Getting More Subscribers (for Free!)

You’re ready for the next step — blog promotion.

You don’t have to have a business degree to master this, either.

There are tons of free ways to promote your blog.

You don’t have to spend money to be successful — if you’re passionate and Internet-savvy, you can end up like any of the famous bloggers we talked about in Section 5.

Here are tons of ways you can get more subscribers without spending a dime.

Placement of Your URL

Sometimes it’s all about where you link to your blog URL.

Place your blog URL on your email signature so that every time you send an email, people can see your blog.

You might get some clicks out of that.

It’s also important to put a link to your blog on all of your social media accounts — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram — link to your blog everywhere. Seriously, everywhere.

Write Articles

Write articles and submit them to professional e-zines, article directories, and others to publish.

Be sure to include a release allowing your article to be reprinted or redistributed, but only with proper attribution to you (at a minimum, include your name, email, and blog URL).

Use the Internet

Use a free pinging service to hit all the major search engines.

It’s pretty quick and simple to do.

I recommend http://pingomatic.com and http://feedshark.brainbliss.com.

You can also submit your blog to directory services. A good list is available online at www.toprankblog.com/rss-blog-directories.

Navbar for Blogger

Take a look at the Navbar if you are using Blogger. This is the non-intrusive replacement for advertisements on Blogger.

You may not even notice the Navbar (across the top of the screen on Blogger hosted blogs), but there is a button called “Next Blog” where users can click and be served a random blog.

There are lots of people who find this as a good way to pass time.

Your blog will be pulled in automatically.

If you’re using Blogger, ensure you allow your blog to be added to the Blogger listing.

To get some assistance when it comes to helping people find your blog, visit https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/41373.

Be an Active Blogger

When you’re a really active blogger, people notice. If you’re always commenting on other people’s blogs, following them, and liking their posts, they might take a look at your page, and they might (just might!) follow you and return the favor.

This is one of the ways to get your name out there — just be sure to have a quick and easy link back to your blog if you do comment on someone’s post.

Not only will the blogger notice, but other commenters might take a peak at your blog, too.

Feedburner

Linking

Offer to exchange links with other websites and blogs.

All you have to do is send them an email that goes a little like this: “I love your content, and I think you’d like mine, too.

Would you be interested in doing a cross-link with me?

It could be a great promotional tool for both of us.”

The only thing is, you want to make sure you’re asking someone that has a similar amount of followers as you — otherwise, they won’t get any benefit from it, and they’ll either ignore you or decline.

Hold Giveaways/Contests

Start a contest that requires people to visit your blog. Sure, you’re forcing their hand, but people like to win stuff, or even try to win stuff, so take advantage of the free traffic.

Use Keywords

Always use keywords in your blog. How do you know which keywords to use?

Well, think about what you’d search for if you were on the Web.

Let’s say you want to find out some tips on how to… find keywords!

You’d probably search one of the following phrases: “choosing great keywords,” “how to choose keywords,” “the best keywords,” or “how to choose the best keywords.”

When you’re filling up your blog with keywords, make sure you’re always thinking from a reader’s perspective.

What are they going to type in the search engine when they’re looking for your post?

Beyond this advice, there are also online programs that help you choose keywords.

These include https://moz.com, www.spyfu.com, and https://landing.semrush.com.

If you get a chance, take a look at these sites and the free trials.

SpyFu actually lets you type in a competitor’s site to see what keywords they’re using to be successful.

It can be eye-opening to see the kinds of things that people are typing in, and it can help you to cater to that content.

Post to Social Media

If you have a Facebook page, link to your blog post.

The same goes for every other social media application out there — start promoting yourself everywhere.

If there’s a chance that you’ll get one new person to see your post (or even to retweet it), why not take it?

Also, make sure you’re following people that are in your niche.

If you write a finance blog, make sure you follow other people that write or know a lot about finance.

They’ll be less bothered by your constant promotions — they may even leave you the best comments!

☞ Pro Tip:
To boost your ability to promote yourself, create a Pinterest board for you to pin all of your posts to.

Be Patient

Blugh, we know. But, really, the best advice of all is to simply have patience.

As with everything, there is no magic solution to promote your blog. It’s done over time, one blog post at a time.

Use the solutions and recommendations provided where possible, and over time, you will see results.

It takes time, often months, to build visibility in search engines, as well as realizing the increased traffic in your promotional campaigns.