One of the most common things I'm asked by new blog owners is "What do I do, what now?" It seems that much of this is borne out of the old fashioned concept that a web site is akin to an online version of your brochure. Think about this for a moment... Many of us have web sites that host page after page of static content (that is, content which never changes), yet we never give a thought that there's no incentive to revisit the site after the reader has seen it. (After all that would be like watching the same television program again, and again... It gets old and boring). So it seems when many of us move to blogging type sites, it's sometimes hard to mentally leap the barrier of "static" to dynamic (dynamic meaning content that changes). Blogs are something that engages your readers, they (blogs) facilitate two way communication between you and your readers (who, for business operators, are potential clients). All to often I notice new blog owners place some content on the blog and then sit and wait for traffic. Invariably I often get a message or phone call asking what can be done as ...

"I don't get a lot of traffic to my web site". Is this statement familiar? If so, you might be unaware of the value of social media in promoting your blog! What is social media? It's the use of other people (social) to promote your blog (or web site), improving its traffic and therefore improving your business. Social media is a very powerful force in current online marketing strategies. In my opinion, the lack of understanding the importance of social media is one of the biggest contributing factors to the lack in targeted web traffic, of any volume. All too often it seems, a web site or blog is launched and there's almost not effective growth plan or activities that capitalize on the benefits of social media.  To be quite blunt, I'm not aware of any other low-cost effective blog promotional venues that has the capability and reach of social media. For those not familiar, by social media venues, I'm referring to avenues such as Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, Friendster, Facebook, and the like. Sites and services that are able to connect large communities of people in any given niche. Remembering of course that the better you can cater to a focused niche, ...

In an earlier post, Scott Mahler of Datex Media commented asking about the newest strategies of increasing blog traffic. While there are some new aspects, I think for many of us, it's important to first "hammer home" some of the best tips blog owners can use to help ensure traffic growth. This blog post invites your comments! What's new in blog marketing? What works for you? Let us know below. The #1 strategy to garnering more traffic to your blog is: "Write good quality, in-demand content". (Remember you are writing too people, not at them). And of course some of the activities I successfully use are: Use social networking tools such as: StumbleUpon. Run an advertising campaign via StumbleUpon. Use twitter. Ensure you provide tweets of value and customize your twitter page to match the branding of your blog. Never complain needlessly on twitter (do you want to spend your day with a whining sour-puss?) Invite people to follow you on twitter.  You may find my earlier post "Common Blog Traffic Sources?" to be of interest - Hint... Google is NOT my biggest traffic source . Include information about your blog in the signature of every email you send (including the URL). Use subscription systems on ...

As many of you may know, StumbleUpon is a site that is able to provide your blog with a lot of targeted exposure (traffic). As of the writing of this post, there are 6.5 million stumblers! I've written about StumbleUpon before (comparing short term vs. long term traffic spikes),  and have always found it a successful tool in building quality, targeted traffic. This hands-on project will use StumbleUpon's Advertising Campaign Tool. I've chosen StumbleUpon for four primary reasons: It's cheaper than many other "large" traffic advertising services. (5¢ USD per click as of the writing of this post). There's better long term traffic growth as those who are genuinely interested in your content can save your links (thumbs up), which their friends can also see, add to their links, visit your blog, and so on... (Commonly referred to as "organic"). Your clicks will not be in a pop-up/under, banner, etc. Visitors are taken directly to your site! You do not need to create an advertisement, all you need is a published blog post (or web page). Realistically, you can probably launch with a cheaper budget ($5.00 USD  per day for 100 visitors per day). If you ran that for a week, it would cost about ...

It seems to me that the ever increasing demands placed on blog owners to enhance the growth of their business through the use of social media tools, has left many a bit unsure as to which tool best suit their needs. In fact, one of the most common questions I'm asked is along the lines of "Which social web site is the best for me?", followed by a plethora of names, ranging through Digg, StumbleUpon, twitter, LinkedIn and so on. One thing I'd like to clarify before continuing. Online social media promotion tools (such as the sites mentioned above) are best used as an extension of your existing, traditional marketing activities. The benefits in most cases result in: More targeted audience. Greater geographic reach. Reduction in marketing costs. Save time (in other words using time in a more productive effective manner). However, the above are only some of the most immediate that come to mind. One thing I always try to advise clients is to break down their business or blog promotion requirements to reflect the jobs (or responsibilities) at hand. Generally, there are four primary groups: Management. Your are the blog and/or business owner. Your primary goal should be to raise awareness and visibility of your products, ...