This is a guest post by Danielle.  If you’re looking for even more ideas for marketing your blog, check out our recent post, 22 Free Tips for Marketing Your Blog.

So you have a blog, now what? Well, if a blogger writes an article and no one is around to read it, does it make a post? Not really. A blog is pretty useless if no one is visiting it. Follow these simple tips on how to promote your work and make your blog shine.

Contests

Everyone loves free stuff. By holding a contest you can redirect people’s love of free things into love of your blog. Think of an item that coincides with the theme of your site. Preferably, this is something you can acquire for free through a connection. Tickets to an event, celebrity memorabilia, or something unique is ideal, but even an everyday item will generate buzz if you are giving it away – everyone loves deals. Write a blog post explaining the contest. Something along the lines of: “The most original promotion of my blog wins this awesome thing.” or “This lovely item could be yours if you produce the cleverest Retweet of one of my posts.” You could even put yourself on the line. Something like, “I will shave my head if I get 200 unique views by Friday” would certainly get some traffic.

Social Media

Social media is a huge industry and the perfect platform to promote your blog. Most Twitter users will follow you if you follow them – start following people and watch your numbers go up. Once you have followers do not ignore them. Pay attention to the dialogue they are having and join in. Think of it as a way to make loyal fans. Mention, Retweet and Direct Message generously. Twitter is all about being a part of fresh conversations. Keep generating timely, interesting or clever tweets and your followers will hang on. Once you’ve made these updates a regular thing, followers will respond to information about a new blog post.

Guest Blogging

Having friends is beneficial in the blogging world too. Find blogs that are similar to your own. Reading peer blogs is helpful for you to strategize your online presence. Then take things a step further and reach out to the blog owners. Ask if you can write a guest post to expand your reach. The article you craft will link back to your blog. Traffic will be funneled to you and hopefully produce fans. You should return the favor by letting the blog owner write a post for you. Being able to collaborate with owners of like blogs will put more power behind your posts. You will promote them and they will promote you. It will enhance your effectiveness in all areas of the blogosphere.

Danielle is an avid blogger and social media addict. In her spare time, she enjoys trying out adventurous cupcake recipes, taking her pug to the park, and meditating. Read her musings on health, active living, and sustainability on eatbreatheblog.com.

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