How do you Build Traffic?
thanks simone but there has to be another way, i know my hubs aren't the best but in comparison to a lot of other nonsense on the google lists they are better so how do they get there when i'm here?
I know google are tackling this problem but its not fair!!
I found some good advice on Quora, which I will repost here for your delectation - Of course, your milage may vary, but some of these are bound to work. Apologies for long answer, but I am posting verbatim as I hope you find the content helpful:
Original Quora question at: https://www.quora.com/Blogs/How-can-I-p … g-for-free
Question: How can I promote my blog for free?
Do free tools work and is it really worth the time? How about the ones mentioned on this page - blog.workmonk.com/25-free-blog-p...
Answer:
The link that you've provided in the question description is quite comprehensive, and pretty much covers up everything. In fact, it covers more that what would normally be required. A lot of it depends on what kind of a blog you're running and what is your motivation behind promoting - Making/Joining a good community, more readership, more money, etc. While most of these are inter-related the approach to promoting my differ, based on your primary goal.
I'll put my views on the points mentioned on that post, of whether it worked for us or not, and if it's worth your time/effort/money:
Use Social Media – Yes. Facebook works great to get that initial readership among your friends, and a few of their friends when they share your posts. Posting a link to all your posts on FB is generally a good idea. Do not use FB Notes to fetch entire blog posts on FB, if you want to have more readership for your site. If however, you just want people to read, notes makes it easier for people to read content then and there. Also create a Facebook Page/Group for your blog, where you can discuss your posts, and other related things. It'll serve as a good place for announcements, feedback, and surveys. Google Search/Twitter work best to get new users you have no prior connections with. Some of the points below are required for SEO, that'll bring your blog up on search results. Use popular hashtags like #amwriting and tweet links to your posts as you write them over twitter. You can retweet the same link over different times during a day, but don't overdo it, and spam people. 3-5 a day shouldn't be a problem, as long as you're using twitter for other relevant/interesting conversations during the day.
Link to other blogs in your posts – No one's ever invited me because of a link, but yes links do help. It's mostly, I link you - You link me, approach with bloggers though. But don't link to everything. Provide links to blogs you genuinely like. They might take some time to link you back, but it's okay. People who visit your site would know you have good taste, and you'll gain credibility. And nothing sparks friendship faster than, I hopped over from XYZ's blog, as he had a link to you. Good returning linkings also help in SEO.
Comment on other blogs – Like it or not, blogging is to much extent - you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. When you're starting, to have readership, you'll have to read more. And everyone likes to know that someone out there is listening when they are voicing their opinions. It's nice and courteous to put a comment on what you read. I believe that a writer has earned at least as much. A friend also told me, that there's something nice about every piece of writing that you can point to and say that you liked it, and make a connection with the writer. If you don't like anything at all, then may be you can writing a polite, critical comment on why you didn't like it. Now, not all people take criticism well, but I've met a few very good friends who were genuinely looking for good criticism in an attempt to get better. They might want to have you as a critique partner for all you know.
Post frequently – This should be the first and absolutely necessary rule. It helps for SEO, to build relationships, and becomes a habit of people to look out for your next post, as you get better.
Include blog information on your business card - If it is a business blog, sure. Otherwise, don't go printing cards yet. But yes, putting a link on mail signatures, social profiles, etc helps. I get a decent traction of visitors from Quora, just because I've put a link on my profile.
Interlink all your websites and blogs - Yes to everything the post said.
Guest blog – Yes it helps, but it comes much later in the cycle. Once you've made friends with fellow bloggers, you'll develop a community of sorts. You can then guest blog at each others blogs to get introduced to some new readership. They'll also help you promote your contests/achievements.
Participate in online forums – Just as I said, that Quora gives me traction, though that is not the reason I'm active on Quora. I've never had, nor have any intentions of making money out of blogs, so I'm happy with the community I've built up over the years. More are welcome to join, but are not a necessity.
Join communities – I'm personally not a fan of share me - share you communities. It feels superficial, and starts feeling like a job over time and kills the love behind writing/blogging. They do work though, they'll get you visitors, but often not the kind you'll want a good writer-reader relationship with. Like I said, depends what your motives are. You can join communities where people write on shared prompts/contests on sites like Poetry Jam, Poets & Writers, etc. If it's tech./business blogging for money though, the communities such as the ones mentioned in the article might do you good.
Submit to article directories – I've never tried Ezine and About, so can't comment. By the looks of it, there seems no harm in trying. But if you're short on time, I wont keep this much up on the list.
Business directories – Again depends what kind of a blog you're running. If it's a business blog, yes.
Classifieds – I've never personally used, nor known any blogger who has. Full blown websites do, who have a team of content writers, never known personal bloggers using classifieds. So can't comment.
Invite your contacts – The best kind of publicity for anything out there is word of mouth, and no one does it better than close friends and family. But again if it's a business/tech. blog, and they don't work in the same field don't expect anything more than the initial burst of good job/great going on the first couple of posts. That does boost self confidence at the start, but is not lasting.
Stay in touch with your readers – If you have a team of writers and are going to roll out multiple posts in a day, a weekly digest of popular posts makes a lot of sense. Otherwise, a big subscribe via email box should suffice. You can get that from Feedburner/Feed My Inbox for free, and is easy to set up. Do try and personally reply to all the comments and feedback that you can get.
Forums – With all the points listed here, I think you're going to be overwhelmed as it is. To me, blogging is supposed to be something you should want to do, and not have to do. If you treat it as a job you don't particularly like, it'll show on your posts. So if I were you, I'd not attempt the forums. I've noticed people on most forums are extremely passionate about some things, and often turn abusive quite easily. Finding a forum in your field of area, and building a reputation there would just involve too much of an effort.
Social bookmarking sites – Hackernews for tech articles, and Stumbleupon and reddit for everything, wok like a charm. Reddit almost always delivers in terms of pageviews. Like everything else, there's a but. Reddit users tend to have a particular brand of humor, and are very opinionated. If they don't like something, they wont hesitate to bash it in public, and even throw cursed. It can turn ugly and demoralizing. If you can take some heat, it's the best way to catch eyeballs.
Portfolio sites – If you want to post your designs/code, go for it. Otherwise, you can skip.
Tutorial sites – How Tos, and DOs/DONTs sure get more readers. Careful, what you write though. Nothing hurts credibility more than someone pointing out that you're wrong. (As might happen to this answer It's always good though, to post what you did wrong, when you did wrong, and what you learned from it. It makes a human connection, and people often relate to it. This falls into what type of content is easier to promote, than actual promotion methodologies. I'd suggest that don't let salability guide your writing. Write with conviction and belief, the rest shall follow.
Youtube video – This falls more into the category of promoting a product, than a blog. No need to do this for a blog. Too huge an investment, with little results. If it's you giving a lecture or reading out a story, post it. Don't go creating a video saying how cool is your blog.
Link exchange with fellow bloggers – I covered this in Point no 2.
Free ebooks – I'll go one step ahead and say downloadable pdfs. Even if it isn't an e-book, but just a pdf of a single post that you think is going to be really useful. Just like, "25 things every blogger must do to promote their blogs." You can create a well formatted pdf of the post, with your branding and contact details, and put it up for free download. People might want to keep this for reference or share with friends. They'll thank you for the good dead too. You'll get good promotion, and good karma. A rare combination.
Press releases – If you can manage to pull it off, great. I'll suggest don't try too hard for it though. Press coverage for an article will get you accolades, and a burst of viewership, but it would be just a burst, and die out like a flash. It's good thing to post on the blog, and brag about, but not a sustainable source in terms of promotional benefits.
Interactive blog – Never tried Polls. Quizzes are just okay. Contests are great. I've had great success with contests. You can invite some bloggers you keep in high regard to judge. It'll allow you to strengthen the ties with them, as well as impartially run a contest. Invest in some real-value prizes like Amazon Gift Cards, and promote the shit out of them on social media. Especially twitter.
Hire someone - Now wouldn't that be great! Erm.. No. Unless, you're running the blog just to make money out of it. If you feel overwhelmed with promotion, don't. Just concentrate on writing well, and reading just the blogs you like. You'll get noticed by your participation/comments, google would bring up your pages, and the process would start on it's own. It'll be slower growth, but hopefully you'll enjoy the journey.
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