Using Family And Friends To Promote Your Blog

Posted by Hyder on July 24th, 2007

A lot has been said on various ways to promote your blog. From writing better content, leveraging the power of social sites and more. Some people love sharing their blogs with their family and friends, while others don’t say anything about it at all. Like me, I haven’t told my mom and dad yet about this blog. They know I make a living online but they don’t know what all I make it from. My dad is more of a real world business type. Which is fine, since he showed me a lot of skills that I’ve applied to my online business.

How do you promote your blog among family and friends? Well you could simply let them know about it. But the chances that they will ever visit again or subscribe to your feed is very close to nil. Here are some steps you can use to make them long term readers and have them look for new readers of your blog -

Since you probably have their email address, ask them if you can email them your blog posts and then sign them up.
Get some promotional material made, like branded pens, notepads etc… with your web URL on it. This way they will be bound to look at it some time or the other. Plus so will other people around them at work, school etc…. You can even have them distribute it.
If your friends will allow it, get some bumper stickers made and slap them onto their cars. Put one on your car as well. Use a smart slogan so it will get attention. This works best if you have a short blog URL.
Have them forward your blog URL to some of their other friends whom you probably have never met. Do a favor if you have to in return, they might just make that email extra special. Free traffic is just a favor away.

These are a few tips, there are many many more. People with big families can really make a big impression on their blogs if they use a little creativity in marketing it to them. Remember, they may be family but they are also human. So treat them like you would any other long term reader.

What methods have you used with your family and friends to promote your blog? Just make sure you promote them as well when they ask for it.

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Category: Blogging

~ 2 Comments so far...have your say ~

thesavvyboomer

July 24th, 2007 at 10:04 pm

These sound very similar to the tactics that insurance companies suggest you employ when you first become an agent. It’s a sure way to disenfranchise your friends and relatives
Michael

July 25th, 2007 at 11:41 pm

I haven’t really done anything to promote my blog to my friends and family but I think making up some pens is a great idea and I might try doing that. Or maybe I can donate pens to my church, they always have pens in the pews and the previous set was donated by a local business. I wonder if I could get some traffic from that, hmmmm…