"FULL OUT" Cross Promotion

Problem. Ever write a guest post, get traffic and never see those visits come back?!? Yes, No, Maybe? Do a FULL OUT Cross Promotion and truly capture a whole new audience! Read on...

Not only new bloggers, but many existing bloggers have trouble gaining new readers to their blogs. A common thing for many bloggers to do with each other is to link exchange or trade ad space. Many will realize that after trading JUST a link with another blogger, your traffic really won't increase drastically...I really don't recommend link exchange because it is a basic and rarely successful promo, instead I would say go with a FULL OUT CROSS PROMOTION with another blogger. There are steps that you can take to have an effective cross promotion and potentially sky rocket your traffic.

What is a full out cross promotion?
Basically a mix of multiple guest posts, exchanging links, exchanging ad spaces, and really having the audience of another blog get to know you. Since readers might click to your blog after a guest post on a random blog, chances of them coming back are low. If the readers have been reading your content more frequently on a blog they already read, they are more likely to read your content after the promotion with another blog is over.

Look over these thoughts first:
- FIND A BLOG IN THE SAME NICHE!!!
- Cross-promote with a blog that has a decent amount of traffic
- Know the duration of the exchange between both blog owners
- Exchange at least 2-3 guest posts between both bloggers.
- Don't promote more than one blog at once
- Really focus on "sharing" traffic
- Think about how you will retain new traffic

When you are cross promoting, the biggest issue you will want to look over is who you are promoting with. Don't end up promoting your blog with another blog that has little to no traffic. It really doesn't make sense. On the other hand you will not want to bring the idea to a blog owner who's blog has 10x the traffic of your blog, because that is really not a win-win situation...and you will probably get no response with the proposal.

After you find a blogger who has agreed to cross promote with you, you should go over the terms as far as how long you will trade ad spaces, links, etc. as well as going over what the whole game plan will be such as: how many guest posts will both bloggers be doing, etc. during the duration of the promotion. Make sure you allot enough time for a few guest posts.

When you write a guest post on a blog for the first time, it's like an introduction to the new audience in addition to the information you provide. You are delivering your self-image along with the post. The second time you come around, the audience will know who you are and be more interested in what you have to say. If you do a third guest post, the audience will really take you as serious as the regular blogger of the blog you are guest posting on.

Since you are not just exchanging a link and you are really focusing on appealing to a new audience, you should not cross promote with more than one blogger at the same time.

A cross promotion goes both ways, as it is a gain of new traffic for both bloggers so both will want to make sure to address the other blogger throughout the promo. When you guest post, make a bold statement. Have the other blogger do the same. As long as the content is different, but appealing...there's no reason why you can't attract new eyes.

Retaining will be the whole point of the promotion. Provide content that is of higher quality than you usually do on your blog. Try to interact with the new readers so they have a REASON to be interested. The whole promotion process is about branding your blog and yourself to a new audience and having the audience like what you offer.

You will want to make sure you don't over do your cross promotion, otherwise it will take over your blog. But on the other hand, know that you are having a temporary "Partnership" with another blogger so make sure you both gain out of the promo. Make sure you balance between the promotion and your regular content flow. You can refer the blogger you are interested in doing the promo with to this post, so they too can get the full picture of the concept.