How to advertise your blog

Yes, You might have the most interesting and well-written blog in the blogosphere. If there is nobody to read your blog, however, your efforts benefit no one except yourself. To have a really successful blog, whether you want to make money or just spread an idea, you are going to have to advertise.

There are some methods of advertising your blog that cost money. The Google AdWords program, while it isn't designed only for blog advertising, is a great way to get the word out about your blog. With the AdWords program, you select keywords related to your blog's topic and pay Google to place your advertisement on related web sites.

Another way to advertise your blog, if you have some money to spend, is by purchasing ad space on related blogs. Many blogs feature either textual or graphical ad spaces that you can purchase. Some of these will be based on the number of clicks your advertisement receives, while most of these will be based on the duration that your ad is on the site.

A third way to advertise your blog is by purchasing an advertising campaign on a social network such as StumbleUpon. For as little as five dollars, StumbleUpon will send 100 readers to your blog, all target to your topic. You can even specify age and gender for these readers. There are similar programs at some other sites, as well.

There are also methods of advertising your blog that don't cost money. StumbleUpon, in addition to having ad campaigns, can be used to increase your blog's traffic. By learning the StumbleUpon system, you bring users to your blog. Other social networking sites, such as Digg and del.icio.us work on this same principle.

Another free way to advertise your blog is to write about your blog in the comments section of related blogs. By establishing an interesting and regular presence on other related blogs, you attract the attention of that blog's readers, as well as the blogger herself. Writing quality comments is important, as writing "Good post" on 100 different blogs won't generate as much traffic as a 2-paragraph response on a popular blog will.

Finally, you can advertise your blog for free through alternative methods. These would include things like press releases, forum, MySpace or FaceBook marketing and other nontraditional sources. Each of these methods has worked for some bloggers, but in many cases it depends on the particular niche that the blog is in. Combining alternative methods with social networking and commenting is probably the best approach.