3 Tips For Marketing Your Blog On A Shoestring Budget

When it comes to marketing a website, bloggers have one of the most significant uphill challenges. After all, not only is there a ton of competition in the blogosphere, but you’re facing numerous people who have more connections and resources to make their posts go viral. That’s why implementing a marketing strategy that’s both effective and inexpensive is crucial.

Become A Master Of Social

Social media is going to be your best friend, not just because it helps you get the word out about your blog, but also because you can genuinely start a conversation. This is perhaps the most popular form of marketing, as 66 percent of marketers use their blog to promote social content, according to Social Media Examiner. While it may sound intuitive to share and ask questions, the actual science of getting traction with your posts is often anything but.

To begin, start looking at which social platforms perform best for

your industry. For example, Instagram and Facebook would best serve a food blogger, while LinkedIn or Twitter compliment someone in the tech industry. Chances are you’re already doing some of these things a little bit, but the biggest difference will be when you start to focus on the ROI of your posts.

Let’s say, for example, that you run a cooking blog and landed a partnership with a local farm

. Your initial deliverables include some short videos to promote on Facebook and Instagram, with the actual blog posts hosting the full process. By really researching things like Facebook ad tactics, you could potentially split the bill on the costs while both you and your partner see much higher visibility, bringing in more traffic. Strategies like these will not only help you get more creative with your marketing efforts, but will also bring more followers to your blog.

Gain A Sense of Authority (Before Anyone Else)

If there’s one thing every blogger dreams about, it’s becoming that one person everyone online looks to as

the authority on their topic. In fact, nearly 50 percent of bloggers consider themselves to be “thought leaders,” or experts in their industries, according to Business2Community.

The biggest thing that separates the average blogger from an innovative thought le

ader is their ability to share their perspective and insights on the industry landscape and their ability to back up those assertions with current data and market trends. Your approach should never be, “I want to be a thought leader, so what should I write about?” Rather, you should be saying, “Here’s a problem or trend I see in our industry, and here is why it matters.” Remember, your narrative should be guided by the passion you have for the subject, as that will provide the most value to your audience.

Start doing some digging around on Medium for popular posts published by up-and-coming startups lately, as well as what seems to be resonating about those messages. For example, one post that recently gained some notoriety was TrustToken’s piece about SEC regulatory changes and trends. Although it’s not every day you’re going to have a post with enormous impact in your industry, you should be striving to bring something new to the conversations happening within your industry.

Start Delivering Content In An Attractive Way

Finally, if there’s one thing that could potentially be holding you back from all your resea

rch, content development, and marketing efforts working to establish your blog as an authority in the industry, it’s a lack of cohesive branding or design. According to Tyton Media, 38 percent of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout is unattractive, which means you could be losing nearly half your potential followers if they don’t dig your vibe. That’s why picking up even some basic graphic design knowledge and skill could go a long way in building a successful blog.

Start going through some courses on fundamental PhotoShop and InDesign skills, including learning to replicate some of your favorite examples of effective infographics or summaries you could eventually apply to your own blog design. Make it a goal to produce these items like these at least a couple times a month, refining your approach each time based on the response you get from followers. Although learning to create a variety of interesting and attractive content takes a considerable amount of time and effort, it will ultimately pay off in more loyal followers who recognize and promote your brand.

What are some inexpensive marketing strategies you’ve found useful for promoting your blog? Comment with what’s worked for your website below.