Most people are turned off by shameless self-promotion.
If you were to register on a message board or other online community and instantly start posting links to your own work as a blog writer for the sole purpose of trying to get more clicks, you would almost certainly be banned from the site—or at the very least mocked and ridiculed.
This is not to say you can never share your own blog and other content on your social media profiles or through other blogs and websites. However, you need to be able to find the perfect balance between contributing to a community and being too self-promotional in your efforts.
Here are some tips to help you find that balance when promoting your online content:
- Don’t make clicks your end goal: If you’re joining other online communities, don’t make clicks to your website the ultimate goal of your time spent there. Instead, focus on developing personal connections with other users. The better you get to know people within the community, the more open they will be to checking out your content. It’s a good investment of time and effort.
- Balance what you share on social media: There are a few popular ratios you could follow for the content you post on social media. You could follow the “rule of thirds,” in that a third of your updates should be about you and your content, another third sharing content from others and another third focused on personal interactions with others. You could also follow the 5-3-2 rule, in which five posts are content from others, three are your content and two are personal updates or interactions.
- Comment on other people’s work: Read other related blog content writing and leave quality comments. The word “quality” is important here—you should actually put some thought into what you comment, because a) it reflects better on you and your brand, b) it makes people more likely to want to come to your blog content to see what you have to say and c) it removes any doubt that you’re only reading and commenting for purposes of self-promotion.
Ultimately, even when you follow these tips, people will know you are trying to promote your own content. But by making a valid effort at being a part of a community and contributing something meaningful, you’ll get more attention in a more organic way.
For further tips and guidance on setting a comprehensive content marketing strategy—one that includes blog writing, articles, social media and other types of content—consult a professional copywriter.