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The 3 Best Ways To Generate Blog Traffic That Converts

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Convert Blog Traffic

Blog traffic. Everybody wants it, few ever generate enough of it to make their blog successful. What if I told you that, in reality, you don’t need heaps and heaps of traffic in order to have a successful blog?

That’s right. You just need the right traffic.

The kind of traffic that is likely to stick around and hear what you have to say. And maybe, just maybe, sign up for your mailing list, the heart of any successful blog. So how can you generate these 3 kinds of excellent traffic?

1.) Collaborations & Reaching Out

I know, this headline doesn’t sound sexy, but trust me, it is.

Collaborating with the right people in your industry is a surefire way to skyrocket your blog’s traffic, if you play your cards right.

Don’t believe me?

I was able to get a brand new blog over 1,000 unique visitors in it’s first week with this method.

No hype, and no bull.

So what exactly do I mean?

Collaborations come in many forms, but when you are just starting out, the best way to use this method is with interviews.

That’s exactly what I did for my newest blog that I mentioned, called Sparring Mind.

It focuses on content marketing specifically for WordPress users.

So, in order to reach out to some influencers in my field, the first thing I had to do was decide who to contact.

The ideal contact is obviously someone with some notoriety, but also not someone who will be impossible to get a hold of (this part is key).

In my niche, the Copyblogger team is some of the biggest names in both content marketing AND WordPress, so they seemed liked the perfect fit. It’s a really smart and friendly bunch, and a group I really looked up to. However, I knew it would be near impossible to get a full interview with Brian Clark.

The guy must get a couple hundred emails a day from the contact form, which most likely goes through staff before it ever reaches him.

So who could I reach out to instead?

I decided on Brian Gardner (Head of StudioPress) and Rafal Tomal (Head designer of Copyblogger Media).

I discussed how content marketing improved sales of the Genesis Framework with Brian Gardner, getting some valuable insight for myself and my readers.

I later discussed how to create beautiful design that converts with Rafal, and readers loved the post as blog design is something that many bloggers struggle with.

After each post, both of these nice guys tweeted out a link to my post, and both posts were tweeted out by a variety of Copyblogger fans (my inclusion of Brian & Rafal were likely the only reason they tweeted the post out, but it gave me lots of traffic nontheless).

I’ve done this in more than the blogging & content marketing niche too.

On my electronic music blog, I’ve posted interviews with artists that have generated triple digit shares on Facebook & Twitter.

Why?

People like to hear about influencers.

Generally speaking though, there are many influencers out there who don’t blog as often as you or I.

So to get some inside info on them can be a huge benefit to your blog, your readers, and your traffic levels.

2.) Guest Blogging… The RIGHT Way

If you’ve been blogging for any time, you already know about the power of guest blogging.

In fact, I’m writing this guest post right now to get a little exposure for my writing and my blog! But are you really doing guest blogging the right way, or just wasiting your time and energy?

There are a few critical components for a guest post:

  1. It’s on a post with a niche directly related to your topic.
  2. It addresses something readers want to know.
  3. It’s “reader friendly”

Most people can get those first two down pat. It’s usually the third one people struggle with. So, how can you make your post reader friendly on another blog?

While you might want to submit a unique post that doesn’t fit the normal confines of guest posts, you should be careful. Generally speaking, posts that are “easy reading” and still chock full of good information perform the best of guest blogs.

Why?

People don’t typically know who you are, so if they are going to give your post a chance, it has to be inviting. You probably wouldn’t have read this post if it wasn’t a list post, or if it didn’t speak to a topic directly in the headline. I could have written a post about how Machiavelli’s “The Prince” relates to blogging (and I have!), but it wouldn’t be a great guest post for people who don’t know me here on this blog.

Why?

It’s not easy reading.

This post, while I believe it offers plenty of great content, is easy to read.

It’s a list post, it follows a specific path, and it gives you the information clearly and simply. The next time you are writing a guest post, sit back and evaluate it.

  • Are you making it easy for readers to enjoy?
  • Are you making it enticing for readers to click through even if they don’t know who you are?

You should be.

3.) New Mediums Of Content

This is probably the one that bloggers overlook the most.

Hint: That means pay attention! 😉

So, what do I mean by new mediums of content?

Basically, different forms in which your content creation can appear. These include things like: podcasts, videos, slides, infographics, etc.

As a blogger, people will love you because of your writing.

But in order to mix things up for long time visitors, as well as generate relevant traffic, you need to mix things up a bit.

All in all, it pays to diversify.

While your writing is going to be your bread and butter, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look to these other forms to generate excellent and relevant traffic.

Over To You

What other forms have you found to generate GOOD traffic?

Which of the methods discussed will you try out next?

Want to learn more about more real traffic generating strategies? Head on over to Sparring Mind, where I cut through the garbage and show you what actually works.

About

Gregory Ciotti is a content strategist who is obsessed with behavioral psychology. He's the marketing guy at Help Scout, the invisible email support software for solopreneurs & small business owners.

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{ 24 Responses }

  1. Toshiba Burton says:
    Mixing up your content & strategy is always good it definitely keeps things fresh on your site & your readers never know what to expect when they visit. 90% of people are visual which makes video marketing is another great strategy, it can bring in a ton of traffic if you are providing quality content, so create a some really good, helpful videos & you may be surprise because they could go viral!
  2. Raghuram says:
    Guest blogging and topic on posts which are new and attractive for mass people really helps a lot in brining a decent amount of that traffic for the site quickly
  3. rabbi starak says:
    I think guest blogging is the best way to generate targeted traffic
  4. Gaurang says:
    Sexy article especially 1st point as we do not interact with the pro bloggers much. Thanks for the share.
  5. anuj says:
    Thank you for excellent tips. I would add some of my obserwations. Keep active on your blog, there are always questions and spam. Kill spam and answer all the questions, even if “I don’t know” is the only answer you can give, still if keeps thing running and visitors “semi-satisfied”. Once I was on vacation and did not touch my blog for a couple of weeks. The drop of traffic was like 50%.
  6. Tessa says:
    Guest posting is one of the easiest way to drive traffic for the site. The only thing is, content should be in high quality.
  7. Sinema Kulubu says:
    Diversifying is everthing nowadays. Especially at the start when you have no search engine love. I find it easiest to create an online presence within the social media sites. That also takes time it lets you get heard. Reaching out is the my second step. I let people know and usually offer soemthing to work together. They already have a presence and drives more traffic. But, at the end of the day you need to create attractıve content for people to come back. building real sites is fun.
  8. AstroGremlin says:
    Nice tips, Gregory and very readable. With CommentLuv and its advanced controls for DoFollow recognition of commenters, there's a new stimulus for "shaped" commenting. It's worth mentioning that every relevant "mini-guest post" (comment) that you leave is an invitation to traffic.
  9. James Debono says:
    Hi Gregory, All your strategies are great ways to generate traffic. I would have to say that no matter what method or strategies you include in your marketing mix it all comes down to creating super content that engages the audience. I know not very sexy, but it is a fact! All the best, James
  10. Louis says:
    Spread useful articles by submitting to trusted article directory and guest blogging in known and safe sites. Like this one :)
  11. Jack says:
    Great tips. If I were to name one, I'd probably say Guest Blogging. Blogging is really all about establishing yourself as a web authority on the subject, after all. Guest blogging would be the best way in spreading the word about your expertise, by sharing excellent ideas and content on all over the industry blogosphere.
  12. Al Sefati says:
    nice one. I think too many people focus on search engines too much with blog posts but as we all know, it takes some time for search engines to rank good content so bloggers, specially the new ones, need to work a bit harder
    • Gregory Ciotti says:
      Thanks Al, it's true that while search traffic can be a great bonus, when it comes to building traffic that converts into subscribers, it's best to look to these types of methods instead.
  13. theComplex says:
    Collaboration has been one of the best traffic methods for my blog which really was not established with any goals in mind. However -- by featuring a couple of cool events, art, or a new musician -- the agents and PR folks for this market have suddenly started to flood us with content. Then when we post the content, they can't wait to share it.
  14. Steve says:
    Gregory, You are definitely right about "Guest posting the right way" It seems to me that many people talk about guest posting these days as a new form of article marketing. They go for massive volume and relatively low-quality. While this may get you a few links to your site it doesn't help network or build direct traffic from popular blogs. When you take the time to do a really good guest post (as you have done) you not only get the link but you gain a lot of traffic, visitors and begin to build an authority around your name.
  15. Jeanie says:
    All your tips are very true and important. Especially I agree with the first one, about the collaboration. I always say that it's extremely important to collaborate with other people, even if they are your competitors. Sometimes it can be much better and it can bring you more results.
  16. Tushar Agarwal says:
    seems to be that guest blogging is everywhere. Every positive aspect of blogging related to it somehow and always make sense.
  17. Ryan Biddulph says:
    Colabs are powerful! Leverage your presence. Branch out into another network, a targeted network, and both parties prosper. The more connections you make the easier it becomes to drive targeted traffic because you speak to more people. Converting traffic consists of folks who want what you have to offer. Why not partner with folks who share similar offerings, so you speak to more folks who want what you have? Thanks for sharing Gregory! RB
  18. Jane says:
    Greg, some solid tips here. Personally I find that Youtube videos easily get a lot of good traffic. Sure podcasts can pull in people from iTunes (given that it is a solid base of a decent population).
  19. zohaib says:
    yes. infographics is a good way to generate traffic and also a good professional practice, big blogs like mashable and techcrunch are doing this practice regularly..
  20. Brad says:
    Yup, bad traffic is useless.
  21. Miranda Grimm says:
    Be active! I have found that just being socially active increases my return visitors and newsletter subscribers. Talk one on one with people, chat with them, answer their questions, ask THEM questions. Make them feel valued and they will spread the word like wild-fire while quickly becoming your number one fan! When I decided to break down the wall between me and my blog, my traffic sky-rocketed and not just worthless Stumble traffic, Genuine followers who open and click every newsletter sent. It can be easy to get caught up in traffic numbers but I would rather have half the traffic and all return followers than three times the traffic who are just clicking through to never return. Great tips!
  22. Ricardus says:
    Collaboration and form partnership in fact is one the best way that contributes to blog traffic that converts
  23. Giles Wells III says:
    Awesome post Gregory! You've given me some great tips to use on my blog. Also, your really did make your content very readable with bullets, lists and so on. For me. one of my best source of quality traffic comes from referral traffic from posting comments such as this. :) I will try out New Mediums Of Content on my blog next, will get to all sooner rather than later. Hope all is well, Giles