You know your content is good. You have perfected your writing skills; you are using media whenever possible; you are focusing on the topics that are “hot” in your niche right now. So why is it not being found more? Why is it languishing out there in “content purgatory,” waiting for people to notice it, comment on it, and share it? The best content in the world will never be found if not promoted correctly. Here are some key aspects of promotion to ensure that your audience will grow.
Are You Publishing at the Right Places and at the Right Times?
If you have clearly defined your audience and developed a persona of your customer, then you have a good start. Now the trick is to do the research that tells you when and where that customer is online. And there’s plenty of research out there that will give you this information. You need to know both how often you should post on your social media platforms, what times of the day, and what days of the week are best for each platform. Knowing when and where to post is the only way your audience will be targeted. For example, if you use Twitter (and you should), you should post several times on the first day, once on the next day, again in a week and again in a month.
Beef Up Your Email List
If you have not made a big effort to develop an email list, do it now. That list to continue to grow all the time. You can grow that list by offering free stuff or discounts on your social media pages, but “gate” that benefit by asking for an email address to access it. Every piece of content you create must be sent off to your subscribers with a great engaging title that of course you created when you wrote the piece. And place sharing buttons in your emails, so that readers can share right then and there.
Look for Other Places to Publish
What niches are not direct competitors but are related to your niche? You can conduct an easy search for them by using Google and the right keywords. If you are in the home décor business, look for blogs on home improvement, real estate. Start commenting on the posts. Get on their Facebook pages and start commenting. In those comments, mention a post you recently wrote related to a topic and leave a backlink to the post. Contact the blogger and see about guest posting on his/her blog. Most will welcome this because they may be tired of coming up with fresh content all the time. Now you have a new audience.
Make Sharing Easy
You can improve content shareability pretty easily. Putting sharing buttons in your emails has already been discussed. Where are those sharing buttons place on your blog posts? If you only have them at the beginning of the post or in a stationary position on the side rail, you are not taking full advantage. Have a scrolling side bar with your share icons that moves down the page as the reader does. This makes sharing so easy, right then and there when a piece of what you have written “strikes a chord.”
Give a Reason for Your Reader to Share
Of course, good content should be a good reason, if you have solved a problem, educated or entertained. But you can “sweeten the pot.” Run a contest of some sorts and make the prize worthwhile. They can enter the contest when they share it first, or when the link to your blog where the details will be given.
Get Influencers Working for You
Access the blogs and social media pages of leaders in your industry. Read their posts, comment on them often, as questions, etc. See if you can engage them in conversation. Then, when you mention them in one of our posts, contact them and let them know and give them a link to the post where they were mentioned. If they like what they see, they may mention you too. You want their audience to become your audience too.
Be Certain to have the Conversation Plugin for your Blog
Ask for comments and feedback. Respond to every comment you get. Do the same on social media. If someone comments, you respond. Promoting conversations is one way to draw in audiences of your audience.
Check the Analytics
You need to know where your promotions are working and where they are not. Google Analytics is always recommended; however, their reports are a bit difficult to read, and you really have to know which reports you need. You can also use a resource such as AtomicInsights, which will run analytics for you, including Google, and provide a simpler report. Once you see were you are getting the most “play,” you will know where to focus your efforts.
Getting results from your promotion efforts takes time, and you need to be patient. Audiences grow gradually, but they do grow if you take the time to promote your content right.