It’s tough to make a blog post go viral. There’s no secret sauce to make every post a hit. However, there are plenty of things you can do to increase your chances.
A great blog can be a huge asset to you – it feels great to make and can bring attention to what you’re doing. The problem is that if nobody sees your post it’s not useful to anybody besides you. There are tons of suggestions around the internet to drive traffic to your blog and most of them work to some extent. Most aren’t so effective. There’s really only one way to create a popular blog: creating great content that can change people’s lives for the better. It’s about putting yourself out there and making a connection. Corbett Barr says it best, “Write Epic Shit.” Content is indeed king but without a spark even the best content will lie dormant forever without anybody seeing it.
Before you post:
- Keyword optimize your post. Put your main topics into Google Keyword Tool and title the post based on the most popular search terms.
- Add pictures next to key items, it makes them carry more weight. Derek Halpbern of SocialTriggers has a GREAT post about using pictures in your posts.
- Re-read your post to check for errors.
After you post use these to get in as many brains as possible:
- Submit to Digg
- Submit to Reddit
- Submit to StumbleUpon
- Post on Forums in niche
- Submit to Yahoo Buzz
- Submit to Delicious
- Post to Twitter
- Post to Facebook
- Post to Myspace. Myspace is dead, long live Myspace.
- Post to Google +
- Post to YouTube (if applicable)
- Submit to Technorati
- Post to Pinterest (if applicable)
- Post to LinkedIn
- Provide SEO keywords for images
- Directory submissions
- RSS directory submits
- Forum comments
- Relevant blog comments
- Social bookmarking
- Refer to posts on Yahoo! Answers
- Refer to posts on LinkedIn
- Refer to posts on Quora
- Press releases
- Link to our own past AND future blog posts
- Add to your email signature
- Add to your signature in forums
- Add to your next newsletter
- Request other bloggers to mention your post
You don’t need to do all of these things every time but the more places your post goes the more eyes you’ll find. You will quickly see what is really working
Play with these ideas and let us know what you think. Do you have any other ways you like to get your content out into the world? Post below and let us know what works for you!
Check out our Complete Formula to Get your First 10,000 Website Visitors
Additional resources you might be interested in:
How to Write Your First Blog Post
How to Blast Out of Obscurity
20 of The Most Effective Ways to Promote Your Products
Expert Blog Launch: Start Your Blog The Right Way
12 Lean Startup Tools to Launch and Run Your Business
134 Comments
So I tried to look up "Mixx" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixx - Seems this is a bit outdated.
Thanks Jeremy, we got that out of these
Great tips. I truly agree with them. First step would always be focusing on the content and making sure its the best piece f writing it can be both for search engines and people. Then sharing your content via social media sites. But the thing is getting others to share it. If the content is good it should share on its own. But there's nothing wrong with giving it a boost via social share exchange sites. ;) Great tips none the less. Keep up the good work.
Thanks man! Just checked out your blog and I'm already learning stuff!
This post, coupled with your post Make Your Blog Post Go Viral – In 60 Minutes or Less, would be a killer combination!
I'm glad to hear that you learned something new, as did I(Yahoo Buzz). This is why we are here, or should be I think. To teach, help each other and grow. But I think people need to make a habit of doing things in your list. Not everything needs to be done right away, just go along with the flow.
Yes, indeed it would be!
Whoa. I had NO idea how many sites I maybe oughtta post to. Going to look up/start accounts right friggin NOW. I have to agree about the bolded text in your 2nd para: "There’s really only one way to create a popular blog: creating great content that can change people’s lives for the better. " I flipped my first blog for $87.5K plus residual commish... built it from the ground up with posts, email, and YouTube. Only THREE platforms, but I was genuinely creating great (read: HELPFUL) content... ...and it got SHARED. That's how I got tens of thousands of views on YouTube for a relatively boring subject, stock and options investing. SO here's what makes me tremble with excitement, Kyle. Imagine what will happen if everyone reading this blog follows directions, creates "epic sh!t", repurposes their truly useful posts and strews them about all 29 avenues you listed above? You are truly a writer of epic sh!t my friend, keep it up. Keep Stepping, Kurt
MMmm. ONE more platform to maybe add to the above list, round it out to thirty: AMAZON. Amazon is searchy, searchy gettin lots of traffic. If we are creating absolutely awesome content, time to turn those blog posts into books and sell 'em. With links to our other stuff. Just sayin. Keep Stepping, Kurt
Kurt! Thanks a ton! For helping push me and for making epically helpful stuff! Totally agree on the Amazon front - check this out :) http://www.amazon.com/Hate-Networking-Definitive-Non-Networking-ebook/dp/B00CP6H1HW/ We've been working with Zach Price who just launched http://blogintobook.com/ to get some of that ebook goodness going on. Got lots more plans to get out there. It's important to be where people already are and, like you said, AMAZON's got that kind of all-caps gathering of people! Have you been putting anything up there?
This is the best blog post ever written hands down. no contest.
That's quite the achievement - thanks! :)
SumbleUpon works great for me! Trying Digg it! Thanks for this post.
Thanks Alice! Looking forward to The Sex Girl!
I'm impressed. The was an awesome to do list. Covered every base. Great job.
Awesome post, Kyle! I have some work to do!!!
StumbleUpon is a surprisingly great lead generator, I concur. I have had a lot of success with LinkedIn, primarily because I have a business blog (www.pickadirection.com), and it has been getting tons of attention. Great comprehensive list Kyle!
Good article, I'll be trying them soon on mine, Thanks for the advice!
A post worth reading
Great advice re the list of submissions, thanks a lot. This should help boost my site Derek