One of the most intimidating parts of your blog launch is the fact that there are millions of blogs on the internet. So far too many businesses prepping for their blog launch, can’t help but ask themselves how they’re different than everyone else. If that sounds far too familiar here’s a key takeaway from the Orbit Media 2018 blogger survey, that you might find super helpful:

The best content doesn’t win.

The best promoted content wins!

However, I’m not going to try to argue that one type of content promotion is more valuable. Because a lot depends on your audience, and what’s the most realistic for your organization.

So, what’s the most important part of any blog launch?

It’s all about the relationships that you build with like-minded people.

And if you want your blog launch to be a massive success, you need to start building those relationships right away.

Because those relationships take time to thrive and grow like any good relationship really! That’s exactly why I wanted to talk to you about how you can start building relationships with your readers, pre-blog launch.

*This post includes some affiliate links. But I never endorse products I don’t love, haven’t used in my own business, and wouldn’t recommend to my own family!*

1) Make a list of relevant groups (and actually join them)

Because if you consistently offer value to your fellow group members, you’ll unlock numerous opportunities for building an audience.

Curious about how people show up on a regular basis in online groups?

Here are a few, actual examples of the kinds of posts I see all the time:

• Posts that share a valuable lesson you’ve learned recently that the audience can learn something from:

• Answers to other peoples’ questions:

• Questions that provokes a Q&A dialogue about your area of expertise:

As long as you post consistently, about the same subject matter, you’ll start building relationships.

So…let’s switch gears and talk about what makes a group “appropriate”. Shall we…?

Before you even think about doing your blog launch, you need to narrow your blog down to just three topics maximum.

This will help make relationship building easy to keep track of, and a lot less time consuming.

Then, decide on a one-sentence elevator pitch about…

• What problems your work will solve
• How you’ll solve them
• One type of person you want to help.

Then, pick just three online groups that consist of…

• The people you want to serve
• That have questions about the same subject matter as the blog you want to create.

2) Set up your profile so that it’s not just a name and picture

Especially if you’re on a platform like Facebook where people are likely seeing just a name and picture.

A great way to do this is to set up a page for your blog or business, and then list it under the section specifically for talking about where you work:

This will mean, that every time someone clicks on your name, they’ll see a link to your blog’s official page, and be able to learn more about it.

Since most online groups operate based on a karma principle (help others and they’ll help you in return)…

This will help make your return on investment totally worth it. Because you’ll slowly start building a community before your blog even exists!

On a regular basis, use your page to post updates about what’s going on:

• With the blog
• Along with anything you’ve been reading, events you’ve been attending, etc that covers related subject matter

3) Create something free as an incentive

Even though SEO can do amazing stuff for your business, it’s not perfect.

I think Neil Patel puts it best when he describes its one and only flaw:

One of the most interesting features about our industry is that it is constantly changing, but this also makes it more challenging.
So, if SEO is so important, why am I saying you shouldn’t rely on SEO alone?
Because SEO is constantly changing!
The strategy that works for a carpet cleaner in Chicago isn’t necessarily going to work for a tech startup in San Francisco.

That’s exactly why you need a really great freebie. If people can sign up through an email marketing platform such as MailChimp or Aweber, you’ll be able to:

• Offer value for free, which will establish trust and loyalty with your readers
• Create hype about any blog related news, and encourage people to spread the word to their friends

But what should your freebie focus on?

A great way to find out what people want to know about your topic is to go to Buzzsumo and do a quick search for your topic.

Buzzsumo is a tool that measures the number of social shares, and times that people have linked to a specific article. So, it’s a great way to find out what topics are the most shareable and relevant.

For example, here’s what happens when I search for the words “how to start a blog”:

If this was what your blog focused on…

You could use the most important trend to your advantage:

The fact that a large number of people want to start blogs that make money, and are successful.

Or…you can simply ask around!

Remember how I mentioned joining online groups can be a great way to build an audience?

It’s also a great tool for getting to know your audience.

If you’re not really sure what your freebie should focus on, asking group members questions like these can help:

Because I guarantee similar concerns will pop-up more than once.

And these questions and concerns can help you come up with one or more downloadable PDF that makes other people go:

In fact, did you know that a Journal of Marketing study found that getting a freebie related to a product lead to people talking about it 15% more than coupons and rebates?

This can apply to blogs as well. Although, not everyone will see your offer and go “this is great, take my email address!” That’s exactly why Demian Farnworth’s advice on this subject is so helpful:

You, dear writer, have to sit yourself in your writing chair, assume nothing, and pile on as many benefits as possible so your ideal prospect feels silly walking away from your offer.
Even if it’s for something free. Like an old lawnmower.

And that’s definitely something I noticed when I introduced my freebie.

At first, all I did was include images of the two E-books included in the opt-in, and a bio. But that led to zero results.

That’s exactly why I created an opt-in page that provides just as much detail as I would provide on a client’s sales page.

First things first, I made it extremely clear who the freebie’s for. Then, I listed the benefits. And let’s not forget about the most important part: the freebie featured in the opt-in. However, I also realize that peoples’ inboxes are often overcrowded with promo emails. So I knew I had to stick out by proving the credibility of my emails.

Where you can publish info about your opt-in:

• If you’re on a budget
• Don’t have the resources for expensive design software
• And you aren’t very tech savvy,

I highly recommend MailMunch‘s landing page design/ publishing interface. Because there are a ton of customizable templates to choose from:

And you can publish your landing page by completing only five steps:

4) Tell people who already love you

No matter how well connected, or not well connected you are, encouraging people that already support everything you do can have a huge impact.

Especially with something like a blog launch.

Often, an email about what it’s about and what they can do to help is enough. For example, here’s how I told some of my most loyal followers about my podcast pre-launch:

And I know what you’re probably thinking:

You’re probably worried that if you tell everyone you know about your blog launch, you’ll seem salesy and gross.

But here’s the one thing that will change your mind.

Remember that email I just showed you?

It led to two results:

1.  Some people simply never replied. Nothing wrong with that: people’s lives can be super busy.
2. Although a majority sent responses like this one:

But if you want to take this approach…

You need to make peoples’ lives easier.

Give them all the info that they need to promote your blog pre and post-launch.

Here are a few suggestions on how you can give them everything they need.

• Create a copy and pasteable tweet on the click to tweet generator and share its URL with others in your network. Include all the essential info.
• Create a PDF on Canva, with info about your blog, and share it with your followers and friends.
• Write an article on Medium Digest, which tells people about the blog you’re about to launch and share it with every friend, family member, and social media follower.
• Create a  social media graphic, with info about your blog and tell your friends to share it on their social media accounts. Here are my image tool recommendations for pulling that off.

And don’t forget about your mindset…

That is often the hardest part of launching anything.

But if you get nothing else out of this post, I want you to remember this.

What you put out there will never be perfect.

You will inevitably make silly mistakes that you’ll look back on and go “why did I do that?”

But that’s the best part of every blog, is that you can shift and change it as much  as you want.

Fortunetely, your brand will evolve, and your blog can be a reflection of that. But, before you do that you need to just rip off the band-aid, and hit “publish”.

And if you need a bit of help with blog set-up and strategy…

Check out my E-book, “Blog On” on my Gumroad page.

Let's chat

Please add a comment below if you'd like to discuss this topic. – Rosie