Driving Traffic To Your Site

It can be discouraging to put hours upon hours of blood, sweat and tears into a new website and not see much traffic after you launch. If people don’t know about your site, you won’t get any traffic. By crafting and implementing a marketing strategy, you can increase your traffic and begin cultivating your audience base.

Paid Advertising

If you have the funds to do so, you can launch a paid advertising campaign. Social media giants like FaceBook have business pages and advertising services to help you target people who are already interested in your content or services. These ad services can get your name out there in front of people and attract traffic to your site quickly. Some services offer targeted locations, so you can advertise to people in your area, or throughout the world.

Social Media

By creating and branding social media profiles specific for your site, you can broaden your reach and engage with your target audience more readily. Promote your latest blog post in a Tweet, promote your latest product line on Instagram and Pinterest to show off your wares. Figure out which social media platforms your target audience uses most frequently and take advantage of the platform to reach more potential readers or clients.

Keep It Fresh

Keep your content fresh and switch things up just enough to appeal to different types of readers. Switch up your content length, add in cutting edge news posts relating to your niche, craft reviews on tools or products you use in your niche. Add in videos or record a podcast with a leader in your industry to spark interest and conversation surrounding your brand. Give your audience something to look forward to.

Heads Up On The Headline

Your headlines have to be captivating, compelling and competitive. Brainstorm and play around with several headlines for the same piece, figure out what will draw your audience in and do some Googling before you publish your post.

Network

Network with other content creators in your niche. Connect and offer trades for guest spots and boost your brand awareness to increase your traffic quickly. Whether you’re just starting out or have hit a lull in traffic, this is a great way to ramp things back up and build a network with those who have been in the game far longer than you have. There will always be someone who has done it longer and better than you. Make friends and build your network.

Email Marketing

Though many people dread seeing that pop-up asking for an email address, if you provide quality content, people will subscribe. Craft an email marketing campaign and automate the process so your readers always have fresh, new content to browse at their leisure. Be conscious that you’re not bombarding your readers with tons of emails that end up in the spam folder or that pushes them to unsubscribe. Weekly email blasts should suffice after the first introductory email. You can also send out blasts when you have new products or services to offer.

Be Responsive, Engage

Check your site’s social media accounts daily and engage with your base. Even if you only spend 10 minutes a day responding, your audience will notice. Make sure your site is responsive too. This means ensuring that your site is accessible across multiple devices including mobile.

Create A Community

Once you have cultivated your target audience, create a community for them. Engage regularly, spark discussions and debates. Expand your site to make room for a forum where people can ask and answer questions. If your audience is engaged and responsive to you, they’ll want a space to discuss and connect with other like-minded people. Capitalize on this and look for ways to monetize, such as a membership to your site and forums. Foster that sense of community, offer merch and create more opportunities for connection.