By Stacey Hartman
When you’re running a blog, you get that content is king. And with that amazing content, you’ll understandably want to get your hard work out there. How to go about that without breaking the bank, though, can be scary. That, and trying to stand out in the current marketing environment can be extremely overwhelming, especially when everyone seems to be doing the same things to market their blogs.
Stand out from the crowd with these five alternative (and sometimes overlooked) angles on promoting your blog.
1. Join a blog community
Blogging communities (sometimes known as blogging directories) are a place for bloggers to connect over common themes, share content, and build relationships. You’re also able to share your content on a platform that can aggregate common content themes.
Diversity is important when it comes to marketing your blog content and, while social media is still a major traffic stream (we’ll discuss that in a bit), communities provide another route for your content to be found.
So with a good community, not only are you able to get feedback from fellow community members, it’s a great alternative publishing venue for your content.
2. Sharing on social media
Sharing your blog content on social media isn’t as unique as it used to be, so it can feel difficult to stand out in the sea of tweets and shares. It’s still an important step to take for marketing your blog, especially when you approach it from a different angle.
Where to share your blog can vary a bit based on your blog content, and it’s easy to forget that there are social media platforms outside of Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. If your site has a strong visual aesthetic and you tend to post quite a bit of image-based content, Instagram would be a great place to share your work. If your blog focuses more on the how-to and informational side of things, Pinterest is a site sharing option that tends to be overlooked.
But while Facebook/Twitter/Google+ are the typical social media outlets, you shouldn’t skip them entirely. With these platforms, it’s important to keep a solid sharing cycle in order to maintain engagement with your audience. The trends for engagement vary by platform, but this is the general rule of thumb for sharing:
• Facebook — 2 times per day
• Twitter/Google+ — 3 times per day
• Pinterest — 5 times per day
• Instagram — 2 or more times per day
3. Don’t forget about older content
If the social media sharing guidelines seem a bit scary, keep in mind that you shouldn’t limit yourself to sharing only brand new content. You worked hard on the older content on your site, so don’t be afraid to share that content again. It’s an easy way to draw in a new audience and drive additional traffic to your site.
4. Cross-posting and guest writers
Cross-posted content or bringing in a guest blogger is another great way for you to get exposure for your blog. Not only does having guest content increase the diversity of your blog content, it’s another excellent method of introducing a new set of readers to your blog. Your post on their blog can serve to draw readers over, and the guest post on your blog lends credibility to your site. And don’t forget to draw attention to these guest posts on your social media. It’s an awesome way to build anticipation and create buzz for your blog.
5. Build relationships in relevant communities
Building your reputation as an expert in your field outside of the blogging community is also an excellent marketing tool. For this, Facebook, LinkedIn or Yahoo groups would be a good starting place, depending on your niche.
The key here is to join in conversations related to your area of expertise without heavily promoting your blog. Your goal is to build a rapport with the communities instead of directly sharing your blog link.
So where does your blog come into play? Once you’re well on your way to being an established expert, you can be a bit more free with linking to your blog. Also, depending on the community site, you may have the ability to add a signature or include bio information (a good place to add your blog’s URL). Most important: Be real and personable within the communities. Being authentic will help to build a solid relationship with your potential audience, which will make them more open to subscribing to your blog.
It’s easy to feel lost in the crowd when trying to get more traffic for your blog. Don’t stress it. With a few fresh angles on sharing your blog, you’ll be on your way to the larger audience that you’re aiming for.
Bio: Stacey Hartman has been with GoDaddy for more than eight years, helping customers with SEO and business distribution via GoDaddy’s Search Engine Visibility and Get Found tools. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, gaming, reading, and baking award-winning cheesecakes.