There is a lot of focus online about how to promote your blog to gain more readers through online avenues. There are guest posts, interviews, social media, blog carnivals, contests and a whole host of other ways to draw readers back to your site. While this is a necessary step in growing any blog, there are a lot of bloggers that completely ignore the off site/not plugged into a wall way to promote your blog and gain more readers with off-line promotion. For many niches, these techniques can prove to be an incredible way to get more eyes looking at your content on a regular basis…and make money doing it.
Off Site Promotion Techniques For Bloggers
The following off site promotion techniques can help you grow your blog and some of them will actually help you build up your bottom line at the same time.
Business Cards
If you are looking to make an income online, you have to treat your business seriously. Business cards are still the #1 way to pass your information along to another person while networking off-line. A well designed business card with the necessary contact information and logos will gain you credibility with new, potential readers, business partners and advertisers before they have even set eyes on your blog. Think of it as pre-qualifying by providing professional quality right off the bat.
The best part…business cards are CHEAP! I typically design my own and then head over to VistaPrint to order up enough for my needs.
T-Shirts
T-Shirts are one area that I have been building up for Bike198.com for awhile now. In some niches (like mountain biking), your readers will be t-shirt whores. They want a t-shirt for every event, catch phrase and obsession as they express their hobbies to the world through the outward expression of their clothing. Designing a t-shirt and selling it on your site with catchy phrases and graphics related to your niche will not only make you more money in your blogging, but it will make your readers a walking billboard for your site and content.
Stickers
How many stickers do you see on the back of cars as you drive down the street? What if those stickers were yours?! By giving away and selling stickers on your blog, you can once again turn your readers into viral promotion machines. How many of those stickers that you see on a daily basis are website based? A lot.
Mainstream Media
Mainstream media can be one of the biggest shots in the arm for a blog looking to expand its readership. Much like Mike at Daily Shot of Coffee did with a magazine mention, you can reach an entirely new audience that may have never landed on your page through conventional means. By pitching story ideas to magazines and newspapers or just “being found”, you can create a flood of readers to your content from off-line resources.
Networking
Off-line networking may feel like you are only reaching 5 people at a time through blogger meetups and related events to your niche, but…you need to remember…word of mouth is a powerful tool. The more positive experiences people have with you and your content, the more they spread the word like wildfire. One of the most powerful ways to network is to help out with local groups through speaking, organizing and helping. In some cases, you might even be able to sponsor an event which will result in your logo hitting banners, t-shirts and other related materials.
Off-Line Promotion Equals Increased Business
As a blogger looking to make your income online, you can not ignore off-line promotion techniques just because you can not measure the results instantaneously through stat counters. The long term affects of off-line blog promotion can increase your spread dramatically with just a little bit of effort. Your job as the blogger looking to grow your blog is to find where your potential readers are and attract them to your content and products. For many niches, your potential readers will be hanging out in off-line resources.
Original unplugged image by rogue3w
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