14 Ways to Promote Your Blog Posts After You Publish By jessiejoathome

When you are working on a blog post and your hard work is finished, you click on "publish" and let your masterpiece go live, BUT you are not done yet! There are many steps you need to take to promote that post! All of the traffic coming to your blog will arrive by what you are doing to that post afterwards. The more you promote it, the more traffic and views you will get. Here are some steps you should be doing to every blog post to get maximum exposure!

My blog is powered by Blogger, so once I publish my post, it will automatically show up in the Blogger news feed to anyone who is subscribed to my posts. I am not familiar with WordPress yet, but will add tips for that platform in the future! 

1. Facebook. If you don't already have a fan page for your blog, I highly recommend it. Every time you publish a new blog post, share the link on your page. You can also share it on your personal page if you wish. There are a few easy ways to have Facebook post it automatically for you as well.

2. Twitter. Sharing your post is pretty easy on Twitter. After I hit publish, I go to my actual post and at the bottom you will see all of the share options, including Twitter. You can easily tweet it out from there. Don't forget to include hashtags in your tweet to help that tweet get more eyes on it!

3. Pinterest. You should have at least one pin-able picture in every blog post and always pin it to Pinterest! I honestly probably get 80% of my traffic from Pinterest. It is becoming such a huge social media site that it can help your blog posts SO MUCH!

Image: Syops1st via Flickr

4. StumbleUpon. This is pretty easy to use. I submit every single one of my blog posts to StumbleUpon. Quick and easy way to get a few more views!

5. Digg. This is pretty much the same as StumbleUpon. Just share your link to your blog post and wait for some more traffic.

6. Add it to your newsletter. If you have a weekly or monthly newsletter for your blog, don't forget to share a snippit from your posts as well as the links to the posts! I don't offer a newsletter yet for my blog, but it is a really great idea!

7. Google +. Google+ is also becoming huge, and you can easily share your post the same way you would tweet out your blog post. Just go to the bottom of your post and you can find the share option for Google +.

8. Bloglovin. I highly recommend joining and using Bloglovin. It is basically just another way to follow your favorite blogs, but if you add a "follow me" button on your sidebar, you will be one of those favorite blogs that someone else is following. It's really easy to add a button, and I love the layout of Bloglovin. Once you connect your blog, it will automatically publish your blog post to the Bloglovin feed, so whoever is following you will see your new post without you having to share any links! Easy!

9. Ask other bloggers to share it. Don't be afraid to ask for help from your blogger friends. At the bottom of your blog post add in something like "Share this post if your found it interesting!" or, "If you liked this post, please share it with your friends!" You will be surprised how many people will help you out if you just ask for it.

10. Think of ways to link to that post in the future. If you have a blog post you are thinking about doing in the future that is on the same topic, link to it in the future. At the end of the post, share the link along with "See how we made a different version of this last year..." I also use LinkWithin, which is a really handy gadget to put at the bottom of your blog posts. It will automatically share three or four posts along the same topic on your blog so people can easily cruise through all of your posts without searching.

11. Comment on other blogs close to that topic and nicely leave your post link. That does NOT mean go to a random blog, skip reading the post to go directly to their comment section, leave your link and say "check out this post." Just no! You have to make sure it is on the same topic as your blog post or in the same niche. Thoroughly read their post, comment about something you liked or agreed with in their post and then you can share your link with something like "I wrote a post a week ago that is very closely along the same lines as yours! I think you would like to read mine for a different view, let me know what you think about it as well. I would love your opinion!"

12. Instagram. Instagram is fairly new but becoming huge, quickly. I love Instagram for my personal pictures, but sharing your blog post pictures on Instagram can help you tons! Some of your followers might only be following you on one social media platform such as Instagram, so share everything just in case!

13. Delicious. Delicious is in a way like StumbleUpon and Digg. I'm new to Delicious but it was pretty easy to join and add my links. I think it will be another great promoter.

14. Follow up. Don't forget about your posts once you publish and share them. Every once in awhile,  it is completely okay to randomly share a previous post on any social media platform. Just add in something like "I loved this recipe so much I want to share it again with you all!" It is important to do this because think of all the new followers you get everyday. They might not see things from the past on your blog, but if you do a random share, they will!

*Important tip!* On any social media platform you are using, don't forget to use HASHTAGS! They are such an important factor to get more people to see your posts. When you use a hashtag, for example, #stayathomemom, everyone who comes across that hashtag will see it. Even if they are not your actual "follower," it will still show up because of the hashtag. Hashtags are also a great way for search engines to find you easier. Trust me, use hashtags!

Hey, P.S.: If you have found this post helpful or interesting, please share, tweet or pin!