So you’ve set up your blog and set in motion your publishing schedule. The next step is to promote that content you worked so hard at creating. So where do we start? I give you two gloriously simple, yet highly influential words: Social Media.

Social Networks
“Social media sites and blogs reach 8 out of 10 of all U.S. Internet users and account for 23% of all time spent online.” - Content Marketing Institute.
Social networks are great for spreading your blog articles. Make sure to include social media buttons on your article pages to ensure that the articles are as easy to share as possible.
Twitter is live, easy to read and convenient, making it a great way of linking your latest blog entries. Don’t be scared to get creative, for example, writing an accompanying teaser to your blog link.

*Tip: Consider scheduling your promotional tweets with a tool like Buffer or Hootsuite.

The same applies to Facebook. Facebook allows for even greater creativity, such as relevant illustrations or video even. Facebook is also a great platform for interacting with your potential readers. Try posing interesting questions linked to your latest articles, this helps create hype and makes sharing your articles fun. The whole point of social networks is to socialise, so don’t let your social network profiles become a one-way megaphone. Ensure you engage with users at every chance you get, after all, relationship building is the best way to promote your content.

E-mail Signature
Establish a blog feed in your company e-mail signature. The blog feed is automatically updated with new posts and reminds clients about new content. This method is subtle, yet viral. The sheer number of company e-mails sent on a daily basis is staggering. This method is highly effective, however, be warned that if you don’t consistently update your posts your clients will lose interest.

Subscription
Providing a subscription link to your e-mail list from your blog posts is another great way of ensuring that readers come back for more. We want to make returning to the blog as easy as possible. Implement every subscription method under the sun. Add an RSS feed link to your blog. This allows for easy subscription to your entries. RSS feeds keep your subscribers updated on your posts, so make sure you post regularly.

Blog
Blogging is an interactive activity, and forms part of a unique network of blogging. This means that networking with and through other blogs will elevate your blog’s status. Include a blog-roll on your blog site. A blog-roll is a list of blogs that you have subscribed to. By including relevant, powerful blogs in your blog-roll, you motivate them to return the favour. It’s a scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours agreement.

Comment on other blog posts but make sure that comments are helpful, insightful and relevant. Your comments may even include links to your own posts. Be careful though, there is a fine line between genuine intentions and phony ones. The trick is to build up a relationship over time by providing insightful input to that blog. As the relationship builds you may start to introduce your blog, but be tactful about it. How you interact with other bloggers is the difference between a mutually beneficial relationship and being added to the “ignore list”. Building a positive relationship with other bloggers leads to increased blog exposure and interactivity. Bloggers will gladly lead their followers to your blog if you do the same for theirs.

Guest Post
After some relationship building and networking you might find yourself qualified for a guest post. A guest post is a blog post that appears on a fellow blogger’s domain. Gaining a guest post opportunity on a popular blog results in precious exposure; imagine a guest post on a blog with two-hundred and fifty thousand subscribers.

Newsletters
Include your latest blog entries in your newsletters; after all, what are blog posts if not news. Your blog entries form an essential part of your business and should therefore be marketed as such. Consider, even, curating other related content with your articles and presenting that as part of your newsletter. For example: Trending content marketing articles for the week, with links to both your articles as well as other trending content.

Forums
Forums are another great source for building beneficial relationships. By making positive contributions you earn the right to link your posts. Make sure, once again, that your links are relevant. Forum readers don’t take lightly to spontaneous links so build up the relationship before you involve your own links.

Downloadable Content
It is important to remember that your blog can act as support for other content. Promote other content with relevant articles and vice versa. Give away research and reports through your blog. Digital marketing is a content game, and providing more value than your competitors is your advantage. Blog entries are a great way of creating interest in specific subjects - subjects that your company may cover in its latest eBook or case study.

Your company blog is a powerful marketing tool, and when put in the right hands, will lead to more traffic than your company website. This is however based on the assumption that your content is great. Trying to promote bogus content is like trying to stuff the pin back in the grenade, it’s all just going to blow up in your face.

Previous article in the series: 12 Steps to Creating a Powerhouse Blog; Next article in the series: Writing eBooks and White Papers

Got any more tips for promoting your blog? Share them with me here or @JulianKarstel.

Julian Karstel is a Digital Marketing Consultant for Sound Idea Digital |@JulianKarstel|Julian@soundidea.co.za | Sound Idea Digital is a full service digital agency |www.soundidea.co.za |