If you’re creating high quality content and not driving traffic, this post is for you! We’ve read on other blogs that you should plan on spending around 20% of your time writing and 80% promoting blog posts (of course, you could also outsource the writing to us so you can focus 100% of your time promoting blog posts, which many of our customers do because the math just makes sense). But if you’re going to insist on creating your own content and want to monetize your site, you need to plan on spending ~4x as much effort promoting your content! Please read on for our writers’ views on what to do after writing a blog post.
Promoting Blog Posts
Have you created a wonderful blog full of lots of useful content for your readers? Now it’s time to work on promoting blog posts! Before you get antsy and press that “Publish” button, please take the time to go through a checklist of items on the “to do” list.
Here is the list for you to use and keep in mind.
- SEO/ Keyword Integration
The best place to start is with search engine optimization.
A blog post can reach the masses when it’s appropriately targeted using essential keywords. In this day and age, you should be writing with the keyword in mind and making sure the blog post is well-optimized before hitting that “Publish” button.
What is the best way to do this?
Using the Yoast SEO plug-in as it will be able to guide you directly in WordPress. This saves time, and you’re able to receive a score for how well your post is optimized.
- Shorten the Post’s URL
This can be done using the Yoast SEO plugin or manually.
The idea is to shorten the URL as that makes it SEO-friendly and easier to read. Too many automated URLs are a mixture of randomized letters or numbers. Those are unhelpful and don’t tell Google anything about what your webpage has to offer.
You want to make it obvious, and that begins by shortening the URL. It should be no more than 3-4 words at best and should only refer to your keyword.
An example would be www.EXAMPLE.com/acne-treatment if your keyword were “acne treatment.”
Shortening the URL is always the right thing to do and should be automatic before you submit the post.
- Share on Social Media Sites
Social media integration has become one of the most critical aspects of marketing blog posts. Those who aren’t doing this remain a step behind. Millions upon millions of users visit social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, so why not take advantage of them?
Share your posts on all social media accounts.
The results are going to be staggering because the word will get out especially if you go viral. It can happen to anyone, and it’s best to keep this in your back pocket as a blogger.
- Social Bookmarking
Sites such as Delicious, StumbleUpon, and Digg used to be popular back in the day and still hold cache. You may want to submit your blog post on these platforms and make sure they bring in backlinks. It might take a while for things to speed up in this regard but it will certainly not hurt you! In some cases, you could see backlinks, traffic, and significant exposure in a matter of hours. Many niches can reproduce such results if you time it well. Each platform is unique, so familiarize yourself with each and follow their procedures for submitting.
- Syndication
Aggregators have started to become a popular solution for those who want to get the word out about their blog post.
Look at some of the leading aggregators in your niche and send them your blog post. Not sure what we’re talking about? This blog post has some useful background info. Aggregators help ensure the word will get out to those who prefer reading blogs in your niche. This can bring in a lot of traffic and is a great way to bolster your website.
Over time, your efforts with syndication will snowball into a more substantial traffic source, and it’s something to keep in mind before having the post published.
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- Seek Out and Comment on Related Blogs/Topics
Do you want to get the word out about your blog post as soon as possible?
The best way to do so is by building relationships with the audience and other bloggers. Visit those blogs you’re competing with and start helping folks out. Read through their blog posts (related to yours) and start commenting on them.
Don’t spam your links!
The idea isn’t to go over and spam them because they’ll block your IP or do the same to your blog. Instead, you want to be helpful, resourceful, and then tactfully mention your blog. Don’t force it and simply link it to your avatar as most blogs offer these days.
- Seek and Assist
Similar to #6 above, the same strategy can be done through forums.
The goal should be to seek leads and help them out without wanting anything in return. Yes, you are going to have this in mind because it will help bolster your blog post, but never force anything. The moment you force, they’re going to see through the act making it worse.
Always seek and assist with the goal of popularizing your name more than anything else. This is going to add up over time even if you don’t see results right off the bat.
- Email Signature
Are you sending out emails to a group of subscribers? You should be! We have some thoughts on helping you build an email list rapidly and setting up squeeze pages to help people sign up for your newsletter. For those who are, it is time to look at your email signature. You want to have it in place, so people are aware of where to click. This can be updated based on what you are writing and should be done before the blog post goes up. It is a great way to let people know what’s been posted.
Even if you don’t change the signature, you can send out a quick email about an interesting blog post you’re about to release. This will pique their interest.
- Share the Post with Target Customers
Always share the post with target customers wherever you can find them without spamming.
Just let them know what you’ve written, and they’ll head over to your blog for a quick read.
- Add the post to Your Next Newsletter
Do you have a newsletter that’s emailed out on a weekly or bi-weekly basis?
If yes, you will want to put this blog post in there before you forget!
Adding the post to your newsletter is a great way to get people to read as they are going to already be interested in what you have to say.
Great topic. Doing all you stated in the post is really a great and effective way to promote blog posts. Very useful content. Keep it up