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Wouldn’t it be nice if the traffic could just roll into your blog posts as soon as you hit publish?
Ah, in an ideal world, yes!
But unfortunately, it requires a little strategy to promote your posts (both new and old).
Today, I’m going to share with you different ways you can promote your blog (for free!) to keep your readers pouring in!
1. Facebook Groups
I know what you’re thinking: “I already tried using Facebook groups to promote my blog posts and it failed miserably!“
I notice a lot of bloggers/small businesses join the wrong Facebook groups to try and drive traffic back to their website.
Here’s a piece of advice: don’t join Facebook groups for other bloggers and business owners if your goal is to connect with your audience and drive traffic to your site.
Facebook groups for bloggers and biz owners typically center around advice–they are suitable for learning, not promoting.
Instead, join Facebook groups where your audience hangs out! That way, when someone asks a question or needs advice, you can use your own content (if allowed by the Facebook group moderators) to answer their questions.
For example, if you are a vegan food blogger it would make sense to join groups for vegans. If someone posts a question asking about vegan recipes, you can link your posts as an answer.
For one of my blogs, I joined a group full of dog owners. I was able to post my article to the main wall one day. Take a peek at the spike of traffic I got:
If you join groups where your audience hangs out, you’ll be able to connect with your readers and ultimately, drive traffic to your website.
2. Quora
Quora is a popular Q&A forum and I won’t lie: it takes lots of work to drive traffic from Quora, but when done right, it can turn into a source of passive traffic.
So, how do you use Quora? Simply put, people ask questions on Quora and your job is to answer those questions with highly-informative answers.
Since you can include links within your answers, you can link your own blog articles.
You can see below how I’ve linked to one of my articles within this snippet of my answer:
The above answer has been shared by other people and gets several hundred views every week–and it was posted back in 2018! When you start answering more and more questions, those views (and clicks) begin to compound.
Your answers in Quora live for a long time, and will continually send traffic back to your website.
And as a bonus, Quora questions often show in Google’s search results, so your audience doesn’t need to start their search on Quora to see your answer.
3. Yahoo Answers
Like Quora, Yahoo Answers is another question and answer website that can be used to promote your blog for free.
When crafting answers, be sure to include lots of relevant information, and link to a supporting post that contains supplemental information.
4. Reddit
Reddit isn’t your typical Q&A forum. If you create a blatantly promotional post you’ll get downvoted into oblivion and even be banned…
Let’s avoid that, shall we!
Here’s how Reddit works: Reddit is comprised of subreddits, which are pretty much communities where users share their thoughts and communicate with one another.
To make Reddit work for you, you should find some subreddits where your audience hangs out.
For example, if you write about beauty products, find a beauty subreddit!
Once you find your subreddit, you’ll want to engage with others before promoting your own content. You can answer questions, post your own questions, and discuss with people on the various posts.
Here’s an example of an answer where I included a link on Reddit:
You can see how much information is in this post and how the link isn’t overly promotional–it’s there for the reader to go to if they want to learn more. Funny enough, the answer above is all about how to drive traffic to your blog!
To be successful on Reddit, you should contribute lots and build relationships with users before you try and promote your link.
When you add your link into a post, make sure your answer is highly informative so you don’t come across as spammy. Redditors can smell spam from a mile away, so make sure your engagement with this community is authentic.
4. Pinterest
Pinterest is one of the best platforms to promote your blog for free.
Even if you are a new blogger, you can start getting traffic from Pinterest without a huge following–which I love.
And if you’re a business (specifically ecommerce) you will want to get on Pinterest immediately–83% of Pinners use Pinterest to decide what to buy!
You can read all about my Pinterest marketing strategy to help get you started on Pinterest today.
5. Email Signature
If you want a passive and easy way to promote your blog post, incorporate your latest (or most popular) blog post into your email signature.
Every time you send an email, you will be promoting your latest content.
This strategy might not bring you in tons of traffic, but it’s easy to implement–give it a try and see how it works!
6. Email List
If you don’t have an email list let me first say this: you need one.
Let’s break down some quick (and amazing) email marketing stats:
- Email boasts a hefty ROI of roughly $42 for every $1 spent
- 59% of respondents said that email marketing influences their purchase decision
- Email subscribers are 3 times more likely to share your content via social media than visitors from other sources
Even more than that, you don’t actually own any of your followers on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or even Pinterest.
If any one of these social media websites were to shut down, what would happen to your blog?
Would you still be able to promote it?
Would you still have access to your audience?
The answer is a big no. To help you start your email list, you can read my article on how you can build an email list from scratch (it’s easy and free to start one!).
7. Triberr
Triberr is a community of small businesses and bloggers that get together to share one another’s content.
Triberr creates communities of different niches.
Once you have joined a niche, you can share your content and share other’s content within your community.
8. Comment on Authority Blogs
An authority blog is a well-known blog in your niche. If you leave engaging and well-crafted comments on these authority blogs, you can actually drive traffic back to your website.
Here are a few different comments to leave:
- Ask a question to further the conversation
- Provide extra tips in relation to the blog post
- Challenge one of the points made by the poster (in a respectful way)
And as a bonus, leaving genuine and relevant comments can also bolster your relationship with authority websites, which can lead to guest posting opportunities in the future.
9. Contact People You Featured
Linking to other people’s blog posts can help your SEO, but it can also get your content shared.
When you mention someone (or someone else’s content within your blog post) send them an email to let them know you’ve cited them. They will appreciate the backlink and might share your article with their audience, opening your content up to a whole new set of eyes!
Your turn! What ways do you like to promote your blog post for free? Let me know in the comments below!
This article may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Dana Nicole is an award-winning freelance writer for MarTech/SaaS who was rated one of the best SaaS writers by Software World. She specializes in writing engaging content that ranks high in search engines and has been featured in publications like Semrush, ConvertKit, and Hotjar.
Dana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and has over 15 years of experience working alongside national brands in their marketing departments.
When Dana’s not working, you can find her dancing en pointe, cooking up new recipes, and exploring the great outdoors with her two big dogs.