How to Boost Traffic by Promoting Other People’s Content
Nobody likes a self-promotional loud-mouth. Well, unless you’re someone with a massive audience like Tony Robbins. As far as I’m concerned, he can self-promote all he wants. Love his stuff…
My point is, whether you’re on Twitter, Pinterest, or any other site, it makes sense to promote valuable information you find around the web, meaning other people’s content.
Think about it. Do you really have all the answers? In case the answer to that question is a mystery to you, it’s a resounding “NO.”
So, what happens when you find a valuable piece of content? Well, if you’re blogging about the same subject then it makes sense to reference it in your post. Your viewers will thank you for providing an excellent resource, which is nice. It builds some credibility. But, it doesn’t bring you viewers from their site.
So, what next?
Basic Social Media
Basic social media refers to the typical platforms we all know and love (or hate, depending on your opinion). Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, etc. These sites are ones that all bloggers should consider. You don’t have to be on all of them, but you should, at least, be on a few.
When you tweet, pin, share, or whatever, make sure the content is of value. Even if you don’t hook a viewer at first, they’ll thank you for the value you’re providing.
Here’s the key, comment. That’s it!
Let’s use Twitter as an example.
When you tweet an awesome article of valuable content, leave a comment. Think about how many retweets, shares, and repins there are. Some will originate from you, but not all of them.
If a tweet gets retweeted 7 times, chances are, that most of its audience have no idea who you are. They may check to see who originated the tweet, but more than likely, they’re checking out the link.
If you leave a valuable and relevant comment at the bottom, you may start to see some referral traffic from that site.
Content Curation
There are plenty of sites that allow you to curate content. Sites like scoop.it, paper.li, and flipboard are just a few. Sign up to one or two of them and curate a magazine. Share articles and sprinkle in a few of your own.
People who are interested in your topic will check out the articles. If they only check out one (even if it’s not yours), there’s still the chance of gaining traffic. How? Once again, leave a comment.
The key here is you’re promoting other people’s content. There’s people who can write absolutely epic content, but, can’t even promote the benefits of a weekend. So, by doing a little promotion for them, you can also see a bit of traffic come your way.
Create Valuable Content (Round-Ups)
Creating valuable content, I know, should be a pre-requisite to even publishing a post. However, I mention this because I have been fortunate enough to be featured in a couple of round-ups from time to time. Most recently, Build Your Brand Academy and CEO Hangout.
By creating posts that others found valuable, they happily linked out to me. Which has provided me with another steady stream of referral traffic.
So, what happens when someone does that? Well, I make sure to thank them on their blog (comment) and I also promote the post. Whether it’s on Twitter, Google+, or any other site, I share the link.
Why? Simple. The more I promote their post, the more likely I am to get referral traffic from their site. But, since it increases their traffic as well, they’re more likely to promote me in the future. It’s a win-win!
Viral Content Bee
Viral Content Bee is one site that has made it easy to promote my site. How? Well, other people do it when I promote theirs.
VCB is set up with a point system. Every time you promote someone else’s article, you earn points. And, every time someone promotes your article, it costs you points.
So, in order to get shares of your articles, you have to earn points. You do this by sharing everyone else’s. After you accumulate a decent amount of points, you set up a budget and share an article of yours.
(If you prefer to skip out on promoting others and instead would like to just post your content to be shared, they do have a pro feature.)
Conclusion
These are just a couple ways I use other people’s content to promote my own. The important part, as always, is value.
When you share something, make sure it’s of value. That alone can boost your traffic. However, by commenting on these posts (no matter who views them) you can also increase your blog’s traffic.
What about you? What are some of the ways you promote others? How do you gain referral traffic? Or even, traffic in general? What did I miss that you think is worth mentioning?
Please leave your thoughts in the comments below and share this post with anyone who could benefit
Elvis Michael
08/01/2017 @ 12:57 PM
This is very straight to the point, in a VERY helpful sort of way 😉
For example, it’s easy to share something (on Twitter, as you mentioned) and not leave a comment. If people see your profile/avatar under the shared content, there’s a small chance they may visit your profile and become a loyal follower.
Thanks for the piece, Shyam. It reminds us all to implement these easy, but crucial tactics. Good stuff.
Emenike Emmanuel
08/02/2017 @ 03:25 AM
Hi Shyam,
You just caught my attention with this Viral Content Bee. I’m so much loving the system. I’m gonna try it out.
Thank you so much for sharing your valuable thought with us.
Cheers.
Emenike
Elvis Michael
08/02/2017 @ 10:33 AM
Yup VCB is superb! Also try JustRetweet, which is very similar…
Shyam Bhardwaj
08/02/2017 @ 11:48 AM
Thanks Elvis. I always admire your blogging work.
@Emenike – let me know the output from your VCB activity.
Lucia
08/04/2017 @ 07:43 AM
You are so right – givers gain. I have seen some awesome content curators and everyone likes and respects them. Oh, and I love VCB and have been using for years. You just reminded me that I need to share more and add my blog posts from the last month. Thanks for the reminder.
Pedro ::: Astute Copy Blogging
08/09/2017 @ 11:25 AM
Hi Shyam,
Thanks for a fantastic blog post. I am definitely going to try out VCB!
Thanks for posting.
Off to share!
Best regards
Pedro
PS – @Elvis, loving your blog!
Elvis Michael
08/09/2017 @ 14:33 PM
Ha, right back at ya!
Thanks Pedro 🙂
Shyam Bhardwaj
08/09/2017 @ 13:46 PM
Glad you liked it. Let me know about your VCB activities and results once you try it.
Susan Velez
08/15/2017 @ 07:25 AM
Hi Shyam,
I personally haven’t done any roundups. However, I love reading those types of blog posts, especially if they have rounded up some great posts.
I promote other people’s content by commenting and then sharing on Twitter or Pinterest. By sharing the love, I have found that this has helped me grow my blog and my social media following 🙂
I’m going to have to check out the Viral Content Bee to see if maybe I should implement it. Thanks for sharing these tips.
Have a great day 🙂
Susan
Pedro
08/15/2017 @ 10:01 AM
Lovely. Thanks for sharing
Alee
08/22/2017 @ 11:10 AM
I think now a days social media is the best way to increase traffic of your website.
Charles
08/24/2017 @ 01:38 AM
I just love the “content curation” idea and I’ve been using it for quite a while. And Flipboard is my go to resource for curating content. I’ve been doing it and gaining decent traffic to my client’s site. thanks for putting it all together.
Elvis Michael
08/25/2017 @ 10:37 AM
This is interesting, as i’ve never opened up to Flipboard despite hearing about it a thousand times before.
I’ve been leveraging Hootsuite to schedule my social shares, but I might as well embrace Flipboard while im in the process of trying out different tools.
Thanks!
Shyam Bhardwaj
08/24/2017 @ 11:48 AM
Hey Charles,
Glad to know we’re on the same page 🙂
Ileana Cruz
10/11/2017 @ 02:41 AM
Great Article Shyam on How to boost traffic by promoting others content. The Viral Content Bee idea is a great idea and worth to try.