I have read countless articles on the Triond networks saying social networking sites are the best things since sliced bread or that linking to your stuff on a whole bunch of forums is the way to go. Now, I don't know about everyone else out there, but I have no idea how to use StumbleUpon, Digg, etc., and I'm a busy girl who doesn't have time to hang about on message boards.
Therefore, I have found a way to give my published content some publicity while doing something utterly uncomplicated that I enjoy: reading! To follow my strategy, you need look no further than the lovely network of Triond sites.
First of all, go to your author profile page and copy the web address. It's the one that says triond.com/users/yourusernamehere. Now, find a Triond site that is relevant to your interests. If you're religious, head to Relijournal. Into fiction? Try Authspot. Looking for a laugh? Head to Purple Slinky . It doesn't really matter which one you pick as long as it has material that you will actually enjoy reading.
Just start reading articles. After you read the article, leave a comment with your url you copied earlier at the end of it. Now, by comment, I'm not talking about a one word blurb like good or cool along with your url. That, my friends, is called spamming. I'm talking leaving your intelligent opinion with honest praise about what you liked in the article, how the information will prove useful to you, and/or some polite constructive criticism. Make it at least a substantial sentence to make your self-promotion worthwhile.
Now I just recently downloaded Mozilla Firefox, and the Triond Toolbar Ad-On for that browser makes this job even easier. It has a lovely little random button that keeps me reading articles and posting my linky for hours on end. Come on people. Can it really get any easier?
Whenever I get comments, I try to find the person's Triond page and read a few pieces of their work and send them a friendly message asking them if they want be on my friends list, and I've had others do the same when I've commented their work. Posting a link to your page makes it even easier for them since searching names is annoying.
Come on, Triond-ers. We are a community, and if we stick together and help each other out, we can all do well! And who knows… You might just learn something along the way. Good luck!
