Way back in the olden days of blogging, around 2004, it wasn’t very complicated.
You wrote an article, around 500 words or so. You published the article. And, that was it. You definitely didn’t need a checklist of 27 ways to promote your blog posts!
If you wanted people to subscribe to get automatic updates when you published new blog posts, you set up an RSS feed for an email subscription with Feedburner or Feedblitz (both are still alive and well, I’m happy to say) and asked your blog readers to subscribe. That’s it. The automation was simple and worked.
If your content was great, you got hundreds or thousands of subscribers and could monetize your content with affiliate offers, ebooks, ads, teleseminars, and other products and services. You could build an audience of fans and build a sustainable business.
In fact, that’s how I started my company, The Blog Squad, in 2005. There was a ton of demand to help people set up blogs and train them on how to use it. I started my first business blog in 2004 and never looked back.
Things are more complex now. There are millions of blog posts written every day.
How can your blog stand out and get noticed with so much competition?
I have one word for you…
Promotion.
Here's how your blog can stand out and get noticed with so much competition.The trend by major bloggers is publishing less and promoting more.
And, putting more effort, research and thought into a long-form post.
The average word count of top-ranking content (in Google) is between 1,140-1,285 words. (source)
This article is not intended to be the “ultimate guide to blogging.” My focus here is on how to promote your blog posts to help you get more traffic and visibility for your work.
Download the Blog Post Promotion Checklist
In my Visibility Mastery Lab and during the periodic Visibility Challenges I host, one of the top questions I get is: how do you promote your blog posts?
My clients and students want to know EXACTLY what I do so they have a model they can follow and adapt to their own blog posts.
My promotion tactics are constantly evolving as I learn about and experiment with new tools. What I do is probably way too extreme for most people, but you have to remember that this is my “job” – to research and test what’s new so I can share it with you. This is what I LOVE to do. 😆
Let’s go back to that one word: promotion.
What do I mean by that?
Promotion is about getting your blog post in front of as many people as possible … people being your ideal reader/client/customer/audience.
You want to share every blog post on sites where your peeps spend their time. Whether it’s LinkedIn for B2B prospects or Instagram and Pinterest for visually stunning products and services, you need to focus your time and energy where you’re going to get the best return on attention (ROA).
After all, the intention (I hope) is that your ideal person will see your content and be compelled to click the link taking them to the article on your site (traffic!). At which point it’s up to you to provide tons of value and then a call to action taking them to the next best step for getting to know you.
This takes time. In 2004, I could write and publish a 500-word blog post in less than 2 hours.
Now, it takes me at least 5-8 hours to write, prepare images, prepare promotional content for social media, and schedule social media content to drip for 45+ days, then repurpose posts into videos and pdf download. Whew!
Since not all blog posts are created equal, there are times when some posts get more promotional attention and others get less. That has to be weighed, too, as well as tracking everything so I don’t forget to implement an essential promotional tactic.
To that end, I’ve created checklists and spreadsheets to help keep me organized. After repeated requests to share my methods, I reviewed everything and compiled my methods into one checklist.
Drum roll, please…
This is the tip of the iceberg (there are 27+ items on the list). Download the checklist and get additional blogging tips. (Updated )
Download the Blog Post Promotion Checklist
The complete checklist includes four parts:
- pre-publication – preparing for promotion (the image above)
- promoting the published blog post
- amplification sites you can use for additional promotion
- repurposing and republishing your blog post
Download the Blog Post Promotion Checklist
Tools for Promoting Your Blog Posts
I use a variety of tools to repurpose and promote my blog posts. I recommend you test various tools and then settle on the ones you like the best and will use consistently!
- Canva* – creating images for blog and social media
- CastMagic* – AI tool for transcribing and repurposing video and audio into multiple formats
- Missinglettr* – scheduling and sharing your posts on social media
- Shorby* – offer multiple links on your Instagram bio (see the example on my Instagram profile)
- PushEngage – push notifications
Amplification Sites (free and fee)
Recommended Reading
How to Easily Auto-Promote Your Blog Posts [Tutorial]
How to Increase Blog Traffic: Proven Methods From 4 Successful Pros
10 Ways to Bring More Readers BACK to Your Blog
How to Get Your Blog Post Shared 1000 Times [#Infographic]
The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande*
What’s Next?
As you can see this is a checklist and not a how-to article. If you’re looking for how-to guidance with your business blogging and social media marketing, I can help. Let’s talk and see how you can get the support you want so you can move your business forward. Click here to book a complimentary chat or join the Marketing Trailblazers Community for support, accountability, and connecting with your peers.
*Affiliate
Updated 12/21/23
Dennis
It does seem like bloggers are writing less and preparing more. I can see how that will get a reader’s attention and keep it. A lot of bloggers need to optimize the conversion funnel if they also want to sell their products. Thanks for sharing the list, you made it so easy!
Fredena
Hi Denise,
Thank you thank you thank you!
If I do a video or audio (using a free conference telephone line), will the steps be same or similar-or completely different?
Denise Wakeman
Thanks for stopping by, Fredena.
I’m not sure what you mean “if I do a video or audio”
Do you mean if your blog post includes a video or audio?
Or, if you’re publishing video on YouTube, for example?
If you give me a few more details, I do my best to provide a better response!
Lisa P Sicard
Hi Denise, nice list! I have a couple of questions – can you republish the same content on medium? Wouldn’t that be duplicate content issue with Google?
And Quu is not FREE to publish? I keep getting that from them – that I need to upgrade to publish content, am I missing something with them?
Great tips to use for slideshare and videos, something I need to get working on! Thank you.
Denise Wakeman
Hi Lisa,
Regarding your question about Medium and duplicate content, here’s an article I researched and wrote: Do Suffer from a Fear of Duplicate Content. It is not a problem as long as you do it correctly. Google wants to know which version has the authority.
To promote your content on Quuu, there is a fee. There is a free plan to share other people’s content – curate for your followers.
Hope that helps!
Denise
Lisa P Sicard
Thank you Denise, I will read your piece on that and ahh, I didn’t realize that part was FREE. Good to know. Much appreciated!
Marlene Wetch
Found you via Triberr and I am so glad I did. Great post. You introduced me to a few new promotion tactics. Thank you!
Denise Wakeman
Thanks for stopping by, Marlene, and good to know that you found me through Triberr!
Which promotion tactics are new to you? Which ones do you think you’ll implement?
Marlene Wetch
social buzz and quu promote are both new ideas to me. And I love the idea of blog post trailers, but i think i would only use that when I publish really important posts. Thanks again for the great info