This is the final post in our series called “Promote U” – the ins and outs of promoting yourself, your product or your business through creative, original content. And we conclude with some news you may not want to hear: sometimes you have to pay to publish and promote your content.

While that may seem like bad news, you’ll find that strategic spends on relevant content can be well worth the investment.

Let’s start with paid promotion of your self-published content.

So, you have a blog on which you publish posts regularly, and you follow a standard plan for promotion of each post, which may include the following steps:

1. Spotlighting the latest blog post on the homepage of your website.
2. Sharing the post on your social media pages.
3. Distributing an e-blast promoting the new post or including it in the company newsletter. (Likely, you also have some blog subscribers who will automatically receive an email notification when a new post is published.)

However, if you want to promote your post to a greater audience, you should consider paid promotion.

One popular option is Facebook advertising, as statistics suggest that Facebook content generates four million likes every minute. Facebook offers a variety of ways to promote not only your individual posts but also your blog in general. And, as an added bonus, Facebook advertising not only includes Facebook, but also Instagram, Messenger and a number of other apps owned by the company. Learn more about all of the options at facebook.com/business/products/ads.

What about pay-to-play options for publishing your content?

In the last post of this series, Promote U: Getting Published, I laid out a number of ways to get your content published by outside sources for free. But the truth is, sometimes you have to “pay to play.”

Sometimes, editorial options are included in advertising buys – and sometimes they can (and should) be negotiated in. Sometimes, the advertising buy is an editorial. You’ve seen such “special advertising features” in magazines, and you have most likely received sponsored e-blasts from industry organizations that feature expert articles by paying advertisers.

So, when is it worth it to pay to be published? Here are a couple of scenarios to consider:

1. You believe your content is “bigger” than your blog or other outlets on which you can be published for free.
2. You want to reach the specific audience of a particular outlet that doesn’t accept free submitted content.

In either case, a strategic spend to push your content in front of a greater or more specific audience can truly be a great investment. Paid content comes with guaranteed impressions and definite analytics so you know what you’re paying for. And, if the content is relevant and engaging, it’s likely you will secure additional new fans and subscribers for your own blog.

This blog post originally appeared on the Greater Memphis Chamber’s blog. To view the original post, click here.