Getting Traffic to Build Your List
Getting traffic to build your list is an absolute necessity. We talked earlier about Joint Ventures and Giveaway events, which are popular strategies for list building that leverage other marketers’ existing lists.
However, there are other ways to drive targeted traffic to your blog or squeeze page.
My first choice is to drive people to a squeeze page, because the visitor only has two options – sign up, or leave. Let’s look at two best practices for that purpose
Word of Mouth
The most powerful thing you can do is over-deliver to your list. Even though this seems like a no-brainer, you would be amazed how many people choose not to do this and how rapidly the word spreads (both positive and negative). People do a l lot of talking on the Internet.
I am not saying that people will write an entire blog post about how wonderful you are; but, what will happen is – you will see comments on other people’s blogs (from their followers) sharing who else they subscribe to – and why. That is where you want your name to be mentioned – it is free publicity.
You want people bragging about you in blog comments, in forums, and in chat rooms when everyone is gabbing about who is doing what in your niche.
Signature Files in Forums
A sig file, as it is more commonly known, can help drive traffic to your squeeze page when it is allowed (some forums have a restriction on this). Plus, not everyone’s sig files will benefit them.
You are better off not posting in forums if you only post random, worthless stuff. It will be a waste of time (or possibly dangerous) because you will be ignored (or even worse – ridiculed).
Find a couple of forums that interest you and are directly related to your niche; then, participate and add value to the discussions. Every post should be rich and informative – adding great information that people read it, nod in agreement, and automatically look for a hyperlink where they can learn more from you.
Some forums also allow banner sig files. If you are involved with that type of forum, you may want do some split-testing. Test a banner ad for a certain amount of time, and then, swap to a text link for an equal period of time – and see which one converts better.
Track your activity on the forum and watch for a spike in your subscriber opt-ins for the day. When you see one, analyze the post to figure out what led to more subscribers. Was it a controversial post? Was it a helpful reply? Or, was it a thoughtful thread of your own?
Join us again on Tuesday. We will continue look at best practices for sending traffic to your squeeze page, and some that are more focused on your blog.
NOTE: If you have joined us for the first time, the series starts with: Building Your List – Finding Gold vs. Doing Good.
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