I recently setup a blog for my wife.  The process of setting up the blog made me realize just how little I actually know about marketing a blog.  Now I assume many of the things that work for marketing a regular website are the same for marketing a blog, but I also know that there are tricks that can be used with blogs that are not used with any other type of website.

For example, using technorati tags is a method that I am familiar with, but have no experience with.

Does anyone have other examples of marketing that is specific to blogging?

That's an area that I became involved with some 2 years ago and I'll pass along several excellent marketing ideas I've used, and share with many Bloggers...

One of the best one's I've used - BlogAdSwap
Another one is simply called - BlogAds
One of the most popular is - BlogExplosion

For worldwide submission, I've always used - FeedShark
Last, but not least, I've used - FeedBurner -  ( Click on Advertisers to see what all they offer )

Yep, I'm familiar with BlogAds (just made a rather large purchase with them to get the blog up and running).  The good news is that I am pretty sure her posts are interesting enough to warrant steady subscribers.  She's built up some content so there is a history of content. 

The other resources look very promising - I contacted Technorati (I'm familiar with them as well)...thanks.

Any other resources out there?

Ahhh...Mr Sloth now we know why you are so busy, what with secret websites and all!

take a look at this blog for some additional tips

Ahh...that is not where it ends.  I own several websites, although Site Reference is the primary income generator for my family of 2 1/2.  Most are smaller websites with fairly loyal communities - Site Reference is the one where I try to get my name out there a bit.

I have a feeling that my wife will soon surpass me in popularity.  She has a very nice writing style (although her grammar could use some work) and is terribly funny.  Once she understands this blogging thing fully she will be a force to be reckoned with.

Mr Sloth,
Your're wife has a great blog!
Don't forget to ping it after every post.
dry

The Lazy Wife is a good read. It reminds me of my girlfriend's writing style, (she's been writing a novel on and off for the past 2 years). I should encourage her to get back into writing but I think she'd rather play Sims in her spare time now instead.

garethcbrown wrote:

I should encourage her to get back into writing but I think she'd rather play Sims in her spare time now instead.

Oh, Sims is evil, as is Civilazation.  I actually bought Civ 4, but haven't bothered to try it out - if I do nothing will get done.

I'll pass on your comments to my wife - she'll be glad to hear that.

dry wrote:

Don't forget to ping it after every post.
dry

i`ve heard this term used  a few times before, can you tell me what it means please?

'to ping', or 'pinging' is the art of informing other websites that yours has been updated

wordpress automatically pings with every post - in the wordpress set up there is a list of 'ping' services. You can add more ping services.

Some services will then ping other services on your behalf. pinging the same service twice for one post is overkill

Somewhere I have a definitive list of ping services that cover all services without duplicates

SiteReference wrote:

I recently setup a blog for my wife.  The process of setting up the blog made me realize just how little I actually know about marketing a blog. Now I assume many of the things that work for marketing a regular website are the same for marketing a blog, but I also know that there are tricks that can be used with blogs that are not used with any other type of website.

For example, using technorati tags is a method that I am familiar with, but have no experience with.

Does anyone have other examples of marketing that is specific to blogging?

One of the problems with having two web sites and 1.5 blogs (one I haven't added to in 9 months), even if it is all just for fun, is so little time to do anything else, and, well, I have many other hobbies, too. All that to explain why I haven't noticed this post until now, but, figured since one of my hobbies (The Teddy Bear Journal) averages close to 5000 hits per month, and I'm almost always behind in keeping up with it, I'd chime in as an Internet hobbyist, who actually is creating a little bit of buzz on one blog.

Got to warn you though, these aren't traditional methods of marketing found all over this site. Just freaky, "Yeesh! That worked?!" surprises constantly. Here's my list of places bringing me traffic, and how they found me.

-- You know the old adage, "There's no such thing as bad PR"? Boy, I'll say! One of my best referrerers (hey, if you read the blog, you'll soon know that it often mangles English! LOL) is another blog called, "Train Wreck." http://www.trainwrecks.net/?page_id=34 Train Wreck spends their free time looking for blogs that make them cover their eyes and then peak through their fingers, much like most do when they're witnessing a train wreck! For some weird reason they think a blog written by two teddy bears, who often tell a story about their adventures in third person, (simply because it's hard to figure out which is talking, since I'm too lazy to tell while in the throws of typing furiously), is like watching a train wreck! Well, I happen to disagree with their review of my blog, but because what is truly weird about it is that a 50 year old woman, without kids, is even writing a blog from the point-of-view of two young teddy bears, and I told them so! It's not just a little weird, it's down right freaky! I'm surprised they were the first to mention how freaky it is!!! And they posted my response on their comment page -- and they liked it enough to have kept it there for over 10 months now! AND, most folks, who get "reviewed" by these folks, are really upset, so they want to read from a singular person, who was happy with the review! Been working ever since. LOL

-- Only doing these web sites for free, my blog is on Bravenet. (Used to be on Blogger, but I had too much trouble figuring out how to get it to do what I wanted it to, so I sorta dropped that for the Bravenet blog. Now the Blogger blog is still there, but mostly used as an accidental IBL.) Fun stuff for hobbyists on Bravenet, including a community of bloggers that’s huge, and a message board for newbies. Early on, I was surprised to discover that they let you create any background you wanted, and, if you do create an unusual one, you can ask for their award, "Bravenet Blog of the Week." Did it, got it, and have since gone back to typical backgrounds, but since I won the award, I'm forever on their rotating list of past winners. Any time someone goes to their blogging page, there is a chance that they will see a blog entitled "Teddy Bear Journal," which is just odd and cute enough to need to check it out.

-- Other ways I've received plenty traffic from Bravenet (I'm assuming other blogging places have similar stuff, but I know Bravenet. Also, even if I've only gotten a singular buck from them, they're my only affiliate program. LOL) -- visiting the blogging community blog and leaving messages occasionally on their tag board or comment section; keeping a small list of fellow bloggers from Bravenet on my "friends' list," where we visit each other occasionally; visiting the message board and answering nooby questions occasionally (as the two teddy bears, who just have to leave their names at the end of each message); joining in on contests from other bloggers occasionally (only won once, but who cares if I ever win? LOL); and simply posting a blog, which shows up in the Bravenet's list of last 5 blog entries.

-- Did you know that blogging has its own set of awards, much like the Emmys and Oscars? If I remember when the nominations come around, I plug my blog. Here are the places that know our blog, but haven't understood that it is the absolute bestest in the world! The BOBS -- http://www.thebobs.com and the Webbies -- http://www.webbyawards.com
    Here are others that I know about, but keep forgetting to join -- http://usa.ultimatetopsites.com/coolsites/cellysblog and http://www.therumbles.net Finding sites that give out awards, or giving others awards from your blog (asking for a link to your site from that award) are great ways of getting links around the blogging community.

-- Someone mentioned pinging as a way of getting noticed every time you publish a new post. I've done it once, long ago at Yahoo's site, "blo.gs: Ping a webblog" http://blo.gs/ping.php and have been pinged every time since, without continually pinging. That ping has been one of my best sources for referrerers (I can't help it. Try writing for little teddy bears for three years, and you'll eventually understand how beary hard it is to write in adult English again. LOL) over the years.
   On the other paw…errr, hand, other places to ping (some already mentioned, but hoping this post helps others too, and makes it easier for everyone) include: http://www.blinklist.com, http://www.feedforall.com/social-bookmarks.htm, http://digg.com, http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/home, http://furl.net, http://myweb2.search.yahoo.com, http://www.squidoo.com, and http://www.technorati.com/developers/ping

-- And, because I'm not really sure what the difference is between pinging and social bookmarking, I tend to get my own lists together on these sites too, when I'm able: http://del.icio.us, http://www.onlywire.com, http://spurl.net, as well as, adding some photos into already formed groups on http://www.flickr.com/groups/52241506028@N01

-- Now, since my subject matter is strange, I like finding out that I'm not 100% unique, so I search for other teddy bear related sites, particularly other stuffed animal bloggers. Every time I find one, (and you'd be surprised how many I've found) if I can, (since my theme is aimed at young kids, too, I can't add more then half of the stuffed animal bloggers, because they're adult stuffies, who drink, party, and do things that are funny, but show inappropriate behavior -- like trying to mail a younger sibling, or hiding him/her in the freezer, while playing hide n' seek, hoping "Mommy" won't find the sibling until he or she is frozen solid. Funny stuff, unless you're a kid, who doesn't like the new little brother or sister. LOL) I add it to a list on the blog of fellow bloggers, as well as, leaving a message for them on their tag board, comments, or guest books. Not only do the owners find my blog, but anyone visiting their site, often come to my blog, since they’re obviously already interested in the subject matter.

-- Because I write about a huge variety of adventures or experiences, if anyone wants to do a search related to some particular aspect of teddies, like looking for photos of father bears, or trying to find teddy bears that swim, or teddies with mushrooms, my blog gets in the first two pages of that search. I haven't figured out why anyone searches for "teddy bears" + pool, or "teddy bears" + sunflowers, or "One sunny day in the middle of the night" (OK, that one I get, since it's a poem we used to recite as kids that the bears taught their kids), but they do and usually end up finding my blog, so I have to add that varying topics under any given theme brings in traffic.

-- "Business cards!" Huh? You can tell easily that I'm weird, and the sites I've created tend to have lots of photos on them (not so much the blog, but even that occasionally includes photos). But. I'm only weird to a certain degree, so I do get kinda embarrassed, when I'm taking pictures after setting up the teddy bears in the middle of one of the busiest single-block parks in center city Philadelphia (PA), or in a playground in south Philly. To avoid groups of curious people staring while I “work,” I keep a small supply of "business cards" promoting the original web site and blog to hand them a card, if they want to visit the sites online.

-- And, because I don't have enough material to update the blog daily, and, obviously, I tend to write way too much when I am writing, the blog has a related web site that is updated less often, so the curious can find out more about these bears, if they are interested. This is an important idea, if your wife doesn't want to feel pinned down by keeping up with the blog daily. (Also, it keeps visitors coming back, even when I’m behind.) It also rounds out the subject matter, and gives reciprocal, as well as back links to each other, in a SEO friendly kind of way.

-- Webrings. Started my own, to avoid commercial sites infringing on the fun anyone checking out the different teddy bear related sites were giving them, and joined a few to add a bit more volume. I'm in the process of cutting through to just the ones giving me visitors occasionally now, but mostly because the free ring site is going to start charging, if its customers are using more then five rings on their sites. There are other web rings though, so I'm sure I can find more to join, if I were into web rings.

The rest of my methods are obvious, especially on this forum, like adding your blog title under your name when writing in message boards. (Strangely though, if you consider my content regards teddy bears, and much of my traffic comes through doing that, some of my best referring is given through this forum, a forum for a particular computer game that's not related to teddy bears at all, and gardening forums -- although, my latest site is about gardening from the POV of stuffed animals.) I'm sure your wife has to know the typical marketing strategies, so, despite how long this post already is; at least you'll be happy that it does end soon. LOL

Hope I helped a bit. I'm not sure why my marketing efforts have worked, but, in rather strange ways, they have for me. Still working to increase it more, but this is a life long hobby, so I got the time.

You can promote your blog by creating an account with feedburner.com.
Read http://ezinearticles.com/?Turn-Your-Blo … ;id=409119

atwhatcost wrote:

-- "Business cards!" Huh? You can tell easily that I'm weird, and the sites I've created tend to have lots of photos on them (not so much the blog, but even that occasionally includes photos). But. I'm only weird to a certain degree, so I do get kinda embarrassed, when I'm taking pictures after setting up the teddy bears in the middle of one of the busiest single-block parks in center city Philadelphia (PA), or in a playground in south Philly. To avoid groups of curious people staring while I “work,” I keep a small supply of "business cards" promoting the original web site and blog to hand them a card, if they want to visit the sites online.

Funny you should mention that -- I do Custom Business Cards for many clients all across America.

TA,
How does a guy that's trying to get folks to visit AZ end up selling customized business cards to such a geographically different, group of unrelated businesses?!

(Not gonna ask you why you don't have a Chicago Bears' avatar, now. :X LOL)

I use PING-O-MATIC to ping my BLOG after I update it. I am definately going to use the other sources mentioned previously as I haven't been blogging for long.

atwhatcost wrote:

TA,
How does a guy that's trying to get folks to visit AZ end up selling customized business cards to such a geographically different, group of unrelated businesses?!

(Not gonna ask you why you don't have a Chicago Bears' avatar, now. :X LOL)

Heh heh -- I change my website title fairly often; y'all can visit, but ya gotta go home!

Geographical different group?  HA -- when have you ever known a Marine (former Marine that is) to be geographically challenged to just one part of this green golf ball we live on?

Chicago Bears?  Never heard of them -- do they live close to those "Pheagles"?

Hi there,

Don't know whether you're looking for 'free' ways or 'paid' ways to promote your blog, so here's 'free' ways that I would use - like with anything else online related, if you're taking the 'free' option it'll need a little hard work from yourself!

There's been some good advice so far, here's my two-penneth.

I would look at Robin Good's list of sites to submit to at RSS Top 55, the page title is kind of misleading, as I think they're now over 200 RSS feed and directory sites listed here that you could submit your blog's URL to. Look to the bottom of the page when you get there.

I would then do a search in Google or similar on Blog Directories  and submit to a few of these directories everyday.

I would also check Directory Critic, and check the directories listed there. Many of the directories have 'blog' related categories, so you should be able to increase your list still further.

I'm assuming that you've researched your blog's niche / topic and have a list of related keywords relevant to your blog. When submitting to any of the above, choose a 'title' that's keyword related to your blog, these directories are mostly 'humanly' moderated, so there's a fine line between a 'relevant' keyword related title and a 'spammy' keyword title, that will just get your submission deleted.

The above will then help your blog develop and improve it's 'off page' factors - link backs from other sites to your blog using keyword specific anchor text in the titles that you've chosen.

Look for other blogs covering your niche / subject. List them in a related links section on your own blog and visit them by clicking the link on your page - this way your blog will show up in other people's blog stats as a referrer. Bloggers generally are much easier to get link backs from.

Visit other blogs in your niche and comment on their posts. Include your link back in a signature line, or using the form to link back automatically to your site. Makesure that your comment is 'on topic' and constructive. This will make other bloggers operating in your niche aware of your blog, perhaps enticing more link backs, you could also increase your blog's audience this way.

Make it easy for your blog visitors to sign up to your RSS feed - put the link to RSS feed sign-up somewhere obvious on your page.

Cheers

The first thing to do if you have quality articles is to submit them to article directories.
Article submission boosts your website Recently a firend of mine asked me how can he promote his website, writing original and unique articles. First of all my answer was a good wesite optimization with a good title and headings and strong for every article on his webpage. The second part was releasing the website to the wild. We started searching for webiste on which we can publish our article, and start them spreding on the internet. This way we made a complete list of websites which do allow to submit fresh and good articles. You can find my list of sites which allow articles to be submitted
http://www.takedesign.ro/?p=405

The second part is to submit a your rss feeds to know websites, a list can be found here:
http://www.takedesign.ro/?p=406

Good luck!

altrixd wrote:

The first thing to do if you have quality articles is to submit them to article directories.
Article submission boosts your website Recently a firend of mine asked me how can he promote his website, writing original and unique articles. First of all my answer was a good wesite optimization with a good title and headings and strong for every article on his webpage. The second part was releasing the website to the wild. We started searching for webiste on which we can publish our article, and start them spreding on the internet. This way we made a complete list of websites which do allow to submit fresh and good articles. You can find my list of sites which allow articles to be submitted
http://www.takedesign.ro/?p=405

The second part is to submit a your rss feeds to know websites, a list can be found here:
http://www.takedesign.ro/?p=406

Good luck!

Ummmm, Altrisd, did you, by any chance, read the original request, notice who was asking, or notice the date of the request? OK, so granted, sometimes we answer much later then the original post was added, but, well, most actually read the original post and the responses before posting.

SR (the owner of this site, and, therefore has much more experience with articles then most) asked how to promote a blog, not how to fill the Internet with more articles. I honestly don't see the connection between your response and anything in this thread, nor do I understand why you would give a man, who owns a trusted and industry-specific ezine with corresponding forum, a link for a list of article directories, so I have no idea why you wrote what you did.

Having said that, even though SR truly knows why your advice is so completely wrong, I'm not adding this response for his benefit, but for yours and anyone else who believes what you wrote...

No, tossing around articles throughout the Internet does NOT promote your site very well, and is not good advice to give! If you'd like to learn a bit more of why, for now, try this thread (on the same forum) Just Publish a Few Articles, (notice that I'm the naive one, who started the thread, but I learned a lot from others who understand article publishing more then I do) or, better yet, how about reading this article from the guy you are trying to teach -- The Misunderstood Marketing Method.

I'm not angry with you, and I suspect you can be quite helpful on this forum. I'm just suggesting that responses are most helpful when they are connected to the original request and when they are giving with fuller understanding of the concept. Good luck to you.

Ok, I might say you're right, or I might say you're wrong. First of all, it's not about the amount of webiste where to submit your articles, it's about starting a buzz on the net. You write a quality article on your blog, which can be a personal opinion about a service, or whatever you want. After reading http://www.site-reference.com/articles/ … affic.html , you can make a connection between submitting articles to special article directory services and submitting your rss feeds to feed hunters. Now back to the blog, your article starts a buzz on the web, and people start visiting your webpage, you start sharinbg with them informations, argue and discuss different point of views. The question was "Does anyone have other examples of marketing that is specific to blogging?".