B6S.net

I’ve been a web publisher for over a decade now. I have “regular” websites and I have blogs. Often, both formats have the same basic functions: providing information and generating affiliate sales.

Static websites have their own advantages. They can be simple enough to be written in plain HTML code; they can be (nearly) hacker-proof; they don’t need updates and can be a “launch and forget”  project. And yet, with more and more projects I find myself opting for a blog, rather than a static site.

Why? because I think in today’s online environment blogs are easier to promote.

Static websites and blogs do share many promotion techniques. For example, you’ll be wise to do your basic SEO for both; and direct advertising will be just as effective for either form. However, with a blog, you get a few additional features which I will review in this article.

RSS Feeds

Blogging platforms all come with RSS feeds built into their system. Once you set-up a blog, whether using Wordpress, blogger or another platform, an RSS feed is automatically created. Encourage your readers to subscribe to your feed and make it easier for them to do so by offering it through Feedburner too. You can also use your feed to promote your blog on Facebook, Twitter, and similar services.

Directory Submissions

Yes, you can submit any kind of site to most directories. However, “regular” directories with endless static lists of links are so 2004. The have been drastically de-valued in terms of link quality and, with a few exceptions, they send very little traffic, if at all.

With blog directories, the picture is slightly different. For one thing, you have an array of niche specific blog directories providing you with more places to submit to. Moreover, with blogs, you have more dynamic directories which list specific posts and often offer a social media platform along with it. You get more traffic from these, and in some cases, like with Blog Engage, you also get valuable link juice.

Blog Comments

Most blogs encourage their readers to comment on posts and you can leave your link along with the comment. While most blogs place the nofollow tags on comment links, many still offer dofollow links (like this blog!). Even with nofollow, your link is still valuable and can drive more targeted traffic to your site. Yes, I said site, and not blog, because you could also promote a regular site this way… which brings me to the next item.

CommentLuv

CommentLuv is a popular Wordpress plug-in which automatically generates a link to your last blog post. While CommentLuv links are often nofollow, they do carry some SEO benefit, since they use your long-tail post title phrase. For long search queries, with little competition, these links could make a difference.

Blogroll Exchange

Some people will tell you link exchanges are dead. True enough, most webmasters, myself included, tend to ignore your run-of-the-mill link exchange requests that pour in via email. Blogroll exchanges, while technically just as much a link exchange as any other, are treated differently.

Interacting with a blogger, via comments, and then offering a blogroll exchange can be a very effective way to build links. In my experience, this is especially true in niches that are not related to web publishing.

A Sense of Community

While blogs have some technical features that make promoting them easier, the thing that really sets blogs apart from static sites  is the sense of community. When blogging, you showcase yourself as a person, creating a sense of intimacy not just with your readers, but with other bloggers as well.

When you’re “a blogger” rather than just a webmaster, you become part of the bloggers community. In the end, this is what makes blog marketing easier: when people sense a “you” behind the site, they are more likely to share and help you promote your blog.

Got more techniques that are unique to blog marketing? Please do share them here in a comment!