Monday, July 18, 2011

P R O M O T E


Promoting

Welcome to Part 2 of my 'A Newbies Guide to Being a Newbie'. Today I will be concentrating on talking about promotion of your blog.
This is probably the question I get asked the most 'How did you go about promoting your blog?'...now I'm not entirely sure why you're all asking me because in the scheme of things I don't have that many followers, but hey, I'll roll with it.

So I'm going to be covering a few things; being brave, networking and 'getting out there'.
First off! This technically isn't instructions of on how to promote your blog but I think it's just as important! When I first started blogging I was absolutely terrified to approach anyone! I used to sit behind my computer and wait for people to approach me, and you know what? For a few months nothing happened! I had 0 followers and 0 comments on all my posts for about two months because I was too scared to actually tell anyone about my blog. And then I adopted the 'Whats the Worst That Can Happen' attitude, and I think if you want to make your blog successful you need to adopt this mindset very quickly. If you comment on someones blog and leave your url, whats the worst that can happen? Email a 'super blogger' asking them to check out your blog, whats the worst that can happen? Either they're going to ignore you, they're going to say no, or, heaven forbid if your email is polite enough they might actually check out your blog! Sending your blog link will not result in people hunting you down and slipping arsenic in your water overnight. Never EVER be afraid to approach people....ok, so that's my most important point over, moving on.

Networking as I'm sure you all know is one of the most important parts of promoting your blog, having a great network of blogger friends who are willing to help you out is a vital part of making yourself a name. The big question is, do you spread yourself thin over a large variety of different sites, or aim your focus at one or two? I don't work full time, nor do I attend school anymore so generally speaking my days are pretty empty. I locate myself on a variety of network sites because I have the time to keep them updated. If you work full time, go to school full time, have a child etc etc. Then you're probably not going to have time to concentrate on a blogger, twitter, IFB, facebook, tumblr, linkd, pinterest etc etc account. Choose one, maybe two, and focus on making friends via this site. Focus on keeping them regularly updated, especially sites like twitter, and don't just post crud. If you tweet something make sure it's worth reading. Don't waste your readers time otherwise they'll be quick to tap that 'Unfollow' button. Another vital part of networking is responding. I understand that if you've got 4,000 followers on various different sites you probably won't have time to reply to every single question, but when you're starting out you do have time. If someone makes the effort to send you an email, or post a question regarding a blog post it's just common courteousy to write back to them. I try and make concerted efforts to reply to every email, message, tweet, blog comment that you all write and you should make the same effort for your readers! 
Ok last thing, a lot of 'Promoting Your Blog' articles say that a vital part of networking is commenting on other peoples blogs, and to a degree I believe this too. But being completely honest I have to say I rarely check out peoples blogs just because they've left a 'Nice outfit' comment. If you've taken the time to write a comment that shows you've obviously actually read my post then yeah, sure I'll click through. But if you leave a two word comment followed by 'I followed you please follow me back' then there is no chance I'm going to check out your blog. There is nothing I despise more than 'Follow meeeeeeee' comments, to quote School Of Rock 'They're tacky and I hate them'. Want someone to check out your blog? Send them an email, or leave a comment that shows you actually care. If you're not going to bother putting in an effort than why should I?

Ok, I'm sorry this post is getting super long but I have a lot to say.
So here we go; last bullet point: Getting out there.
What a lot of people don't know about me is how much behind the scenes work goes into securing an interview or a sponsor for a giveaway. I have never actually been approached about doing an interview...never. It's always the opposite, if there is a blog I'm following that I know does a 'Blogger in the Spotlight' sort of feature than I email the owner letting them know about my blog and asking them if they'd be interested in featuring me. It's the whole 'what's the worst that can happen' mindset again. Likewise for my giveaway sponsors, I approached them. Letting them know my blog stats and asking if they'd be interested in donating a giveaway prize. A lot of companies simply ignored my email, a couple wrote back saying no. But a couple of companies agreed and that's how I'm lucky enough to have the giveaways that I do!

Ok! So those are all my little tips on how I personally went about promoting my own blog, I hope you learnt a few things and didn't fall asleep from boredom!

11 comments:

  1. Newbie here! :) Thanks so much for posting this and sharing how you're going about promoting your blog. A wealth of info here. Can't wait to start networking!

    http://casuallycorporate.blogspot.com/

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  2. Follow meeeee! haha, I'm just kidding.

    But really, I can see that you practice what you preach from the way you just approached me on IFB. This post had a lot of good advice that I will definitely be using. Thanks so much!

    http://fashionablygeeked.blogspot.com

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  3. My god! That was so good. Thanks for taking the time to write this. I sound extra cheesy here, but I really soaked it all up like a sponge.

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  4. Thanks girl, I'm glad that people are finding it helpful. I was a little apprehensive about posting these because I don't want people to think I'm a snooty know it all, but everyone seems to be really enjoying them!

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  5. Brilliant! I shall be taking it all in and using it!

    www.theawesomelady.blogspot.com

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  6. Great tips, I definitely agree with you, getting out there and commenting yourself on others blogs instead of waiting for people to make the first move and comment on yours is a great way to promote. When I started my first blog the vast majority of the time I would have no comments, which was really dissapointing. I had no idea that this was a useful technique, although it takes a while, it's definitely worthwhile :)

    DayByDiva.Com
    DayByDiva.Com

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  7. wow !! brilliant post !! even I started my blog 2months back !! and even now I sometimes fear promoting it at my facebook profile because some of my friends tease me that its funny writing about your shopping hauls / thing you like !!
    But now reading your post, I guess I should not worry about such comments and start promoting it too !!
    Thanks for the lovely post !!
    Check my blog here. and do temme if you like it !! : )

    http://shopaholicutie.blogspot.com/

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  8. @Sanam It can be really disappointing when you begin, it's always slow to start thought. Just keep at it :)

    @Nikki You should never worry about what your friends think, if they're teasing you about it then they don't sound like very good friends!

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  9. Ditto all the comments here - I really enjoyed this and found it helpful! Glad I found your blog.

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  10. Great post girlie! I'm trying to play catch-up on all the blogs I follow! I'm so behind. But I like this series! Great advice.

    Shasie of Live Life in Style
    Wrinkle In Time Vintage Giveaway

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  11. Great post! We are also new and get really shy! We will follow your article! We are trying to grow here in Argentina, hopefully we will!!
    love, from Argentina
    http://twentyfourstyle.blogspot.com
    by the way, we LOVE your outfits!!!!

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I know everyone says this but I actually do read all of your comments, (and appreciate every single one) and if you ask any questions I'll try my very best to answer it. However I will not respond to any 'Follow Me' comments, and any comments that appear to be blatant spam will be deleted.

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