PureBlogging

Any blogger that is looking to gain exposure and build an audience has to consider how to go about reaching new readers. Some bloggers who view their work as a business are willing to pay for some exposure through banner ads, paid reviews, pay-per-click ads, etc. Those who are willing to invest some money into building their blog are obviously going to have some more opportunities to get in front of new readers, but in my opinion there is a method of advertising or self promotion that is more effective than any of these methods, and it’s free! Despite the combination of effectiveness and no cost, there are still plenty of opportunities for just about any blogger to use this method.

What is this “magical” form of promotion?

While it technically isn’t a form of advertising, writing guest posts for other blogs can be far more effective than traditional forms of advertising. Part of the problem with banner ads and sponsored reviews is that readers know that they are the subject of your advertisement. So in many cases, advertising is more effective when it’s really promotion and exposure rather than traditional advertising.

Why Guest Posting Works

Guest posting on other blogs in your niche is effective because it allows you to sell yourself by presenting your knowledge and putting it on display for readers. A banner ad cannot prove your worth to readers, but a guest post can.

How Guest Posting Differs from Traditional Advertising

Promoting yourself through guest posts is more subtle and less intrusive to readers than banner ads or sponsored reviews. Most readers are not interested in advertisements and they tune them out. But when they ignore advertisements, what are they directing their attention towards? The content of the blog. And when your guest post is the content that they are paying attention to, you have their focus and attention.

An advertisement projects your message directly to readers. There’s very little interpretation on their part. You’re trying to convince them of something or grab their attention to draw a click. With a guest post you don’t have to grab their attention in the same way. You have an entire post to make your point, and if you do it well there is a small, subtle link to your own blog in the bio at the beginning or the end of the post. A guest post gives the reader freedom to choose to pursue your “advertisement” by clicking on the link in the bio.

I think many times one of the problems with banner ads is that readers are hesitant to click even if it’s something that might interest them. First, there might be some doubt as to where the link will take them or a lack of trust for an advertiser. This is rarely an issue with guest posts because you’ve had a better chance to earn their trust throughout the post, and you have a chance to clearly tell them where they’ll go when they click on your link. Second, I think some readers want to ignore banners because they think the ads will increase or become more intrusive if they actually click on them. There can be a resistance to paid ads because they may feel like as a reader they’re being sold.

With a paid advertisement or a sponsored review readers are told something about you or why they should click-through to your blog. With a guest post you’re just writing a useful, interesting post and if they want to find out more about you they can click-through. Rather than telling them why they should visit your blog, you’re proving that they should visit by demonstrating your knowledge of the subject at hand.

Human nature (especially in today’s commercial society) is to resist being sold on something. The guest post takes a more laid back approach that can be less off-putting to readers.

Guest Posting Isn’t Really Advertising

Despite the title of this post, I do realize that guest posting is not really advertising. However, it allows you to accomplish many of the same objectives that an advertisement would, and in most cases it’s even more effective.

Although your purpose in writing a guest post is to get something back, you shouldn’t directly sell yourself. Don’t abuse the platform that you’re being given to tell people about yourself and your blog. Instead, write the best post that you’re capable of, and use a brief two or three sentence bio that includes a link to your blog to tell readers more about you.

My Experience with Guest Posting

When I started my blog last summer, guest posting was one of the primary methods I used to promote myself and draw traffic back to my blog. Over a span of two or three months I had about 20 posts published on a number of different blogs. While none of these guest posts drew a huge response individually, the collective effort was one the biggest keys to getting my blog off the ground and building a solid base of subscribers.

Writing guest posts for other blogs gave me an excellent opportunity to network with other bloggers, many of whom I am still in contact with. It also led to paid writing positions on three different blogs, including PureBlogging.

A few months ago I launched a second blog of my own, and while I’ve had little time to this point to do much promotion for the blog, I have had very good success with a few guest posts, particularly two that I’ve written for ProBlogger.

How to Get Started

If you’re interested in taking some action and making the most of the guest posting opportunities that exist, here are some steps that you can take to get started.

1 – Find some blogs in your niche that accept guest posts

Not all bloggers are interested in publishing the work of others, but you may be surprised that most are more than willing. Take a look at some of the blogs that you read on a regular basis and pay attention to which ones publish posts from other writers. You’ll probably see a few right away that you know will be open to the idea of publishing your post. However, there are many others that would be willing to publish a guest post, but others simply don’t offer to write for them. Find some other blogs in your niche that you think target an audience that is very similar to yours. Don’t necessarily go for the largest blogs right away. I started by writing for many blogs with anywhere from 100 – 1,000 subscribers and this is enough to get some results. Once I felt more comfortable and more confident, I began to approach larger blogs.

2 – Approach the blog owner with a simple introduction and an offer to guest post

Once you’ve identified a few possibilities, take a few moments to write a personal message. It it’s not someone that already knows you, provide a brief introduction and simply ask if they are interested in receiving guest posts for their blog.

3 – Don’t hold back. Offer your best work

After you’ve had some positive responses about a willingness to publish your guest posts, make sure that you provide them with the best work that you are capable of. The common feeling from most bloggers is to hold their best work for their own blogs, and as a result the guest posts are of lower quality. If you want to get the most out of your guest posting opportunities, do the absolute best job that you can do. You’ll get more clicks from readers and more subscribers.

4 – Get involved in the comments

Once your post has been published, be sure to go back and participate in the comments with readers. This gives you another opportunity to interact and draw more visitors to your blog, plus it is essentially your responsibility as the writer to answer questions and respond to feedback.

5 – Promote your article with social media

It’s in your best interest to get as much exposure to your guest post as possible. In theory, the more people that see your post, the more people will click-through to your blog. One of the best, and easiest, things you can do is to promote the post with social media. Give it a thumbs up with StumbleUpon or submit it to other social media sites. You may want to share it with some of your friends to request a vote

What’s Your Experience?

Have you written guest posts for other blogs? How has it helped you to build your name recognition and gain subscribers?

Popularity: 20% [?]

As we approach the beginning of the Major League Baseball season I thought it was appropriate to drag out at least one baseball analogy to mark the occasion: Are you a singles hitter, or do you go for the home run?

What I’m referring to is, how do you decide which keyword phrases to target when writing your posts?  Do you go after the lesser searched phrases that will send a smaller stream of traffic to your site, or do you go after the keyword phrases that will send thousands of visitors daily.  On the one hand, going after less popular phrases will make it easier to rank higher on Google, but your return will be much smaller.  Your #1 ranking may only result in new 30 to 40 visitors a day.  On the other hand, the most searched keywords can direct thousands of new visitors to the #1 ranked site.  However, there is more than likely over 1 million sites competing for that top spot.  It’s not easy to reach, and it’s even harder to hold.

Is one strategy better than the other?  That really depends on your abilities and the resources (both time and money) you have to devote toward achieving your goal.

Sticking to the baseball analogy, not every player is a home run threat.  We all know about the Hank Aaron’s and Barry Bonds’ of the league (steroid argument aside, the guy could crush the ball), but we don’t pay much attention to the players that day in and day out hit for average and consistently scored runs.  And the players without the ability to hit home runs at will usually got out when they went to the plate looking for the homer.  For the average player the long ball came as a result of taking a good swing at a pitch that they could handle.

For many successful bloggers, that is how they go about blogging.  Day in and day out they post solid content that is either aimed at a lesser searched keyword phrase, or that answers specific questions for their readers.  They don’t necessarily worry about how Google will look at them on the major search phrases.  They go to the plate to hit for average.

Along the way, something the write may make solid contact, they get noticed, and the ball goes over the fence for a score.  Even though their strategy wasn’t to try to take on the big hitters, they manage to rank high and see a huge influx in traffic, even if just for a little while.

What that means for you is, start off smaller.  Learn to hit the ball well before you start swinging for the fences.  Learn how to get your site ranked well on the lesser searched keywords, then start moving up into the more competitive terms.  As you become more skilled at marketing your blog, you can take on more and more competitive terms.  As your skill and your content grow, Google will start to notice.  For now, don’t worry about the long ball; hit for average and continue to score runs.

Popularity: 10% [?]

In order to make money off of your blog, you need to make sure that people are reading your blog. The more traffic that you have on each post, the more income you are likely to be able to make from blogging. That means that you need to be doing everything that you can in order to drive people to your blog posts.

Here are ten basic promotion tools that you should be using to drive people to your blog:

1. Craigslist. There are many different ways that you can use Craigslist to get people to land on your blog posts. Whether you’re creating online blogging events that you promote through the site or simply advertising a great post in the “general” section, this tool always snags a new audience for your work.

2. Link to yourself. In every post that you write, you should be directing people to other posts that you’ve written. You can do this through “related links” at the end of your post or you can do it simply through direct text links. Don’t just link to posts within one blog but cross-link to promote your blog’s work on the other blogs and websites that you write for (as appropriate to the terms of your blogging contracts, of course).

3. Email signature. Your email signature should have a link to your blog. It should also have a second link to a specific favorite article that you believe a majority of people that you email would be interested in reading.

4. Business cards. Most bloggers don’t carry business cards but every blogger should. These should be handed out whenever you get the chance. They can be placed at coffee shops and added to media kits. Yes, bloggers should have media kits.

5. Social bookmarking sites. You should be active on at least one of the major social bookmarking sites (Mixx, Digg, etc.) You may also want to be active on a social networking site (LinkedIn, Facebook) where you can have a link to your blog. Make sure to regularly promote your own blog posts through these sites to continually attract a bigger audience for your work.

6. Comments on others’ blogs. Hopefully you already know that this is one of the most important tools that you can use for bringing new traffic to your blog. Most basic comment sections include a place for you to add your blog link – and you should.

7. Ping Technorati. Many bloggers are failing to make use of Technorati which is a great site for getting some basic traffic based on keywords. Claim your blog on the site so that it will be regularly updated every time that you add a new post. Then make sure to use Technorati tags at the end of your post.

8. Blog links on your resume. Many people neglect to include links on their resumes which is unfortunate since most resumes are sent through the Internet. Add a direct link to your blog as part of your contact information at the header of the resume. Also include links to specific posts that highlight the skills that you are emphasizing throughout the resume. Even if you don’t get the job, you might get a new reader for your blog.

9. Add your blog to your bio. You probably have to publish your author’s bio on a semi-regular basis. Make sure that it has a direct link to your blog so that people who are interested in who you are can make their way to your blog to find out.

10. Boasting. Most bloggers diminish what they do when they are asked about it. They say they blog, but they kind of laugh it off. Or they vaguely say that they write for the web. Word-of-mouth is the single biggest tool that you have at your disposal in terms of promoting your blog. You should be taking pride in what you do and spreading the word with confidence every chance that you get.

You probably didn’t get into the business of blogging because you have a passion for marketing. In spite of this, you need to get a grasp on great promotion in order to draw people to your blog. Using these basic tools is a good start but you should also be regularly using new creative approaches to boost your blog promotion.

Question of the Day: What other promotion tools are a must for bloggers to be using?

Popularity: 13% [?]

In my surfing to various blogs on the internet, and there are a lot of them out there, it strikes me that there are three different types of monetized blogs.  This has nothing to do with style or subject matter.  This has to do with how they handle the “business” of blogging.

The first type I’ll call the “Good Writer.”  The Good Writer has a ton of writing talent.  As you read their blog you can almost feel the passion they feel for their topic.  Their posts are well thought out, insightful, and well written.  They show you what they want you to see without a great deal of wandering about.

Despite their obvious talent and passion the Good Writer labors away in near obscurity.  They feel frustrated that they diligently post post to their blog, but their readership never seems to grow.  They may have a small group of loyal readers, but they can’t seem to grow enough for their efforts to be profitable.  They work very hard at the art of blogging, but without a better understanding of the marketing side, they will remain starving artists.

The second type of blogger is the one who has mastered the art of marketing their blog.  They understand how to work the system, and they have a knack for driving traffic to their sites.  They write content well enough to be able to get their keywords in, but their posts are either long, rambling articles with no rhyme of reason, or they are short, shallow pieces that are only written for the purpose of getting their keywords in enough times to catch Google’s attention.

The downside of the second blogger is, because of the weak content, they never build a loyal readership.  Although they can continue to draw traffic to their site because of their marketing efforts, their visitors do not return, and they never enjoy the word of mouth advertising that could push their blog over the top with readers.

The third type of blogger is the one who has enjoyed some degree of success with their blog.  These are the ones who see the whole picture.  They understand that although great content is essential to the long-term success of a blog, content alone is not enough.  It takes a combination of great content and a solid marketing effort that will ultimately make a blog successful.

Too often bloggers will ignore the need to market their blogs.  You may have the best product in town, but if people don’t know you exist, you will never see the type of success you want.  Yes, you may get lucky and have someone accidently find your site and Digg it, but the more likely scenario is that you won’t ever see much more than a small trickle of traffic.

If you are just starting out with blogging, don’t worry about getting 1,000 visitors a day.  Start out concentrating on building content.  Every legitimate blog advice article will tell you the same thing (assuming you already have your topic or niche defined).  Market your blog using Web 2.0 techniques; commenting, submitting to directories and blog carnivals, link building, and social bookmarking.  Over time your traffic will grow.  Be patient, but be tireless in your efforts.  If you are looking at blogging as a get-rich-quick tool, look somewhere else.  It takes time, and it takes work.

If you are good at what you do, you will see some success.  Give it time, it will happen.

Popularity: 13% [?]

It is a continuing struggle to not only get your blog noticed by Google, but to stay in the rankings once you’ve made it there. I wrote last week about what Google likes, so now it’s time to talk a little about how to take advantage of that knowledge.

We know that Google likes quality links going back to your site. The challenge is to get enough of those links to make a difference without it costing you a fortune, or costing you every waking moment trying to build links. There are two areas you can concentrate on that have the potential to pay nice dividends without a major investment in time. Best of all, it is free.

Directories

First, it you haven’t submitted your blog to all of the directories, schedule some time to do that. In theory, the directories will find your site eventually, but you can speed that process along if you let them know that you exist, and where they can find you. There is a nice tool called Directory Submitter that really automates the process.

Sidenote: Take advantage of tools that will automate the task of submitting your site to search engines, directories, bookmarking sites, etc. Not only will it save you hours of your time, but it greatly reduces the number of mistakes you can make along the way. After 25 or so submissions you can begin to get sloppy. Gmail and easily becomegamil , and all of your work on that submission will be wasted. When you automate you need to take the time to get it correct the first time, and it will be correct every other time.

Directory Submitter is not a bulk submission tool. You will still go to each directory and individually submit your site. Some sites require different information that you will be able to enter, usually by cutting and pasting from a side bar that contains your information. The directories tend to like individual submissions much more than automatic submissions. The more they like you, the faster you will be listed.

The free version comes with about hundreds of directories that you can submit to. You just double-click any directories you want to submit to, and the software directs you to the submission page, and fills in your information. You select the appropriate category and click the submit button. Directory Submitter keeps track of when you last submitted to each directory. That makes it very easy to submit your site when you have the time to do it, and you don’t feel like you have to do it all at once.

The down side of this strategy is that it takes a while before you see results. While most directories offer to list your site for free, it can take up to 4 months before they get around to reviewing you site for inclusion. Most will do it faster than that, but don’t expect instant results. Remember though, the longer you wait to get started, the longer it will take for your links to appear.

Social Bookmarking

For faster results you should seriously consider posting your content to the social bookmarking sites. Sites like Digg, Twitter, and Technorati are easy to use, and best of all, Google likes them. There are a ton of these sites out there, so this is a good way to build a lot of links back to your blog.

There are a couple of site that help automate this process for you. Sites like SocialPoster and SocialMarker do a good job of auto-filling information into the submit pages of the sites in their databases, so all you have to do is select the category you want to be listed under, paste your keywords, and submit. I have been using SocialPoster, and I have been seeing very quick results. I submitted a blog post in the afternoon and by that evening I had 2 listings in the top 10 for my chosen keyword phrase.

I know there has been a lot of questions about posting your own material to these sites, but if you don’t do it, who will? The thing is, these sites want to be relevant, and that won’t happen if it becomes a place for bloggers to spam their own content. The trick is to share the love. A general rule of thumb is to submit 3 other pieces for every one of your own. Some of that could be form another one of your blogs, but all of your submissions should not come from the same domain.

Make it a habit to submit your favorite sites. When you are at the social bookmark sites, vote for a few articles that you see. Take part in the community. The more you are involved, the more the sites will like you and pay attention to what you submit. Take advantage of the Love Karma – the more you give, the more you get.

The key is to get as many quality links a you can, especially from sites that Google has ranked higher than yours. The more links you build, the more relevant Google thinks you are. It’s another step in the process of climbing the Google ladder one rung at a time.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Whether you’re looking to improve your blogging skills, increase your blog’s readership or grow your list of RSS subscribers, social networking is the way to go! Yes, there are several other ways you can do all of the aforesaid things, but social networking can do wonders for your blog and allow you to learn new blogging techniques as well as meet fellow bloggers.

Following are a few of the ways you can begin social networking with fellow bloggers:

Respond to comments left by your blog readers

Many times blog readers are also bloggers. So when a blog reader leaves a comment on your blog, network with him or her by responding to the comment they left. You can respond by thanking them for dropping by your blog and leaving a comment, welcome them to your blog and invite them to come back or subscribe to your RSS feed, or if they ask a question, answer it for them. This allows you to get to know your blog readers and it makes them feel welcome. Who knows, by showing them you appreciate them and interacting with them through the comment area, they just may return several times or subscribe to your RSS feed to be kept up to date.

Join social networks and interact with fellow bloggers

By joining social networks you can share files, videos, advice and much more with fellow bloggers. In addition, you can communicate with and help your fellow bloggers. With over 200 social networking sites, you should have no problem finding a few to join so you can network with other bloggers. However, don’t overload yourself to the point where you can’t keep up with all the social network sites you joined, just sign up with a few social networks sites that you believe other bloggers are a part of. A few of the most popular are MySpace, Facebook and Bebo.

Participate in discussions on related forums

Sign up for forums related to the topic(s) you blog about. After you join, introduce yourself and participate by sharing advice, answering questions and communicating with other bloggers in the forums.

Attend conventions, expos and events for bloggers

A fun way to meet fellow bloggers and improve upon your blogging skills is to attend as many blogging conventions, expos and events as you can. At these places you’ll get to meet fellow bloggers face to face, and if you love sharing your knowledge, then consider volunteering your time to speak at some of those blogging conventions, expos and events as well.

Now it’s your turn to tell us how you network with your fellow bloggers. We also invite you to let us know how your ways of social networking with fellow bloggers has helped you to become the blogger you are today.

Popularity: 12% [?]