Advertising Your Blog:
4 Ways to Do It at Little Expense
During your initial foray into web logging, you’ll find that it will take some conscious effort on your part to promote your blog. Of course, you could just simply write feverishly and hope that your blog takes on a life of its own. But that’s putting your hopes on randomness which might not work in your favor. If the thought of advertising your blog has never crossed your mind, it’s time that you gave it some consideration, especially if you’ve only begun blogging.
Here are ways you can start advertising your blog at little or no cost:
Share information for free.
Don’t expect or demand to be paid for information just yet. You’re still trying to build your reputation and nobody knows you. Focus on putting out excellent quality entries or posts in your blog. Good content, coupled with enough promotional activity, will put you in the blog universe’s map. The way to do it is to write articles about your specific topic, articles that are related to your chosen content. Include a short introduction about yourself and your blog and place a link back to your site. Writing articles helps establish your reputation as a reliable source of information and makes you recognizable.
Take article writing a bit further and send it out to article databases or social bookmarking sites where it can generate more buzz and get free promotion. Social bookmarking sites allow visitors to vote for your article, so the more it gains in popularity, the more exposure your blog will receive.
Target online forums.
Online forums are today’s bulletin boards, the equivalent of the office water cooler. These are sites or pages on the internet that people frequent to ask or answer questions, share their opinions, tell a story, rant, rave or just simply say something. Seek out online forums where topics related to your blog are found. Forums offer free advertising opportunities for your blog and let you network at the same time.
Link up with other blogs.
Never underestimate the power of a good connection. Many bloggers form associations with other bloggers and reap the rewards of a symbiotic relationship in the process. They do this by swapping links, allowing themselves to share their audience with other bloggers like you. Bloggers can also actively promote your blog by mentioning it in their posts while at the same time providing links back to your site. Frequently, blog owners will often allow you to guest write an article or post for a day or a week. This helps expose you and your blog to that blog’s visitors.
Give your two cents’ worth.
Don’t always treat other blogs with content similar to yours as bitter competitors. Sometimes, they could work as silent partners to help you promote your blog. It may sound sneaky or unacceptable to your idea of good ethics but if you look closely, it’s not only practical, it’s also legit. Each time you visit another guy’s blog, consider the niche market it targets. Simply take a look at the prevailing topics and sentiment and you’ll have an idea whether it’s a match to your needs or not. Leave a short but meaty comment on a relevant article that you truly found interesting. Then leave your name and a link to the blog page where a related topic can be found.
What this does is simply promoting your blog to a market that already exists. You’re not exactly stealing another blogger’s audience – you’re simply providing them an alternative. And that’s not so bad for advertising your blog.
