Top Blog Marketing Strategies

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It occurred to me tonight, after having a strategy discussion with my wife about a web site idea she had, that most people who now finally know what a “blog” is associate it primarily with it being a personal outlet – nothing to do with business at all.  While this is true in most cases, a blog has obviously become a marketing and business tool all it’s own.

So I wondered how many blogs are out there, happily being blogged upon with absolutely no marketing behind them at all.  It’s not like you need an entire marketing department to write press releases, buy TV ads and map our a year’s worth of strategies – but many people, even with personal blogs, have a huge business asset they can tap into with just a small amount of the right type of marketing.

As a marketer and web developer by profession, I’d like to share with you just a few marketing strategies for your blog you can start implementing TODAY.

Blog Marketing Strategy #1 – XML Sitemap

For those using a hosted WordPress installation for their blog (highly recommended), you need to have XML Sitemap Generator installed.  This plugin for WordPress automatically creates a sitemap file that Google, Yahoo and other search engines can read.

What this means to you?  You’ll be sure that whenever a new post is created, the search engines have immediate access to the new content.  After all, most people coming to your site in the beginning will be coming from Google or Yahoo.

Blog Marketing Strategy #2 – Social Commenting

Chances are that, no matter what your blog is about, there are other people who write about similar or related things.  You need to know who these people are!  Readers are unlikely to read just one blog on a topic they’re interested in, so if they see you actively involved in commenting on other sites, they’re likely to click through and see what you’re all about.

I’m going to mention Twitter in this strategy.  Twitter is a networking tool, marketing tool, communication tool, and much more.  It really should have it’s own post (and will soon), but for now you should know this:  there are people from all walks of life on Twitter spewing 140 characters at a time about things they do and enjoy.  You can search for topics on Twitter and start following those who you share common interests with, reach out to them and connect.  Soon they’ll be learning about you, your blog, and voila, another reader who could start spreading the news about you!

Blog Marketing Strategy #3 – Outside Content Creation

One of the most powerful strategies of blog marketing, in my opinion, is article writing.  Not articles you’re writing for your blog, but articles that you might post to your blog, but instead post to article sites like Ezine Articles.  These article directories allow people looking for content to use your article on their site, but to do so, they have to include your bio and links everywhere they post your content.

Imagine hundreds or thousands of people using an article you write and then posting that to their own site.  This not only creates hundreds of one-way links back to your blog (great for search engine results), but it also allows thousands of people who might not have found you else where to read something you’ve written, like it, and go to your blog for even more.

Some other types of content creation you can use as a marketing strategy include posting pages to sites like Squidoo.

Blog Marketing Strategy #4 – Reach Out

Find people you can help.  Search through the blogs you found in step #2, search for keyword topics you’re interested on Twitter, join relevant groups on Facebook – and find people who are trying to accomplish something you can help with.  The bond you can create with someone by helping them while not expecting anything in return, can be one of the greatest marketing strategies for any business – including your blog.

It may seem frustrating at first, thinking your trying to find readers one at a time, but the fact is that is exactly how your site is built.  It takes one person to find your site who then posts it to Digg or Stumbleupon – and all of a sudden a flood of traffic is coming in seemingly all at once.

Blog Marketing Strategy #5 – The ‘You’ Brand

Make sure that people associate your blog with You.  If people want news, they’ll go to a news website – people get addicted to blogs because they love the people behind them.

Who are you?  Do you have an easy-to-find “about” page on your blog?  Do you have a separate domain like yourname.com with a bio and links to your sites?

Remember that everything you do online today can always come back to you – so make the You people find one that you’d be proud of.  Make sure your comments are relevant,  stay out of controversial conversations (unless of course that’s what You are known for!), and always be true to yourself.

People follow other people they like.  Do you like You?

:)

There are dozens of other parts to a full blog marketing strategy.  We haven’t even touched on search engine optimization (SEO), keyword marketing, link exchanges, quality content… the list goes on.  However, this should give you a start if you’re considering marketing your blog to make it more popular.

How about our readers that have had some success with marketing strategies for their blog?  Which strategies work for you?  And for those who are just starting into the blog world, feel free to leave a question for me!