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3 Top Resources For Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog

This post was most recently updated on August 1st, 2016

Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your BlogThere are “3 Top Resources For Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog” that I’ll share with you in this article.

As a blogger, you know how important it is to have a steady stream of traffic heading to your blog.

Your blog is the heart of your online business.

Traffic is the blood that keeps it alive.

Without it, your business would die.

That’s why I thought I’d gather some of the best information I could find on the topic to share with you.

Now, the kind of traffic I’m focusing on, here, is free traffic.

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There are plenty of sources of paid traffic, like Facebook, Google and email ads.

These are all excellent sources of traffic, but they have two drawbacks.

1. They cost money, and can actually be pretty expensive, especially if you’re new to paid advertising.

2. The traffic you get from paid ads is “cold traffic.” That means that you are paying to get views to your ads, or people on your email list, from people who have no idea who you are. It’s much harder to get people to become regular visitors to your blog if they don’t know you, or know of you.

For these reasons, I don’t usually tell people to turn to paid traffic to build their blogs.

I use some paid ads, but I can tell you that I’ve always had much better results in terms of quality from organic, free traffic methods.

I know you’d like to get more than just eyeballs to your blog.

You want to get real thinking, breathing people who are eager to see what you have written on your blog.

You want to build relationships with people, and get some real engagement going on your blog.

That’s the real goal, after all.

It all begins with driving good quality, free traffic to your blog.

I know you’re wondering to yourself, “sounds great, but how do I do that?”

I put together these resources so you can see for yourself… from some of the best bloggers in the business… just what things are working best for them.

Resource #1 For Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog

From: Social Media Examiner
how-to-drive-traffic-to-your-blog-posts-a-game-plan-for-the-top-social-networks/
By Debra Eckerling (guest)

Drive Free Traffic To Your Blog

I know a lot of you rely very heavily, as I do, on social media for traffic.

It is, in fact, one of the very best ways to build just the kind of following that will make your blog thrive.

It can get confusing, though, trying to figure out exactly what method work best.

I get questions all the time that sound like this:

Hey, Donna, I know social media is one of the best ways to get people to go to my blog. But I’ve tried posting on social sites for a while now, with only mediocre success. What more can I do?

If you have that kind of situation, then I really want you to get on over to this article. It has some basic strategies for you, and some really cutting edge ones, too.

…Facebook

One of the basic things you need to start with, is to post your blog posts on Facebook.

There’s no better way to get things rolling your way than that.

But don’t just post a link. That doesn’t get the kind of juice you’re really looking for.

You want to entice people with a crowd-drawing title, not just “read my latest post” plus it’s title.

Use a great photo, but not just your blog post’s featured image. Did you know you could even use photo albums and
carousels?

Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog

That’s really cool.

Remember, you want to go for the magic, not just deploy passionless tactics.

The magic comes with engagement.

I’m passionate about building engagement, first and foremost.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, or have bought one of my information products, been on a webinar with me or are on one of my email lists… you know that this is my passion.

It’s the way I build my blogging business.

And it’s always worked so great for me.

Images can be passion provoking, when done right.

I love using images because I get so much engagement with them, above and beyond just “driving traffic” to my post.

You’ve just got to be careful with the sizes and quality, but that’s all covered in this “resource #1” article.

You can also take advantage of Facebook and “notes” to promote your blog post.

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…Twitter and Beyond

Also covered in this resource article, are methods for posting your blog post on Twitter

It covers key information for using media elements like video, GIF’s and images. It’s a little trickier doing this on Twitter than on Facebook because of the character limitations. For instance, did you know that an image takes up 24 charaters?

There are many cool ways to get traffic to your blog with Twitter, so investigate, my friends… and implement!

LinkedIn is another great platform for getting traffic.

You can share an update with your blog post info, a photo or a LinkedIn publisher post.

Instagram and Pinterest traffic methods are also covered.

If you’re not getting the results you want with social media, or you just don’t have a good working plan to start with, definitely jump on over to the Social Media Examiner and dig into my “resource #1” recommendation.

Resource #2 For Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog

From: Pro Blogger
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2015/03/04/how-to-get-top-bloggers-to-share-your-content-and-boost-your-traffic/
by Robin Geuens (guest)

Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog

Another great way to get traffic to your blog is by standing on the shoulders of power influencers in your niche.

Resource #2 shows you 5 ways to accomplish this, and it even gives you a cheat sheet to keep them all straight.

Sweet!

Now here’s the thing you need to know.

You’ll never have a great blog just because you rub shoulders with the right people.

I know bloggers who have tried.

In fact, some of them have come to me to figure out why it didn’t work for them.

They think the idea is to just get influential bloggers to link to their posts, or agree to let them guest post, or some other such “influencer” method.

This only works, though, when you have great content to share with your visitors.

Driving endless streams of traffic to your posts, and then short-changing readers with haphazard content is a short-sighted strategy.

The only way that influencer methods work are when you really… really… address your readers’ concerns or solve common problems they have.

I get so crazy when I see a blogger jump through hoops to get influential people to send people their way, only to throw out loosely strung, rehashed articles over and over again.

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This, to me, points to a blogger who is far more interested in getting traffic than in helping to improve lives and give solutions.

And let’s not lose focus here.

If you’re not blogging to improve lives and give solutions, then you shouldn’t probably be blogging at all, no matter how many influential high rollers are in your corner.

That said, the influencer method is a very effective method for getting free traffic.

The key to this method, as you’ll learn from the Strategy #2 article, is to “put your content in front of people who can make a difference.”

The methods you’ll learn here are these…

♦ Include influential people in roundups, in which you feature or mention them in an article.

♦ Ask influential people for a quote. Develop a topic, then ask influencers to give their best advice on it. You even get a sample email the author uses to solicit their quotes or statements on a topic (it’s just a bit more complicated than you’d think, so I love having the sample email.

♦ Apply an influencer’s tactics and report your success. This is a really interesting one that will take some effort but can really get you noticed by influencers and their readers.

♦ Interview an influencer. This is a great method you could learn, as my friend Andrew Warner (mentioned in this resource article) has done so effectively.

Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog
Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog

♦ Reach out to those who have liked or shared blog posts similar to one you’ve written. This is a really interesting method that makes use of networking closely within your niche.

I’ve never made much use of influencers in the blogging world, but I do hang around with some pretty influential product creators. They spread the news in the affiliate world about those products of mine they like the most.

Very effective means of “networking” which is what connecting with influencers is really all about.

The magic is in the doing, not in the knowing about this method.

But isn’t that always the case?

That’s real good news for the “doers” among you. Not so much, though, for folks who love learning about all the wonderful methods that they never really get around to implementing :((

Resource #3 For Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog

From Neil Patel
http://neilpatel.com/2015/08/18/the-definitive-strategy-for-driving-organic-traffic-without-ranking-in-googles-top-10/
By Neil Patel

Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog

Search engine ranking is probably the most lucrative source of blog traffic… if you can rank you articles in the top 10 search results.

That’s not so easy to do, of course.

In Resource #3, Neil Patel shows you how, though, to get free Google traffic without super-cosmic ranking.

For one thing …

share your infographic on community-based sites like Blokube and GrowthHackers.

This is certainly something all my blogging buddies need to check out if they’re not familiar with how it works.

Neil paints a pretty picture, here, and as he always does… a very thorough one.

Basically, you’re giving other bloggers and content curators a great reason to promote your blog posts.

Why would they do this?

Because it helps them in their mission to share great content!

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That’s a win-win and I’m going to repeat… check out the details of how this works, and thank me (and Neil) after you start scoring with this “ninja technique” (even though I promised a long time ago to never use that overly hacked “ninja” cliche… groan).

Resource #3 will also demonstrate the power of infographic syndication… a method I love, and that I’ve seen get really great results over and over again.

 

Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog

Neil shows you how to make your own infographics.

If you’re not creative, though, he also shows you how to quickly, easily and affordably outsource this task.

Most importantly, of course, he shows you how to leverage the infographic method into… you guessed it… free traffic!

Neil also shows you a lot about how to track what your competitors are doing, and see what results they’re getting.

Then he gets into a lot of statistical and keyword analytics (it’s what he does best) that will point your blogging journey in the right direction… Disclaimer: statistical and keyword analytics are not my forte, so I don’t really do a lot of it.  But that’s not to say it’s not really important and plenty effective.

Well, we can only do what we can do, eh?

Well, after all, Resource #3 is a Neil Patel article so it’s pretty mega info cool. There’s a lot more to it than I’ve highlighted here but, hey, I’m getting out of breath already.

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Bottom line…

These are 3 Top Resources For Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog.

Dig into each of them.

Do some cerebral sleuthing, pick one or two strategies you like, and implement.

Then, implement more and then… implement more.

Getting a steady stream of free traffic to your blog involves taking just a great tactic or two (I’ve gathered a bunch of them for you, here)… and adding a massive dose of serious effort.

I always love the word “magic” but the truth is: the magic behind getting free traffic to your blog begins and ends with your commitment and consistency.

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Thanks to all my friends for hanging out with me here, today.

I look forward to hearing your great comments and enthusiastic discussion points below.

That’s where we always have the most fun, isn’t it?

Donna Merrill
Donna is a well known blogger and creator of "Blogging Magic" - an intensive guide to blogging. "Blogging Magic" is for beginners who are trying to figure out how to bring their blogs to life with tons of visits, comments and social media interaction. It's even for advanced bloggers looking to reach new levels of authority and engagement with their audience.

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78 Responses to 3 Top Resources For Driving Tons Of Free Traffic To Your Blog

  1. Moumita Ghosh
    Twitter:
    January 14, 2016 at 5:15 am #

    Hello Donna,

    I always search new ways to drive traffic to my blog and sometime these blog. Those blogs are one the guide about content marketing and driving traffic. I appreciate your write style. The way you crafted the article is really awesome.

    Thanks for sharing this wonderful and informative article.

    Thanks & best regards,

    Moumita Ghosh
    Moumita Ghosh recently posted..10 Content Management Systems Those are RockedMy Profile

  2. Ryan Biddulph
    Twitter:
    January 11, 2016 at 4:09 pm #

    The resources are spot on Donna.

    As for power broker bloggers why in the head would I wish to get influencer traffic if I did NOTHING with it? I was blessed to appear on Neil’s blog and Forbes and I’ll be on Richard Branson’s blog soon and hey, I have my kick butt content lined up for the steady and future flow of traffic heading my way. Why not have fun and enjoy the ride and really ramp things up by getting super clear on following your passion and sharing solutions for your 1 specific reader? If you do your best job always you will easily grab influential’s attention in time and also, you will impress the stuffing out of the new traffic heading your way.

    This is a persistence thing too. Keeping at it opens up doors that the quitters never get to see, let alone open. Power brokers and their audiences are waiting for you!

    Loving this post Donna.

    Ryan
    Ryan Biddulph recently posted..How to Handle Negative Feedback (Free Audio Course)My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 11, 2016 at 10:28 pm #

      Hey Ryan,

      You are spot on my friend. Write the best content you can even if you have one sticking reader because it will grow. Doing our best and having persistence does pay off.

      You have come a long way and you did it by giving it your all. You are enjoying the ride and that is the key. Why the heck would we be doing all this if we didn’t enjoy it?

      Glad you liked this post,

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Who Doesn’t Want Recurring Income?My Profile

  3. Chris DeeWaard
    Twitter:
    January 11, 2016 at 3:45 pm #

    Hi Donna.

    Thanks for this great post. I’ve already added each of the three links to my favorites to check out soon.

    I need to do more with social media. I share posts only to a small number of Facebook groups. I share on Twitter, but not enough. As for the others, very little is done.

    I still use blog hopping as my main way to communicate with others. Need to get the consistency back with that also.

    I need to make 2016 my year and these resources you have listed here are a step in the right direction.

    Happy New Year………Chris
    Chris DeeWaard recently posted..How Not To Build A Relationship With Your Mailing ListMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 11, 2016 at 10:24 pm #

      Hi Chris,

      Blog hopping and social media can eat up loads of time. But if you make it part of a daily routine with some good time management in place, consistency will pay off.

      Wishing you a great new year,

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Who Doesn’t Want Recurring Income?My Profile

  4. Debra Mackey January 11, 2016 at 9:10 am #

    Hi Donna!

    Thank you for sharing, this is some awesome information! I just wish I had it about 2 years ago before I had to shut down my blog! I love this quote here because it really shows where I went wrong: “Driving endless streams of traffic to your posts, and then short-changing readers with haphazard content is a short-sighted strategy.”

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 11, 2016 at 10:13 pm #

      Hi Debra,

      Sorry to hear that you shut down your blog. Well, there’s always going back to square one if you would like.

      Many people don’t last too long blogging because of what you have quoted. There has to be a plan of action with content and constantly driving traffic to your blog.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Who Doesn’t Want Recurring Income?My Profile

  5. Kim Willis
    Twitter:
    January 11, 2016 at 4:39 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Three great resources you’ve got here.

    Getting some action on social media sites is an art and a science. Just posting a link on say Facebook is unlikely to work very well. We need to sell the click if we want people to click on our link. Importantly, the relationship we have with our fans or friends is crucial. Without that, it doesnt matter what bloggers say to promote their blog post.

    Your Resource Number 3 is priceless. Influencer marketing is an important activity to embrace, and one that I will be doing a lot more of, in 2016. But of course as you suggested most people are so inertia-prone, they’ll read it, and that will be the end of it!

    Your Resource Number 3 (Neil Patel) is an interesting way to get more SEO traffic – will look at that one in more depth.

    Great post and good luck with your new membership site. Not that you need it. I see a lot of value in this program – I know people will love it.

    Kim
    Kim Willis recently posted..9 Reasons Why Every Business Should Have a BlogMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 11, 2016 at 10:11 pm #

      Hi Kim,

      One of the things I love the most is getting action from social media. I do pay for ads here and there but they are highly targeted. It’s been working well so far with Facebook ads. Therefore, social media is an art and science.

      Good to know you will be doing more marketing this year. It is so much fun when you start making it part of your daily activity.

      Thanks so much!

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Who Doesn’t Want Recurring Income?My Profile

  6. Aabahran Shastri
    Twitter:
    January 11, 2016 at 2:17 am #

    Hi Donna,

    I follow your every post but I am not commenting on the post! But this time, I can’t resist myself and need to write few words about the wonderful post. I love your way of presentation and the knowledge you share is totally amazing. Recently develop a blog on WordPress and confused to develop traffic from organic resource and jump into your blog post with the help of social media resource. This is a truly amazing helpful post for me and I will share your post to my all social media friends.

    Thank you, Donna, once again. I am looking forward to reading your next post!

    Cheers, Aabahran

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 11, 2016 at 1:57 pm #

      Hi Aabahran and welcome to my blog.

      Nice to know you were following my blog and now came over to comment – I appreciate it.

      Good to know you developed a WordPress blog. I find it the best way to do blogging. It can get confusing to drive traffic to your blog via social media.

      One thing to always remember is that when you are on social media, you are there to be social and for others. If you see something that resonates with you….like and comment. Then go to that person’s blog. Read it and comment and share. It is the best way to start organic growth to your blog.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Who Doesn’t Want Recurring Income?My Profile

  7. Lillian De Jesus
    Twitter:
    January 10, 2016 at 8:38 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Happy New Year!

    These certainly are 3 top resources! My favorite is Neil Patel… LOVE his articles, they’re always jam packed with information.

    I’m going to check out Blockube and GrowthHackers!

    Thank you so much for this information. I’ll have to refer back to this article more than once.

    Take care,
    Lillian
    Lillian De Jesus recently posted..17 Inspiring Quotes for the Entrepreneur (Spark the New Year Forward!)My Profile

  8. Donna Merrill
    Twitter:
    January 10, 2016 at 6:46 pm #

    Hi Kathryn,

    Happy New Year to you, too!

    Thanks for sharing this around. There must be other people who want tons of free traffic to their blogs, huh? lol

    Hopefully, most of those bloggers think like you and me… let’s make people’s live better for having read our articles. It’s 2016… let’s get off on the right foot. 🙂
    Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  9. Kathryn Maclean
    Twitter:
    January 10, 2016 at 6:05 pm #

    Hi Donna, I don’t think I have wished you Happy New Year yet! So there you go.
    You write the most information packed articles, but this one is a doozie!

    I took notes and will be posting it on one of my fb pages so I don’t forget it and others
    will find it and benefit from the great information.

    I think this was the phrase that stood out for me.
    “If you’re not blogging to improve lives and give solutions, then you shouldn’t probably be blogging at all, no matter how many influential high rollers are in your corner.”

    Wonderful info Thanks so much!

  10. Jacs Henderson
    Twitter:
    January 10, 2016 at 3:24 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Happy new Year ??

    What a fantastic post to kick of 2016!

    Putting together a strategy for driving traffic definitely takes some planning. I like your showing 3 different ways, it gives great scope for us to try different approaches, and the 3 blogs you shared also have super resources.

    Infographics and images are important for grabbing attention, so I recommend taking care to share good quality ones… like yours, which are always branded too 🙂

    Blog sharing communities can be really useful when one takes part and builds relationship.

    The key to free traffic is, as you always say, engagement.. and that means consistent action, with a plan, whichever strategy you choose.

    I use social media, but must take a new look at influencers and SEO.

    Thanks for sharing all the resources Donna 😀

    ~ Jacs
    Jacs Henderson recently posted..Merry “Social” Christmas!My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 10, 2016 at 6:04 pm #

      Hi Jacs,

      I’m glad you got so much information you can use. The resources are good ones, for sure, but they don’t mean much unless you put them to use, as you and I both know.

      Engagement is the key, as you said. You can get a lot of traffic. You can get it for free using the strategies in this article. You can also pay for it.

      But none of it will make your business profitable if you don’t shape it into an engaged following. Always keep in mind that traffic doesn’t make your business succeed, an engaged following does.

      You can learn to generate traffic from the ideas I’ve shared here. That’s critical. But you also need to shape that traffic into your business or blog following.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  11. Joan Harrington
    Twitter:
    January 10, 2016 at 3:06 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    What great resources for getting traffic to your blog! I have bookmarked each one and will be going through each and will definately be utilizing the great tips!

    As bloggers, it is so important to find the best ways to get traffic to our blogs and you have listed some awesome “free” ways to help us to do that 🙂

    I know for me, having the best ways to get the traffic “organically” is so important as I find that using “paid” ads , yes will get me more targeted traffic but I like to engage and build relationships (if I can) with the people that come over to my blog and the only way that I can truly do that is to use “free” traffic sources (like FB, Twitter…) and these 3 resources will help me build that organic traffic and do it all for free.

    Thank you for this awesome share!

    You always have such awesome value 🙂
    Joan Harrington recently posted..Need To Know Powerful Copywriting Secrets That ResonateMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 10, 2016 at 5:54 pm #

      Hi Joan,

      It really is a lot harder to build a relationship with “cold” traffic that you get from paid ads. The free organic traffic is almost always easier to develop engagement with.

      I have to say, though, it doesn’t mean you can’t build those relationships and get engagement from people you get through paid ads. You can. It’s just harder. I mean, these people just don’t know who you are… yet. If you do a good job of letting them know you, then you can eventually convert some portion of them into loyal followers and customers.

      I think, for me, the bottom line here is that you get much better traffic by using the free organic methods you’ll learn from the resources in this article. But you can get more traffic from paid ads (which I don’t discuss in this article). I recommend you use both methods… consistently. See for yourself which works better and truthfully, you’ll probably want to use both.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  12. Lesly Federici
    Twitter:
    January 10, 2016 at 2:31 pm #

    AWESOME post Donna..
    I really like Neil Patel. I’ve learned so much from his posts including from YOUR post as well. So here’s the interesting thing, I went to similarsites.com to do a search on PAC, and no blogs came up. No data was found … hmm… very interesting ……

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 10, 2016 at 5:18 pm #

      Hi Lesly,

      I don’t know anything about similarsites. Can’t help you there.

      As for Neil Patel, he’s really great but some people get put off with all the statistical stuff he does. But, hey, blogging is a business and that’s an important part of it.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  13. ikechi
    Twitter:
    January 10, 2016 at 10:42 am #

    Hi Donna

    Happy new year and what a wonderful post plus it is timely.

    What would a blog be without traffic? It is so great that you reveal some great ways to get organic traffic without one’s budget screaming.

    I love the resources that you shared and I have read them and they are absolutely on point. I do appreciate you for revealing this resource to us.

    Thanks for sharing. Take Care

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 10, 2016 at 5:05 pm #

      Hi Ikechi,

      Thanks for stopping by to start the New Year 🙂

      Nice to see you digging into some of these resources because I can promise, if you implement even one of the tactics or strategies you find, you will have an increase of traffic to your blog.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  14. Edward Thorpe
    Twitter:
    January 10, 2016 at 9:55 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Brilliant example of a well-crafted (and written) curation. Thanks for reminding us bloggers why we do what we do: ‘address your readers’ concerns or solve common problems they have’
    Edward
    Edward Thorpe recently posted..The Discovery of IgnoranceMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 10, 2016 at 5:02 pm #

      Hi Edward,

      Glad you liked the article. I hope you also got a chance to dig into some of the resources here because they are certainly top notch if you’re looking to increase traffic to your blog… and as they say “who isn’t?”… lol

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  15. Erika Mohssen - Beyk
    Twitter:
    January 9, 2016 at 11:33 pm #

    Hi Donna,
    this is really profound information about free traffic.
    I could not go through all this yet, but will bookmark.
    Lots to learn for everybody especially People who just
    started can learn from this post.Like you said, finding
    some strategies who fit and really implement them
    is needed to make it work.
    Thank you for this comprehensive list of sources.
    Like always you did an awesome post .
    Thank you
    Erika
    Erika Mohssen – Beyk recently posted..Self Awareness – A StorieMy Profile

  16. Shamsudeen
    Twitter:
    January 9, 2016 at 2:06 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Happy New year and good to be back here again reading one of your awesome posts on traffic.

    Like you put it, the lifeblood of any blog is targeted traffic, and most importantly to say organic traffic is still the best of them all. I agree with you on that.

    The three resources you shared are no doubt some of the best blogs on the internet for learning about this crazy thing called “blogging”.

    Am not so sure if I haven’t read those posts in the past since I read a ton of posts on those blogs you mentioned regularly and also subscribe to their blogs.

    I like the combination, social media examiner for social media marketing, Neil Patel for proven contents marketing tips and ProBlogger for advance blogging tips on driving traffic.

    Thanks for sharing, nice read.
    Shamsudeen recently posted..5 Digital Marketing Lessons to Learn From Neil PatelMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 10, 2016 at 3:28 pm #

      Hi Shamsudeen,

      Sounds like you’re a real student of this 🙂

      I’m wondering what your chosen methods of driving traffic are.

      Keep studying, and above all… keep implementing the strategies and tactics you find most useful for your own business model.

      Implementation is where all this cool stuff begins to work for you… ha.

      Nice to see you.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  17. Ashok Singh
    Twitter:
    January 8, 2016 at 3:11 pm #

    Hello Donna,
    I always try to read Niel Patels blog he really has a lot to speak and he is awesome, simply mind blowing.
    But today I found another great blog “socialmediaexaminer” Another addon to my reading list for better knowledge.
    I must appreciate for your write up as well, Honestly I have only read till now around 11 articles but all are well researched or full of knowledge database.

    Back to you!! 🙂
    Ashok Singh recently posted..Download Vidmate App for PC WindowsMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 8, 2016 at 10:14 pm #

      Hi Ashok,

      I’m glad to broaden your sights on getting traffic.

      Neil Patel is always great to learn from, on his blog that I referenced in this article, and also on his QuickSprout blog.

      But these other resources are top notch too.

      Just find something you can get your teeth into, and don’t let go, hehe.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  18. James McAllister
    Twitter:
    January 8, 2016 at 4:15 am #

    Some of my favorite traffic sources here for sure Donna… never been too big on search engine traffic just because we can’t control it but that doesn’t mean we can ignore its power. An increasingly larger percentage of my traffic is coming from search engines and while all the extra visitors are nice, I’m certainly not going to be relying on it. I like to view it as icing on the cake. nice to have but want to make sure I can live without it.

    Interesting you mentioned GrowthHackers. I love that site! I actually won a ticket to their GrowthHackers conference next month, unfortunately I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it down to California. Here’s hoping.

    This year I’m really looking to up my social media presence. Honestly I don’t get a lot of traffic from it (at least not right now) but the branding benefits have been huge. I like people thinking about me throughout the day, seeing my name when they’re not expecting to. That’s powerful.

    Appreciate the fantastic articles shared and of course, always nice to hear your ideas as well.

    Talk soon Donna!
    James McAllister recently posted..Massive Action In Blogging Leads To Massive ResultsMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 8, 2016 at 10:07 pm #

      Hi James,

      It’s great to see you got a free ticket to GrowthHackers.

      Very nice.

      SEO is wonderful when it’s working your way, but as you and I agree, no sense in trying to make a career of it. It’s far too fickle, with Google always in charge of your business. Who needs that, haha.

      Social media is great for branding especially, but also a sweet way to get a lot of free traffic.

      So many thing to do… so little time.

      Hope you get the perfect recipe for a great year of 2016 traffic to your business.. 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  19. Sylviane Nuccio
    Twitter:
    January 7, 2016 at 7:19 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Sorry for being late here.

    While I’m sure that paid traffic works somehow, it’s been more challenged now than it has ever been in the past, I feel, because more than ever before people need to get to know you first before they are ready to do business with you.

    I like the phrase that Don Purdum used as we were talking about that topic; “don’t ask for people to marry you before you even had a cup of coffee with them”. I really like that. Yet, some people want you to marry them right away, and who wants that, right?

    I think that guest blogging is a great way to reach the potentials of paid advertising while being free (money wise), because, yes, it’s going to cost effort and time, but it’s all worth it.

    Thank you for all the sources you provide here, included your own.

    ~Sylviane
    Sylviane Nuccio recently posted..Who Wants To Live A Life By Design Like Me?My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 7, 2016 at 10:31 am #

      Hi Sylviane,

      It’s very true that building relationships with people is the most important thing to do with any online business.

      That’s why I tell people that blogging is the best way to build your business. It’s not so much that people come to your blog to buy your products and services, but that’s where they get to really know who you are.

      If they’re finding value with what you give, then they’ll explore what you offer.

      You need several things in place. 1. Great Content 2. A way to drive traffic to it. 3. A Conversion method, so when people visit your blog and like your content, they can find a way to get more involved… either subscribe to your list, join your program, buy your product or whatever.

      All 3 pieces must be there. In this article, I’m addressing the traffic part. I find that people find this the most difficult of the 3 pieces. They just don’t know how to get folks to their blog in large enough numbers to build a business.

      I hope this post sheds some light on some top strategies for doing just that.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  20. Peter Beckenham
    Twitter:
    January 6, 2016 at 10:41 am #

    Hi Donna and happy new year to byou and your family,

    Many thanks for sharing your research about free traffic and what a wonderful list of resources you have delivered.

    I toally agree with your premise that it’s all about traffic and engagment but for me the key challenge is to get not just “enagaged traffic” but engaged traffic that may eventually purchase some of my products.

    Paid traffic sources are always “cold traffic” even though they can be highly targeted and far more predictable. Howeever, I have found that its quite easy to build your lists with paid Fsacebook or solo ad traffic but their levels of engagement are often dismal.

    My focus has been on blogging, blog commenting and podcasts to build my engaged audience but the free traffic options you provided here are really great.

    I’ll definitely be trying them out asap.

    In particular I loved the infographic strategy with community based sites.

    Such a simple yet ingenious concept – thanks a million for sharing this research in particular Donna.

    And thanks for the heads up re images and Twitter – I’ve just started doing this lately but was not sure if it was a good strategy.

    Best wishes as always from a remote Thai village blogger

    Peter
    Peter Beckenham recently posted..Are You Engaged Yet?My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 7, 2016 at 12:46 am #

      Hi Peter,

      You’ve touched on the discussion I had with Andrew in the comments above.

      It’s not enough that we get traffic, or even “good” traffic. What we really need at the end of the day is for a sufficient number of our visitors to convert into buyers and clients.

      But, as I told Andrew, we can’t expect to get buyers and clients if we have no traffic. So we must have both pieces of the puzzle in place, and both working parts of the machine running at peak performance.

      That’s the challenge for bloggers and online marketers.

      My main purpose on this blog was to get some great traffic methods into your hands. That takes care of one half of the story. Converting the traffic into profit is the other half.

      Thanks for your input, and I’d love to hear how you make out with implementing some of these strategies.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

      • Peter Beckenham
        Twitter:
        January 10, 2016 at 4:34 pm #

        Hello again Donna.

        Just wanted to tell you that your reference to Debra Eckerling’s article on Social Media Examiner blog unearthed for me the solution to a mystery I have always had with social media traffic to my blog posts.

        Many thanks for this heads up as although I have been on these social media platforms for some time I truly was not using them the right way to drive traffic to my posts.

        For many this article may seem basic but I’m sure there are many bloggers like me who have completely overlooked or have blissfully ignorant of these traffic tips – as you have so often pointed out the secret is to be both creative and engaging in everything we do!

        Thanks Donna
        Peter Beckenham recently posted..Are You Engaged Yet?My Profile

        • Donna Merrill
          Twitter:
          January 11, 2016 at 1:53 pm #

          Hi Peter,

          Thanks for coming back to let me know that. Social media is one way of driving good traffic to you. I’ve been using it for years and once you get the knack of how to appeal to your target audience, you will see how quickly traffic comes in.

          I love those traffic tips that’s why I just had to refer to it.

          -Donna
          Donna Merrill recently posted..Who Doesn’t Want Recurring Income?My Profile

  21. Don Purdum
    Twitter:
    January 5, 2016 at 4:06 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Happy New Year! I hope you, David and your family had a restful and joyous season!!!! I took some serious time off for reflection, strategy and of course relaxation.

    Regarding the pay side, I found that paying FB access to my blog actually didn’t work like I thought it would. BUT, when I created a free report, that then took them to a landing page where they opted-in, and then offered them a small item for sell; it worked AMAZING!

    On the blog side I’m looking for free traffic through networking predominately. Like you said, when your content is really good they will share it; especially if good will has been earned through reciprocation.

    Neil’s article was really insightful… just in the last month have I seen a significant spike in traffic coming from Google and the good news is that around 15% is actually converting into sales. I’m pretty happy with that!!!!

    Thanks for the great resources Donna! As always you deliver greatness.

    Have a Happy New Year!

    ~ Don Purdum
    Don Purdum recently posted..Leadership Influence vs SellingMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 7, 2016 at 12:39 am #

      Hi Don,

      Glad to see you having such good results with FB ads. Yea, it’s absolutely essential to have a good sales funnel in place. FB ads is not about making sales, it’s all about driving people to your squeeze page, having them subscribe to your email list in order to get your free offer, and then redirecting them to an upsell before they get the free report. That’s the classic sales funnel that marketers have used with great success with paid ads, FB, solo ads etc.

      Now that you’ve done it with good results, you need to just upscale that to get even better results.

      For free traffic, though, networking, as you say, is a really effective method. It requires that you have great content for people to find on your blog, of course, so they want to follow you even more closely.

      Thanks for sharing your experiences, Don, it’s a valuable addition to the conversation.

      Happy New Year yourself.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  22. Andrew M. Warner
    Twitter:
    January 5, 2016 at 3:24 pm #

    Hey Donna,

    Happy New Year to you first off.

    What a great post and list of resources.

    Thing is, as great as traffic is, it’s still all about converting that traffic to do what you want it to do. And it’s important to have the right traffic as well.

    Having your post blow up on reddit is good..but what’s not good is the thousands of people that spend mere seconds on it before they bounce off.

    Nonetheless, what you shared here is really important and I think you did an excellent job with this post .

    Have a great week.

    – Andrew

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 7, 2016 at 12:32 am #

      Hi Andrew,

      You’re so right about the importance of conversion on your blog. You can do everything imaginable to get folks to your blog, but if you have no means for converting them into subscribers and paying clients/customers, then you won’t build much of a business.

      On the other hand, you can have a great conversion scheme mapped out for your blog, but if you don’t get people to visit it, you have no chance of getting any conversions.

      So, I agree that the conversion structure must be in place first. But at the same time, you need to be driving good quality traffic to it.

      I guess it’s the old dilemma of what comes first, the chicken or the eggs. The truth is, they’re two parts of one package 🙂

      PS: I mentioned in the article how you’ve had such good results with the influencer strategy, so I’m glad you made it here to add more of your thoughts on this.

      Thanks for your insights, Andrew, and Happy New Year to you, too.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  23. Joy Healey
    Twitter:
    January 5, 2016 at 1:12 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Thanks for sharing those great articles on ways to get free traffic to my blog. I got some ideas I would never have thought of from them.

    In fact, you’ve changed what I was going to do for a future blog post, to kill several birds with one stone 🙂 Watch this space – won’t be for a few weeks yet, as I’m scheduled well up ahead.

    You also solved a mystery for me… I’d often wondered casually about images in Twitter. Now I know 🙂

    Right…. I’m off to make notes in my scheduled post to remind me to implement my favorite tip from these excellent ideas. And when I do it, I’ll be sure to link to you 🙂

    Joy
    Joy Healey recently posted..Review of Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers – Why Buy From Enstine Muki?My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 7, 2016 at 12:12 am #

      Hi Joy,

      You sure took some careful notes on this topic. Good for you, because this is undoubtedly the most important topic that bloggers and marketers struggle with.

      Getting traffic to your website is not something to take casually. It takes a lot of time and effort to implement any of these strategies, and you want to be sure you’ve got a very clear idea of what and why you’re doing whatever plan you’ve chosen.

      I’m sure curious about what you spin off of all this, and I’ll look forward to seeing it 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  24. Corina Ramos
    Twitter:
    January 5, 2016 at 1:04 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Happy New Year! Wow, you really shared some great resources here. I learned something from each point your shared.

    I agree with what you said about posting our blog post on Facebook and include a crowd-drawing title. It’s a must if you want people to click over to your post. And I didn’t know I could add a photo album or carousel. I’m going to keep that in mind the next time I post on Facebook…first I have to figure out how to do it, hehe.

    I’ve been very lucky to have influential bloggers like you, Adrienne, and Carol guest on my blog but I have to tell you, when I typed my email to you I had sweaty palms and crossed fingers and toes that I would get a yes, hehe. There are other influential bloggers I would love to connect with but I still get star-struck, something I intend to change this year. 🙂

    I had never heard of Blokube and GrowthHackers. I have a couple of infographics I made so I just might head on over to those sites and sign up. 🙂

    Thanks for sharing these great resources with us Donna. I’ve put it on my calendar for Saturday to read through each of these posts. I just know I’m going to get a lot out of them.

    Hope you’re having a great day!

    Cori
    Corina Ramos recently posted..Join the Cooperatize Marketplace For Sponsored Content OpportunitiesMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 6, 2016 at 7:23 pm #

      Hi Corina,

      If you’re doing your own infographics, you’ve GOT to check out Blokube and GrowthHackers, girl.

      It’s a great way to get in front of your target audience. I love sharing these little tips with my peeps, and I know you’ll do the implementation, so I’m not wasting my breath… haha

      Don’t forget to put some of those great graphics in front of your FB crowd, too.

      That’s a great way to make your posts come to life and jump off the page!

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  25. Adrienne
    Twitter:
    January 5, 2016 at 10:26 am #

    Hey Donna,

    First let me wish you a Very Happy New Year. I hope you, David and the kids all had a great time. I’m sure you had a wonderful time during your holiday too, visiting with everyone and just enjoying their company. I love that time of the year.

    Now it’s time to get back to work and what better way then to share this topic with your audience. I love that you also linked out to some posts that dive into those subjects even more.

    I know for me, just studying something that works from someone who is doing so very well is huge. When you take consistent action steps and stick with it you will get some great results.

    I know your suggestion about the influencers is spot on. You and I harp on this a LOT but there is a reason for that. Don’t just reach out to someone with only your own selfish wants and needs. Remember that they are people too and they are getting requests all the time. Why would they want to help you? Help them first, do something for them, build up a relationship and they’ll end up realizing that was even better than their initial plan. 😉

    All of these are great tips, thank you so much. I’m going to also have to check out these other posts too. Never hurts hearing what others suggest and maybe I can even pick up another tip or too.

    So have a great day, an awesome week and I’m off to share this post too.

    ~Adrienne
    Adrienne recently posted..How to Improve Your Blog With This 90 Day PlanMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 6, 2016 at 7:17 pm #

      Hi Adrienne,

      I know there’s a lot to wade through here, but if you take your time with it I’m sure you’re going to find some great ways to get traffic coming to your site. I know I did. That’s why I put them together for this article.

      Of course, influencers are a big open door into the markets we want to tap. So I think it’s one of the best methods you could use.

      I agree, of course, that the only way to really get something of value from influencers is to first give them something of value. Everyone has unique gifts they can give, You’ve got to spend some time getting to know the people who are top influencers in your niche, and offering them some help in special and unique ways that only you can.

      If you can figure out how to do that, there will be no end to the traffic you’ll see flowing into your business.

      Thanks, as always, for sharing the article.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  26. Stella Chiu
    Twitter:
    January 5, 2016 at 8:31 am #

    Hi, Donna

    Wishing you a fantastic 2016.

    I greatly appreciate very much for you to share the valuable tips in getting Huge traffic.

    Yes I have concentrated my SM activities around FB and Twitter for a while, I almost ready to expand to other SM platforms like Google+ or Linkedin. I will see how it will go.

    I like Problogger. where I can find many valuable information. As far as reach out the influencers for traffic, I hold back on that because I do not deeply know the style of any influencers yet. Until then, it may be good method for me.

    Always love to read Neil Patel’s posts. I will dig into Blokube and Growthhackers to find out more about them.

    Excellence post as always!

    Thanks for sharing.

    – Stella Chiu
    Stella Chiu recently posted..10 Keys to the Success of your 2016 New Year ResolutionMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 6, 2016 at 7:07 pm #

      Hi Stella,

      Seems like you’ve got a lot of wheels turning inside that head of yours.

      That’s a good thing. It’s good to review all the possibilities in order to settle in on the right action for yourself.

      As for influencers, I don’t think you need to postpone this strategy. Just start going to their blogs, leaving some comments like you’ve done here, and let people know you’re out and about in the blogosphere. Just have some fun with it and see what comes of it.

      Happy New Year, too 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  27. Di Downie
    Twitter:
    January 5, 2016 at 3:23 am #

    WOW….. awesome blog post Donna and amazing amount of info and I will book mark it.

    You have said so much in this post that I can’t even comment

    I do know that I don’t SEO my blogs as well as I could.

    I need to learn more skills to SEO properly.

    I also love your common sense comment when you say ..nothing happens by itself….

    Thankyou Donna

    Di
    Di Downie recently posted..Selfish motherMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 6, 2016 at 6:43 pm #

      Hi Di,

      Glad you’ve found a lot to chew on here.

      Getting traffic is always a big undertaking, but nobody can do business without it. That’s why you’ve got to spend some serious time figuring out the best strategy to pursue.

      So, dig in and make it happen, girl!

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Why You Need A Tribe To Build Your Online BusinessMy Profile

  28. Sue Bride
    Twitter:
    January 5, 2016 at 1:12 am #

    Happy New Year Donna and thanks for sharing these excellent resources. I’ve followed ProBlogger and Social Media Examiner from their start and Neil Patel more recently. I recommend the free Problogger Course 30 Days To Building a Better Blog for getting more visitors.

    I’ve started using the Yoast SEO Social Media feature for adding titles, descriptions and images for Twitter and FB. I keep my post images in proportion with FB and crop one to fit Twitter. That way I can autopost from my site while controlling what’s posted.

    I still have to come up with information that suits an infographic or I’d have made them before 🙂

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 5, 2016 at 5:57 pm #

      Hi Sue,

      As for you infographic, why not try putting together just a quick outline of some concept and sending it to a trustworthy designer on Fiverr… see what they come up with. Or send it to 3 of them and compare the 3 results. It’s only 5 bucks each gig and instead of trying to figure out
      “how to”… get some results.

      Sounds like you’re doing lots of “right” things.

      Have a great 2016!

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Have You Reached Your 2015 Goals?My Profile

  29. Mark
    Twitter:
    January 4, 2016 at 4:37 pm #

    Happy new year Donna!

    And thanks (as always) for uncomplicated things and just flat out
    making our game plan, straight to the point!LOL!

    I absolutely love your three proven resources, for consistently generating traffic
    and building, those all important relationships as well!

    But equally as impressive & important, I love where you shared, don’t think your
    success is guaranteed, simply because you convince an influential blogger,
    to help send you some traffic!LOL!

    I can only imagine, how many aspiring newbie bloggers, have finally come
    to grips with that unsuspected reality!LOL!

    Thanks as always, (for) both giving us a much needed reality check and a
    wake up call!LOL!
    Mark recently posted..Why Some Extremely Savvy Entrepreneurs Rely On This Particular Secret Weapon More Than Others!My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 5, 2016 at 5:53 pm #

      Hi Mark,

      Happy to give the “wake up call.” It’s the new year, right? Good time for a wake up I’d say.

      So, pick a great traffic strategy from among all those I’ve sent your way, and get it started… and keep it going… and don’t give up until you’ve received massive success. Yes?

      Don’t wait for anyone else to do it, not even the big star influencers… lol

      I think we’ve all learned that one some time ago.

      Glad to hear from you Mark, have a great traffic and relationship year 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Have You Reached Your 2015 Goals?My Profile

  30. Chery Schmidt
    Twitter:
    January 4, 2016 at 3:13 pm #

    Hello Donna, Awesome information my friend! I have taken me some notes and hoping to get to them in the next few days.. Yikes so much catching up to do after the holidays hehe and mine are not over yet.. Hoping to get back to normal soon, what ever normal is LOL

    I just loved the way you ended this post as well “”Getting a steady stream of free traffic to your blog involves taking just a great tactic or two (I’ve gathered a bunch of them for you, here)… and adding a massive dose of serious effort.

    Oh So true, nothing happens by itself HUH?

    Thanks for sharing
    Happy New Year
    Chery :))
    Chery Schmidt recently posted..Reflecting Back On 2015- My Goals And MindsetMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 5, 2016 at 3:55 pm #

      Hi Chery,

      You’re right on, my friend… nothing happens by itself.

      So, with that in mind, don’t take too many notes. Just skim through this stuff real quick to get an overview. Then go back to the one or 2 things that jumped out at you and start doing them. That’s the way to start getting more traffic to your blog…

      massive dose of serious effort… hehe. But you know that. And you do that, right girl?

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Have You Reached Your 2015 Goals?My Profile

      • Chery Schmidt
        Twitter:
        January 9, 2016 at 11:11 am #

        Hello Again Donna, Wow so true, i took notes and then still needed to come back and get the link that I wrote down wrong hehe Had I of just took notes on this one perhaps i wold have gotten it right the first time..

        You are so darn smart.

        Thanks again
        Chery :))

  31. Saurabh Tiwari
    Twitter:
    January 4, 2016 at 3:04 pm #

    Hi Donna Ma,am,

    Wishing you a very Happy New Year!

    Thanks for compiling this wonderful list.
    I will have a read these awesome article asap.

    Thank you for sharing.

  32. Atish Ranjan
    Twitter:
    January 4, 2016 at 2:43 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Wishing you a very Happy New Year!

    All these 3 resources are bang on. I have read Problogger’s post, and it is more than awesome. Will check out the other two you have listed here.

    Traffic is what we all bloggers want and in fact need.

    Thank you for this awesome resource post.
    Atish Ranjan recently posted..9 Best Selfie Apps To Capture The Perfect SelfiesMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 5, 2016 at 1:23 pm #

      Hi Atish,

      Yes, traffic is something that nobody can do without. When you’re new, you need to start developing a following. When you’re getting bigger, you need to get more exposure. When you’re really doing great, you need to keep new faces coming your way.

      Nobody can do without traffic, and so it’s important to keep up with the latest strategies that are working. That’s what I’ve put together for you here. Thanks for appreciating it.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Have You Reached Your 2015 Goals?My Profile

  33. Swadhin Agrawal
    Twitter:
    January 4, 2016 at 12:23 am #

    Hi Donna maam,
    Wishing you a very happy new year!
    This post is terrific! Thanks for listing all these resources.

    I had read the two posts at Neil’s blog and tat Socilamediaexaminer and yes they share great values.

    The way you took out the cream of these resources is actually amazing and very helpful to newbies and experienced bloggers alike.

    Thank you.
    -Swadhin
    Swadhin Agrawal recently posted..How to build SEO friendly backlinks safely 2016 [Updated]My Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 5, 2016 at 1:20 pm #

      Hi Swadhin,

      I’m so glad you’ve made some investigation already into some of these resources.

      I think it’s important to let my readers know how I build my business, but also how other leaders are building theirs.

      Everyone has their own ways of getting traffic to their blogs, so I wanted to show you what some of the best people online are doing to get free traffic all the time.

      Find something that works for you, or you’d like to try and you’re on your way 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Have You Reached Your 2015 Goals?My Profile

  34. Harleena Singh
    Twitter:
    January 3, 2016 at 11:47 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Let me start by wishing you a very Happy New Year 🙂

    Coming to the post, loved the well researched and detailed post, which gives us a chance to explore more ways to drive traffic to our blogs that is completely free!

    Honestly speaking, I haven’t tried the paid ways ever so far, so don’t know how they work. I believe in engagement and building relationships too, but yes, social media presence has been huge for me, though one needs to decide which ones work best for you and focus on those more. Yet, try to tap the main ones alongside as you have different audience on all of such platforms. Speaking of which, I’ve seen a huge growth in Pinterest and Google Plus followers lately, and the traffic it brings to my blog, as compared to Facebook and Twitter recently, but I ensure to be on all four places daily. Not to mention, Flipboard and StumbleUpon also, which work well.

    You are right about Neil Patel’s post, as they are all thorough and detailed, though not everyone can follow them! But always good to learn from such information – I still need to try my hand at infographics, as I know it works wonders for our blogs.

    #2 doesn’t work, as you mentioned, unless you know the influencer really well, which is rare again- and follow the tips as you suggested. You are right, what works is when you write helpful content that YOUR readers love, which makes them keep coming back for more.

    Thanks for sharing all of this with us, and good to see the little changes on your blog too. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
    Harleena Singh recently posted..Celebrating The 5th Blogiversary With 5 Blogging TipsMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 5, 2016 at 1:16 pm #

      Hi Harleena,

      You’ve kind of touched on the “focus” aspect of all this.

      You have your favorite methods and I do, too. Every one will find their own best way to get the free traffic to their blog.

      But you can’t do them all! Yet, they all work.

      It’s not a matter of finding the perfect method, it’s more like you having to figure what works best for you. When you’ve got that down, then really stick with it. You could do more than one strategy, but please don’t try to do it all. You’ll end up pulling your hair out of your head (not pretty, haha).

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Have You Reached Your 2015 Goals?My Profile

  35. Mitch Mitchell
    Twitter:
    January 3, 2016 at 11:40 pm #

    You certainly did this one up right! I’m one of those few people who will NOT put an infographic on my blog. I hate having them take up so much of my writing space, so it’s just not happening, even though I’m always getting requests to share someone else’s. Nope, not happening, nada! lol

    I also have to admit that I’ve never reached out to any influencers because… well, I just haven’t. I’ve commented on a blog or two but only if they’re using a comment system I feel like dealing with… which a lot of them don’t have… and if they’ve actually written the post… which happens less frequently once an influencer becomes really bit (which is why Neil Patel is kind of the exception… as least I’m assuming he’s writing most of that stuff, though I also wonder how he finds the time to do so…)

    I guess that only leaves #1 for me… oh wait, that’s the one I’m already doing… heck! 🙂
    Mitch Mitchell recently posted..A Bunch Of Random Blogging & Social Media RantsMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 5, 2016 at 10:59 am #

      Hi Mitch,

      Well #1 (social media) is certainly one of the great ways to drive that free, organic traffic to your blog. You know it because you’ve been doing it. It’s probably my favorite, too, and I’d include blog commenting in that section.

      We can’t pretend, though, that social media is always “personal” either, since there’s so many people using automation tools and even hiring others to do their campaigns for them.

      Still, I think it’s the closest we can come… actually, I think blog commenting is the closest we can come… to being really authentic and personal with people.

      I blog because I love interacting with people, and it seems like you’re the same way. It’s the perfect format for that, and for me anyway, it’s been the cornerstone of my business… which has reached out into lots of other things like information product creation and coaching.

      I also like some of the “less personal” things like infographic syndication because I feel like I want to expose my blog and my ideas to people I don’t know yet. They call it “cold traffic” in some circles, I just call it folks I don’t know yet. Once an infographic or some other method brings them to my blog, then I can start building the relationship with them.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Have You Reached Your 2015 Goals?My Profile

  36. Dana
    Twitter:
    January 3, 2016 at 6:11 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Wow, you really shared a lot of valuable tips in this post. Thank-you so much.

    I’m happy to say that I’ve FINALLY published my first post on LinkedIn’s platform. So glad I did this.

    I’ve visited problogger to look at the freelance writing opportunities, but I haven’t delved into the rest of the site yet. I’ll get to this.

    I also appreciate the info you shared about infographics. I haven’t created any as of yet, but I’ve wanted to. I love how easy they make it when sharing a message and they make everything so colorful.

    A fantastic post to start the new year.
    Thanks Donna 🙂
    Dana recently posted..Exercise Motivation: 5 Tips to Get You MovingMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 3, 2016 at 9:27 pm #

      Hi Dana,

      I bet you’ve got a lot to do to get the New Year rolling your way, huh?

      I see you’ve got so many irons in the fire and I know you’re going to have a real blockbuster year. So exciting.

      I love seeing my friends (clients…) grow from the ideas and help I can give them.

      It’s cool that you got your first LinkedIn post published. Congrats. Next thing to do is try to work LinkedIn posting into your DMO (daily method of operation). The cumulative effective of putting a strategy into play consistently (x amount of LinkedIn posts per week) over a considerable period of time (6 weeks, 90 days, whatever)… that’s what really gives you the return on your effort.

      It’s work. That’s why I try to get people to do one thing really well and really consistently until they can rip it off without hardly an effort. At that point, they’re ready to jump onto the next thing, maybe doing infographic syndication for instance. Whenever I see people try to do 4 or 5 strategies from scratch simultaneously, I pretty much know they’ll crash and burn with all of them in a short time. Then it’s back to square one.

      Hey, have a great new year for you and your business and everything else that’s most important to you :))

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..10 Quotes To End 2015My Profile

  37. Brenda P
    Twitter:
    January 3, 2016 at 5:48 pm #

    Hey Donna! Happy New Year!

    These are fabulous tips not only for a beginner but a seasoned blogger who wants to generate more traffic to their site. I’ve been working on this myself. I know where the majority of my traffic is coming from and I’m focusing on those. Joining up with like-minded individuals in link shares and promotions can also be helpful in generating traffic and engagement.

    I think the above articles, and yours, are superb and am happy to pass it along! Hope you and David had a fabulous New Year!

    B
    Brenda P recently posted..10+ Reasons Why I Don’t Go to the Movies AnymoreMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 3, 2016 at 9:19 pm #

      Hi Brenda,

      I’m glad you like all these traffic resources, and that you’ve already got some of the in play.

      I don’t have to tell you that it’s not so much a matter of getting started with the strategies you decide to implement, it’s more of the fact that once you start doing them, they become a part of your business. You don’t want traffic one day and not the next, so you don’t want to implement cool traffic strategies one day and not the next.

      Happy New Year to you to my friend.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..10 Quotes To End 2015My Profile

  38. Reji Stephenson
    Twitter:
    January 3, 2016 at 5:42 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    I landed up here from the comment you left on one of my blog posts today. I would say that you compiled a great resource of information for guiding anyone to have more or better traffic to their website or blog. I will bookmark this blog post for future reference as I need to use it time and again.

    Thank you so much once again for your very informative post.

    Keep Sharing.

    Have a great 2016.

    Reji Stephenson

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 3, 2016 at 9:16 pm #

      Hi Reji,

      Nice to see you here so early in the new year 🙂

      This is a good one to bookmark for sure because there is so much information if you check out all the links and try to absorb what all these top pros are doing to get traffic every day.

      I don’t think this is a “one-sitting” article because there’s a lot of information, but more than that, because you need to keep coming back to it as you put some of these strategies into play.

      That’s why I wanted to call these references “resources” because they are exactly that. Like the old days when people used to have encyclopedias on their bookshelf. Wow, does anybody do that any more?

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..10 Quotes To End 2015My Profile

  39. David Merrill 101
    Twitter:
    January 3, 2016 at 2:39 pm #

    Wow, this is some really nice information, Donna.

    I think it’s perfect for people who want to start blogging for the new year, or for those ready to spruce things up. You’ve hand picked a couple of the top blogs with spot on info for the #1 problem that every blogger, new and pro, struggles with day in and day out… finding traffic, getting traffic, attracting traffic, driving traffic and keeping the traffic rolling.

    That’s the name of the game, the life-blood of your blog as you point out.

    Now, it’s up to each of us to just get the job done.

    Nice!
    David Merrill 101 recently posted..6 Ways To Use Video To Increase Affiliate SalesMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      January 3, 2016 at 9:12 pm #

      Hi David,

      Glad you liked the article. It’s a little different than I usually do because I’d typically give my own traffic strategies. I think it’s a bit of a new direction for me to look a bit deeper into the blogging community to see what others are doing, too.

      I know you’re familiar with a lot of these people and ideas, and I’m trying to let my readers in on some of the top traffic ideas that are being used by them.

      I’m sure they will benefit greatly from it, although, as you’re saying, only if they buckle down and do the work to make this information come to life in their own blogs and business.

      -Donna

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