In last week’s post I talked about how I moved 1.5m places on Alexa since January. I had a lot of great comments, thank you. (in case you missed it, you can catch up here).
This week I thought I’d talk about building your traffic funnel. Many of us think about guest posting or adding comments to blogs as a great means of driving traffic to your site, don’t get me wrong, it is a great way, and has been the primary source of driving traffic to my site, but these aren’t the only sources of driving traffic.
In sales, people talk about a sales pipelines or funnels and I use the same concept to drive traffic to my site. A couple of months ago, I read a copy of Crush It!: Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk For those that aren’t familiar with Gary, he took over his father’s $5m wine business and grew it into a $60m business largely on the back of social media. (see winelibrary.tv) Gary has a ‘unique’ style which makes his programmes highly entertaining. (In fact, James Richmond has been described as the British Gary V)
Anyway, Gary talks about ‘being out there’ make yourself known and all that. Which is what many people do with comments and guest posts. He also talks about social media Twitter, Facebook, Youtube etc.
Remember Monopoly
When I was a kid I really used to enjoy playing Monopoly (probably why I’m such a big fan of property now!) and it struck me that social media is a bit like the game of Monopoly. For those of you who aren’t aware, Monopoly is a board game where you spend your time trying to occupy all the sites in the best areas and charging others ‘rent’.
In a social media sense The ‘rent’ is traffic to your site.
Does your site have a Facebook ‘Fan’ Page. Facebook is now getting more traffic than Google, so are you on it?
For professional types, does your linkedin profile link to your site or even better stream your blog posts?
YouTube
Do you have your own video channel where you can share your musings or video posts?
Twitter has got to be the number 1 source of traffic for your business. Are you on it? Even if you have no immediate plans secure your domain/profile on these sites. Social media is just like property, you get the best rents from the best locations.
Other sites
Go and secure all these areas now plus tumblr, Squidoo, Ning, Flickr etc. Be everywhere and build your traffic funnel, but don’t duplicate content. Try and tailor your content or comments just for those readers of the site.
Unlike property, all these sites are free. You’re missing a trick if you aren’t occupying the best properties. What’s more, the links back to your site all add to your link juice.
photo credit: Easternblot
So what do you think?
Matthew Needham is the principal consultant and director of The Big Red Tomato Company as well as the author of his blog. Matthew is a qualified accountant, interim manager and consultant. He has worked for prestigious companies like Rolls Royce and BT making Matthew more than qualified to talk about quality and business. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on Facebook or stay in touch by subscribing to his RSS feed.
Video-posting and using Youtube is something I’ve not really thought about. Or when I have, I’ve sort of dismissed it mainly because I’ve tended to keep my true identity hidden. Not for any real reason. I’m not a killer or whatever…but I just wanted to keep my online identity separate. But still, it is an avenue I’m going to think about.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..I’ve never seen a badger move so fast =-.
Mo have you tried podcasting some of your written work?
Podcasting sounds like a great idea. I know how to record and edit audio, but do you have any how-tos on how to turn it into a podcast and which are best sites to submit it to?
.-= Kiesha @ We Blog Better´s last blog ..SEO and Pots of Gold at the End of The Rainbow (and why I’ve stopped chasing both) =-.
Do you mean in its entirity, or recordings of “live scenes”?
Either way, I haven’t.
I have produced one podcast, which is not up on the site currently. It was a success – at least, the feedback was positive.
Drop me a mail, let me know what you think.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..I’ve never seen a badger move so fast =-.
Hi Mo – I understand your hesitance about video – I’m not even hiding my identity, but I am a bit camera shy!
.-= Kiesha @ We Blog Better´s last blog ..SEO and Pots of Gold at the End of The Rainbow (and why I’ve stopped chasing both) =-.
Mo, I’ve not done much with YouTube either. I’ve just secured the ‘real estate’ for now.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Wednesday Wisdom =-.
I’m a member of David Risley’s Blog Master’s Club, and he also stresses the value of owning lots of “real estate” on the internet. I have most of the things you listed above on my “to-do” list and am right now in the stages of learning how to do them. It’s a lot to learn, but it’s also a whole lot of fun to just get out there and connect and be creative about it.
.-= Jean Sarauer´s last blog ..7 Steps to Banish the Blogging Blues =-.
Hi Jean, I think that’s the best thing to do. Secure the sites, then learn how to do them. Look how many people are struggling to get their Twitter names now.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..How to write an e-book =-.
Hi Matthew! I love the Monopoly analogy, I think the inventors of the game would be proud to know that there are people who have actually taken what they learned from that game and are applying it to their lives.
Squidoo is a great funnel by the way.
.-= Kiesha @ We Blog Better´s last blog ..SEO and Pots of Gold at the End of The Rainbow (and why I’ve stopped chasing both) =-.
Hey Kiesha, thanks for your comment !
You know you’re right. Monopoly is as real in the ‘online’ world as it is in plastic bricks and mortar!
I might have to suggest this to the manufacturers.
I’m glad you’re getting good traffic out of Squidoo. It’s not doing anything for me yet, but it’s still early days.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Wednesday Wisdom =-.
Like the monopoly comparison.
I would not recommend using Tumblr. I just had my site closed for “Affiliate Marketing” with no explanation. I put a lot of work and original content into that site. Just a word of warning.
.-= Joe from New Jersey Carpet Cleaning´s last blog ..Test =-.
Hey Joe, thanks for your comment and the Tumblr advice. I’ve not posted a lot of content on there. But I’ll be careful what I do post now.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..How to grow your business (part 2) =-.
I agree that grabbing your piece of internet real estate is critical. Even if you are not ready to completely update your Facebook page or start tweeting every 30 minutes, your traffic funnel has to find your customers from every angle that you can.
Sure you may only get one customer here, and one customer there, but a customer is a customer and once you have them you just have to keep them from leaving you.
Eventually you will pass “GO” and get $200
-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire
.-= Joshua Black | The Underdog Millionaire´s last blog ..Icelandic Volcanoes Can Be a Real Kick in the Ash for Small Business =-.
Hey Joshua, that’s great advice. I think you’re right. Small seeds repeated often enough will give you (hopefully) much more than $200.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Wednesday Wisdom =-.
I noticed at the top of this post your InfoPreneur Team logo. It’s a subtle signal, but I think an important one, that you’re not in this alone. You’ve got a team behind you.
We’re all driven, we all want to be the leader. But that doesn’t mean we have to go it alone. Teams are an essential part of any movement.
If you’re a leader, grow a team.
.-= Siddhartha´s last blog ..Failure to Adapt: The Agonizing Death of the Publishing World =-.
Thanks Siddhartha, you’re absolutely right. Teams are important and we must work together to support one another. Thanks for commenting.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..A Response to “So What’s Your Problem?” =-.
matt,
When you say don’t duplicate content what do you mean? Should we be sending blog posts out to all are outposts?
Thanks,
RyanH., http://www.RyanHanley.com
Hey Ryan, thanks for the comment.
What I mean is don’t just put exactly the same content on each service. Try and put some context around it or tailor it to the specific audience you have following you on that site.
It’s a bit like differnet product sizes, same content, you just get more or less. Maybe you give bonus stuff to your facebook fans…?
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..How to grow your business (part 1) =-.
I try to keep active in social media as far as Facebook and Twitter and such but I know I could do a lot better at it. Personally, I don’t have many more profiles out there that really count for traffic back to my blog so this is probably something I should look into.
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Twitter Is Powerful When Used Correctly =-.
Eric, it could be as Joshua says one or two visitors, but every little helps. (hopefully it’s many more than that, but in the early days it might be very few).
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Todoodlist – Technology is great. Pencils are better. =-.
Certainly utilizing social media is one of the best ways to get traffic. On Twitter, I have over 700 followers and get a decent amount of traffic from that.
YouTube is one of the best ways to get traffic. I don’t know what it is, but, at least for me, it’s been really easy to get traffic to my YouTube videos.
With FaceBook, I haven’t created a fan page. I’m planning for that to be one of my next steps in growing my blog/website.
I’m on a bunch of of sites, but none of them really seem to get as much traffic as YouTube or Twitter. Certainly, it’s a lot like Monopoly; dividing your interests so potential visitors will have a greater chance of finding you and you can connect with others, which can let to further relationships, collaborations, and guest posts. And just like in Monopoly, you have to know what works and what doesn’t and use your time accordingly. Just like you wouldn’t waste your money on low rent properties, you need to use your time on the sites that get the best results.
Hey Daniel, it’s great that Twitter is bringing you in so much traffic, I get a lot from that source too.
In some ways it’s a little bit like selling Coke Cola. Being all over the place sells more product.
But you’re right, you need to concentrate on the things that will give you the biggest return.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..So, whats your problem? (part 2) =-.
what an awesome analogy, Matthew !
I can proudly say that I own my personal brand on all of these channels, but I have to increase my Youtube platform !
.-= Mars Dorian´s last blog ..How to Bring Down the Sky ! =-.
Hey Mars, thanks for the comment!
And congratulations on getting your copy of Crush IT!
Why am I not surprised that you are all over the place? You really do Crush IT Mars!
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..How to save £5,000 in 30 days =-.
Now remember its always good to have a Get Out of Jail Free Card! There must be a good analogy in that for your next article James.
Best wishes
Roland
.-= Roland´s last blog ..Basic Principles For Running An Efficient Office =-.
Ah great tip Roland! I’ll try something on that in one of the next posts. Thanks!
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Wednesday Wisdom =-.
Hi Matthew,
This is excellent advice. It’s a great way to build yourself a network of sites that are all linked together. The interlinking and the backlinks will be awesome for your PR.
Also, I think the more you put yourself out there and have a presence on these sites, the greater your chances are of driving more traffic to your site.
Thanks for the comment Jazz. To add to your excellent point, the more you’re out there the more you’re seen as an authority on your subject and therefore your credibility and search engine juice will increase too. Cheers!
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..How to write an e-book =-.
This is food for thought, James. That’s pretty much what social media is like, playing a game of monopoly. I monopolize the use of Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube but I haven’t monopolized linkedIn. Thanks for reminding us the importance of this. Great post brother!
Since James has moved the bios to the bottom of the post Jarrod, I think it’s confused a lot of people!
Yes, you should really give linkedin, I get a lot of traffic from it.
Matthew
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Wednesday Wisdom =-.
Hey brother it’ll be easier from now on as T.I.P Team logo at the top with the name of the writer underneath then bio at the end, other wise all the excerpts on the home page are always bio’s. Open to any suggestions though dude
James, once again you have provided some really great information packaged in such a way to make it engaging unique and entertaining (I think thats your forte brother)
I cant bring much value add here but since my last post has the word monopoly in it and you have commentLuv, I just had to comment LOL!
.-= alex´s last blog ..Google releases 2010 edition of Monopoly. =-.
Hi Alex,
shameless plug accepted! Thanks for sharing!
Matthew
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..How to grow your business (part 3) =-.