Crafting a great headline and writing super engaging content people want to read is only a small step in blogging for your business. Having the content is great, but it only works if people read it, right? And it’s a question I get asked a lot; how do you promote your blog?
Well, in this post, I will share my top ways to promote your blog that A. won’t cost you money and B. won’t take up all of your time… the two things most small business owners are particularly short of.
So let’s dive right in…
Always do keyword research
I know the mention of SEO has some small business owners thinking I’m about to start talking about some form of a dark art but getting the basics right really isn’t that difficult, and the first thing to focus on is keywords.
In its simplest form, keyword research is just about checking that you are writing about a topic people are interested in. I like using a tool called Ubersuggest as it’s free and straightforward to use.
You just enter the topic idea you have, and the app will generate data around that keyword as well as other suggestions. Now, it’s worth learning about the various data points it shares, but ultimately, you should aim to use a keyword that is ranked green. This means many people are searching for that term, but not many are writing about it. So, you have the best chance of getting your blog ranked highly in search engines.
Now, once you have a keyword to use, try using it in the title, subtitles and throughout your blog. However, and this is super important, don’t force it. It’s really obvious to both search engines and readers when you have overly stuffed a keyword into your writing.
Your email list
Your email list is the most precious tool in your marketing arsenal, and if you haven’t yet got one, I highly recommend you start building one. According to Optinmonster
“60% of consumers state that they have made a purchase as the result of a marketing message they received by email. On the flip side, only 12.5% of them even consider a buy button as a purchase driver on social media.”
Sending your blog to your email list is a great way to get it noticed and position yourself as an expert in your industry. Depending on how often you blog, you may want to send each new blog out individually, or you could do a monthly round-up of your blogs. There is no right or wrong answer; it should just be what you are comfortable with and what your email list likes. Don’t be afraid to ask them for feedback.
Your social media
Another great free way is to utilise your own social media. Although less effective than email marketing, it is still a way to share your post with your followers and reach new audience members using relevant hashtags.
If you use LinkedIn, I recommend publishing your blog as an article. Whilst it won’t push traffic back to your website, articles are trendy on LinkedIn, and if you’ve set up your LinkedIn newsletter, this will have a much greater reach than just posting the link to your site.
Use breadcrumbs to promote your blog
This can be done on social media or online forums and can be extremely powerful if done well. Done incorrectly, you look spammy and may even get banned from Facebook groups or forums.
So, what is breadcrumbing? Well, you know the story of Hansel and Gretel, right? Leaving breadcrumbs to find their way home? Well, it’s just like that, except you’re leading people back to your blog.
I’ll use this blog as an example. I may see a post on Facebook from someone stating they are having problems increasing traffic to their blog, so I could leave a comment saying something like, “Hi, I’ve actually just written a blog about this, and you can read it here” leaving a link to the blog.
Before doing this, check group rules on social media, as not all groups or forums allow it.
Guest blogging
Guest blogging is when you write a blog for another site. It could be for another blogger or a business with a similar audience to you without being direct competition. And whilst it won’t be a blog you already have on your site, it’s a great way of reaching a new audience that will likely look at what else you have written if they enjoy your guest post.
Guest blogging is also a great way to build trust, as being accepted to guest blog is a thumbs up from the business or blogger that you are trustworthy and an expert in your field.
Bonus tip: Internal links
Internal linking is the process of adding links to your blog to other relevant blogs you have written. You have probably seen me do it throughout this post.
It’s a great way to increase your SEO, keep people on your site, and discover other blogs you have written.
As a Virtual Marketing Assistant specialising in content and copywriting, helping businesses attract and nurture their ideal clients to grow their sales lights me up. Drop me a message today if you need help identifying your perfect client, perfecting your messaging, or marketing your services.
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