Written on May 29th, 2008 at 10:05 pm by Darren Rowse
Offline Blog Promotion Techniques
In my weekly column over at ScribeFire this week I started a series on Offline Blog Promotion (ie promoting your blog through means that have nothing to do with the internet).
You can read part 1 (it’s a 3 part series) here. In this post I introduce why offline blog promotion is worth considering and 4 techniques to get the word out about your blog. Over the coming two weeks I’ll be sharing another 9 techniques.
Got some offline blog promotion techniques to share? I’d love to hear about your own experience of how you’ve done it in the comments on that post.
19 Responses to “Offline Blog Promotion Techniques”
Shankar Ganesh
May 29th, 2008 10:31 pm
Darren, I want to see your business card :)
Mr.Gadget Australia
May 29th, 2008 10:56 pm
Thanks for the tips. Ooh reminds me, need to get more stickers made!
Shane
May 29th, 2008 11:07 pm
I split my time between Honolulu and Tokyo and blog about the latter. While analyzing my stats I realized that a good portion of traffic was coming out of Hawaii so I sent off a note to the travel editor at the local paper to let her know that a local resident was living in Tokyo and blogging about the experience. I also offered her any assistance that she may require on the ground in Tokyo. A few weeks later I was got a small plug in the travel section which resulted in increased traffic.
It took a bit of guts to send of the initial email but it was well worth the effort. While travel is my niche I’m confident that this approach would work with other subjects areas as well.
Darren Rowse
May 29th, 2008 11:10 pm
Shankar - you can see the card in this video
Joe
May 29th, 2008 11:19 pm
I wish I could promote my blog at the movie theatre, which is where I work and blog about! I think it might be against company policy though. :-(
Shankar Ganesh
May 29th, 2008 11:20 pm
Thanks Darren, I’ll see to it.
rick
May 29th, 2008 11:45 pm
Great tips, Darren. I especially like the idea of a blogger gathering for your community. So many of us only think of out “virtual” existence and fail to connect with people as people (yes, myself included). Holding a mini-conference to meet other bloggers and potentially meet people interested in the field and to provide them with some insights, seems like a great way to promote your business and to learn from the experience of others.
Frugal Dad
May 30th, 2008 12:35 am
The stickers are a great idea. Just this morning someone suggested in my comments that I print up stickers with my site’s logo on Cafe Press and give them out to readers. May not be a bad idea, and certainly something to consider if I attend any blogging/financial conferences of meet-ups.
Rob O.
May 30th, 2008 12:58 am
There are a few inexpensive and creative things you can to do promote your site in the analog world…
Build a free CafePress storefront and create a line of merchandise with your custom logo and/or designs - and URL, of course! I used this to whip up a 2Dolphins-branded bumper sticker for my car, a couple of t-shirts for friends, a baseball cap for myself, and even a onesie jumper for one of my buddies whose wife just had a baby. I’ve considered splurging on a few t-shirts & caps to use as contest giveaways on the blog…
Also, my wife created some custom return address labels with our website URL for use anytime we snail mail stuff - even bills. This is especially effective around holiday time when we send out a large batch of greeting cards.
Also remember to jam those business cards you had printed onto every bulletin board or community message board you come across. And we stick a business card inside any package we ship - like stuff we sell (occasionally) on eBay.
Be mindful that when you promoting your site to offline folks, you’re likely to have very inexperienced web-surfers showing up at your door. Plan accordingly! Make certain that you have provided ample means for these folks to reach you with a contact form, email links or whatever. And make sure you have an “About” page that will really sell you or give these new visitors some reason to add you to their list of regular reads. And lastly, revisit your 404 page to ensure that it’s as helpful as possible.
Rob O.
May 30th, 2008 12:59 am
Hey FrugalDad, that was me! Small world, eh?
SusanAtLifeskate
May 30th, 2008 2:01 am
Thanks Darren — reading it made me appreciate my card even more (designed and created by a definite non- figure skater so kind of ironic). I may need to rethink my logo for Lifeskate - “for the addiction to ice” because the card printer thought I was selling drugs. Then again, I think he was on drugs so I’ll discount his reaction.
David Cheong
May 30th, 2008 3:37 am
Its really a good way to promote your blog via this way, and attracting your local fans too :)
Noobpreneur
May 30th, 2008 10:05 am
Darren,
Bumper sticker - here I come!
chicago web design
May 30th, 2008 2:59 pm
I network regularly. I think it really helps for meeting women in the niche, and the events are often fun and sometimes they give you free stuff. But I don’t like it when they make you put your credit card in a box and then they sell it to everybody they know and then a week later your inbox is full of advertisements on how to increase your breast size without having to go to the gym and stuff like that. So sometimes I just put my friends’ business cards in just so it looks like I’m playing along. Hopefully none of them are reading this blog…
Manpreet Singh
May 30th, 2008 5:49 pm
Yep Make Cards and display them on public places to tell what your blog is all about..There many service which can print your cards for free…
strider
May 30th, 2008 8:53 pm
I have my Domain Name url on the back windscreen of my car.
Reginald
May 31st, 2008 8:07 am
You certainly caught my attention with the headline of your article.
Of all your suggestions, only one seems quite far-fetched to me. That was the suggestion that blogger meeting should be conducted.
However, when I ponder this, I wonder how feasible it would be? Considering the geographical differences of most blog surfers, a bloggers meeting, unless its virtual, seems a bit impossible.
Rob O.
June 15th, 2008 12:42 am
Just curious - has anyone else created a free CafePress storefront and, if so, have you seen any significant sales of your branded merchandise? Most of what little I’ve sold via CafePress has been to myself to give away as not-so-serious gifts.
But I hafta admit, it’s a hoot to see my buds wearing my 2Dolphins gear!
Reginald
June 20th, 2008 4:38 am
Rick, I think you established a really valid point that should be considered.
I certainly tend to think more virtual….however, I venture to guess that I would be pleasantly surprised by the impact and interest that people, real people, could have as well.
Thanks for making me see and consider issues that are well out of the box.
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