How to promote an article

Email's been around for a couple of hundred internet years now, and it still remains one of the most popular methods to reach friends, family and co-workers. Getting an email address is as simple as making Google your home page, and just as rewarding. Quality, free email accounts can be found all over the internet, but for the purpose of this article, we'll stick to two major ones.

Google mail (Gmail)
Probably one of the most popular free online accounts is Google's Gmail, and for good reason too. Gmail offers you an incredible amount of control over your email, and a huge inbox. This alone makes it worth having. To create a Gmail account, you go to mail.google.com. On this page, you'll see a 'Sign up for Gmail' link on the right-hand side of the page. Click on this link, and fill in the required information (goes a bit quicker with the Google Toolbar's AutoFill option). Click on the 'I accept. Create my account.' button, follow any other instructions that may be given, and you're good to go.

Yahoo email
To create a Yahoo account, you simply go to www.yahoo.com, and click on the 'Mail' button. Once the page is loaded, you're presented with a 'Sign up for Yahoo' button. Click on this button, and you're presented with a form. Fill out the form (goes a bit quicker with the Google Toolbar's AutoFill option), and click on the 'Create My Account' button. There, all done.

Email etiquette
No matter how convinced you are that you're able to sway the public's general opinion on who the next UN leader should be with your brilliantly written article, you still need to adhere to basic email etiquette.

Keep the spam in the can
No one likes spam, not even Monty Python. Do not spam, ever. "What is spam?" you ask. Spam is the sending of unwanted emails, usually in bulk, to people who are not interested in what you have to say. The best way to not be a perpetrator of this atrocious act of felony is to send the article to only those you know well, and who trust you. If you want to send the email to someone you do not know too well, it is best to ask their permission first.

The idea with email
The idea with an email is to simply send a link of your online posted article (with a nice friendly descriptive title) to friends, family, co-workers and those who might be interested. They click on the link, and your article pops up in the browser. Badabing badaboom. Easy.

Right, your email account was created, and you've sent the message to all your friends, loved ones, co-workers and all parties involved (who, of course, gave you permission to do so), but is that all? Is there not more method in this madness that is the internet communication hub? Canst thou not break forth and shareth with more???

Yes, you can! In fact, email is but one drop of communication in the very large bucket that is the web of world wide. Next up, we'll look at one of the most popular methods of sharing information on the web of this day and age, called...

Blogging is extremely popular; so much so that it might be included in the 2012 Olympic Games. Ok, it's not THAT popular, but you get the idea. The term 'blog' is simply a shortened version of the word weblog, which is simply another way of saying 'website-with-constantly-updated-articles-of-interest' (any honest blogger should be able to agree with that description).

Let's explore a couple of free blogging platforms available on the internet. Again, a myriad of these exist, but for the purpose of this article, we'll stick to only a few popular ones.

Google Blogger
And you thought Google only gives you search options and an email account. Not so, my friend! Google's blogging platform is very popular, as it affords anyone the chance to get their message out to the world, all for free. To create your Google Blogger account, simply go to blogger.com, click on the 'CREATE BLOG NOW' button, follow the instructions, and start using your account.

Wordpress blogs
Wordpress is currently the king of the blogosphere as far as content presentation and sharing is concerned. It is extremely powerful, and very flexible. To create a Wordpress account, go to wordpress.com, click on the 'Sign Up Now' button, and follow the instructions. Very simple indeed.

Yahoo's MyBlogLog
My Blog Log is a blogging connection site, rather than a blogging platform. It is, however, an excellent place to make friends and share your stories. To create a My Blog Log account, go to www.mybloglog.com, and sign in with your Yahoo ID, which you would have received with the making of your Yahoo email account, if you did create a Yahoo email account. Befriend those people whom you find of interest to you, and share with them in their worlds, rather than expecting everything and giving nothing. You know, hold hands and sing Kumbaya.

Paid-for blogging platforms
Though these systems are free, both of these platforms are offered as a paid option, wherein you have the flexibility of giving the blog a unique URL, for a monthly instalment.

Blogging etiquette

Be human
The online business model is changing rapidly into a more palatable format. The good business blogger readily makes available information on him- or herself, and even posts an image. A face emerges behind the writing, and this creates trust. Consider this when entering the blogging world.

Don't be rude to other people
As with emailing, some rules do apply to blogging as well, and it is best to keep to these, in order not to kill your reputation or upset folks unnecessary. When blogging, refrain from bad-mouthing people, especially if you haven't brushed your teeth yet. This kind of action is also called 'flaming', and is very prevalent in many an online society. Is it good practice? Well, if you grew up among wolves, I'm sure you'd have no problem with it. Humans, however, do have a problem with it, and lawsuits are often an attractive way of making this fact known.

Make sure of your facts
In order for you not to feel the wrath of the reader, make sure that the information you relay on your posts are accurate. If you are unsure of something, make it clear.

The idea with blogging
A blogging platform gives you access to many functions, all of which can be used to get the reader's attention to your article. As you'd like the reader to go to the original content source, the best way to do this would be to have only a small portion of the article on the blog, with a link to the original, full article. This way, the blog can be scanned for articles with headings of interest, and the reader has the choice to click on whichever link he/she feels is interesting.

Ok, the email's set up and the blog is rolling. Now, you can sit back and relax, and watch the readership rocket to heights only imaginable in a Star Trek episode. Nope. Sorry, more work to be done! Next, we'll look at...

You know social networking sites. You probably belong to at least one. If not, you should. There's plenty to choose from, from myspace.com, to facebook.com, to bebo.com, to name but a few.

Facebook
It's time to start using your Facebook account for more than simply poking your best friend. Facebook is undoubtedly the online phenomena of the day. It is an incredible place to meet up with old friends, and make new ones. The incredible thing is, Facebook is also a great marketing tool, and can be used in numerous ways to get eyes on your article.

The Facebook status update
This is obviously the best place to post a link to your linguistic masterpiece. It's easy enough to do too. The beauty of posting to your Facebook newsfeed is that Facebook has a pretty good idea of what part of the article/web page to share as a snippet.

The 'Share on Facebook' bookmark button
The 'Share on Facebook' bookmark button is a great way to share your article on your Facebook profile page. Simply add the button to your bookmarks folder, navigate over to your article, and click on the button. A pop-up window appears wherein you can add a short description of the article.

The Facebook Simply RSS plugin
This is a handy little tool to have in your Facebook toolbox. Install this RSS aggregator on your profile, add the URL of the feed your article is syndicated in, and it displays all the headlines from the feed, on your profile. Best of all: it updates automatically.

Facebook pages
Although Facebook pages in the past had a tendency to die due to lack of interest, things have dramatically changed in that department. Whenever a page makes an update, that update is sent to whoever Like'd it's newsfeed. This is a fantastic way of getting new eyeballs on your content.

Facebook Like buttons
Don't go placing the Like button on every single piece of content. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. It is a great way to get exposure, and you make it easy for someone who likes your article to show their friends that they do, but be careful where you place it. Like-ing a contact page doesn't make much sense, does it?

Other social networking sites
Facebook's not the only social network site out there. Although it is the second most popular (slowly but surely gaining on myspace), there are a gazillion others too. One other very popular site is bebo.com, which is pretty much the same as Facebook. Signing up for Bebo is also free, and highly recommended.

Alrighty then, that's enough. Nothing more. No, really, there's nothing more for you to do, unless, of course, you're interested in... nah, you wouldn't be. I mean, who'd take you seriously, and what if it doesn't work? What if people aren't interested in voting for your stuff on...

Yup, folks, that's what it's called. Social bookmarking sites. No longer happy with having a bookmark organiser in a browser, some brilliant mind came across the idea of having a website where people meet and share their favourite sites, for others to see, and even vote upon. Silly idea right? No. It works. And it works so well that servers have crashed from overloads caused by traffic from sites like these.

The workings of social bookmarking sites
Although algorithms may differ from site to site, and the act of voting is called a different name on each, all social bookmarking sites work on the same principle, that of the most popular articles getting the most exposure.

creating your account
The usual methodology applies for creating an account on a social bookmarking site. Fill out the form, click on some sort of 'Join' button, and follow the instructions. Do not create more than one account. It costs you more work, and it is known that there are account hunters at some of these sites, out to find people with more than one account. It is humiliating if you are caught out, and could jeopardise your online reputation. Not only that; it is just plain weird and creepy.

You'll need lots of friends
Befriend people on these sites. Chances are they might befriend you right back, thus enlarging your network. You'll never get far flying solo. These sites are called SOCIAL bookmarking sites for a reason. If they didn't want you to be social, they'd have called it recluse bookmarking sites.

Let's look at a couple of these amazing bookmarking sites.

Digg
Digg.com is currently top of the charts on the social bookmarking list, and standing very strong at that. If you could get your amazing article to hit the first page of Digg, traffic to the page could reach up to tens of thousands of visitors. This often happens with articles that front-page on Digg.

Mixx
Mixx.com is climbing to the top quickly, and is a very easy to use, clean looking site with great content and a great community. Mixx is very similar to Digg, in the content that is posted there. It's a great place to get some exposure.

Stumbleupon
Another awesome social bookmarking site is StumbleUpon.com, which literally lets you stumble upon sites other people have submitted (stumbled). It is said that traffic from SU is good for the long-run, although it does not give the immediate spike that Digg type sites tend to give. This is a good thing. StumbleUpon is your friend. Create an account there, install the SU toolbar, and start partaking in the stumbling. Like all other social sites, participation is key.

Newsvine
Newsvine.com is a very popular site, and is geared more towards serious articles. Be aware though, Newsvine does not tolerate self-submissions. Best you get your spouse or best friend to create an account and have them submit it.

Social bookmarking etiquette
Show some respect on these sites, and people will respect you. Act like a monkey, and people will throw you a rotten banana.

Be careful with self-submissions
Ok, this might look like it totally defeats the purpose of joining a social community to get exposure to your article, but this is not the case. Some social bookmarking sites just do not like it if you post your own stuff all the time. It is selfish. Keep this in mind. In fact, some sites might even ban you if you submit your own content and they find out you've done it. If you keep self-submissions to a respectable limit, you should be fine.

Don't share all the time
You, your spouse, your children and your neighbour know that your content is life-altering. Others might not agree. Keep your article sharing to a limit. This'll ensure that people don't get tired of you, and remove you from their friends list altogether.

Explain down votes
If you do have the guts to vote down someone's submission, explain why. This is not necessary, but it sure does make things easy on the submitter, and besides, you'd love to know why someone votes your stuff down (it'll happen). Next up, the not so social side of the social web, in...

A social aggregation site allow you to create an account, and add all your other social accounts to it, throwing all your stuff into a big mixing bowl and baking a virtual cake for you and the world to see. Very handy to have if you're not sure where you've left your footprints on the web.

Profilactic
Profilactic.com is a very clean site, and very handy for gathering your social footprints all in one place. You can add friends on this site too, allowing you to see what their submissions, votes and comments for each day are.

Next on the agenda, also known as majiggers, whatchamacallits, doodah's, gizmos, thingamabobs, or gimmicks, are...

widgets
Widgets are all over the internet these days. You can't miss them. They're usually in the shape of a round-cornered box with a whole lot of links inside them pointing to similar articles on the net (it's not that these articles are superior to yours; but they're good). Widgets go hand in hand with blogs and RSS feeds. If you subscribe to MyBlogLog, they'll give you some sort of widget you can place on your site. The same applies for Blogger, and a host of other sites. If you've decided upon a blogging platform, having some sort of widget in the sidebar is a great way to get the network juices flowing.

Almost done. Hang in there. Next up, one of the hottest tools in the online marketing sphere, and causing quite a stir, is known as...

Micro-blogging is the new black. It gives you the opportunity to briefly state what you're up to at any given time of the day. Here's the catch; you only have a certain amount of characters to play with. Now, this service could be very restricted (it certainly isn't easy carrying your desktop around with you all day), but certain micro-blogging platforms allow for updates from mobile devices, or from a widget (aha!) inside the browser.

Let's explore the most popular micro-blogging platform, and what you can do to maximise your usage of it.

Twitter
Twitter.com is a VERY good micro-blogging platform. As with any other social platform, you can add friends, and stay up to date with what they are tweeting. Don't be mistaken, Twitter is not for the birds. If you follow the right people on Twitter, you'll be exposed to some gems that you might miss out on otherwise.

Twitter needs a tool and some tweaks to optimize performance. There are plenty tools available, but we'll mention only one here (a simple Google should reveal a million or so others).

Echofon
Echofon sits in the bottom right-hand corner of your browser. You need the Firefox browser for this tool. This is not a bad thing, since Firefox is an excellent browser. Install Echofon in your browser, link it to your account, and start tweeting. This way, you can tweet whenever you've posted a gem. The link is also clickable, making it easy for people to get to your content.

Link Twitter to your other sites or a mobile device
You can link your Twitter account to a host of other sites. You can link it to your Facebook and Profilactic pages, to name but two. This is great for exposing your article. You can also link Twitter to your mobile device, making it easy for you to tweet on the go.

Twitter etiquette
Do not overtweet. Don't tweet every single minute of the day. This is unnecessary. Nobody likes a hyperactive budgy. Do not overtweet on your own submissions. If someone sends you a message, reply. If someone tweets something you found helpful, or interesting, thank them. Basically, do all the normal stuff wolves wouldn't do.

More social sites
There's lens showing a huge list of social bookmarking sites, well worth looking at. Here's the link: Huge list of bookmarking sites.

Rants and raves concerning you and your content
The online marketing game is an ever-changing game. What's hot today might not even be around tomorrow. Adhering to basic guidelines (such as the above) is crucial if you want maximum exposure.

Your avatar
This might be a small thing, but a good avatar could mean the difference between people trusting you, or people thinking you're a freak. If you want to come across as a professional, make sure you look professional, or at least friendly.

Use your language well
This is a very important point! Leave terrible grammar to the pros who don't need to have their language down to get the point across (guys like Tim Nash who's a super SEO rocket-hero guy dude). The gurus out there often don't need to check their articles, since people are interested enough in what they have to offer. They can look past the mistakes. That, my friend, may not be the case for you. You need to make sure your language is of the highest standard. You need to make sure your grammar is good. If you struggle with a language, make use of a professional language service. But be sure to get the word out in the best possible way you can.

I hope this article was of some help :-)