Everyone’s blogging these days. If you want to stand out from the crowd and get your blog noticed, you have to do more than offer up interesting, quality content (though that should definitely be your foundation).
Getting your blog noticed requires offering your readers something more. In the past, this has included e-books, contests, and giveaways. The Internet is constantly evolving, and what’s hot now quickly becomes yesterday’s news. You have to keep up with what’s new and interesting to stay relevant.
Apps are the next big thing for companies and bloggers. There are thousands of apps available that offer entertainment, useful information, or helpful tools. Developing an app for your blog – either directly related to your products and services or that is related to your niche and complements your content – can help you tap into that market and get more attention for your blog.
When designing your app, take care to ensure that all the elements appropriately reflect your brand, including the tone, style, and purpose of your blog.
Creating a tool like an app instantly establishes you as an authority in your niche. Be sure you create a quality app that serves a purpose for your readers and complements your status as an authority in the field. For example, if you write a financial blog, you can create a debt calculator or a budgeting app for students. If
you write a lifestyle blog, you can offer an app that tracks goals or manages your schedule.
By offering your readers useful tools or information, you are establishing yourself as an authority in your field – as someone who can provide solutions to real problems.
When customers see that you have an app, they have a new understanding of your brand as one that understands current market trends. This will let readers know that your blog is current and relevant, offering them the information they need about issues they care about now. Offering an app also shows readers that you are serious about long-term growth. Flash-in-the-pan blogs don’t sacrifice the time and investment to create a quality app. If you have an app, it shows that you are willing to invest for the long haul by offering customers the latest tools.
When someone downloads your app, they will learn about your blog (assuming you have taken the proper steps to link back to it or include information about it). The more attention your app gets, the more attention your blog gets, and vice versa. Offering an app adds another tool in your marketing toolbox, helping you to drive more traffic to your site and increasing your conversion rates.
A good app will provide you with a quality, passive income stream, which you can use to further promote and develop your blog. You don’t have to price your app high to make the big bucks: Even a 99 cent app can bring in quality income when it is downloaded hundreds or thousands of times per month.
Free apps can also generate passive income through advertising. Often, a free app will generate more downloads, especially if it’s your first app. Choosing the right price point – even if it’s free – can make all the difference in the success of your app.
You don’t need to be a computer programmer in order to develop an app for your blog or Web site. You can easily hire a freelance programmer through sites like odesk. Depending on the complexity of the app, you could spend as little as a couple hundred dollars. If your app idea is very simple, you could even use free software available online to create it.
No matter how you source your app, it is worthwhile to develop it to promote your blog. It will help you drive traffic to your site, establish yourself as an authority, and promote your brand.
Getting your blog noticed requires offering your readers something more. In the past, this has included e-books, contests, and giveaways. The Internet is constantly evolving, and what’s hot now quickly becomes yesterday’s news. You have to keep up with what’s new and interesting to stay relevant.
Apps are the next big thing for companies and bloggers. There are thousands of apps available that offer entertainment, useful information, or helpful tools. Developing an app for your blog – either directly related to your products and services or that is related to your niche and complements your content – can help you tap into that market and get more attention for your blog.
Here’s how developing an app can help you promote your blog:
Branding
The more you get your name out there, the more readily people will be able to recognize your brand. A good app has the potential to go viral, getting hundreds or thousands of downloads. Every time your app is downloaded, a customer becomes acquainted with your company.When designing your app, take care to ensure that all the elements appropriately reflect your brand, including the tone, style, and purpose of your blog.
Authority
Creating a tool like an app instantly establishes you as an authority in your niche. Be sure you create a quality app that serves a purpose for your readers and complements your status as an authority in the field. For example, if you write a financial blog, you can create a debt calculator or a budgeting app for students. If
you write a lifestyle blog, you can offer an app that tracks goals or manages your schedule.
By offering your readers useful tools or information, you are establishing yourself as an authority in your field – as someone who can provide solutions to real problems.
Relevance
When customers see that you have an app, they have a new understanding of your brand as one that understands current market trends. This will let readers know that your blog is current and relevant, offering them the information they need about issues they care about now. Offering an app also shows readers that you are serious about long-term growth. Flash-in-the-pan blogs don’t sacrifice the time and investment to create a quality app. If you have an app, it shows that you are willing to invest for the long haul by offering customers the latest tools.
When someone downloads your app, they will learn about your blog (assuming you have taken the proper steps to link back to it or include information about it). The more attention your app gets, the more attention your blog gets, and vice versa. Offering an app adds another tool in your marketing toolbox, helping you to drive more traffic to your site and increasing your conversion rates.
Revenue
A good app will provide you with a quality, passive income stream, which you can use to further promote and develop your blog. You don’t have to price your app high to make the big bucks: Even a 99 cent app can bring in quality income when it is downloaded hundreds or thousands of times per month.
Free apps can also generate passive income through advertising. Often, a free app will generate more downloads, especially if it’s your first app. Choosing the right price point – even if it’s free – can make all the difference in the success of your app.
You don’t need to be a computer programmer in order to develop an app for your blog or Web site. You can easily hire a freelance programmer through sites like odesk. Depending on the complexity of the app, you could spend as little as a couple hundred dollars. If your app idea is very simple, you could even use free software available online to create it.
No matter how you source your app, it is worthwhile to develop it to promote your blog. It will help you drive traffic to your site, establish yourself as an authority, and promote your brand.
Guest Post by Sarah Rexman is the main researcher and writer for BedBugs.org. Her most recent accomplishment includes graduating from Florida State, with a master’s degree in environmental science. Her main focus for the bedbugs site involves teaching people all about bed bug prevention.
