01 October, 2005

Promoting your blog

Lots of people are clearly putting a lot of effort into their blogs, so here are some (legitimate/non-spam) ways to promote your online journal:

1. Settings
For Blogger.com users (LJ and other blogs have similar options) go into your settings (via the Dashboard) and make sure the following options are enabled:
- Add your blog to our listings: YES
- Notify weblogs.com: YES
- Enable post pages: YES
- Publish site feed: YES

2. Interaction
Posting on other people's blogs is a way to alert people to your own blog, because your username (and signature) often includes a link to it. Many of the members here were "discovered" after they posted to someone else's already known UAE blog.

3. Linking
Linking to your favourite blogs on your own blog, and getting links to your blog in return, is a great way of promoting yourself to people in your target interest group.

4. Blog guides
If you Google, there are a lot of blog sites around that allow you to submit yours for listing, such as GlobeofBlogs.

5. Wider online participation
Joining relevant online communities, such as UAE forums or Middle East travel forums, and posting helpful advice is also a way to promote yourself, as you are usually allowed to have a signature where you can link to your blog. Interesting UAE-relevant forums include BritishExpat.com: Middle East and DubaiForums.com.

If you find blog guides where UAE community blog isn't listed, do feel free to submit it yourself - this is everyone's blog. As users such as The Emirates Economist have noticed, many referrals to UAE blogs actually come from UAE community blog.

Anyone with other ideas, do post them!
Posted by secretdubai at 7:15 pm

5 comments:

moryarti said...

Great tips! ... thanks SD

01 October, 2005 22:18
secretdubai said...

To add links to your own blog, you have to edit your template. Go into it, and search for "google" - where you will find (usually) three pre-made links, "Google", "Edit Me", and "Edit Me".

You can copy-paste it to a text file, edit, and copy paste it back if you find that easier.

However I just checked your blog and you don't seem to have those links left in your template. You can either add the html manually, or for a generally easier way to do it, go to Blogrolling.com and sign up for a free Blogroll.

That makes it much easier to add and subtract links in future, because once the Blogroll code is in your template, you don't need to adjust your template again. You do all your links management at Blogroll.

02 October, 2005 12:01
Tim Newman said...

I started off by commenting on others' blogs. Comments shouldn't be used to plug your own blog, but contributing sensible comments to one person's blog is a good way for that person's readers to become aware of you and your blog.

02 October, 2005 12:44
John B. Chilton said...

ditto tim's comment. But don't expect that commenting at blogs where the comments section have devolved into flame wars will produce much traffic.

05 October, 2005 17:42
secretdubai said...

where the comments section have devolved into flame wars

Something that's starting to become a problem for me. I had to close off new comments on an entry today :(

It's not so much the impoliteness that gets me - I am all for free speech - it's putting me in actual danger by posting offensive/sensitive things in comments. I know a lot of people don't realise they are putting a blogger at personal risk, but I wish they would think a bit more.

05 October, 2005 20:35

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