Maintaining a blog and promoting a blog is no simple task. Here are three general blog promotion tools to get you started.

Generate traffic to your blog with comments
It’s simple. If you want people to visit your blog and comment on your blog, you have to visit theirs first. Set aside ten minutes every day to visit new blogs and leave comments.

One way to do this efficiently is to set up an account with Google Alerts. Using keywords specific to your blog, you can find other bloggers who are writing about similar topics. When you receive notice that another blogger has written about your topic, then you can head on over and leave your feedback.

Similarly, if you are on Twitter, then you can sign up for a keyword notification from TweetLater. Just like with Google Alerts, TweetLater will tell you when someone Tweets using your keywords. When you are notified, take the time to follow, return Tweet, and comment.

Oh, and as an aside, don’t leave links to your blog within your comments, that just looks spammy.  And in your return Tweet, leave your boasting to a minimum.

Be an authority, not just a blogger
Yes, you need to write quality blog posts, but you also need to be active among social networks to gain readership and to prove yourself as an authority in the topic you blog about. Start a group on Facebook, respond to questions on Yahoo! Answers, ask your own question through a Tweet on Twitter, ask your Web site visitors to take a survey and then share your results on Creative Commons.

All of these online resources provide you with an opportunity to share your expertise — and hey, most people who like what you say will visit your blog too.

Write Guest Blog Posts
Almost every blogger struggles to find the time to blog every week and to find interesting topics to write about every time. Therefore, most bloggers would be delighted to accept guest blog posts from another blogger; especially a blogger that writes good content. This is an excellent way to network with fellow bloggers and an even better way to gain valuable links back to your blog. Incoming links help improve your search engine ranking.

About Sara Lancaster

Sara is The Condiment Marketing Co.’s founder and creative director. She oversees client relationships, strategic marketing plans, as well as a bit of copywriting and social media management.