Superb Blog-Related Marketing
Hilton Giesenow says I have some superb blog-related marketing going on. I guess we all become Robert Scoble in time. I must just have an accelerated case of the Scobles. :)
Seriously though, I have been marketing. My first 7 posts have now generated 28 comments, 40 trackbacks, tens of subscribers, and hundreds of downloads, many from Microsoft employees, MVP's, and community insiders. I've had people link to me whose books are on my bookshelf, whose blogs I read regularly, and who are likely far smarter than I am. As a new blogger and a community outsider, I'm incredibly happy with the response, and I don't think it would have happened without marketing.
If you're a new blogger and you have a product to market (a tool, an add-in, a method, your opinions; it's all product!), here's my take on what should be in your marketing plan:
- Find people who might be interested in your product.
If a blogger posts about an itch that your product scratches, email them, work a link to their post into yours, and be sure to send them a trackback ping.
If people with the same itch comment on the blogger's post, email them too.
If people mention similar products that don't quite scratch the itch, look for posts and comments on those products, and repeat. I found Roy Osherove's macro, Cory Smith's macro, Jean-Claude Manoli's CSharpFormat, Robert Verpalen's AutoFormatter, and a bunch of other interesting products and people this way. I have a lot of new blogs to read, too.
Tell people how you found them and why you think they might be interested in your product. "Hi, I read your post on <topic>, and I think you might be interested in <product> because <reasons>." is more compelling than "<Product>! <Product>! <Product>!" - Find the people who use your product.
If someone sends you a trackback ping, read their blog, see if anyone commented on their post or sent them a trackback ping, and repeat.
Not everyone sends trackback pings. Search for your name, your blog's name, and your product's name with your search engine of choice. I'm lucky, CopySourceAsHtml is a distinctive name, and I found several users (including Hilton) who I wouldn't have found otherwise. - Be accessible and engage everyone.
Solicit feedback, constantly, about everything. Ask everyone what they like, dislike, would like added, would like changed, etc. Incorporate their feedback into your product.
Help people use your product. This is easy if you know who's using it.
Ask individuals to help you do things that you can't do yourself. Laurent Kempé is testing CSAH with accented characters (I don't have time), Jonathan Greensted is testing CSAH on Whidbey (I don't have an MSDN subscription), and several users have helped test different versions and features. - Thank everyone.
It probably doesn't need to be said, but if someone plugs your product, finds a bug, submits a patch, or suggests a feature, thank them for it. If someone doesn't like your product, but they're polite about it, thank them for trying it. I don't think anyone will object to a thank-you email. - Don't go overboard.
Don't email everyone you've ever talked to about your product every time you release a new version or make a change to it. Instead, email everyone who contributed to the new version, thanking them for their contribution, and let everyone else subscribe to your blog or opt-in to a mailing list.
Don't blatantly advertise on other people's blogs.
Remember, no matter how proud you are of your product, you don't want to annoy the blogging community. :)
You should also read Scoble, Biz Stone, and Shelly Powers' takes on getting your blog discovered. I think they all make excellent points.
Cheers,
Colin
03:10 PM | Colin
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