The main problem that people face is traffic: “how do I send more traffic to my website?”, “show me ways to drive more traffic to my website”.
The list shown below, taken from incomediary.com, gives us some ideas about traffic generation.
If you have other ways to generate traffic for free to your blog, let us know and we will add in the list.
1. Write Guest Posts
Probe for the opportunity, do your research on the audience, and suggest a topic as part of your request for a guest posting opportunity.
2. Create Mind-Blowing Content
Minds are not blown by reiterating the same points everyone else is. If it’s the same thing everyone else is saying, make it your own by arguing, defending, or somehow adding to it.
3. Offer Freebies
Make sure what you’re offering is high quality, and make sure it’s something people can actually use. If it’s something with an already-established price, drop that information into the offer. If not, let them know how much it will cost, after the promotion is done. If simply coming to your site is all it takes to save them a possible $20 in the future, they’ll come just to be sure.
4. Create A Course
I’ve seen this done by dozens of different companies and it never gets old. Information is valuable. Entice readers with a series of posts, videos, or even automated emails teaching them something vital.
5. Interview Influencers In Your Field
By interviewing power players you are not only enhancing your existing audience’s experience of your site, but you’re building an important relationship with someone in your field. Not only that but a slice of their audience will come your way as well, to hear what their favorite guru shared with you.
6. Tweet Often
Automated content programs are great, and have their place, but since Twitter is a social arena the best way to get retweeted is to be yourself. Share your thoughts and allow Twitter to show a bit of who you are, and your followers will be more likely to want to read your latest post or watch your latest video, not to mention sharing it with their followers. It’s what friends do, right?
7. Don’t Neglect Your Facebook Page
Assuming you have already created a Facebook page for your business, make sure you use it. Add a “like” box to your site and encourage your fans to share with each other. And remember – Facebook isn’t anonymous. A simple, personal “thank you” to the folks who share will encourage them to share in the future.
8. Create Infographics
With sites like reddit, digg, and even 9gag.com, infographics can bring you a lot of traffic quickly. Why? Because people like to absorb information as rapidly as possible, and if that information is detailed or extensive, it’s easier to stay focused if there is a strong visual aspect.
9. Compile A Hack List
Everyone has a handful of tips or tricks that they use almost without realizing it. Focus on what you do differently from everyone else and make a short .pdf or e-book about it. It may be anything from organizing a home office to editing a video in less than X number of hours. Whatever it is, put it in a document and share it with people.
10. Create Helpful Tutorials
People love DIY videos, and it doesn’t matter at all what they are about, as long as you can speak knowledgeably on your chosen subject and be interesting. Chefs and crafters have been doing this for years, but why not create a five minute video showing a part of your day that is unique to your business?
11. Hold a Subscriber Contest
This can be a one-off or a regular contest for your audience that encourages them to bring people your way.
You can track links to see how many subscribers someone has referred, or you can just do it lottery style by offering a prize to a randomly-selected member once you’ve reached a certain subscriber count.12. Use Sharing Plugins
I can’t imagine why, in 2012, people would still choose not to add social sharing buttons to their work. Maybe they just don’t like the way it looks. Aesthetics aside, you will do more harm than good by neglecting to provide these buttons, since people hate to click away from a page. If they want to share and you don’t give them an easy way to do it, they will either simply not share your work, or they’ll click over to Facebook to post the link themselves. And once they’re on Facebook, good luck getting their attention back on yourself.
13. Connect with Your Audience Via Podcast
For awhile, it seemed like everyone forgot about podcasting. But it’s on the rise again, and with good reason. Being able to subscribe to a podcast means your audience is connecting with your voice and hearing your thoughts, which keeps your words top of mind when they are in a position to recommend you to someone else.
14. Simplify Starting Points
There’s nothing worse than referring a friend or coworker to a site loaded with information and having to tell them, “To start, you’ll want to search for this post titled, I think it was… I can’t remember, something like—” Create a page that will act as a starting point to give visitors a frame of reference within your site, and create a page that is about you or your brand.
15. Create Your Own 404 Error Page
While you don’t want people to end up here on purpose, you also know it will happen every now and again. Instead of losing their interest with a dead-end “oops!” page, revamp the error page to suggest other core content. The most effective 404 pages I have seen offer a link to the “start here” page, core content, and an archive search tool.
Check out 80+ ways to generate traffic at incomediary.com
