By Mickie Kennedy
There are a ton of resources and websites all devoted to the same thing: helping bloggers make their content stand out from the crowd (you’re on one right now — one of the best, as a matter of fact). The end result, however, will all depend on how much work you are willing to put into building a community and making them aware of what you are doing.
Jenny Lawson, the mind behind The Bloggess, is a perfect example of a blogger who promotes her content, her books, and herself without seeming to promote her content, her books, or herself.
This is because she has built a loyal community that follows her posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr, read her books, and eagerly await her next Pin. She is genuine and kind to all of her fans no matter how long she has been signing books or answering yet another fan email.
She also readily admits her failings, like her sometimes-losing battles with depression, which only encourages her fans to root for her all the more.
This is something all bloggers need to do in order to achieve maximum success for their work. They need to reach out and start building a community of people interested in work similar to what they are doing. As part of this, bloggers should:
1. Start a webstore
If you haven’t already started expanding your site, consider yet another lesson from Jenny Lawson: add a shop. Have any catchphrases? A cool logo? Put it on a shirt or a mug and capitalize. Not only will this throw some spare change your way, but when a fan goes out of their way to buy something from you, you know you’ve got a fan for life.
2. Social Media
Join groups on Facebook, start tweeting, or build a Google+ network in order to start talking with fellow writers and potential readers. If you blog in a niche, you may also find that certain fan forums or other, lesser-known social media platforms work best for you.
3. Email Marketing
Encourage fans to opt-in to your email marketing campaigns. Give them a reason to opt-in, such as exclusive content, giveaways, or discounts to your webstore.
4. Guest Blog
Once you are up and running, look into guest blog opportunities and then share a good story with another group of readers.
5. Speak
Never pass up an opportunity to speak at conferences, to local groups, or at workshops.
Remember that with all of these publicity options, you want to treat your readers, fans, and followers like you would a friend. Would you spam a friend? Not likely. Keep the message genuine to inspire more people to want to follow you.
Any other tips to help bloggers? Let us know in the comments!
