Hello fellow website builders. Here is by far the best advice I can give anyone who wants to increase their traffic and visibility.
Interview people!
My website was growing ever so slowly until I started interviewing people for my website www.tips4running.com. Now my traffic has quadrupled in the last six months.
Here’s why interviews are so effective…
1. Interviews are unique, original content.
2. They create a lot of traffic.
3. It’s a super powered link exchange.
4. You can find new ways to monetize your site!
Want the details on all these points? That’s outstanding! Let’s review shall we?
1. Instead of rehashing other material that is found on the web, create your own buzz by interviewing people in your niche. Don’t be afraid to go after some big fish too.
All you have to do is send out a kind email. If they don’t respond, you lost a minute of your time. If they do respond, you’re on your way.
Probably 50% of the people I ask to interview agree. I target two specific groups. The easier group to get are people who have their own websites. I interview runners who blog about their running or have a website dedicated to some aspect of running.
The other group is famous distance runners. I have been lucky enough to get some great interviews with great collegiate and Olympic runners.
2. When I post an interview on my site, my traffic numbers explode. I’ll give you one example. I interviewed a very good collegiate runner and an excellent collegiate coach.
When the interview was up on my site, I would post a link to it on different running forums. People then start talking about the interview on these message boards, which means more and more people who didn’t know about my site are visiting to read unique, original content.
3. An interview is a super powered link exchange because you might end up with more links than you ever imagined. Here’s how I got two mega links!
First, I went to Alexa and looked at the most powerful sites in my niche.
In the running category, the third most popular site is called LetsRun. After a bit of reading and research, I found out this site is run by two brothers who are running fanatics. I emailed them and requested an interview.
One of them, Weldon Johnson, agreed. After some more research, I sent Weldon about 15 specific questions. When I finished the interview, I posted it at my site, and he did as well.
That day, I had a huge spike in traffic. Of course, days later the traffic receded, but the baseline was much higher than before. Also my site was linked to one of the major running websites.
Fast forward two months. Matt McCue, An author of a new running book contacted me. He found out about my site from the interview with Weldon Johnson.
He asked if I would read his book, An Honorable Run, and review it. I said yes if he would also do an interview. I read the book which was phenomenal by the way, and then interviewed him over the phone.
He had some great contacts for me that he shared with me after the interview. I sent the interview to these people, and the interview was linked to by Runner’s World. According to Alexa, Runner’s World is the number one running website.
4. Another interview that I did led to some serious money. Marius Bakken is a former Olympic distance runner. He has a few running websites. I interviewed him and we exchanged links.
A few months later Marius contacted me because he wrote about running the marathon. He told me he was selling this book using Clickbank. I read it and reviewed the book for my site and became an affiliate for Marius Bakken’s 100 Day Marathon Plan.
Now I make more money selling his eBook than I do with Adsense. I didn’t even think about selling eBooks until he contacted me. Marius Bakken would have never asked if I didn’t interview him either.
Need any more proof that interviews are an avenue to pursue?
Interview sometimes become viral. Many new bloggers share interviewers of famous people with fellow bloggers. I feel that’s also a reason why interviews can increase blog traffic drastically.
Thanks for sharing that info David,
Interviews has also increased my traffic as well, albeit not by the same amount that you have seen.
u have nice idea of creating more impression by making a link called read more thats a great way to increase page impressions can u tell me how u do this in ur blog
This is a great one! I’m just learning to set up my sites. I want to get everything right from the beginning.
Thanks
wow this just sparked all kinds of thoughts in my head.
Thanks for sharing this!
Great idea. I am planning on doing this. I will keep you informed on the results. Thanks for sharing.
.-= Betty´s last blog … Are You Training Your Child To Use Time Wisely? =-.
Great idea. I am planning on trying this. Will keep you informed of the results. Thanks for sharing.
Dave,
Thanks for the tip. The price range for Site Build It is a bit out of my budget at the moment but will definately consider it.
Dennis’s last blog ..Internet Marketing – Week 16
Ohh by the way, what programs are you using to monitor your traffic?
Dennis’s last blog ..Internet Marketing – Week 16
Hi Dennis,
I use Site Build It. (Lisa’s website actually convinced me to buy it, so I owe a ton of my success to her). With Site Build It they include a traffic stats section. I can see how many people visited, how many visits total, and how many page views with their program.
.-= Dave from Running Tips´s last blog … Running Log – Keep track of your workouts in a variety of different ways. =-.
I have learnt something I never ever thought could build my traffic.
Thanks for this post!
Dennis
Excellent advise!
Just recently, I’ve secured an email interview with a DJ who is the nephew of one of the fellas from C+C Music Factory(the guys who did “Everybody Dance Now”). I asked him five questions detailing if and when his uncle bumped into Michael Jackson while remixing “Black Or White“.
Dear David & Lisa,
Excellent blog and advice how to get better traffic to a website. I appreciate the fact that you and Lisa are sharing your experiences and thereby help others to improve themselves. I check your site once a week.
Thanks and keep up the good work.
.-= Mike´s last blog … The Adsense Revenue Share =-.
interviews are always a good idea, and even better if you can leverage video interviews, which today are very easy to do with free technology available to download. all you need is a mic and webcam. the benefit? many people are visual, and prefer learning by watching. i know i am. in addition, the video can be posted on youtube as well, which will give you an excellent back link, as well as exposure from the youtube community. in fact you can start a channel similar to what Lisa has done.
all the best
Hi Dave,
Thank you for these excellent ideas for getting visitors in the website. I am also inspired to interview some big guns in my niche.
That’s is a great idea. thanks a million
Hey Lisa,
This is good advice although I have to admit that I have not been using interviews much in my business. Maybe this blog post will inspire me to do so:)
Thanks,
J
The Cartoon Coach
.-= Carstarphen´s last blog … Free Network Marketing Training- 3 Types of Prospects =-.
Sounds like you’ve fished in the sea of big wigs! Interviews are indeed a great way to get more traffic to one’s site and become will known in your niche. Thanks for sharing with us the importance doing interviews and not only doing interviews but interviewing the big people in our niche!
fantastic advice, I’ve been thinking of doing interviews myself and now that I know the added benefits it can bring to my blog I will definately start approaching people for interviews. Thanks for sharing this, a very fresh approach to traffic generation (at least for me anyways)
.-= WiseMrLove´s last undefined … If you register your site for free at =-.
Wow David thanks for this. I am always looking for new ways to bring unique content to my site. And while I have done a couple mini interviews for my newsletter I hadn’t spent alot of time thinking about interviews as a traffic booster!
Now I have to do some research as to who to interview!
Very cool concept! Doing interviews makes total sense and I will have to try that out myself.
Great stuff Lisa!
.-= DeWayne´s last blog … Garlic Weight Loss Miracle =-.
That’s cool. I’ll try that out. If I can find someone to interview.
.-= Nick´s last blog … Today in Swagbucks: Weekend Edition 5/29 and 5/30 =-.
To answer some of your questions. Most of the interviews are just done by email. I secure the interview by emailing the person that I want. (In some cases I have to go through the runner’s coach or agent). When they agree, I read as much as I can about them and come up with 10-15 quality questions. If I can, I do the interview over the phone using a program called TalkShoe. It’s free to set up. You record your conversation with them and can post the audio at your site. There is no editing of the audio available though on TalkShoe. I’ve done four that way. If you want, just look at my interview page and look at some of the different ones I have done. My favorites are with an author Matt McCue (with audio) http://www.tips4running.com/An-Honorable-Run.html and a blogger/running coach Steve Magness – An email interview. http://www.tips4running.com/Steve-Magness-Interview.html
.-= Dave from Running Tips´s last blog … Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual Reviewed at tips4running.com =-.
Hi David, nice strategy. I’m glad you said that 50% of the time the interviews didn’t happen, so my expectations won’t be too high. I love the way this sort of fell into your lap. Do you ever include the audio file of the interview or just the transcript? Thanks for the inspiration.
.-= Ileane @ Ms. Ileane Speaks´s last blog … Buzz Besties – BuzzerList, Bit.ly Quick Tip, Blogger Bon Voyage =-.
Great post. a lot of the same tips that make guest posting work so well.
.-= John Paul Aguiar´s last blog … MaxBlogPress Ninja Affiliate Plugin Review =-.
Thanks for sharing your approach with us David! I have been considering doing some interviews and your post gave me insight into how I can strategize my approach to reach a larger audience.
Hi Dave,
I too have experienced a traffic spike as the result of conducting interviews. I’ve only done two on my site, one of which was the owner of this blog. But it’s certain, those days received quite a bit of exposure.
I think what helped was the fact that I posted an introductory post the day before the interview. I did this to create some buzz and create a sense of expectation among my readers.
I’m glad to see interviews have opened some great doors for you.
.-= Kiesha @ We Blog Better´s last blog … The Simplest Guest Post Contest II =-.
Wow! It’s neat to see the article posted on your site. Thanks again Lisa. You’re the best!
.-= Dave from Running Tips´s last blog … Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual Reviewed at tips4running.com =-.
Thx David!
Excellent advice.. Appreciate the detail also, cause I was wondering if you actually interviewed in person, via phone, or what. I should have known better.
I have a concert site and have had local Austin bands ask me to Retweet when they’re playing.. Now that I’ve read your article, I’m super psyched because I’m going back to them and asking for interview! What a great way to kick off the summer..
Love your site BTW.. Dee 🙂