A quick checklist for the optimal promotion of your business blog

Putting a blog online is easy. Make it a “must read” on the Web is another story. This calls for a promotional strategy as well as a concerted effort in content marketing.
Of course, to increase your popularity and Web visibility, you must first perform an optimization of your content (right headers, right images, right copy). Here are a few more additional tricks that can help you promote your blog successfully:

Trick #1: Find allies

We all have influencers in our network of contacts. These resource people may already be bloggers or thinking of becoming bloggers soon. You can make the most of the opportunity by inviting them to join your team and blog with you. This will help make your networking more effective as well as maintain profitable relations and create new ones.

Contributors to your business blog will wish to promote their articles in their own network of contacts; this will provide you with a new audience of potential customers who can discover your blog and, in doing so, your enterprise.

The opposite is also true. You can participate in other blogs relating to your activity sector. Don’t forget to include a small biography and a link to your website/blog at the end of your article. In this way, readers of your blog can click on this link to learn more about who you are and what you do.

Trick #2: Share on social media

It is essential to initiate a sharing mechanism between your business blog and your social media. This is crucial if you want to present your content at its fair value.That’s why it is important to integrate “share” buttons for Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Google +.
Regardless of the social media you subscribe to, your readers will be able to share your articles without leaving your blog.

You can also share the articles found on your enterprise’s account and re-publish them on your own accounts. For example, first you share your new article on your enterprise’s Linkedin page and then you re-share the publication on your own profile. Your relations will see the publication and will see also that it comes from your enterprise. You can do the same thing for Facebook (if your company has a page).

Trick #3: Make your blog visible on your website

It is essential to insert marketing incentives (calls-to-action) in order to attract quality to your blog. There is no lack of places on your website to do this: Homepage, About, Contact… Remember that every page of your site can potentially redirect to your blog.Your educational content serves to position you as an expert in your field in the eyes of current and potential customers. It can tilt the balance in favour of a sale. That’s why it is always a good idea to place it front-and-centre where it can be easily discovered.

Trick #4: Promote your blog in person

Many people are under the impression that a blog can only be promoted online. This isn’t so. There are many other opportunities for promoting your blog and making it a reference in your area of expertise.

For example, you should not hesitate to talk about your blog at various events (conference, networking event, etc.). Personally, I often mention in my phone conversations that my blog publishes free information articles every week. I also send people a link where they can register. I believe this is an excellent way to stay in touch.

Trick #5: Promote your content in your email signature

How many emails do you send per day? Dozens? Hundreds perhaps? Have you ever considered that each of them is an opportunity to promote your blog? Inserting a link to your blog in your email signature is an effective way to “spread the word”. You could also insert the title and link to a popular article. Or you can even promote an offer of free content (such as an eBook for example).

Another option is to send an email to targeted contacts in order to share specific resources. For example, if you know that some of your contacts appreciate a specific type of articles on your blog, you can exploit this fact by sharing these articles directly with these readers.