No matter how experienced you are in marketing or driving traffic, I have no doubt that you’ve seen some new ideas in what you’ve read in this book. But, I’m not done yet! I want to give you some additional, out-of-the-box ideas for driving traffic.
These ideas can absolutely work for you. Approach them with an attitude of creativity. Use these as the starting point for coming up with your own great ideas. Driving traffic is about connecting with an audience. You need to put yourself in front of the flow of traffic that is already there and people won’t be able to help themselves in visiting your sites and joining your list.
Be Creative and Keep With the Times
It’s so important to be creative in business. You can’t do the same things everyone else is doing. That’s definitely not how you stand out. If you want to stand out, you need to brainstorm and form new connections.
They say that there are no new ideas out there. That’s probably true. What they’re really saying, though, is that the pieces of the puzzle are already there. You just have to connect the ideas that are already out there to form something completely beautiful and new.
Don’t be afraid to try new things. Don’t be afraid to take some time off so you have time to be creative. Some of your best ideas will come in the shower, when you’re driving, or even in the middle of the night. Write down new ideas for generating traffic as they come to you.
Open up mind mapping software and let your mind run wild. Don’t edit yourself as you brainstorm. No idea is too silly. You’ll be amazed at how many incredible ideas you come up with when you let your mind roam freely.
Buy Expired Domain Names
There is no denying that aged domains often rank more easily than brand-new domains. When you’re buying a domain name, check the auctions (such as Go Daddy auctions) to see if you can buy an aged domain name in your niche. You might find something that works. You can also find domain names that have been dropped so you don’t have to pay more than you normally would.
Even if this won’t be your main website, many marketers want to dominate as much of the web as they can, so they have multiple websites. Build on this aged domain and you’ll likely have an easier time of it. Some aged domains already have an extensive link profile and reputation that you can certainly benefit from.
You want to make sure you don’t buy an aged domain that has a bad link profile or that is somehow blacklisted by Google. Check out each domain you’re interested in before you purchase it.
Consider the ways having different domain names can help boost your traffic and your business. You shouldn’t spread yourself too thin, but there’s something to be said for having multiple web properties out there that you own. For instance, why just have one first page spot on Google when you could have multiple first page spots? There’s some food for thought… Now run with it.
HARO (Help A Reporter Out)
I mentioned HARO earlier. Now, think of additional ways to use it to generate traffic. First, sign up to HARO as a source or expert. You’ll then start to get emails from people, journalists, and marketers who are looking for a source just like you.
You can respond to these requests with the information they asked for, tips, research you’re aware of, and so on. You can get some great recognition by becoming a featured expert in their projects.
Scoop.It
Scoop.it is just one example of great sites that are popping up that you can take advantage of. People use Scoop.it to curate great content to publish to their social media profiles, blogs, and so on.
If you have great content that you think would fit well on a Scoop.it user’s page, Scoop.it makes it easy for you. You can suggest your content to that user. These users love to create well thought out pages, so it’s often a no-brainer for them to accept your content for inclusion, netting you more exposure and traffic.
Scoop.it users often have a good reach. But, don’t ignore those who are new or don’t yet have high ranking pages. Every bit of exposure helps. You need to have great content that really stands out in order for this to work. Consider this and other sites as you gain exposure on the web.
Be Exotic
With everything you do, consider how you can do it bigger and bolder. You don’t want to be the same as everyone else. You really want to stand out. Think of the marketers you most admire. The chances are good that they are different from everyone else in some noticeable way.
If you’re having trouble in marketing or driving traffic, it could be that you’re not standing out enough. It’s time for you to be exotic! Push your personality and drive to the max. Do what you can to stand out in the best possible way. Remember – always be creative and create content that gets you noticed.
Create A Course Using Udemy
Udemy is a great way to create online courses that get you recognition. People actively search Udemy for great content that teaches them something. If you can create a course and put it up on Udemy, you can get some instant exposure and sales. Obviously, Udemy’s goal is to keep the traffic on their site. But, this is an additional way to earn revenue and gain recognition as an expert in a certain area.
Go ahead and browse Udemy.com to see if other people in your niche have already created courses. Consider what you can do to create a course that will entice people on this site. Remember – you want to be everywhere your audience is. If your audience is the type to search for a course on Udemy, you need to be there. This will help you grow your reach and get even more recognition.
Make Old Ideas New Again
The same old ideas can get really tired. It’s time to look at what you’ve already done in marketing. Maybe you’ve created some great courses or content in the past. What can you do to regenerate that content? How can you spark new interest in something that used to get you traffic a long time ago? How can you get traffic out of something you thought was really great but never really did anything for you?
Take inventory of your business. Look at your old blog posts, products, social media posts, courses, membership sites, and anything else you’ve ever done in your business. For each item or asset, brainstorm ways to make those old ideas new again. How can they get you more traffic? How can you leverage those assets to expand your reach online? Always make use of what you already have in new and exciting ways.
Give Away Physical Goods
As an online marketer, you may deal solely in digital goods. That’s just fine, but you may want to consider physical goods as well. Physical goods can really stand out – especially if your competition is only digital.
For instance, if you’re trying to drum up additional affiliate interest, why not send potential affiliates something physical through the mail? Even if you do this only for your top affiliates, they’ll really remember you – you’ll stand out from everyone else who’s trying to drum up affiliate interest.
Or, maybe you’d like to run a contest that generates a ton of interest. Ask people a question and choose 10 winners. Send each of those winners something physical through the mail. This will generate a lot of interest even from those who don’t end up winning.
You might also consider turning your digital courses and products into physical products. You can give these away or sell them. Getting something physical through the mail means something different than downloading it digitally. Brainstorm how you can turn to the physical world to generate more interest and traffic.
Barter
Sometimes, you get your best results by trading or bartering with someone else. Maybe you know someone who is fantastic at creating content, but you don’t enjoy it. Offer to produce a video for that person in exchange for some written content.
Or, maybe you have a great niche list and you are interested in someone else’s niche list. You can swap a solo ad with that person, if that is something that works for your business.
Perhaps you have a website someone else would like to have a link on. You could swap links with that person if that suits your business and your search engine strategy.
These are just a few ideas. Consider what you can trade in order to leverage the traffic someone else has or the talents someone else has. Even if you can’t afford a certain traffic strategy, there is always a way to barter for it.
Philanthropy
Many of the most successful people in business are also the most philanthropic. They give back to their niche and to charities that really mean a lot to them. You can volunteer time or donate money to organizations that mean something to you. You can do so in the name of your business.
This is something that may or may not get you additional traffic, but it will likely get you additional recognition—it gets your name out there in a positive light. It will also make you feel good and can drive you to do better and keep going.
When you know that you are doing something to help change the world, it makes the marketing and the traffic generation worth it. Incidentally, when you donate to certain organizations, they will often mention your company with a link back to your website.
Be Controversial
There’s no getting around it, often one of the best ways to generate traffic is to be a little controversial. You don’t have to be controversial just for the sake of being controversial. However, there’s bound to come a time when you disagree with most other people in your niche.
As long as you can write about the topic with authority and with facts to back you up, there’s nothing wrong with writing a piece that will be controversial. You have to have thick skin because people will disagree with you – vehemently.
You can also consider this content to be “Link bait.” Whatever you want to call it, controversy has always driven traffic. Think about the superstars and celebrities we talk about every day and see on the news. We talk about them and see them all the time because they are controversial and different.
Think about the biggest controversies in your niche as of late. You probably remember people who were adamant that they were correct, on either side. If you’re ready to enter that ring, you can drum up a lot of traffic, and go viral, very quickly.
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