. There are hundreds of these social bookmarking sites to use, but since time is an issue for bloggers you should only use a handful of them on a daily basis. I typically use StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Propeller and BlogsVine which only takes me about three minutes a day to submit my posts to. I’ve gotten over a thousand unique visitors some days from social bookmarking sites and you always get traffic coming from the sites for the life of your blog which is why I love using this method. It takes a few minutes a day to ensure that you get some daily traffic coming from these sites and although some people say that the traffic isn’t targeted I know for a fact that I’ve had some sales from social bookmarking in the past.
Article Marketing
Not only do bloggers need to write posts for their blog, but they also need to distribute articles across the internet so that people can find their blog. There are thousands of websites where you can post articles to and there are lots of great lists on the internet. If you only use one directory to submit your articles to then make sure it’s EzineArticles as they bring the most traffic to your blog. You simply write a 250+ word article and add your links at the bottom and submit it to the site. They have some guidelines which you need to follow, but there simple and can be found on their website. If you have time you should really be submitting articles on a daily basis to different directories. You shouldn’t limit yourself to only EzineArticles but if time only allows you to use one directory then use that one. If you have time though then submit articles to new directories each day. Typically I try submitting one article to EzineArticles and one article to another directory. I always switch the second directory around everyday so that I’m gaining links and exposure on different sites.
Buying Links & Blog Posts
Bloggers often buy links and blog posts to boost their search engine rankings and to gain exposure. Buying these types of advertising is beneficial as long as you’re buying the links on sites or blogs that don’t have tons of links and appear like a link farm. If you can find good sites and blogs to buy posts or links on then you should analyze the blog and see if it’s worth it. If the blog has a high page rank and a good authority in Google then buying a link or blog post would be great for boosting your search engine rankings which is ideal. Depending on how well the blog or site is known on the internet will reflect the cost, but you can find many great deals on the internet for links and blog posts. The main thing here is to remember to only buy links and posts on relevant sites or blogs meaning on the same topic as your blog, and you also need to ensure that the site or blog you’re buying a link or post on isn’t full of links.
There are still tons of other methods you can use to promote your blog but following these simple techniques will ensure you maintain a steady stream of traffic to your blog. Once you get into a routine of completing all of the above then you can start looking for other methods of promotion which can be anything that draws traffic to your blog. You need to get creative with your techniques to see maximum benefit and the more you do that your competitor doesn’t, the better chance you have of becoming more successful.
