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How To Drive Traffic To Your Blog

I spent many years in high tech before launching my career in Real Estate. I say this because REALTORS are rappedly ramping up their technical skills to be competitive in the marketplace. One way to increase one's business is to have a blog. Now the big question is: "How do I drive traffic to the blog". I've been doing a lot of reading and their is a techie guru that keeps a blog specifically on online marketing, SEO, etc. I wanted to share a link to his blog: http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/

Use lists.
Be topical... write posts that need to be read right now.
Learn enough to become the expert in your field.
Break news.
Be timeless... write posts that will be readable in a year.
Be among the first with a great blog on your topic, then encourage others to blog on the same topic.
Share your expertise generously so people recognize it and depend on you.
Announce news.
Write short, pithy posts.
Encourage your readers to help you manipulate the technorati top blog list.
Don't write about your cat, your boyfriend or your kids.
Write long, definitive posts.
Write about your kids.
Be snarky. Write nearly libelous things about fellow bloggers, daring them to respond (with links back to you) on their blog.
Be sycophantic. Share linklove and expect some back.
Include polls, meters and other eye candy.
Tag your posts. Use del.ico.us.
Coin a term or two.
Do email interviews with the well-known.
Answer your email.
Use photos. Salacious ones are best.
Be anonymous.
Encourage your readers to digg your posts. (and to use furl and reddit). Do it with every post.
Post your photos on flickr.
Encourage your readers to subscribe by RSS.
Start at the beginning and take your readers through a months-long education.
Include comments so your blog becomes a virtual water cooler that feeds itself.
Assume that every day is the beginning, because you always have new readers.
Highlight your best posts on your Squidoo lens.
Point to useful but little-known resources.
Write about stuff that appeals to the majority of current blog readers--like gadgets and web 2.0.
Write about Google.
Have relevant ads that are even better than your content.
Don't include comments, people will cross post their responses.
Write posts that each include dozens of trackbacks to dozens of blog posts so that people will notice you.
Run no ads.
Keep tweaking your template to make it include every conceivable bell or whistle.
Write about blogging.
Digest the good ideas of other people, all day, every day.
Invent a whole new kind of art or interaction.
Post on weekdays, because there are more readers.
Write about a never-ending parade of different topics so you don't bore your readers.
Post on weekends, because there are fewer new posts.
Don't interrupt your writing with a lot of links.
Dress your blog (fonts and design) as well as you would dress yourself for a meeting with a stranger.
Edit yourself. Ruthlessly.
Don't promote yourself and your business or your books or your projects at the expense of the reader's attention.
Be patient.
Give credit to those that inspired, it makes your writing more useful.
Ping technorati. Or have someone smarter than me tell you how to do it automatically.
Write about only one thing, in ever-deepening detail, so you become definitive.
Write in English.
Better, write in Chinese.
Write about obscure stuff that appeals to an obsessed minority.
Don't be boring.
Write stuff that people want to read and share.

Posted by Tracy Santrock-Cary NC Real Estate Blog on 10/27/2006 07:02 AM

Comments (17)

Drive Traffic to Your Blog in the ActiveRain Channel

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17 Comments on How To Drive Traffic To Your Blog

Thanks- now the links are working..but email link is for SethGodin.

10/27/2006 07:08 AM

by Michele Connors, Broker in Charge (Coldwell Banker First Realty Morehead City)

His site is a great resource. I've posted the link above but here it is for your reference.

http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/

10/27/2006 07:13 AM

by Tracy Santrock-Cary NC Real Estate Blog (Fonville Morisey)

I have read this before and shared the list with Bloggers on another "how to blog about real estate forum."

To me the great thing about the list are the ideas that say exactly the opposite ...

"Post on weekdays, because there are more readers."

and

"Post on weekends, because there are fewer new posts."

Which to me means, mix it up, try it all, do what works for you, and keep trying new things which makes #55 come true for a blog!

The nice thing about this list is even if you have seen it before as you progress more and more of it makes sense, like reference to digg, Technorati, etc. and some are still elusive... I have a Squidoo account but I still don't really get it but I am willing to learn.

10/27/2006 08:15 AM

by Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate (Real Living HER)

Yes, I was noticing that #11 and #13 directly contradict each other.

Finally, by the end, I was laughing my head off, because it all comes down to #56, and that can't really be summed up in a "here's how to do it" list. It's more organic than that.

10/27/2006 12:23 PM

by Tricia Jumonville, EcoBroker® (ERA Colonial Real Estate)

Thx for the great nuggets of info Tracy as well as the link to Seth Godin, I discovered Seth a few years back but lost track of him, information overload I guess. Later...

10/27/2006 02:37 PM

by The Blog Artist - marti garaughty (The Art Of Marketing You)

Tracy, I agree with Tricia, #56 sums it up for me. Those are the ones that I will read all the way through even if they are long. Thanks for the list.

10/27/2006 07:45 PM

by George Souto (McCue Mortgage Co.)

George,

I have taken Seth's advice to heart and my business has really taken off. #56 is absolutely critical for success.

10/01/2007 05:13 PM

by Tracy Santrock-Cary NC Real Estate Blog (Fonville Morisey)

I gather from all your advice that one should blog for any reason and no reason is ever inane enough not to post on. Also, Sex sells! ;-)

10/04/2007 09:15 AM

by Matthew Rosov, Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist (Amerisave Mortgage Corporation)

Matthew -

Aren't we fiesty today? I hate to admit it but you're right..sex does sell..maybe I should add that one to the list. O-that's right- we have moderators!!

10/04/2007 10:31 AM

by Tracy Santrock-Cary NC Real Estate Blog (Fonville Morisey)

"Use photos. Salacious ones are best"

Isn't "salacious" sexy?

I blogged about this list once on ActiveRain too... and I shared it on BlogTalk long ago... gee speaking of BlogTalk / RT Blogs I noticed "Include comments so your blog becomes a virtual water cooler that feeds itself." makes me think of RT blog editors claim that AR is the real estate water cooler.....

Seth said that like being a water cooler is a good thing... but then I guess there is a good and a bad side to each of these and thats why there is so much contradictory advice in the list.

It is funny that this old post got dug up... necro....

10/04/2007 10:44 AM

by Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate (Real Living HER)

Maureen -

I thought we all agreed that if a post was still relevant then we should work it. Right? Back then I hadn't figured out that you need to comment on the comments. So, why not?

I also like your comment "The nice thing about this list is even if you have seen it before as you progress more and more of it makes sense"

It all makes sense and the list is still relevent today, right?

10/04/2007 11:13 AM

by Tracy Santrock-Cary NC Real Estate Blog (Fonville Morisey)

The info in this post is probably going to be relavant as long as blogging is relevant. Nothing necro here.

For Halloween lets dig up some dead posts.....

10/04/2007 11:23 AM

by Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate (Real Living HER)

Boooooh Maureen! Scared you right?

I'm all for it. I'd better start digging!

10/04/2007 11:31 AM

by Tracy Santrock-Cary NC Real Estate Blog (Fonville Morisey)

I'm a Bog Baby (first day) - and so I found the links WONDERFUL and a LITTLE SCARY - Halloween or no Halloween!

10/04/2007 01:30 PM

by Eleanor Thorne, Cary Mortgage Loans (Meridian Residential)

bog baby? cranberry? peat? sorry I could not resist. Welcome Eleanor Bog Baby! Maybe I will dress up as a peat bog for Halloween.

Is sphagnum a kind of bog? that was the first word that came to mind but I am not sure why.

10/04/2007 01:45 PM

by Maureen McCabe - Central Ohio real estate (Real Living HER)

Tracy, this one's a keeper...Bookmarked for further reference when I need to think of something to write about! :)

10/04/2007 04:58 PM

by Lola Audu~Audu Real Estate~Grand Rapids, MI Real Estate

Eleanor - Oh so cute. I love "Bog Baby". Welcome to the Rain! You will get a lot out of this group if you put in the effort.

Maureen - ??? You should start a new blog dictionary - you'd be Activerain's very own Merriam Webster.

Lola- Thanks for the compliment.

10/08/2007 07:30 PM

by Tracy Santrock-Cary NC Real Estate Blog (Fonville Morisey)

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