We all love getting promoted. It is a boost to our egos, a pat on the back, and a kudos from those who see our work. So how do we promote our websites so we get that same back-patting response?
I have seen many say that content is the key. But you can have great content and still fail as a leader among the blogging community.
Darren Rowse, posting during the ever-famous wee hours of the morning, wrote a blog entitled "How I'd Promote My Blog If I Were Starting Out Again." Does he mention content? Why yes, yes he does. He says that you have to make a blog that creates anticipation. But anticipation might just keep your own head spinning like Carly Simon if you don't do something with that anticipation.
Ever hear the term "Preaching to the choir"? That's what Rowse says is the problem for many bloggers - they promote among those already converted to the word. Rowse says you've got to promote outside of your own blog. But how?, one might ask. Check out Rowse's blog for the answers: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/03/11/how-id-promote-my-blog-if-i-were-starting-out-again/
I found out some stuff about Digg. If you like a blog you can "Digg" it and it the blog will go on the Digg list. Once you're in Digg you can find other blogs to follow. Here's a hint - make some amazing posts and have your friends Digg them - or Digg them yourself! - there's some advertisement right there :o}
My marketing plan - I got on Digg - that is a good place to start. I would follow other blogs, make posts and continue to make myself known among the blogging community. I have found that I am intrigued by others who look at things from viewpoints different from my own, so I would look for sites where I could post my own ideas that might intrigue others enough to want to read more of what I have to say.
If I wanted to I could also pay for advertising - but I don't have the money and I'm not interested in THAT big of a following - at least not right now :o}
Who knows - maybe one day I'll become a professional blogger and have to utilize my management plan so that I am only spending 3 hours a night on blogging :o}
Lights out.
Thanks for sharing your findings! I never knew about Digg....I'm going to go and check that out too :) It is quite difficult to think of a marketing strategy because I do not want my blog to big right now either......I also do not necessarily want my students to have a lot of followers....unless of course what they are doing can help others learn and grow. However, at least you have started to think of your marketing plan! I better get on it! :) Hope you had a good long weekend!
ReplyDeleteDigg is VERY interesting and I can't wait to look more into it!
ReplyDeleteI think that for my students the best marketing plan, other than making it a requirement to post on my blog, is to make it interesting and "worth their time" to go to it. I don't want it to be a dating site or a place for inappropriate behavior - there are other sites for that - but I want it to be a place that my students think is cool. I had better get to work on making it that way! :o}
My thoughts align with Tori's comments. As teachers, perhaps marketing and increasing followers aren't our primary goals. Rather, focusing our blogs to best meet the needs of our students and their parents would be paramount.
ReplyDeleteI agree, William. As with all forms of expression, we have to decide who our true "audience" is and then build our writing or media to meet their needs. So if there is a small, relatively closed audience for the blog, you wouldn't want to go to a site like Digg.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty interested in going to check it out, though, as I have been gathering sources to begin writing about where we see education heading. My purpose is just to get some discussion going, so for that, maybe Digg would be good!