You’ve spent all this time, energy (and possibly even money) launching your site, so how do you actually get eyeballs on it?
After all, without traffic, you won’t make much money, right?
As I said in a very candid podcast, traffic building is a marathon, not a sprint. And the results are very relative for several reasons…
- Certain strategies work better depending on the niche/topic
- Your dedication and work ethic
- Your skills and preferences (You might excel at video compared to social media or vice versa.)
So the advice you’ll see below are merely a guide. Pick and choose the methods that fit you best and don’t give up!
Results WILL vary.
Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning they earn me a commission if you buy. Rest assured I ONLY affiliate myself with products I use and like.
Create Videos for YouTube
I put this tip first because it has worked so incredibly well for me for several years.
I absolutely love, love, love creating videos for YouTube and my screencast tutorials (created with Camtasia) have not only helped introduce people to my site and brand, but they’ve also earned lots of YouTube Partner, course, and affiliate marketing income.
Many people are visual learners and if you happen to be in a niche where instructional videos help your audience learn, you should be on YouTube. No questions asked!
At the time I’m writing this, my videos have been viewed over 12 million times in total. Pretty cool, huh? 🙂
What’s great about screencast tutorials is that you are sharing your screen while talking. So if you’re shy and don’t want to be on camera, these are ideal.
Here are a handful of my screenrecording videos:
- How I Make Money With Spreadshirt
- Tips for Creating a Website With WordPress
- How to Create Social Media Image Templates With Canva
- How to Customize a StudioPress WordPress Theme
I also use Powtoon for some of my videos. It’s animation presentation software that adds pizazz to the presentation. I created this Pinterest video with Powtoon.
You need a premium subscription to be able to download and upload the videos to YouTube, but it’s been worth it because I also use Powtoon for my course intros and videos.
Start a Podcast
This method is becoming more and more popular as our busy lives encourage us to consume content in convenient ways.
What’s great about podcasts is people can absorb the content while they go about their daily lives. They can listen at the gym, in the car, taking a bubble bath, you name it!
The key to driving traffic to your website is to use a call to action in your podcast. I used this strategy twice in my traffic building podcast.
Asking your audience for feedback is a great way to encourage them to visit your site and comment.
Start an Email List
The primary way I get people to read my new blog posts is through my email list.
I use AWeber’s blog broadcast feature. That means when I launch a new post, my subscribers get a short email with a snippet of the post followed by a link to read the full article.
If you blog multiple times per week, I wouldn’t recommend this strategy because you might send too many messages for your readers.
However, if you only blog once or twice a month like me, then this could be ideal.
With an AWeber subscription, you can also send emails out to your list any time you want.
Learn Social Media
“Learn” really is the operative word here.
It’s not as simple as just auto posting to Twitter or Facebook and calling it a day.
It’s really about building relationships over the long run by following and connecting with people who post similar content.
I’d be lying to you if I said I was a social media guru, but fortunately for you there are plenty out there who are willing to help you improve your presence.
Mari Smith is a veteran in the game who has been coaching and helping people for years with social media.
Rebekah Radice is another vet who works with individuals and small businesses looking to gain more exposure.
My advice is to pick one network to focus on in the beginning instead of trying to be popular everywhere.
For example, if your audience is in their 40s and 50s then Facebook is a place that generation spends a lot of time on now.
Start there.
Just keep in mind, Facebook openly admitted their agenda is to force businesses to spend money on ads. That means most of the people who “like” your page, won’t see your content unless you buy ads.
Social media has become a pay to play arena in many areas, but that doesn’t mean you can’t generate a ton of exposure from it. I’ll explain below.
Do Live Streaming
Whether it’s Periscope, Facebook Live, or YouTube Live, live streaming is becoming the preferred choice for broadcasting.
And if you need exposure, this is one area of Internet marketing you can’t ignore.
A lot of people run from this strategy because it can be very intimidating. But embracing it can give you a leg up on your competition because so many people do NOT want to put themselves out there.
I mentioned how Facebook limits how many of your “fans” see your posts. However, they give preferential treatment to people who use their Live streaming feature.
You WILL get more exposure on Facebook from live streaming than you will posting links to your blog posts. Period.
Love it or hate it, live streaming is the present and future of Internet Marketing.
Collab With Your Peers
Of course you can launch and market a business on your own, but the right collaboration can expedite the traffic process immensely.
With the web becoming increasingly social, working with others in your niche is a fabulous way to get in front of a new audience.
The Ultimate Blog Swap is a great example of a collab several bloggers participated in to help spread the word about their sites.
And if you’re thinking, “I don’t know of anyone to collab with.” Well that’s where social media comes in. Get out there and follow people with similar content and start interacting!
The online world is insanely social now. Take advantage of it!
Write and Distribute a Comprehensive How-To Guide
People always find value in information that is packaged together. It saves them time and provides an abundance of knowledge in one place.
If you take the time to develop something outstanding, it can go viral.
Moz created a great beginner’s guide for SEO (search engine optimization) several years ago, and I still share it today.
It’s THAT good and still relevant.
Free guides (PDFs) also make great lead opt-ins to help grow your email list. In other words, offer something free in exchange for an email address.
I offer a free traffic guide to people who join my list.