5 Free Ways to Market Your Blog

It’s no secret that the ailing economy has hit everyone, even us bloggers who depend so heavily on Google Adsense and page impressions. It’s become increasingly harder to grow and maintain those high page views, while also competing with other bloggers in your niche.
As a blogger you don’t want to pay a high rate to advertise your blog and risk not getting a return on your investment; nor do you want to do an adwords campaign. You want quick, easy and free ideas for marketing your blog.

Lucky you! Here are five free ways to promote your blog.

1. Social Networking. In the web 2.0 times we currently live in, this may seem like a dead giveaway, yet many bloggers don’t take full advantage of it. Make sure you use the social networks and take advantage of the sites that are most advantageous to you. Create aFacebook fan page, develop a fan base on Twitter and promote your blog on these social outlets.
2. Article Submission. Similar to social networking, article submission is another way to get your blog in front of more eyes. Stumbleupon appears to be the best place for submitting blog posts, but other good submission sites include Digg, Sphinn and Mixx. This also has SEO value by building links.
3. Guest and sponsored posting. This can have a couple different benefits for your blog. By having guests posts, the guest often promotes their posts, and therefore your blog, through their different networks. Depending on the authority and size of your blog, you can often charge a rate for sponsored posts.
4. Optimize your content. You should check your search engine rankings every few weeks to see where you stand and continually look at ways you can rank higher by including new keywords and stregthening your current keywords.
5. Participate in blog carnivals. You can often participate in at least one blog carnival on a monthly, if not a weekly basis. These offer dual purposes, as they build links and promote your blog.