It's Friend Friday again as hosted by Modly Chic and our topic this week is Self Promotion. When does it become too much to try and get readers; when does it become aggravating spam? Here's my take on the questions, how would you answer them?
1. How do you promote your blog?
I join different communities where I fit such as brown beauty bloggers, pass on my links to my twitter followers, post to facebook, and comment on other blogs so that people know that I exist. I also give out my pretty personalized business cards at events that have my blog information on them, make it easy for readers to get in contact with me or to follow the blog through many methods, and I interact with other blogs by commenting/retweeting their posts/chatting with the blog owners.
2. In your experience what has been the most effective form of self promotion?
Leaving my links on other sites in my signature when I leave comments. That is just communications/marketing 101, getting your name out there. I don't just leave a "cool post" stupid comment with my link as spam, BUT I do leave a genuine comment and read every post that I comment on before leaving my signature as just that, a signing off piece. It is PART of the comment, not the whole point of the comment. I get thousands of clicks from my signature being left somewhere, people rarely click simply on the name of comment writers. Especially for the popular blogs, there are anywhere from 20-100 comments on a post, your link will stand out if it is clickable and in the message. Getting your name out there is part of the game and anyone with a communications/marketing degree/background would know that. Really quite common sense too, I'd think. People click on things that stand out to them. I did an experiment by going for a week with still commenting but not putting my link. Guess what? New subscribers and people checking out the blog dropped by half because people don't click on comment makers names as much. I know that I don't so why would I expect that they would? I click on links that I see while reading comments that I like. Keep in mind, your name is at the top of your comment, if you post a well thought out one then by the time I hit the bottom of your comment, I am intrigued and check out the link back that you posted. Same reason that if you want comments on your blog that it's smart to post the comment button at the END of your posts.
3. Do you think there is a wrong way to promote yourself and your blog?
Yes, I don't believe in going to every post and leaving stupid, generic spam posts that are ONLY made to promote my blog or giveaway. I'd never just say "nice" and then put my link and you can tell when someone is spamming in such a manner. NOT cute! Have something about THEIR post to say and then leave your signature/link at the end. I also find it extremely intriguing that so many bloggers want comments yet aren't at all arsed enough to comment on other people's blogs; you give what you get often times! And don't visit someone's blog ONE time spamming them and then expect for them to be a follower of your blog. Show interest in their blog and be consistent, then perhaps they may do the same for you.
4. When it comes to others pushing their product what annoys you?
In your face zeal. Show me what you have to show me and let me make my own decisions. Leave me a comment on my blog, leave your link if you want, and I will check it out and DECIDE if I want to leave a comment or follow. Don't give me directions to do so.
5. In Dressful's post on this topic earlier in the week she said, "It's impossible to respect someone who wants all the attention, but adds nothing worthwhile to the conversation." Do you agree?
I completely agree. There are comments made by people who didn't even read the post, just spammed their link everywhere and it is not a good strategy. I skip those links for sure! However, when a good comment/conversation is going on, then I check out those with answers that struck my fancy and then generally add them to my blog reader. Voila, new follower! Otherwise, the motives for blatant self promotion are obvious and not appreciated.
In summary, I am all for self promotion but in a tasteful manner. In my communications studies, we were taught to get our work out there and to make our voices heard; getting your name out is all a part of the game that I EXPECT and don't villify people for nor get pissy about. As a writer, I write for people to READ my work and hopefully enjoy it and feel a connection to it, not just to speak to myself! So of course I promote my pieces, same way that I showed off my first byline in a magazine and display print copies through promotion. However, that doesn't mean that comment makers shouldn't contribute to the blog conversation where they are at nor should they be spammers who only care about getting their blogs seen without thinking about adding to the blogs that they are commenting on. A copy/pasted message is a sure sign that you aren't fully invested in the piece that you are reading! But the simple addition of a link back to your own blog does NOT make a comment automatically spam and people who think so are incredibly silly sounding to me. It's not that big of a deal and is actually sound marketing/communications smarts to do so. I get thousands of clicks due to referrals from my link being on other blogs BUT I am not an inconsiderate douchebag who just spams my link on posts that I have never read. It is human nature to click on something that is lit up and obvious (a signature) versus a random name over a comment, so I will CONTINUE to put my link out there but I will also continue to contribute to the conversation of whatever the blog host has so graciously taken their time to write about. My link is the cherry on the top of the sundae that is my comment, NOT the whole sundae in and of itself! On my blog, I pay it forward by allowing guest posts for people to promote themselves to my audience so there's really no need to spam when you could just legitimately be a part of the Socialite Dream.
Follow Socialite Dreams on Bloglovin'| Follow on Twitter | Subscribe in a Feed | More Options
Monday, November 15, 2010 at 8:01PM
.jpg)
