Be a Social Media Partner
This is a guest post by Nathan Hangen who is an Internet marketer, author, and competitive triathlete. He is currently deployed to Afghanistan and spends his free time developing his personal brand and social network. You can learn more about him and read similar content at his website, The Webrepreneur Blog.
My Favorite Traffic Strategy – Collaborative Social Networking
Building traffic for your blog or website is certainly not the easiest task in the world, but I do believe that it can be a simple task if you create a system to help you get there. One of my favorite traffic strategy systems is to leverage social networks to prop up your blog and create long lasting traffic. As with any system, it will take time and effort to implement and maintain, but the rewards certainly justify the investment.
Be a Social Media Partner
When you work hard on a post and submit it to every social networking and media site you know of, you are hoping to create back links and traffic. You put a lot of effort into your blog and you’d like people to take notice, right? So answer this for me – How come when you view other people’s Stumbles, Tweets, links, and posts, you don’t do the same for them?
Look, I know your time is short and there is far too much good content on the internet to be able to bookmark, stumble, and tweet it all…but why not do as much as you can to help out other hard working bloggers?
Using Relationships to Build Momentum
If you are a new blogger, you know that getting traffic can be tough. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that everyone that enjoyed your site let you know by sharing it with someone else? Veteran bloggers know this and use their popularity to help their friends build their own. The quickest way to gain favor with a blogger is to let them know that you appreciate their work! A network of allies dedicated to helping you is much more powerful than a large group of people that only see you as a self-promoter.
The goal with social networking and social bookmarking is to create a network of friends and allies online to help you grow your business, but it just doesn’t work if you only promote yourself. Chris Brogan is one of my favorite bloggers because he is always, always, always promoting other people’s work. His philosophy is that if you help others achieve their goals then people will start to help you achieve your own…and he’s right!
Pay it Forward
When I find good content, I make sure that I promote it using at least one method – Twitter, StumbleUpon, Delicious, Digg, Tumblr, or linking to them on my blog. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but the reciprocal relationships that you build in the process are going to pay off well after your short-term efforts of promoting yourself will. People appreciate it when you notice them and will go to amazing lengths to help you!
On the other end of the spectrum, when people start propping your blog using one of those methods, make sure you thank them. People like personal interaction and are much more likely to repeat that action if you thank them for it.
Lead the Way
The long term goal is to have others promote your blog, so why not give them an example of how it is done. Comment, bookmark, Tweet, or blog the good content you see and people will start to take notice. Use social networks and social bookmarking to build a network of friends and help each other make it to the top of the blogging world. Group efforts are so much more powerful than solo efforts, especially when you start working with “power users,” that help drive these social bookmarking networks.
Keep working on good content and people will have no problem recommending you to their networks. The work you do for free now will pay off down the road and you’ll be helping others do the same in the process. Does it get any better than that?
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>Pay it forward
I often stumble a site (as I did this post) but your article makes me realize how little linking I have done.
I wonder if Mark above even realized that Caroline didn’t write this post.
Ned Careys last blog post..Great Marketing With a Sense of Humor!
I agree with what all of you have stated. Sometimes we have to look beyond our own efforts by helping others. I made a video about a similar concept, but I really believe that those that serve others first will end up more successful in the long run.
Nathan Hangens last blog post..How Much Real Estate Do You Own?
@Ben, I used to heavily comment on other blogs but I don’t anymore. I rarely spend any time on social media these days to be honest, I concentrate purely on getting search engine traffic.
@Ned, no it’s quite common for people to leave ranting comments without even bothering to read the post properly. That’s why I didn’t reply heh!
Quick question: does anyone here know how to track which of your links might have been Stumbled?
Johnns last blog post..Building The Perfect Beast: A D&D 3.5 online monster generator
@ Johnn,
I would love to know the answer myself.
If you stumble your own posts, they will show up in your favorites list. You will then see if others have made them favorites.
The problem is if you keep stumbling your own posts Stumbleupon won’t like it. I heard that more than 3 stumbles of one site from one person is the limit.
Anybody have a better answer?
Ned Careys last blog post..The Power of Positive Thinking
[...] especially if you’ve already developed a relationship with someone. This is what I did at Caroline Middlebrook’s blog, David Risley’s blog, and at Darren Rowse’s Twitip blog. This will not only increase [...]
Hi Caroline- when I first got on the web properly in November 08- yours was one of the first sites I saw. Now others have come an gone but I still keep receiving your emails because they are down to earth and you seem so trustworthy. BUT what I have noticed is that the sites with the most comments, the most traffic, making the most money is the make money on line niche.
And now you are promoting how to drive hoards of traffic to sites using stumbleupon. So my question to you- is it REALLY and TRULY possible for a niche such as mine- helping women attract and date the right men, to be able to make the kinds of money others tout and get the traffic as you suggest via stumbleupon?
I suppose I’m asking for verification in a way that other non make money on line sites are making money and getting the traffic because I don’t want to buy your program and be disappointed.
Thanks Caroline.
This is my site if you need to see it
http://www.askelainenow.com/blog
@Elaine, there is no way to tell for sure if any kind of site is going to attract certain kinds of traffic and if that traffic will convert. I know that’s a vague answer but it’s true! Take the free lessons and try them out on your site. If the traffic doesn’t benefit you then don’t buy the advanced course :-)
Hi Caroline- I purchased your traffic rush system, and have worked my way through them up until module 6-7 when you talk about making friends, choosing them wisely-
I am confused how to do this because when I stumble a site which I like, and then look at their interests they usually have nothing to do with my niche- they have varied interests. So am I supposed to be adding friends from my niche which is dating and relationships? And if so does it matter that their interests as shown by their stumbles have nothing to do with the niche they are in?
Thanks Caroline
@Elaine, can you contact me privately via the contact form with your question, thank you.
[...] this story is that I heard about it via one of my social bookmarking networks, which I’ve written about in the past. In this case, it was [...]