Among many factors, the quality of your content plays a vital role in search engine rankings and getting widespread sharing on social media.
But is creating high-quality content enough to attract traffic?
Will it automatically gain links and traction?
Unfortunately, no.
Content is just the beginning. It’s important to get your content to the people who can get value from it.
The distribution process involves contacting influencers, submitting content on platforms where the target audience gathers, and repurposing text content into infographics, videos, video graphics, audio, etc.
I’ve compiled a list of 20+ free (or free trials) content distribution platforms you can use to promote your new and old content.
In addition to usage tips, I also share some case studies (where available) on how people have used the platform to drive traffic. Also included are many value-added tutorials, guides, and videos.
Also read: How to Promote Your Blog (12+ Actionable Blog Promotion Tips)
Bookmark this post:
When distributing your content, you can come back and use these distribution channels effectively for reading.
Be sure to read the entire article—there’s a reward waiting for you at the end!
Are you ready?
here we go:
Content distribution platforms expand your content reach:
1. YouTube
YouTube videos have a high chance of appearing on the first page of Google search results.
Use the second largest search engine on the internet to find your target keywords.
Here’s how:
Repackage your long-form content into a slideshow. Then, use free screencasting software like Camtasia or CamStudio to create a video tutorial . Use a high-quality microphone to ensure production quality. [](https://www.shoutmeloud.com/visit/camtasia-tool/)[](http://camstudio.org/)
Or you can use your webcam to record yourself narrating a summary of your post.
Make sure to include a call to action at the end of your video directing viewers to your website. Also, include links to your posts in your video descriptions and a link to your blog in your channel description.
Include keywords in each video and write a 250-300 word video description to show up better in the results.
Later, you can embed this video in your post. You can also contact authoritative bloggers in your field and request them to share this video on their blog.
2.Reddit
Reddit is a great social media bookmarking platform (with a like system) for discovering content. It is also known for punishing spammers and promoters.
so:
You can’t simply place a link in a subreddit (targeted niche section) and expect to get traffic.
First, create a nice looking profile by filling in all the details. Then, participate in relevant subreddits and add value to the discussions. Make sure you use language that is consistent with the subreddits you participate in.
If your submission gets a lot of upvotes, it will be pushed to the popular section and possibly even to the home page (if it's really loved).
Don’t just submit your website link or you might get banned. According to Spencer Haws (from Niche Pursuits), you should only submit one self-promotional post for every 10 posts you submit.
Read his detailed guide on how to get 10,000 page views and PA 48 backlinks from Reddit in 2 weeks with 45 minutes of work.
3. Slideshare
Slideshare is the world’s largest presentation creation site. From a distribution perspective, you can summarize your blog post in the form of a slideshow and upload it to the platform.
Keep your presentation’s bullet points short and concise. Don’t forget to write a compelling title and description for your presentation (using long-tail keywords will help).
You can add a link to your website in your profile and presentation. The description and last slide can also be used to direct viewers to your blog.
Once your presentation is complete, share it on social media and embed it in your blog post.
Read Gregory Ciotti's guide on how he attracted over 2,000 new visitors to his site by visiting his Slideshare homepage.
Additionally, LinkedIn allows you to embed presentations in your profile. So, adding presentations of your most popular posts to your LinkedIn profile can boost your visibility.
4. Facebook
According to research by Shareaholic and Digital Insider, Facebook drives 23% of total website traffic.
Sadly, organic reach for publishers on Facebook has been declining (some Pages with millions of followers are down less than 7%). This means that without advertising, you are not reaching your fans.
But the good news is:
If your content is on a niche topic (like Naruto) and you target your audience correctly, you can get a ton of traffic.
Servando Silva of Stream-SEO grew his niche website to 900 visitors in 10 days by investing less than $60 in Facebook ads. He has over 8,500 followers and his posts reach 35% of his followers.
Read the full study here . He also wrote another article on how to make $200 a day using Facebook AdSense and viral websites.
5. Twitter
According to Shareholic data in 2014, Weibo network ranked third in terms of traffic driving. It is a great platform for B2B companies. You can use it to follow the latest industry trends and interact with customers or fans in real time.
A good Twitter strategy is to post an article link at the right time, an engaging quote, a few relevant hashtags, and a high-quality image . To increase exposure, you should post the same article multiple times (with different tweet content).
You can read Brian Honigman's 10 Actionable and Effective Twitter Strategies to Get Significant Results. If you want to learn more, you can read Loz James' personalized Twitter marketing tips that tripled his website traffic.
You should also listen to Sean Malarkey and Than Merrill's podcast where he talks about how he got 150,000 followers and over 9,000 leads from Twitter in 5 months .[](https://www.twitter.com/)
6. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the favorite gathering platform for professionals and a gold mine for B2B companies to build connections.
so:
How can you use this to increase traffic to your blog posts?
Start by syndicating your existing blog post content. You can modify the post content or publish only parts of it. At the end of the post, you can add a call to action link to the full content of your blog post.
You can also repurpose your posts as status updates, search for relevant discussions in LinkedIn groups where posting your articles can add value, and post comments on updates in your feed.
Another place to showcase your best blog content is on your LinkedIn profile. You can add links to your best posts, videos, documents, and photos in each job description.
Having a post picked up by LinkedIn Pulse is invaluable—you can get hundreds of thousands of views.
7. Quora
Quora is an upgraded version of Yahoo Answers, with moderated content. It has many subtopics, and you can provide valuable advice on topics of interest to attract fans.
You can follow subtopics of your choice so that relevant questions appear in your feed. You can also write different profiles on Quora for different subtopics. This is a great opportunity to showcase your expertise in various fields!
When answering:
Genuinely work on solving the queries of your target audience.
If any of your articles can solve the query, please describe how your article can help and add a link to the full article.
If your answers get upvotes, your website will gain more followers, exposure, and visitors. In the self-improvement space, it’s common for witty and valuable answers to get thousands of upvotes.
This question-and-answer social network also has a blog. This is a great opportunity to share your blog content. Learn from self-improvement blogger James Clear , who shared his blog post.
8. Udemy
Riding the wave of the MOOC revolution, Udemy has over 5 million students as of December 2014. Courses cover a wide range of topics, from online marketing, SEO, entrepreneurship, photography, and programming to yoga, spirituality, cooking, music, and more.
The best part is that anyone can publish a course on Udemy.
Use Udemy to provide value-added courses to knowledge-hungry students:
You can recreate your best performing posts into a series of 5-minute video tutorials.
Your course can include video tutorials and text documents. Courses must be at least 40 minutes long.
These courses can be offered for free or for a fee ranging from $10 to $1000. Participating in Udemy's course promotions can attract more students to sign up.
You can publish a limited number of announcements per month to your course participants. This creates an opportunity for traffic to your blog posts.
You can also direct students to your website during lectures.
Many great instructors are using Udemy to drive traffic and email signups.
A great example of this is Mike Omar .
He offers a free course on how to make $5,000 a month by developing a passive income website.
The course contains 12 hours of video tutorials, and as you can see, it has over 42,000 students.
Mike gains subscribers to his website and newsletter who then purchase affiliate products.
9. Pinterest
According to Shareholic, it’s the best platform for visual digital marketing and a prime platform for lifestyle branded content.
Unique and useful content performs well on Pinterest. You should understand that people hang out on this platform to find inspiration and express themselves. Don't expect them to create anything original.
Create a board around topics you like to browse online (not just boards related to your brand). All the content you pin can go on these boards.
You can share original photos, infographics, and product photos related to your industry. Or you can share how-to videos, long-form content previews, and tutorials that you've created for YouTube.
When sharing original photos, always add a watermark. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on brand exposure.
Also, use topic tags strategically and label them with relevant names (instead of Figures 1 and 2).
You can add the URL of your website or blog post on your brand page and in the Pin description.
10. Tumblr
You can syndicate your content with Tumblr and get more traffic, backlinks, and shares (potentially go viral).
First of all, please use a simple and clean theme. Do not exceed 7-12 tags, otherwise you will be considered a spammer.
Your content should be short and punchy. Impressive visuals, videos, and quotes usually work well. However, don’t be afraid to experiment with posting different types of content.
Having your followers repost your blog content can bring you good traffic.
Build relationships with Tumblr admins and try to get their support through friend recommendations. If you end up on Tumblr's Explore page through these admins, your traffic will increase significantly.
11. Instagram
In December 2014, Instagram surpassed 300 million users (surpassing Twitter). If you have an eye-catching image in your post, share it on this platform and call on users to read your post.
Upload your images to Instagram using the Squaready app on iPhone or the Be Funky photo editor on Android . I recommend using Instagram’s editing tools and filters to enhance your images.
Write good captions using 2 to 3 hashtags that fit your brand image to get better exposure.
If you launch a new product in a blog post, you can provide a teaser of it on Instagram and use a call to action to attract visitors to your post.
Add instagram badge to your blog for the convenience of the platform lovers.
If you want to do it quickly, read HobbytoHot’s 2-minute Instagram posting advice.
When submitting your content for publication, you will need to check "Suggest a community feature".
If you check this option, BuzzFeed moderators will review your submission. If they like your post, you'll receive an email letting you know that your post will receive additional promotion.
To increase your chances of having your post selected for promotion by BuzzFeed moderators:
Create some content on your site that will engage and provide value to BuzzFeed readers. List posts work best.
Blatantly advertising your products or services and using copyright-infringing images can work against you. Also, keep your link anchor text simple.
Read the case study to learn how Matthew Barby gained 10,000 page views and hundreds of new blog subscribers by appearing on the front page of BuzzFeed.
13. The Huffington Post
Does it help to be published on the world’s biggest blog?
certainly.
The Huffington Post not only publishes original content, but also syndicates and republishes premium content from around the web.
so:
If your blog post has gone viral and is relevant to a section on the Huffington Post, there is a good chance you can get it republished on the Huffington Post.
There are articles that were rejected by the Huffington Post but later got picked up after going viral on the author platform.
Read how the Buffer team and Kathryn got published in the Huffington Post.
To increase your chances of being published on The Huffington Post, please do not use the contact form. Instead, contact the section editor for your article via Twitter or direct email. List articles and articles under 1,000 words are generally better suited for publication on The Huffington Post.
- This is a list of all Huff Po editors .
Guess what? Even contacting Arianna Huffington directly can get your article published. Read tips for getting published on the Huffington Post from five bloggers who mentioned pitching her for articles.
The digital library attracts more than 80 million visitors per month and has more than 40 million free e-books.
You can complete your profile on the platform and start sharing content. Users can download PDF or text versions of your articles.
These rules are strictly enforced:
Don't be overtly promotional. Post strictly original content (even images must be original). When citing sources, always use the full URL (bit.ly links are not acceptable). Also, avoid using foul language.
How to distribute your blog posts?
Treat Scribd like your blog and only publish high-quality, valuable content. You can make some adjustments to the article before publishing.
You can also hire a designer to repurpose your how-to blog posts into white papers.
In addition to publishing, you can also add comments and ratings to other documents.
Your content will be more easily found in search engine results by following basic SEO guidelines, especially by using keywords in the title and first paragraph.
14. Kindle e-books
The consumption of e-books continues to grow. Amazon dominates e-book sales with its Kindle platform , which allows you to reach millions of readers.
Use the fourth page (the last preview of your e-book) to place a link to your website landing page. You can offer a free report or giveaway to users who purchase your e-book.
Read Paul's excellent guide to publishing Kindle books.
If you plan to sell your e-book on Kindle, your content should be original and unpublished.
For best results, it is recommended that you sell your e-book exclusively on Kindle for 90 days. To boost sales, you can offer a 5-day free download of your paid e-book.
Or offer your eBook for free to attract more attention from your blog readers.
15.Medium
Medium is a community-driven content publishing platform. Wikipedia lists the platform as a model for social journalism because you can collaborate with other authors when publishing content.
Occasionally, you can republish your blog content on the platform (but don’t overdo it). Buffer will republish some of its content on Medium.
When forwarding:
Before you republish your original content, make sure it's indexed by Google. You can change the way you phrase the topic, edit the post title, and more.
Retweets may not rank in search engines, but your goal is to drive more traffic to your website and engage your audience.
You can try different CTAs like “Sign up for our newsletter” or “Follow us on Twitter.”
In Medium articles, you can also place links to related articles on your blog within the body of the article.
You can use UTM parameters to understand how much traffic you get from Medium.
Popular posts will be pushed to the homepage, gaining high exposure. So, try to get on the homepage.
Read: How to repurpose your existing content on Medium
16. From business to community
This is a business blog with over 15,000 contributors and 3 million visitors. The blog covers entertainment, sports, social media, marketing, business, technology, finance, and more.
When signing up to become a contributor , you must specify whether you want to syndicate your blog posts or publish original content.
Not only can you add a website link in your bio, but you can also add it in the body of your article (if relevant). You can send up to 3 links to a domain in the body of your article. Read their guidelines for more information.
Strive to be on the front page by writing high-quality content. In addition, the blog will syndicate its content with Yahoo and Google News. Therefore, there is a greater chance of getting more exposure and backlinks.
You can try different CTAs:
Offer the resource as an email opt-in on your website or landing page.
17. Snip.ly
This is an innovative tool that appends a call to action to every article link you share on social media. You can use it to drive traffic to your own website using other people’s content.
You can curate the best performing, high-quality articles from influential people in your industry and customize their calls to action. Direct article readers to a landing page on your website to opt-in to your email subscription or visit a related, in-depth article on your website.
Example of effective use of this tool - Share industry news stories from reputable third-party sites. For example, Moz’s story on Google’s latest mobile algorithm update.
Then, use a call-to-action snippet to direct visitors to the ultimate guide on your blog about this news. It could be “The Ultimate Guide to Recovering Your Website from Google’s Mobile Algorithm Update.”
You can install Snip.ly Chrome extension to simplify the process. It helps you to screenshot the content of the current page in one click. This extension gives you access to analytics data and gets more than 1000 hits in a month.
18. Hub Page
[](http://hubpages.com/)A hub on Hub Pages is like a magazine-style article. The platform publishes user-generated content and has over 74,000 users who have posted content. In addition to posting content, it is also a great place to build relationships.
Currently, the site receives nearly 32 million page views per month and has over 1 million hubs. The site shares revenue with publishers and is used as a source of income by many writers.
How does publishing work?
You can create a discussion board on any topic. Once your account is approved by a moderator, your post will be published.
Make sure the content you submit is high quality. If your Hub score is high (over 75 or so), you can get a one-way Do Follow backlink.
Not all the content you post on the Hub has to be original. You can post excerpts from long articles. But don't copy and post everything, or you'll be penalized by Google.
19. iTunes Podcasts
Audio content is growing rapidly. iTunes has 1 billion users worldwide.
The reason is simple: Podcasts are more accessible to consumers than text. You can listen to them while you're at work or doing chores.
Blogging giant Copyblogger is building a podcast network. Hear why they are so bullish on podcasts .
How do you distribute your content through podcasts?
Create a weekly show where you share your best content from the week. If you add a personal touch, your audience will relate to your voice better than your words.
As a result, podcasters can gain thousands of new followers.
If you’re not comfortable recording your own voice, you can hire someone on Fiverr to do professional voiceovers for your best blog posts.
20. Webinars
Webinars are especially useful in a B2B environment.
For hosting a webinar, you can repurpose your best content in the form of a slideshow and present it live to your audience.
After sharing your wisdom, you can keep a Q&A session to engage your webinar audience.
Before hosting your webinar, drive registrations by marketing on social media and publishing guest posts on industry authority sites.
Zoom is the best platform for hosting webinars. It is easy to use but a bit expensive.
After your webinar, you can archive your presentation and live recording. You can share the archive to YouTube or any other video platform to get more exposure.
Do you realize the tremendous value of webinars?
You’ve repurposed old content to engage with your audience, solved their pain points, and earned a ton of traffic and new subscribers. That’s a huge win!
Read Copyblogger’s guide on building relationships with clients through webinars .
21. Answer questions on forums in your field
There are many forums and Q&A sites where your target audience can solve their problems.
Start by searching your niche keyword on Yahoo Answers. After answering the user’s question, you can add a link to your article in the source section. Do not add the link in the main answer (otherwise you might get banned).
The general approach to using Google to search for forums in your field is:
"Niche Keywords" + Forum
Example: I used the query Internet Marketing Forums to find the top 3 "Internet Marketing" forums - Warrior Forum , Web Masters Sun , and Wicked Fire .
In forums like this, you should be genuinely trying to help. If your post solves a particular problem, then as a reminder, include a link to that post on your blog, providing some helpful advice.
But don't just do self-promotion or you'll get blocked. Most forums allow you to add a blog link to your profile signature.
22. Create an Autoresponder Course
You can tweak your best content and repackage it into a course. Then, offer it as an email subscription option.
Release course content gradually, releasing one lesson every 2-3 days. This way you’ll build a sense of excitement for your upcoming course. Once you’ve built trust with your subscribers by adding value, they’ll be less likely to quit!
Here’s a great guide on creating email courses .
To push content and manage email subscriptions, you can use Aweber or Kit .
23. Visual Arts
The Internet is increasingly dominated by graphics.
Using visual.ly , you can rework your posts into impressive infographics. Infogr.am and Piktochart are also great tools.
You can submit your infographic to infographic directories and the Visual.ly community, Slideshare, Scribd, and more.
You can try to market your infographic to authoritative blogs in your field to get it republished.
Here’s a guide by Brian Dean on how to get backlinks through infographics .
You can also hire a freelancer from Fiverr to distribute your infographic to 30 directories for just $5.
24. Scoop.It
Scoop.it is a content curation platform designed to increase visibility of quality content.
Here’s how to get started with Scoop.it:
Choose a niche, curate content, and set up 5 pages. Share the best content related to your niche on these pages. Now you have a beautiful profile.
For best results, you’ll want to post your content on pages that have a lot of followers and views.
Look for influencers in your field on Scoop.it. It may be helpful to browse topics based on popularity and current trends. Interact with influencers on Twitter and other social networks. Comment on their blog posts and get their attention.
Once you have established a relationship, recommend your best posts to the administrators of these highly followed Scoop.it pages. If your request is accepted, you can get a lot of traffic.
Just post a summary of your article: Just give an enticing teaser in your post and upload an eye-catching image.
For convenience, install the scoop.it bookmarklet or app to instantly access content.
25. List.ly
This is another great content curation platform for creating lists of tips, websites, thought leaders, etc. You can get free traffic and backlinks by using this platform strategically.
You can embed list.ly lists in your blog posts. The best part is, it allows you to crowdsource your lists to the community and engage with them.
The strength of list.ly isn't in the exhaustive lists. Make sure to leave some space for the list to feel like a beginning. Community members can make suggestions for your blog topics and add content they like.
If your listing appears on the home page, you will get a lot of traffic.
The power of List.ly is that not only does your content get exposure; your content and engagement grow as well.
Across all platforms, building relationships with admins and influencers is of utmost importance.
However, don't be overwhelmed by this information.
Understanding most platforms requires consistency and considerable effort.
Add value to the community to gain traffic in return.
Take action by signing up on one of the listed platforms.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with these distribution channels. Find the channels that work best for you by looking at your referral data in Google Analytics.
I hope you can get value from these 35 distribution platforms and drive a ton of traffic to your blog.
now you:
Did I miss your favorite content distribution channel? Do you have any success driving a lot of traffic through these platforms?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share them in the comments below.
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