Creating organic traffic for your blog is no easy task. If your goal is to become a professional blogger, your expertise must include a blueprint that describes the tasks that you’ll need to undertake to properly market your website.
When your blog gets more traffic, your advertisers will get more impressions and your affiliate products will gain more exposure (more money from your blog!).
This is a win-win for everyone. Every blogger should create a platform that can maximize the exposure of their online enterprise. In this article, we’ll provide 151 ways to generate traffic for your blog.
We’ve broken down our blueprint for marketing success into several different sections. From there, each subject within the section will provide you with a tip to help generate traffic for your blog. Use these tips to help you grow your audience and make money blogging.
Here is a listing of the sections:
- Build Your Social Media Platform
- How to Generate Traffic Using E-Mail, Apps, and Text Messages
- Visitor Retention – How To Reduce Your Blog’s Bounce Rate
- How to Generate PR Organically
- How to Tastefully Promote Your Blog on Forums and Message Boards
- How to Generate Traffic With SEO in Mind
- Traditional, Non-Traditional & Digital Advertising Methods
- Honorable Mentions: A Place for Everything Else
You should closely examine each of these sections and determine which methods will work best for you blog. If you haven’t set up your blog yet check out my 15-minute guide on How To Start A Blog Using WordPress.
Introduction
The main goal of this article to provide you with a comprehensive guide that will help you navigate and evaluate the best marketing platforms for your blog.
Building a traffic funnel for your blog is essential. Why? So many bloggers suffer from a condition called “Blogger burnout.” The term should be fairly self-explanatory. However, you should look a bit more closely at the psychological ramifications of blogger burnout.
Imagine standing in the middle of a desert and screaming your message at the top of your lungs. Blogging without a traffic generation plan is much like this example. You can have the best blog articles in the world, but if no one reads them, does it matter?
How do bloggers beat burnout? Results. When your blog receives new readers that keep begging for more content, blogger burnout will be the last thing on your mind!
Without further ado, let’s look at some techniques that will help drive traffic to your blog.
Section 1: Build Your Social Media Platform
When people think about driving traffic to their blogs, they most commonly think about using social media marketing to do so. Several advantages exist for social media traffic generation campaigns. These advantages consist of:
- Social media is cheap
- Social media is effective
- Social media is authentic
With this in mind, let’s ensure that your blog has the basics of social media traffic generation down to a T.
The number one rule for social media traffic generation is to contribute more than you distribute. If your social media tactics look spammy, people will see right through that, and you’ll miss out on the type of visitors you want to drive to your blog.
1 – Build a YouTube Channel with Original Content
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. What does that make a video worth?
When you create a YouTube channel, you can drive a social media following through those who subscribe to your content. There are several different methods of using YouTube to send visitors to your blog. Try using tactics such as:
- Put an overlay link to your blog on all of your videos
- Add a link to your blog in the video description
- Use a watermark on your videos to your blog’s URL
Constant Contact has a 10-step guide for helping you get started with YouTube.
2 – Develop a Following on Instagram
Posting pictures on Instagram is a great way to drive traffic. You can actually put a link on your Instagram account that leads followers to your blog.
You can generate more attention and more traffic for your blog just by being active on Instagram. You could also watermark your images with your blogs URL for maximum exposure.
3 – Reach Your Audience Using Twitter
Like Instagram, Twitter allows you to post a link back to your blog from your profile. On Twitter, you can instantly tweet out articles from your blog, or you could engage with other bloggers that are also in your niche.
When people follow you on Twitter, or when you follow another person on Twitter, there’s a chance that they could visit your blog. Twitter is essential for anyone trying to promote their blog through social media.
4 – Become Friendly on Facebook
Facebook is an innovative platform because so many features are available to those who wish to take advantage of them. For example, you could draw a following by doing live Facebook mentions.
Make sure to engage with Facebook users; While you could use Facebook to share links back to your blog articles, try using some of the built-in features of Facebook to generate buzz.
5 – Change Your Skype Status
Perhaps you’ve developed a network of contacts within your blog’s niche on Skype. Whenever you publish a new article, change your Skype status to reflect the URL of the new article that you’ve just recently published.
You could also encourage your contacts to share and publish your work on social media. Skype may not be a social media tool per say, but enough people use it to warrant its inclusion.
6 – Become Known as an Expert on Quora
Question and answer websites provide bloggers with the unique opportunity to pry into the thoughts of their potential readers. If you become active on Quora, you can add a link from your Quora profile to your blog.
In addition, you could blog about an answer to a potential question then link back to a blog post that expounds upon that answer.
7 – Pinterest: An Emerging Social Media Blog Traffic Funnel
Many professional bloggers are reporting incredible success by launching a Pinterest account. You can add a link to your blog on Pinterest which will drive more people to check out your work.
Try to post about topics on Pinterest that relate directly to the topic of your blog. You can use Pinterest as a way to generate awareness for your specific niche, while simultaneously putting more eyes on your blog articles.
Check out this great course on getting more traffic to your blog with Pinterest.
8 – SoundCloud – Start Hosting a Podcast for your Blog
SoundCloud is one of the most popular platforms for hosting rich audio.
Many podcasters use SoundCloud to host and socially syndicate their content. Patrick Allan at LifeHacker wrote a “How to Start Your Own Podcast” guide that provides a deep dive into what you need to creating your own Podcast.
With Soundcloud, you can also establish a backlink to your blog. In your audio podcasts, you’ll obviously want to remind people to visit your blog by providing the URL to your listeners.
9 – Start a Subreddit for Your Blog
Niche communities often sprout up on social media websites like Reddit. Consider starting a new subreddit on Reddit and try to grow an audience on this platform. Those who subscribe to your subreddit will see the posts from your subreddit in the daily feed.
You wouldn’t want this new subreddit to come off as being spammy, but you could take the opportunity to drop one or two links on the sidebar. You could also create original content for Reddit users and publish the content in your subreddit.
10 – Become Active in a Related Subreddit on Reddit
If creating your own subreddit doesn’t make sense for you blog, simply find a subreddit on Reddit that is closely related to the topic of your blog. Using the tactics we discussed for Quora, you could monitor posts on Reddit for questions related to your topic.
You could then provide the answer and direct users to read a more detailed explanation in a blog post that you’ve created.
11 – Google+ Is More Prevalent Than You Think
Google Plus is an often forgotten about social network that has more prevalence than you might think. From an SEO perspective, it can never hurt to have a Google Plus domain linking back to your content.
Many successful bloggers have utilized Google Plus to engage new readers. Google Plus users tend to be more tech-savvy, and perhaps that’s why Google Plus content seems to get more clicks than you might think.
12 – Reshare, Retweet and Revive Your Archived Blog Posts
When you begin accumulating a wealth of content on your blog, it’s possible that older posts could help newer readers. Reacclimate your readers with the archived content on your blog by implementing applications that reshare, retweet and revive your content.
HootSuite, Amplifr and Buffer are some of the most popular applications used to achieve social media automation. Many of them work on the freemium model, but the paid features are well worth the investment to hardcore bloggers.
13 – LinkedIn – Social Networking with Professionals
If you’re a blogger, it’s probably a good idea to have a LinkedIn page. This will help you associate with other professionals that could be working within your particular area of interest. LinkedIn Groups is a place where people can publish content based on specific areas of expertise.
You can also add a link to your blog on your LinkedIn profile page. This will help you brand yourself as a blogger. If someone sees content on LinkedIn groups that they really like, they will likely subscribe to your blogroll.
Connect with me on LinkedIn here.
14 – Upload your Images to Flickr
When you create images for your blog, you should also upload them to Flickr. When you upload photos that you own to Flickr, you can tag the topic of the blog post associated with the image on Flickr.
The unintended effect of using photo sites like Flickr is that your images will come up higher in search engine results for images. Those searching for images could click “Visit Page” and get directed to your blog posts.
15 – Broadcast on Live Streaming Websites
We briefly discussed YouTube and Facebook Mentions. Consider building a live streaming platform to promote your blog. There are several different live streaming platforms that will allow you to promote your blog.
One of the most popular platforms for live streaming is USTREAM. If you play video games, start streaming your video games on Twitch.tv and name drop your blog. Another option for live streaming is Periscope.
You don’t even have to stream yourself; some bloggers will point their camera at their pets, a scenic view or other various other things. You can easily watermark the stream with your blog’s link or add it into the stream’s description.
16 – Find Niche Social Networks That Pertain to your Blog
Is it possible that a niche social network exists that directly pertains to your blog? For example, DeviantArt is a social network for artists. If your blog is about art, establishing a presence on DeviantArt is probably a good idea.
Niche social networks exist for various different industries. Seek out specific social networks for your blog and begin promoting your content on these platforms.
17- Start Using Snapchat
Did you know that users can begin following you through SnapChat? Just add your SnapChat Username and Snapcode and ask SnapChat users to follow you.
Once you’ve built up a SnapChat following, you can immediately engage your SnapChat friends when you’re ready to publish a new blog post.
18 – Instagram Snippets of your Blog Articles
Is there a really powerful quote in one of your blog articles? Consider making a text snippet of this quote and post it on Instagram.
In the snippet, you’ll want to reference your blog and briefly provide instructions on how they can read the article in its entirety. TextGram is a popular app for creating text snippets for Instagram.
19 – Create Infographics to Share on Social Media
Infographics are helpful because the immediately grab the attention of the reader through illustrations. Not everyone has the time to sit down and read an entire article on a specific topic.
With this in mind, an infographic could quickly convey your message to your intended audience. You’ll want to watermark your infographic and add a link back to your blog. As people share your infographic through social media, you’ll want to retain credit for your work.
20 – WhatsApp Helps Engage International Audiences
WhatsApp isn’t nearly as popular in the United States as it is worldwide. If your blog attracts an international audience, consider adding a “Share to WhatsApp” button on your articles.
Several marketing firms have noted that WhatsApp is emerging as a source for social media traffic.
21 – Tag People or Products Mentioned In Your Blog Posts
If you have positive things to say about a person or a product, make sure to tag them on social media when your posts go live.
More often than not, they will repost or retweet your content to their followers. This engagement could also help you generate buzz for upcoming articles that mention this product or person.
22- Host a Chat on Slack with your Members
If your blog is designed to engage a certain community, you could always encourage your readers to interact with one another using Slack.
Sometimes, it’s hard to directly interact with people who share your passion. Creating a Slack channel will give you the ability to directly push new content to members while simultaneously providing a place for like-minded individuals to interact.
23 – Join a Twitter Hashtag Conversation
If your blog’s topic comes up in the media, keep an eye on Twitter’s trending hashtags so you can add your input on the news.
As always, you don’t want to come off as being spammy. However, snarkiness on Twitter seems to get a lot of attention. There’s a fine a line, so tread carefully. Just add the ###hashtag to the end of your tweet and join in on the conversation. Add links to your blog when necessary.
24 – Become a Contributor on Yahoo Answers
Much like Quora, Yahoo infamously hosts a questions and answers section on their website that is known as Yahoo Answers.
When questions come up about the topic that you blog about, this is your opportunity to step up to the plate and offer a helpful answer. You may also add a link to your blog if you have a blog post that goes into greater details about the answer. As these question and answer sessions get archived, more and more new readers could be enticed to visit your blog.
25 – Create Facebook Groups about Topics that You Blog About
Is there a specific topic that you blog about frequently? Think about creating a Facebook group for that topic and see if people want to join in on the conversation on Facebook.
In your group, you can always link to your blog articles, or you could even foster a discussion about other people’s blog articles. Either way, it’s a surefire way to drive additional traffic to your website.
26 – Start a Twitter Chat By Promoting Your Own Hashtag
Do you have a slogan? A core message? Perhaps you could turn that into a hashtag and make it synonymous with your blog.
Whenever someone speaks about your blog’s topic, they could use that specific hashtag in order to contribute to the conversation on Twitter. For this to be successful, try to add your hashtag to all the media you produce. This includes blog posts, images, blurbs, comments on other sites, etc.
When you create a new hashtag, you have the ability to control the narrative by kicking off the conversation. Who knows? Your hashtag could go viral.
27 – Cross Post Your Images on Imgur
Imgur is a website that is used mostly be people on Reddit who host images for their Reddit posts. Imgur has grown outside of the Reddit crowd, and it has adapted a social media feel of its own.
You’ll notice that Imgur seems to be a mix of Instagram, Reddit and Pinterest. You can add your images, along with links back to your site on Imgur. Make sure to register an account and post your images in the correct category. You’ll also want to use tags when you categorize your content.
Section 2: How to Generate Traffic Using E-Mail, Apps, and Text Messages
One of the untapped methods of generating traffic for your blog can happen directly within an email. We would never advocate spam; however, there are several white hat tactics that you can implement that will help more people read your blog articles.
Let’s take an opportunity to review the best ways to generate traffic for your blog using e-mail.
28 – Your Email Signature
When you send email to friends, family or business colleagues, consider taking the time to craft an email signature that catches the eye of your prospective readers.
YesWare has a created a pretty good write up on what you can do to grasp the attention of potential readers using your email signature.
Follow the guidelines in YesWare’s writeup, and you’ll be able grab more readers for your blog articles.
29 – An Email Mailing List
Perhaps this is obvious, but you should always provide a spot on your blog for people to sign up for your mailing list. Not building an email list is one of the big mistakes bloggers make when getting started.
A mailing list will allow you to intimately interact with your clients. You could provide exclusive content or blog recaps from your weekly blog. You could also use your email signature to promote your mailing list by providing a subscribe link at the end.
30 – Send Text Message Alerts
Did you know that over 95% of all SMS messages are read by the recipient? Text messaging is one of the best ways to engage your clients and increase readership for your blog.
You can add a widget on your website that simply collects SMS numbers, or you could implement a service like TXTImpact & EZTexting to help manage your text message campaign.
31 – Create an App for your Blog
Creating an app for your blog is easier than you might think. With Blappsta, you can convert your WordPress blog into a publishable iTunes/Google Play app that can be downloaded by your users.
This will enable your users to get mobile device updates whenever you publish a new blog post. Blappsta provides a rich, high-tech look for your blog while providing the best updates. You can also link back to your blog in the Google Play and iTunes Appstore repositories.
32 – Turn On Your Autoresponder
For whatever reason, email delivery seems to fail more than they did in the past. There’s no real empirical data that I can provide to back that claim up; however, if you are wanting to generate traffic for your blog, using an autoresponder can help in several different ways.
Set up your autoresponder as a confirmation that inbound emails have been received. A successfully delivered email that does not go to your spam filter will trigger an autoresponder, which will contain links to your blog.
33 – Use Email to Request Interviews with Experts in your Field
If you’ve built up a blog that has generated buzz, emailing experts in your field to do a quick interview through email is a great way to drive traffic to your blog.
How does this work? If the person is notable and they have a following, people may have Google Alerts setup to detect when new content or information becomes available for a specific person. Alternatively, if a person provides an email interview, they may use their own social media channels to promote your blog.
34 – Targeted Email Campaigns
Should you really be paying to promote your blog content through targeted email marketing campaigns? For most bloggers, the answer is no. However, there some cases where exceptions can be made.
If your blog contains links to high margin products or affiliate links, the investment might be worth exploring. MailChimp and ConvertKit are two companies that come to mind that are trusted email marketing firms.
35 – Use Email to Reach Out to Other Bloggers
Guest blogging is a great way to get your message out to a broader audience. Guest bloggers will often network with other bloggers through email. You should try to build a network of other bloggers in your field both on social media and through email if possible.
Most bloggers will welcome guest bloggers as long as they can provide quality content in their guest posts.
36 – Use IFTTT on Your Email Account(s)
Perhaps email is a central part of your engagement strategy. Could an If This Then That (IFTTT) recipe help you engage more readers?
You could create your own recipe that helps engage people who contact you or you could use an existing recipe to automate communication. You could alert readers via email regarding various events using the triggers available to you in IFTTT.
37 – Send Surveys to Your Readers Through Email
Once you’ve built an email list, you could leverage this list to begin sending out surveys to those who are interested in your blog.
SurveyMonkey is one of the top free survey providers out there.
Leverage this feedback to create custom content for your readers.
When you create engaging original content, your readers will be more willing to share your content in their social media circles.
38 – Make Sure You Have RSS Feeds
There’s a segment of hardcore RSS enthusiasts who get their feeds in desktop email applications such as Outlook and Thunderbird. As a result, you should make sure that your blog has a link to its RSS feed somewhere on the template.
Blog syndicators may pickup your RSS feed, republish your content and provide backlinks to your websites. Those who get RSS feeds in their email client and simply forward on any blog articles that they read to others that might be interested in your work.
39 – Create Better Subject Lines
One way to drive more traffic to your blog is to increase the quality of the emails that you send out. If you send out a non-descriptive, bland email subject line, it’s possible that your email will get immediately discarded.
Optimizing the emails that you do send out is critical. Every piece of communication that leaves your email accounts should be calculated and well thought out. Read Wishpond’s Tips for Creating Effective Subject Lines.
40 – Optimize Your Newsletter Content
When readers open your emails, it is important to provide images, text, and formatting that catches the eyes of your readers. Lindsay Kolowich has provided several examples of killer newsletters in this blog post on HubSpot.
If your emails are just big blocks of text, you’ll run the risk of a reader mentally saying to themselves “Too Long, Didn’t Read” and they will discard your message. Get to the point and try to include a neat format along with a picture or two that will catch the eye of your reader.
41 – Enable Your Website to Send Text Links to Download Your App
We previously discussed making an app out of your WordPress blog. There’s always the risk that users will forget to go to the Appstore and download your app.
Tatango is a platform that will help you manage your text messaging campaign. You can also integrate Tatango into your website so that readers can send themselves text message reminders to download the app. Here are 29 examples of how Tatango has implemented this technology.
42 – Purchase or Acquire Existing Newsletters
Is there is a blog in your niche that is no longer being updated? Maybe you could reach out to the owner to see if they would be interested in selling the rights of their newsletter to you?
This tactic will allow you to find new readers who are confirmed to be interested in your blog’s topic. While this is a longshot, you never know what kind of deal you can work out with blog owners who have moved on to other ventures.
Section 3: Visitor Retention – How To Reduce Your Blog’s Bounce Rate
One of the best ways to increase traffic to your blog is to devise ways to keep visitors on your site. Many bloggers completely ignore their bounce rate statistics, and this is a mistake. While unique views are important, engaged readers are also important is as well.
The content you produce must be able to find a place that is near and dear to the reader’s heart. If you can achieve this, the odds instantly shift into your favor in regards to readers sharing your content through their social media channels, thus providing your blog with organic sources of traffic.
43 – Popup Notifications for Visitors Who Leave the Site
If you could tell your visitors one last thing before they leave your website, what would it be? One way to decrease your bounce rate is to add a popup onto your blog when people try to navigate away from your domain.
Optin Monster and SumoMe are two of the most trusted popup building plugins available for WordPress. In these plugins, you can setup Exit Popups, which will display whatever you want to people who are navigating away from your site.
44 – Create an eBook on your Blog’s Topic
There is a certain segment of blog readers out there who instinctively download every free eBook that is available to them online. You should create an eBook that is a definitive guide on your blog’s particular topic.
One popular tactic is to offer the eBook for free in exchange for the visitor’s confirmed email address. This allows you to engage the readers through email, while simultaneously providing them with an eBook that contains links back to your blog.
45 – Consider Implementing a Message Board on your Site
One of the best ways to generate activity on your blog is to host a message board on a particular topic. If you use WordPress, you can find a variety of different plugins that will help you host a message board on your site.
Message boards are key to visitor retention because it gives user’s one more reason to come back to your site. If you can host thoughtful discussions that provide readers with real-world help, you can catapult your blog regarding where it ranks when people use Google to search for your topic.
46 – Push Notifications for Chrome, Firefox and Safari Browsers
Have you ever visited a website that has asked you to “Enable notifications for when new content becomes available?”
When readers agree to this, you can begin pushing messages directly to their computers and mobile devices, even if the Chrome, Firefox or Safari browser isn’t currently open. OneSignal is a popular WordPress plugin used to push notifications by websites all around the world.
47 – Create and Host SlideShows of Your Content
One of the best ways to generate traffic within your website is to provide slideshows to your readers. When visitors go from slide to slide, your internal metrics will explode with page views.
Instead of creating in-depth guides, try breaking up your content into slides. Your content becomes more digestible to the reader, and it also provides more opportunities for your site to rank higher in search engine result pages.
48 – Host Sweepstakes for Gift Cards
Want to build up your mailing list and give users a reason to return to your site daily? Try hosting a no purchase necessary sweepstakes for a small gift card from a retailer such as Amazon.
Word spreads quickly about gift card giveaways and you could use the promotion as a way to drive new readers to your blog. For example, Giveawaypromote.com is a portal you could use to promote your blog’s gift card giveaway.
49 – Use a Plugin that Shows Related Content Below Your Blog Post
The worst thing that a visitor can do is find your blog in a search engine and click the back the button after reading an article. Your goal should be to increase visitor retention, once someone has visited your site.
If you publish using WordPress, you can implement YARRP, Contextual Related Posts or JetPack to help showcase related content to readers of your blog.
50 – Use Social Sharing Plugins
Many popular blogs have implemented social sharing buttons at the top of each blog article. These plugins help users easily aggregate your content through social networks such as Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others.
WordPress plugins such as Social Warfare and SumoMe Share will help you integrate these features into your blog.
51 – Automate New Blog Post Alerts to Twitter, Facebook & More
How much time would you save if you could automatically cross post your newest blog articles to Twitter and Facebook as soon as you blog post goes live?
The Social Networks Auto-Poster script by NextScripts will help you post across all social media platforms. Platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn and more.
52 – Use the Disqus Commenting System in WordPress
Rather than have users create an account on your site, you could have them log into Disqus using their Facebook, Twitter or Google login and they can instantly begin posting comments on your site.
Disqus is one of the largest commenting systems for WordPress. New website visitors could find your blog through Disqus comments, which is always a plus for your website.
Section 4: How to Generate PR Organically
Engaging mass media is easier than you think. In this section, we’ll look at few ways that you can generate buzz using traditional media.
53 – Help a Reporter Out
HARO, better known as Help A Reporter Out, is an online community that connects experts with news reporters.
With HARO, you can be featured as an expert in an up and coming news story. Doing so increases your PR as well as the authority and perception of your blog.
I’ve got a step-by-step write-up of how I used HARO in my How To Start a Blog article.
54 – Publish Newsworthy Articles on Google News
Daily news user alerts help users aggregate Google News. Entire guides exist about how to get your site listed in Google News.
Use this to your advantage and take control of this powerful medium. Google News is a great way to build up a readership around your blog because people will come back each and every day looking for something new.
55 – Reach Out to Podcasters
If you have expertise in a certain area, making yourself available to those who have a podcast following is an absolute must. Become the expert that podcasters rely on and you’ll build a following using someone else’s platform.
Utilize social media to become friends with fellow podcasters in your niche. Don’t spam them but become friendly and casually mention that you’d be willing to go on a podcast. The worst they can say is no.
56 – Reach Out to Radio Personalities
If you write a blog about financial topics, there’s probably an AM broadcast in your area that talks about finances at least once a week. Many areas have local public broadcasting stations that host a variety of different talk radio programs.
For some bloggers, being known locally is better for their brand than being an international blogging superstar.
Many radio shows host call in hours where callers can talk about whatever is on their mind. You can use this opportunity to call in and make a point on air then proceed to tastefully plug your blog’s URL before you hang up the phone.
57 – Contact Reporters with the Local News
Think about some of the things you’ve seen on the local news over the years. Local news affiliates often find interesting stories in the community to share during their morning and mid-day newscasts.
Going on the local news is a great way to get your content to go viral. If you have a memorable appearance on the local news, your video could get played millions of times on YouTube. What a great way to name drop your blog!
58 – Network with People in Person
Don’t interrupt random people at the grocery store. Think about conferences and events where you might meet people who are interested in your blog’s topic.
When you go to these events, ask prominent individuals if they’d do an audio interview. If your blog is based on products, you could ask the people at the conference to demo their new product for you. Get as much media as you can and proceed to make as many contacts as possible.
59 – Get Some Business Cards
When you hear the word “Business card” people often think of a white piece of paper with a name, address and phone number on it. For some, that’s all that’s needed.
However, if you need to make an impression, spend a little extra if a designer business card helps you gain recognition. You want to put your blog’s address on the card. Even if they don’t contact you personally, they may still check out your blog.
60 – Make Stickers for your Blog
If your blog reaches out to a younger generation, stickers might be the perfect medium to help you get your message out. For less than $20 at Amazon, you can get 100 sheets of 8.5“ x 11” sticker paper that can be used with any inkjet printer.
Stickers can be:
- given to friends
- included snail mail corespondence
- put on your car
Do you frequent coffee shops? Put a sticker with your blog’s address on the lid of your laptop to give yourself some real world PR. You could even host sticker giveaways on your website.
61 – Iron on Your Blog’s URL on a T-Shirt
Do you plan on going to a place where you might see a lot of people? Better yet, will a TV station be there covering a story? Buy some plain white T-shirts and iron-on transfers from Amazon you’ll be able to print up your own T-shirts to generate buzz for your blog.
62 – Sponsor an Event or Local Gathering
People who have local blogs can sponsor a get together of like minded people. By sponsoring the event, you can shell out as little or as much cash as you want. If you’re short on cash, you could reserve a picnic area in a local park and ask everyone to bring an item for a potluck.
If your blog needs to generate a lot of attention, sponsoring a large event is a great way to get your website’s name into the general conversation.
63 – Hosting a Workshop or Informational Session
Many community centers will offer free space for you to conduct a workshop or informational session. These learning sessions can help you:
- demonstrate a product
- talk about a cause
- simply introduce yourself to the community
Be sure to drive home your point. Consider having printed informational packets and items that prominently display your website. You might even consider having a drawing for people who show up to your event.
Contact the local media using a press release to inform them of your event.
64 – Reach out to Local Educators
Perhaps your blog’s topic could engage higher learners. Think about the things you write on your blog and see if they could be valuable to a local educator. You could create printable PDF’s that illustrate a lesson that the educator is trying to teach.
At the bottom of the page, you could add a credit to your blog. Teachers often archive their learning materials and their email addresses are published openly. Sometimes, they publish them freely on their websites.
Perhaps you’ve had a teacher in the past that has influenced your blog topic. This could be a really good way to give back to the community.
65 – Host a Local Meetup
You’ve heard of Meetup.com; could your blog host a local Meetup group? The best advertising you’ll ever receive is by word of mouth. By organically getting yourself and your brand out there, you’ll be able to get your blog on the map.
Even if people do not visit your Meetup, they might still visit your blog and become a regular reader. Sometimes, people, before they come out, begin socializing in your Meetup. Leverage the “Fear of missing out” by posting fun pictures of your Meetups onto your group.
66 – Go Old School: Make Some Flyers for Local Bulletin Boards
For the cost of a sheet of paper and printer ink, you can begin making flyers that will get people thinking about your website. Try printing off a key message and use the bottom of the sheet to list URLs to your website. Cut these in a pattern where people can easily tear them off.
You could also put a QR code on your flyer to let people visit your blog instantly from their mobile device.
Going old school has its advantages. Colleges, workplaces, libraries and common areas typically have places for you to hang flyers. You could even see if you could leave a stack on the counter of a local business.
67 – Contact PR Agencies
Do you plan on writing a product review? Let that company know about your review by contacting their PR representative. Sometimes, these contacts are listed on the website. Other times, you might have to find the general email address and ask to speak with a PR representative.
Another way to find PR representatives is to search previous PR releases by that company. Most PR releases include the contact info of the person who authorized the release.
This person can become your main contact for an upcoming blog post. If your post puts their company in a positive light, they might aggregate their post throughout their network and include it in future content.
68 – Send an Editorial to your Local Newspaper
While newspaper subscriptions keep falling, it’s possible that a written editorial that you send to your local newspaper gets published in the online version of the paper.
If your editorial gets published, you could plug your blog post in your signature if people would like to learn more about your topic.
69 – Attend a Local Meetup
You don’t have to host a Meetup; you can always attend a Meetup in your area and get your brand out there.
Meetup.com and others have listings of local meetups. Be sure to search niche sites to learn more about face to face networking in your area.
70 – Create Your Own PR Release
If you create a PR release, it’s possible that it will get picked up by the major newswires. Did you know that a PR release is one of the best ways to get your information out to journalists?
Bloggers and PR people constantly check the PR wire for new stories. Hard data, quotes and other snippets can be used from your release to create a story. PR releases can cost money but depending upon your goals, they could be well worth the money.
71 – Release a Coupon Code
Do you sell something on your blog? Maybe you could entice people to visit your blog by publishing a coupon code for your product.
Coupon aggregation websites such RetailMeNot and others will host your coupon code. You can also get a link to your website when you publish your coupon code.
72 – Sing Karaoke
It’s a Friday night, and you’re ready to go out and have some fun with your friends. When you sing your favorite song at a local karaoke bar, make sure you tell everyone to check out your blog after you finish your song.
You could even encourage patrons to visit your YouTube channel or use a hashtag so that your blog followers can see your video. Just keep your website plug brief while you’re on stage.
73 – Bring a Sign to a Televised Event
If you’re a fan of professional wrestling, you probably know that the cameras are constantly peeking into the crowd looking for signs to broadcast to the entire world.
Did you know that some of the biggest pro wrestling blogs got their start by bringing handmade signs to televised events? Think about other events that allow signs, such as political events, community events or sporting events.
74 – Become Synonymous With Your Blog
In today’s society, it’s not uncommon to Google people you meet in real life. If your name is synonymous with your blog, your website will come up as soon as people search for you.
Brand yourself with your website, and you will get website traffic by living your everyday life.
Section 5: How to Tastefully Promote Your Blog on Forums on Message Boards
Message boards are a great way to drive traffic to your website. Become known as a community expert and your traffic will flourish.
75 – Find Niche Forums
Try searching the web for communities that are built around topics discussed on your blog. Most forums have rules about blatantly spamming, and you’d never want that associated with your brand.
Become a member of a community and do not engage in self-promotion of any kind.
After a few weeks go by, review some of the newer threads and if you have a blog post that could help, quote the most helpful part of your blog and provide a source link underneath your post.
76 – Use Your First and Last Name When Creating Usernames
Remember how we said that you should become synonymous with your blog. Since message boards often let you create your own usernames, try using your real name as your username.
You could also use your blog’s URL or the portion of it before the “.com”. As people on the message board may use a search engine to seek out more information about you and they will get linked to your blog.
77 – Create a Custom Forum Signature
A lot of message boards will allow you to create a custom signature line at the end of each of your posts. Some moderators will have rules about this so make sure that you aren’t breaking any rules.
If you can add a link, that’s great for your overall SEO game plan. If not, try adding an image that includes a social media handle or a watermark of your website’s URL.
78 – Fill Out the Profile of Your Forum Accounts
Some forums will allow you to fill out a profile page that tells readers more about yourself. On other forums, you can even leave a direct link back to your blog.
If you aren’t allowed to post a link, try to casually plug your blog in your bio section without upsetting the moderators.
79 – Start Your Own Forum
If you have a WordPress installation, you can use a plugin such as bbPress to host your own forum within your WordPress blog.
If you want to setup a dedicated forum, try checking out phpBB or Codoforum.
80 – Sponsor a Forum
Perhaps you can get a thread stickied on a message board associated with your blog’s topic. Reach out to the forum owner to see if it’s possible to sponsor a stickied thread.
Some forum administrators will let you sponsor an entire section. This is a great way to gain new readers for your blog.
81 – Offer to Moderate a Forum
If you have experience as a forum moderator, this might be a way for you to exchange services in turn for some advertising space on the forum.
You’ll want to be an established member of a community before submitting an application for being a mod. Being a mod could be a way for you to make guest posts exclusive to forum members with links back to your site.
82 – Host a Reddit AMA
Reddit’s AMA (short for Ask Me Anything) is a way to conduct a digital interview. To get a better response, become known within a specific subreddit and offer to tell your story if anyone asks.
Through natural conversation, people may ask more about your story. Offer to do an AMA if people are interested in what you have to say.
83 – Create an Avatar Photo
Some message board apps will allow you to upload a picture to accompany each of your posts. You could get creative and add your Twitter handle or if it makes sense, try to add your URL.
If it looks too spammy, you obviously may not want to include the URL. Stick to social media handles, and you should be good to go.
84 – Seek Out Emerging Message Board Platforms
When you think about the success of Reddit, similar platforms have emerged that operate in the same manner. For example, Voat.co is a Reddit alternative.
It might be good to speculate regarding building a presence on an emerging social media message board platform, because after all, Reddit became popular when Digg users decided to revolt.
85 – Submit Your Blog Posts to Social Bookmarking Sites
Sites like Reddit, Digg, AllTop and StumbleUpon are places that can bring instant traffic to your blog posts. These sites allow you to register an account and participate in the community.
If any of your submission go viral, make sure that you are on hand in the comments section to answer any questions or to get feedback from potential blog readers.
86 – Start a Thread on Craigslist
Craigslist gives users in the community a secure way of exchange messages with one another. There’s a local Craigslist section for almost any interest. As long as your post fits within the guidelines, go ahead and make a thoughtful post that links back to your blog.
Section 6: How to Generate Traffic With SEO in Mind
Getting ranked highly in search engine result pages is crucial for the long-term success of your blog. Implement these strategies to gain the maximum value out of your SEO campaign.
87 – Install the Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress
Yoast SEO helps writers create content that ranks highly in search engines. You can hit the desired keyword density, as well as create the perfect title.
88 – Figure Out Who Backlinks to your Competitors
If you’re wondering how a competitor is ranked ###1 on Google, you can reverse engineer their backlink structure and figure out who is linking to their site.
Small SEO Tools has a free backlink checker that will give you the backlink profile of any website. It’s your job to figure out how to get linked on these same websites for higher search engine rankings.
89 – Use the Google Keyword Planner
The Google Keyword Planner lets you see which keywords people are purchasing in Google Adsense. When people pay money for a keyword, you know that the topic has value.
You can use the Google Keyword Planner to target keywords that fall into the low competition category. Read more about finding Longtail Keywords in Google Keyword Planner.
90 – Comment on Other Blogger’s Posts
WordPress has a built-in commenting system that natively allows people to link back to their websites. When you find blogs that allow you to comment and leave a link back to your site, go ahead and leave a thoughtful comment that adds to the discussion.
Commenting will increase your blog’s overall value as it shows that you can bring value to other blogger’s content. It’s also a great way to begin networking with other bloggers in your niche.
91 – Offer to Guest Post on Related Blogs
Many fellow bloggers will freely invite guest posters to provide content for their blogs. In exchange, you get to leave a backlink at the end of your article.
92 – Publish Your Content on a Schedule
Anyone who tells you that they know Google’s algorithm is full of it. That being said, there is a superstition that is you post content at the same time each day, your blog gets more credibility in search engine rankings.
93 – Determine the Best Publishing Schedule to Maximize Readership
Think about your target demographics regarding who will be reading your site. If your blog caters to consumers, did you know that consumer blog content performs better on the weekends?
Do your research and publish your content at a time of day that will give it the maximum exposure.
94 – Test Different Headlines Using Similar Keywords on Social Media
Measure the response you get from social media by subtly changing the headline of your article when you retweet it on Twitter.
Changing titles has SEO advantages because you can use the different headlines to target keywords that link to the same article. Sites like Twitter often have new tweets that get listed on Google’s front page. Give it a shot!
95 – Optimize Your Meta Descriptions
We suggested the Yoast SEO WordPress plugin earlier. Yoast helps you create content that hits your desired keywords. Try reading this article on how to optimize your meta descriptions for SEO.
96 – Own a Physical Storefront? List it on Yelp
It’s hard to think of a better backlink source than Yelp. Being listed on Yelp will raise brand awareness and help your SEO.
As a general rule of thumb: Anytime you can get a backlink from a website that is a household name, you should capitalize on those opportunities immediately.
97 – Create a Promotion to Publish on a Deals Site
We talked about coupon codes earlier. Another avenue to pursue is daily deal websites.
These sites exist for both consumer products and informational products. When you publish a deal, you gain the ability to get your call to action in front of thousands of readers.
You could potentially run a freebie promotion to gain new readers. You could also steer nonbuyers to your blog and win them over as readers.
98 – Post on Freelance Websites
Maybe you’ve found yourself in the position of needing to hire a guest blogger. You’ll probably need to link back to your blog in your freelance listing, and by doing so, you’ll get a backlink to your blog from a highly ranked website.
99 – Cross Promote with Other Bloggers
As you build your network, exchange ideas with other bloggers and offer a cross-promotion deal. Instead of paying freelance bloggers, you could establish a quid pro quo relationship with another blogger in your niche. You could exchange content and participate in cross promotions.
100 – Post Articles on Medium
Medium is a popular blog hosting platform that can give your blog instant exposure to thousands of readers.
Try rewriting previously published content and link it back to your blog. A backlink from Medium is a great way to jumpstart your SEO campaign.
101 – Find Places to Republish Your Blog Articles
Did you know that sites like Tumblr or SquareSpace will allow you republish your blog articles? Take advantage of these secondary mediums and look for ways to get your message out to the masses.
Look for niche blog republishing sites. For example, if you write about tech, you could publish on Tech Cocktail.
102 – Create a Wikipedia Page
Creating a Wikipedia page is a great way to build a solid SEO foundation. Whip a quick article that describes your blog and publish it on Wikipedia with backlinks.
If Wikipedia isn’t an option, there is a Wiki out there for nearly any topic. Try finding these niche sites if Wikipedia isn’t a good fit.
103 – Reference your Blog in Wikipedia Articles
The great thing about Wikipedia is that anyone can edit the content. If you can contribute to a particular topic, try editing the article and leaving your blog link as a reference to your post.
Wikipedia works great if you are directly quoting a person about a historic event. Keep this tactic in mind as you begin to build your backlink profile.
104 – Create an Affiliate Program
If your website has a shopping cart, there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to setup an affiliate program by simply using a plugin.
AffliateWP and Affiliates-Pro are two commonly used WordPress plugins that play nice with eCommerce suites such as WooCommerce.
105 – Build Mini-Websites on Other Platforms
Explore publishing blog articles onto mini-websites to get more exposure for your website. Platforms such as Blogger, WordPress.com, and others will allow you create mini websites that can funnel interested users to your main blog.
106 – Pitch Your Blog Articles to Weekly Roundup Newsletters
There’s a whole sect of content curators that do nothing but find the best links for people to enjoy in weekly roundup emails. Sometimes, curators will publish these newsletters as blog article as well.
Begin subscribing these email lists and begin contacting the publishers of these roundup lists to see if you can get your content included on the next email blast.
107 – Learn From the Experts
The best thing about SEO is that it is a skill that you can learn for free. If you blog about a topic that converts extremely well, SEO could be the single most valuable skill that you learn.
Seek out experts like Brian Dean, who have made a career out of teaching others how to rank highly in search engines.
Section 7: Traditional, Non-Traditional & Digital Advertising Methods
In the digital advertising section, we will discuss paid traffic methods that are known to convert visitors into sales.
108 – Twitter Ads
Did you know that you can now publish ads on Twitter? The advertising platform on Twitter is rather new, when you compare it to other ad mediums online. Twitter can give you the opportunity to reach people all around the world.
109 – Pin Your Tweets on Twitter
When you publish a new article and share it on social media, make sure that you pin it to the top of your Twitter feed for everyone to see.
110 – Bing Ads
Google isn’t the only search engine, although it may seem like it. Bing Ads provide you with a way to reach out to a diverse audience using the 2nd most popular search engine on the internet.
111 – Yahoo Ads
Like Bing, Yahoo allows you to target their search engine users by bidding on keywords. Yahoo Ads also give you ways to customize your campaign to gain the best value for your advertising dollar.
112 – LinkedIn Ads
One of the best places to advertise your website is on LinkedIn. Since LinkedIn is a social network for professionals, you can be sure that your ads are seen by people in the business community. LinkedIn ads work great if your blog is a business to business type of website.
113 – Facebook Ads
If you are trying to make one of your blog articles go viral, try purchasing a Facebook Ad and promote your topic this way. There have been numerous guides on how to drive traffic using Facebook Ads; try reading this guide at HubSpot.
114 – Instagram Ads
Does your content on Instagram seem to drive traffic to your blog? Maybe your advertising campaign will work best on Instagram?
With Instagram, you’ll likely get more mobile traffic than anything. Keep that in mind as you begin to devise methods of driving traffic to your blog.
115 – Publish Ads in Classifieds
We briefly talked about Craigslist – perhaps there is a newspaper or magazine that will allow you to publish an advertisement in an upcoming issue?
Local newspaper advertisements can be purchased cheaply. Some community magazines will let you advertise for free. These ads are often republished online as well.
116 – Physical Media – Signs and Billboards
If the payoff is worth it, consider buying a sign or a billboard in a spot that will attract attention from those who will benefit from your message. Billboards near interstates can cost much less than you think, so start making phone calls if your signage idea is worth it.
117 – Sponsor Shopping Cart Completion Pages
When people have purchased a product, you know that they are in the buying mindset. Use this to your advantage and figure out how you can advertise on confirmation pages.
Another way to tackle this is to seek out vendors who serve up “Thank you” pages. After a user has completed an action, you could try to piggyback on that action by promoting your website (as long as it’s related.)
118 – Google Adsense
One sure fire way to make the 1st page of search engine results is to purchase ads using Google Adsense.
Pay per click marketing isn’t a new advertising medium. However, if you have a blog that is geared towards converting leads, Google Adsense could be a profitable investment.
119 – Explore Niche Pay Per Click Networks
Whether you are paying CPM or CPA, it might be worthwhile to explore other pay per click networks if Google Adsense seems to expensive.
For example, if you had a blog that promoted a specific web host, you could approach the owners with a sponsorship deal where you pay by the click.
120 – Explore Mobile Advertising Platforms
Did you know that over 50% of all websites are accessed using a mobile browser? Perhaps you can find a network such as AdMob, Unity Ads or AirPush to publish ads to mobile users.
121 – Fly a Banner Over an Event
Do you need to catch the attention of a mass group of people? Flying a banner over a major city or near a major event can cost you thousands of dollars.
That being said, if your message is that important, perhaps the investment is worth it. If you have friends in the aviation industry, maybe you could convince them to deploy your banner at a lower price.
122 – Pay to Have People Read Your Emails
Companies like InboxDollars pay their members to open emails and click on links. While this may not be high-quality traffic, if you have an offer that could directly benefit someone who is in the money making mindset, this traffic could convert into sales.
123 – Buy a Custom Car Wrap
Vehicle transportation is a luxury that billions of people take advantage of each day. If you create a custom car wrap, you can advertise your blog to thousands of motorists as you make your daily commute.
You may have to find a local shop that will help you apply the wrap. Signarama is a national chain that will help you create the perfect wrap for your vehicle.
124 – Branded Knick-Knacks and Swag
While the ROI isn’t great, you can sometimes get deals on custom branded pens, shirts, coffee mugs and keychains.
Think about the different venues in which you can give out your swag bags. You could give it out as an award to a contest.
If you have a physical storefront, you can provide your customers with ways to remember your business.
125 – Radio Advertising
We talked early about getting interviewed on the radio but sponsoring an ad on the radio could be a better idea for your brand.
Radio advertising is cheaper than you’d think. Most radio ads have an immediate call to action. You must be able to grab the listeners attention with your message. Most website advertisements seem to do better on AM stations.
126 -Sponsor Music Streaming Services
Streaming music websites such as Pandora and Spotify are beginning to gain millions of subscribers. Could your blog’s message be pertinent to people listening to these services?
Consider creating an ad for a music streaming service to get the attention of people who may hear your message in the car, at the gym or on the go.
127 – Advertise in Waiting Rooms
At the local DMV, they had flat screen TVs that played nothing but advertisements while people waited in line. Check it here.
Would digital media advertising work for your website? This advertising medium seems to be emerging as flat screen TVs that play nothing but ads are finding their way into convenience stores such as Circle K.
128 – Advertise on Pinterest
Being seen on Pinterest is a fantastic way to drive targeted traffic to your blog. Evaluate your Pinterest traffic from your social media campaign and ask yourself the following question:
If you could multiply your Pinterest audience, would it be worth it to pay for ads on Pinterest?
For some bloggers, PR on Pinterest is just the spark your blog may need to go viral.
129 – Try Implementing StumbleUpon’s Ad Platform
StumbleUpon traffic is good if you have a clear call to action in your message. StumbleUpon users are frequently hitting new websites, therefore a promotion or a free eBook giveaway might be a good strategy.
130 – Buy Ads on Reddit
Ready to get listed at the top a subreddit? When you buy ads on Reddit, you can do just that. Imagine being the first thing seen on Reddit when someone visits their favorite sub.
In my tests, an ad blocker didn’t seem to block a Reddit ad from getting through. This is food for thought as plugins that block ads have become prevalent over the years.
Section 8: Honorable Mentions – A Place for Everything Else
This chapter is the final chapter it will consist of various methods that can help you drive traffic to your website. Keep an open mind as you read about some these traffic generation methods.
131 – Volunteer in Your Community
Volunteerism is a great way to give back to those in your community. It also provides you with an opportunity to network with like-minded individuals.
Don’t just volunteer to volunteer, find a cause that you’re are passionate about and make a difference. You can always write blog articles about the experience and share them with other volunteers in your group, who may go on to share your articles with their group of friends and so on.
132 – Sell Something on eBay
While it is usually poor form to link back to your blog directly from an eBay post, you can use eBay as a way to talk to other members when they contact you about your item for sale. This provides you with a great opportunity to plug your blog.
133 – Crosslink Blogs Posts
If you want to build your traffic, having a top 5 articles widget on the right-hand side of your blog just isn’t going to cut it.
Crosslink blog posts that you have previously written as you continue to produce new content. Crosslinking will only help your page view statistics.
134 – Brand Your Images Using Meta Tags
Did you know that you can gain blog traffic from Google Images when you add tags and descriptions onto your illustrations when you publish them on WordPress?
When you add images to posts, make sure to write a description that is naturally filled with keywords. People could visit your blog by finding images that you’ve hosted on your blog.
135 – Seed Your Own Torrent(s)
If you have eBooks, audiobooks or podcasts that you have created, consider freely distributing these on BitTorrent.
In the title of the file, make sure to reference your blog’s URL. Even if the person doesn’t download your torrent, you can at least get more exposure for your blog.
136 – Write An eBook and Sell It On Amazon
When you write an eBook and sell it on Amazon, you’re practically getting paid to promote your blog.
Think about it, you make the profit off of the eBook sale and on the front page of the eBook, you have a link back to your blog. You’d obviously want to provide a solid eBook so put a lot of energy into self-publishing your best work.
137 – Offer to Swap Mailing Lists with a Fellow Blogger
One stellar way to get more traffic is to swap mailing lists with a fellow blogger. You could set this up as a one-time thing or it could be a regular occurrence.
You could even be creative and go on vacation while a guest writes newsletters to your readers. Utilize social media tools to become networked with other bloggers. If you can make these types of connections, you’ll have tons of new traffic flowing to your site.
138 – Host a Party
Hosting parties is common in the network marketing world. Think about how brands such as Mary Kay and others have grown through people simply hosting a party and mingling with friends.
You could even host something like a free pancake breakfast. Sometimes, these events will generate buzz from the local media.
139 – Use Fiverr To Get New Videos for your YouTube Channel
Fiverr has a section where people will say your message and talk about your blog for the low cost of $5. Some Fiverr contractors will even write your URL on their skin with a non-toxic marker.
Find a professional that will help you create a new video for your subscription. This will help get more eyes on your website.
140 – Create a Course on Udemy
Udemy is a coursework platform for online learners to learn about specific topics. The publisher of the course can set their prices.
Udemy is a great way to get a backlink to your blog while simultaneously giving you a way to earn some extra cash.
141 – Host a Webinar
Try using software like GoToMeeting to establish professional webinars for you and your readers.
Announce your online workshop to your readers and give them an invitation code to attend. Bring a valuable topic to the table or share your expertise with your audience.
142 – Get Listed in a Blogging Directory
One of the best ways to build your SEO backlink profile is to get your blog listed in blogging directories.
Blogging directories curate content by categories, giving you a way to directly connect with people who want to hear your message.
143 – Review Products that you Purchase
Some review sites will allow you to link back to your website. Find review websites that will allow you to publish your input on a product that you recently purchased.
This product may not fit within your blog’s niche. However, it does give you more opportunities to get quality backlinks to your website.
144 – Give to Charity
Some charities will allow you attach a message to your gift that is posted on their website. Some charities even give you the ability to link back to your website.
Giving to a worthy cause is something you’ve probably considered doing anyways. When you give to causes that are near and dear to your heart, see if there is a way that you link back to your blog. You could even write a blog post about why you gave to this charity and encourage your readers to do the same.
145 – Legally Paint Graffiti on a Wall
Did you know that urban areas are beginning to host “Free speech walls” where neighborhood graffiti artists can practice their craft legally and lawfully?
These walls get painted over quickly, so be sure to pick a time to paint where your message will get maximum exposure. On the plus side, spray painting walls sounds kind of fun. Be sure to take a picture of your artwork and share it on social media.
146 – Send Direct Messages to New Social Media Followers
Tell your new followers thank you when they follow you on social media. At the end of your direct message, include a link to your blog.
You can automate this process with apps such as CrowdFire.
147 – Ask Your Customers to Review Your Products
Word of mouth will always be the best method of advertising. When people view your content or buy your products, ask them to create a short review on an industry recognized review website.
Reviews can increase your blog readership or help you sell more products.
148 – Create a Browser Plugin
Create a simple browser plugin that interfaces with your blog. The plugin could be something that alerts the user when a new article is available. Here is a write up on how to build your own a Google Chrome extensions.
Todd Tressider over at Financial Mentor did this quite skillfully by creating a bunch of financial calculator plugins. Other personal finance bloggers used his WordPress plugins, creating a bunch of backlinks to Todd’s site.
149 – Host Browser Based Apps on Your Website
Is there a way for you to create an app on your website that users will continue to use over and over? If you ran a website about personal finance, wouldn’t it be a good idea to host a compound interest calculator somewhere on your website?
These types of pages rank well within search engines, and they can help funnel directed traffic to your blog.
150 – Host Templates, Workbooks, and Other Rich Media
Is there a Word template, Excel workbook or another type of rich media that you can provide to your readers?
Publish this content and give permission to others to rehost these documents as long as they give credit to your blog.
151 – Try to Get Listed on Sites like CrunchBase
Websites like CrunchBase exist to provide a profile of a company. Find these types of sites and submit your details to get listed. If your profile is accepted, you’ll be able to talk about your team and provide a backlink to your website.
Getting Started
What a massive list, right? Do you feel overwhelmed? Probably so. Let’s walk through how to attack this list and maximize results.
- Print out this list.
- Grab some colored markers, pens, or crayons.
- Green pen – mark everything you can do in 30 minutes or less. Examples: Changing your email signature. Updating your Twitter profile.
- Yellow pen – mark everything you can do in 30 minutes – 2 hours.
- Purple pen – mark projects that might take more than a couple hours but less than a week.
- Blue pen – long term projects. Example: Writing an eBook. PICK ONE! If you try to attack five big, long-term projects, you’ll never finish any of them. Do you want to write a book? Spend the next 90 days writing and marketing your book.
- Black pen – Cross out anything not applicable or you don’t want to do. Examples: Billboards, Radio advertising.
- Do all the easy stuff first.
- Prioritize the remaining items and come up with a plan and schedule to work on them.
Stay positive – it’s going to take time!
Can you do me a favor please – if this free article helped you in any way please share it on your Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest account. Your awesome!
How To Get Started Investing
The international bestseller by CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Scott Alan Turner. Choose the right accounts & investments so your money grows for you – automatically. No jargon, confusion, or pie in the sky promises. Just a proven plan that works.
