A lot has to take place to jumpstart a good blogging site. Part of what a site runner does involve figuring out what to write about or making sure the content is high quality, but it doesn’t end there.
A blog runner also has to figure out how to fish out an audience from the web and bring them to a site. This is why promoting a blog is important.
Starts With SEO
Perhaps one of the most important steps to take is to work on SEO optimization. Getting this right ensures that search engines place your site on the first few pages of a search result. This may not sound all that important, but online users aren’t patient.
Most folks won’t search beyond the first page. When learning how to start a blog, getting SEO right ensures those efforts aren’t in vain. Good SEO practices mean a lot of things, like using quality links and clear meta descriptions, and much more.
Utilizing Email Marketing
A popular way to market a blog is to simply use email marketing. It may be one of the oldest online forms of marketing, but it’s also one of the most effective. It has been able to convert visitors into long-time readers and even customers.
Now, to get this right, it’s important to make sure a contact form is available. This form will give the site runner the info needed to send email marketing to visitors. The form needs to be easily found, and it needs to be as short as possible. Online users don’t like forms, especially long ones.
Sharing on Social Media
Social media continues to be a godsend for many startups. It gives beginners a chance to engage with online users who are looking for new content to consume. Of course, the content has to be engaging and shareable.
Bloggers should go on every social media platform and find a way to promote their blogs. Usually, there are tools to help with this, so find tools that will make this form of marketing as easy as possible. When using social media, the key is engagement. Folks love to feel like they can communicate directly with the company, so responding to comments is advisable.
Through Paid Advertising
Here is where things can get a little dicey for some startups. Advertising can be effective and easily done, not only throughout the web but also through social media platforms. The problem is overhead. If site runners want to advertise, they have to spend a considerable amount of cash for quality advertising, hopefully, targeted to ensure that the blogging site reaches folks most likely to read it.
The site runner must be certain that the blog is interesting enough to attract readers. It would be wise to track how advertisements are doing. If some are working better than others, then drop the ones that aren’t working so well. The less time spent on useless advertisements, the better. Be sure that paid advertising is within the budget. If not, it could burn through the cash needed to keep the site running.
Reaching Out to Other Bloggers
The next thing to do to promote a new blog is to reach out to other bloggers. It may be nearly impossible to get the attention of successful bloggers, but people who are just starting might be more receptive. Be sure to only reach out to blogging sites that promote a complimentary message.
Being a guest blogger would be helpful. Linking to a helpful post from a site you like maybe a good idea, and the other blogger may return the favor. Be sure that any help and communication made with a fellow blogger is genuine. The goal here is to establish a trustworthy and mutually beneficial relationship. Bloggers can tell if a person is only interested in advertising and will likely not be too responsive to that.
Getting Into Online Forums
Online forums are wonderful things that could help beginners reach an audience. They are the web’s version of the water cooler. These are places where folks can just gather and talk about their interests or the latest gossip. It could be the place where folks can ask questions or offer advice.
There are a lot of online forums out there, and it’s important to find ones that offer knowledge for startup blogs that could be useful. It’s wise to engage in the conversations being held on these forums rather than just linking back to the blog content. If good answers or responses are given along with the link, then folks might be more willing to click.
These are some of the best ways to market a blossoming blog. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to take time and a lot of effort, but if the blog site is worth it, then all this is worth it, too.
