15 Strategic Ways to Promote Your Blog for Free

Wondering how to promote your blog in the right way?

There is so much contradictory advice out there so I wanted to share with you the very best ways you can increase traffic to your blog.

No matter what your goals are (leads, sales, branding, etc) you need good quality traffic, no matter what.

How you choose to spend time promoting your content can be the difference between a tiny blog that gets some users every month or a larger blog that grows month over month, helping you grow your business.

We have so many choices to promote content these days, but all platforms are not created equal.

Below I’ll be walking you through:

• Where you can promote your blog for free
• The benefits of each traffic-driving tactic so you can decide the best way to put together your promotional strategy

How To Promote Your Blog For Free: My Top 15

Before I jump into the details, I would like you to first think about why you want to promote your blog.

• Are you blogging to make money? (Ads, affiliate marketing, products, etc)
• Is blogging just a hobby for now, but you still want to get your voice out there?
• Are you blogging to support an eCommerce business?

By understanding why you want to drive traffic will help you determine what strategies are best for you to focus on.

Also, if after reading this you aren’t sure what tactics are best for you, feel free to ask in the comments. Share a little about your blog and I’ll happily give you feedback.

1. Pinterest

If you’re a new blogger (or if you aren’t using Pinterest), I highly recommend you start promoting your blog content on Pinterest.

Pinterest is a big traffic driver for most bloggers, as people are going to Pinterest to look for solutions and ideas.

Their intent is to read content, hence why Pinterest should be the first traffic driving channel on your radar. Without a doubt, you will increase traffic to your blog immediately and it only grows over time.

To get started with Pinterest, you’ll need to do the following:

• Set up a business account
• Create about 10 niche relevant boards (related specifically to your content). Learn about Pinterest SEO to help you decide what to name your boards.
• Design pins to promote your content. Download the free templates below for help.
• Once designed you will upload a pin to Pinterest directly and write a pin description. Read this post for the best way to write your descriptions.

For tips on how to use Pinterest to drive traffic to your blog, check out these posts:

• How to Design High Performing Pinterest Pins
• Pinterest Analytics – Metrics to Track Every Month
• How to Get More Pinterest Followers in 10 Simple Steps

Download these free Canva Pinterest templates to help you out…

2. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Wondering how to get your blog noticed by Google?

It’s not something that naturally happens (unfortunately). There are specific steps you need to take for search engines to show your content.

Many new bloggers steer clear of SEO in the beginning, but I’m here to tell you…

If you start focusing on SEO early on, you will be successful that much sooner – in fact, months or even years sooner!

The basics of SEO consist of 3 key areas:

1. Keyword Research
2. On-Page SEO
3. Backlinks

If you are a new blogger or new to SEO I recommend focusing on the first 2 areas – keyword research and on-page SEO.

This means you will simply do some research on the keywords people use when searching for a topic in Google or other search engines and then you will use this keyword (and similar keywords) in your blog post.

Keywords Everywhere Chrome Extension:

This is a great SEO keyword tool to help you find relevant topics with the best keywords to target. This costs $10 for 100,000 keywords which will last you the year. I use this and highly recommend it.

When adding keywords to your post you will do this in a number of areas:

1. Title
2. Slug
3. Headers
4. Meta Description
5. Alt Images
6. Body of text

To get you started I highly recommend an eBook called Easy On-Page SEO. This book teaches you exactly how to format your blog posts so your content can be found on Google.

There is a real art and science to on-page SEO and the tips provided garner big results!

>> Easy On-Page SEO is currently $10 off. Learn more here!

3. Email Marketing

Another great way to drive traffic and create a loyal following is through email marketing.

You may be thinking… Why send emails when I can connect with people on social media?

Simply put: Social media companies have algorithms that control what your followers see. You may have 1000 followers but Facebook or Instagram may only show your content to 80 people.

When you have an email list this is something you own and can control.

If you’re new to email marketing, I recommend using Mailerlite for two big reasons:

1. It’s free for your first 1000 subscribers
2. It’s a professional easy to use platform with great customer service

Sign up for Mailerlite here. If using this link, when it’s time to pay (over 1000 subscribers) you’ll receive $20 off!

Once you sign up check out these helpful tutorials to get started.

4. Tailwind Communities

If you are a blogger you have most likely heard of Tailwind. Tailwind is the most popular scheduling app for Pinterest.

Part of Tailwind includes Tailwind Communities (formerly known as Tailwind Tribes).

In Tailwind Communities there are thousands of groups to join all focusing on different niches. Once you join a community you share pins that other people will share through their Pinterest account.

All Communities have group rules, usually “pin one for one” – so every pin you upload share someone else’s pin.

If you haven’t yet tried Tailwind you can sign up for a free trial here and test Communities out for yourself.

5. Facebook Business Page

Having a Facebook business page is a great way to build community and drive traffic.

You won’t get the same traffic as Pinterest would provide, however, it’s pretty easy to maintain a business page and you can utilize your page for the following:

• Share new posts
• Ask questions to your followers (this is helpful when you want to learn more about your audience)
• Share fellow blogger’s or businesses’ content/products. This is a good way to network and build community. Just make sure to tag their Facebook page.

Want more ideas on what to share on your Facebook business page? Read this>> 10 Examples of Facebook Posts To Share on Your Business Page

6. Facebook Groups

There are A LOT of Facebook groups for bloggers. Many of these groups have daily promotion threads where you can share your blog posts and social media accounts.

This is a great way to generate some traffic and grow your following.

Apart from blogging groups I also recommend finding groups in your niche. Facebook literally has a group for everything so do a search and see what you find.

Make sure to check out my favourite Facebook groups for bloggers.

7. X (Formerly Twitter)

Setting up a Twitter account for your blog is a great idea so you can start networking with other bloggers in your niche. It’s a social platform that has a lot of interaction and it can also drive some traffic.

Twitter won’t be a massive traffic driver but if you enjoy the platform it can be a great tool to learn and grow.

Twitter also has some blogger follow threads, which work similarly to Facebook blogging groups.

8. Instagram

In my opinion, Instagram is a great social channel to focus on if you wish to be an influencer and work with brands. It’s also wonderful for forming relationships with your readers.

Instagram won’t drive loads of traffic, as you can’t add a link to each post. You can however add one link to your bio.

I recommend setting up a page on your blog that you use for this link.

Here is an example from my personal development Instagram account and blog…

Simply create buttons in Canva, then upload them to your page and attach a link to each button image.

For more Instagram tips check out this post: How to Grow Your Instagram – Advice from the Experts.

9. LinkedIn

Depending on your niche, LinkedIn can be an excellent social media channel to drive traffic.

People on LinkedIn are professionals, so you if blog about business, marketing, social media or blogging LinkedIn is a great place to promote your content.

Of course, it’s also excellent for networking and sharing your products and services too.

10. Flipboard

Flipboard has been around since 2010, however recently people have been going back to it to drive traffic to their blogs again. Set up an account and when you create a new blog post, share it to clipboard into one of your magazines.

11. Guest Posting/Roundups

In the SEO section above I briefly mentioned ‘backlinks’.

What are backlinks?

Backlinks are links back to your website from another site. The more good quality links you have back to your site the better it is for your SEO.

One great way to get backlinks is through guest posting on other people’s sites. 

When you guest post on other bloggers’ sites they will link back to your site (backlink).

In addition to this being good for your SEO, it can also drive traffic to your site. You are essentially promoting yourself to another blogger’s audience.

If you are new to blogging this is a great way to network with more experienced bloggers and take advantage of their larger audience.

Learn more about guest posting here: 5 Benefits of Guest Posting + Guidelines for Success

Bonus: Other Platforms You Can Test Out to Drive Traffic

These traffic driving tools are used by some. They aren’t as popular as the above but if you are looking for some new ways to drive traffic, give them a try and let me know how they work for you.

12. Quora

Quora is a platform to ask and answer questions. It’s similar to Yahoo! Answers back in the day but more robust.

Quora actually has 300 million active monthly users which is amazing! It’s not as big as Instagram or Twitter but growing quickly.

When you set up an account you can follow specific content categories or simply do a search. Then go in and give a valuable answer. When answering you can leave a link to a related blog post.

Just be careful when doing this. Don’t link drop – you want to provide helpful advice to people.

13. Forums (Reddit)

Yes, some forums do still exist. This could be relevant for you depending on what niche you are in.

Just search for “your niche + forums” and see what you find.

People who are part of forums are typically really active, so this might be a good place for you to explore.

14. YouTube

If you have a YouTube channel it’s a no-brainer to add links to your blog under the video.

This provides more context to the video and is especially helpful for people who like to read how to’s and tutorials.

15. TikTok

If you create video content, using Tiktok is a no brainer to promote your latest blog post. Engage users with quick tips and tricks or inspirational stories.

My Top 3 Choices to Drive Traffic to Your Blog for Free

1. Pinterest
2. SEO
3. Email List

These are the places I focus on when it comes to promoting my content.

Yes, I do have Facebook pages and I also have an Instagram account for my personal development blog. But, when it comes to driving big traffic I focus on SEO and Pinterest first.

These are my go-to’s that give me the best results.

Tell me: How do you drive traffic to your blog and what will you try next?

Share in the comments below!

 

Related New Blogging Resources & Tools:

• How to Format a Blog Post: 15 Best Practices
• How to Make Money Blogging: Tips for Beginners
• 9 Blogging Tips for Beginners: Advice from Seasoned Bloggers
• Affiliate Marketing Programs for Beginners + Tips to Start

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