There are endless ways in which you can promote your blog, from social networking to advertising, even personal appearances (if and when you feel it is appropriate).
But one method that always seems to go down well is giving stuff away. A quick look around the web on any typical day will reveal competitions, free reports and eBooks and even, perhaps free versions of mobile apps, all related to blogs.
You don’t have to go quite to this extent, but there are ways in which you can distribute free content to your readers, encouraging them to spread the word!
Provide Free Reports
One common tactic to promote your blog and its message is in the shape of a free report, which can either be downloaded from your website directly or sent via email with an autoresponder.
Typically, free reports are just a couple of pages long, much shorter than an eBook and might provide an overview of the subject your blog covers, or – more crucially – a particular aspect that is causing much discussion and interest.
So how do you create one of these reports? Begin by planning and then writing it in Microsoft Word or another word processor (there are various free alternatives, such as LibreOffice, or you could use Microsoft Word Web App or Google Drive for free browser-based word processing). When complete, this will be ready to publish, but for the best results, you should use one of the many PDF converters that are available to provide a protected document.
A couple of tips for reports: make sure your name and website are included, as well as an email address – this isn’t just a freebie, it is a great promotional tool!
Run Competitions
If your blog has any suitable, appropriate hardware or merchandise that it can give away, then you should do so in the form of a competition.
However, the secret is for the giveaway to make sense. For instance, if your blog discusses ladies’ hair tips, don’t offer up shooting lessons as a prize!
Finding prizes can be difficult, but if your blog is known to commercial entities (they might advertise with you) then you should make contact with them, explain what you’re doing and ask them to provide some prizes. As long as they are credited in the competition then this proves to be good promotion for you and them.
Offer a Free eBook
Not quite the same as a report, a free eBook should be longer, more in-depth and not necessarily have a direct relationship with your blog. However, it can be used to promote your blog in the same way, but naturally there is a key difference – length.
This will of course depend entirely on what you intend to write. It might be 30 pages, it might be 300 pages, but you should make it valuable for the reader, giving them a reason to talk about the eBook to friends and relatives, thereby promoting your blog for you. If you don’t feel able to write your own eBook, hire someone to produce it for you.
Again, remember to mention your website URL and provide an email address in the introduction.
Provide a Gratis Service
Another valuable promotional tip is to use the expertise and reputation that you have developed running your blog and turn this into a service that can be sold. Rather than selling it, however, you should look for a way of giving it away free to interested parties for a limited time.
For instance, if your blog is crafts-related, creating a card, fabric work or even painting as a limited service or competition prize will draw a lot of attention for your website and work.
Conclusion
If you’re feeling a little short of ideas for promotional tips, the selection shown here can all be done with little effort and time, enabling you to get great results, quickly.
Don’t rely completely on your readers to spread the word, however – make an event of your giveaway, promote it on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, allowing you to grab the attention of your target audience and make some waves!
