Self Promotion

This was originally posted over at LifeIsRisky.Com and repasteurized for its new life here.

Self promotion. This is usually the first and most often lasting way many bloggers get their sites up and running. After all who knows what is worth reading on your own site better than you? Even the big names in online marketing advocate self-promotion. You only have to do a quick Google and you will find 1.2 million+ entries about self-promoting your blog. So why is it that sites like Digg and Reddit penalize those who try and self promote? Not only penalize but also ban?

I am sure there are lots of arguments on both sides but the reality is blogs self promote. They use services like Digg and Reddit to get their name and links out in front of readers who might never otherwise discover them in that endless mire known as Blogosphere. Let’s face it if you are not an A-list type of blog then chances are people will never find your site on their own, the statistics are simply not in your favor. So what are you to do?

You use a variety of methods to try and increase your traffic and increase your exposure. Some of those methods include promoting your new stories on sites like Digg and Reddit. Everyone knows the benefits of getting a story “Dugg” as the saying goes. It means traffic and exposure. If the story is worthy and those who find your site through Digg, or whichever service you use, “digg” it again your count goes up and you move higher up the ladder. Enough “digs” and you are on the front page with more traffic than your shared hosting service can probably handle.

Of course it is kind of like dropping a rock in a pond. The rock creates a disturbance, the disturbance creates a small wave, the small way creates another wave, and then another on and on. Eventually without any further motivation the waves stop and the pond is still again, same thing with digging a story. The first digg is the stone in the pond, and the readers it generates are the first wave. If they like it and digg it there is more motivation and more readers. On and on until the readers stop digging it and the pond settles back. So there is the analogy, they both start with some action. Without that action, there is no result.

Digging your own story or any other type of self promotion will only get you so far. The readers decide if it is worthy of being moved up. If it is great and the exposure grows. If not it drops off and is replaced by better content. So am I for self-promotion? Of course! I believe when done with restraint it is a great way to get your site noticed. As always I would love to hear your comments one either side.

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9 Responses to “Self Promotion”

1. Roberta says:

   July 2, 2007 at 6:20 pm

   You should probably add your name as a filter to the top commentators in the sidebar…. just a thought
2. John Cow says:

   July 2, 2007 at 8:32 pm

   How can you say that in a post titled;”Self Promotion”?
3. mahdi yusuf says:

   July 5, 2007 at 9:34 pm

   what else do you recommend on increasing page rank?
   • John Cow says:

     July 5, 2007 at 10:46 pm

     Subscribe and find out, we can’t write the whole blog in one day Here’s a tip not to let you leave empty-handed; Make sure you fill out you site address when you comment on a blog. You’re top commentator as we speak on here so you could have gotten some JohhCow Milk from Google!
     • cooliojones says:

       July 10, 2007 at 12:13 pm

       I’m loooving that milk from the Cow! Technorati is loving me too! Thanks again!
4. mahdi yusuf says:

   July 6, 2007 at 4:36 am

   thanks alot, i am currently setting up a blog, so soon as it is up, i will add the url! thanks!
5. Does shameless self promotion get you anywhere? at 9rules Marketing Notes says:

   July 17, 2007 at 3:40 pm

   [...] its place and can work if done properly. As a mater of fact I wrote a post about just this subject, Self Promotion over on JohnCow. Now if you click on the link and read my post, will you think less of me since I [...]
6. Blogging For Noobs - Blogging 101 says:

   May 31, 2008 at 10:26 pm

   His first day shows 4 different posts all of which support the manin focus of the blog, making money. Post two starts the content. It details their philopsophy on posting, giving five examples. The next post is from Susan and talks aboutsocial networks and self promotion. The last post shows a bit more humor, but points out on the most important rules of blogging. This last post points out you aren’t going to be seeing any money on day one and likely not for some time to comes.
7. mahdi yusuf says:

   May 15, 2009 at 11:41 pm

   thanks alot, i am currently setting up a blog, so soon as it is up, i will add the url! thanks!