So, you wanna promote your blog offline, but aren’t sure how to do so without walking up to people and whispering your blog name in their ear? Have no fear, I’ve chatted with some of the coolest bloggers on the web to create this list for you. Check it out!
43 Ways to Promote Your Blog Offline
1. If you do a lot of your writing on a laptop, make a laptop cover with your website’s logo and URL on it! Whenever you’re out in a coffee shop or library somewhere working on your next post, your logo is up for all your fellow patrons to see, and you’d be surprised how many will come over to ask you about it — great way to get a new, loyal reader (or two!).
2. Send out thank you notes to your giveaway winners. While sponsors are generally responsible for the shipment of prizes, your readers provide you with their addresses to pass on to them. Why not send them a hand-written thank you note to remind them that you appreciate that they read your blog?
3. Use coupons! Well, this one isn’t what you might think. Sometimes I leave coupons that I don’t need on the shelves at the grocery store – by the product that the coupon is good for. Leave the coupons and some business cards!
4. CDs Remember those? They still have a use. Record 3 of your best blog posts onto MP3 and then burn it onto the CD’s. Hand them out at industry events or pop them into the goody bags at networking events. A useful CD will send people back to your blog to see what else you have written about. Up with your Powerpoint? Create a slide show presentation of a blog post and burn it to your DVD. It’s easy to do using Google Docs, go give it a try. — The Social Source
5. Create an award. Everyone loves winning stuff! Seek out someone who is doing really well at something related to your blog, and honor them with an award. Send out press releases about what they are doing that is so fantastic and explain why your award is honoring them. Interview them and post it on your blog. They will promote the award, in turn promoting your blog.
6. Offer yourself as an expert. Why limit yourself to just what you, yourself, can write? Let reporters know your area of expertise and that you’re available as a source. Present yourself to radio stations, television stations, and print media. — Jennifer Michelle Communications
7. I’m just getting my feet wet in promoting my business offline. My main focus right now is putting on free workshops/classes to teach people how to do something. My first workshop is helping budding entrepreneurs to create a website. It’s going to be in October! — Teach Good Stuff
8. Change your Bluetooth/wi-fi name to your blog name. When others are searching for wi-fi, it will pop up. Your blog name will be in their head, and they just might get curious. My neighbor’s wi-fi name is “IWillShitOnYourChest” — never been curious enough to look that one up. You think it might be a blog?
9. When I have dinner out, I often leave my card on the table. I also tuck one inside magazines in doctor’s offices, airplanes…kind of like a little surprise for the reader ;) — KimberlyRues
10. Order a magnet or bumper sticker with your URL, or go all out with vinyl letters across the front or back window.
11. I would recommend people read an article or two on how to format a press release, and start firing them off to newspapers. Make a list of the top 20 newspapers that serve cities of around 100,000 people (this is the sweet spot). After you have emailed it, give it a few days and call and ask to speak to the assignment editor (this is the person who picks reporters to cover stories). It can also be helpful to email it directly to a reporter you know covers your niche. — Married With Debt
12. Wear a blog t-shirt. I get so many compliments on my t-shirts from Sugarbird Designs! Come up with cute and clever sayings (my favorite says “If Squats Were Easy They’d Be Your Mom”), and add your URL to the front and back. Give t-shirts away on your blog. When they wear them, it’s automatic advertising!
Bonus: Add a QR code to your t-shirt!
13. Advertise with Groups and Associations to which you belong. Do you belong to a fraternity or sorority? An industry group? A church with a newsletter? Send out an announcement about your blog. — Daily Blog Tips
14. Attend a local industry event – bridal shows, boat shows,car shows, etc. Even if it’s not your niche it’s still a good opportunity to get out there and meet people and pass out your business cards!
15. If you’re a business, there are tons of ways to promote your blog offline. My favorite? Business closed for the day? Why not put up a sign – “Open 24 hours a day on the internet – www.yourcompany.com” — Design Masterz
16. Put your website address/URL EVERYWHERE you possibly can! Look for unusual promotional items at holiday times – WWW tie pins or broaches, computer shaped cookies, Christmas cards on disks (with the obligatory link to your website) – the choice is endless and it all draws attention to the fact that your company is taking advantage of the latest technology.
17. If you sell a product, take out small ads in national publications that reach your target audience. Advertise your primary products and lead people to your site for more information.
18. Bulletin boards — there are boards at coffee shops, grocery stores, and even colleges! Add a flyer or business card or two to them to promote your blog. On a similar note, hang up flyers on telephone poles (as long as it’s legal in your area).
19. Give away food at local events like farmer’s markets, conventions, fairs, car shows, or other local events. People will stop by your booth and will accept a handout with your product or blog on it for a small bit of food. — Blogussion
20. Order stickers to pass out, everyone loves stickers! Simply include your logo and URL, or maybe a catchy phrase so people will actually want to wear the stickers!
Bonus: Add stickers with your blog URL to your backpack, laptop, or even your jeans pocket!
21. If you offer an online newsletter, consider printing copies of it and getting permission to leave a few in your doctor’s or dentist’s waiting rooms. You could place some on community boards in your town and try a few of the methods mentioned above to distribute it. – Ebiz Info Center
22. I go to craft fairs at churches if they are cheap to have a booth and allow outside vendors. Its usually only $10 or $15 and since I have a hyperlocal component to my blog I get to meet a lot of people in the community. And sometimes get to network with small business owners. I usually have a drawing for a prize that I get a company to sponsor and that’s how I will collect more email subscribers. — Lehigh Valley Momma
23. Join your local Chamber of Commerce. When I went to a Chamber meeting, people were super interested in my blogging, as well as my Virtual Assistant Services! Super easy way to make new friends, network, and even gain new clients.
24. Get on TV! You can offer tips and tricks on a TV segment (like I did when I had a coupon blog), or perhaps a news personality wants to know a little more about your family? Either way, getting on TV is a great way to promote your blog!
25. Donate prizes — this is similar to the sponsorship tip, but if you donate a prize to a company’s giveaway (or a giveaway at a school, even!), you’ll be mentioned!
26. This one is kind of silly, but I’ve seen it listed everywhere! Make or buy a bunch of very cheap wallets or purses and lose them all around town. Inside don’t leave anything but a card with your URL on it for them to check out.
27. I am a pharmacist and on the back of my cards is a discount drug card, so I give it to ppl with no insurance all the time or a medication that’s not covered and ask them to check out my blog. I also have wristbands for the blog that I give to every new member that takes my group fitness class. — Joi_RxFitnessLady
28. Any time you mail something, include your blog stamp or sticker on the outside of the envelope or package. Sometimes, I’ll even stick a business card or two on the outside. If nothing else, the mail lady will check your blog out eventually, right? ;)
Bonus: Buy your stamps at Zazzle and customize them with your logo. Everyone you mail to will see your blog URL.
29. Write an article for your local newspaper or magazine. Find the magazine that caters to your target market and write articles for submission. This will set up your local credibility, and if people like what they read, they’ll head over to your blog to check out your content. — Phisco Marketing
30. Sponsor or help out with a fundraising event. I’ve done bake sales before, and they’ve let me pass my cards out to customers. This is a great way to help with a good cause while promoting your blog!
31. Put your business cards in library books — when you check out books from the library, stick your business card in the front, back, or even in the middle. When you return them, the next person just might see it and visit your blog!
32. Design a brochure with a QR code that leads to your blog. Type up a few excerpts from your most popular posts, or even include a few photos. If someone is curious, they just need to scan the QR code to land directly on your blog!
33. I often tell people I’m a blogger when they ask what kind of work I do. I say I’m a blogger during the week and a nurse on the weekends. That usually opens up a spot to pitch my blog. — Toys In The Dryer
34. This one costs a little bit of dough, but if you have a large local following (and want a larger one!), print up door hangers and pass them out in your area.
35. Try a Meet-Up with your readers! It doesn’t have to be anything more than a casual get together to simply talk about stuff, do a DIY project, or even just network! This is a great way to find new local readers! Have the meet-ups at a local restaurant, coffee shop, or even the park!
36. We have a lot of antique and collectibles shops in our area, so I have been going around and talking to the owners about writing a post on their store, then I give them my card. So far, I’ve only gotten a positive response, and it is helping to spread the word locally for my blog. — Cloud Nine Chick
37. Include your website URL on your voicemail message on your phone!
38. Giveaways! Print your website address on pens, calendars, coffee mugs, and other low cost giveaways; you can also produce some more expensive items to use as contest prizes!
39. My mother is all the offline PR I need. I swear she has told anyone that can hear about my blog. It’s the cutest thing ever. Her word of mouth has actually gotten me readers. — Miss Foodie Fab
40. Leave business cards anywhere you can think of – even in the bathroom! If you’re a movie blogger, leave your cards at the movie theater – in the cup holders, in the bathroom, on the counters.
41. Write your business URL in the sand on a busy beach! Sure, it’ll probably get erased by the tide or by other beach goers, but it’s fun. ;)
Bonus: Offer swag at a blog conference. Even if it’s just a key chain, people love free stuff!
42. I like to leave my business cards with tips at restaurants. I have also picked up a few local readers by handing out bags full of stuff I git for free with coupons along with a letter saying it was all free and how and of course my business cards were in there…extras for them to give to friends and also by talking to the nurses anytime I go to the doctors, when they ask what I do for a living it tends to spark their interest and they ask questions. – Freetail Therapy
43. Go to a local college and leave a sheet advertising your site on bulletin boards there. The kind where you cut slits in the bottom to make little tear off papers, each with your site’s info on it. — More From Your Blog
Bonus: Download the Foursquare mobile app. When you check in leave helpful tips about that place of business and link back to your blog. I have gained a few fans that way. — A Mitten Full of Savings
What’s your best tip for promoting your blog offline?
Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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