Now what?
Don’t sit back and wait for traffic to happen. Get active and start driving readers to your latest post!
My colleague, Peg Fitzpatrick and I have put together a two-part series to help you not only capitalize on opportunity, but maximize your blog post exposure.
Her post, “8 Smart Tips to Maximize Your Blog Content” kicked our series off and offered insight into her top blog promotion tips.
Below are eight more ways you can pump up your latest blog post and get it in front of a whole new audience!
How to Boost Your Latest Blog Post
Tip No. 1: Tweak Your Headline
Your blog title is the the tantalizing treat that draws readers to your content. Your content is the glue that gets them to stick around.
While both are equally important, you must first get them to walk through the front door.
As Neil Pattel of QuickSprout says,
The goal of the headline is to stop readers cold and draw them into your post. You can’t do that if you use cute, clever or confusing headlines. You can stop readers cold, however, if you write headlines that are unique, ultra-specific, useful or urgent.
Don’t settle on the first iteration of your title. Work with it and test it. A tool I love to use is the Advanced Marketing Institute’s “Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer.”
Simply plug in your title, choose your business or industry, and hit submit. Within seconds your title be scored based on an algorithm that tests the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual value of your headline.
As you can imagine, the higher the number the better. Keep tweaking your title until you feel comfortable with it, and you feel you’ve gotten the most out of it.
Tip No. 2: Optimize for Maximum Exposure
While search engine optimization has taken somewhat of a back seat to social media optimization in some marketers minds, it’s certainly not dead.
Proper optimization of your blog post can get search engines (particularly Google) and your target audience to pay attention.
Write about current topics that are relevant tо уоur industry and make sure you post this content consistently. Not only do the search engines love fresh content, but it will keep your readers coming back for up-to-date information.
As you write your blog content, also think about the keywords that your target market will be using. As you can see below, my post “25 Smart Ways to Promote Your Latest Blog Post” is ranking on the front page of Google based on the search “blog post promotion.”
Include your keyword in your title if possible and then add them throughout your post. However, don’t get carried away. The days of keyword stuffing for search engine placement are long gone.
The most important ingredients that will keep readers coming back is the readability and conversational tone of your content. If you are simply writing for search engines, you will have readers running (not walking) away from your blog altogether.
Tip No. 3: Create а Video
Did you offer a tip in your latest blog post that is worth sharing in a different format? Take that tip and turn it into a quick video.
Just make sure your video is worth watching аnd sharing. The sound and visual should be high quality and you want to kеер іt short аnd get tо thе point. People will not stick around if your sound quality is poor or you ramble on with no particular point.
Using blog content in a short video is an excellent way to showcase your talent and expertise by arousing viewer interest. Give them enough to want to learn more!
Tip No. 4: Create a Google+ Hangout
While video marketing might be hot, creating your own TV show is even hotter. But why make it difficult? Give Google+ Hangouts on Air a try!
Google+ Hangouts on Air (HOA’s) are a terrific way to position your personal brand as the go-to professional within your industry. As Stephan Hovnanian of WebSIGHT said in a recent article,
“We all know YouTube has its share of amazing “shows” where individuals have taken their webcam and turned themselves into superstars. Now, there’s a new wave of “hosts” coming on board, and they’re using Google+ Hangouts On-Air (HOA’s) to create a ton of exposure, not just for themselves, but for their guests as well.”
“If you are personable, know something about something, and can look into a webcam, you should be participating in Google+ Hangouts On Air.”
As consumers’ appetite for content grows, offering an alternative to traditional marketing allows you to reach a larger and broader audience.
A Google+ hangout has greater visual impact, emotional appeal and reach given the active social nature of these events. Whether you decide to run your own or join one, grab the opportunity to put your business or brand in front of this growing audience.
Here’s a recent HOA I had the opportunity to sit in on discussing how to repurpose blog content for maximum exposure.
Watch it here:
Tip No. 5: Join Blog Networks
Do you write content only to find that only a handful of people have read and shared it? Let your post get in front of a much larger audience through blog communities.
Blog networks are a great way to establish relationships with fellow bloggers actively writing about your niche or topic.
One of my favorite communities is Triberr. I use Triberr to build alliances and assist other bloggers in spreading their content across the web. It’s simple to use and highly effective when used strategically.
Sign up and join Tribes that share content similar to yours. You can share across multiple networks immediately or set up an automated system to drip content to your social sites.
Tip No. 6: Utilize Social Bookmarking
Social bookmarking sites serve two purposes. They allow you to collect and manage content and share your content with a group searching based on your keywords.
Sharing your latest blog post on social bookmarking sites such as the ones below can open your content up to millions of potential viewers you would not have access to otherwise.
Make this a must-do each and every time you publish a new post!
A few of my favorites:
Reddit is a unique social bookmarking and social news website with a very unique community. Search by “sub-Reddit’s” that act as categories.
Scoop.it
Sccop.it is a bookmarking and curation website where you can create magazines based on topic or niche. Add content from across the web to your Scoop.it account and let others begin to find you based on similar interests.
StumbleUpon
StumblUpon is a bookmarking and discovery engine that allows users to “stumble” through related content. Add your latest blog post to your StumbleUpon account, categorize it based on topic and let others stumble to it based on interest.
As you can see from my post below, it can be an incredibly effective traffic-driving tool!
Tip No. 7: Turn Your Post into a Podcast
Another way to to take your blog post and get it in front of a whole new audience is to turn it into a podcast.
If уоu аrе lооkіng to boost your website traffic, thеn соnѕіdеr adding a podcast to your marketing mix.
Once you have written a blog post, chunk it down into your top tips or key takeaways. This will be recorded so that anyone can listen, whether they are in the car or the treadmill.
Your post and your podcast will now cross-promote one another and support each other in driving additional traffic and new subscribers to your blog.
One of my favorite podcasts is Pat Flynn’s, “Smart Passive Income Podcast.” Pat says that launching his podcast is one of the best decisions he ever made and hearing the results below, I would have to agree.
“The show has surpassed 6,000,000 total downloads. (as of December, 2013) and has become the #1 way people who read my blog found out about me – that’s above search, social media and links from other websites.”
Tip No. 8: Write a Follow Up Post or Create a Series
Do you have articles that you have written in the last year or two that have an evergreen quality, but have a few key points that need updating?
Let your readers know that since you wrote the original post that there have been many changes you want to make them aware of.
Stop the churn and burn. There is so much great content sitting on your blog. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel when you can update an old article in 30 minutes or less.
Thank you so much. You always produce golden nuggets of information. It is all a minefield as I am new to blogging.
I enjoyed reading your article and you have some really good tips I can use Thanks
Hey,
Amazing post there. We all know how important it is to drive traffic to your blogposts.
Social networks have a huge role in this!
Driving traffic from social media is easy and essential!
-Cheers!
Rebekah,This is by far one of the most useful posts I\’ve found on Pinterest thus far. I\’m only 6 weeks into blogging (is there a different word for \”newbie\”?), and I\’m trying to soak up as much as possible as I jump into this world head first. Great stuff!! I\’ll be coming back for more great tips!
Hi Rebekah.
I think that’s a great point about joining blog networks. Although I haven’t yet got as involved as I intend to do very soon, I am already reaping the benefits with more visibility.
It has also provided an opportunity for me to meet, interact with, and learn from bloggers with their own unique experiences. I’d certainly recommend it.
Nathan.
Great points, thanks for the headline analyzer tool tip. I have a feeling I will be using it a lot!
I love that tool Jennifer! I think you’ll find a lot of value in it. Have fun!
Hey Rebekah,
I use to use that headline analysis tool a long time ago when I did a lot of article marketing but from my experience I didn’t always find it to be spot on. I love the concept though so you must be having great luck with it.
I actually haven’t been doing the majority of what you’ve shared here but I did start using SlideShare. I thought bookmarking was dead or is that just yet another thing they want us to believe?
I’m not into podcasting only because I really don’t have time to listen to them. I prefer videos or the written word myself so I guess it’s hard to get into something I myself don’t really enjoy.
I’ve done hangouts but mostly just with my mastermind groups. I haven’t delved into that area yet. Gosh I need to branch out more.
Thanks for these tips and great reminders.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne! Isn’t everything dead at one point or another? It seems they’re always making that statement and then retracting it almost as fast. Sigh…it’s the crazy world we live in! 🙂
And as far as you adding more to your plate, you do an exceptional job with your blog so I don’t know that adding any additional pieces is necessary. Just keep on doing what you do best!
Hey Rebekah,
Great tips here. I got the most benefit of joining blog networks and groups on facebook. We usually are sharing each other’s content and it has boost my shares, especially through Twitter! A couple of my blogging friends are already getting a ton of traffic so that definitely helps a lot too.
This year I’ve been doing more follow up posts as opposed to last year, and I do believe that it’s another reason why there was a boost in shares. I feel like if I talk about another topic, it leads to another topic where I have to explain even further. My readers appreciate this!
Thanks Rebekah for sharing!
I would completely agree about the follow up posts. They’re a great way to bring the topic back up and drive people back over to your original article. Especially if it was a hot topic to begin with!
Another awesome job of showing people how to get their content out to so many different venues Rebekah!
Thank you so much Bill! I always love to see you around. Thanks for stopping by!
I agree with these great suggestions. The blog communities and bookmarking sites are so powerful. I have found two other strategies are useful. They are embedding infographics and guest posting. Guest posting is so useful that I set up a blog purely for guest posts, called The Entrepreneur Speaks (www.the-entrepreneur-speaks.com).
Absolutely Christine! Both are excellent tools when used in conjunction with an integrated marketing campaign. It just depends on what your focus is and who you’re trying to reach. Important things to know before diving in to any one tactic.
Hi Rebekah!
Some awesome tips as always– thanks for the hookup on the headline analyzer! I am sure that will prove itself quite useful.
I have found an awesome “tribe” after lots of fumbling around to do so– and it makes a total difference in my attitude and motivation! Having great friends that “get” what you do and support you is one of the keys to success.
I know I need to get more active with videos and podcasts, etc… so that is one of my goals for this year.
You will love the headline analyzer Denise. It’s addictive!
That’s great to hear about your tribe. It does make all the difference in the world. Especially on days when you’re feeling less than motivated.
Hey Rebekah,
Top notch article again. I got to add, joining the right blogging network could easily help you.
Triberr is my favorite and the engagement level there is top of its class!
Excellent tips and thanks for sharing!
Great add Reginald. Triberr is such an excellent group of super talented bloggers. I consider myself fortunate to have found it.
So nice post and useful for bloggers. Best Part was EMV score. Definitely going to use it before writing any article.
Thanks for sharing this valuable post. Quiet impressed with your last point about creating the series of blog. After writing the blog once, we forget about the blog post and searched for new ideas to write content. But as you said we can consider our older posts and write some new information to that. It will add the credit to both the posts.
Anyways Thanks again for sharing.
This is very helpful. I really like the headline analyzer. I hadn’t heard of it before now. And other other suggestions are great as well. Thank you for sharing them.
The headline analyzer is addictive Kathy. Have fun with it!
I’ve never heard of Scoop, but I’ll check it out. The most useful for me has been to join niche groups. And their weekly round-ups of blogpost has helped drive some new traffic to my site 🙂
If you curate content on a consistent basis Allison, Scoop.it will become an invaluable tool.
Your mode of explaining all in this pararaph is in
fact fastidious, all be capable of simply be aware of it, Thanks a lot.
Hi Rebekah
I’m just stopping by to say how much I enjoy reading both your & Peg Fitzpatrick’s blog articles.
They’re succinct, get to the point without being confusing and overly ‘techy’. I LOVE your images too – yay to visual social media!
Thanks once again,
Nicky
Another excellent article on how to enhance your content marketing via your blog. I especially like the headline analyzer app. Do you find the scoring it renders to be accurate or merely a nice guide for tapping one of the 3 metrics?
Excellent tips and ideas. Thanks for sharing. I have just started using Triberr, and I think it’s a great platform. While I don’t yet know the best methods of using it, I expect it to be very useful once I am up and running. Do you have a specific way you use Triberr?
Many thanks
~Tom
Hi Tom! I would search for tribes based on your keywords/niche and ask to join. Join a few of those and start sharing other peoples content. It’s all about reciprocity!
Nice sharing Rebekah. I’ll be a religious follower of your Social Media knowledge house.
How do I follow trends for sales and marketing — any heads up..? If I want to follow a trend, what shall I look for first..? Google.?
Thank you! I would monitor your keywords either on Twitter or within Google+. You can follow hashtags or join communities that talk about and share the same type of content you are or are interested in.
Hi Rebekah,
Not repurposing content into other formats is something a lot of bloggers don’t do, which is an incredible shame. Even just reading an intro into SoundCloud and embedding it can make a big difference to a blog post and how people engage with it.
All great tips! I hadn’t hear of Scoop.it before. I’ll be checking that out.
Great tips – and you are the first person I’ve seen refer to the Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer. I use it all the time and love it. I confess I’m not a fan of video posts and if I land on a blog where the post is in video format I almost never stick around. I’m sure this has influenced me in a not so good way when it comes to exploring video for my own use. I’ll definitely take a closer look at that in the future.
Rebekah, do you have a secret to using reddit. Am asking because though it has the power to draw in traffic, the community are a different breed and you could get yourself into trouble using it.
The other day I posted an article an got 5 down votes and three upvotes. Thank God I wasn’t kicked out.
I guess this is the reason some people say social bookmarking is dead. Something have told people isn’t true. They just have to understand how it works.
For other tips, I think quora is an awesome place to promote your post as I utilize it at times. And also slide share. Thanks for sharing these awesome tips.
Not to forget joining communities on Google plus can do the magic
Wow! Awesome tips Rebekah! And came at the perfect time for me…
I shall be joining Triberr immediately… Do you have to be careful not to team up with people who are in direct competition with you? For example, another copywriter (in my case)?
Thanks!
Hi Konrad! Actually my strategy is the exact opposite. I want to connect with people in my field. They are more than likely sharing content similar to mine and will hopefully reciprocate and share my content as well.
Triberr lets you build relationships with people that have a following just like yours. I would find those people based on keyword or topic and ask to join their tribes.
Rebekah – My blog lives in a niche that has relatively few blogs, but lots of forums and a few other outlets. Although they’re less popular than formerly, I post notices about my blog content to mailing lists and forums focused on bluegrass (Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum, Bluegrass Nation, Banjo Hangout). I also get good traction from posting notices to FB, G*, and Twitter. It all requires a little work, because I don’t wish to use the same working everywhere, but my blog continues to grow and attract the people I want reading it.
Once again, a great post with super helpful tips. Thanks for putting this out here at the beginning of 2014 so I can start the year off with a bang!! You ROCK!
Thank you so much Debi – I really appreciate that! Thrilled to hear your 2014 has started off with a bang!
There is a reason why this is “HOT” on Google+ today! Thank you so much for reminder #1 – I used to use that tool all the time and have forgotten about it. Also, #7 – I was just thinking today I should probably start podcasting, but I wasn’t sure how.
I’ll second Triberr. It has been fabulous – not just for getting my content shared, but also for finding great stuff for ME to share!
I’d add that sometimes I get fellow bloggers and social media people to contribute to a blog post – just a comment will do, and they tend to share it because they’re mentioned. It’s not why I ask (input from others makes for the juiciest posts), but it’s a nice bonus!
Hi Alisa! I would completely agree with that about Triberr. I have built so many terrific relationships within that community.
What a great suggestion about contributors to a post. I hadn’t thought to add that, but those are big opportunities and shouldn’t be overlooked. Awesome tip!
So glad you liked it, Rebekah! Collaborations are the best. 🙂
Hi Rebekah, I can’t say I have any tips on this topic!! I need to use what you suggest though and get more exposure.. What a great article and thanks for the tips I know I need to get into using!! The one that I most likely should focus on for now are multi uses of a post.. the video, perhaps a podcast… that would be where I would start.
There are so many great ways to repurpose your content Holly. Don’t be afraid to use several of them and have fun with it. Every medium reaches a new and unique audience!
Hello Rebekah. Thank you for this amazing article, and all of these great tips. I am new to blogging. I have only been blogging for a little over two months, and I don’t know if anyone else is reading my articles, except for those who are in the blog community I am in. As far as I know, It really is just those who are in my group or community that are reading my content. If I use these tips, I am sure that I will have more readers than I do now.
Thank you so much for these tips. Hope you have a grand time. Cheers!
Ashton
Yay! Great article Rebekah – so many fantastic ways to squeeze the juice out of your blog posts.
We need to make an infographic with our 16 tips!
YES to an infographic Peg! What a great idea. Running off to try my hand at putting one together. 🙂
Hi Rebekah
Some great food for thought there as always.
I have quite a lot of those down, but need to get more into the visual repurposing such as video or HOA. Being in Europe I miss most of the current HOAs I have heard about. But I got on one last year which was fun.
Maybe I will host some later in the year when I get a little more time!
have a great week
ashley
Hi Rebekah, you have created an outstanding reference here for bloggers to use when promoting their content. I had not seen the “Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer” tool before, got to play with that a bit.
Totally agree about the podcasting. One of my friends and business partners convinced me to start one, and so far it has been well worth the time and effort. Highly recommended.
That’s great to hear Eldon! I’m going to have to check out your podcast. I’m always looking for new ones!