Marketing Your Product Reviews Blog

As an avid blogger in the product review field, I have had to learn how to market my blog to the blogosphere. It’s important to increasingly increase your blog’s exposure to improve the many different rating systems that always rate your blog. Personally, I spend a lot of time sharing my blog on many different sites.

Let’s start with Google Analytics ranking. Google ranking is important to consider when writing a blog if you want your site to be seen in their search engines and this ranking is the most important ranking for a blog site in my opinion. I have learned that many public relations companies request and use bloggers to help promote their products and services that they represent. Google Analytics service is the best way to track your blog traffic and also statistics so that you can analyze the marketing effectiveness of your blog. It’s very easy to join Google Analytics for your site. Just go to googleanalytics.com and list your blog to get all the stats and information you’ll need. Many potential sponsors will ask you for statistics on this site, so remember to bookmark this site.

One of the best places I’ve found to share my blog and posts is Facebook and their list of blogs called Network Blogs. Many of my followers are from Facebook and when I post my reviews and giveaways they are prompted to visit my blog and participate in the giveaway. This all relates to the addition of visitors to my site and the aforementioned Google ranking. I also have a special area on my blog for followers to follow my site through Network Blogs to make it easier for them. The easier you make it, the happier your visitors will be and the more likely they are to stick with you permanently.

Next, I spend a lot of time on Twitter. Not only do I tweet my reviews and giveaways for others to see, but I also believe it’s important to be social on the site to gain respect. Those who only tweet their blog posts and don’t correspond with others are considered spammers and will most likely lose the followers they may have gained and also not get good results from the valuable time you spend tweeting their posts! Your friends are more likely to follow you, so remember to be a friend.

There are many Mom Blogger sites online that you can join as well. These are great as blogger moms also follow and read other blogs and help you increase your stats and thus your ranking. Many mommy blogging sites and forums have an area where you can post reviews and giveaways of your blog and encourage yourself to do so. Once again, you need to participate in these sites for others to take you seriously and follow your blog. My favorite mom blog sites are a big part of my Google stats when it comes to my traffic reports.

I also like to share my posts on a newer site that has gotten a lot of attention and is visited by patrons: Pinterest. Pinterest is an interesting site where the posts are mostly images. I love posting my gift photos on Pinterest for my followers to see. Pinterest sends a report of new posts and also recommends weekly posts for others to follow. You will also be able to see statistics with your weekly report and how many followers you have gained from there and how many “re-pins” have been taken from your site. Re-pins are when another Pinterest member copies your photo(s) onto their Page for their followers to see. This helps you gain more followers for your blog. I highly recommend Pinterest for sharing your blog posts, and it seems like a fun place to visit too!

Now let’s go back and talk about Google again. Google also has a sharing network called Google+! Google+ is a kind of social networking site that is also part of the Google community of online services. I love sharing my posts on Google+ with my circle of friends that I have gained on this site. In addition to having circles of friends, you can also join networking groups called Communities. These communities are geared towards social sharing of your blog posts and also build closer relationships with others in their communities. Most communities are made up of people with common interests or perhaps sharing a different language, location, or other common areas! You will also find “Hangouts” on G+ (Google+) where you can chat with others. This is a great way to get to know each other again and most importantly, build relationships! I cannot stress enough how important it is to form relationships online.

I could go on and list hundreds of different sites to join to help promote your blog. I think what’s important is that you take the time and join networks, social networking sites and forums where others have similar interests to you. You’ll find which ones are right for you and modify the sites you spend your precious time on!

I also market my site in other ways. I want to build a larger local following on my site. How I do this? First of all, I am lucky enough to be able to blog monthly about a local landmark, tourist site, and fun place for locals to visit and offer some sort of giveaway and my local exposure has definitely increased. I also have my own business cards that I will share with others and also leave at my hair salon, auto repair waiting rooms, doctor’s offices, and other places that have high traffic. Always remember to ask permission to leave your business cards, otherwise they will end up in the trash!

I also meet a lot of local people on Twitter and Facebook intentionally. You can go to both sites and search for people by location. Remember, however, not to spam your new friends, as you may get blocked or worse, disciplined by the sites themselves! They will see your posts and click on what interests them. Once your local network grows, you can use your traffic stats from Google Analytics once again to get local reviews and giveaways. I certainly enjoy a free haircut, dinner, etc. And you? Enjoy the benefits of your blog!

Finally, I want to share my latest creation for local marketing for my blog! While ordering some business cards at Vistaprint I came up with this idea and it’s been amazing. I created a card to give to service providers, ie. Waitresses, they check on people in stores, drive through clerks, salespeople in stores, and many others. This card is designed to THANK YOU for the great service you have been given. On my card is my name and website, as well as Thank You! On the back, I decided to add a tip chart for a minimal fee so they find the card useful and keep it. There are many other options that you can use instead, such as a calendar, NFL schedule, or other things on offer. Be creative! I can’t tell you how great it feels when I hand this card over and the recipient is extremely grateful for your recognition and immediately puts the card away. I have several people now following my blog that I have given this card to.

In conclusion, it’s important to persistently market your blog just like you would a business. Take advantage of all the great social networking sites available to you, as well as the many forums that support bloggers. BE CREATIVE and think “outside the box” and you will be amazed at the amazing adventure you will go on with your blog! Remember to have fun and enjoy yourself too!