One other word of advice before moving on: This blog post is massive (over 5,000 words), and not every content promotion tactic covered is going to be worth the time and effort for every blog. Focus on the ones that provide the best results for you and don\u2019t worry about the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To make it a little easier to navigate, I\u2019ve included a table of contents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Content Promotion Tactics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n- SEO<\/a><\/li>
- Email your content to subscribers<\/a><\/li>
- Include a link in your email signature<\/a><\/li>
- Post to your social media accounts<\/a><\/li>
- Send direct messages in Twitter<\/a><\/li>
- Include Click to Tweets in your posts<\/a><\/li>
- Use snip.ly to turn curation into promotion<\/a><\/li>
- Guest blogging<\/a><\/li>
- Syndicate your content<\/a><\/li>
- Submit your content to aggregator sites<\/a><\/li>
- Share articles in online communities and forums<\/a><\/li>
- Submit to social bookmarking sites<\/a><\/li>
- Microblog with Tumblr<\/a><\/li>
- Reach out to influencers<\/a><\/li>
- Reach out to people who curate content<\/a><\/li>
- Answer questions on Quora<\/a><\/li>
- Leave comments on other blogs<\/a><\/li>
- Promote on your own site<\/a><\/li>
- Run Facebook ads<\/a><\/li>
- Run Twitter ads<\/a><\/li>
- Use content syndication networks<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
SEO <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSearch engines have the potential to deliver massive amounts of targeted traffic on an ongoing basis. Google alone processes over 40,000 search queries every second<\/em> on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe problem is, most of that traffic never gets beyond the first few results on the page. That\u2019s where SEO comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting your content to rank high in search engines takes considerable time and effort, but it\u2019s well worth it. Sites like Wordstream and WebMD, just to name a couple, get the majority of their traffic this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re not familiar with search engine optimization, check out this beginner\u2019s guide<\/a> put together by the folks at MOZ. It\u2019s an excellent resource for learning the basics that won\u2019t overwhelm you.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt would be impossible to include everything there is to know about SEO in this post. (There are entire websites dedicated to these topics that continue to regularly publish new content.) But at the risk of oversimplifying, it all boils down to three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Creating content that meets the needs of your market based on their searches<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nKeyword stuffing is not a viable strategy in 2020. But it does no good to create content that nobody is searching for. That\u2019s why keyword research remains an important part of SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finding good keywords can be a tricky balancing act. You\u2019re looking for something that has enough search volume to generate worthwhile traffic, but isn\u2019t so competitive that you\u2019ll never be able to rank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are a few tips that may help:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Search for long tail keywords.<\/strong> These are phrases that include multiple words like the example below.The search volume decreases with the length of the tail, but so does the competition. And because it\u2019s specific, it\u2019s easier to match the searcher\u2019s intent. In the example below, that would be learning beginner SEO strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Long](\"https:\/\/mlzf3ramde6k.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:341\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.seankirbycopy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/SEO-Stragegies-for-beginners.jpg?resize=1024%2C341\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nUse a tool like Google Keyword Planner<\/strong> to find information on how many times per month that term is searched and how competitive it is. Use the suggestion feature to find the specific phrasing that gives you the best mix of volume vs. competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPlug your terms into Google Trends<\/strong> to see how much interest there is in that search over time. If you notice any that are trending up, you may want to prioritize those first to take advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFor in-depth keyword research instruction, I recommend Brain Dean\u2019s Definitive Guide.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nOnce you know what people are searching for, it\u2019s time to create content to meets those needs. At a minimum you want it to be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Unique in some way. <\/strong>There\u2019s a lot of parroting on the Internet these days, and it feels like you read the same articles over again and again with just different wording. Add something new to the conversation.<\/li>
- Easy to read and understand. <\/strong>If it feels like work, I\u2019ll just go to the next option.<\/li>
- Entertaining.<\/strong> I know a lot of people think of content as more educational. And to an extent it is, but the education has to be enjoyable or nobody will bother.<\/li>
- Satisfying.<\/strong> Great content answers the questions readers have and gives them the information they need to put it to use. There should be no reason to go and search another source after consuming great content.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
2. Organizing that content so that it\u2019s easily accessible to search engine spiders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIf search engines can\u2019t access or index your content, it will be impossible for you to rank. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to make sure your site and content is structured properly and that you\u2019re technical SEO is in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are several sites that offer free audits which may help you discover technical SEO issues. Just do a google search to find one. Google Search Console<\/a> and PageSpeed Insights<\/a> are also helpful resources to check out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n3. Demonstrating the value of that content through key metrics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSearch engines use several factors to determine the value of the content they index, which can improve your rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of these factors are related to user behavior, such as time on site and bounce rate. The advice in Why Nobody is Actually Reading Your Content and What to do About it<\/u><\/a> can help with these things.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBacklinks are another big quality signal. It makes sense when you think about it. You\u2019re not going to link to something unless it adds value. It\u2019s like a vote of confidence from the linking site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s not just about quantity of backlinks. The quality of the referring site is important, too. In fact, too many low quality links will actually hurt your score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how do you get sites to link to your content?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This epic guide to link building strategies<\/a> will give you lots of actionable ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEmail your content to subscribers <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nYou know who is likely to be interested in your content?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People who have expressed an interest before. Emailing them when you publish new content is an easy and effective way to drive high quality traffic to your site.<\/p>\n\n\nEmail is an easy and effective way to drive high quality traffic to your content. Get even more ideas here. #contentmarketing <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\nThe most challenging part is building your email list to the size where this strategy makes an impact. But when you do, it can continually bring people back to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you need ideas or instruction on how to build an email list, check out this comprehensive guide Sarah Peterson and Sean Bestor created for Sumo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen creating the content promotion email, you have a couple of options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can automate the process in email solutions like MailChimp<\/a>. With this option, the program picks up information such as the title and URL from your site\u2019s RSS feed and drops them into a set template. If you publish new content often, this method can be a real time saver. But it can be limiting, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYour second option is to create a specific email for each piece of content you\u2019re promoting. It takes more time and effort, but you have the opportunity to build interest in the particular content you\u2019re promoting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Include a link in your email signature<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nDid you know that the biggest driver of Hotmail\u2019s growth was a simple link at the bottom of those emails? Over 100,000 new users signed up within the first month of adding it. And it just kept growing form there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m not suggesting that a similar link in your email will drive anywhere close to that kind of growth in your blog. But it is an easy way to get some extra mileage out of something you are already doing. And it only takes a few minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAsk everyone on your team to do the same to reach even more people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Post to your social media accounts <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThis is probably the first thing you do when you publish a post, right? No, I\u2019m not psychic. That\u2019s what just about every blogger does. So why is it that some blogs drive a ton of traffic through social and others barely see a blip?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Part of it has to do with the type of content you\u2019re sharing. Emotional, inspiring or surprising topics are more likely to get noticed and shared on social media than how-to information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But part of it also has to do with strategy and effort. You won\u2019t realize the potential of these networks for content promotion if you just add a link and call it a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, it\u2019s important to remember that what drives success in social media is different than what works for SEO. You need to adjust for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the images in blog posts are often used to help explain concepts or illustrate points from the text, the main purpose of images in social media is to get attention. Choose your images accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\nWhen it comes to text in social, keywords aren\u2019t nearly as important as intrigue and emotion. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\nAnd the extra effort doesn\u2019t end there. You should also customize your posts for each platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facebook.<\/strong> The text you add to your post will appear above the image and link. Use it to set up the content or add a more personal message. The ideal image size is 1200 x 630 pixels.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTwitter.<\/strong> You only have about 140 characters to play with, so you need to keep the text short and sweet. Pithy calls-to-action like retweet requests can work well. Use a URL shortener such as Bit.ly<\/a> to save some space on the link text. The ideal image size is 440 x 220 pixels.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTweets move quickly through timelines, so be sure to include hashtags and @ handles to maximize views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LinkedIn.<\/strong> This is a professional networking social media site, so your updates should be professional and relevant. Be sure to include unique comments that add context. Asking questions and encouraging feedback is also a good way to get people to interact with your post. A featured image of 1104 x 736 pixels is ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPinterest.<\/strong> With this one, the image most important thing, so this is perfect for infographics and other visual content. Choose your best images, describe what the pin is about and include link to the full content.<\/p>\n\n\n\nInstagram.<\/strong> Like Pinterest, Instagram is a visual medium, but the lifespan of a post in people\u2019s feeds is much shorter. Think of it like Twitter for images, and communicate main points succinctly in the captions. Shoot for an image size of 1080 x 1080 pixels.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe timing also makes a difference. While many sites recommend the ideal time to post on each platform, I chose not to include recommendations here. Many have more success posting on off-peak times when there is less competing for users’ attention. It will also vary by audience. So you should experiment with different times and roll out whatever gives you the best results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Send direct messages in Twitter<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSending a direct message to someone on Twitter is easy. Sending that message to a large number of followers can be more challenging. You can only message people who follow you, and the group messaging feature can\u2019t include more than 20 users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For these reasons, you\u2019ll want to pick and choose when and to whom you message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One option is to send a message with a link to your blog when someone starts following you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Use](\"https:\/\/mlzf3ramde6k.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.seankirbycopy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screen-Shot-2020-01-13-at-11.38.36-PM.png?resize=511%2C169\")
Direct messaging new followers is a great opportunity to promote your content.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou can also message your most influential or active followers related to the blog topic. Segmenting these people into lists for each category or topic you blog about can make this task easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Include Click to Tweets in your posts <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAs mentioned above, the lifespan of a tweet is short. That\u2019s why social media gurus like Guy Kawasaki recommend you repeat your tweets multiple times. But that still only reaches people who already follow you. Ideally, you want people to retweet or share your content with their followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enter Click to Tweet<\/a>. This nifty plug-in lets you create prewritten messages that users can tweet with the click of a button. Place them in your blog posts and be sure to include a link to the post.<\/p>\n\n\nSocial media gurus like Guy Kawasaki recommend you repeat your tweets multiple times. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\nThe best Click to Tweet messages are things that make the reader look good or have a high emotional aspect to them. Here are a few ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Include an inspiring quote or pick out a line from the article to use as a pull quote.<\/li>
- Provide a pearl of wisdom. This works especially well for list posts where you can use one of the points and link to the full article for the rest.<\/li>
- Highlight surprising facts or statistics. Everyone wants to be seen as someone \u201cin the know.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Use snip.ly to turn curation into promotion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nFinding and sharing great content other people have created is great for providing value and building a following. But it doesn\u2019t bring much direct traffic your way. That\u2019s where snip.ly comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This solution adds a custom call to action on top of the content you share, so that you can bring people to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By creating unique snips for each of your articles or videos, you can align your content promotion with the context of the reader\u2019s experience. Say, for instance, you publish an article on how to monetize a blog. You could place a snip on articles around blogging or making money online inviting people to read your article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s the approach I took to promote my CRO copywriting ebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Add](\"https:\/\/mlzf3ramde6k.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.seankirbycopy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Screen-Shot-2020-01-03-at-8.27.10-PM.png?resize=901%2C396\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nGuest blogging <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nI\u2019ll be honest. Guest blogging doesn\u2019t make sense purely as a content promotion tactic. The impact is low compared to the effort involved. However, guest posting on a popular blog is a great way to establish yourself as a thought leader and build your personal brand. And if you do it for that reason, you might as well get some direct traffic as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best way to do this is by including a link to your content within the post. But you have to do it the right way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nobody wants to read a sales pitch in the middle of an article. So you need to make sure that whatever link you include fits within the context of the piece. It should also provide unique value. That could be to provide examples or to offer information on a related subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s also a good idea to include outbound links to other sites. It shows that you\u2019re trying to provide genuine value to the reader rather than just gaining traffic. That\u2019s what readers want, which makes it what the site you\u2019re posting on wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can also include a link to an article in your bio, but I wouldn\u2019t do it with just any random piece of content. The bio area is not likely to be updated regularly, so it\u2019s best to save it for some sort of lead generator or cornerstone content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Include](\"https:\/\/mlzf3ramde6k.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.seankirbycopy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/DirectViews-Author-Bio.jpg?resize=480%2C640\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nTake a look at this guide for ideas on finding guest blogging opportunities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSyndicate your content <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhat if instead of just including a link to your content on someone else\u2019s site (like in guest blogging), you could include your whole article? That\u2019s what content syndication is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are three basic types of syndication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The easiest form of this is self-syndication, where you republish your content on Medium or LinkedIn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, there are services that place your content across networks of syndicated sites. See the section on paid content distribution services<\/a><\/span><\/u>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFinally, you can try to get third party sites to republish your content. This is the blueprint Buffer used to get syndicated<\/a> on Huffington Post<\/em>, Fast Company <\/em>and Inc<\/em>., among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou may be thinking, \u201cWon\u2019t Google penalize me for duplicate content?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As long as you and your syndication partner have your technical SEO in order, you shouldn\u2019t have anything to worry about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing that you should consider, though, is possible cannibalization of traffic. The site you are republishing on may get take potential traffic away from the original content on your site. The extra visibility is usually worth it, but it is something to keep in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Submit your content to aggregator sites<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAggregator sites like Alltop<\/a> are 100% curated content collections. They need content. You need places to distribute your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, like most things, it\u2019s not quite that simple. Many aggregator sites are full of spammy content. That won\u2019t reflect well on your content or your brand. So you want to be choosy about where you submit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It works in reverse, too. The best aggregator sites only want to collect and display the best content. So you need to ensure that your content makes the grade<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou\u2019ll also want to find aggregators specific to your industry. Zest.is<\/a> is good example of an aggregator specific to the marketing industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\nShare articles in online communities and forums<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nCommunities and forums are great places to find engaged readers. If they leave comments on these sites, there is a good chance they could comment on your content as well. But you need to remember that it\u2019s a two-way street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nobody joins communities to be sold to. If you go on there and just start pushing your content, you\u2019re likely to get kicked to the curb.<\/p>\n\n\n"Nobody joins communities to be sold to." Here is the right way to promote your content in on these places. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\nAs a general rule, before you promote any content in these places, spend some time to actually become part of the community. Familiarize yourself with the rules and etiquette. Participate in a few discussions. Demonstrate your value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you’re ready to share your content, give a reason aside from just promoting your stuff. For instance, you could ask a question related to the topic or share insights about what you learned while researching and creating the piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is a short list of the top communities and forums to check out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reddit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis popular site is a collection of forums, known as subreddits. Each subreddit is run by its own moderator and has its own set of guidelines. Make sure you know what they are so that you don\u2019t get blacklisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But simply following the rules is not enough. Reddit has a built-in voting system to help maintain quality. Users can upvote or downvote any comment, so it\u2019s important to make sure you are adding value with every contribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting featured on the first page of a subreddit can drive significant traffic to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Industry-specific forums<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nMany industries or niches have their own forums. With smart content promotion, these can be excellent sources of targeted traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, coders frequently visit HackerNews<\/a>. And GrowthHackers.com<\/a> is a great place to engage with marketers.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSocial media groups<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nLinkedIn and Facebook groups allow you to reach people beyond just your immediate connections on these platforms. But just like with subreddits, each group has its own set of rules. Before you share any content or links, make sure it\u2019s allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blogging communities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe concept behind these communities is to bring bloggers together to help promote each other\u2019s content. These are some of the most well-known blogging communities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BizSugar<\/a>.<\/strong> This community focuses on topics related to small businesses and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBlogEngage<\/a>.<\/strong> This community has a large membership but there is a fee to join. Actually there are multiple tiers of membership. You\u2019ll want to carefully consider what the different benefits are worth to you before committing to anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSocial Buzz Club.<\/a><\/strong> <\/a>This community uses gamification to encourage collaboration and reciprocal sharing, assigning points for such activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\nViral Content Bee<\/a>.<\/strong> In order to ensure you put in what you get out, Viral Content Bee uses a credit system. You earn credits by sharing others content. You can then use your accrued credit to incentivize others to share your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTriberr<\/a>.<\/strong> The platform organizes members into \u201ctribes\u201d of like-minded bloggers and influencers with the goal of amplifying content. There are both free and paid plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSubmit to social bookmarking sites<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nYou\u2019ve probably used or at least seen the bookmarking feature in your favorite web browser. Social bookmarking sites are like the public version of that. Not only can you go back to find the links you saved, but you can see what other people save as well. And they can see yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Content marketers have been known to see large spikes in traffic by making it on the first page of these social bookmarking sites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digg<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nDigg is a popular site for discovering new and interesting content. And it can provide a significant boost if you get yours featured on the main page. Of course that\u2019s easier said than done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lifewire offers some tips on how to use this platform<\/a> to get more traffic to your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\nScoop.it<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis is billed more as content curation tool than a bookmarking site, but the premise is similar. You add content where it can be discovered by others. The main difference between Scoop.it and other social bookmarking sites is that the content is organized into collections curated by each user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That means simply reposting your content here won\u2019t give you the traffic bump you\u2019re looking for. But you can use it to build a following and pull in new traffic to your site over time. This guide from Search Engine Journal<\/a> explains how. <\/p>\n\n\n\nDiigo<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis site is popular among academics, thanks in part to features like annotation. If you are in the education niche or if your audience includes students or teachers, this could be a good platform to leverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microblog with Tumblr<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Microblogging is like blogging, but with bite-sized pieces if content rather than the long form content most regular blogs publish. Many people prefer to consume this type of content, especially when they are scanning their feeds rather than searching for something in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twitter is probably the most popular and best known microblogging platform, but it’s certainly not the only one. Tumblr<\/a> is a popular option that offers a bit more flexibility, especially with design.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHere’s a quick guide to help you get started<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAs with any type of platform used for content promotion, building a following is key to success on Tumblr. For valuable tips on doing just that, read this post about how Eli Seekins was able to get 8k followers on Tumblr in 5 months without ever logging in<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nReach out to influencers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s not hard to understand why influencer outreach is a popular content promotion strategy. You want lots of people to view your content. Influencers have lots of followers to promote your content to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first step is finding these influencers. You can probably think of a few well known and respected leaders in your industry off the top of your head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Popular blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels are great places to find more influencers. You can also use a tool like BuzzSumo<\/a> which lets you search for influencers by topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Use](\"https:\/\/mlzf3ramde6k.i.optimole.com\/w:1024\/h:492\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.seankirbycopy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/BuzzSumo-Influencers-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C492\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhen evaluating influencers, you want to look at more than just their reach, especially with social media. Look at what types of people are following each influencer to make sure they are in your target market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also look at how engaged the influencer and his or her followers are. It\u2019s better to attract a smaller number of highly engaged readers than a large number of apathetic people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you have a good list of influencers, you\u2019ll need their contact information. Email is the best way to reach out to these people, but in a pinch, communicating via social media is an option, too. You can find most emails with tools such as VoilaNorbert<\/a> and Humter.io<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s the easy part. The hard part is not getting ignored when you reach out for content promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most important thing to do is give a good reason for reaching out. I know you want them to share your content on social media and link to it. But that\u2019s a good reason for you, not them. Why should they<\/em> care? For example, you could:<\/p>\n\n\n\n- Let them know you\u2019ve mentioned or quoted them<\/li>
- Tell them about how it improves or expands on something they already link to<\/li>
- Play to their ego and ask them for input before publishing your content<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Here are a few more tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Personalize your message.<\/strong> Influencers will ignore you if they think you\u2019re sending a mass form email.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTry to establish a relationship before you ask for anything in return.<\/strong> Think about it. Would you be more likely to do something for someone you know and like or for a complete stranger?<\/p>\n\n\n\nDon\u2019t email the same people every time you publish something.<\/strong> That can quickly get annoying and they may stop looking at your emails all together. Instead, select a few key people who are the best fit for that particular topic. Keeping a log of your contact activity in a CRM or spreadsheet can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf you think an influencer may be receptive to more frequent updates about your content, ask if you can add them to your list. This works best when you have a good relationship already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reach out to people who curate content<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nLet other people help with your content promotion. Simply do a search for link roundup or newsletters in your industry and suggest your content to the curator. Here are a few search terms to try:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cweekly roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cmonthly roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201clink roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cinurl:roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cintitle:roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cbest of\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Search](\"https:\/\/mlzf3ramde6k.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.seankirbycopy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Roundup-search-example.png?resize=811%2C395\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou can also find link roundups by exploring your competitors\u2019 backlinks. Simply plug the URL to one of their content pages into your favorite backlink checker and explore the referring sites. There\u2019s a good chance that many of those links are coming from link roundups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The people who put together these roundups may be the perfect target for your outreach. Not only have they proven that they share other people\u2019s content, it\u2019s actually a promotion strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s easy, though. These people get emails all the time from content creators, and the standards are high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Treat your pitch the same way you should when reaching out to influencers for social shares and backlinks. Make sure you give a good reason why they should include your content. How will it benefit their audience? Why is it better than other content on the subject?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
See the tips above for more ways to improve your odds of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Answer questions on Quora<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThis works for the same reason SEO works. The internet is usually the first place people turn for answers to their questions. But you have much less competition for your audience\u2019s attention on Quora than on Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Capitalizing on this requires more than simply answering questions with links to you blog posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember, people are smart. They know you want to get traffic to your site, and if content promotion is all there is to your answer, they\u2019ll simply move on the next without a second glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The key, just as with many of these strategies, is to build credibility and establish trust by providing value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spend time crafting well thought out, detailed answers, even if your blog posts include all the information a reader needs. Including links to your blog as supporting information is good, but your Quara answer should be able to stand alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why? Because people are looking for answers on Quora. Making them go to another site for the answer adds friction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how do you drive traffic back to your site, then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some will come by placing non-intrusive links towards the end of your answers or mixed into a list post among external links. You can also drive a good portion of traffic from your profile page if you consistently provide great answers and build a following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a deep dive, including how to choose which questions to answer, how to optimize your profile and other pro tips, check out this article from the “Top Quora Writer of 2017.”<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nLeave comments on other blogs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nI\u2019m not advocating comment spam. That\u2019s likely to get blocked, and even if it does get through, people are more likely to view you negatively than to click through to your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, you want to include your links in a non-promotional way. There are a couple of ways to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Look for questions within the comments you can answer. That adds value directly in response to someone\u2019s request. Use Control F to search the page for \u201c?\u201d to save time.<\/li>
- Add unique insight that extends the value of the original post. For example, let\u2019s say you wrote a case study on a particular link building technique. You could look for articles that mention that technique and talk about the results while referencing the case study.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
But you don\u2019t need to include a link in every comment to make this content promotion strategy work for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many sites use comment systems that include profiles of the commenter. When you leave comments readers find valuable, they have a reason to check out your profile and follow the links you include there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Include](\"https:\/\/mlzf3ramde6k.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.seankirbycopy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Screen-Shot-2018-06-29-at-10.53.58-AM.png?resize=604%2C198\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nConsistently leaving messages that contribute to the conversation also helps you get noticed by the articles\u2019 writers. Often these people are influencers who can help amplify your content promotion now and in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Promote on your own site<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhen you think about promoting your latest blog post, you probably go straight to external sources. But your own site is a great place to start. Who is going to be a more targeted audience than people already reading your content?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are two good ways to drive readers to your other content:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Internal linking within content<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a good idea to include links to other pages on your site whenever you create new content. Not only is it good for getting more page views, it also helps with SEO. But that\u2019s only one side of the coin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t forget to go back to your existing content and add links to the new posts you publish as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Related posts listings<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s easy to add links to related content at the end of your posts, especially if you use a plug-in like Related Posts by AddThis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SEO <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSearch engines have the potential to deliver massive amounts of targeted traffic on an ongoing basis. Google alone processes over 40,000 search queries every second<\/em> on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe problem is, most of that traffic never gets beyond the first few results on the page. That\u2019s where SEO comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting your content to rank high in search engines takes considerable time and effort, but it\u2019s well worth it. Sites like Wordstream and WebMD, just to name a couple, get the majority of their traffic this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re not familiar with search engine optimization, check out this beginner\u2019s guide<\/a> put together by the folks at MOZ. It\u2019s an excellent resource for learning the basics that won\u2019t overwhelm you.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt would be impossible to include everything there is to know about SEO in this post. (There are entire websites dedicated to these topics that continue to regularly publish new content.) But at the risk of oversimplifying, it all boils down to three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Creating content that meets the needs of your market based on their searches<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nKeyword stuffing is not a viable strategy in 2020. But it does no good to create content that nobody is searching for. That\u2019s why keyword research remains an important part of SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finding good keywords can be a tricky balancing act. You\u2019re looking for something that has enough search volume to generate worthwhile traffic, but isn\u2019t so competitive that you\u2019ll never be able to rank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are a few tips that may help:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Search for long tail keywords.<\/strong> These are phrases that include multiple words like the example below.The search volume decreases with the length of the tail, but so does the competition. And because it\u2019s specific, it\u2019s easier to match the searcher\u2019s intent. In the example below, that would be learning beginner SEO strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nUse a tool like Google Keyword Planner<\/strong> to find information on how many times per month that term is searched and how competitive it is. Use the suggestion feature to find the specific phrasing that gives you the best mix of volume vs. competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPlug your terms into Google Trends<\/strong> to see how much interest there is in that search over time. If you notice any that are trending up, you may want to prioritize those first to take advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFor in-depth keyword research instruction, I recommend Brain Dean\u2019s Definitive Guide.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nOnce you know what people are searching for, it\u2019s time to create content to meets those needs. At a minimum you want it to be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Unique in some way. <\/strong>There\u2019s a lot of parroting on the Internet these days, and it feels like you read the same articles over again and again with just different wording. Add something new to the conversation.<\/li>
- Easy to read and understand. <\/strong>If it feels like work, I\u2019ll just go to the next option.<\/li>
- Entertaining.<\/strong> I know a lot of people think of content as more educational. And to an extent it is, but the education has to be enjoyable or nobody will bother.<\/li>
- Satisfying.<\/strong> Great content answers the questions readers have and gives them the information they need to put it to use. There should be no reason to go and search another source after consuming great content.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
2. Organizing that content so that it\u2019s easily accessible to search engine spiders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIf search engines can\u2019t access or index your content, it will be impossible for you to rank. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to make sure your site and content is structured properly and that you\u2019re technical SEO is in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are several sites that offer free audits which may help you discover technical SEO issues. Just do a google search to find one. Google Search Console<\/a> and PageSpeed Insights<\/a> are also helpful resources to check out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n3. Demonstrating the value of that content through key metrics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSearch engines use several factors to determine the value of the content they index, which can improve your rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of these factors are related to user behavior, such as time on site and bounce rate. The advice in Why Nobody is Actually Reading Your Content and What to do About it<\/u><\/a> can help with these things.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBacklinks are another big quality signal. It makes sense when you think about it. You\u2019re not going to link to something unless it adds value. It\u2019s like a vote of confidence from the linking site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s not just about quantity of backlinks. The quality of the referring site is important, too. In fact, too many low quality links will actually hurt your score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how do you get sites to link to your content?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This epic guide to link building strategies<\/a> will give you lots of actionable ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEmail your content to subscribers <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nYou know who is likely to be interested in your content?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People who have expressed an interest before. Emailing them when you publish new content is an easy and effective way to drive high quality traffic to your site.<\/p>\n\n\nEmail is an easy and effective way to drive high quality traffic to your content. Get even more ideas here. #contentmarketing <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\nThe most challenging part is building your email list to the size where this strategy makes an impact. But when you do, it can continually bring people back to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you need ideas or instruction on how to build an email list, check out this comprehensive guide Sarah Peterson and Sean Bestor created for Sumo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen creating the content promotion email, you have a couple of options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can automate the process in email solutions like MailChimp<\/a>. With this option, the program picks up information such as the title and URL from your site\u2019s RSS feed and drops them into a set template. If you publish new content often, this method can be a real time saver. But it can be limiting, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYour second option is to create a specific email for each piece of content you\u2019re promoting. It takes more time and effort, but you have the opportunity to build interest in the particular content you\u2019re promoting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Include a link in your email signature<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nDid you know that the biggest driver of Hotmail\u2019s growth was a simple link at the bottom of those emails? Over 100,000 new users signed up within the first month of adding it. And it just kept growing form there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m not suggesting that a similar link in your email will drive anywhere close to that kind of growth in your blog. But it is an easy way to get some extra mileage out of something you are already doing. And it only takes a few minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAsk everyone on your team to do the same to reach even more people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Post to your social media accounts <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThis is probably the first thing you do when you publish a post, right? No, I\u2019m not psychic. That\u2019s what just about every blogger does. So why is it that some blogs drive a ton of traffic through social and others barely see a blip?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Part of it has to do with the type of content you\u2019re sharing. Emotional, inspiring or surprising topics are more likely to get noticed and shared on social media than how-to information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But part of it also has to do with strategy and effort. You won\u2019t realize the potential of these networks for content promotion if you just add a link and call it a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, it\u2019s important to remember that what drives success in social media is different than what works for SEO. You need to adjust for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the images in blog posts are often used to help explain concepts or illustrate points from the text, the main purpose of images in social media is to get attention. Choose your images accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\nWhen it comes to text in social, keywords aren\u2019t nearly as important as intrigue and emotion. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\nAnd the extra effort doesn\u2019t end there. You should also customize your posts for each platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facebook.<\/strong> The text you add to your post will appear above the image and link. Use it to set up the content or add a more personal message. The ideal image size is 1200 x 630 pixels.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTwitter.<\/strong> You only have about 140 characters to play with, so you need to keep the text short and sweet. Pithy calls-to-action like retweet requests can work well. Use a URL shortener such as Bit.ly<\/a> to save some space on the link text. The ideal image size is 440 x 220 pixels.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTweets move quickly through timelines, so be sure to include hashtags and @ handles to maximize views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LinkedIn.<\/strong> This is a professional networking social media site, so your updates should be professional and relevant. Be sure to include unique comments that add context. Asking questions and encouraging feedback is also a good way to get people to interact with your post. A featured image of 1104 x 736 pixels is ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPinterest.<\/strong> With this one, the image most important thing, so this is perfect for infographics and other visual content. Choose your best images, describe what the pin is about and include link to the full content.<\/p>\n\n\n\nInstagram.<\/strong> Like Pinterest, Instagram is a visual medium, but the lifespan of a post in people\u2019s feeds is much shorter. Think of it like Twitter for images, and communicate main points succinctly in the captions. Shoot for an image size of 1080 x 1080 pixels.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe timing also makes a difference. While many sites recommend the ideal time to post on each platform, I chose not to include recommendations here. Many have more success posting on off-peak times when there is less competing for users’ attention. It will also vary by audience. So you should experiment with different times and roll out whatever gives you the best results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Send direct messages in Twitter<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSending a direct message to someone on Twitter is easy. Sending that message to a large number of followers can be more challenging. You can only message people who follow you, and the group messaging feature can\u2019t include more than 20 users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For these reasons, you\u2019ll want to pick and choose when and to whom you message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One option is to send a message with a link to your blog when someone starts following you.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDirect messaging new followers is a great opportunity to promote your content.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou can also message your most influential or active followers related to the blog topic. Segmenting these people into lists for each category or topic you blog about can make this task easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Include Click to Tweets in your posts <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAs mentioned above, the lifespan of a tweet is short. That\u2019s why social media gurus like Guy Kawasaki recommend you repeat your tweets multiple times. But that still only reaches people who already follow you. Ideally, you want people to retweet or share your content with their followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enter Click to Tweet<\/a>. This nifty plug-in lets you create prewritten messages that users can tweet with the click of a button. Place them in your blog posts and be sure to include a link to the post.<\/p>\n\n\nSocial media gurus like Guy Kawasaki recommend you repeat your tweets multiple times. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\nThe best Click to Tweet messages are things that make the reader look good or have a high emotional aspect to them. Here are a few ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Include an inspiring quote or pick out a line from the article to use as a pull quote.<\/li>
- Provide a pearl of wisdom. This works especially well for list posts where you can use one of the points and link to the full article for the rest.<\/li>
- Highlight surprising facts or statistics. Everyone wants to be seen as someone \u201cin the know.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Use snip.ly to turn curation into promotion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nFinding and sharing great content other people have created is great for providing value and building a following. But it doesn\u2019t bring much direct traffic your way. That\u2019s where snip.ly comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This solution adds a custom call to action on top of the content you share, so that you can bring people to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By creating unique snips for each of your articles or videos, you can align your content promotion with the context of the reader\u2019s experience. Say, for instance, you publish an article on how to monetize a blog. You could place a snip on articles around blogging or making money online inviting people to read your article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s the approach I took to promote my CRO copywriting ebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nGuest blogging <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nI\u2019ll be honest. Guest blogging doesn\u2019t make sense purely as a content promotion tactic. The impact is low compared to the effort involved. However, guest posting on a popular blog is a great way to establish yourself as a thought leader and build your personal brand. And if you do it for that reason, you might as well get some direct traffic as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best way to do this is by including a link to your content within the post. But you have to do it the right way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nobody wants to read a sales pitch in the middle of an article. So you need to make sure that whatever link you include fits within the context of the piece. It should also provide unique value. That could be to provide examples or to offer information on a related subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s also a good idea to include outbound links to other sites. It shows that you\u2019re trying to provide genuine value to the reader rather than just gaining traffic. That\u2019s what readers want, which makes it what the site you\u2019re posting on wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can also include a link to an article in your bio, but I wouldn\u2019t do it with just any random piece of content. The bio area is not likely to be updated regularly, so it\u2019s best to save it for some sort of lead generator or cornerstone content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nTake a look at this guide for ideas on finding guest blogging opportunities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSyndicate your content <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhat if instead of just including a link to your content on someone else\u2019s site (like in guest blogging), you could include your whole article? That\u2019s what content syndication is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are three basic types of syndication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The easiest form of this is self-syndication, where you republish your content on Medium or LinkedIn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, there are services that place your content across networks of syndicated sites. See the section on paid content distribution services<\/a><\/span><\/u>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFinally, you can try to get third party sites to republish your content. This is the blueprint Buffer used to get syndicated<\/a> on Huffington Post<\/em>, Fast Company <\/em>and Inc<\/em>., among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou may be thinking, \u201cWon\u2019t Google penalize me for duplicate content?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As long as you and your syndication partner have your technical SEO in order, you shouldn\u2019t have anything to worry about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing that you should consider, though, is possible cannibalization of traffic. The site you are republishing on may get take potential traffic away from the original content on your site. The extra visibility is usually worth it, but it is something to keep in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Submit your content to aggregator sites<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nAggregator sites like Alltop<\/a> are 100% curated content collections. They need content. You need places to distribute your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, like most things, it\u2019s not quite that simple. Many aggregator sites are full of spammy content. That won\u2019t reflect well on your content or your brand. So you want to be choosy about where you submit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It works in reverse, too. The best aggregator sites only want to collect and display the best content. So you need to ensure that your content makes the grade<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nYou\u2019ll also want to find aggregators specific to your industry. Zest.is<\/a> is good example of an aggregator specific to the marketing industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\nShare articles in online communities and forums<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nCommunities and forums are great places to find engaged readers. If they leave comments on these sites, there is a good chance they could comment on your content as well. But you need to remember that it\u2019s a two-way street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nobody joins communities to be sold to. If you go on there and just start pushing your content, you\u2019re likely to get kicked to the curb.<\/p>\n\n\n"Nobody joins communities to be sold to." Here is the right way to promote your content in on these places. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\nAs a general rule, before you promote any content in these places, spend some time to actually become part of the community. Familiarize yourself with the rules and etiquette. Participate in a few discussions. Demonstrate your value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you’re ready to share your content, give a reason aside from just promoting your stuff. For instance, you could ask a question related to the topic or share insights about what you learned while researching and creating the piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is a short list of the top communities and forums to check out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reddit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis popular site is a collection of forums, known as subreddits. Each subreddit is run by its own moderator and has its own set of guidelines. Make sure you know what they are so that you don\u2019t get blacklisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But simply following the rules is not enough. Reddit has a built-in voting system to help maintain quality. Users can upvote or downvote any comment, so it\u2019s important to make sure you are adding value with every contribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting featured on the first page of a subreddit can drive significant traffic to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Industry-specific forums<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nMany industries or niches have their own forums. With smart content promotion, these can be excellent sources of targeted traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, coders frequently visit HackerNews<\/a>. And GrowthHackers.com<\/a> is a great place to engage with marketers.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSocial media groups<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nLinkedIn and Facebook groups allow you to reach people beyond just your immediate connections on these platforms. But just like with subreddits, each group has its own set of rules. Before you share any content or links, make sure it\u2019s allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blogging communities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe concept behind these communities is to bring bloggers together to help promote each other\u2019s content. These are some of the most well-known blogging communities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BizSugar<\/a>.<\/strong> This community focuses on topics related to small businesses and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBlogEngage<\/a>.<\/strong> This community has a large membership but there is a fee to join. Actually there are multiple tiers of membership. You\u2019ll want to carefully consider what the different benefits are worth to you before committing to anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSocial Buzz Club.<\/a><\/strong> <\/a>This community uses gamification to encourage collaboration and reciprocal sharing, assigning points for such activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\nViral Content Bee<\/a>.<\/strong> In order to ensure you put in what you get out, Viral Content Bee uses a credit system. You earn credits by sharing others content. You can then use your accrued credit to incentivize others to share your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTriberr<\/a>.<\/strong> The platform organizes members into \u201ctribes\u201d of like-minded bloggers and influencers with the goal of amplifying content. There are both free and paid plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSubmit to social bookmarking sites<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nYou\u2019ve probably used or at least seen the bookmarking feature in your favorite web browser. Social bookmarking sites are like the public version of that. Not only can you go back to find the links you saved, but you can see what other people save as well. And they can see yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Content marketers have been known to see large spikes in traffic by making it on the first page of these social bookmarking sites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digg<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nDigg is a popular site for discovering new and interesting content. And it can provide a significant boost if you get yours featured on the main page. Of course that\u2019s easier said than done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lifewire offers some tips on how to use this platform<\/a> to get more traffic to your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\nScoop.it<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis is billed more as content curation tool than a bookmarking site, but the premise is similar. You add content where it can be discovered by others. The main difference between Scoop.it and other social bookmarking sites is that the content is organized into collections curated by each user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That means simply reposting your content here won\u2019t give you the traffic bump you\u2019re looking for. But you can use it to build a following and pull in new traffic to your site over time. This guide from Search Engine Journal<\/a> explains how. <\/p>\n\n\n\nDiigo<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis site is popular among academics, thanks in part to features like annotation. If you are in the education niche or if your audience includes students or teachers, this could be a good platform to leverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microblog with Tumblr<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Microblogging is like blogging, but with bite-sized pieces if content rather than the long form content most regular blogs publish. Many people prefer to consume this type of content, especially when they are scanning their feeds rather than searching for something in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twitter is probably the most popular and best known microblogging platform, but it’s certainly not the only one. Tumblr<\/a> is a popular option that offers a bit more flexibility, especially with design.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHere’s a quick guide to help you get started<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAs with any type of platform used for content promotion, building a following is key to success on Tumblr. For valuable tips on doing just that, read this post about how Eli Seekins was able to get 8k followers on Tumblr in 5 months without ever logging in<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nReach out to influencers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s not hard to understand why influencer outreach is a popular content promotion strategy. You want lots of people to view your content. Influencers have lots of followers to promote your content to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first step is finding these influencers. You can probably think of a few well known and respected leaders in your industry off the top of your head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Popular blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels are great places to find more influencers. You can also use a tool like BuzzSumo<\/a> which lets you search for influencers by topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhen evaluating influencers, you want to look at more than just their reach, especially with social media. Look at what types of people are following each influencer to make sure they are in your target market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also look at how engaged the influencer and his or her followers are. It\u2019s better to attract a smaller number of highly engaged readers than a large number of apathetic people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you have a good list of influencers, you\u2019ll need their contact information. Email is the best way to reach out to these people, but in a pinch, communicating via social media is an option, too. You can find most emails with tools such as VoilaNorbert<\/a> and Humter.io<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s the easy part. The hard part is not getting ignored when you reach out for content promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most important thing to do is give a good reason for reaching out. I know you want them to share your content on social media and link to it. But that\u2019s a good reason for you, not them. Why should they<\/em> care? For example, you could:<\/p>\n\n\n\n- Let them know you\u2019ve mentioned or quoted them<\/li>
- Tell them about how it improves or expands on something they already link to<\/li>
- Play to their ego and ask them for input before publishing your content<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Here are a few more tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Personalize your message.<\/strong> Influencers will ignore you if they think you\u2019re sending a mass form email.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTry to establish a relationship before you ask for anything in return.<\/strong> Think about it. Would you be more likely to do something for someone you know and like or for a complete stranger?<\/p>\n\n\n\nDon\u2019t email the same people every time you publish something.<\/strong> That can quickly get annoying and they may stop looking at your emails all together. Instead, select a few key people who are the best fit for that particular topic. Keeping a log of your contact activity in a CRM or spreadsheet can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf you think an influencer may be receptive to more frequent updates about your content, ask if you can add them to your list. This works best when you have a good relationship already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reach out to people who curate content<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nLet other people help with your content promotion. Simply do a search for link roundup or newsletters in your industry and suggest your content to the curator. Here are a few search terms to try:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cweekly roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cmonthly roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201clink roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cinurl:roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cintitle:roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cbest of\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou can also find link roundups by exploring your competitors\u2019 backlinks. Simply plug the URL to one of their content pages into your favorite backlink checker and explore the referring sites. There\u2019s a good chance that many of those links are coming from link roundups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The people who put together these roundups may be the perfect target for your outreach. Not only have they proven that they share other people\u2019s content, it\u2019s actually a promotion strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s easy, though. These people get emails all the time from content creators, and the standards are high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Treat your pitch the same way you should when reaching out to influencers for social shares and backlinks. Make sure you give a good reason why they should include your content. How will it benefit their audience? Why is it better than other content on the subject?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
See the tips above for more ways to improve your odds of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Answer questions on Quora<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThis works for the same reason SEO works. The internet is usually the first place people turn for answers to their questions. But you have much less competition for your audience\u2019s attention on Quora than on Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Capitalizing on this requires more than simply answering questions with links to you blog posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember, people are smart. They know you want to get traffic to your site, and if content promotion is all there is to your answer, they\u2019ll simply move on the next without a second glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The key, just as with many of these strategies, is to build credibility and establish trust by providing value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spend time crafting well thought out, detailed answers, even if your blog posts include all the information a reader needs. Including links to your blog as supporting information is good, but your Quara answer should be able to stand alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why? Because people are looking for answers on Quora. Making them go to another site for the answer adds friction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how do you drive traffic back to your site, then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some will come by placing non-intrusive links towards the end of your answers or mixed into a list post among external links. You can also drive a good portion of traffic from your profile page if you consistently provide great answers and build a following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a deep dive, including how to choose which questions to answer, how to optimize your profile and other pro tips, check out this article from the “Top Quora Writer of 2017.”<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nLeave comments on other blogs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nI\u2019m not advocating comment spam. That\u2019s likely to get blocked, and even if it does get through, people are more likely to view you negatively than to click through to your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, you want to include your links in a non-promotional way. There are a couple of ways to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Look for questions within the comments you can answer. That adds value directly in response to someone\u2019s request. Use Control F to search the page for \u201c?\u201d to save time.<\/li>
- Add unique insight that extends the value of the original post. For example, let\u2019s say you wrote a case study on a particular link building technique. You could look for articles that mention that technique and talk about the results while referencing the case study.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
But you don\u2019t need to include a link in every comment to make this content promotion strategy work for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many sites use comment systems that include profiles of the commenter. When you leave comments readers find valuable, they have a reason to check out your profile and follow the links you include there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nConsistently leaving messages that contribute to the conversation also helps you get noticed by the articles\u2019 writers. Often these people are influencers who can help amplify your content promotion now and in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Promote on your own site<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhen you think about promoting your latest blog post, you probably go straight to external sources. But your own site is a great place to start. Who is going to be a more targeted audience than people already reading your content?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are two good ways to drive readers to your other content:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Internal linking within content<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a good idea to include links to other pages on your site whenever you create new content. Not only is it good for getting more page views, it also helps with SEO. But that\u2019s only one side of the coin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t forget to go back to your existing content and add links to the new posts you publish as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Related posts listings<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s easy to add links to related content at the end of your posts, especially if you use a plug-in like Related Posts by AddThis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The problem is, most of that traffic never gets beyond the first few results on the page. That\u2019s where SEO comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting your content to rank high in search engines takes considerable time and effort, but it\u2019s well worth it. Sites like Wordstream and WebMD, just to name a couple, get the majority of their traffic this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re not familiar with search engine optimization, check out this beginner\u2019s guide<\/a> put together by the folks at MOZ. It\u2019s an excellent resource for learning the basics that won\u2019t overwhelm you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would be impossible to include everything there is to know about SEO in this post. (There are entire websites dedicated to these topics that continue to regularly publish new content.) But at the risk of oversimplifying, it all boils down to three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Creating content that meets the needs of your market based on their searches<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Keyword stuffing is not a viable strategy in 2020. But it does no good to create content that nobody is searching for. That\u2019s why keyword research remains an important part of SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finding good keywords can be a tricky balancing act. You\u2019re looking for something that has enough search volume to generate worthwhile traffic, but isn\u2019t so competitive that you\u2019ll never be able to rank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few tips that may help:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Search for long tail keywords.<\/strong> These are phrases that include multiple words like the example below.The search volume decreases with the length of the tail, but so does the competition. And because it\u2019s specific, it\u2019s easier to match the searcher\u2019s intent. In the example below, that would be learning beginner SEO strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use a tool like Google Keyword Planner<\/strong> to find information on how many times per month that term is searched and how competitive it is. Use the suggestion feature to find the specific phrasing that gives you the best mix of volume vs. competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plug your terms into Google Trends<\/strong> to see how much interest there is in that search over time. If you notice any that are trending up, you may want to prioritize those first to take advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For in-depth keyword research instruction, I recommend Brain Dean\u2019s Definitive Guide.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you know what people are searching for, it\u2019s time to create content to meets those needs. At a minimum you want it to be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Organizing that content so that it\u2019s easily accessible to search engine spiders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If search engines can\u2019t access or index your content, it will be impossible for you to rank. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to make sure your site and content is structured properly and that you\u2019re technical SEO is in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are several sites that offer free audits which may help you discover technical SEO issues. Just do a google search to find one. Google Search Console<\/a> and PageSpeed Insights<\/a> are also helpful resources to check out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Demonstrating the value of that content through key metrics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Search engines use several factors to determine the value of the content they index, which can improve your rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of these factors are related to user behavior, such as time on site and bounce rate. The advice in Why Nobody is Actually Reading Your Content and What to do About it<\/u><\/a> can help with these things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Backlinks are another big quality signal. It makes sense when you think about it. You\u2019re not going to link to something unless it adds value. It\u2019s like a vote of confidence from the linking site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s not just about quantity of backlinks. The quality of the referring site is important, too. In fact, too many low quality links will actually hurt your score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how do you get sites to link to your content?<\/p>\n\n\n\n This epic guide to link building strategies<\/a> will give you lots of actionable ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You know who is likely to be interested in your content?<\/p>\n\n\n\n People who have expressed an interest before. Emailing them when you publish new content is an easy and effective way to drive high quality traffic to your site.<\/p>\n\n\nEmail is an easy and effective way to drive high quality traffic to your content. Get even more ideas here. #contentmarketing <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n The most challenging part is building your email list to the size where this strategy makes an impact. But when you do, it can continually bring people back to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you need ideas or instruction on how to build an email list, check out this comprehensive guide Sarah Peterson and Sean Bestor created for Sumo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When creating the content promotion email, you have a couple of options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can automate the process in email solutions like MailChimp<\/a>. With this option, the program picks up information such as the title and URL from your site\u2019s RSS feed and drops them into a set template. If you publish new content often, this method can be a real time saver. But it can be limiting, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your second option is to create a specific email for each piece of content you\u2019re promoting. It takes more time and effort, but you have the opportunity to build interest in the particular content you\u2019re promoting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you know that the biggest driver of Hotmail\u2019s growth was a simple link at the bottom of those emails? Over 100,000 new users signed up within the first month of adding it. And it just kept growing form there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not suggesting that a similar link in your email will drive anywhere close to that kind of growth in your blog. But it is an easy way to get some extra mileage out of something you are already doing. And it only takes a few minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask everyone on your team to do the same to reach even more people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is probably the first thing you do when you publish a post, right? No, I\u2019m not psychic. That\u2019s what just about every blogger does. So why is it that some blogs drive a ton of traffic through social and others barely see a blip?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of it has to do with the type of content you\u2019re sharing. Emotional, inspiring or surprising topics are more likely to get noticed and shared on social media than how-to information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But part of it also has to do with strategy and effort. You won\u2019t realize the potential of these networks for content promotion if you just add a link and call it a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, it\u2019s important to remember that what drives success in social media is different than what works for SEO. You need to adjust for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the images in blog posts are often used to help explain concepts or illustrate points from the text, the main purpose of images in social media is to get attention. Choose your images accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\nWhen it comes to text in social, keywords aren\u2019t nearly as important as intrigue and emotion. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n And the extra effort doesn\u2019t end there. You should also customize your posts for each platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Facebook.<\/strong> The text you add to your post will appear above the image and link. Use it to set up the content or add a more personal message. The ideal image size is 1200 x 630 pixels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Twitter.<\/strong> You only have about 140 characters to play with, so you need to keep the text short and sweet. Pithy calls-to-action like retweet requests can work well. Use a URL shortener such as Bit.ly<\/a> to save some space on the link text. The ideal image size is 440 x 220 pixels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tweets move quickly through timelines, so be sure to include hashtags and @ handles to maximize views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkedIn.<\/strong> This is a professional networking social media site, so your updates should be professional and relevant. Be sure to include unique comments that add context. Asking questions and encouraging feedback is also a good way to get people to interact with your post. A featured image of 1104 x 736 pixels is ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pinterest.<\/strong> With this one, the image most important thing, so this is perfect for infographics and other visual content. Choose your best images, describe what the pin is about and include link to the full content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instagram.<\/strong> Like Pinterest, Instagram is a visual medium, but the lifespan of a post in people\u2019s feeds is much shorter. Think of it like Twitter for images, and communicate main points succinctly in the captions. Shoot for an image size of 1080 x 1080 pixels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The timing also makes a difference. While many sites recommend the ideal time to post on each platform, I chose not to include recommendations here. Many have more success posting on off-peak times when there is less competing for users’ attention. It will also vary by audience. So you should experiment with different times and roll out whatever gives you the best results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sending a direct message to someone on Twitter is easy. Sending that message to a large number of followers can be more challenging. You can only message people who follow you, and the group messaging feature can\u2019t include more than 20 users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For these reasons, you\u2019ll want to pick and choose when and to whom you message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One option is to send a message with a link to your blog when someone starts following you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also message your most influential or active followers related to the blog topic. Segmenting these people into lists for each category or topic you blog about can make this task easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As mentioned above, the lifespan of a tweet is short. That\u2019s why social media gurus like Guy Kawasaki recommend you repeat your tweets multiple times. But that still only reaches people who already follow you. Ideally, you want people to retweet or share your content with their followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enter Click to Tweet<\/a>. This nifty plug-in lets you create prewritten messages that users can tweet with the click of a button. Place them in your blog posts and be sure to include a link to the post.<\/p>\n\n\nSocial media gurus like Guy Kawasaki recommend you repeat your tweets multiple times. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n The best Click to Tweet messages are things that make the reader look good or have a high emotional aspect to them. Here are a few ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finding and sharing great content other people have created is great for providing value and building a following. But it doesn\u2019t bring much direct traffic your way. That\u2019s where snip.ly comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This solution adds a custom call to action on top of the content you share, so that you can bring people to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By creating unique snips for each of your articles or videos, you can align your content promotion with the context of the reader\u2019s experience. Say, for instance, you publish an article on how to monetize a blog. You could place a snip on articles around blogging or making money online inviting people to read your article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s the approach I took to promote my CRO copywriting ebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll be honest. Guest blogging doesn\u2019t make sense purely as a content promotion tactic. The impact is low compared to the effort involved. However, guest posting on a popular blog is a great way to establish yourself as a thought leader and build your personal brand. And if you do it for that reason, you might as well get some direct traffic as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best way to do this is by including a link to your content within the post. But you have to do it the right way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody wants to read a sales pitch in the middle of an article. So you need to make sure that whatever link you include fits within the context of the piece. It should also provide unique value. That could be to provide examples or to offer information on a related subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also a good idea to include outbound links to other sites. It shows that you\u2019re trying to provide genuine value to the reader rather than just gaining traffic. That\u2019s what readers want, which makes it what the site you\u2019re posting on wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also include a link to an article in your bio, but I wouldn\u2019t do it with just any random piece of content. The bio area is not likely to be updated regularly, so it\u2019s best to save it for some sort of lead generator or cornerstone content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take a look at this guide for ideas on finding guest blogging opportunities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What if instead of just including a link to your content on someone else\u2019s site (like in guest blogging), you could include your whole article? That\u2019s what content syndication is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are three basic types of syndication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The easiest form of this is self-syndication, where you republish your content on Medium or LinkedIn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, there are services that place your content across networks of syndicated sites. See the section on paid content distribution services<\/a><\/span><\/u>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, you can try to get third party sites to republish your content. This is the blueprint Buffer used to get syndicated<\/a> on Huffington Post<\/em>, Fast Company <\/em>and Inc<\/em>., among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may be thinking, \u201cWon\u2019t Google penalize me for duplicate content?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As long as you and your syndication partner have your technical SEO in order, you shouldn\u2019t have anything to worry about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing that you should consider, though, is possible cannibalization of traffic. The site you are republishing on may get take potential traffic away from the original content on your site. The extra visibility is usually worth it, but it is something to keep in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aggregator sites like Alltop<\/a> are 100% curated content collections. They need content. You need places to distribute your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, like most things, it\u2019s not quite that simple. Many aggregator sites are full of spammy content. That won\u2019t reflect well on your content or your brand. So you want to be choosy about where you submit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It works in reverse, too. The best aggregator sites only want to collect and display the best content. So you need to ensure that your content makes the grade<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll also want to find aggregators specific to your industry. Zest.is<\/a> is good example of an aggregator specific to the marketing industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Communities and forums are great places to find engaged readers. If they leave comments on these sites, there is a good chance they could comment on your content as well. But you need to remember that it\u2019s a two-way street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody joins communities to be sold to. If you go on there and just start pushing your content, you\u2019re likely to get kicked to the curb.<\/p>\n\n\n"Nobody joins communities to be sold to." Here is the right way to promote your content in on these places. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n As a general rule, before you promote any content in these places, spend some time to actually become part of the community. Familiarize yourself with the rules and etiquette. Participate in a few discussions. Demonstrate your value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you’re ready to share your content, give a reason aside from just promoting your stuff. For instance, you could ask a question related to the topic or share insights about what you learned while researching and creating the piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is a short list of the top communities and forums to check out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reddit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This popular site is a collection of forums, known as subreddits. Each subreddit is run by its own moderator and has its own set of guidelines. Make sure you know what they are so that you don\u2019t get blacklisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But simply following the rules is not enough. Reddit has a built-in voting system to help maintain quality. Users can upvote or downvote any comment, so it\u2019s important to make sure you are adding value with every contribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting featured on the first page of a subreddit can drive significant traffic to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Industry-specific forums<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many industries or niches have their own forums. With smart content promotion, these can be excellent sources of targeted traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, coders frequently visit HackerNews<\/a>. And GrowthHackers.com<\/a> is a great place to engage with marketers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Social media groups<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkedIn and Facebook groups allow you to reach people beyond just your immediate connections on these platforms. But just like with subreddits, each group has its own set of rules. Before you share any content or links, make sure it\u2019s allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blogging communities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The concept behind these communities is to bring bloggers together to help promote each other\u2019s content. These are some of the most well-known blogging communities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n BizSugar<\/a>.<\/strong> This community focuses on topics related to small businesses and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BlogEngage<\/a>.<\/strong> This community has a large membership but there is a fee to join. Actually there are multiple tiers of membership. You\u2019ll want to carefully consider what the different benefits are worth to you before committing to anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Social Buzz Club.<\/a><\/strong> <\/a>This community uses gamification to encourage collaboration and reciprocal sharing, assigning points for such activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Viral Content Bee<\/a>.<\/strong> In order to ensure you put in what you get out, Viral Content Bee uses a credit system. You earn credits by sharing others content. You can then use your accrued credit to incentivize others to share your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Triberr<\/a>.<\/strong> The platform organizes members into \u201ctribes\u201d of like-minded bloggers and influencers with the goal of amplifying content. There are both free and paid plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve probably used or at least seen the bookmarking feature in your favorite web browser. Social bookmarking sites are like the public version of that. Not only can you go back to find the links you saved, but you can see what other people save as well. And they can see yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Content marketers have been known to see large spikes in traffic by making it on the first page of these social bookmarking sites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Digg<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Digg is a popular site for discovering new and interesting content. And it can provide a significant boost if you get yours featured on the main page. Of course that\u2019s easier said than done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lifewire offers some tips on how to use this platform<\/a> to get more traffic to your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scoop.it<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is billed more as content curation tool than a bookmarking site, but the premise is similar. You add content where it can be discovered by others. The main difference between Scoop.it and other social bookmarking sites is that the content is organized into collections curated by each user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That means simply reposting your content here won\u2019t give you the traffic bump you\u2019re looking for. But you can use it to build a following and pull in new traffic to your site over time. This guide from Search Engine Journal<\/a> explains how. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Diigo<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This site is popular among academics, thanks in part to features like annotation. If you are in the education niche or if your audience includes students or teachers, this could be a good platform to leverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Microblogging is like blogging, but with bite-sized pieces if content rather than the long form content most regular blogs publish. Many people prefer to consume this type of content, especially when they are scanning their feeds rather than searching for something in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Twitter is probably the most popular and best known microblogging platform, but it’s certainly not the only one. Tumblr<\/a> is a popular option that offers a bit more flexibility, especially with design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s a quick guide to help you get started<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As with any type of platform used for content promotion, building a following is key to success on Tumblr. For valuable tips on doing just that, read this post about how Eli Seekins was able to get 8k followers on Tumblr in 5 months without ever logging in<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not hard to understand why influencer outreach is a popular content promotion strategy. You want lots of people to view your content. Influencers have lots of followers to promote your content to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step is finding these influencers. You can probably think of a few well known and respected leaders in your industry off the top of your head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Popular blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels are great places to find more influencers. You can also use a tool like BuzzSumo<\/a> which lets you search for influencers by topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When evaluating influencers, you want to look at more than just their reach, especially with social media. Look at what types of people are following each influencer to make sure they are in your target market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also look at how engaged the influencer and his or her followers are. It\u2019s better to attract a smaller number of highly engaged readers than a large number of apathetic people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you have a good list of influencers, you\u2019ll need their contact information. Email is the best way to reach out to these people, but in a pinch, communicating via social media is an option, too. You can find most emails with tools such as VoilaNorbert<\/a> and Humter.io<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s the easy part. The hard part is not getting ignored when you reach out for content promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most important thing to do is give a good reason for reaching out. I know you want them to share your content on social media and link to it. But that\u2019s a good reason for you, not them. Why should they<\/em> care? For example, you could:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few more tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Personalize your message.<\/strong> Influencers will ignore you if they think you\u2019re sending a mass form email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Try to establish a relationship before you ask for anything in return.<\/strong> Think about it. Would you be more likely to do something for someone you know and like or for a complete stranger?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t email the same people every time you publish something.<\/strong> That can quickly get annoying and they may stop looking at your emails all together. Instead, select a few key people who are the best fit for that particular topic. Keeping a log of your contact activity in a CRM or spreadsheet can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you think an influencer may be receptive to more frequent updates about your content, ask if you can add them to your list. This works best when you have a good relationship already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let other people help with your content promotion. Simply do a search for link roundup or newsletters in your industry and suggest your content to the curator. Here are a few search terms to try:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cweekly roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cmonthly roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201clink roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cinurl:roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cintitle:roundup\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cbest of\u201d + your industry<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also find link roundups by exploring your competitors\u2019 backlinks. Simply plug the URL to one of their content pages into your favorite backlink checker and explore the referring sites. There\u2019s a good chance that many of those links are coming from link roundups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The people who put together these roundups may be the perfect target for your outreach. Not only have they proven that they share other people\u2019s content, it\u2019s actually a promotion strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s easy, though. These people get emails all the time from content creators, and the standards are high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treat your pitch the same way you should when reaching out to influencers for social shares and backlinks. Make sure you give a good reason why they should include your content. How will it benefit their audience? Why is it better than other content on the subject?<\/p>\n\n\n\n See the tips above for more ways to improve your odds of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This works for the same reason SEO works. The internet is usually the first place people turn for answers to their questions. But you have much less competition for your audience\u2019s attention on Quora than on Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Capitalizing on this requires more than simply answering questions with links to you blog posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember, people are smart. They know you want to get traffic to your site, and if content promotion is all there is to your answer, they\u2019ll simply move on the next without a second glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key, just as with many of these strategies, is to build credibility and establish trust by providing value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spend time crafting well thought out, detailed answers, even if your blog posts include all the information a reader needs. Including links to your blog as supporting information is good, but your Quara answer should be able to stand alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why? Because people are looking for answers on Quora. Making them go to another site for the answer adds friction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how do you drive traffic back to your site, then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some will come by placing non-intrusive links towards the end of your answers or mixed into a list post among external links. You can also drive a good portion of traffic from your profile page if you consistently provide great answers and build a following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a deep dive, including how to choose which questions to answer, how to optimize your profile and other pro tips, check out this article from the “Top Quora Writer of 2017.”<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not advocating comment spam. That\u2019s likely to get blocked, and even if it does get through, people are more likely to view you negatively than to click through to your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, you want to include your links in a non-promotional way. There are a couple of ways to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But you don\u2019t need to include a link in every comment to make this content promotion strategy work for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many sites use comment systems that include profiles of the commenter. When you leave comments readers find valuable, they have a reason to check out your profile and follow the links you include there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consistently leaving messages that contribute to the conversation also helps you get noticed by the articles\u2019 writers. Often these people are influencers who can help amplify your content promotion now and in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you think about promoting your latest blog post, you probably go straight to external sources. But your own site is a great place to start. Who is going to be a more targeted audience than people already reading your content?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are two good ways to drive readers to your other content:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a good idea to include links to other pages on your site whenever you create new content. Not only is it good for getting more page views, it also helps with SEO. But that\u2019s only one side of the coin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t forget to go back to your existing content and add links to the new posts you publish as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s easy to add links to related content at the end of your posts, especially if you use a plug-in like Related Posts by AddThis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nEmail your content to subscribers <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Include a link in your email signature<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nPost to your social media accounts <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Send direct messages in Twitter<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Include Click to Tweets in your posts <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Use snip.ly to turn curation into promotion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nGuest blogging <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nSyndicate your content <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Submit your content to aggregator sites<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Share articles in online communities and forums<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Submit to social bookmarking sites<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Microblog with Tumblr<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Reach out to influencers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nReach out to people who curate content<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAnswer questions on Quora<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Leave comments on other blogs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nPromote on your own site<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n