So you’ve started blogging and quickly discovered that while you’re writing great content, there’s no one reading. Sound familiar? Honestly, promoting blog posts can be a full-time job. When I tell people what I have to do every week to get eyeballs on my blog, there stunned. Blogging is not an “if you write it, they will come” business. You have to have good content and then you need to be a master at promoting. Here are a few things that I do every single day to make sure that people can find me in the hopes that they will read my content (and yes, click some ads so I get paid. Call me crazy).
Make sure every post is SEO maximized– I’m not a techie. I’m a writer. So, I use the WordPress SEO plug-in by Yoast to make sure that my posts have a chance of getting picked up by search engines. Unless I have a green light, I don’t even hit the publish button. Why waste my time.
Give it a boost on Google+– While you may not be spending much time on this social network, it’s owned by Google and guess where most people search? Every time I write a blog, I post on Google+ immediately. I give it a good description, make sure that I bold my keywords and add hashtags. And, instead of pulling in a preview, I re-load my featured photo from my blog. Then I spend a little time going down my feed, checking out posts and interacting with other bloggers
Tweet it. A few times for good measure– I’ll admit that Twitter and I are not besties, but I do see the need to improve my presence in the Twittersphere and I know it works. I tweet every new blog post at least twice the day I publish and I come back later in the week and tweet again. I also make sure I’m tweeting an old post every day. How do I have time for this? I don’t. I use Hootsuite and schedule as much as I can every Sunday. I also keep a spreadsheet of tweets so I am not reinventing the wheel every time.
Create a great image and pin away– I love Pinterest! After I post a blog, I immediately pin to a group board that’s a good fit. A little bit later, I’ll pin it to my board. A couple days after that, I will re-pin off my board onto another board. Don’t underestimate the power of Pinterest- especially if you blog about crafts, recipes or deals. Things can go viral.
Find a buddy to Stumble for me– StumbleUpon can be great, but you never want to stumble your own posts- they’ll punish you. I’m lucky that I have a tribe of bloggers that I can reach out to and ask. And, they let me choose the category nd tags so the next time someone comes along, all they have to do is hit the thumbs up.
Share on LinkedIn– If it’s business-oriented content, I’ll share on LinkedIn (I feed these posts in through Hootsuite too). If it’s not, I’ll pass. I know my professional friends aren’t interested in the new puppy we just bought or the fact that we’re homeschooling, but they are interested in blogging and social media tips. I make sure I post all my business related blogs on LinkedIn early in the morning so they’re seen when people log on.
Post an Instagram Pic– Sometime in the middle of the day, I post the featured image from my blog on Instagram. Why do I pick that time? All the kids are out of school and are blasting away on their phones. While they don’t always read me, they do like my photo so it gives it a little more juice. I always make sure to include the copy, “clickable link to my blog in my bio.”
Head to my Facebook blog page– Despite the fact that Facebook keeps changing the rules, I still get good engagement on my blog business page. I’ve learned over time that my readers are on early in the day, at nap time and around 8:00 at night. I pick the opposite time from when I plan to post on my personal page because there’s a little overlap in audience and make sure I schedule in Facebook because it doesn’t like third party systems. I also post evergreen content a few times a week. I do connect my Facebook page with my twitter account, so there’s another tweet sent too.
Go back to the old Standby; my personal Facebook page– I am blessed. My friends and family are all active Facebook users so I get good traction to my blog from my personal page. This can be a good or bad thing depending on the kind of blog you have because the majority of my comments wind up being on threads on a private page. So, if you have a purely commercial blog and need brands to see the interaction, this isn’t the best strategy. For me, it works well.
Send out that email– If I have an amazing post that’s getting a lot of play or if I have one that I think is awesome and needs a little TLC, I’ll send an email newsletter. Everything can get missed on social media unless someone’s on at that very moment or scrolls down a wall so I will send an email blast. I maintain my social media business list in Constant Contact and my blog list in Mad Mimi. I like both, they’re easy to use but they have different features. Whatever you use, make sure you use it. Your list is like gold!
Whew. Promoting blog posts is hard work. Since I’ve been doing it for a while, I’ve got it down to a science but I know this is an area that many bloggers and businesses struggle. Hope this helps. What’s your favorite way to promote your posts?
kristine foley says
Great tips Deb! I agree sharing on all platforms takes time, but it’s so worth it!
kristine foley recently posted…Smuggling a Pumpkin + Five on Friday
Ange says
Awesome tips! We need to find like 50 stumble buddies!
Ange recently posted…Hairfinity Healthy Hair Complex
Melissa says
I love stumbleupon. I can’t always get my posts to go viral but when they do the traffic is amazeballs.
Melissa recently posted…Halloween Nail Art Designs
Chelsea says
Perfect tips 🙂 I need more Stumble buddies, ahha. Also I never think to G+ my posts- I need to get in the habit of doing that more!
Chelsea recently posted…Softlips Cubes Review & Giveaway
Laura MyNewestAddiction says
Great tips. It can be very frustrating sometimes to not get the boost you want in social media.
Laura MyNewestAddiction recently posted…The Best Individual Taupe Eyeshadows
Paige says
I definitely see a traffic increase/decrease depending on how much I share the post! Great tips!
Paige recently posted…Alcoholic Butterbeer Recipe
Amanda says
such great tips! promoting your content is definitely a full time job, one that i am trying to get in a routine of doing. thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Amanda recently posted…4 Easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dessert Recipes
Cindy says
I never knew there was so much to being a blogget thatks for the tips
Cindy recently posted…K made Dinner
Sarah says
Great advice and tips! Thanks for linking up at the Click and Chat Party. I am going focus on the twitter advice this week and see where it gets me. I’m not the biggest twitter fan either, but maybe I can figure it out. 🙂
Sarah recently posted…Proverbs 31: Ways To Help Those In Need
debcb says
I stink at Twitter. I keep trying. It’s a full-time job.
debcb recently posted…Contact Lenses. Does your teen follow the rules?
Gina says
Great advice! You are right, writing is the easy part… promoting is what takes the time!
debcb says
Yep, promoting is a full-time job. Hopefully I just made it a little easier for someone else.
debcb recently posted…Contact Lenses. Does your teen follow the rules?
Kim says
Great list! I need to get better at retweeting and pinning at optimal times. How do you find time for all of this? Do you blog full time?
Kim recently posted…Click & Chat Link Up Party #30
debcb says
I block off an hour on Sunday and schedule like crazy, then during the week when I have a post go up I’m at it again. I have a marketing firm so I’m either blogging for me or others full time.
debcb recently posted…Seafood Lasagna
Kate says
This is all really helpful, especially for a new blogger like me! It looks like I have a little bit up stepping up to do in my social media game.
Can you describe the SEO plugin a little bit more? I can’t quite tell how it works from the website. Do you have any idea if it works with Blogspot, or if it requires the user to have their own domain?
Kate recently posted…LPL Glamghouls Day 20: Spiders and Spiderwebs
debcb says
I’be been a WordPress user from the start so I have no idea what’s available on Blogspot. The plug in I use is Yoast SEO. It’s super simple- all I have to do is fill in fields and it tells me if my post has a yellow or green light. It’s really helpful!
debcb recently posted…Why I won’t do $hit for free
Krystal says
StumbleUpon has been a massive driving force for my site. I have found that you are able to add your own posts however make sure you are adding others as well otherwise they will flag you and your traffic will suffer. I usually keep it as a 1:10 ratio – one post from my site and 10 other posts. Using this rule I have had amazing results. StumbleUpon seems to ‘reward’ you the more you use it.
debcb says
StumbleUpon has been hit or miss for me. When my posts get stumbled, they go crazy though. Thanks for sharing!
debcb recently posted…Best of the Blogosphere Linky Party #3