Let’s talk about the first steps to creating a list and enjoying the free traffic it delivers to your service or product. As a blogger or Internet entrepreneur, you need traffic. If you are unfamiliar with the term, it simply means people going to your website or blog. Just like all of the people you encounter in their vehicles when you are driving to work constitute real world vehicular traffic, everyone surfing the web at any given time is a part of Internet traffic.
There are two ways to get traffic to your site.
- You pay for traffic.
- You get traffic for free.
Paid traffic is a smart part of a serious online entrepreneur’s marketing plan. You control every aspect of traffic when you pay for it. Ad campaigns with Google, YouTube, Amazon and Facebook make it possible to laser-target your advertising to the exact demographics you want to reach.
However, paid traffic can cost you a lot of money, delivering little to no results, if you don’t know what you are doing.
Even if you do eventually develop a successful paid traffic marketing plan, it doesn’t happen overnight. You have to pump a lot of revenue into buying traffic each and every day, spend your time and testing and retesting, and there are no guarantees that you will get the results you’re looking for.
The “Sexiest” Thing About Free Traffic
If you think the reference to free traffic as being “sexy” is a little overboard, you are incorrect. Free traffic is beautiful, sexy, attractive and desirable. Why is this so? The answer is simple … because it’s FREE!
In many cases this doesn’t just mean being free financially. A lot of methods you are about to learn require a little bit of your time on the front end, but then they just continue to deliver free, targeted traffic to your site or blog with little to no upkeep on your part.
Other methods will require regular input by you, but since your financial outlay is zero, and the Internet never sleeps, you can employ these free traffic methods anytime of the night or day, whenever you have a few minutes or hours of spare time.
More people surf the web on mobile devices rather than traditional desktop PCs these days. That means mobile is going to play a big part in generating traffic to your site in the future … if you know what to do.
Mobile is a huge topic. So, it would be irresponsible to say, “Take advantage of mobile for more free traffic,” and leave it at that. That is why we break that big topic down into smaller, easier-to-digest components.
First Steps to Free Traffic
Choose a strategy that look like they may appeal to you, or perfectly fit the products and services you are offering. If your target audience is females between 30 years of age and 60 years of age, Pinterest is where you need to be. If you are marketing to a much younger audience, Instagram, Snapchat and Periscope are social media outlets where your demographic is found.
In any case, you need to have a squeeze page, opt-in bribe and autoresponder sequence set up. If you don’t have these aspects of your business in place now, focus on this step first. Then choose just 1 or 2 things to work into your busy schedule each week or so.
You will find that you get the best results when you track everything you do in detail. This way you can see exactly what is working, what is not working, and focus on those free traffic methods which are delivering the most targeted visitors to your piece of virtual real estate.
Okay, enough chitchat!
You are probably chomping at the bit, and can’t wait to start benefiting from autopilot traffic that doesn’t cost you a penny. All it takes is your time and a consistent effort, and the following free traffic sources will build your brand, improve your sales and profits, and help boost your image as a leader in your marketplace.
Start Building a List
You absolutely, positively must be building a list. This is true if your business is off-line or on, and technology makes it easy to do so when you have a blog or website. Whenever you need some free traffic to your site, to introduce a new offer, unveil a new blog post or for any other reason, you simply send an email to your list.
Even with small lists, this is laser-targeted traffic whenever you need it. When someone joins your list in return for an opt-in bribe or freebie, they are interested in what you have to say. They voluntarily joined your list. This means they want to hear from you. Email your list regularly and you keep your followers engaged, while also creating free, on-demand traffic and sales whenever you send out an email.
There are 3 components to building your list. They are some type of opt-in freebie, a squeeze page to collect email addresses, and an autoresponder sequence.
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Opt-In Freebie
Lists of resources work well here. A short PDF that answers one big problem your audience has is another winner. Compile a short report, list of helpful resources, e-book or some other freebie, save it in PDF format, and you are ready to go. Don’t wait days, weeks or even months figuring this out. Make something that is easily digestible, short, and provides a quick win for your audience.
2. Squeeze Page
A squeeze page is so-called because it is intended to “squeeze” the email address from a prospect, in return for your opt-in bribe or free report. Don’t ask for much information here. Studies continue to show year after year that simply asking for an email address provides the highest conversion rate for squeeze pages.
Your squeeze page only offers 2 choices. Someone either signs up on your list to get a free report, or they leave the page. You want minimal distractions on this page, and be sure to make it as simple and straightforward as possible. If you don’t know how to create a squeeze page, also called a landing page, Lead Pages is the industry standard.
There are also free squeeze page widgets and plug-ins for popular website platforms like WordPress. All initial traffic should be driven to your squeeze page. Every page of your website or blog should have an opt-in box that also offers your free report in exchange for someone signing up to your email list or newsletter.
3. Autoresponder Sequence
An autoresponder sequence is a group of emails that is sent out automatically. You decide how frequently they go out, and you integrate your opt-in freebie and squeeze page with autoresponder services like Aweber, GetResponse and MailChimp. You create these emails one time, automate the delivery process, and free traffic and engagement are the rewards.
MailChimp is free for your first 500 subscribers. Whichever autoresponder service you choose, you need to write a minimum of 5 to 7 emails to begin your autoresponder sequence. Your first email should say “Thank You” and tell your list members exactly what to expect from you. The next few emails provide lots of value, ask your audience how you can help them, and send your subscribers back to your website to check out blog posts and resources.
At the end of this autoresponder sequence you can pitch a low-end offer. Just remember that no one likes to be beaten over the head continually with offers to purchase your products and services. Establish a relationship, provide a lot of value, and then somewhere near the end of this autoresponder sequence deliver a high-value offer that requires a minimal investment.
Conclusion
This was only a small introduction about how to build your list and enjoy the free traffic that brings. We learned about the components of each successful list and the best autoresponder sequence for effective communication with your subscribers. In later articles, we will be discussing each topic more deeply.
