Just Off Topic!
Warning: the text below is from GM Tristan's Blog.
Ello,Just slightly off-topic. I know that there are a lot of first-time bloggers who visit this site everyday. There are those who ventured into blogging by necessity (joining the PW CBT contest, for example) or by choice (inspired by
this blog or
Waukster.com, perhaps?)Whatever the case may be, here are some of my personal tips on how to promote your blog and generate a lot of traffic in the shortest possible time. A lot of this was gleaned from my personal readings and research about blogging over the web (oh Google, you're a pal!).Before the comments come in, a little disclaimer: I'm not saying I'm an expert blogger. In fact, blogging is still new to me... and yeah, you can call me a noob. But I learn a few things everyday and I'd like to share it with you guys.Here goes, the GMTO list on How To Promote Your Blog:
1. Tell Everyone - send an email to everyone in your email list (yahoo, hotmail, etc) and announce to the whole world that you have a blog. Tell them the reason for your blog's existence, of course. If you use SNS services like Friendster or Myspace, there's an option to send a bulletin to all your friends there too.
2. Get a feed - RSS feeds are a great way to boost your traffic. Check out sites like
Feedburner and get a feed. That site has FAQs about RSS. Which stands for Really Simple Syndication, btw.
3. Ping - whenever you update your blog, it's best to ping the sites that list your feeds and content to let the whole world know that there are new topics to be read. Remember, there are a lot of information-hungry dudes out there (not to mention bored individuals) dying to for content. Site for this -
pingomatic4. Claim it - Services like
technorati allow you to "claim" your blog and generate leads by tracking the blogs that link to you and vice versa.
5. Participate in your "circle of influence" - if you maintain a gaming-related blog be sure to browse what the popular blogs in your field are posting. Make sure to leave sensible comments on the articles so that the readers can recall you. If there's a forum, participate and change your sig so that you are promoting your blog there too.
6. Include it in your business card - just putting your URL in your card will help too. If you don't have a card... make one, dang it!
7. Get reviewed - a lot of blogs (like mine)
offer reviews of blogs for free. A great way to get initial readers into your blog... wink... wink!8. Submit to search engines - just do a Google search on FREE SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSIONS and you'll find tons of sites to submit your blog on. Also, try looking for "blog directories" where you can submit your sites. Local sites like
ranking.pinoyblogosphere.com can also list your sites for free. GMTO is currently number 11, thanks to all of you.Those are just of the many ways to promote your blog. The key here is not be impatient. I started with just a handful of visitors and it grew everyday. Just remember to post RELEVANT TOPICS as often as you can so that your site stays fresh and new.If you know any other tips to help the readers, kindly share them below.
