Its possible to promote one's blog offline.To do that follow the following suggested steps carefully
1. Conferences and Conventions
One of the first times I learned about the power in attending conferences was in 2009. I had no idea what to expect and had little time to prepare but decided to head up and see what I could learn.On arrival I wasn't expecting much but quickly found that the convention center was literally packed with opportunities on many levels, including finding new readers for my blog. Everyone at that convention was there because they had an interest in photography – so it made sense for me to position myself at this real life event.
Interestingly there was one other photography site represented at the event. I got chatting to them at one point and we marveled at how few of our competitors were there and how we’d struck gold by attending.
If there is a conference that relates to your topic that you have the ability to attend, do everything in your power to get there. When there, be bold, have something to promote your site (cards for starters), have something to say about your site (an elevator pitch), make friends and get them to introduce you to their contacts and be ready to make the most of every opportunity that might arise.
2. Business Cards
This is perhaps one of the more obvious tips that I’ll give today but a business card is essential if you’re going to do offline promotions. They are great for conferences, meetups, promoting to friends etc.
One thing I’ve learned about business cards is that if you can make them stand out in some way you can really grab people’s attention and open up doors to talk about yourself and your blog.Make sure your card has not only your contact details but where people can connect with you online (email, blog URL (and name), twitter etc).Get plenty of cards printed up and give them out freely.
3. Blogger Meet ups
Is there a local network of bloggers in your area? If so, make sure you connect with them and attend their events.Each time I’ve attended a blogger meetup I’ve come away with lots of great new contacts and potential promoters of my blogs. The great thing about bloggers is that they have readers already and if you can find ways to promote what each other does you can really see your readership grow.
Of course finding readers with a similar topic to yours is best – but even promoting across different niches can at times work if you find natural ways to do so.
4. Stickers
A couple of years ago I saw the power of stickers to promote a blog. One blogger showed up at the meet up (I don’t remember who they were) and instead of giving business cards gave out stickers.
Of course as the night progressed the stickers ended up being ’stuck’ on people. In fact during the night the stickers became one of the ‘features’ of the night. They appeared in loads of photos and even got mentioned in blog reviews of the evening.
In my next two posts I want to continue the focus upon offline blog promotion and will share another 9 techniques from my blog promotion tool belt as well as a number of tips from other bloggers. Stay tuned for part 2 and 3 of this series.
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