Re: Content

The question which is asked by many bloggers, including myself, is – how can I drive more traffic to my site? The answer (not the only one of course!) is quite simple – create great content, and keep posting, as often as possible, at least 3 times a week. The more often the better, since search engines increase activity around the website which comes up with original content, posted frequently. It is possibly the simplest organic way to increase traffic to the site.

The advantage of posting great original content in your chosen niche targeted to a particular audience is that not only it is favoured by Google and other search engines, but it gets shared on social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and others. As more and more people come to your site as a result of this exposure, you start gaining points as an expert in your field. This is undoubtedly the best way to build brand recognition for your business. Sharing funny or informative videos related to your subject, writing articles for newspapers and magazines, including online versions, posting podcasts, being a

guest blogger for other blogs, submitting articles on article websites – all this increases your exposure with your audience. As time goes, they will begin to recognize you as an authority in your field, and your brand recognition grows with it – a wonderful “side-effect” of traffic influx as a result of those extra hours of work you have put into content creation.

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF CONTENT YOU CAN CREATE?

1. Blog articles for your own blog.

2. Guest posts for other blogs.

3. Articles for your site.

4. Broadcasts to your forum.

5. Videos – funny, controversial, informative, or demonstrations.

6. Photos of work you have done.

7. Videos of work you have done.

8. Humorous or inspirational photos and videos.

9. Reports.

10. Ebooks.

11. Books.

12. Booklets.

13. Flyers.

14. Business cards with interesting content on the reverse.

15. “How to” advice in the form of short broadcasts, photos, videos.

16. Events – seminars, webinars, workshops.

17. Newsletters.

18. News alerts.

19. Useful tips posted regularly.

20. Emails – with interesting content, not just sales links.

21. Opportunity leads.

22. Requests to take part in an event, interview, guest posting on your blog.

23. Freebies – make sure that it is a great one, not a washed-out PLR.

24. Insider tips that cannot be found anywhere else.

25. Sharing your knowledge and opinions on the subject you are an expert in.

26. Inviting others to be guest bloggers on your blog.

27. Advertorials.

28. Advertisements.

METHODS OF DISTRIBUTING CONTENT

1. Your blog.

2. Your website (e.g.membership site, commercial site, information site).

3. Social media groups & forums.

4. Social media networks.

5. Other websites which relate to your niche.

6. Other people’s blogs.

7. Online forums outside social networks.

8. Wikipedia.

9. Article directories.

10. Yahoo answers.

11. Email marketing – to your own list.

12. Email marketing – to your JV partners’ list.

13. Affiliates.

14. Seminars.

15. Webinars.

16. YouTube and other video networks, such as Vimeo.

17. Social bookmarking sites.

18. Online & offline newspapers & magazines.

19. Networking events.

20. Specially organised events – workshops, courses, seminars.

21. Taking part in exhibitions.

22. Online community.

23. Offline community.

24. Create your own FB group.

25. Other people’s groups.

26. Fan pages.

27. Cross-referrals.

There are 3 main factors which will help you create great content again and again – knowing what you business is about (your niche), knowing your target audience, and knowing their needs. A great way to find out what your target audience needs is to ask them to complete short surveys (use SurveyMonkey.com). Not only it will give you tons of subjects to write about – knowing what your audience needs will enable you to separate them into groups and be specific as to what you offer to each group. Needless to say, both you and your customers win from this – they get what they want, so stay loyal to you, and our business and reputation as an expert in your field keep growing. Which can only mean good news for all!

And remember – you don’t have to do it all yourself! Look for ghost writers, article writers, other product creators – many will do a lot for a relatively small fee. Use places like odesk.com, outsource.com, and even fiverr.com. I have heard that many very productive relationships started on Fiverr.com.

And one more tip – if you want more comments on your blog, go post on other people’s blogs. Not only will you gain exposure through your URL on their website, but often they will return the favour by posting a comment on your blog, especially if your comment has been of value to them. But please do avoid posting general comments, and never ever use comment submission services to do it! Your comments will go into a spam box, your website ranking will inevitably suffer, and so will your reputation.

I hope you have found this post useful for yourself. Please feel free to share your views below.

See you next time!