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16 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog
Like any website you own, you must do some blog promotion to start driving traffic to your site. Here are 16 steps, in no particular order of importance, that you can start doing now to get traffic moving to your blog.
1. Set up a Bloglet subscription form on your blog and invite everyone in your network to subscribe: family, friends, colleagues, clients, associates.
2. Set up a feed on MyYahoo.com so your site gets regularly spidered by the Yahoo search engine (see tutorial on http://www.biztipsblog.com)
3. Read and comment on other blogs that are in your target niche. Don’t write things like “nice blog” or “great post.” Write intelligent, useful comments with a link to your blog.
4. Use Ping-0-matic to ping blog directories. Do this every time you publish.
5. Submit your blog to traditional search engines: http://www.submitfire.com
6. Submit your blog to blog directories. The most comprehensive list of directories is on this site:
http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/
Tip: Create a form to track your submissions; this can take several hours when you first start so schedule an hour a day for submitting or hire a VA to do it for you.
7. Add a link to your blog in your email signature file.
8. Put a link to your blog on every page of your website.
9. If you publish a newsletter, make sure you have a link to your blog in every issue.
10. Include a link to your blog as a standard part of all outgoing correspondence such as autoresponder sequences, sales letters, reports, white papers, etc.
11. Print your blog URL on your business cards, brochures and flyers.
12. Make sure you have an RSS feed URL that people can subscribe to. The acronym RSS means Rich Site Summary, or some may consider its meaning as Really Simple Syndication. It is a document type that lists updates of websites or blogs available for syndication. These RSS documents (also known as ‘feeds’) may be read using aggregators (news readers). RSS feeds may show headlines only or both headlines and summaries.
To learn how news aggregators/RSS readers work, see this site: http://www.rss-specifications.com/rss-readers.htm
13. Post often to keep attracting your subscribers to come back and refer you to others in their networks; include links to other blogs, articles and websites in your posts
14. Use Trackback links when you quote or refer to other blog posts. What is TrackBack? Essentially what this does is send a message from one server to another server letting it know you have posted a reference to their post. The beauty is that a link to your blog is now included on their site.
15. Write articles to post around the web in article directories. Include a link to your blog in the author info box (See example in our signature below).
16. Make a commitment to blog everyday. 10 minutes a day can help increase your traffic as new content attracts search engine spiders. Put it on your calendar as a task every day at the same time.
Tip: Use a hit counter to track your visitor stats: how many unique visitors, how many page views, average length of visit. You can get a free hit counter at http://www.sitemeter.com
About the Author
Denise Wakeman of Next Level Partnership, and Patsi Krakoff of Customized Newsletter Services, have teamed up to create blogging classes and marketing services for independent professionals. You can read and subscribe to their blogs at http://www.biztipsblog.com, http://www.coachezines.com and http://www.bizbooknuggets.com.
What the BLOG?
See blogs add humanity and instantaneous expression to the web. Like ezines, blogs are a way for your customer to get to know you.
However, unlike ezines, blogs help you with search engine rankings. Did you hear me? I said, unlike ezines, blogs help you with search engine rankings. That’s a big one.
Entrepreneur Magazine, Business Week, even the FCC (Federal Trade Commission) all believe blogs are here to stay. Recently Michael Powell, chairman of the FCC, started one. His initial post drew over 30,000 readers. A Microsoft spokesperson says Bill Gates is considering starting a blog. And filmmaker Michael Moore built a blog to promote his controversial new movie, Fahrenheit 9/11.
But who has time to read a blog anyway? Exactly! The job of a blog is to cut through the information overload and deliver searchable, relevant and current content. BlogAds.com recently conducted a survey of over 17,000 blog readers. Here’s what they report:
* Blog readers are older and more affluent. 61% of blog readers are over 30, and 75% make more than $45,000 a year.
* Blog readers are more cyber-active. 54% of their news consumption is online. 21% are themselves bloggers and 46% describe themselves as opinion makers.
* Blog readers are media-mavens. 21% subscribe to the New Yorker magazine, 15% to the Economist, 15% to Newsweek and 14% to the Atlantic Monthly.
* Whether on the left or right, blog readers have traits in common that often are absent in today’s public spaces: passion and initiative.
* Blog readers have apathy towards traditional news sources. 82% say that television is worthless. 55% percent say the same about print newspapers. 54% say the same about print magazines.
* Meanwhile, 86% say that blogs are either useful or extremely useful as sources of news or opinion. 80% say they read blogs for news they can’t find elsewhere. 78% read because the perspective is better. 66% value the faster news. 61% say that blogs are more honest.
* Blog readers appear united in their dissatisfaction with conventional media and their rabid love of blogs.
Don’t you want to be a blogger too? How about looking at some samples of the good, the bad and the bizarre?
Model citizen blogs: http://www.marketingsecrets.com/blog/ - John Reese’s blog. Hey, the guy just made $1,080,496.37 online in a single day. Here’s a good rule of thumb. If Reese is doing it, you should be too.
http://www.talkbiz.net/ramblings/weblog.php - Copywriter Paul Myers keeps us up-to-date on SPAM and other Internet marketing nightmares.
http://www.thinkbigrevolution.com/ - Michael Port’s weekly calls to inspire those who aspire now have an online connecting point. Designed by Andy Wibbels.
My Blog: http://www.red-hot-copy.com/blog.htm - my blog today (see end of article).
Bizarro Blog: Jeff Bridges’ site is considered a “blog.” It’s hand-written! (Yes, really). http://www.jeffbridges.com
I’ve been dipping my toe into the blogging pool since earlier this year. Now I’ve decided it’s time to really learn how to do this stuff with an expert who will take me by the hand through the scary forest of the blog-world. I’m going back to school! Through another client, I met blogging guru, Andy Wibbels. Sure, he has a funny name, but he is adorable! And his writing style has me rolling on the floor. Well Andy is a self-professed geek. And Andy knows blogs. He says it’s easy and I trust him. Read more about it here. www.easybakeweblogs.com
About the Author
International copywriting trainer, author and speaker, Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero has been a freelance writer and journalist for over 25 years. Her words have made her clients hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now she focuses her vast experience on teaching others the skill of copywriting. Lorrie is the author of a highly acclaimed copywriting course, creator of the Red Hot Copywriting Bootcamp and founder of Copy Campus, a unique membership resource site designed to support copywriters and entrepreneurs on all levels. Visit her site to learn more at http://www.red-hot-copy.com.
OIVAC Blog Tour Stop #18
Thank you so much for stopping by Sharon! I am looking forward to reading your answers to my questions!
Becki 
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I’m glad to be here Becki, and I apologize for being a little late. This week has been very hectic, but I was determined to not let anything interfere with my stopping by, and here I am! I hope your readers are still hanging around, because your questions are very interesting and I can’t wait to dive in and respond.
1. How can the Online International Virtual Assistants Convention be a catalyst for change in one’s VA Business?
The convention offers opportunities for VAs to assemble with VAs located around the globe, they would not normally engage in conversation. It also presents opportunities to create and nurture relationships that in the future may lead to the development of partnering relationships.
It also allows VAs to experience, first hand application of VoIP technology, inclusive of white boarding, video and PowerPoint presentations, file sharing, etc., all which can potentially be marketed as a value-add service to clients.
By attending seminars conducted by intra- and external VA-industry recognized experts, attendees gain access to a wealth of knowledge, experiences and information specifically crafted to benefit the virtual assistant audience. In other words, if you have questions, these presenters have answers!
2. How is the Alliance for Virtual Businesses and the OIVAC connected?
The Alliance for Virtual Businesses (A4VB) is a promotional arm of the international VA community and primary sponsor of OIVAC. OIVAC is the brainchild of the chairperson of the Alliance (me). I believed the industry had grown to where we could hold an annual event, where, regardless of geographic boundaries, VAs could come together in a relaxed setting, network, attend educational activities, and celebrate virtual assisting, as well as individual and collective contributions to the business community, virtually and inexpensively. Because of these beliefs, and my continuing efforts to promote the industry, it made sense for the Alliance to grab the mantle and make it happen.
3. How can the right VA be an asset to a client’s business?
There are many, many ways the “right” VA can be an asset to a client’s business. For instance, the VA can serve as the right-hand person, intermediary with clients and vendors, appointment scheduler and problem solver. When the right VA performs duties, she can allow the client to “relax” knowing a professional is handling the responsibility. She can assume many duties and actually “make the client look good”, at home and before clients and prospects. If the client and VA maintain open lines of communication and she understands the client’s mission, she often times brainstorms, conducts research, and has prepared answers “before being asked”, implements processes and lets the client know “after the fact”.
Value-add services are something clients always appreciate – and when the client thinks you are one thought ahead, literally reading their mind and having a solution in hand, you are, in reality, 2 or 3 ahead. Eventually, the client recognizes your true value to the business; appreciates your direct and indirect contributions and compensates accordingly.
4. Is the OIVAC geared more towards the emerging VA or towards the VA ready to take the next big leap?
In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if you are classified as “emerging” or “ready to take the next big leap”. Emerging VAs are “taking the next big leap” into entrepreneurship, and established VAs are really “leaping” all the time. Like the 2006 convention, we have something for everyone. For instance, Laurie Dart, a copywriting expert VA, is presenting Winning Sales Copy, which is a topic we all should be interested in; Cheryl Callighan’s seminar is on subcontracting, which covers the issue from the owner as well as subcontractor prospective. Janice Byer will discuss how to respond to requests for proposals, another topic of interest to newbie and experienced VAs, and the list goes on.
In addition, the schedule also includes “specialty” or “niche” topics; again, which may be of interest to both categories. They include:
What is a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant? presented by Victoria Ring; How to Use Search Engine Optimization to Get More Clients Online, with Biana Babinski; and Coke7 is More than Soda, It’s a Brand: Learn How to Identify Yours & Increase Profits, which is presented by yours truly.
General categories every VA should want to attend include: Business Ethics, given by Jeannine Clontz, The Most Important Plan of Your Business - The Disaster Recovery Plan, by Diana Ennen, and Documenting Critical Success Factors for Profitable Growth, with Roberta Eastman.
As you can see, we’ve a wide array of topics that, frankly, VAs, no matter how classified, could select. And, this list does not include our eight (8) feature presenters. So to answer your question, we didn’t plan this year’s convention around any industry group but instead based it on overall industry interest. We invite VAs, no matter the category, to attend.
5. How does the industry go from where it is today to something bigger and better than ever before?
I guess the question is what is bigger and better? Looking over the past 10 years, the industry has progressed and as the future faces us, my hope is that the disparate groups can come together and develop a cohesive bond around creating an industry plan of action. Now I know there are some who ask, who does she think she is to propose the industry leadership – and even if you deny it, there are industry leaders (self proclaimed or not and even if you, the reader, do not subscribe to the title “leader”) meet and define parameters where we can all work together. It may be to work on just one activity or component of a project – but something that everyone is willing to sit at the table for. If that ever occurs, I see it as the foundation for bigger and better and then the industry’s future will be limitless.
Well Becki, I hope I’ve provided enough insight into the how’s, why’s and who’s of the OIVAC and look forward to attending your presentation at the convention. That’s right, now I remember; your topic is Imagination, Inventiveness and the New Fangled Idea explains how to network to find the experts that you need. Kathie Thomas of VA Directory, whom we visited yesterday, is also a presenter. Tomorrow, we go back “down under” to visit Lorraine Pirihi of Office Organiser. I can’t wait to share her scrambled puzzle clue with our Australian VA readers. So stay tuned. I won’t leave here without giving today’s clue, so don’t worry! It’s aslse. Okay, time for a nap. See you in the Land of Oz, tomorrow.
About Sharon Williams
Sharon is the Chairperson of the Alliance for Virtual Businesses and OIVAC, and president of The 24 Hour Secretary an administrative, secretarial and internet-based marketing support services company. She is the 2006 recipient of the Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction Award and co-founder of Virtual Business University an e-learning environment for entrepreneurs willing to step towards their greatness.
kO′ch VA adj. 1. a highly specialized and niched virtual
assistant who is in tune with their coaching clients and customizes solutions based upon their individual needs and goals 2. differs from a general virtual assistant as they only partner with members of the coaching industry [syn: 
