8 Killer Blog Tips for Getting Free Traffic
I am by no means an expert on the topic of blogging. But I’m going to share with you some 8 effective ways that I’ve discovered to get more readers to your blog. It has worked for me and I’m hoping you too can get great results as I have. So without further ado here are eight killer blog tips for getting free traffic…
1. Entrecard: The concept is really simple. You sign up and upload a 125X125 banner to market your blog. You ‘drop’ your card on other blogs and earn entrecredits. Plus there is the added benefit of making your blog known to the hundreds of webmasters that have the entrecard widget installed. You can spend the entrecredits to advertise on other blogs within the network, thus exposing your website to potential readers.
Believe it or not, this method really works. Since signing up for the service and running a couple of campaigns, I’ve noticed a significant boost in my traffic, pulling in well-targeted quality visitors. I’ve also had many bloggers browsing my blog to drop their cards, and I’ve made a few friends along the way. If you haven’t signed up for the service yet, then I suggest you do so now at entrecard.com.
2. Yahoo! Answers: This is yet another traffic-grabber. While Yahoo specifically forbids gaming their system, I see no problem in leaving your web address at the end of each answer, especially if it’s relevant. This brings in highly targeted visitors clicking on the link to get more information on what you’ve just answered. You get additional traffic if your answer gets chosen as the best.
In the early days of my blog, this technique alone brought in about 60 visitors every day - I know that’s not much but it is really a motivation to keep building your blog, especially in the early stages. Overtime a handful of those visitors have turned into subscribers. Sign up at answers.yahoo.com.
3. Become a guest blogger: The reason why I’m writing this article and why countless others recommend this technique is because it works. If you post a quality article on a blog that’s popular, the readers are bound to visit your site looking for more and hopefully subscribe to your blog. Just go easy on the self-promotion. 
4. Write a free e-book/make a video tutorial: This has the added benefit of a viral marketing effect, especially if your e-book is of high quality or your video tutorial solves a common problem easily. If readers really enjoy it, they are most likely to spread the word and bring in new visitors to your blog. You could also email a couple of bloggers in your niche, mentioning your work and they might even link to it. Just don’t spam them, write a personal and engaging email.
5. Introduce yourself to others: Often your biggest readers will be your rivals or other bloggers that are your peers. By peers, I mean that they are on the same level of traffic, content, etc. as you are. Just don’t shoot for the a-listers straight away. Email your peers to introduce yourself and mention that you subscribed to their blog and found the content interesting. Leave it at just that, and don’t ask for link exchanges or ask them to subscribe to your blog in return. But do leave a link to your blog at the end. That way they might visit your blog and subscribe, or even better write a short review of your site if they find it really worthwhile.
6. Submit your top articles: By this I don’t mean submitting your article to an article directory, because they never seem to bring in significant traffic. Submit your best articles (that are getting the most page views and comments) to Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit and others. Don’t forget to include a ’submit this article’ button on your page to allow your readers to vote on the article. If you’re lucky you might even make it to the front page. One word of warning though - don’t submit every article you write because you run the risk of getting banned for spamming.
In my opinion, small blogs do not have the necessary reader-base to get to the front page. I’ve never had luck with Digg, getting 10-15 diggs at the very most. But I’ve heard small blogs can make it big on StumbleUpon. If you run a video games/technology blog however, I recommend submitting to n4g.com. It’s very easy to get to the front page and I’ve had over 2000 unique visitors on the very first day.
7. Make your blog search engine friendly: Everyone is obsessed with search engine optimization because it’s the biggest source of free traffic. Just don’t over do it - the key to SEO is moderation. While I’m no SEO guru, a keyword rich title and URL, description and keyword tags does the trick for me. I don’t optimize my posts for keyword density and don’t even have the proper meta tags in place, yet most of my blog’s traffic (60.4%) comes from search engines. That’s because my articles rank high for longer phrases (3-4) words and it’s the easiest to rank on the #1 spot on those.
My suggestion for new bloggers is to target the 3-4 word phrases because it has the least competition and you have more chances of making it to the top.
8. Link out to other bloggers: This is the best way to gain the attention of your peers. I have found that many bloggers visit my article just out of curiosity, to see what I’ve written about them. If they love what they read, they write a short article and link back to me. This sends back a nice trickle of traffic, and more if it is from a prominent blogger.
WHAT ABOUT COMMENTS AND FORUMS?
You might have noticed that I didn’t mention about leaving comments or participating in forums just to promote your blog because I believe that it’s not an effective marketing tool. You should be concerned in writing quality pillar articles in the early stages of your blog. But if you are compelled enough to leave a comment, then by all means do leave a link back to your blog.
Well that’s it! I hope these 8 killer tactics help your blog to gain new readers. Do you have any more “killer” ideas for bringing in traffic that you can share with the rest of us?
*Author’s Note: Mushfiqur Rahman is also the author of Gamer’s World.
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Good post with some excellent tips for the new blogger.
David Hobson’s last blog post..Promoting a Website With Squidoo Part 7
Blogbloke,
Nice post! I’ve been meaning to register with entrecard for a while now, but for various reasons never really got round to it.
You have entrecard as you first killer way to get free traffic, is it really that effective? Can’t help but think that it’s a futile exercise, but I can be convinced otherwise!
PS linking out to other bloggers is absolutely underused by the majority of bloggers out there! We’re all in it together, give kudos to the guys (or gals) who are making noises within your niche!
All the best,
John.
John D Stewart’s last blog post..Ideas For Blog Posts - Take Note!
@ Everyone
Looks like nobody reads the Written by field. It’s not written by Blog Bloke.
It’s by me.
Mushfiqur Rahman’s last blog post..Firefox 3 Sets World Record | 8,002,530 Downloads In 24 Hours
@ John
I’ve had mixed results with entrecard. Although I’ve discovered a lot of new blogs, however the traffic sent from entrecard advertising isn’t much valuable - most people just come to your site to “drop” their card and don’t read your post often. This results in a high bounce rate and lower pageviews/visitor (often as low as 1.1)
Mushfiqur Rahman’s last blog post..Firefox 3 Sets World Record | 8,002,530 Downloads In 24 Hours
Well done Mushfiqur. Keep writing quality posts like this and I might have to retire
@ BB
Consider retiring sooner than you expected
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 5th, 2008 1:01 am:
Excellent article. My sense about Entrecard is that it’s a passing trend…just haven’t felt called to engage with it. However, you asked for other ways to drive traffic, and here’s my answer: Facebook, Plurk, Twitter, and Stumble work for me.
Kuanyin’s last blog post..I’m A Second Life Love Slave
I was recently introduced to two other sites similar to yahoo answers, when i find them I’ll let you know…..or blog about them myself
I’m a little surprised at your response regarding article directories….have you given them a fair try?
Remember, they are for the “long haul” not quick easy traffic.
Great list overall!
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Blogging Tip: Splitting Categories for Better Usability
Well, article directories send very little if no traffic at all. They’re a resource for syndication, and the most sites that publish your submitted article article get very low traffic themselves. I don’t know, but if you write a good one and gets syndicated a lot, you could have a pagerank boost. Then again, nobody with a PR 3 or 4 is going to syndicate your article :-), and mostly you will get PR 0 or PR 1 backlinks.
I’m afraid I must disagree, strongly. I just started, so I have personal proof yet, but it has indeed been proven many times over that article marketing when done correctly to the proper directories is one of the BEST traffic sources there is.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Blogging Tip: Splitting Categories for Better Usability
Congrats on having success with Article directories. Wish I had the same results when I first started blogging.
Mushfiqur Rahman’s last blog post..Firefox 3 Sets World Record | 8,002,530 Downloads In 24 Hours
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 5th, 2008 7:42 am:
Dennis Edell reply on July 5th, 2008 5:04 am:
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 5th, 2008 4:28 am:
@ Kuanyin
To add insult to injury, I haven’t been able to log in to my Entrecard account in the past three days. Anyone having the same problem? I’ve got to approve a couple of ads ;-), it looks like their servers are experiencing overload.
Submitting is a numbers game. It’s no different than the court room racket. My motto was “whomever throws the most cocca poo against the wall that sticks, wins”.
It’s the same with blogs. The more places you get your name out there can’t hurt. Some will bring in more immediate results, some will bring in higher volumes. Some will result in higher conversion rates of casual readers to subscribers, whereas some chase the long tail.
Marketing never ends and you need to put the time and effort into it to see results.
I discovered posting to relevant Forums and relevant Facebook pages can draw in significant traffic.
I emphasize relevant as you obviously need quality content to keep them on to explore your site and hopefully come back.
Entrecard can bring people in purely to click your Entrecard. I find sites like that frustrating and of little value e.g. linkreferral.com etc!
Quickroute’s last blog post..Blogger Suicide
I’m glad you mentioned that. The bottom line for any traffic generating method is you want to convert them into subscribers and regular readers. Digg and StumbleUpon can generate high traffic temporarily, but the conversion rate into subscribers is rather low. It seems that these type of readers are more addicted to following their favorite SN headlines than subscribing to an individual blog.
Well said my friend.
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 5th, 2008 10:21 pm:
Blog Bloke reply on July 5th, 2008 8:29 pm:
I have tried entrecard, but the traffic is like really not that great
David Kam’s last blog post..Borrow Passage to Destroy Guo
I’m getting a bounce rate of 85% on Entrecard traffic. I agree with you, the idea was novel at first but the traffic is really hit and miss.
Besides, I’ve not been able to access my entrecard account in the past few days. Are you having the same problem?
Mushfiqur Rahman’s last blog post..Microsoft, Here’s The Top 17 Ways To Screw Up Your Next Windows OS
I have no problems logging in. I will repeat myself though, if I may…I’ve never really thought of EC in terms of traffic, as the bounce rate was pretty apparent right from the get-go.
Think of it in terms of the AMAZING networking tool that it is though, and you’ll do fine
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Captcha Issue: Why You WILL Lose My Comment - Possibly My Subscription
Yep, I’ve discovered blogs that I never thought existed in the first place.
Mushfiqur Rahman’s last blog post..Microsoft, Here’s The Top 17 Ways To Screw Up Your Next Windows OS
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 7th, 2008 6:18 am:
Glad to see you two working things out.
After reading this article I decided to open up an Entrecard account. I wanted to change my pic but it wouldn’t let me so I contacted them. It’s been 3 days now and not a word. I give up.
Can’t you change it in your dashboard? There’s usually a link there that allows you to upload a new one. As for me, I’ll take down Entrecard from my blog :-(. I’m still not able to log in to my account.
Mushfiqur Rahman’s last blog post..PlayStation Trophies? No Thanks, I’m Happy With My Gamercard And Achievements
Already tried that. Although the new pic shows in the dashboard, the blog widget still shows the old one. A waste of time.
I don’t know whether this is relevant, but if you’ve already placed an advertisement it will show the old pic instead of the new one you uploaded.
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 7th, 2008 7:40 pm:
Blog Bloke reply on July 7th, 2008 7:26 pm:
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 7th, 2008 7:02 pm:
Blog Bloke reply on July 7th, 2008 11:56 am:
Dennis Edell reply on July 7th, 2008 5:29 am:
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 7th, 2008 1:44 am:
Nope. No ads from me Mushfiqur. Given that you can’t even log in they are obviously having their troubles.
*sigh* I’ll be taking Entrecard widget off my blog. I really liked the idea though, it was like having your online personal business card.
I got the same error today.
Seriously, you can’t get in touch with them?
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Captcha Issue: Why You WILL Lose My Comment - Possibly My Subscription
Well, I’ve dropped it off my site. It wasn’t enough to bring in quality traffic. I’m experimenting with Digg though.
Mushfiqur Rahmans last blog post…Bangladesh World Cyber Games 2008 Preliminary Rounds
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 14th, 2008 9:51 am:
Dennis Edell reply on July 8th, 2008 6:59 am:
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 8th, 2008 1:25 am:
Don’t despair BB, Mush is right. This will even be on your own site…..if you place an advertisement, the new one should show on that site.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Captcha Issue: Why You WILL Lose My Comment - Possibly My Subscription
But the reality is that internet marketing and any other marketing for that matter, is the life blood of any business. But your advantage on the internet is huge, cause of the low cost and ease. (you can do it yourself) But you still have to work hard and put time into it, and this is the problem, no one wants to work….and we all know that nothing is for free in this world. (usually)
Actually, I’m wrong, there’s tons of stuff for free on the internet, and you can also get a ton of traffic to your site for free, if you know how to play the game, work hard, and know how to market yourself.
There’s tons of tricks and tips and I try to learn one everyday.
The whole business world is a game. *Ahem* Sploggers *Ahem* who keep on recycling old content keep getting dugg and get the most traffic while someone with a great original voice will never see the daylight.
Basically, it’s a game and you have to play it right.
*Ahem* … amen to that brother!
Hey Bloke, some of my comments didn’t appear. Did you check it out?
Mushfiqur Rahmans last blog post…Bangladesh World Cyber Games 2008 Preliminary Rounds
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 15th, 2008 4:25 am:
Blog Bloke reply on July 15th, 2008 4:09 am:
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 15th, 2008 4:00 am:
Thanks for the tip about Entrecard. I have never heard of it but I will take a look. Does it work on Squidoo lenses? I guess I will find it.
Well, entrecards, as far as i know, don’t work on Squidoo lenses. I posted a reply earlier but it didn’t show up here. Maybe it’s stuck in your spam comments BB?
In my earlier reply, I said to head to the entrecard blog @ http://entrecard.com/blog and download their free e-book which contains useful tips for beginners as well as advanced users alike.
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 15th, 2008 3:54 am:
I’ve tried replying to your comment twice. But for some reason it’s not showing up.
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 15th, 2008 4:02 am:
Great guest post. Entrecards are a great way to get some traffic.
Kevins last blog post…Are Pay To Click Websites Worth It??
Thanks. Keep reading the BlogBloke and you’ll come across more posts from me.
Hello mushfiqur,
Good tips for newbie blogger.
I agreed with you to write blog content for longer phrases (3-4) words rather then target for main keywords.
I heard entrecard before but never try it because I heard it not help much on quality traffic.
Overall your tips is really helpful, Thanks
PCs last blog post…Close All Websites in Firefox with One Click
Hey um… PC,
You’re welcome. Keep an eye on blogbloke.com for even more articles from me.
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 16th, 2008 2:42 am:
I just got an email from entrecard to say they have partnered up with SezWho commenting.
It seems they are trying to promote and reward commenting on entrcard blogs. More here http://entrecard.com/blog/
Not sure if this will work yet - thoughts?
I got the same message. I’m taking a look at it.
Me too. But it’s a little too late. I’m not interested anymore, plus I STILL haven’t been able to log in to my account.
Usually, I found that if you have good traffic and some great content, comments will automatically follow.
Mushfiqur Rahman reply on July 16th, 2008 2:40 am:
Blog Bloke reply on July 15th, 2008 6:55 pm:
Here’s the best tip of all. Do you want to get lots of traffic? Then write a post about getting free traffic. It works like a charm
Really good tactic that you have here….
What i like is the Yahoo Answer tactic coz i’m doing it to my blog - to sell product but you should write that no affiliate link are allowed in Yahoo Answer, I have been banned for those…
Hello,
yes it is all true. You can link to wikipedia as well if you can write a blog that can be considered reference to any of the article in it. For example if you write about flash games and your blog is about flash games then should be fine to link it I think.
Nice post, more like this please,
Can I use this in my blog?
The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Imagine the email lists you can build, the affiliate sales you could rake in, this script is DANGEROUS in the right hands. You may just unleash a flood of traffic that you have no way of shutting down.
We all know that traffic equals money. Here’s a site we’re starting up soon that is designed to build a mailing list… FailureProofProfits.com. Can you imagine having your subscribers actively promoting your squeeze page for you? It’s entirely possible with The Viral Script.