While I was responding to a post on a forum about generating traffic I thought to myself, “Hey, this will make a great blog entry and maybe even an article” 🙂
My way to generate natural, organic traffic
When I first got started I was overwhelmed with the “do this” and “do that” for generating traffic. Over time I have settled down into what matches my style.
Traffic from signature files in forums
The biggest thing was including a link to my product’s website (instead of to my own website) in my signature file in every forum I joined. Also adding the link to my e-mail signatures was a big step.
It may not sound like a big step but I don’t use signature files simply because I like typing my name instead of using a signature file. A letter just doesn’t seem “finished” if I don’t type my name. Yeah I know, the shrink doesn’t get me either.
Also, I join forums that interest me, and not just ones in my niche. I have a life outside of internet marketing and I have more interests than internet marketing. Internet marketing is what I do, not who I am. It’s not to project that I’m more well rounded (instead of just fat), it’s a reflection of the fact that I am more well rounded.
A real life example of traffic from forums
So what if my blog training videos don’t match my interests in salt water aquariums? I’m not there to advertise my product, but to participate in the forum and there’s nothing wrong with having a link to my unrelated product in my signature file.
If I ever sell a related product, I’ll change my signature file to match but until I do, fish keepers do more than just keep fish and they may want to learn how to set up a blog. The point is that it (fish keeping) is an interest of mine and not a sneaky way to advertise.
Traffic from articles
For article marketing I tried just writing articles but now I write articles when I feel my blog entry is “worthy” of being put into directories. I find that’s easier for me than sitting down to write an article and turn it into a blog entry. Must be a reverse psychology thing.
Traffic from blog comments
I also post comments on other people’s blogs only when I have a worthy comment to add instead of just “good entry”. This helps others see I have added value as opposed to just commenting for a quick linkback.
– Jeffery