For many individuals and businesses, getting started with a website or blog is a very daunting task. After all, you have to register a domain name, setup a hosting account, install the website, learn how to use the software and then figure out what you are actually going to write about now that have a platform that allows you to voice your opinion to the world!
Now, I say this with tongue in cheek because it’s really not that hard. But, like anything in life, you do have to put in the time and educate yourself to get good at it. Of course, once you get past the point of setting up all the technical stuff and figuring out what to write about, you now have to figure out how to get people on your site to read your content.
Syndicate To Drive Traffic!
There are a number of ways that you can get traffic to your website organically over time, but, wouldn’t it be nice if you could follow a simple step-by-step process to syndicate your articles so that they can be found and read by hundreds, or even thousands of viewers?
I have experimented with hundreds of tools to help me do this for all of my online ventures. And, even though my list doesn’t even begin to cover ALL the ways you can syndicate your content, I have found a system that works for me and hopefully you’ll find value in it as well. The video below is the step-by-step process I take every time I post a new article on my blog.
Automate
There is nothing better than setting something and forgetting about it. Here are three ways that you can automate your content syndication any time you write a new article.
1. TwitterFeed
TwitterFeed.com allows you to update your Twitter status automatically whenever you write a new blog article. The service syncs your Twitter account to your Blog RSS and can also be integrated with your chosen URL shortener to ensure you can track the clicks on your unique links.
2. Facebook Notes
With Facebook Notes, you can import posts from one external blog so that they appear along with your notes and displays the article on your Facebook Fan Page wall. Facebook will automatically update your notes whenever you write in your blog via RSS. In order to add your RSS feed to the Facebook Notes application, you have to “Edit” your Facebook Fan Page, scroll down the page until you see “Notes”, then click “Edit”. Then, in the top right corner of the page, you’ll see a link called “Import A Blog”. From there, you just add your Blog RSS URL and you are all set!
3. Linkedin – WordPress Application
With the WordPress App on Linkedin, you can sync your WordPress blog posts with your LinkedIn profile, keeping everyone you know in the know. Once added, you can filter your posts with a special LinkedIn tag and even display your personal WordPress Gravatar (global avatar). Updates are automatically sent to your network for instant notifications and gratification.
Manual
There are still some things in life where you have to roll up your sleeves and get the work done. (Or, outsource your work and have someone else do it for you :). Regardless of which way you choose, here are four ways you can syndicate your content and drive more traffic to your website.
4. Linkedin – Status Updates
LinkedIn status updates are a nice way of helping to stay top of mind with contacts. If you were to call or email all your contacts any time you did something small but interesting, it would quickly become seen as pushy or spammy.
But, updating your status is an non-intrusive way of getting a gentle reminder out. Depending on their settings, your contacts will get a regular email with a summary of the status updates of their contacts. And they will see the updates on their LinkedIn homepage.
5. Linkedin – Group Discussions
Linkedin Groups are a great place to post relevant content that may be of interest the those in the group. Recently, there have been some changes made to Linkedin Groups that allows users to quickly peruse new content and vote either by “liking” or commenting on discussions they deem worthy of the group’s attention.
Of course, you want to make sure that whatever content and links you are providing with the Group Discussions are providing value rather than just spamming.
6. Onlywire.com – Automated Content and Bookmark Distribution
Onlywire allows creators and authors of online content to efficiently reach billions of readers globally. Its publishing list consists of the best-in-class social networking sites representing the web’s highest-density in terms of readership – the list includes Facebook, Digg, Twitter, Delicious, StumbleUpon and many others (40 active services).
Update: Since I recorded the above video, I discovered that Onlywire has a plugin that you can install on your self-hosted WordPress site (required for Free use). The best feature about this plugin is that it has an option in the settings to automatically publish your articles to all of the platforms you sync with the service. So, essentially, this one can fall under the “Automate” category. However, in order to update your “Status” on selected platforms, you still have to manually use the “Bookmark & Share” button that you will drag into your Bookmarks Toolbar.
7. EzineArticles
Ezine Articles is an article marketing, publicity generating, pre-qualified traffic building, and article exposure service designed to get your expert articles in front of their content-hungry ezine publisher audience. Their searchable database of hundreds of thousands of quality original articles allows email newsletter publishers hungry for fresh content to find articles that they can use for inclusion within their next newsletter.
Previously fee-based, they are testing a new ad-supported model which means there is no charge to use their service during this test period and all new accounts get (10) article submissions to prove your level of article quality. If your first 10 article submissions meet or exceed their posted editorial guidelines, they will review your membership account to be upgraded to their PLATINUM level of membership — that allows unlimited article submissions and priority approval speed.
Membership
8. The Unified Tribe
Tribes have been around since the beginning of time. But, in today’s socially connected world, it has never been easier to connect with like-minded people that are genuinely interested in helping each other. The Unified Tribe is exactly that….People helping People with a major emphasis placed on the concept of reciprocity. The more you help other people promote and distribute their content, the more you will get back in return.
Once you are a member of The Unified Tribe ($67/Month), you can submit your own blog articles to the “Unified Feed” where others can then help you promote your content. However, you first have to earn 5 reciprocity points. Reciprocity points are earned by helping promote other member articles on Digg, StumbleUpon, Twitter and Facebook.
For anyone looking for an instant way to join a Tribe of like-minded people that are genuinely interested in helping you achieve your personal and business goals, you should definitely check out The Unified Tribe. I have been using it for the approximately 3 weeks now and I have not only received significant value from a content distribution standpoint, but I have also had the pleasure of connecting with many of the other members and fellow bloggers via Skype where I have now built real relationships with them that make me want to help them out even more.
Bonus
This final tip falls more under the “content creation” category than it does under syndication, but I wanted to stress the value in conducting video interviews as a means to produce content for your blog. Remember, I started this article say that one of the hardest parts in getting started with a blog is figuring out what to write about. By doing video interviews (and then transcribing 
those interviews), you can easily create content for your blog without having to come up with new ideas all the time.
And, the great part is, the fact that you are helping promote someone else makes them inherently want to help you in return. Therefor, they will help you spread the word about your article which will expose your blog to a whole new audience that didn’t know you existed before.
