How to get maximum traffic with minimum effort
No matter what you’re selling online, using free content is a great way to get free traffic and turn that traffic into paying customers.
Did you notice the two-fold benefit there? Get free traffic AND turn that traffic into paying customers. It’s not an “either/or” situation, but rather a “both/and” situation.
Free content done right brings you both benefits. Content both generates and converts traffic. The bottom line us: you make more money.
Now you might imagine that you need to create a whole lot of content in order to get a whole lot of traffic.
Not. Necessarily.
You see here’s the thing: you can reuse and repurpose your existing content. Simply transform it into different formats and syndicate it in the new format. It saves you time and money while increasing your market reach, traffic and sales.
Here are five ways to "syndicate" your content…
1. PODCAST.
A podcast is simply an audio file that your visitors download and listen to (or stream online). Podcasts are awesome because your visitors can listen to them on their MP3 players at the gym, in the car, when they’re doing housework and more. If you have a “how to” podcast (such as “how to do workout exercises”), then people can follow along as they actually perform the task.
(I personally listen to hundreds of hours of podcasts every year while walking the dog.)
The simplest form for a podcast is to simply record an MP3 file and then make that file available on your site. You can use a tool like Audacity to do this. Or, you may opt to use a professional site such as Podbean.com.
Either way, once you’re done recording each episode, you can syndicate the content by uploading it to sites such as PodcastDirectory.com.
Run a search in Google for your niche keywords alongside the words “podcast directory” to find the best places to upload your finished files.
Next up…
2. VIDEO.
Many people are visual learners, meaning they prefer (or even need) to process information by viewing it. Creating your own videos is an excellent way to cater to those who prefer to learn visually. But, more than that, it gives you another way of reaching people within your audience that you otherwise might not reach.
With the availability and improvement of smartphone video recording technology, creating your own videos is quicker, easier, and more affordable than ever before.
There are three kinds of videos for you to consider…
- Talking Head. This type of video has you speaking into a camera to share your content. Great for Facebook just using your iPhone sharing quick tips and advice.
- Demonstration. This type of video has you showing how to accomplish an objective or result or demo a piece for software for example.
- Slide Presentation. This type of video has you speaking into a microphone while slides advance on screen. This is great for longer training based videos. A good tool for this is Screencast-o-matic or Loom.
All three of these are popular choices and could easily serve as the source for your own video channel.
When your video is ready for distribution, upload it Facebook, YouTube.com.
Side Note: Be sure to include good keywords that will help your ideal prospects find your video.
For example: If your video is about losing weight, then you might include tags such as “weight loss,” “lose weight,” “fat loss” and “diet.”
Congrats, you’ve got your own video channel. Superstar! :)
3. SLIDESHARE.
Still another way to reuse and repurpose your content is through a slide share presentation. That is, you create a series of Powerpoint™ type slides that people can click through at their own pace (as opposed to a slide presentation video that I mentioned earlier).
Step One: Reduce the text of your content to the main points only. You will not need a lot of dialogue or explanation of each of the points.
Step Two: Add graphics to showcase the main points. These might include illustrations, charges, infographics or similar.
Step Three: Click through the presentation to ensure clarity. Be certain that a viewer can understand the message of the presentation as they move through the slides.
EXAMPLE: If I wanted to share a slide presentation version of this blog post, I would have a slide for each of the “ways” (podcast, video, slide-share, etc.). I would include a definition of each of these “ways” on the slide. Additional slides would be created for resources that I’ve mentioned (YouTube.com, etc.) And slides would be created for each of the “Steps” that I’ve shared within the “ways”. When finished, I would have probably 25-30 slides in the presentation.
Once your slide share presentation is complete, upload it to Slideshare.net or other similar sites. As usual, include a good description with relevant keywords so that interested prospects will be able to find it.
4. BLOG POST.
We’re not done yet!
You can also distribute your content as a blog post. Whether this is an active blog that you write for on a regular basis or simply an “archive” page at your website where you make all of your articles available, it’s important that you set aside some space for the text version of your content.
The more you can get people to stay at your webpage and consume content, the greater your potential to earn a sale. It’s that simple.
There are a couple of options for how to create blog posts in relation to audio and video…
Option #1: Get your audio or video transcribed and use the text version as a blog post.
Option #2: Write the blog post first and then convert it into an audio or video version.
Either way, you can deliver the same content in a variety of places and formats. Score!
If your content is lengthy, you can create an entire series of posts to drip at your blog over days or even weeks to come.
But, don’t just stop with posting an article on your own blog. For maximum distribution, you’ll want to seek out guest blogging opportunities and syndicate your content across your niche. That is, you want to have your content posted on other people’s blogs as well!
Tip: You can find these opportunities by searching for your niche keywords (Example: “weight loss” or “dog training”) alongside words such as:
- Guest blog
- Guest blogging
- Guest article
- Guest author
- Article submission
- Article guidelines
You should uncover plenty of guest author opportunities using these search terms.
Up next…
5. SOCIAL MEDIA.
When you post your content on social media, post it in a form that’s easy for people to consume and share. One good way to do this is via a short video. Another is to give away a report.
But my favorite is to turn content into an infographic. People love them! And, as an added benefit, they SHARE them with others.
A good infographic (think “visual, image-driven” version of your content) can get lots of retweets, shares, etc.
Once your content is ready to roll, then post it on the sites with the most traffic. This includes:
- Google+
You can also post it on any niche-relevant social media sites. For example, “Dogster.com” is a good choice if you have dog-related content.
Ultimately, you want the SAME CONTENT syndicated in MULTIPLE FORMATS across a DIVERSITY OF PLATFORMS.
So, here is the best way to do this in just five simple steps…
- Record a slide presentation video that you upload to YouTube and Vimeo.
- Strip out the audio from that video and use it as a podcast episode on iTunes et al.
- Use the slides from the video at Slideshare.net as a slideshare presentation.
- Get the audio transcribed so you can use it as blog post material.
- Create an infographic using the words from the slide that you give away on social media.
How much EXTRA mileage are you getting from your content by taking these simple steps? Boom!
You need content in order to get traffic and to convert this traffic into customers, but you don’t need to spend a whole lot of time and money creating this content.
Instead, create it once, then tweak it across a variety of platforms including podcasts, videos, blog posts, slide share presentations and social media.
If you already have an article or other content created, then you can tweak it and put it in a different format today. So go ahead and get started… because the sooner you do, the sooner you’ll start enjoying more traffic and sales!
