Happy HUMP, yo! Who’s ready for the weekend? *THIS GIRL* Truthfully, it’s been one heckuvah week. Is something in the water?!? I swear everyone I know + their mom has had to deal with something crazy big/bad/sad this week (including one of fur babies, Moose, but he’s on the uphill now – thanks for all of ya on Instagram who sent well wishes!). It’s nuts. Can we all just fast forward to FriYay happy hour and call it a week? Cool thnx.
Anyhoo, I realized it’s been a hot sec since we chatted blogging how-to here! I’m trying to really evaluate my content calendar to ensure I’ve got a solid mix of diverse content variety goin’ on that’s helpful + fun + what ya want as often as possible. (Would you do me a solid and answer this one Q here? Will take 2 seconds tops!). That can be hard only blogging 3x a week, since I’ve got a ton o’ topics + things we like to chat about! Is the answer getting MORE content up every week? Maybe. But until then, let’s chat blogging, shall we?
SO, BLOGGING.
For all the bloggers in da house, having people read + share your content is *the dream*. Ideally, you write what ya lovelovelove, and then other peeps fall in lovelovelove with it, too. Easy enough, right? HA. Not quite. Chances are, if you’ve been blogging for more than a hot sec, you understand the struggle that comes with being a content creator. It’s not always easy to grow a readership base or “following” by any means. It takes #werk. But it also could be easier than we often make it! To spread content, you’ve gotta share content. But to have content stick in people’s minds, you’ve gotta share it effectively. So, let’s chat how to promote your blog with 15 keys to *effectively* sharing your content!
(PIN ME)
- Take advantage of automation. Many platforms can automatically publish something with the link to your new blog post – do that! Bloglovin’ can automatically share to Twitter, the Jetpack plugin can push out wherever ya want it – use the platforms you’re already using to get the ball rollin’.
- Schedule like a pro. You should absolutely positively 100% NOT be promoting everything in real time. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
- Optimize errrrr’thaaang for search engines. Do keyword research and set yo’self up for success! Ideally, putting all of the pieces into place before your hit publish means Google has your back and shares will come because of it.
- Push new posts out to your email list. I personally don’t do this with every new blog post (but should I? Would you guys want/like that? Let me know in a comment below, wouldja?), and instead, I have a once-a-week round-up of new content that comes in the weekly #CURation every Sunday night. The key: I HATE spammy emails. If you’re going to share a new blog post via email, make sure it’s value-packed!
- Set it up for social shares. Apps and plugins like Shareaholic, Jetpack, or Sumo.Me can put those fancy schmancy share icons on your posts and on your website, to encourage readers to share what they like. Putting click-to-tweets in blog posts are *so* easy to share – but they have to be share-worthy! Peeps are more likely to share a click-to-tweet that’s actually interesting, funny, inspiring or valuable – not just something that reiterates the title of the blog post. Otherwise, there’s no point – a simply share plugin or app does that same thing.
- ENCOURAGE social shares. ASK and ye shall receive. If you’re creating really friggin’ awesome stuff, people will notice. People will not, however, always remember to share something, especially if it’s another step/out of the way process! When it’s relevant + convenient, ask to pin a specific graphic to come back to later, or ask for a click to a specific link that leads to a tweetable. Tell people exactly what they should do and why – make it easy on ’em!
- Be creative. The creative bird gets the worm. Are you tired of seeing the same sortsa promotional lingo around the blogging interwebs? Yup, so is everything other blogger. Mix it up. How to promote your blog 101: CREATIVELY. Your creative process doesn’t (+ shouldn’t) end when you hit publish! Creative brings clicks.
- Be specific. When you’re promoting something, tell the world exactly what’s inside. Meaning, don’t shy away from specificity! “Cute dress on the blog today” is a lot less specific than “Cute blue-and-white striped dress under $20,” and it’s also a lot less clickworthy.
- Be compelling. #RealTalk: “I’ve got a new post up!” is not reason enough to read your blog. Quite frankly…no one cares. Unless you give people a REASON to care! There are actual millions of blogs online today. Everyone and their mom has a new post up. Why should we reads yours? Give folks a compelling reason to click over. It’s not meant to be negative at all – it’s just how the world works, based on a.) human psychology and b.) a content-saturated market. You’ve GOTTA stand out!
- Be valuable. If it’s not valuable, it’s not shareable. Point blank period. Don’t expect anyone to share a blog post that’s all about you. Quite frankly…how does that help anyone else? That’s not at all to say that personal posts aren’t 100% valuable or worth it to write sometimes – they are! It just means recognize that they’re not necessarily valuable enough to others to warrant having them pin it to their Pinterest or talk about it themselves. The most shareable content is content that does something for someone else. It educates, it inspires, it makes them laugh – it does something other than have them think, “Cool beans, back to my day,” or worse, “That was a waste of 10 seconds of my life.” Focus on creating genuinely great content that’s of real value to others. That’s the tea to being shareworthy!
- Join Facebook groups. There a bajillion and one (approximately 😉 ) Facebook support groups out there for connecting with fellow bloggers + creatives. Take advantage of ’em! Join a few groups, find some favorites, make real friends, and use it as a place to share your own content while connecting with others’. This is a totally basic key, but it still deserves mentioning since it IS key!
- Work WITH Twitter. Meaning, work with how the platform works! The lifespan of a tweet is 11 seconds. The timeline is still chronological (bless up), and the most recent ~150 tweets show. So…why aren’t you tweeting more?! You could + should be tweeting out a new link every hour at LEAST. Granted, you can mix it up to not just share the same link every hour, and you should DEF be creative + compelling + clickworthy in the text. But to only tweet something once or twice a day? Virtually useless. Remember that not all social media platforms are created equal – work with specific algorithms!
- Instagram + Instastories that ish! We all know that Instagram only allows one link – that coveted bio space. Luckily, there are workarounds! I use Linktree, and it. is. a. game. changer. Linktree lets you link up multiple things – the ultimate solution for us blogger babes. I highly recommend! When sharing content to Instastories, don’t be afraid to get creative + make the process as cross-functional as possible. It’s *so* tempting (and I’m v. guilty of this) to just record scrolling through a new post to fun music. We’ve all seen it – ha! But have fun with sharing, so that it’s fun + clickable for followers, too! Share some pics from inside a post to Instastories, and take advantage of the “see more” swipe up function if ya have it. Show a sneak peek of half of an outfit, and have peeps click to the post to see the full shebang. Hint at a big announcement that’s revealed on the blog – just make sure it’s legitimately big, or risk losing some credibility along the way.
- Pinterest the RIGHT way. There could be an entire post on Pinterest alone (heck, every social media platform? Ha!), but when it comes to how to promote your blog, remember this: Pinterest is a search engine. Sharing content on Pinterest for the sake of being re-shared is not like sharing content on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. It’s actually NOT about being creative + cute. Instead, it’s about being clear + concise. It’s about optimizing everything for searchability on the search engine. Cute board titles or clever descriptions won’t get ya very far – it could actually HURT!
- Know thy reader. At the end of the day, readers are everything. They’re the whole point (hopefully) why you do what you do, and they’re the reason you’re able to KEEP doing what you do. (P.S. I lovelovelove you guys). Ideally, you’re creating content that regular readers care about, cos ya KNOW them. You know what they like to read versus don’t, what they need, what they appreciate most. (Surveys are a great way to figure this out!) If yannno what they like to reader, you also probably know what they like to *share*. Based on everything you write that’s received well, what’s shared the most?
How do you promote your blog? Do you have any fave tips/tricks for how to promote your blog?
Would lovelovelove to chat about it in the comments below.
P.S. POR FAVOR, answer this one Q. Literally ONE Q. Pleaseandthankyou. 😉
P.P.S. Do ya have plans for the 4th yet?? ICYMI, I shared the *cutest* blue-and-white striped dress this week that’s PERF for the occasion. Also under $19, so…#AddToCart.
