Here you can find some tips to popularize your poems. You write an amazing poetry. You made sure to catch readers nerve. You share the link on Twitter, Facebook, even Google+.
Then you wait in breathless anticipation for your share count to skyrocket. Except it doesn’t. Never fear, in this article you’ll find fresh ideas to generate buzz and get your poems noticed.
Promote Your Article Across a “Wider” Variety of Platforms
Everyone is using Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn to promote their content. It’s tempting to focus only on these four networks because they have popularity and community numbers on their side.
However, you get a competitive advantage when you share your content on smaller or less well-known networks. These sites often have active, focused audiences and offer less competition for attention, so your content will stand out.
Here are some examples of smaller networks:
- Quora.com—A question/answer-based website founded by two former Facebook employees. What makes Quora unique is that all content is created, edited and organized by its user community. The user base tends to be more business- and academic-oriented.
- Tumblr—A microblogging site that recently made headlines when Yahoo! acquired it. Its user base tends to be younger and more “hip,” making it the perfect platform to share edgier, niche-based content.
Grab Viewer Interest With Different Types of Media
Sharing a link to your poem isn’t enough to guarantee that it gets read. You need to give users a compelling reason to click your link.
Use one or more of these outside-the-box, creative methods to promote your poem with featured images, use audio poetry and video too sometimes.
Pin Your Poem to a Pinterest Group Board
Pinterest allows you to pin on individual boards and collaborate by pinning to contributor boards. The benefit of pinning to a contributor board is increased exposure. When you pin to a contributor board, your fellow contributors see the pin and so do their followers. The more members and followers a group board has, the more people will see your pin.
Here are some tips for pinning your poem to Pinterest:
- Choose an interesting image from your blog poem to pin
- Make sure the title of your poem is visible on the image you choose
- Add keywords to the description
- Use hashtags, if they’re relevant
- Pinterest will add the URL to your poem
Instagram an Image From Your Post
Instagram has a constantly updating feed of images that is viewed by over 100 million monthly users. Sharing your main blog image, overlaid with the poem title, is a great way to drive organic traffic to your blog. You can leverage the sheer volume of Instagram traffic by using the same blog poem image that you shared to Pinterest. Instagram is also very hashtag-friendly! Here’s an easy way to post your picture to the Instagram community and beyond:
- Upload the image to Instagram
- Add any relevant hashtags and the URL of your poem to the caption, using Bitly to shorten and track click-throughs
- Be sure to @ mention anyone you referred to in your poem
- Remember to share your Instagram image to Tumblr, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Foursquare
Get Creative When Promoting Your Poems
There are many other creative ways to promote your poem. Don’t be afraid to try something new!
Just because no one else is doing it doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea. Some tactics will resonate with your readers. Some will not. And that’s ok. The important thing is to keep innovating.
What do you think? Have you used any of these creative alternatives? Do you have another, outside-the-box idea for promoting your poems? Please let us know your suggestions in the comments below.