Business Sphere

Everyday I visit some 100 blogs which I find through social networking sites, or while searching on a particular topic, and through my involvement in Entrecard, a blogging network.

Through my daily blog visiting habit, I have read many posts by different bloggers complaining that their blogs have very few visitors, and that the ads put by different advertising firms on their sites have no or few clicks in a month’s time, resulting to pennies and cents in income. A few bloggers even went to the extent of selling their blogs!

As a result, I have catalogued a great number of what I call “bloggers’ marketing mistakes.” Although I found it difficult to believe in what they posted on their blogs and on their comments in discussion forum, here are the six most common marketing mistakes that many bloggers make that kill their blogs.

1. “My blog is my marketing tool, so why should I advertise?’

At first glance, this seems to make sense. But it speaks of a total misunderstanding of the role of marketing in making the blog known to its target audience. Since everyday there are 175,000 blogs created, and the blogosphere is already overpopulated by tens of millions of blogs, how would people know that your blog exists unless you promote it? Besides, why would they visit your blog when there are other millions blogs?

2. “I already know who my target readers are”

You may already know that your blog is for women, or for men’s interests, or for business, or for internet marketing or for photography, or about celebrity gossips or for travel. But are your target readers know what your blog is all about? Unless your target readers discover your blog, they will not be able to know about it. That is why blog promotion is basic.

3. “The only thing important to my blog is good quality content.”

Publishing good quality content post and updating it regularly is very important, but that is not the only factor to make your blog sustainable. Unless people, especially your target readers and subscribers, are aware of your blog, they will not visit it.

In short, if you don’t have a daily traffic, your good quality content posts will not get read. This is an important fact that you must know, whether you are blogging for self-expression, as a hobby, for money or livelihood.

4. “Advertising is just a waste of money. I’m here to make money for my blog.”

It is true that you have to spend money to advertise and promote your blog, either through advertising firms or on other blogs, preferably established blogs with traffic. But what is the alternative to advertising?

Advertising is one best way to make your blog known to your target readers, and it has a profound impact on traffic, especially on generating absolute unique visitors daily.

5. “Marketing is only for bloggers who have something to sell online.”

Marketing, especially promotion which is a function of marketing, applies to all blogs and websites, and not only to blogs dealing with internet marketing, making money online, or with a product or service to sell.

The purpose of marketing and promotion is to make your blog known to the world, to create awareness among your target audience and subscribers and to introduce it to the blogosphere. Blog promotion enables you to create a brand and image for your blog, to set it apart from the other blogs in your niche, which are your competitors.

6. “SEO is more important than promotion.”

Search engine optimization (SEO) is good, so does blog promotion. Like a cart and carriage, SEO and blog promotion go hand in hand and each is useless without the other. SEO comes into play only if you publish good and unique quality content posts and update it regularly, so that people who use the search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing can find your blog or your contents whenever they search on a topic that is in your niche.

Conclusion

As a blogger, no matter what your blog is and the niche your blog belongs, and whether you are blogging for self-expression, as a hobby, for money or livelihood, you are continuously engage in marketing and promotion.

In the final analysis, blog promotion is necessary to sustain and expand your readership and to differentiate your blog from the millions other blogs. Otherwise, without marketing, you will also commit the same mistakes many bloggers make, resulting to the untimely demise of your blog.

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