How to Promote Your Business Blog with SEO & Social Media Tactics | Mailchimp

Drive visits from networking

You will likely find that there are plenty of people creating and sharing content in your industry, some of which your existing and potential customers may already read. You can tap into your business community to build relationships and encourage people to share your content.

When you interact with posts written by others in your industry, think about creating a dialogue rather than just sharing or liking. Leave comments and replies to share your related thoughts and experiences, and don’t be afraid to ask questions that will open up further discussion with other readers.

Be cautious about using these conversations as a vehicle for your own self-promotion. If you make genuinely valuable contributions to conversations, people will be attracted to your content because they’re interested in what you’re writing about.

If you already have relationships with other writers or bloggers, you might consider asking them directly if they’d be willing to read and share your posts. Be mindful of how your content might fit into their online presence or brand, and ask for these favors sparingly.

Get out there and meet people in real life

Going to conferences, networking events, or meet-ups is a great way to build relationships with people. This is another tactic where conversation, not self-promotion, is effective. Use these events as opportunities to learn new things, talk about challenges, and get to know people. If your intentions are genuine, you’ll likely gain readers naturally.

Interview influential people in your industry

Every industry has people who are considered experts and have strong followings on social media because of the content they produce. One way to tap into their audience is by interviewing these people.

Be thoughtful about your approach and bear in mind that these people (just like you) likely have lots of demands on their time. Make it as easy as possible for them to say yes.

First, provide a preset list of questions which you’d like them to answer. Take the time to give this some thought so your questions are original. Try to avoid the generic questions they may have already answered several times.

You should also provide a variety of ways for them to respond. If you’re going to be in the same place at the same time, like at a conference, ask if they’d be willing to spend a few minutes with you answering your questions in person. If you’re in different locations, a voice or video call (which you can record and transcribe given their consent) is a great option. Otherwise, you can send them your list of questions and ask for a written response.

Once you have completed the interview and written your blog post, be sure to let your interviewee know when their interview goes live on your site. They’ll likely share your post with their followers, which will drive more visitors to your blog.

Collaborate with others to create blog content

Perhaps you’ve got a big idea, but you need a little help to bring it to life. Looking to your business community can help you find willing, proficient collaborators.

When approaching potential teammates, make sure to clearly explain what it is you want to create. Make sure to outline why collaborating on this project would benefit them. Set explicit responsibilities and tasks for each of you, and as with expert interviews, make it as easy as possible for them to say yes.

Reaching out to others in your industry can help you create blog content that would be difficult on your own. Make sure to let your collaborators know when the piece goes live so that they can share it with their network.

Curate other people’s content

Another way of building relationships with people in your industry is to create a regular round-up post where you include links to other blog posts which you’ve read and found valuable.

Posts like this should be planned ahead. When you come across something you enjoy, save the link and make a note of why you found it useful. Make sure that the content can benefit your readers as well.

Seek out opportunities to write on other sites

Many sites offer guest writing opportunities. This can be a great way of reaching new audiences.

Start by considering which sites would harmonize nicely with the types of posts you write. Next, write a pitch email to send. Your pitch should be a concrete idea for an article, and should include an outline and why you think it would be a good fit for the site. Make sure you comply with any writing guidelines the site may supply. You can include links to posts you’ve written as well as to your social profiles.

Invite others to write a post for your site

If you decide to offer others in your industry a chance to write a guest post, write some style guidelines so that people have a clear idea about the content you want to publish.

Make sure to accept posts which complement your blog and that are valuable to your readers, and turn down thinly veiled sales pitches and off-topic posts.