Optimize Your Blog With Effective Advertising



In the world of blogging there are many rules.  While some rules are valuable, others are just downright arbitrary.  For many of us, blogging is merely a personal endeavor.  There is something to be gained on sharing our insights, knowledge and so forth with the world.  For others the primary purpose of owning a blog is mainly for monetization. I'm sure the majority of personal bloggers fall somewhere in between. Regardless of the motivating factor, we all desire more traffic.

During the past year I've been acting as a caretaker for my grandmother, it has been a tough time and as expected my blogging practically ceased.   Yet, in spite of my lack of blogging and losing page rank; perhaps be due to the plethora of site errors, my traffic remained relatively decent, that is, decent enough that I saw an increase in affiliate funds. Those extra funds came in handy, considering I used retail therapy as a coping mechanism.  In order to see those conversions, the quality of the traffic has to be good.



I'm certainly not qualified to write a post on how to run a successful blog, however, I did want to share a few tips on how I managed to drive quality traffic to my site on an average of two posts a month.

Reviews with Giveaways

I hate doing just reviews.  I  prefer to include a giveaway to the review and edit it out at a later date. Giveaways work to provide  promotional leverage which results in more exposure.

Advertise Giveaways for optimal exposure & the Benefit of Paid featured Listing 

Whether or not I coordinated a giveaway or just sharing it with my readers, I take the time to advertise as much as possible.  If I'm running a giveaway event that is brand sponsored,
collected funds will go toward paid advertising.  The only site I can recommend at this time is Giveaway Promote.  I've tried other sites that offer really cheap advertising and saw like no traffic: it was tantamount to throwing away four bucks, on the other hand, GP's rates are reasonable and I always see a return.

Also See Top Places to List Giveaways

Top performing posts according to Google Stats all time history for my blog

Jul 10, 2014, 154 comments
10180
Apr 16, 2011, 125 comments
6320
Nov 2, 2012, 291 comments
5119
Nov 21, 2011, 128 comments
4982
Jan 22, 2014, 5 comments
4779
Feb 1, 2013, 279 comments
4417
4199
3932
Feb 26, 2013, 98 comments
3910

Here's tangible data of my top performing posts.  The most popular post in my blog's history is the "top cat products to spoil kitty".  This was a small blog event I organized.  I used the collected funds for a two week featured listing on Giveaway Promote. It should be noted that this is a new post, so it didn't have the benefit of long standing SEO, which is unlike the Eden Organic Popcorn review or the Ageloc Galvanic Spa.  Is it any wonder I wish more giveaway events employed featured listings.

How Giveaway Promote compares to other sites





The chart above is over a 24 hour period.  The featured listing on Giveaway Promote is for a prize valued at $139.00.  I also submitted a paid featured listing on Sweepstakes Max for a $500.00 cash giveaway.   GP's featured listing for a full week cost approximately eight dollars. Sweepstakes Max cost five dollars for just one solitary day.  Giveaway Promote's rates are not only cheaper, but they out performed Sweepstakes Max by almost 90%.  The contrast is ridiculous.


The old adage you have to spend money to make money applies 

One thing I did that proved valuable is participate in group events.  It shouldn't be a surprise that my  favorite events are the ones coordinated by Bridgett at GP.  These are paid events.  These events saved my blog from extinction.  I'm not a fan of large blog events, especially cash, but these large events proved indispensable.  One reason why these events are enormously successful is because Giveaway Promote is a top sweepstakes site with a large social media following.  Thus, these giveaways have the advantage of featured exposure on the  GP website along with its myriad of social media sites.  This is why the hits I receive, along with the collective hits of all participating bloggers are really just a drop in the bucket.  The biggest perk of GP's events:  the increase in social media reach.  I've noticed if an event isn't quality driven you won't see a notable increase in followers.

This is where quality over quantity comes into play.  I've also made mistakes in taking part in large group events that proved detrimental for my site.    One time I paid five bucks for a comment page; not a bad price by any means, but the giveaway coordinator had a long list of mandatory entries, so that in the end that comment page received a staggeringly low 32 hits.  Personally, I was too embarrassed to even help advertise the event.  I couldn't stress quality over quantity enough.

The last year or so has been very difficult, however the reality is, since it's conception my blog has suffered from inertia.   So for me the above tips proved to be a very simple way to drive quality traffic to my site. I'm sure that's what we all desire, whether we're an active or sporadic blogger, our goal is to drive quality traffic to our site that will lead to conversions.


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39 comments:

Unknown said...

I recently went through a similar experience of blog inactivity. For me, I realized that I just wasn't excited about my old blog anymore. So, I started fresh with a new genre! Loving it still.

Unknown said...

I agree you should always advertise to keep people's interests. It's hard to do sometimes but too many things to catch attention.

barniebad said...

I don't have my own blog but I have been a database manager for many years. When I look at your data I see that in the fall months your activity drops off. It might be that you get depressed during the colder months or that your just much busier with your family during the holidays.

Anyway, I think you are doing a terrific job!

Unknown said...

I agree you should always advertise to keep people's interests

Evangelia Kollia said...

You are doing a great job! Your blog is awesome! A period of unactivity can sometimes be useful.

Marilyn said...

I don't own a blog but visit several a day. My least favorite are ones that don't update with new information or when there is too much on a page.

jjmon2012 said...

not much of a writer but i do always look at the blogs and enjoy them

Unknown said...

I don't actually OWN a blog, however, I do use twitter, google, and facebook to post giveaways etc. Thanks for the information. I haven't quite decided yet if I want to get involved with owning a site yet or not! Thanks, Michele :)

Unknown said...

I presently do not OWN a blogsite. I do utilize twitter, google and facebook to repost giveaways and at time, share comments on things. I haven't quite decided what I want to do yet. Thanks for the information! I appreciate it! Michele :)

test said...

this is a useful post and going to apply to my blog

nicole deardorf said...

I've been curious about "professional" blogging and after reading this review, I have more to think about. Thank you for such a well written article that shows realistically what someone needs to think about.

Tamra Phelps said...

I'm not a blogger, but you must be doing something right. I keep coming back, lol.

Anonymous said...

Lots of useful info, thank you for the share.

Judy Thomas said...

Great advice and tips, thank you.

Unknown said...

Indeed nice topic about blogs. Great job keep it up!

Kate Sarsfield said...

I have to agree with your comment re. large group giveaways. They are a turn off - your inbox gets clogged as does your FB feed etc. & I really don't feel that I can honestly follow/like most of the sites/blogs when I don't know them.

Sandra Watts said...

I am trying to start one. Mostly just for me but its not as easy as you think.

rochelle said...

This is nice to know for future knowledge

Linda Romer said...

I give you bloggers alot of credit. It seems like it's alot of hard work to run a successful blog.

Anonymous said...

I do not have a blog but I have databases at my job that need to be updated and the data analyzed.

Maria Iemma
iemmafamily at yahoo dot com

doli said...

great job..keep doing it :)

Silvia said...

I do not have a personal blog but i love reading blogs.

Laurie Allen said...

We consumers appreciate that you review everyday products for us. It helps us make a better decision. Keep up the good work and things will be bloggin' right along.

Masshole Mommy said...

A friend of mine participates in those group giveaways and she has built up a huge following by doing that.

Stacey - Travel Blogger said...

This is really great advice. It's really hard to know how to properly market a blog. There are just so many variables out there. I really appreciate your list of the top subjects for blog traffic.

Tonya C said...

Thanks for the insight. I had never heard of Giveaway Promote before. I will be looking into them.

Unknown said...

I use giveaway promote as well but never used the paid option. Next time I have a big prize I will try it.

Wendy said...

Great tips! I've been blogging for a long time, and was wondering about advertising. Thanks for the advice!

Unknown said...

I really should start using Giveaway Promote again. There was a period where I didn't host giveaway at all which is why I stopped but GP is such a great resource!

Unknown said...

Great advice and tips... bringing in income or anything with a blog can be tough, especially since the world seems to be inundated with blogs lately. I think the best thing is to stay unique and true

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

Great tip about editing out the giveaway later. I hadn't thought to do that!

Kathleen said...

When I think about it, I don't think I advertise my blog, but when I really get down to it, I do everyday in little ways. It is true that sometimes you have to invest a little to get money out.

Danielle said...

These are some great tips. I have only held one giveaway on my blog so far, but would love to host some more!

Lois Alter Mark said...

Thanks for sharing this info. It's so great for bloggers to help and learn from each other.

Unknown said...

Thank you for offering us this bit of hope! There are so many times where we have to take a small break and it helps to know that we can have a saving grace if we work it right!

Lisa said...

I'n going to have to try out Giveaway Promote.

Ronnie said...

Anytime I run a giveaway, I give hours and hours just to advertising it. It's exhausting, so I now only partner with a brand if it's worth my time!

James, Davis, and Associates Test said...

It was interesting to read your opinions and your statistics. I saw some interesting things that I would like to explore further on my site.

James Robert said...

I have a friend who is considering blogging, this is some great info to pass along and appreciate your post and honesty with this.

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