So you've got a great blog going now with several articles and killer content. Trouble is, you don't know if anyone is reading it besides your mom. You feel like you're writing to yourself most of the time and that's not what you want. You want to sell an affiliate product or make money on ads or something! Start taking steps now to drive traffic to your blog and soon you'll have some blog comments being posted and products being sold.
Getting traffic to a blog follows the same steps as getting traffic to a website, with a few other possibilities thrown in. Don't concentrate on one method because traffic can, and should, come from all over.
1. Interview a happy customer and post the interview on your blog. This is a win-win because you'll learn something new about your customer and their stamping goals as well as show your blog readers new ideas.
2. Put your blog link in your signature line when you post on forums. Join forums that are in your niche and answer questions when you know the answer and can be really helpful. You are establishing yourself as the "person in the know" and they may click on your blog link to see what else you know.
3. Write quality tutorials. The stuff a customer may not see from a catalog. Really work on your bio and link at the bottom of your articles so that targeted people can't help but click to your DBWS site.
4. Create a video, post it to YouTube and link back to your blog.
5. Post thoughtful comments on other blogs, preferably well-trafficked ones, and establish a relationship with them. One time I did this and it lead to a new downline. Talk about exposure. You can also get curious people clicking through on your link from the comments you left. I don't recommend commenting on other demonstrator blogs though.
6. Look for guest blogging opportunities. When you blog on someone else's blog with lots of good information, their readers will visit your blog. The SUDSOL Blog Tour or similar is a great idea for getting traffic. However, be warned the traffic you receive is people who like to blog or demonstrator hop.
7. Similarly, cross post with another blogger. Ask them a burning question on their blog, and they answer it on your blog and vice versa. Readers will have to go to the other blog to find out the answer. This might be a fun to do with your downline. You can also pick a blog with a specific topic that you specialize in like Digital Scrapbooking, Travel Scrapbooking, Weddings, Kids Projects, etc.
8. Business cards are never out of fashion in the offline world. Hand them out whenever and wherever appropriate. Make it fun and rewarding for those you hand your business card to. For instance, create a hide-and-seek game where you ask the new visitor to find an answer and email you when they do for a little prize. You'll be surprised how this works!
9. One of the best, and easiest, ways to drive traffic to your website through your blog is to link back to your site as you post. Each time you put a new article on your site, you can write a “teaser” post containing an excerpt of the article and include a “read more” link to the page on your site that features the complete text. Also include links to older articles that become timely again. For instance, you may have put up an article on your site in the summer that explains how to keep kids occupied by creating costumes. When Halloween comes around, don’t forget to link back to that article. You may also want to include links to your opt-in pages or pages.
10. Remember to feed the feeds. RSS and Atom, Bloglines, BlogPulse, BlogFlux, and more for syndication of your blog posts.
These are just a few of the ways to drive traffic to your blog. After all, the point of your blog is not to write to yourself but to help others and make some money. As you start practicing these strategies check your page stats and see how many visitors are coming to your site through links placed on your blog. You will get a better idea of what is working and will be able to increase traffic even further.
Stamping Successes!
Debbie McNeill
Computer/BLOG Coordinator
