4. Give away your content

This one is a bit counterintuitive. Our gut reaction as content creators is to protect our content and not let other people use it, but the reality is that the more people that use our content (and properly link back to our site), the better off we are in the long run. Do you have a food blog? Check out food sharing sites like FoodGawker or Tastespotting. Do you design? Submit to DwellingGawker. Want to take it a step further? Consider openly letting people use your content without getting your approval (as long as they link back to your site).