Making money online reminds me of old fashion lemonade.
Everybody wants some, but no one wants to actually do the work to make it.
“…Everybody got they cups, but they ain’t chipped in.”
-Snoop Dogg (Gin & Juice/DoggyStyle 1993)
Most people are so focused on eating the fruit they haven’t given the first thought to what it takes to plant, water, and harvest the crop.
They want that quick dollar.
I understand.
However, this is a direct violation of #OldSchoolKnowledge so I don’t support it or recommend you waste your time on this foolishness.
Grandma was right, fast money don’t last.
Think I’m kidding?
Why do you think none of the top 128 blogs that I study found their success “overnight”?
In order to generate reliable traffic you must willing to:
#1 – Start over from scratch.
If that’s what it takes.
If you’re not willing to completely trash your existing strategy in order to become successful then you are standing in your own way, MOVE.
You’re focused on doing it YOUR way instead of doing what you HAVE TO. HUGE difference.
You have to accept that the #1 reason why you are NOT successful is because of something that YOU are NOT doing.
Here’s some traffic boosting activities that you are probably NOT doing:
- Collaborating with others.
This is one of the most valuable tips that I learned from James Chartrand.
Trust me, you haven’t done big things yet because you don’t have the reach to accomplish big things. It’s critical that you network to build up a base of like minded and influential people who will actually help you.
. - Product comparisons.
It’s easy to write reviews but it’s much more difficult to compare two leading products and identify why one is better than the other.
Providing objective AND subjective analysis when comparing popular products can be very valuable and popular content.
One of the most searched for articles on this site is an article where I compare the best SEO tools.
#2 – WRITE – SEO – SEO – WRITE - SEO – SEO - WRITE - SEO – SEO
Recently Matt Cutts made it official with his quote, “Google still does want text,” so if you want traffic from Google then you at least need to understand what they’re looking for.
Most people like me can’t keep up with all of their algo changes and mood swings so I recommend using the SEO Plugin that I found to be the best in my objective comparison.
It will handle all of the SEO “stuff” that you need to do ON YOUR SITE or as the experts like to call “ON PAGE SEO”.
Here’s the process:
- WRITE a brand new article.
- SEO: Before you publish it, optimize for ON PAGE SEO using the best SEO plugin.
- SEO: After you publish it, optimize for OFF PAGE SEO using the best wordpress plugin for building backlinks.
WAIT, WTF is OFF PAGE SEO? How do I do it?
OFF PAGE SEO is basically building links back to your site on other established blogs or websites.
There are two types of links that you can build:
- DO FOLLOW: This is like a website “recommending” the site that it’s linking to or a “co-sign” if you will. These are the links that directly influence search engines results.
. - NO FOLLOW: This is like a website “not recommending” but linking to a site. It’s like they’re saying I don’t ENDORSE this site fully but go check them out and here’s a link for your convenience. These links don’t directly influence search engines but they are still good because they generate referral traffic which can lead to social shares and email subscriptions which will lead to more search engine traffic.
When it comes to OFF PAGE SEO most people do it wrong but there is A RIGHT WAY to do it:
- Write blog comments like a BOSS.
Notice I didn’t say write blog comments like Caren Smocker. There is HUGE difference.
A BOSS writes comments using a premium tool that provides high quality juicy back links that actually get clicked AND influence search engine results. The easiest way to get more referral and organic search traffic.
. - Write Guest posts like your hair is on fire.
Make sure you have a Gravatar set up so people will recognize your face and set up your Google authorship.
Then I recommend finding opportunities where you can write as an ongoing contributor.
This will save you time from having to find places to write so much. Instead you can just work on your next article.
If you’re not THAT confident in your writing YET you should definitely get training it’s worth the investment, because the more you know.
#3 – Spend Money.
Just like I said in the first of 10 videos in Your Online Business Plan do not expect something for nothing.
- Gamblers make money off of the money they bet.
- Speculators make money off of the money they borrow.
- Investors make money off of the money they invest.
Which best describes you?
One of the most important tips that I learned from Enstine Muki was that contests can be a better investment than advertisements for your blog.
If you don’t have money then you will need to have something even more valuable to pull off a successful contest.
You’ll need to be able to negotiate with others to sponsor your contest like Enstine did.
How to generate reliable traffic and leads for business using contests:
Contests work for one simple reason, they’re fun.
People like to have fun.
Advertisements on the other hand.
They are a real drag until they are hilarious like this one:
It’s hard as hell to come up with a commercial like this. It’s much easier to plan a contest instead.
Here’s 4 outstanding examples of using contests to generate reliable traffic, why not enter them all?
You only have a chance to win like twenty-two hundred dollars, no bid deal right?
#1 – Zac Johnson – What’s Your Best Blogging Tip? (Win $500 Cash!)
- Submit your best blogging tip using Facebook and you have a chance to win $500.
#2 - Kulwant Nagi - $650+ Guest Blogging Contest is Live (25th March-25th April)
- Submit your best guest post and you have a chance to win $650.
#3 – Sté Kerwer - Post a Review and Make Huge Money
- Write a review for Dukeo.com and you could win up to $1000.
#4 – Enstine Muki - #Giveaway ~ SEOPressor v5 And $150 Direct Paypal Cash ~ SEOPressor v5 Review
- Enter the contest at emfastincome.com and win SEOpressor AND up to $70 in cash for first place.
After reviewing these contests you should have some ideas on what you should be doing to generate reliable traffic.
Use you imagination, network, and collaborate for best results.
Now it’s over to you.
How do you feel about using contests to promote your online business?
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Hello ,
I just love reading your articles. I totally agree with you. Thanks for Sharing Very Useful Post ..
thank you for reading have a great day 1
Darnell Jackson recently posted…What I learned From Nicole Canfield, a successful Hubber and author of Paranormal Fictions
Hello ,
Thanks for Sharing Very Nice Article , I totally agree with you. Fast money don’t last. Again, nice post!
Running contests are really useful in generating good amount of business and huge targeted traffic also. I completely agreed with your points.
Avnish gautam recently posted…High pr PDF free document sharing sites list do follow
Hello there!
I just love reading your articles. Anyways, I totally agree with you. Fast money don’t last. Again, nice post!
Regards,
(dofollow)
Cherry
Cherry Tiu recently posted…Guide to Universal and Programmable Remotes
Is it true that after the contest, traffic drops as the readers lose interest in that site? That is what frightens me about sponsoring contest. What do you think? How do you keep the readers?
Good questions Jennifer I guess the best way to know is to test it and see.
Darnell Jackson recently posted…2013 #IBCT Final Four & Championship Final
Sponsoring a contest is a catch 22! #1. It’s bad for seo to have your links copy and pasted on a ton of sites! It’s just bad for seo. the links should be no follow.
#2. Once the contest is done the sponsorship has no value, in fact even during a contest it has no value. I’ve joined so many contests where I’ve never even visited the sponsor site!
Brian ( recently posted…5 Liberating Things to Give Your Utmost Attention To
What’s up Brian,
Long time no see I think you may have been the first person ever to comment on my blog by the way appreciate that bro.
Thanks for adding your experience to the discussion.
Interesting considerations for planning a contest in the future I would think there is a way to improve on these two items though.
I’m sure there’s many different ways to plan a contest that could be beneficial for SEO and encourage sponsor participation.
Darnell Jackson recently posted…What I learned from James Chartrand – Q&A with the founder of Men with Pens
Yes, when I first started contests on blog engage you may recall I gave bonus points for featuring the sponsors on the bloggers sites. This was an actual article about the sponsor on the bloggers sites. This has huge SEO value, simply copying and pasting sponsors code to a blog post has no benefit what so ever. This is why I stopped hosting guest blog contests in the end it had no value to our customers and sponsors.
Brian ( recently posted…Spotlight with Jennifer Cunningham Owner of Fun Jobs for Seniors
Thanks for the feedback Brian,
I’m going to give it a try and see what results I can generate.
As long as the audience is happy and the sponsor benefits then I think the contest is a success.