Are You Using These 21 Proven Hacks To Promote Your Blog and Get Traffic Faster?

Have you ever wondered why some bloggers are so successful in what they do while some others struggle to get recognition?

Do you have a blog of your own, and although you are creating great content, hardly anyone reads it? 

Even though you spend time and energy to upgrade your content constantly and follow the blogging best practices, are you still not getting the results you need?

If the answer to these questions is a YES, then this article is meant for you. It takes more than a digital presence and creating quality content to find success in blogging. Before we can show you ways on how to promote your blog and drive traffic, let us understand a basic fact. 

There are roughly 500 million active blogs on the internet, and an estimated 7.5 million blogs get published on a daily basis!

So, how can you make your blog successful? 

The answer is simple – you need to treat your blog as a business and put in the relevant efforts to advertise and promote the content effectively. Don’t worry; it’s not rocket science; all you need to do is work on a good strategy, and you will get the results that you have always dreamed of. 

21 Ways to Promote Your Blog and Drive Traffic

1. Optimize Your Visual Content

The importance of visual content is something most bloggers understand by now. Human beings tend to spot, engage with, and recall blogs that have more visual content than plain text. The possibility of your blogs being shared on social media increases by 40% with visual content. Also, human beings are 60% more likely to recall visual information over something they have only read. 

How to Add Visual Content to Your Blog Posts?

Only adding texts or content is not enough to get people’s attention. The content also needs to have visual appeal, which will enhance the overall user experience. So, if you are looking for a way to engage your readers, visual content is the way to go. Here are some examples of visual content that you can use.

• GIFs are fun, and with the different ways you can animate them, well, the sky is your limit. Using GIFs with memes and puns can do the trick too.
• Infographics help to keep the content short and crisp while focusing on the important points. You can add a wide range of graphics, pie charts, and other useful visual content to support your text.
• Videos are a great way to add some cool animations while writing on a particular topic. And there is no end to the different ways in which you can make your videos engaging and fun.
• Slideshows or presentations are a great way to highlight important pointers or explain a specific topic.
• Quotes and one-liners with relevant images can lend visual appeal and make your posts interesting and fun to read.

Example of Good Use of Visual Content 

Grammarly has come up with great visual content material that they use for marketing their products. Some of their memes are really good and serve the purpose they are supposed to. One such example is the way they explain the importance and power of punctuation.

Examples of Including Visual Content in The Blog

2. Start a Podcast or Go for Guest Appearance on the Podcast

Every month, close to 32 million people across the world listen to different types of podcasts. With podcasts, you can easily convey a strong and clear message without putting in too much effort. These can be either audio-based or in the form of videos and are also a good way to target the right set of audiences.

How to Use Podcasts As a Content Strategy?

• Before deciding on what to speak, the first thing you need to do is check out the various subcategories and topics that are already covered.
• Research for information that will make your podcast unique and engaging.
• Adding some examples along with references will help you to create the right impact.
• Make every podcast with passion and enthusiasm.
• After making your podcast, you can also use it as a SEO tool and broadcast or distribute it on various platforms like blogs, emails, social media pages, or even RSS feeds.

Example of Companies that Use Podcast as a Marketing Strategy

Many companies, including giants like IBM and Oracle, use podcasts to enhance their online marketing strategies. They have subject matter experts who deal with different topics, products, or services that are offered by the company. 

3. Make Multipurpose Use of Your Blog Content 

The whole idea of writing a blog is to give out useful information that helps your readers in every way. Instead of sticking to content that cannot be re-used, consider choosing a format that will allow you to use your post in multiple ways. This way, you will not only create a good blog post, but also have different ways to use your content.

How to Make the Most Use of Your Blog Content?

• Take a unique topic and blend it into your area of expertise in a creative manner.
• Use multiple subheadings that offer information or are in the form of queries related to the topic. 
• Keep certain references handy that can blend well with your content and give your blog some substance.
• Curating topical links and talking about success and failure stories in that area will help readers relate with what you are saying.

Example of Different Ways to Use Your Blog Posts

One of the best examples of multipurpose use of blog posts is Microsoft’s Story Labs. This website not only covers the different Microsoft Products, but also gives customers a chance to share their stories. Every day, you will get to see something new and interesting.

4. Make the Most of Chat Sections Everywhere

Chat sections serve multiple benefits. Not only do people get the answers to their questions, but these sections are also the perfect way to promote your blogs, products, and services. Being an active member of different chat sections is beneficial to create a perfect online brand image.

How to Use Chat Sections to Promote Your Content?

• Answer as many questions or queries as possible that are related to your area of expertise.
• Post links to the relevant blogs that you have written towards the end of the answer so that people can read your blogs in detail.
• Keep your answers short and crisp and add relevant and updated information while answering questions.
• Identify the gaps and target new sectors for an effective and efficient reach.

Example of A Perfect Way to Use Chat Sections

Slim Jim’s Instagram page is the perfect inspiration for an active comment section. The brand is not only responsive on its own comment page but also regularly comments on pages of other meme accounts. This interactive marketing tactic has helped them gain a lot of followers. 

Example of Lulu Menon Using Their Chat Section

5. Use Paid Promotion Tactics to Further Your Cause

For those who are looking for ways to drive their marketing goals and serve the purpose of promoting their content, paid promotions are the way to go. There are various kinds of strategies and methods you can use, such as retargeting through email or WhatsApp broadcasts, Facebook ads, connecting with influencers, and so on.

How to Use Paid Promotion Tactics to Further Your Cause?

• Create precise and interesting content that will catch the attention of your audience.
• Be a part of various communities that are a part of your industry and exchange information as much as possible.
• Use the help of Ads services across different platforms and high-ranking websites.
• Provide a good conclusion along with the supporting contact information.

Example of Paid Promotion Tactics to Further Your Cause

Outbrain is one such platform that you can use to display and promote your content on different news and blog sites.

6. Whiteboards Can Also Do the Trick

Whiteboards have become one of the most popular forms of content marketing. The trick here is that it is not enough to only create whiteboards. To get the desired results, you need to also share the links across different online channels and platforms. Even while using whiteboards, you need to have an effective strategy as to how you can use this method of promotion to obtain the maximum benefit.

How to Use Whiteboard Videos as a Marketing Strategy?

• Make sure your viewers keep wanting for more.
• Provide short but accurate information.
• Choose a proper theme that blends in well with your content.
• Make your content a blend of messages and illusions.
• At the end of the video, ensure that you have a call to action so that you attract more visitors.

Example of Using Whiteboards as an Online Marketing Strategy

One of the best examples of whiteboard animations is Adobe’s Echo Sign. This whiteboard has all the details a viewer would need and is super informative as well. It is also a perfect example of how you should use a whiteboard effectively so that your customers do not have to go through too many details.

7. Use Facebook Groups Related to Your Niche

Say, you are a finance company. Then, being active on Facebook groups related to finance can be a great way to reach your target audience. You can tap on a new potential market that might not be very active when it comes to reading blogs or websites. Facebook groups are forums where people from all walks of life gather because of common interests. Good groups are active and have members who are always looking for questions and offering solutions. Becoming an active member of such a group will build trust and credibility, which can then be leveraged to promote your blog and acquire quality leads. You can also choose to start your own Facebook group related to your niche. 

How to Find Facebook Groups?

1. A simple keyword search on the Facebook search bar will reveal hundreds of groups in that niche.
2. Pick groups that are closed as they are well-monitored by the admin and have no spammy forwards. 
3. You can also customize your search to find groups with people from specific regions or countries. 
4. You can also create your own group by clicking on the top right hand corner of Facebook – selecting group – naming the group – selecting privacy settings – adding members, and – selecting create. 

One independent digital marketing manager was able to get 1000 email addresses in 3 weeks with Facebook Groups. So, focus on building relationships and gaining trust – results will follow. 

Example of How to Use Facebook Groups for Your Content Strategy

Instant Pot is an example you can consider while looking at how to use Facebook groups for your content strategy. Every day, close to 10,000 posts are uploaded to the group from various members. 

Example of Blog Promotion on Facebook Group

8. Try Kindle Direct Publishing to Establish a Strong Presence 

Writing a good book is a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your niche. Publishing the book through a publication can be costly – but if your goal is to gain more viewers for your blog or to get leads, then you can select Amazon’s KDP – Kindle’s Direct Publishing to establish a presence. You will get access to Kindle’s reader base, and you can add your blog link to your eBook.

If you opt for Kindle select (basically, giving the exclusive right to Amazon for selling your book), then Amazon also lets you use its promotional tools for 90 days free of cost. 

How to Self-Publish a Book on Kindle?

• Go to your Kindle Direct Publishing account and open your bookshelf – click on Kindle e-book actions – click edit e-book content – click on upload e-book manuscript – upload the file from your computer – publish the book. 
• Along with getting more leads and establishing yourself as an authority on the subject, it will also help you earn money from the book. Over 1,000 self-published authors have earned more than $100,000 through Kindle Direct Publishing.
• Make sure you don’t compromise on the content, or it can have negative effects on your brand image. 

Example of How to Use Kindle Direct Publishing to Establish a Presence for Yourself

The Mindful Productivity Guide is one such example you can consider on how to write a journal and publish it on Kindle. Through this journal, you can plan and schedule your goals effectively and achieve them as per your plan. 

9. Smartly Collaborate with People Related to Your Industry

Another way to increase your brand’s visibility to your target audience would be to collaborate with people related to your industry. Say, for instance, you make organic skincare products. Then collaborating with skincare and makeup bloggers and social media influencers can be a great way to leverage their audience and introduce yourself to them. Bloggers also promote/ share/ create guest posts on each other’s blogs to leverage the other blogger’s audience.

How to Collaborate with Industry-Related Bloggers?

Example of How to Collaborate with Industry-Related Bloggers

Method, an organic soap brand that is supposed to be safe for the body and the planet, collaborated with mom and baby bloggers to deliver the message that their products are safe enough for babies. 

10. Make Use of Infographics/ Photos to Generate More Backlinks

Original and well-executed infographics and photos are a great way to generate more backlinks. Infographics can explain a complicated process in a simple and fun way. Plus, visual storytelling can engage more people. In fact, one infographic from a writing blog was able to generate 263,100 social media shares. Another blog from a famous digital marketer was able to generate 2,512,596 visitors and 41,142 backlinks.

Recommended Read: Infographics: Why Should You Invest in Content Marketing and How?

How to Create a Good Infographic? 

To create a good infographic, 

• Make sure your language is crisp and short, and straight to the point.
• Understand your target customers before designing the infographic. 
• Make it visually appealing (colors can increase attention span by 82%). 
• Don’t make it too busy and leave enough white space.

Here is how we have turned a few of our blogs into infographics

See the full infographic here.

See the full infographic here.

11. Go on Public Platforms Like Quora to Solve Queries

Public forums like Quora, AskReddit, Tumblr, etc., are highly effective to gain laser focus on the target audience. Roughly 3000 questions are asked on Quora every day. Many people also visit Quora to find answers to already asked questions. Basically, solving queries on public platforms is a great way to get recognition amongst your target audience. You can also promote your relevant blogs as a reply to your queries. 

Among the other blog types, list posts seem to be popular as answer formats on Quora. SubReddits are another way to share your knowledge with the audience looking for more information on the subject. It is also a great way to build a community and find yourself a loyal following.

How to Find Questions Related to Your Niche?

• A simple search on Quora with the keyword related to your industry will give you an idea of all the trending questions in your niche. 
• You can then answer these questions and share your blog links with those answers. Good answers can even give you an opportunity to get featured in Quora’s digest. 

Example of How to Use Quora to Generate an Audience

A co-founder of an India based software company who is active on Quora for the past few years said he was able to get 13.2 K views on one of his answers, and he has featured on Quora digest a couple of times – saying he has been able to get a continuous flow of traffic on his website since then.

Also Read: Need Help With Quora Marketing? 12 Tips To Ace It

12. Drive Traffic with Email Marketing

The sheer number of emails in your inbox from different brands can give you a hint about the popularity of email marketing. While social media platforms and public forums are great ways to reach the masses – emails are a way to keep in touch with them.

Email marketing is a great way to promote your blog and generate sales. A wholesale flower shop in Suffolk was able to generate £28,000 in additional sales with just a 5-day email marketing campaign to 30,000+ subscribers. 

How to Build an Email List?

Email marketing, when done right, can increase your blog traffic to a great extent. But remember to deliver value to your customers through your email and not spam them with too many promotional emails. 

Here are Some Easy Ways to Build Your Email List – 

• You can ask your website visitors for their email IDs in return for a free eBook or a discount code etc. 
• You can organize a free giveaway on social media in exchange for their email IDs
  
• Make sure to add a CTA at the end of your blog posts and social media posts and nudge people to sign up. This strategy will work only if your blog content is really good. 
• You can choose to send a mix of newsletters, links to your recently published blogs, offers, and discounts to keep your subscribers looking forward to your email list. 

Example of How to Maximize and Build Your Email List and Email Marketing Efforts

To optimize your email marketing efforts, make sure you create interesting subject lines that can encourage people to click on them. You can also try to resend the emails to increase their open rate, like MailiGen. They were able to increase their open rate from 20 to 29% by resending emails.

13. Don’t Shy Away from Using Video Content

Another way to increase your blog view would be to use video content. You can convert your blogs into short videos and upload them on YouTube (One blogger was able to generate 4k+ views on her blogs through one YouTube video by turning the content into video content and uploading it). You can also leave your blog link in the description box, prompting visitors to visit your website. By producing video content, you can tap the market that isn’t into reading blogs and websites. Adding short videos to your blog is also a great way to increase engagement and conversion rate by 80%.

How to Easily Create Video Content if You Do Not Have a Team?

If you want to easy create a video and do not have the expertise, try the easiest things first. 

Video with a screen capture tools

Try doing a video with a screen capture tool like Vidyard or Soapbox or Fluvid, or RecordCast. All these tool make it real easy to capture the screen and then creating a video out of it. Some of them like RecordCast does not even need you to download a video. 

Video with automated video generation tools

These basically help you create a video from content that you already have, say social content, blogs, images that you have, and then turn it into an engaging video which could then be used for YouTube, or Facebook, or Instagram etc.

Here are a few tools that are really great for this type of video – Lumen5 (has a free version too), Movly and Typito. or Wibbitz.

14. Promote Your Blogs on Facebook

With over 2.8 billion active users, Facebook is a key platform to promote your blogs and drive traffic to your website. If you are skipping out on this free promotion tactic, then you are missing out on traffic coming your way. Vitamin World – wellness and nutritional supplement company, was able to drive 89% more traffic to their website and get 34k+ link clinks to their blogs by posting on their Facebook page. Organic posting also helps in creating a social proof that can complement your paid promotional efforts. People are more likely to click on the post if they see that other people have shared and liked the post. 

How to Promote Your Blog on Facebook?

Once you have selected the blog you wish to promote on Facebook, 

• Select a featured image to go with the blog – make sure you select a picture that attracts readers to click on the link.
• You have to then create a wall text that describes the blog in a way that sparks interest and makes the reader want to click on the blog site.
• Include CTAs at the end that encourages people to like, comment and share after reading the blog. 
• Use correct hashtags to show up on people’s search lists. 

Remember to not spam your followers with promotion posts. Promote 2 to 3 posts on a daily basis so as to not overwhelm your customers and decrease your engagement. 

15. Make Use of IGTV Videos to Promote Your Blogs

Unlike Instagram posts, you can add clickable links to your IGTV posts, making it a great way to promote your blog and website. You can create a short video talking about the posts or use any article-to-video app that can create a short video out of your blog posts. Many brands are already making use of this feature to talk about their products and provide viewers easy access to the shopping link of the same, like Tarte cosmetics. They make IGTV related to makeup hacks and then add the links of the products used in the caption. There is a lot of untapped potential when it comes to promoting blogs on IGTV videos.

How to Promote Blogs on IGTV?

Once you have your video ready, just like YouTube video, 

• Make sure you select a captivating thumbnail (did you know thumbnails with bright colors and human images are more likely to be clicked?).
• Add a video title that can capture viewers’ attention – ask a question or spark their curiosity to increase the chances of the video getting viewed.
• Add relevant hashtags and write interesting descriptions to further fuel their interest. 
• Don’t forget to add a CTA and guide them to take your desired action. 

While making IGTV, make sure you don’t compromise on quality as it can hamper your reach – 26-second IGTV videos have been shown to perform the best. However, the ideal length of an IGTV video is from 10 seconds to 10 minutes. 

16. Make Use of Instagram Story Feature to Promote Your Blogs

Although only Instagram handles with 10K+ followers can use this feature, the swipe-up story feature is an amazing way to drive traffic to your blog or website. Over 70% of users scroll through Instagram stories – 500 million IG accounts use Instagram stories every day. Brands and bloggers regularly use Instagram stories to lead their followers to their blogs or website – for example, Tweak India (a website founded by Twinkle Khanna) share their recent blog posts on their story with the help of a swipe up feature and drive traffic to their blog. 

Also Read: The Power of User Generated Content on Instagram and How to Use It Effectively

How to Use Instagram Stories to Promote Blogs?

You can add the link of your blog in the stories, and it would show up as a swipe-up feature. Keep these points in mind while creating stories for your blog:

Examples of Brands Using Instagram Stories 

17. Tap the Untapped Potential of LinkedIn

With over 740 million active users – LinkedIn has emerged as a hot favorite for content creators. Being a professional business social network, LinkedIn is the perfect place to promote your blogs in front of the audience looking for new information, knowledge, and has the capacity to spend. Need an example? Say your target audience are people who are earning enough to start investing – now LinkedIn being a business social network, and 60% of its users belonging to the age group of 25-35 and around 20% belonging to the age group of 18 – 24 (your potential clientele), it can be the perfect place to promote your blog.

Also Read: How to Create Your First LinkedIn Ads Campaign in 5 Simple Steps

How to Promote a Blog on LinkedIn?

Once you have created an optimized profile on LinkedIn (with a proper profile photo and a headline related to your niche), you can follow these steps to ensure engagement and drive traffic to your website.

• Leverage LinkedIn groups to get super targeted traffic to your website. 
• Create content on LinkedIn Pulse and share guest posts on LinkedIn to build engagement (research of over 3000 highly engaged LinkedIn articles found that LinkedIn users prefer long-form content with 8+ images). 
• Use LinkedIn stories to further promote your posts – the key is to remind your audience about your blog but in an entertaining way.

18. Use Club House to Build an Audience

This social media audio app has been gaining huge momentum since its launch. The first-of-its-kind audio app allows its users to have one on one and group audio conversations with its followers. You can host a room related to any topic – the audience participation feature makes the conversation more interactive – these followers can then be motivated to visit your blog and website.

How to Build Following on Club House Successfully?

Club House provides a unique opportunity to have real-time audio conversations with your followers. 

To make the most out of Club House, remember the following points:

• Make sure you have a solid bio on the app – add your picture that clearly shows your face. Also, the first three lines of the bio are most important as they show right next to your name. 
• Host a room on the topics related to your niche – be regular and try to make the room as interactive and informational as possible. 
• Join rooms hosted by others related to your niche and try to participate in them – this is a great way to promote yourself and build a following when you are new to Club House. 

19. Use Twitter to Cross-Pollinate Your Audience

With over 192 million daily active users and prominent business, entertainment, sports, and political personalities using it on a daily basis, Twitter is one social media app that you should not skip when it comes to blog promotion.

How to Use Twitter Effectively?

Remember these points to ace your promotion game on Twitter: 

• Like any other platform, the first tip is to stay active – not only with respect to posting but also with respect to interacting and commenting on other people’s posts. 
• When creating posts, try to add more visual content – tweets with images are 94% more likely to be shared.
• Ask questions in your tweets to raise curiosity and lead them to your blog to find answers. 
• Re-share tweets that mention you or your content as this will encourage them to do it more often. 
• Optimize your URL placement – URLs in the middle of the tweets are 26% more likely to get retweeted. 
• Use Hashtags related to your niche to get discovered by people – also, adding hashtags increases the likelihood of your tweet being shared by 33%.

Example of a Perfect Twitter Blog Promotion Post

20. Add Quotes and Sayings to Your Blogs That Can be Shared

Create small share-worthy sections in your blog by adding quotes and data. People are more likely to tweet or share a quote when prompted. Use click-to-tweet technology to get more social shares on Twitter. 

Another way to do that is to add highlights to share buttons, which means that when people highlight certain sections to copy the text – a popup shows up, encouraging them to share the blog. 

How to Add Quotes That Create Impact?

Simply placing quotation marks around random words won’t cut the deal. To make the most impact, make sure:

• Your quotes are from an authority figure of your industry. 
• If you are starting anew trying to create your own quotes, then add data/statistics to make it sound more legitimate. 
• Make your quotes bold and highlighted, so they are not missed. 

21. Take Your Word Power to Other Websites 

One of the proven ways to increase traffic is guest posting. But what is it exactly? And what are its benefits? Guest posting, in a nutshell, involves posting quality content on already famous websites related to your niche. For example, say you run a financial advisory firm – then all the websites/blogs/ e-magazines related to finance are your mecca.

It’s Helpful in a Couple of Ways: 

• When you post on popular websites, you get quality backlinks. 
• You establish yourself as an expert. 
• You are exposed to the website’s reader base that can drive traffic back to your website. 
• You get a chance to speak to your target audience and get quality leads. 

How to Find Websites to Guest Post?

There are a couple of ways to go about it: 

• A simple Google search with a keyword related to your industry followed by a guest post/submit a guest post/accepting guest post can help. For example – “Personal finance guest post” will give you a list of leading websites accepting guest posts. 
• Another way to go about this would be to search for prolific bloggers in your niche and research where they guest post – a simple personal finance guest post by XYZ would give a list of top websites accepting guest posts.
• Social searchers are another way to find websites and bloggers accepting guest posts.

Once you find the websites you would like to write for – read through their pitching guidelines and make a pitch.

Example of How to Use Guest Posting Effectively

A Final Note

Now that you know about the 21 effective tips on how to improve your online content marketing strategy, the next thing that you should do is try each one out. Take your time with each strategy and see how effective it is. Just make sure you are putting your efforts into high authority blogs and offering good value through your content for people to click. 

Want expert guidance to promote your blog or make it better? Get in touch with us today.