You can’t expect your work to speak for itself. Most of the time, it won’t. You need to accept that marketing is part of your job, just as much as making.
But the game changes when you start applying your creativity to your marketing — it becomes more fun as well as more effective. Here are four ways to use your creativity to attract the right kind of visitors to your website.
1. Create an amazing blog.
Note the word ‘amazing’. I’m not talking about a blog you only update when you’ve got something new to sell. I’m not talking about a personal diary where you to post your musings on art, life, and the universe. I mean the kind of blog that grabs people’s attention by delivering outstandingly valuable, useful, or entertaining material — consistently.
Devote an entire blog post to nailing ONE idea.
Start with a compelling headline.
Ask yourself ‘So what? Why should anyone care?’ — and make that the start of the post.
Give concrete examples.
Invite comments by ending with a question.
2. Give (some of) your best work away for free.
So take advantage of the spreadability of digital content by giving away something valuable and encouraging people to share it with their contacts:
And make them sure it’s something genuinely valuable. If you feel slightly uncomfortable about giving away something so good, you’re on the right track. Otherwise, why would anyone get excited enough to tell their friends?.
3. Borrow someone else’s audience.
Why build an audience from scratch when you can borrow one that someone else has spent months or years assembling? No, it’s not unethical — in fact, the ‘someone’ in question will love you for it.
Writing high-quality guest posts for popular blogs in your niche is one of the most effective ways to get yourself on the radar of the people you want to reach. Your ‘payment’ is a link back to your site — make a great offer and you could land hundreds of new subscribers with every guest post you write.
And make sure it’s your best work. This is your chance to make a big impression — don’t blow it by sending out second-rate articles and keeping the best stuff for your own site.
4. Get your content into circulation.
The real magic happens when people start sharing it with their friends.
If you really want more visitors, you have to go out and find them.
Social networking sites are not just for networking — they are ideal places to get your content (blog posts, videos, free reports, etc) in front of other people. Use Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ to share links to your content. Make use of portfolio sites like to showcase your work in places where people go to look for it.
And be generous — share more of other people’s content than your own. That way, you not only help others you also position yourself as a go-to authority, a source of cool stuff who people want to follow.
None of these methods is a quick fix. They require time, effort, and persistence. But the good news is the benefits are cumulative – as your blog attracts links and subscribers, as your free content gets into circulation, and as you get known as a rising star in your niche, you’ll find yourself attracting more and more new visitors for every hour you spend on marketing.And no, website visitors don’t necessarily equal customers — otherwise there’d be a lot more Internet millionaires!
Good luck!
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10/16/2014 4:33 pm