Whenever you start a website, in particular a blog, it’s not one of those situations where “if you build it, they will come” (with apologies to the Field of Dreams movie.) This is especially true of a blog.
It’s even worse when you write some incredible content, and no one’s reading it. So how do you get your community to come and read and share your content? Are there some actions you can take right NOW to drive traffic to your blog?
You bet. Here you are.
- Promote your blog on your website. This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised to see how many companies don’t do this. For SEO purposes, it’s even better if it’s on your domain, but it’s not a make-or-break rule. E.g. my blog (http://spacebarpress.com/blog) is on my main site domain (http://spacebarpress.com.)
- Link to it in your email signature. Pretty simple. It’s an opportunity to market your blog to someone new, and is especially effective if you’re in contact with people outside of your company.
- Be consistent. Post on a regular basis. This ensures that your readers will come back frequently and share the content with others in the community.
- Create an RSS feed. Put an RSS subscription button on your blog, and make sure it’s prominent. It’s a simple step that ensures anyone who wants to keep reading, can. You’ll see mine at the top of the sidebar.
- Comment on other blogs. This is a tricky one with a business blog, but shouldn’t be ignored. Comment on the other sites whenever there’s new content on them. And don’t forget to link back to your blog too.
- Share your content on Facebook / LinkedIn / Twitter. Make sure you’ve got the right networks listed on your site. Then let them know when you’ve got a new post up.
- Optimize your content for sharing. Make sure you’re using the right tools to let readers share easily. For example, if I click the Tweet This button and the URL isn’t shortened automatically, I’m not going to share it.
- Promote your blog URL everywhere online. Link to it in your Twitter profile, your LinkedIn profile, your company’s profile, and anywhere else that you can think of. Don’t forget your business cards too. This way you give everyone a chance to tell you where they found your content.
- Promote your blog when you speak at live events. If anyone from your company is speaking at a conference or other live event, make sure to mention your blog. You can even include it in the footer of any slide presentations you make too.
These are just some of the ways you can promote your blog. Remember, it’s just as important to promote your blog as it is creating the awesome content for it. Have you used any of these tips? Do you have any others that you’d like to share? Hit the comments and let me know.
