How To Properly Promote New Blog Posts
More than 80 million blog posts and pages are published each month. As unique as your content is, it’s not exactly anything special in the blogosphere. To get your work seen, you must first know how to effectively promote new blog posts.
Creating a quality blog post is step number one. Before you start sharing and pubbing your work, make sure it rises to your audience’s expectations. Each blog you post needs to mirror your brand voice.
Elements of A Read-Worthy Blog Post
- Luring Headline: The best headlines walk the fine line of pulling readers in without revealing the takeaway. Similar to an elevator pitch you would make to a prospective client, you want them to know just enough to be interested because you don’t have time to make the hard sale.
- Captivating Lead: Readers spend an average of 37 seconds reading a blog post—most are skimming the information for a specific point or promised conclusion. You have seconds to grab the reader’s attention, so a captivating lead is necessary. The information needs to be compelling enough to hold your reader to the next paragraph, and so on.
- Clear Subheads: Most blog readers skim the information. Useful subheads organizes the information in a way that’s easy to consume. Strategic subheads are also a way to increase your SEO, so include your keywords in at least one.
- Vivid Imagery: Images in a blog are a good way to give an example of your topic and break up the text. Use screenshots, real photos, or informative graphics to illustrate your point.
- Call To Action: What do you want readers to do with the information you’ve provided? Perhaps you want readers to leave a comment or provide their contact information to sign up for your monthly newsletter. Make the call to action clear.
Tactics to Promote New Blog
Now that you have the framework for a good blog post, let’s get more eyes on your work. In order to promote new blog posts, consider your current platforms.
Promote your blog on Twitter at the right times. For B2B promotions, tweets posted during business hours perform 16 percent better than those posted during “off” hours. For B2C businesses, you’ll see 17 percent more engagement with weekend posts. Don’t be afraid to build some hype around your new posts. Social media gurus suggest tweeting 15 times a day.
Timing matters when you use Facebook to promote your blog. Thursdays through Sundays are your best bet for higher engagement levels. Try 1 p.m. for the most shares and 3 p.m. for the most likes.
LinkedIn is a hugely popular resource for B2B blog promotion. Because it’s a professionally based social media outlet, your posts should be made just before the work day begins and at the close of the day. Tuesdays through Thursdays are the target days with 7:30–8:30 a.m. and 5–6 p.m. bringing in the most engagement.
Pinterest users are engaged on the weekends and in the evenings, so most of your pins should be made between 8–11 p.m. Pinterest is similar to a search engine, so create robust descriptions that will help users find your content. Use 300-plus characters in your pin descriptions.
Email Marketing
Seventy-six percent of subscribers make purchases from an email marketing message. Part of your mission is to grow your email list. Include sign-up spaces within each blog to capture more contacts. Send each new blog post out to your recipients. MailChimp research reveals weekdays are the best time to promote your blog posts via email, with Tuesday and Thursday mornings around 10 a.m. showing slightly higher open rates.
Use hashtags to reach your target audience and engage with your users when they leave comments or ask questions. Fans and followers are more likely to return to your page when you consistently connect with them. Use these tips to help your blog thrive in a highly competitive online market.
Storyteller. Beer lover. Toddler interpreter. Not necessarily in that order, depending on the day. JoAnna B. has written for real estate firms in six states, can make reading about digital marketing enjoyable, and, above all, wants to tell a good story with quality content. Her style is filled with dry humor, real-life examples and a little bit of everything in between.
