WordPress is an open source content management system (CMS) which is extremely powerful if used correctly. One of the biggest mistakes made by bloggers and e-commerce websites is thinking your work is done once you have written and posted your WordPress blog. The truth is that your work is just beginning; you need to get your content in front of as many people as possible and as quickly as possible. Thankfully, there are many different ways in which you can promote and reach out to various third parties who may have an interest in your new post.

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Share WordPress posts on social media

There are literally billions of social media users out there, many of which will be interested in your new content. As a matter of course you should look towards the traditional Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest social media channels. However, can you maybe incorporate your content into WhatsApp, Tumblr, Google+ or what about the question and answer website like Quora?

Social media can literally take your content to another level and very often it is just a case of getting yourself in front of the right people.

The traditional social media websites listed above are all very important but they can sometimes become congested, with content difficult to pick out from the crowd. Therefore, be adventurous, be different and look towards new social media channels which may be up and coming or established. In time you will develop your own social media strategy although this is likely to change as new trends and channels come and go.

Share with your subscribers

Are you one of the many people who discounted subscriber lists in years gone by? Do you have a list of parties who are interested in your content? By adding a simple subscribe button to your website you can create a more personal relationship with each of your visitors. The process is simple, automated and it can be very lucrative because in effect you are preaching to the converted. They have chosen to join your subscriber list, they have shown an interest in your content and they want to see more of it as soon as possible.

As soon as you have posted your content you should be scheduling an email to your subscribers with a link to your new post.

If the content is time critical then you should send out the email as soon as possible. What you will find is that when subscribers visit your website to look at the new content there is every chance they will look at other pages and other content. As much as making your subscribers aware of new content it keeps your name in their mind and allows you to build up rapport.

Approach content partners

Have you ever looked at a website and thought that content looks interesting? Maybe you have added a link to your own website, perhaps pushed it on social media and let your subscribers know about other third party content? Well, we have news for you, there will likely be fans of your content out there, they will want to do the same, so hunt them out and approach them directly.

There may be issues where e-commerce websites are in competition but if you have an information website or a blog there may not be such issues.

Search for websites which cover a similar subject matter to your new content. Send them a brief but polite email suggesting they may want to have a look at your latest post and try to encourage them to share as much as possible.

Managing a successful website is not all about looking inwards but more about appreciating the content and information around you. In time you may build up a number of content relationships with the opportunity to share each other’s content and feed each other’s customer base. In some cases, where perhaps you mention a specific company by name in your latest post, why not link to their website and let them know. This can often stoke the ego of online entrepreneurs eager to demonstrate that their website and business is appreciated far and wide. In many cases, this can lead to a back link to your website which is positive for your search engine optimisation and rankings.

Check your traffic statistics

The more successful online entrepreneurs are those who know their customers, know their market and vary their content strategies for the best results. As soon as you post your content you should be straight onto your Google Analytic account checking the hits, where they are coming from and the bounce rate. The bounce rate is very important because this shows whether or not visitors to your new content find it interesting. A high bounce rate indicates they have clicked on and clicked off relatively quickly – they have not read your content in full. A low bounce rate suggests that the majority of your visitors found your content interesting and actually read it.

Traffic statistics can also show popularity across different countries with the likes of Google Analytics also showing visitor paths. Tracking which other pages of your website were read by the same visitor, after posting your new content, is invaluable.

If you created your content to funnel visitors to a specific product/service, this will show in your visitor paths. Have you been successful? Was your content engaging? How can you improve it?

Tracking the most popular pages on your website will confirm which content strategies are working as well as those which need improvement. The more in-depth you know the profile of your customers/visitors the more focused the content you create can be towards their needs. This will save you time, money and effort and allow you to focus on popular content strategies.

Resharing your content

There is a difference between the resharing your content and spamming. There is nothing wrong with sharing your content numerous times in the future but don’t overdo it. The more you are seen to push particular content posts the more off putting this can be for potential visitors. We have all seen those social media websites which push the same post time and time again. How does that make you feel? Do you rush to visit their website and see what it is all about? Probably not….

Be selective when resharing your content, don’t reshare too often but don’t be afraid to reshare older content which is still popular.

It is not just recent content which your visitors might find interesting, so your older posts from years gone by may still be valid and current. Using the likes of Google Analytics will allow you to highlight the more popular posts on your website. Armed with this information it may save you time and effort posting content which has perhaps not been as well-received as you hoped. Stay focused, put yourself in the shoes of readers and perhaps most important of all, never come across as desperate.

Repurpose your content

Just because traffic numbers to what were previously popular WordPress posts begin to fall does not necessarily mean the content is less helpful. It may just be that you need to present it in a different manner or maybe introduce a new font. This is when repurposing content can bring a post back to life or allow you to expand the subject matter into a number of individual posts. We’ve also seen instances where older content is repurposed into infographics or has benefited from the addition of an informative video. There may also be cases where a simple updating of the latest statistics to the current year can lead to greater search volumes.

These simple tweaks could literally breathe new life back into what may have been one of you more popular posts. It would be commercial suicide to ignore the potential benefits, considering the time it can take to repurpose content.

There is a significant difference between a newsletter and an email subscriber list. Once you have posted your new content, promoted across social media and emailed your subscriber list that is not necessarily the end of the matter. Newsletters, which are more structured and perhaps more graphical (easy on the eye) than a basic email, are a great means by which to communicate with your customers. Highlight new content, draw them into your website and once they have landed they are often craving a purchase or more information.

There is nothing stopping you using the same content in future newsletters but it is advisable to vary the content. Any newsletter you send to customers or subscribers should be fresh and informative, eye-catching and on trend.

Churning out the same content time and time again is a recipe for disaster and an increase in your unsubscribe numbers. Not convinced? Put yourself in their shoes, what would you do?

Summary

Once you have written and posted your content this is when the business end comes into play. There are billions of websites churning out content each and every day. What makes yours different? How will you get your post in front of would-be customers of the future?

Social media, subscribers, newsletters and content partners are some very simple but very effective means of getting your content out there in front of people. It is also important that you repurpose older content, updating and bringing it back on trend, and monitor your traffic statistics. Learn what type of content appeals to your customers, which strategies and means of promotion work best – then focus on these. At the end of the day, your traffic statistics are telling you what your customers are reading, where they are coming from and where they are going to. Are you listening?

Once you have built up your traffic it is time to look at online advertising such as Google Ads, banners or even guest posts. If you have the traffic the income will eventually follow, you just need to find the best medium.