Drive Traffic and Build Your List Checklist
Getting traffic and subscribers don’t have to cost you anything. You can get plenty of free traffic by following the tips below…
Create Your Funnel
- Make an opt-in gift. This doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated. Your freebie could be a short PDF guide, a workbook, or a printable.
- Publish a landing page for your opt-in. Your copy doesn’t have to be lengthy. You can go with a paragraph or two and a few bullet points. Then paste in the code for your mailing list sign up form.
- Schedule a few autoresponders. Write a short series of emails (three to five is good) and set them up in your mailing list service to go out to new subscribers.
- Launch a low-cost product. Use done-for-you content to create a low-cost product so your subscribers have a product they can buy from you.
Guest Post on Other Blogs
- Find popular blogs in your niche. You can start your search by going to a search engine and typing in “Top 100 Blogs on [Niche]” without quotation marks.
- Research the guidelines. Most popular blogs have publishing guidelines on their website and will tell you about their submission process.
- Engage with the blogger. Before you submit a guest post, take some time to interact with the blogger behind the scenes. Comment on an Instagram post or two. Respond to a topic in their Facebook group.
- Publish a relevant opt-in gift. When you do a guest post, come up with another opt-in gift that you can offer readers of the post.
- Design a landing page. Make sure to put your opt-in gift on a landing page so there’s nothing to distract your viewers.
- Promote your landing page. Use the author bio section of your guest post to link to the landing page. This lets you capture the traffic and add it to your sales funnel.
Boost Your Brand’s Visibility with Facebook Live
- Respond to comments. When you’re on Facebook Live, connect with your viewers by answering their questions and replying to their comments.
- Brainstorm content. Ask your viewers what type of content they’d like to see more of on your blog or website. Take notes and use them when you’re creating more content later.
- Make a content upgrade. If you know what topic your Facebook livestream will be about, go ahead and create a content upgrade. Make it something valuable your viewers will appreciate.
- Promote your upgrade. Use the comments section of your stream to post a link to your latest opt-in.
- Tell viewers to share. During your livestream, ask viewers to share your video with a friend or colleague.
Get Featured on Podcasts
- Look for podcasts. You can start your search with the iTunes Podcast Directory.
- Make a list. Begin listening to podcasts regularly and write down the ones that you enjoy listening to the most.
- Interact with the podcaster. Take a few minutes to get to know the podcaster by following them on social media. Comment on their posts so they’ll recognize you later.
- Ask about guests. Once you’ve gotten to know the host, ask them if they’re looking for guests. If they are, get contact information right away.
- Send a pitch. Use your email to share why you would be a great guest. Tell the podcaster about your own journey and why his or her audience would be able to relate to you.
- Follow up. Sometimes, emails get lost on their way to the recipient. If you haven’t heard back in a few days, reach out to the host and see if they received your message.
Use Pinterest to Get Traffic
- Describe your pin in detail. Pins with longer descriptions (think 2-3 sentences) get more interaction that pins with shorter descriptions.
- Get a business account. Pinterest’s business account comes with free analytics that can help you learn when the best time to post is. Convert a personal account to a business one here.
- Join group boards. When you contribute to group boards, more users can discover your pins and your website.
Leverage Instagram
- Add your link. Put a link to your most recent blog post in your bio area. This makes it easy for followers to find your blog.
- Use hashtags for your niche. A website like TagBlender can help you find popular hashtags so you don’t have to brainstorm them on your own.
- Make a call-to-action. When you post on Instagram, include a CTA with your caption. Ask viewers to like your post, comment on it, or tag a friend.
- Create a branded hashtag. Branding your own hashtags lets even more people discover your brand on social media.
Email Your Subscribers
- Write a great subject line. It should make them curious but also be short (40-60 characters) so it’s easily viewed on a mobile device.
- Personalize the email. Subscribers are more likely to open a message if you include their name in the subject line.
- Make a link. You should link to your blog post in the body of your email. Do this in the text, because subscribers trust contextual links.
- Include a button or image. Subscribers like clicking on buttons and pictures. Pick one or the other and add it to your email. Be sure it links to your blog post.
- Create a signature. You can use a free signature tool like the one from HubSpot or WiseStamp. Add a link back to your website in your signature.
Study Your Results
- Consider your most popular content. If a page is getting a lot of views, think about how you could create more content like it.
- Look at the stats for your traffic sources. Try to track your traffic sources each month so you can see what marketing activities give you the biggest return on investment.
- Make sure your site is optimized for different devices. Your stats program should show you what tech like smartphones and tablets your visitors are using.
- Glance at search terms. The keywords that people use to find your site can give you ideas and insights on how to serve your community.