Learning about blog promotion
So, as I have discussed, I redesigned this blog about 2 weeks ago and am working to make it a popular blog. A big part of that naturally is promoting the blog and gaining readers.
I know alot about alot of things, mostly related to forums. Blogs are new to me in some ways. One big way is how to promote them. in some ways I feel like a newbie, reading articles and forums looking for answers, disecting how other popular bloggers such as Shoemoney and John Chow get their traffic, and drawing on my forum experience.
I have a long way to go. There is alot I need to learn about ways to popularize my blog. Posting frequently is certainly a key component, but so is posting well. I am already making a list of articles I want to write in the hopes that people who read them will also tell others about what they have read. Thats called viral marketing. At the same time I ahve to get people to actually find and read this blog. Partly that will come from Search Engine traffic, but alot will come from me getting the word out that im writing a blog and that I have some interesting things here. I ask anyone reading this post to help me in that endeavor.
One thing caught my eye on Digital Point today. Someone posted about an article they had written regarding how to get more comments on a blog. One of the replies was:
Nice tips. I prefer getting comments since this beats coming up with new topics yourself.
Let me tell you something. If your main reason for getting comments is so you dont have to post more original content, get rid of your blog. Writing on your blog shouldn’t be a chore. If your too lazy to write original content, then just feed in some rss feeds and forget about the blog world. You might as well because if you dont enjoy posting on your blog then your just spinning your wheels. I like people’s comments because it gives me an idea of how my posting is being received. I also have the TOP COMMENTATORS plugin so you get a free link if your one of the top commentators on my blog. I do this to encourage comments.
Now, the hardest thing I have had to do was keep coming up with new and relevant content. Trouble being only that my instinct is to post about stuff in my personal life. I have had to really work to keep myself from doing that. The second question I have to ask myself is how to discuss forum related topics here. I also own a forum, vBulletin FAQ, which is one of the top vBulletin help sites around. My concern is how do I post here and not neglect that site as well. I havent worked that one out yet. but I will in time.
November 10th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
Comments from readers will not and never will replace the content of a blog. Instead it complements the blog post itself. It allows discussion among the readers and author about a certain issue being said in a post. I think that certain things being said in a comment can give you some idea on what topic to write about in the future.
November 10th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Oh and you are doing well so far.. keep up the good work.
I think that there is one thing lacking and that is the RSS Subscription. There’s only an email subscription, which I don’t use.
November 10th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Ill have to get that installed soon. Its on my to-do list.
November 10th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Alright, notify me when its done so that I can subscribe
December 10th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
You need to post the comments plug-in which allows you to reply to comments. Some guy named Brian wrote a really good one that John Chow recommends. Look on chow’s site for the exact details on the best Reply to Post comments plug-in.