Traffic Thursdays | Traffic Methods #229 – 235

Rather than one in-depth look, on Traffic Thursdays, I suggest many methods as a group. Sometimes I’ll break them up, but today, here they are in one shot.

Traffic Method # 229 – Have a Skypecast

A Skypecast is a live conversation with a group of people using the free Skype software. Instead of making it formal like a teleseminar, have a light-hearted topic and just let the discussion grow organically. If you give people a way to sign up in advance and follow up with them afterwards, you can then contact people regarding what was discussed, and post answers to questions or topics that come out of the discussion on your site.

That’ll drive traffic as your group clicks through to read the updates.

Traffic Method # 230 – Hold a Public Brainstorming Session

You can also do this with a Skypecast. Some people use moderated text chats instead, or free conference calling. Schedule a session at least two weeks away, and tell people the topic and how to join. Then link the session to discussions taking place at your site.

Traffic Method # 231 – Do a Guest Blog Post on a Popular Site

Many popular blogs will have calls for submissions at a time when the main blogger wants to take a break from writing. Become aware of these at your favorite blogs in your industry. Exclusive posts usually have a better chance of being selected, and when they’re not, you can then use them to publicize your site via article marketing, or a post to your own blog.

Traffic Method # 232 – Answer Common Questions on Q and A sites

Many of the latest question and answer sites like Yahoo Answers also have linked profiles. If you keep to the topic that you’re most knowledgeable about, that is related to your business, you’ll get more traffic from people who read your profile.

Traffic Method # 233 – Upload FAQs in PDF format to Document Sharing Sites

There are also many sites that allow you to publicly share and tag documents. Find out what the commonly asked questions in your market are, and upload the answers in a PDF file at these sites. You can also post the links to them to bookmark sharing sites – don’t forget the tag filetype:pdf.

Traffic Method # 234 – Hold a Class

Places like PodClass.com and Universal Class are actively seeking people to teach classes. Hold a free one, or a low cost session. Many of your students will be eager to learn more, at which point they can be directed to your site either as part of the course or as an addendum.

Traffic Method # 235 – Create and Distribute Free Software

If you’ve ever thought, “if only there was a way to do x automatically” for your market, you may have a software idea. Hire a programmer, and make a free demo, or completely free software package that does this. For free copies, have people sign up to receive them. If you’re gong to market a demo, you can incorporate a link to your site, or have users register for free updates.

Traffic Method # 236 – Make a Public Calendar

Instead of just making it a calendar of events for people to know company events, make it a calendar that tells your market when to do certain important tasks related to your product. For example, if you sell financial software, tax reminders, donation reminders or educational write-off instructions are helpful. Many online calendars will let you link those suggestions to your site.