You just wrote the greatest blog post ever. You hit publish and you're ready for a day full of traffic. However, two hours after you've published your best blog post ever, it has hardly gotten any hits.
Writing incredible content is only the first step in running a successful blog. While you're still building your blog, you can't simply write a great post and then let it be. The next step in building and running a successful blog is content promotion. You have to share your post with others so that they will find it. Check out these key steps in promoting your blog content.
1. Create several small blurbs about your post.
You're going to need to share your blog post on several different social media outlets several different times. Each different outlet calls for a different type (and length) of promotion and each time you share your post, you want to describe it differently. No one wants to see a tweet with the same title of your blog post twelve times a day. Create a variety of little snippets to use each time you share your content, consisting of variations of your post's title or stats/quotes from your content.
2. Utilize groups or communities in your niche.
By sharing your content in places like LinkedIn Groups and Google+ Communities that cater to your specific niche, you are sure to find a plethora of readers that will be interested in your blog post. For example, if you wrote a blog post about using an editorial calendar, a Google+ Community for Blogging or for Blog Management is probably going to be a great place to share your post.
3. Use social media share buttons.
Including social media share buttons within your post is a great tool to help with your content promotion. It's important to give your readers an easy and direct way to share your blog post. Be sure to use buttons that your reader can easily decipher which outlet they're sharing to and help them even more by including a pre-written snippet in the text box.
4. Include images in your social media posts.
Images capture attention. Rather than writing social media posts with only a link to your blog, include an image as well. It takes up more space on a potential reader's feed, increasing the likelihood of him seeing and reading your post.
5. If you quote someone or use someone's blog post as a source, let them know!
If you linked to someone else's blog post in your content, send them an e-mail telling them so. Everyone loves to hear that you've used their content as a source. Include a link to your blog post so that they can check it out for themselves. And maybe, if they liked it, they'll share it for you.
6. Hashtags + links = social engagement.
Hashtags are a great tool to utilize in your content promotion--especially on Twitter. These link to search results and can help users to more easily find your post.
7. Repurpose old content.
Do you have an old blog post that you loved that did incredibly well on its current platform when it was published, but doesn't generate much (if any) traffic anymore? That doesn't mean that the lifespan of your post is coming to an end! It just means that it's time to rejuvenate it and give it a new life! There are so many ways to repurpose old content to keep readers coming back to and enjoying it over and over again.
8. Ask questions.
The key in content promotion is getting your readers to engage with your social media shares. By asking a question (that is relevant to your content), while also including a link to your post, you are more likely to have reader engagement.
It seems like the work of a blogger is never done. As soon as you write one great blog post, you have to work on promoting it. once that is done, it's time to write another great blog post! However, there is a silver lining--eventually, writing your great blog post will be your content promotion strategy because your readers will do all of the work for you!
Steve Lazuka is the co-founder and President of Zerys/InteractMedia. Zerys is a comprehensive content strategy planner, content production platform, and professional writer marketplace… all rolled into one.