45 Ways To Grow Your Lifestyle Blog & Increase Traffic In 2024

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Updated: September 17th, 2022

Wondering how to market your niche blog?

Marketing your niche blog is certainly not easy, but there are many ways to promote and advertise your niche blog.

We put together a list of the best marketing ideas for your niche blog, so you can get your small business out there.

Here’s the list:

1. Affiliate Program: Launch An Affiliate Program

Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.

Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.

The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.

Topic: Affiliate
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Low - $50-$500
Result: Lead Generation

Check out our full guide on affiliate program ➜

2. Word of mouth: Generate Word Of Mouth Marketing

Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.

Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.

According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.

Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

Topic: Word Of Mouth
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Free - Happy customers will spread the word at no cost to your business.
Result: Brand Awareness

Check out our full guide on word of mouth ➜

3. Direct Sales: Build A Sales Team

Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.

For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

Topic: Sales
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: High - Typical costs to consider when hiring: hiring costs, training costs, plus salary and incentives.
Result: Lead Generation

Check out our full guide on direct sales ➜

4. Pay Per Click Advertising: Set Up A Pay Per Click Campaign

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a performance-based marketing method that allows you to show specific ads for services or products oriented to a very defined target, with the goal that the user visits your website or landing page.

Topic: Affiliate
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Low - Average is typically $1 per click
Result: Brand Exposure

5. Referral Program: Launch A Referral Program

A referral program is the type of marketing where you state an offer to your existing customers for the act of creating a word-of-mouth referral that converts.

According to SEMrush, word-of-mouth is considered to be one of the top traffic sources for small businesses that practice affiliate marketing.

Launching a referral program is a great marketing strategy for growing a small business. An effective referral program enables startups to increase lead generation and an active audience.

Topic: Word Of Mouth
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - $10-$100
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on referral program ➜

6. Outsourcing: Business Outsourcing

Outsourcing is an agreement where a business contracts a third party to perform services and job functions that were traditionally performed by the company’s employees.

Any business operations that can be performed from an offshore location can be outsourced.

Examples of business operations that can be outsourced include call center services, bookkeeping services, inventory management, IT services, Payroll solutions, etc.

Topic: Automate
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Medium - $100-$2,000
Result: Product Quality

Check out our full guide on outsourcing ➜

7. SEO Strategy: Create An Effective SEO Strategy

An SEO strategy is the process of planning, optimizing, and organizing your website to help it rank better in search results.

A good SEO strategy helps you match users' search intent such that you drive traffic that is more credible and quality leads to your website.

Therefore, invest in SEO to help your business grow online.

Topic: SEO
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium - SEO costs for a monthly retainer plan range from $750 to $5000 per month.
Result: SEO

Check out our full guide on seo strategy ➜

8. Publicity Stunts: Plan A Publicity Stunt

Publicity stunts are generated by a certain campaign or promotion (initiated by you) and are intended to raise awareness for your business.

Press could result in the form of TV coverage, write-ups in local newspapers, mentions in magazines and of course social media.

Topic: Buzz
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium - $100-$2,000
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on publicity stunts ➜

9. Product expansion: Expand Your Product Line

Product line expansion simply refers to a way of focusing on your customer's requirements and offering them variants of the current products that they already love.

Before undertaking the product line expansion strategy, consider listening to customers' feedback. Focus on understanding their current pain points and look at ways to make your products appeal to a broader market.

It's important to note that adding new products and diversifying may not be in the cards for you right this moment, and that's okay. You can always consider it down the road.

Topic: Buzz
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium - $100-$2,000
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on product expansion ➜

10. Competitor analysis: Conduct A Competitor Analysis

Competitor analysis refers to a report analyzing your competitors' strengths and weaknesses relative to those of your own business.

For startups trying to break into the market, a well-researched competition analysis gives you the tools to reach strategic decisions.

A competitor analysis should be included in your marketing plan, your business plan, and all aspects of your high-level business and pricing strategy.

Topic: Sales
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Low - $0-$300
Result: Product Quality

Check out our full guide on competitor analysis ➜

11. Side Project Marketing: Find A Side Project Marketing Idea

Side project marketing consists of building an entirely new product or service that solves a need for your customer.

This side project typically has it's own branding, but can share common characteristics with the main brand.

Topic: Buzz
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium - $100-$2,500
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on side project marketing ➜

12. LinkedIn Outreach: Reach Out To Prospects Via LInkedIn InMail

LinkedIn Outreach is the process of sending direct LinkedIn messages to prospects.

Consider that direct messaging is LinkedIn's primary one-to-one communication approach. Therefore, sending direct LinkedIn message provides marketers an effective approach for reaching the target audience in a personal way.

Often referred to as LinkedIn Inmail, LinkedIn direct messaging could accelerate your lead generation pipeline.

Topic: Social Media (Organic)
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - The InMails are sent on a pay-per-send basis, and cost anywhere from $0.30 to $1 per send depending on your target audience
Result: Brand Awareness

Check out our full guide on linkedin outreach ➜

13. Meetup groups: Meetup Group As a Marketing Strategy

Marketing via meetup groups is a strategy to helppublicize a brand during an ongoing in-person or virtual meeting.

Meetup groups offer many benefits for marketing your business, such as finding clients, hosting meetup groups that attract your customers, and learning from like-minded entrepreneurs.

Therefore, if you run a local or global business, meet up groups can be a great strategy for publicizing your offer.

Topic: Events
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - $5-$150
Result: Brand Awareness

Check out our full guide on meetup groups ➜

14. Tasks Automation : Start Automating Repetitive Tasks

Task automation refers to the application of modern technology to minimize or eliminate the need for human involvement in order to complete the task. Automation tools are one of the most effective ways to increase productivity and scale your business.

Think about all the redundant tasks you complete in a day. You would save a huge amount of time by using automation tools to eliminate the need for your involvement.

In this post, we look at task automation and tell you how you can automate repetitive tasks. . further, we will share an example of how automation has worked for our business. Let us jump straight in!

Topic: Automate
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Low - Automation tools cost $50-$200
Result: Product Quality

Check out our full guide on tasks automation ➜

15. Webinar: Launch A Webinar

A webinar is an event held virtually and attended exclusively by an online audience. Therefore, a webinar can reach a wide range of audiences from different locations.

Webinars are a great way to build your existing audience and create new customers. Webinars can also help with promotions, establishing clout and credibility with customers, and can help build your email list.

Webinars are a particularly effective marketing tool because they allow brands to connect with their customers.

Topic: Events
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium - $100-$1,500
Result: Trust & Credibility

Check out our full guide on webinar ➜

16. Guest Blogging: Start Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is a content marketing strategy that involves writing and publishing a blog post on another company’s website.

Guest posts include your byline and are highlighted by the editor of that website as being written by a guest author or contributor

Guest posts attract a new audience and ultimately boost brand credibility and awareness.

Topic: Content
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - $0-$300
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on guest blogging ➜

17. Quora: Write Viral Answers On Quora

Quora is a platform where you can contribute and obtain knowledge. It's a place to ask questions and connect with others who offer insights and answers to specific questions.

By contributing answers on Quora, you can promote your business and drive organic traffic to your site.

Topic: Content
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Free - -
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on quora ➜

18. Trade Show: Attend A Trade Show

Tradeshows refer to an exhibition where companies in a specific industry display and demonstrate their products or services.

Although this tactic may seem traditional, tradeshows remain an effective and important marketing strategy in business today.

With attending a tradeshow, startups can reach their target audienceand also attract new customers.

Topic: Events
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium - $200-$5,000
Result: Lead Generation

Check out our full guide on trade show ➜

19. Podcast advertising: Advertise Your Brand On A Podcast

Podcast advertising refers to promoting your brand during a podcast.

According to Buzzsprout, podcasts currently reach over 68 million Americans on a weekly basis, and the number will continue to increase.

With so many Americans listening to podcasts, it is easy to get your message in front of potential customers. Therefore, embracing podcast advertising can boost your brand awareness.

Topic: Social Media - (Paid)
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium - $15 for a 10-second ad CPM. $18 for a 30-second ad CPM. $25 for a 60-second ad CPM
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on podcast advertising ➜

20. Partnerships: Create Strategic Partnerships To Grow Your Startup

A partnership is a formal agreement between two or more entities to oversee business operations and share profits and liabilities.

Creating strategic partnerships with an existing business can be a huge win for a startup.

This is considering that a partnership creates a new slate of future options for your startup.

On the other side, pursuit of partnerships could suck up a ton of time, and bunch of resources, and fail to materialize.

Therefore, entrepreneurs need to do proper research and evaluate the possibilities of achieving success through partnerships.

Topic: Relationships
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: High - Business partnerships involve startup expenses and organizational costs. The costs vary based on type of business.
Result: Business Expansion

Check out our full guide on partnerships ➜

21. Search engine marketing (SEM): Create A SEM Marketing Campagin

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) refers to an advertising strategy that generates ads in search engines to position brands among the top results.

Unlike SEO, SEM strategy works through paying for keywords so that your content appears in the top position in search.

SEM can be effective in driving traffic to your website and improving conversion rates.

Topic: Social Media - (Paid)
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: High - On average, SMBs spend $9K to $10K per month on SEM, which includes ad spend and management costs
Result: Lead Generation

Check out our full guide on search engine marketing (sem) ➜

22. Press Release: Get A Press Release Published

A press release is a marketing strategy that involves sending out a newsworthy bulletin.

Targeting journalists and potential customers, the press release provides a popular approach for getting immediate brand exposure.

For startups, getting more press is an attractive approach to gain traction, so that target customers know who you are, and what you are offering them.

Topic: Buzz
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium - $0-$2,000
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on press release ➜

23. LinkedIn ads: Advertise On LinkedIn

LinkedIn Advertising refers to the use of paid LinkedIn Ads targeting the platform users.

The LinkedIn paid ads provide an exceptional benefit that will help brands to meet the specific business goals.

LinkedIn advertising is ideal for businesses that want to reach customers via a professional network.

Topic: Social Media - (Paid)
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Low - On average: $5.26 per click, $6.59 per 1000 impressions, and $0.80 per send.
Result: Lead Generation

Check out our full guide on linkedin ads ➜

24. Business cards: Create Business Cards

A business card is a card bearing information about a business or an individual.

Business cards may seem like an "old" way to market yourself, but they still may be worth it.

A skillfully designed business card can be your best marketing tool especially if you meet many clients in person.

Topic: Print + Traditional
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - $25-$200. Price depends on how many business cards you order.
Result: Brand Awareness

Check out our full guide on business cards ➜

25. Online Community: Build An Online Community

An online community is a community whose members interact primarily via the internet. Members share common interests, opinions, and goals.

Building a community is a great way to make prospective customers familiar with the brand and build a stronger relationship with current customers.

There are different ways of building an online community. This post covers ideas and the best practices for building an online community.

Topic: Word Of Mouth
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Medium - The costs vary greatly depending on many factors and how you choose to go about it.
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on online community ➜

26. Case Study: Create A Case Study For Your Website

Case studies are a great way to show your audience real-life success stories from other customers.

When a potential lead see's how your product/service made a difference for an existing customer, they are likely to have more confidence in your brand and convert into a customer. Case studies are essentially used as social proof, which can be a very persuasive form of marketing.

Topic: Content
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Free - Case studies can be created on a simple word document or powerpoint. To create a powerful case study, all you need is time and focus.
Result: Trust & Credibility

Check out our full guide on case study ➜

27. Checklist Content: Create A Checklist For Your Blog

Checklists provide readers with a concise list of tasks for how to solve a specific problem.

This type of content typically drives your customer to download, use, and share your content - all great ways to improve your SEO and brand exposure.

Topic: Content
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Free - There is no cost to create a checklist.
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on checklist content ➜

28. Lead Nurturing Sequence: Create an Email Lead Magnet Nurturing Sequence

Nurturing emails are a series of emails that that suit the needs of your customers based on where they are at in their buyer journey.

These emails are typically full of useful content and information and can be designed to promote a number of different offerings - such as marketing materials, website content, discounted deals, etc.

By creating targeted, segmented emails, you show your customer that you are aware of their interests which can help with conversions.

Topic: Email
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Free - No cost
Result: Lead Generation

Check out our full guide on lead nurturing sequence ➜

29. Interview Blog Content: Conduct Interviews For Your Blog

Interviews are a great way to get user generated content for your site - and oftentimes, they will generate quality traffic and interest.

Not only will your audience read this content, but the audience of your interviewee will also read and share this content.

Interviews are a great way to add value to your business while mixing up your blogging style.

Topic: Content
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Free - No cost
Result: SEO

Check out our full guide on interview blog content ➜

30. Repurpose TikTok Content: Repurpose Existing Content On Tik Tok

Repurposing TikTok content simply means taking existing content (posted on Tiktok or another platform) and reusing it on Tiktok.

Often referred to as content recycling, repurposing content makes TikTok engagement much easier and allows your content to get in front of a completely new audience.

To successfully repurpose TikTok content, it helps to produce content with repurposing in mind. Therefore, you can slice and dice the content into different formats or add different scenes to create meaningful TikTok content.

Topic: Social Media (Organic)
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - If you have existing content, You just need to repurpose it and post
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on repurpose tiktok content ➜

31. Caption Contest: Run A Caption Contest

A caption contest giveaway is when brands share an image on social media and ask their audience to come up with a description for it.

Typically, whoever creates the best caption is chosen and rewarded with a gift or prize.

Not only can this engage your audience, but the results are often so clever that they can be used for future marketing material. You could even use the best entries to create a hilarious meme for your business. The opportunities are endless.

Topic: Social Media (Organic)
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - $10-$500. Depending on the giveaway prize, the cost may vary.
Result: Engagement

Check out our full guide on caption contest ➜

32. Data-Driven Content: Create A Data-Driven Content Marketing Campaign

Data driven content is a strategy used for content marketing campaigns. This data is typically obtained from your brands buyer persona to create an effective marketing campaign.

Data driven content uses factual information generated from experiments (surveys or testing) to form conclusions.

Topic: Content
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Low - $10-$300.
Result: Trust & Credibility

Check out our full guide on data-driven content ➜

33. Optimize Landing Pages: Landing Page Optimization

Landing page optimization refers to the process of improving or enhancing each element on your landing page to increase conversions.

In essence, you do not need to create new content or redesigning the website. Instead, you will use data and anecdotal evidence to create optimized landing pages.

Note that landing page optimization is a process. Thus, it might take weeks or even months to achieve an optimized page.

Topic: SEO
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Low - Companies can spend anywhere from $75 to upwards of $3000 on the design and optimization of a landing page depending on the complexity, time to build, and add ons
Result: Lead Generation

Check out our full guide on optimize landing pages ➜

34. Medium Content: Republish Content On Medium

Medium is an open platform where users can read and share new perspectives on any topic.

The platform has 170 million readers and is open to anyone and everyone to check out.

As a contributor, you can share your stories with the world - regardless of background, affiliation, or expertise.

Topic: Content
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Free - -
Result: Trust & Credibility

Check out our full guide on medium content ➜

35. Email Another Businesses Subscriber List: Email Another Businesses Subscriber List

What Does It Mean To Email Another Businesses List?

By blasting someone elses's subscriber list, you have the opportunity to generate highly targeted traffic to your content.

In order to successfully do this, you may want to have a campaign idea involved and ensure that you find the right partner for this.

Start on a small scale (email list) to see if this is worthwhile for you, and if you see positive results, you can always scale up and reach a much bigger list.

Topic: Email
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - $100-$1,000 per thousand emails
Result: Brand Exposure

36. Whitepaper: Publish A Whitepaper

A whitepaper is a persuasive, authoritative, in-depth report on a specific topic that presents a problem and provides a solution.

Ideally, a white paper covers a complex issue and its purpose is to advocate that a certain position is the best way to go.

When used for a marketing purpose, the white paper focuses on influencing the decision-making of current and prospective customers

Topic: Content
Level of Difficulty: Hard
Cost: Medium - $50-$4,500. If designed on own, the cost to publish a white-paper is next to zero. However, many businesses outsource this to an expert as it can be time-consuming and challenging, which usually costs an average of $4,500.
Result: SEO

Check out our full guide on whitepaper ➜

37. Print Media Marketing: Create A Print Media Marketing Campaign

Print media marketing is a form of advertising that uses physically printed media to reach consumers, business customers, and prospects.

Examples of physically printed media are magazines, newspapers, newsletters, consumer and trade magazines, and direct letters to target customers.

By creating print media marketing campaigns, businesses are able to reach a very wide audience and target different readerships.

Topic: Print + Traditional
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Medium - $500-$20,000
Result: Brand Awareness

Check out our full guide on print media marketing ➜

38. Seminar: Marketing Through A Business Seminar

A seminar is a business-sponsored event that focuses on circulating knowledge, new techniques, or even educating your customers on how to get more value from your products.

For businesses, organizing a seminar is a great way to raise brand awareness, market new products or services, and even bring revenue to your business.

In addition, a well-organized seminar can help you position your brand as a subject matter expert.

Topic: Events
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Free - Typically, business owners get paid to speak at seminars and it can be a very lucrative income stream. Here is what this opportunity can look like:- Newbie speakers: $500–$2,500- Beginning speakers: $5,000–$10,000- Advanced Speakers: $10,000–$20,000
Result: Trust & Credibility

Check out our full guide on seminar ➜

39. Infographic: Design An Infographic

Infographics are a visual document that shows data and complex concepts about a specific topic.

Infographics are a great way to present facts and statistics about your product or service.

Presenting information in a visually appealing way allows visitors to spend time on your site and share your content.

Additionally, infographics can make your product more credible if there's research-driven data involved.

Topic: Content
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Free - Infographics can be created using the free version of Canva or even using a google doc.
Result: Brand Awareness

Check out our full guide on infographic ➜

UGC is a way to get your customer involved in your marketing process - often times, without them even realizing it!

Any time your customer has an opportunity to share your product/service, they are generating content for your business.

When others see this, they are more likely to become interested in your brand as they saw it from a friend, a colleague, or someone they follow.

Topic: Word Of Mouth
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Free - The best part about UGC is that it's completely free. Your users are creating content for you and you get to then share that with the world.
Result: Brand Exposure

Check out our full guide on user generated content (ugc) ➜

Social media engagement refers to responding to comments, likes, and shares by social media users.

Through social media engagement, a brand can measure how consumers perceive their products, respond to complaints and amplify positive comments about the brand.

Engaging social media users is a great approach to measure whether the content you are creating is resonating with your audience.

Topic: Social Media (Organic)
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - On average, you can expect to pay $6.35 per 1000 views for boosted posts
Result: Engagement

Check out our full guide on social media engagement ➜

42. Twitter Advanced Search: Find Customers Through Advanced Search In Twitter

Twitter advanced search is an underrated, little-known tool that's been extremely effective for marketers and small business owners.

Advanced search is available when using the web app and is perfect for:

Finding new customers
Measuring the satisfaction of current customers.

This search puts leads right in front of you and allows you to reach people who have a specific problem that your business could help with.

Topic: Social Media (Organic)
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Free - -
Result: Lead Generation

Check out our full guide on twitter advanced search ➜

Twitter videos are the best engaging visual format and hold more attention compared to text tweets.

A report published on Twitter shows that people watch videos to find insightful talks, see entertaining outtakes, and get an inside look at what is happening.

Thus, by sharing videos to your audience, you are able to successfully promote your product/service and connect with your followers at the same time.

Topic: Social Media (Organic)
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - When you run a video views campaign, you'll only be charged for the video views
Result: Engagement

Check out our full guide on twitter videos ➜

44. Happy Birthday Email: Develop A Happy Birthday Automation Email For Your Customers

A Happy Birthday email is an automated message sent to customers or subscribers on the date mentioned as their birthday. The email messages are triggered to the subscribers or customers on their birthday or before the event.

Sending a happy birthday email to your customers is a great way to let them know you care and can encourage them to remain loyal to your brand.

Typically, birthday emails include a special deal, offer, or a free gift. Often, happy birthday deals can be redeemed online or in-store, and validity is extended to few days after the celebration date.

Topic: Email
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - On average, a mid-size business can expect to spend $0 - $1,000 per month depending on the email marketing platform and number of emails.
Result: Brand Loyalty

Check out our full guide on happy birthday email ➜

45. Mobile Email Strategy: Optimize Your Email Messages For Mobile

Mobile email strategy covers how a brand is embracing the mobile era to send personalized email campaigns in order to attain high click-through rates.

According to Email Monday, about 3 in 5 customers check their emails on mobile devices, while 75% of customers check emails using on their Smartphones.

Therefore, if you continue building your email marketing for desktop users only, chances are that the audience you are trying to reach will never open or read your email campaigns.

So, how do you optimize your email marketing messages for email? Keep reading for more insights.

Topic: Email
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Low - On average, a mid-size business can expect to spend $0 - $1,000 per month on email marketing depending on number of subscribers and the email platform.
Result: Lead Generation

Check out our full guide on mobile email strategy ➜

meet the author

Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.

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