Effective internet marketing is essential for the success of a blog. This is the fifth and last part of the 5 part series on “how to run a blog successfully”.  This article discusses 10 more internet marketing techniques that can help your blog succeed.

How to Run A Blog Successfully series consists of the following 5 parts:

• How to Set up your Blog
• How to Manage Your Blog Content
• How to Manage Visitors to Your Blog
• How to Use Social Media for Your Blog
• Internet Marketing for Your Blog

Here are 10 more effective internet marketing methods you can take advantage of.

1. Promote Your Content on Document Sites

Document sharing websites are a great way to build your brand and attract targeted traffic. Convert your blog posts into PDF documents and publish on various high ranking document sharing websites like Scribd, Slideshare and DocStoc. Remember to include a link to your blog in all your documents.

2. Submit Your Blog to DMOZ

DMOZ is a free web directory that is considered very valuable by Google and can improve your rank on Google. The site has a strict process of approval and it can take time to get your website listed. However, the benefit of being listed is worth the wait.

3. Use Press Releases

Press release is a good way to boost your online exposure particularly in the short term. Write a press release about your blog and publish it on various high ranking PR and news websites. Press releases are often picked up by other journalists and republished on other sources; giving even more exposure to your brand. PR.com, Online PR News and Free Press Release.Com are some popular free Press release websites that you can use.

4. Take Advantage of Article Directories

Although many Article directories have suffered in recent updates to Google’s search engine algorithm, leading article sites such as Ezine Articles still offer a great source for obtaining quality traffic and back-links. One of the best things about these sites is that if your article is useful, it will be republished by others resulting in hundreds of extra back links from a single article.

5. Participate in Q&A sites

You can also take advantage of popular Question and Answer or Q&A sites such as Yahoo Answers to promote your blog. Answering questions related to your niche or posting new questions or answers is a great way to build your profile and reputation. However, it is important not to spam Q&A sites. Try to share valuable information targeting your niche.

6. Promote your Blog in Offline Material

Include a link to your blog on your letterheads, business cards and other material for added exposure. The more ways you use to promote your blog, the better your results will be.

7. Promote your Blog in Email Signature

Email signatures can be a great way to promote your blog and social profiles. Think about how many emails you send or reply to every month. Email communications offer an excellent opportunity to promote your blog without any extra effort. Every client or contact you email has the potential for becoming a regular reader of your blog.

8. Promote your Blog on Free Ad Websites

Create an attention-grabbing ad about your blog and publish it on popular free classified ad sites such as Craigslist, GumTree.Com and eBay Classified for increased exposure and back-links. Make sure to include a link to your website in your ad copy.

9. Try Advertising Exchanges

There are a number of free advertising exchanges you can use to build traffic to your blog. The concept behind ad exchanges is simple. You get credits by allowing others to display banner ads on your blog. You can then use your credits to place your ads on other sites. It can be particularly beneficial for new websites that have a limited advertising budget. There are many such free advertising exchanges you can use. E.g. Entrecard and CMF Ads. http://www.cmfads.com/ and http://www.redgage.com

10. Take advantage of Review Sites

There are a plenty of review sites that you can use to promote your blog. You can ask customers to post a review on your behalf. Following are some review websites you can benefit from:

• Insider Pages
• www.crowdstorm.co.uk
• Open Table
• Urban Spoon
• Judy’s Book
• Yelp
• Yahoo! Local

Summary:

Running a successful blog requires time and effort. There are a number of factors that need to be considered. Due to ever increasing competition, it is vital to focus on all factors if you want your blog to succeed. The five parts of ‘How to Run A Blog Successfully’ series discusses all essential techniques that I have applied to ensure the success of many blogs in the past few years. You too can take advantage of these proven methods to succeed in blogging. If you would like to add something to this post, please leave a comment.