Free Ways To Promote Your Content Marketing Plus Pro Tips
Joel Conner • June 28, 2020
We all love free stuff. Now you can promote your best content with these media channels. Plus, some of them can be automated.
1. Share content on social media networks
I know what you are thinking, Duh! However, this is still the quickest easiest way to promote content freely.
Pro Tip:
Use automation (software that will automatically share your RSS post to all of your social media on a predetermined schedule.
Pro Tip:
If the content is evergreen, share it repeatedly. (software can also do this) Social Pilot, Social Bee, Publer.
Pro Tip:
Some social networks are a better fit for certain industries. Don’t waste your time on a social media channel that doesn’t work well for your industry.
2. Share on Q&A sites such as Quora.
Pro Tip:
Don’t just share it anywhere, make sure that your content delivers a relevant answer to the question.
Pro Tip:
Don’t merely share, answer questions, comment, and vote as well.
3. Share on social community bookmarking sites such as Readit.
Pro Tip:
Don’t merely share, comment and vote as well.
Pro Tip:
Look for other, smaller content focused communities such as BizSugar.
4. If your business is local, post as much content as possible on Google My Business.
Pro Tip:
You can link one post to another creating a chain of connected posts. This is called post stacking.
Pro Tip:
Posts on GMB can also be shared on your social media networks.
Pro Tip:
A quick and easy way to boost your Google My Business is to take photos with your smartphone (geo-location turned on) and then post them to GMB with relevant keywords as the description.
5. Ask questions / take polls.
If you ask someone a question and they think that they have a good answer. They are more likely to engage with your business.
Pro Tip:
Leverage software & automation to gather leads or build subscribers. (The marketing software is so crowded that most offer a free service for a certain # of subscribers) MailerLite is one of my favorites.
Pro Tip:
Use Facebook’s built-in polling feature
6. Use Online Groups to Promote Content
Facebook has thousands of niche groups that you can participate in. If the group is closed and you can get in by approval only, that even better.
Pro Tip:
Never abuse the group’s policies. Doing so will do more harm than good.
Pro Tip:
Make sure that the group is active and not a dead relic from 4 years ago.
Pro Tip:
If you are a B2B business, check out LinkedIn Groups.
7. Leverage Events (Online & Local)
More and more platforms have event functionality.
Invite people to events and have them promote it as well.
Pro Tip:
Collaborate with others to do an event. This can often double or triple the impact of your event.
8. Submit your post to blog aggregator sites.
Alltop, Popurls, TheWebList, BlogEngage
This is something that content marketers often overlook. It is true that we are hoping for our content to be found through organic search right away, but often this is just not the case. Blog aggregator sites can be useful in giving your content an initial boost.
9. End your post with a link to similar content on your site or a video you made.
Pro Tip:
use an attractive thumbnail for your link.
Pro Tip:
The goal of your page should be aligned with Google philosophy: to be as helpful as possible and provide a good user experience. The opposite of so many pages where you are bombarded with ads, popups, and lead magnets.
Pro Tip:
If you don't have a similar piece of content yet, link to someone else's relevant media. This sends the right signal to web crawlers.
10. Embed a video at the top of your post.
This tenth way to promote your content will greatly decrease your bounce rate and send the right signals to your search engine.
Pro Tip:
Make sure the video content is relevant to your post & good quality content. Otherwise, this strategy will backfire.
Here are some more helpful ways to promote your content: 7 Promotion Tactics To Get Your Content Noticed
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Discover proven strategies for real estate agents to optimize their content and websites for AI search platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. Learn how to dominate AI-powered search results and attract more qualified leads in 2026.
A lot has changed since I published Digital Marketing with Tortoise & Hare in 2017. Back then, the digital marketing conversation was heavily centered on websites, search rankings, social media consistency, and building momentum over time. Those principles still matter, but the landscape has shifted in a big way. Even the way people discover businesses and consume information has changed. My book was published on June 12, 2017, and in many ways, that feels like a different era of digital marketing. One of the newer terms getting a lot of attention right now is GEO , which stands for Generative Engine Optimization . If you’ve been hearing people throw that term around and wondering whether it’s just another buzzword, you’re not alone. But there is something real behind it, and it’s worth understanding. So, What Is GEO? GEO is essentially the practice of optimizing your business, website, and content so that AI-driven search experiences can find, understand, trust, and reference you. Traditional SEO has focused on helping your website rank in search engine results. GEO is more about helping your brand show up in AI-generated answers , summaries, recommendations, and citations. In simple terms: SEO helps you rank. GEO helps you get referenced. That’s a meaningful distinction. Today, people are no longer just typing a keyword into Google and clicking through ten blue links. More and more, they are asking full questions and receiving summarized answers from AI tools. That means your content is not only competing for rankings anymore. It is also competing to become part of the answer itself. Has SEO Been Replaced? No. Let me say that clearly: GEO does not replace SEO. It builds on it. If your website is poorly structured, your content is thin, your service pages are weak, and your business has little authority online, then GEO is not going to magically fix that. The same foundational principles still matter: a technically sound website strong service and location pages clear messaging helpful content consistent brand signals trust and authority In other words, the tortoise still matters. Steady, strategic digital marketing still wins over hype, shortcuts, and shiny-object syndrome. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is that now your content needs to be useful not just for human readers and search crawlers, but also for AI systems trying to summarize the web. Why GEO Matters If AI-powered search experiences continue to grow, businesses that are easiest to understand and trust will have an advantage. That means the question is no longer just: “How do I rank for this keyword?” It’s also: “How do I become the kind of source that AI tools want to cite, summarize, and recommend?” That changes the strategy. Businesses that win in this next phase will likely have content that is: clear direct well-structured specific trustworthy supported by real-world authority The businesses that struggle will often be the ones still publishing vague, bloated, keyword-stuffed content that says a lot without really answering anything.
Most People Think They Understand AI Search. They Don’t. And that misunderstanding is exactly why they’re not showing up in: Perplexity Google AI Overviews (Gemini) ChatGPT web results Let’s break something open that most churches and ministries haven’t realized yet. The Assumption That’s Costing You Visibility You search for: “churches near me” You check Google. You see the top results—maybe even your church is listed. So logically… 👉 Those should be the churches AI recommends, right? Wrong. The Strange Reality of AI Search In many cases, AI-generated answers (especially in Google AI Overviews or Perplexity) recommend churches that: Aren’t at the very top of Google Sometimes aren’t even the most obvious local options At first glance, it feels random. It’s not. It’s a pattern. “Wait… Doesn’t Local SEO Still Matter?” Yes. It absolutely does. Showing up in Google Maps, having reviews, and optimizing your website are still critical foundations . But here’s the shift most churches don’t see: 👉 Your keyword is just the starting point. Not the final query. What AI Is Actually Doing Behind the Scenes AI doesn’t just take “churches near me” at face value. It reinterprets the intent. Inside tools like Google’s Gemini, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll notice something like this: “The user wants a church… but what kind? Maybe they want a family-friendly church… or a Bible-based church… or something with kids programs… I should search for: family-friendly churches near me with kids ministry” 💥 That’s the turning point. Why Your Church Isn’t Showing Up Here’s what happens next: AI rewrites the query It searches using its version of the intent It pulls churches that match that refined query So now… 👉 The churches being recommended are NOT just optimized for “churches near me.” They’re aligned with something like: “family-friendly church near me” “church with strong kids ministry near me” “non-denominational church with modern worship near me” Proof in Action If you take one of those rewritten queries, like: “family-friendly church near me with kids ministry” …and search it yourself… You’ll often see: 👉 The same churches AI is recommending. This pattern shows up across: Gemini (Google AI Overviews) ChatGPT search Perplexity And it’s consistent. The Hard Truth No One Is Talking About Let’s be clear: ❌ Your church isn’t being ignored ❌ SEO isn’t broken 👉 You’re losing interpretation battles. The New Game: AI Search for Churches If you want your church to show up in AI-driven results, here’s what actually works: 1. Start with the Core Search Think: “churches near me” “church in [your city]” 2. Identify How AI Expands It Ask: What kind of church is someone looking for? What concerns or needs might they have? Examples: Families with kids Young adults Spanish-speaking communities Bible-teaching focus 3. Discover the Rewritten Queries These might look like: “family-friendly church in [city]” “Christian church with youth group near me” “church with Spanish service near me” “small church with strong community near me” 4. Create Content That Matches Not just a generic homepage. But pages or sections that clearly communicate: Kids ministry Youth programs Worship style Beliefs Community life 5. Align With How AI Thinks When your church clearly answers those deeper needs… 👉 AI starts including you in its recommendations. This Isn’t About Doing More. It’s About Being Clearer. You don’t need: More complicated SEO strategies More technical tricks You need: 👉 Clear alignment with real human intent—through the lens of AI. Final Thought AI search is changing how people find a church. They’re not just searching… 👉 They’re asking. And AI is answering based on interpreted needs , not just keywords. The churches that will grow in this new landscape aren’t just visible. They’re understood.