People always want to know how to get more traffic to their blog. They’re looking for secrets. Hidden nuggets of knowledge that will unleash hoards of traffic without doing anything all that new.
So, I’m going to share the secret formula. The secret sauce. This is everything you really need to know. And it is…
Make lots of good content.- Get it out there, while focusing on authority sites.
- Point it all at your blog.
- Get an email list. Use it. Mobilize your subscribers and point them to your blog.
- Say “hi” to other players in your market. Form a relationship and see what happens.
- Rinse. Repeat. Repeat some more.
And there it is.
Open Wound, Insert Salt
Did you expect something more?
There is NO secret to driving traffic to your blog. None. Zip. Nada. Nyet. Zilch.
Why do so many people look at successful bloggers and think they’ve unlocked some mysterious code? There isn’t some magic keyword that nobody has discovered yet which is going to drive you traffic. No secret tactic.
There just isn’t. Those bloggers who get lots of traffic just produce a lot of good stuff and then put it in front of people. No magic required. No secret knowledge.
You guys should know by now that I’m here to help bloggers, but I’m also a straight-shooter. So, here it is:
If you’re not willing to do the work that it takes to create good content and put it in front of people, to make a list, to network with others – then you’re not going to have a successful blog. It just won’t happen.
The Stuff That Works Is Always Simple
It is human nature to seek the complicated. But, most things boil down to a series of utter simplicities. And building traffic is one of them.
You’ve seen all those weight loss systems out there. All various complexities and via’s on the simplicities of losing weight. The simplicity is “eat less, move more”.
Same goes for traffic. Through all the buzzwords like article marketing, keyword research, linkbacks, trackbacks, retweets, viral – all of it boils down to the simplicity.
Apply this, and soon you’ll have people asking YOU what your secret is. 
David has been blogging for 15 years, and generating a six-figure income at it for the last 12. He is the founder of Blog Marketing Academy. 
David Risley has been building and operating authority blogs for 15 years, and operating a six-figure business doing it for a decade.
Amen!
Man, I love your style David, simple and concise, no over-fluffing.
But I think it's almost ingrained in our souls to search for that secret, magic tip
that will make ALL the difference !
Reality is, it always comes down to smart hustle !
Word. People ask me all the time what my “secret” is to building a big site. This is pretty much what I tell them. They're always disappointed and keep looking for the secret instead of getting to work producing great content and connecting with the right people.
So the whole part about 'Make lot's of good content'. Umm, yeah. That sounds suspiciously like work…just thought you may consider that for future reference. You probably don't want the people who skip step 1 to feel uncomfortable.
Occam's Razor?
One thing I have not done in two years is create an email subscription list and I am finally working to implement this. Had I done this and prioritized it two years ago, I might be a bit further than I am right now.
You said it. The sadest part is that far too many people keep looking for a secret to doing something when they already know how to do it and they just keep looking for a way.
Just get out there and do instead of read about how to do.
Its human nature to look for shortcuts. Just have to get over your tendency to procrastinate and just do the work.
Don't look up, look down. There is a big chance you know (a lot) more about your job, the things you are interested in and the things else you are blogging about than other people do. Make them your audience and do not try to impress the experts.Concentrate on the people that can learn from you. That way you will probably have a much bigger audience too.
Hey David,
You mean there's no magic bullet out there that will make it so people will just magically come to my website?
I think that this is something that's really taken me a long time to learn as well. I'm always looking for something better, for the next strategy or technique. And I don't think there's any harm in continual learning – as long as we're honest with ourselves, and realize that most of our results are going to come from applying the simple, perhaps obvious (if often unimplemented) methods, and that everything else that is more complicated needs to build on top of that, not instead of it.
Hi,
I think the reason why most people are always on the lookout for that 'magic bullet' is that they are looking for the easy way to make money which is an illusion. The only way to succeed is to do the hard yards and the rewards will come. Also, looking at the more successful professional bloggers out there and seeing how much they are making it gives the impression that they had it easy forgetting the fact that they put in the hard work and sacrifices to get where they are now. People only see the now and not the hidden work that made it all possible.
If you blow step 1, the rest is a waste of time. And most people blow step 1.
I agree that creating good content is the first priority and promoting it is the second. Whenever there's new content in our site, I personally send its link to the email lists and social networks I created an account in. We have to make sure though that our posts are within the range of topics of the email lists we're posting it to.
Listening to the sounds: harmony in simplicity. Thanks sir!
David – loved the post. It eliminates the confusion regarding traffic building for a relatively new blogger such as myself
I have been following you for the past three months and have implemented many of the things you suggest. Traffic is growing slowly – would love to see it grow faster.
I love the link to mad TV – it is perfect for a post on my blog
Thanks again
Peter
In my opinion saying Hi is very important. i haven't build e-mail list, so no idea about that.And setting social networking on autopilot is also a way to fetch traffic.
2, 3, and 5 worked for me most…it's simple…just have to do it.
I'm going to ask this because I know you as a friend…because it's the type of question that can piss people off, but:
Do you really think that's the case? It might sound jaded, but the more time I spend in the industry the more I realize that sometimes, it doesn't take content…but knowing the right people. What do you think?
Having great content makes it so much easier to get right people in front of
you, but the reverse is not true. That's my take on it. You still have to
put the effort into the relationships, but just knowing people won't get
random strangers who visit your blog to subscribe to it or buy from you.
I haven't been here for a while — nice jail, which side of the bars are you on? ; )
Seriously, though, you could have added “stick around”. Depending on your niche, it can take a while, but if you stick around long enough your keywords will move to the top all by themselves, and then you will be found by more and more people.
I haven't been here for a while — nice jail, which side of the bars are you on? ; )
Seriously, though, you could have added “stick around”. Depending on your niche, it can take a while, but if you stick around long enough your keywords will move to the top all by themselves, and then you will be found by more and more people.
Would you rather have great content with no promotional efforts. or ok content with great promotional efforts?
It's not an either/or question.
Right now it is, because it's my question..lol and was asking your opinion.
Writing great content that doesn't get seen doesn't seem to be better then writing ok content that gets seen by many.
Do you need amazing content to have a successful blog or business?
So I'm asking coming from wanting a successful blog or nusiness,, is it better to have great content with no promo or ok content with great promo?
If I really had to draw the line, you might expect me to draw it on the
quality side, but history proves otherwise. There are high-quality products
that disappear from the market every day while Snuggies and ShamWows
obliterate the last remaining brain cells of America's overweight and
under-brained masses with their insane (and insanely effective) marketing.
The world is full of unknown talent, but great marketing is even harder to
come by, it seems.
Apple has shown us time and again what happens when you have great “content”
(content, product, whatever) combined with great marketing. So, you can be
Apple or you can be ShamWow. They're both laughing all the way to the bank,
yes?
lmao yes sir you are correct.
For me I would like to putting out good to very good to great content combined with good solid marketing.
I agree content is king, with a very vocal marketing queen right behind..lol
Nobody ever said it is complicated to get traffic on the Internet. But quality traffic is what everybody is in need of.
Whatever the case I am with you on this. Good content = Good traffic
People like to ask the secret formula because they just see the final result of successful bloggers, they don't want to see the process. I believe if those professional bloggers should deal with many obstacles before gaining the success and get lot of traffic. I agree with you if the key of success actually lies on simplicity.
thanks for this helpful creation for the bloggers like me who are seeking traffic having some great and original content for the business personalities. I am happy to see these options where I have a option to do something and can do something more in my promotional strategies.
I do not understand points 2 ,3 and 4….what you're saying?
I think point 2 needs massive elaboration. Other than that i guess it is that simple.
As a personal trainer, i have to be anal and rewrite: “eat less, move more” to “stop eating crap, eat lots more health food and move more.” hmm… actually it's even more complicated than that *scratches head* but i get the point
I feel you should have mentioned more about point 2 David. Good content is surely king and leads to good traffic
Great list. I think saying “hi” to people in your niche is especially important. I did that today and was surprised at how quickly they responded, even though they owned a bigger site.
We’ll inhale those wise words and hope we’ll soon also drive a lot of traffic to our (new) blog.
im trying to get traffic to my blog but i have learned that there is no secret to get visitors
like some one here said you have to be out there and communicate with people and really get to know your visitors