Shortcuts.
That is the answer to the question how to find time to blog and live a quality life.
So many people ask me that question, I published a post offering an explanation.
Different bloggers would answer how they find time to do it “all” in different ways. However, I am sure all their answers would include one commonality. They know shortcuts.
This post is about shortcuts you can take to help you promote your blog by getting your content in front of new readers without writing an additional word. This post is about how to syndicate your content.
Content syndication saves you time and enables you to promote to new readers. The best part is no one will accuse you of spamming even though you will engage in self-promotion.
Consider these comments from readers:
Melinda from PurpleSlobinRecovery asked me recently if I sleep. An understandable question since I work outside the home at a full-time job, have a family, and I publish on my blog five times a week.
Ellen from NotesfromtheUK.com wrote, “I’m still trying to figure out how you find the time.”
I will not deny that blogging is time-consuming. It is extremely time-consuming.
I recently published a post explaining how I created a community of thousands of subscribers within fifteen months of blogging.
Where did I find the time? Shortcuts. One of those shortcuts is content syndication.
What is Content Syndication?
Content syndication is the process of pushing your blog, site, or video content out to another site, either as a full article, snippet, link, or thumbnail.
This post suggests places that allow you to post links to articles or entire articles that you’ve already written.
According to SearchEngineJournal.com, “Syndicating your content is a great way to earn visibility on other platforms without having to put in any extra hours to write a great article. It’s too easy.”
Anything easy will save us time.
Content Syndication Sites
Yahoo Answers
Yahoo Answers is so much fun people report it is addictive.
DrinkCoffeeandProsper.com recommends answering at least five questions a day in order to become an expert.
Step 1: Go to Answers.Yahoo.com. I did not have to sign in, but I already have a Yahoo account. If you are not signed in, you should sign in, so it knows who you are. Anonymous is an option. If you are trying to woo traffic to your blog, don’t pick it.
Step 2: In the search bar at the top, type in your blogging niche or area of specialty. I typed in “blogging”. It doesn’t have to be your blogging niche. Any area in which you consider yourself an expert is fine. I could have just as easily typed in Ancient History, World History, or Broadway Musicals since I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about all those areas.
Step 3: Find a question you know the answer to. Scroll all the way to the bottom. There will be a box where you can type your answer. Click “Submit”. At this point, you will not be able to leave a link in order to self-promote.
Step 4: Once your answer is published, click your name. It will tell you how many points you have earned. Once you have 250 points, you will be at Level 2, and you will be able to leave links to your posts in your answers.
By looking at the screenshot, you can see that I have 102 points. Since I haven’t yet earned 250, I am still at Level 1. For this reason, I can’t include a link to a post that might contain an answer. When I get to 250 points, I will be able to self-promote at Yahoo Answers.
BlogLovin’
Getting traffic from BlogLovin’ is effortless. All you do is sign up, and then watch the referral traffic pour in on your dashboard.
Step 1: Go to http://www.bloglovin.com/
Step 2: Type your blog’s URL into the search bar.
Step 3: Follow your blog.
Others can now follow, be notified of your articles, and click your links to read more, which, of course, results in traffic for you.
CoPromote Update: CoPromote has folded.
Blogging shouldn’t be done alone. It is easier and quicker when you collaborate. CoPromote helps you find a tribe of people to collaborate with by sharing each other’s links.
Step 1: Go to https://copromote.com/
Step 2: Sign in with your Twitter, Tumblr, or YouTube account.
Step 3: Wait while the site analyzes your account.
Step 4: A list of the articles you’ve published appears. There are choices suggested by CoPromote or you can see all your articles.
Step 5: Scroll down. If you want to “boost” the post, click “boost.”
Step 6: Tag the post.
Step 7: Click “Create Boost.”
For the next week, CoPromote will match your article with social media users who might be interested in sharing it.
Step 8: Choose 5 tags of posts you might be interested in sharing. Options will come up.
Step 9: You will then be given a chance to boost other member’s posts by retweeting them.
When you retweet, you gain points. The more points you gain by retweeting, the more reach your own articles receive.
If you are not happy with the tweets that come up since the topic isn’t in your blogging niche, it is easy to edit your interests. A box appears on the left that gives you the chance to type in other interest choices.
Each time I retweeted an article I thought my followers would like, CoPromote was extending the reach of my article by 4,297 people.
Within just a few minutes, the reach of my post extended to 48,581.
CoPromote site administrators act as cheerleaders of sorts.
Notice they Emailed me to encourage me to share more people’s tweets.
Will Blunt of BloggerSidekick recommended CoPromote.
More Content Syndication Sites
BizSugar
My article 7 Reasons Why BizSugar Will Make You an Awesome Blogger explains the many advantages to using BizSugar to promote your blog. You can post your articles without being called a “spammer,” the site offers valuable resources, and you can strengthen old connections and make new connections with like-minded bloggers.
Inbound.org Update: Inbound is folding.
Neil Patel lists Inbound.org as his #2 source for content syndication.
Related article: 17 Ways Inbound.org Will Make You a Better Blogger
Harsh Agrawal received 3,682 page views from Flipboard in just one day.
Related article: How to Get Swarms of Free Blog Traffic with Flipboard
Quora
Since publishing my article How to Be a Better Blogger with Quora, I discovered additional information.
President Obama uses the site. Also, your answers get published in search engines which make it easier for potential readers to find you.
Consider this comment from a reader, “Quora is really cool. This really could be a boon to my blog!”
ViralContentBuzz UPDATE 2019: Viral Content Buzz is now called “Viral Content Bee.”
At ViralContentBuzz, you are able to promote at five sites at once. What a time-saver that is! ViralContentBuzz allows you to promote to StumbleUpon, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, and Facebook.
Blogger Will Blunt calls ViralContentBuzz a “cool” place to promote your posts for free.
Related post: 5 Smart Things You Can Do to Be a Better Blog Promoter
Like with these other content syndication sites, you are able to post an entire article to one of Reddit’s many subreddits where you will find interested readers and have the potential to get massive blog traffic.
However, unless you are able to find the “right” subreddit, you risk having a disappointing experience. Reddit’s reputation is mixed.
Related post: How to Get the Kind of Blog Traffic You Want with Reddit
Medium
By linking to your blog at a suspenseful part in your post, you can easily woo traffic to your site.
Related posts: Here are the 29 Great Reasons You Should Use Medium to Blog Now, This is How to Write the Best Call to Action That Will Boost Comments and Subscribers (See Tip #2)
Concerns About Content Syndication
A few years ago, Google came out with penalties that caused great fear in SEO-minded bloggers. However, according to Search Engine Marketing News (March 2015), there is no penalty for duplicate content. Jennifer Slegg, the article’s author, insists that a duplicate content penalty is a myth.
Conclusion
In conclusion, how do I have time to do it all?
Easy, shortcuts, and the best part– all of these content syndication sites allow you to self-promote articles you’ve already written for free.
Content syndication is a great way to repurpose old posts, rather than sit on the proverbial shelf and get dusty. Get new value to old posts through content syndication.
Bloggers, please share, so that other bloggers can save time promoting to new potential audiences by syndicating their content.
Have you tried syndicating your content at these places? What is your experience? Can you recommend other sites that allow syndication? Do you know any that pay bloggers to syndicate their articles? I look forward to your views in the comments section.
Related Posts:
Do You Desire Improved Blog Growth? [Blog Directories]
How to Increase Blog Traffic with Content Curation
How to Blog and Easily Have Time to Sleep
Source:
The Complete Guide to Building Your Blog Audience, Chapter 4
