Spreading infographics

[DanHenry]

I realized the only way to get massive amounts of links to websites that do not actively blog, is to create a free infographic or free software tool that they can anyone can use on their website.

Here is my question. Once we create the tool or infographic, what is the best way to spread it like wildfire? Contact people on twitter? Mail popular blog owners and tell them about it directly? Comment on blogs and forums and post a link?

Is thier anything else I can do to push these infographics out? Also, I think custom software's like jquery calculators and tools are better than infographics. What do you think?

[RyanKent]

You hit upon many excellent, free methods of getting the word out.

The bottom line is, the more useful or desirable your infographic or tool is, the more site which will use it, the more it will be shared which will mean you get more links.

I wouldn't go with a calculator. I would prefer a tool which has to link back to my site in order to work. A weather widget would be an example. A user enters a zip code, the widget sends the zip code to my server which then returns the information.

Bottom line, either create something to fill a need that no one else has, or create something better then anyone else. That would offer you the usage you desire.

[DanHenry]

That's a good idea. As far as the calculators, there would be a "powered by" link and it would be iframed, so it would force the link anyway. I like the idea of tools over infographics, because it costs about the same to code a tool as it does to design a graphic if you use odesk or freelancer. I think the tools are more enticing.