So, you’ve finished writing your blog, searched for the perfect stock photos, edited, proof-read, and finally uploaded your blog. But what next? Post it on your Facebook channel once and then forget about it?
If this sounds familiar keep reading for my blog promo checklist (free download) to help you get maximum use out of your masterpiece and ensure your blog isn’t left unread, unloved, and neglected!
I can remember writing my first blog, thinking that was the hard bit over, only to then wonder what to do with it. I soon realised that unless you have a blog promotional strategy or a plan in place, the blogs get posted once and forgotten. Or you spend ages trying to remember how you promoted the last one, which then becomes twice as much work the next time around.
I think it's important to note this is all organic promotion. With no paid ads to boost your search engine position, it will take a little longer to build your following. I've also assumed that you have completed your on-page SEO, meta tags, keywords, alt tags etc.
I use Trello to keep all my blog promo info in one place. I use one list and incorporate separate cards within the list for each process. Each card is also in process-order to make it as efficient as possible.
Social media
Create 4/5 different social media post messages to promote the blog. This adds variety and different post content will hook different people. Think about post length as Twitter is much shorter than Instagram. Again, I use Trello to store blog post text along with the blog URL and relevant photos so that I can access this info again easily.
Use a scheduler like Buffer or Hootsuite but don’t turn into a spammer. How much you share your post in the first week will depend on which social media network you are posting. Twitter for example will need to be much more frequent than Instagram. It should be more frequent in the first week and then scattered throughout your schedule thereafter. Don’t forget to vary the post content using your prewritten post messages (above) and if possible using different pictures.
If you are on Twitter, create a Twitter list of Blogging accounts that will retweet your blog. Tag the accounts when you post, but be selective. Don’t tag everyone on one post. And remember, social media is about having conversations so you need to build your audience and don't forget to share their content too. Did I mention that I have written a blog post on why you should be using Twitter lists?
Pin it as your main post on profiles for Facebook and Twitter. If you use Instagram, you either have to make a choice between displaying your website link or latest blog link as you can only use one URL in your bio. To get around this you can use Linktree (others are available) is to create your own unlinked webpage, which directs people to the relevant places on your website. You would then use that link in your Insta profile ( I will be doing a blog post about this next).
Make a note of any people that you engage with regularly that might repost for you, particularly if the blog is relevant to them.
Include a “click to tweet” quote in your blog post using one of the various plugins for WordPress.
Don't forget to check social media days, events, or holidays that you can tie in with your blogs. I have a blog post about ways to market your small business at Christmas and I always update this with new ideas and will promote 2 months before.
Email is still a really powerful tool to communicate with your potential and existing clients. Send out to your email list and invite them to comment and share your post. And if you have included anyone in your post, don’t forget to email them a link to the blog.
Add to your email signature. This is a great way to reach new people and remind others that you have a new blog post out. Some businesses might not even be on social media that much, so could miss your posts. This is therefore an additional way to get your message out there. You can either create your own email signature or use a system such as WiseStamp (free and paid options available).
If you send out a newsletter, don't forget to feature your blog post.
Aggregators
Content aggregators such as Feedly, Flipboard, Pocket, Bloglovin, etc, use RSS feeds from websites to collect content. This does mean you need to set up an RSS feed on your website, and you can find more info here on how to do that. Different aggregators also all have options for paid sponsored content.
Create a list of online communities that might find your content of interest
Repurpose Your Content
Creating blog content takes time and there's a lot of valuable info contained within your blog so why not get the most out of it. Think about how you can repurpose your post, turn it into a podcast, or a video, or create graphics with Canva from selected key sentences. The screenshot from one of my Instagram posts below is a quote by me from one of my blogs. I used Canva to turn it into a graphic, which took me about five minutes.
Can you link your other blogs within your current blog as I have done with this blog? There's more information about content repurposing in this blog post from HubSpot.
Website
Don't forget to make sure your blog is visible on your website. You may know it's there but do others? Are you able to incorporate a blog post stream on your front page or in your footer? How about adding a CTA (Call To Action)? This encourages people to sign up and get notifications of new blog posts, and could be within the actual blog, on the blog page or anywhere else you feel it's relevant on your website.
Analytics
Don’t forget to check your analytics. You may be surprised by the blogs that are your most popular. It's also important to look at where the referral traffic is coming from and the number of subscribers (if relevant). Also, look at the type of questions being asked as these could be used as the basis of future blogs.
So, you do need to spend some time initially planning your strategy and setting the system up, but believe me, it will save you time in the future. You can also add to, and build on, your strategy as your blog grows.
Finally, if it's going well why not set yourself some goals for your blog. They don't have to be big grand statements. It could be as simple as committing to producing one blog per month and working out how you are going to achieve that. Or maybe it is something like increasing your blog subscribers by 10 each month.
Oh, and because I'm feeling nice, I have created a handy checklist. No sign up needed, just print and let it adorn your wall!
Thanks for reading.
Comments