I should have wrote this as one of the very fist post in the Beginner Blogger series. And I realize this is a bit “bass ackwards” too. However, I received a bunch of questions via email and twitter in the last week or so asking how to launch a blog.
As such, and before we get any further with Beginner Blogger, we need to tackle this and it is going to take at least two or three post to do so.
How to launch your new blog – the Pre-launch
Before you even launch your new blog, you need to be positioning you and your blog for a successful launch. In other words, you need to be getting noticed now. There are activities you need to engage in which will get you noticed and get you out there in your niche. These activities are just like the networking activities you do in person.
What you are striving for is some way to set yourself apart from the crowd. The crowd of other new blogs which might be coming in your niche or market.
This process takes work, effort and time. Don’t shortcut this as the results you will get will be in direct proportion to the effort you put in.
First, start off by searching out and finding other blogs in your niche. Listen to the conversations on these blogs. Engage in the conversations taking place too.
Find blogs in your niche:
The easiest way to find blogs in your niche is to use Google Blog Search. Find the blogs in your niche or market you are thinking about blogging on. Search by topic and it will give you a list of blogs in your niche.
As a new blogger, you need to be reading as many blogs as your time allows. While you are reading these blogs, consider the writing style of these other bloggers. What do you like or dislike. And pay attention to how these other bloggers might be linking out to other bloggers in their posts. Take some time to also explore the blogs they are linking to in the post. Chances are, these other bloggers are some you might want to keep track of too.
After you find these blogs, don’t forget to consider their design style. What do you like or not like about the design.
Just because your blog may not up and running, does not mean you should not be reading blogs and participating in the conversation in your niche.
Listen to the conversations taking place:
After you find these other blogs in your niche you will want to listen to the conversation. And this conversation may not just be on their blog.
Find where you can listen to these bloggers:
- Subscribe to the blogs. I use both my RSS reader and email subscriptions to listen to the blogs I want to follow. Try them both and see which one works the best for you.
- Are these bloggers on twitter? If they are, follow them. Make a twitter list of the bloggers you are following and organize them into this list so you can easily follow these conversations.
- Is there a Facebook page for these blogs? Hit the like button on the page and take it from there. Pay attention to the Facebook Pages for these blogs and watch the conversation there too.
- Do the blogs have an email newsletter? Subscribe and pay attention to the newsletters as you get them. When do they send them. What is the content like and how is the newsletter organized and/or designed.
Do you see a pattern here? Basically, once you find the blogs you want to listen to, see where they are and do it.
Engage in the conversation taking place on and off the blogs you are following:
You have found them. You have been listening to them. Now it is time you engage in the conversation.
- Visit the blogs you are listening and leave comments. And please add to the conversation don’t just say “great post.” Keep in mind you are wanting to get noticed. And you want to get noticed by not only the blogger, but those reading and commenting on the blog too.
- Start engaging in the conversation on twitter. Don’t be a troll or a newbie. Really engage and have a conversation. Another way to engage on twitter is to retweet the blog post you are reading on these blogs. Not only does this serve your own followers and set you apart as a source information. The bloggers you are retweeting will notice too.
- Engage on the Facebook Pages. Don’t just lurk. If there is a conversation on Facebook, jump in and participate
- Respond to a newsletter article. From my own experience, I love it when one of our newsletter subscribers actually sends me an email asking a question or remarking on one of our email newsletters. You should do the same. This is a great way to get noticed by this blogger and they will remember you.
Final thoughts
Remember, your whole purpose for doing all of this is to noticed and to start the process of building your network. These activities do take time and effort. And these activities will get you some great results.
What other methods have you used to get noticed? Leave your comments and let’s keep the conversation going.
