Word Of Mouth, A Bloggers Most Effective Marketing Technique
There are a lot of ways that you can market a commodity in the real world, a lot of them are free, just like this ad I found on a traffic light in the middle of Sydney. Quite ingenious really as it captures an audience who are forced to wait for the lights to change, and it also happens to be free.
There are other ways to use such cost effective marketing such as placing ads on public notice boards. I’ve sold quite a few items using this method. When it comes to marketing a product online it is a whole different story. While there are sites that allow you to promote your blog for free, such as Cool Blog Links, not many are rated as number one on Google.
So, if you’re like me, a poor blogger who wants to market his blog on the Internet and hasn’t the funds to start a marketing campaign, your probably wondering what other avenues you may have. After a bit of thought I realized there is one particular marketing avenue that works just as well on the Internet as it does in the real world. Word Of Mouth! As long as you consistently produce quality content you will have more chance that others will spread the word.
‘Word of mouth’ on the Internet can be helped by making it easy for your readers to submit your post to such sites as Digg, Stumble, Delicious or by using the Twittley button that Re-Tweets your post. One thing to remember is that you are your blog’s most important asset and your content is the tool by which you build your credentials on the Internet.
We still have the problem of how to market your blog, and the easiest most cost effective way is to use that talent of yours by leaving the best comments imaginable on other peoples blogs. Apart from leaving a link to your blog, and post if the blog uses commentluv, a good well structured comment is more likely to lure people to your blog, as they follow the scent of intelligence left by the bait you left behind.
Tagged with: commentluv • digg • Marketing • Twitter
Filed under: Blogging Tips • SEO
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Sire,Blogs are just like the mouth of yours because they give the proper information given by your mind unless you are not coped & rewritten it from another articles but i always tell my friends to have their own blog because they gives you the identity in the internet world
tonya jones´s last blog ..Pomegranate Fruit: About Pomegranates
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Sire Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Thanks for the comment Tonya, even though it seems that English is not your native tongue, the fact that you still took the time to leave a good comment shows great aptitude.
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As for word of mouth I would have to say I do more Word of Twitter/forum links.
When I see someone that needs help, someones opinion on a product/service, or looking for a certain product/service I try to find someone that I feel will have the info they need. If I know you have a post on your blog that will help them then I just pop over & if I can find the article myself then I tweet them back the link. If I can’t find the post then I would suggest they contact you.
I also do this on forums when people are asking for things.
Sure, if I have a post that will help them I send them to my blog but, there is no way I have everything. I send & post more links to others sites than I do my own.
When I do send out help to people I would not just send them to anyone, I pick people that I feel would be the most help & that I feel are trustworthy not to take advantage of my friends (fellow community members).
Some people have ask why I bother to send the info if it is not going to my site. Easy, that’s just what you do, you help others when you can. Just like in an off line community. If someone ask where to get their truck fixed & you are not a mechanic then you tell them who is good & trustworthy. To many people look at online communities as ‘what can I get’ rather than ‘what can I give’.
Sorry, I have been trying to leave short comments. ;)
Sheryl Loch´s last blog ..Place a Live Google Map on Your Site
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Sire Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 5:07 am
Are you kidding Sheryl, I love a good comment that has substance and your provided a whole heap of that. I, like you, love to help others when I can. If I don’t know the answer I try to find it and failing that I hope that someone else reading the post can provide it.
I also agree that there is nothing wrong with sending people to other blogs you trust if you think there is something they can gain from it. That’s what being part of a community is all about, and I’m proud to be part of yours.
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I have been doing things such as forums posting,Social networking and Bookmarking as a word of moth. Both the techniques are exceptional and are widely used.Forums and Blogs are one of the fastest way of doing promotions.
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Sire Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 6:23 am
That’s for sure Stan, but one must remember that your content must be up to standard before you start promoting it.
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Word of mouth advertising is what I consistently shoot for, Sire. But it’s going to take a whole lot of chatty people to get it done.
Mitch´s last blog ..WordPress 2.8.1; This Is More Like It
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Sire Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Well you must know you have a pretty chatty bloke in me Mitch, so that’s one feather in your cap.
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Mitch Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Same here, as you notice your mention and link in my WP 2.8.1 post.
Mitch´s last blog ..TweetValue
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Sire Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
I did see that, don’t tell me I forgot to thank you for it?
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Mitch Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I won’t tell you that then, but you did accuse me of blaming you for something, which of course I didn’t do.
Mitch´s last blog ..TweetValue
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Sire Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
I did? Where did I do that, not on the WordPress post, I just checked.
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Sire, the ‘Word Of Mouth’ idea seems awesome but I wonder how many people will remeber the url when they are back home if they saw an ad while waiting for the light to change!
Probably they will fight with their partners and blog about it if the have one 8)
Hicham´s last blog ..De-Stereotyping the Image?
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Sire Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Good point Hicham. but that was just an example that is used in the real world. I suppose you could use it to advertise your blog, but it would have to be a simple easy to remember url like Wassupblog.com
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Sure you did, but with a smiley face; you wrote this:
“Nice one Mitch, blame it on poor old Sire”
Mitch´s last blog ..How Goes The Writing
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Sire Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Oh yes, now I remember.
But, did you or did you not say ‘I upgraded the lazy way today, which I blame on our friend Sire’, thereby laying blame on your blogging mate?
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Mitch Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Well, now that I looked at it again, I guess I did do that. Course, it was your fault!
:lol_tb:
Mitch´s last blog ..Michael Jackson – The Follow Up
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Sire Reply:
July 11th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Hey, at least I’m passing on something, even if it’s just my bad habits.
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Hi
I have given you an award. Check it here
http://www.oceanofweb.com/blogging/friendship-chain-award.html
Atul´s last blog ..Friendship Chain Award
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Sire Reply:
July 13th, 2009 at 4:38 am
Thanks Atul, but like I said to George who awarded me this a little while back I am unable to participate in this type of meme.
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Good post Sire. I agree that word of mouth can be very effective. It does require a big network of blogging friends to spread the word to their friends and so on. Luckilly, social media makes this all possible. BTW, I included this post in my “Sunday’s Best” series as one of the ten best posts of the week. Tweeted you on Twittley too :-)
Tycoon Blogger @Make Money Blogging´s last blog ..Sunday’s Best – week ending July 12, 2009
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Sire Reply:
July 13th, 2009 at 4:48 am
Thanks Tycoon for the praise and the inclusion in your ‘Sunday Best’ series. Naturally it takes time to build up a network, but once a blogger has one under his belt all he has to do is produce quality content and everything else will fall into place.
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Word of mouth can be achieved with the help of blog, forums and reviews. I am sure if you will use all the three techniques then everything will be fine and you will be able to promote very well.
Hakan Selvi´s last blog ..Business Opportunities in Canada
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Sire Reply:
July 13th, 2009 at 4:52 am
That is true Hakan, but unless one has quality content to start off with the only word of mouth a blogger will get may be in the negative direction.
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I love word of mouth i have marketed my blog by first making friends with people on twitter and then i dm them my blog post. They usually retweet. So ya i rely on word of mouth.
gautam hans´s last blog ..Tweetmeme vs Twittley: Which one is better?
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Good on you gautam for utilizing the best form of marketing there is.
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Another term for word-of-mouth would be viral marketing. Whatever you call it, it’s actually quite hard to execute, since in its purest form, word-of-mouth heavily depends on the audience.
What we can do is influence and induce word-of-mouth by making the idea “viral” – making it attention-grabbing and putting in place some “reward” system to encourage people to spread the idea.
Charles – Big Idea Blogger´s last blog ..The Fastest Way to Achieve Results for Your Blog
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Sire Reply:
July 13th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
I understand what you are saying Charles, but personally if I had to offer some sort of reward to get people to spread the word about how good a particular post it would leave an empty feeling inside, as if the post was not good enough to make it on it’s own. I would rather have 2 referrals from people who really loved the post than 100 that had to bribed to say it.
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This is definitely a great way to go Sire! I have tried it myself, very modestly and it works great! Can’t wait till I do it agressively ;)
Evita´s last blog ..Gatherings
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Sire Reply:
July 13th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I’m not surprised that it works for you Evita, especially as you provide some very provocative thoughts and photos on your blog.
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I’ve actually considering putting ads up, possibly on local mailboxes, about my blog. I have not taken action on it yet, but now that I’ve seen this, I’m tempted to. It is a great way to get the word out of your blog.
The Gooroo @ Finance Advisory Stop´s last blog ..Does Money Bring Happiness?
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Sire Reply:
July 13th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Well, if you do decide to go that route you might consider coming back to tell us how it all worked out for you.
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“…they follow the scent of intelligence left by the bait you left behind”
I’d leave it to you, Sire, to phrase a good thing like leaving good comments, and rephrase it into such an evil fashion. :-)
Seriously though, you’ve inspired me. I think that I will start thinking of some low cost or no cost methods of promoting my blog in the real world, much like that flyer that you posted a picture of.
Trey – Swollen Thumb Entertainment´s last blog ..Twittley, A Blogger’s Best Friend
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Sorry Trey, I meant no evil intent by that phrase, perhaps it’s your evil mind?
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Trey - Swollen Thumb Entertainment Reply:
July 14th, 2009 at 1:26 am
lol, maybe it is. I find it humorous that you talk about luring readers to your blog like you’re catching prey or something. :-)
Trey – Swollen Thumb Entertainment´s last blog ..Twittley, A Blogger’s Best Friend
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Hey bro Im glad to be back through and I actually just Stumbled one of your other articles and plan on Twittley’ this bad boy as well.
I like how you combined a lot of useful information for bloggers into your article, short and to the point too.
Extreme John@Extreme John Blogs and Business´s last blog ..UFC 100 Review Brock Lesnar is a Jackass
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Sire Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Thanks John, I like to keep my posts short when I can because it means a lot less work on my part
Still I reckon it’s all good as long as I get my point across. 
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Man Sire… this post got a lot of comments. I kept scrolling down to leave a comment but I thought I was never going to make it to the Comment Box :)
Great post! I totally believe that word of mouth advertising can be the best, even if your budget allows for paid advertising. People seem to stick better when they are recommended to your site or see you as someone who helps others by leaving useful and thought out comments on blog posts.
Doug Dillard´s last blog ..Selling Information Products – The Best Way to Get Started Selling Information (Part 2)
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Sire Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Yeah, I do get that occasionally, reckon that means I’m doing something right huh?
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Interesting post with the ‘Word of mouth’ concept. I see a lot of nice ideas from You on this blog, guess I gonna comment some more posts ;)
pozycjonowanie poznań´s last blog ..Odsiwiacz
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Well, that’s so nice of you Pozy, to take the time to read and comment on more than one post. I really appreciate it.
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How much time do you think someone with the right skills and who writes, for example, one post per week, to have some loyal readers and to start building a true network? How long did you need?
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Just writing the post won’t be enough. You have to go out and comment actively on other blogs. If you leave quality comments it won’t be long before your blog will be noticed.
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On internet people spread the word with link. Therefore search engine like google create algoritm to get a link as popularity check.
However people can spread the word in real life about one blog or website if the website have simple domain name and easy to pronounce.
In my opinion the most effective and low cost doing marketing on net is with do-ourselves-SEO.
Ruri@Free article directory´s last blog ..9 Popular Ways To Win At Sportsbetting
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Sire Reply:
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:13 am
Thanks Ruri for taking the time to comment, and I reckon you are right about having a simple name makes it easier to spread the word.
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I am completely with you on this one. However the relevant TA on these sights you need to have doesn’t come for free. It costs time. Time is money for me. What do you think?
Chris Peterson´s last blog ..Tips for Building High Value Links for Your Site
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Sire Reply:
September 9th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Time is money, and it is worth spending more time leaving a good comment over less time and a poor comment. The first will lead to traffic and will also build your ‘name or brand’ the other will probably get deleted.
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I guess the new technologies are too much for me. When you talk about digg, stumble, etc…. I am quite lost. I don’t know how to start. If you can make a article for beginners about this resources would be great for me.
Cherry@sexy lingerie´s last blog ..Lingerie – Lenceria
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Sire Reply:
May 20th, 2010 at 3:35 am
Basically Digg, Stumble and the like are social networking sites that people use to tell others that they’ve come across something interesting.
Example; say you were a member of Digg and you really liked this post, you would simply click on the Digg link or button and that simple click will notify other Digg members that you found it interesting which will lead to traffic to this post.
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