if you had to start all over again, which free traffic method?

Awesome Idea! Wow. I may have to try that!

This is awesome! I hope you don't mind if i try this out =)

Interesting idea - can you explain what you mean by a "publisher's list"?

Cheers
Dave

Good point, and that's why I'd use paid traffic exclusively if it weren't for one small problem: The paid-traffic providers are a bunch of heavy-handed policy wonks with double standards (big brands vs. little people) -- and when they're not (for instance, PPV providers), they'll let you pay them while you're refining a campaign, but the moment the campaign becomes successful, they'll steal it for themselves if they can.

I don't consider paid-traffic providers reliable "business partners" at all.

I assume what you did brought benefits enough you don't want to start over, right?

I do that with a blog right now - NO list for it, I just blog. Google and other SEs pick it up, and send traffic. (*Not talking about my IM blog, fyi - I know I have a list for that).

I don't actively SEO my content. I just blog about the topic. I write naturally and it delivers traffic.

Article marketing.

Out of everything I've ever tried over the last 5 years, in every single niche that I've been involved with, it's brought me by far my most responsive, most targeted, most productive traffic. For me, nothing else compares with it at all.

Trying to use that as a "method" isn't "article marketing", really, it's only "article directory marketing". That died years ago. It was only ever based on a complete misunderstanding of how article directories work and what benefits they can provide, anyway: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5068872

It's true that Ezine Articles can still play a small, supporting, afterthought role in article marketing, just as a place to deposit additional copies of articles in case of extra passive syndication. And that does actually bring me some benefits, even now. But it's a real afterthought, in article marketing. Nobody who understands how article directories work would want to try to use it to generate potential customer traffic.

Using content/articles to get traffic is about where you get your content published.

It's not much use to you just sitting on your own site: all that ever brings you, just about, is some eventual search engine traffic (the least productive, least responsive, least worthwhile kind of traffic I can ever have, in any niche).

You need to take your content to where people are already looking for information (and that doesn't mean article directories or "Web 2.0 sites"!!). That's where the money is, because it's where the most responsive, already-highly-targeted traffic is, without you needing to do the targeting, or any persuading, yourself.

There are two sides of the coin to many successful marketing models.

If you had an e-book to sell, for instance, you could actively seek out affiliates/JVs and ask them to promote your stuff. Or you could list it on ClickBank/JVZoo/etc. and let affiliates/JVs find it. There are pros and cons to each approach, but luckily, the approaches aren't mutually exclusive, so you can do both at the same time.

Likewise, if you had some good traffic-generating content, you could seek out bloggers and other publishers and offer it to them (this active approach is what most people seem to mean when they say "guest blogging"). Or you could list it on EZA and other article directories and let publishers find it. Again, pros and cons to each approach, but you can do both at the same time.

I imagine it might be a good way to get some writing gigs as well, just as photographers who upload Creative Commons attribution-required pics to Flickr have gotten photography gigs.

Now you're getting it.. Man Up!

Hi,
I was so afraid to make a video, but, I thought, I'm never going to get over the fear if I don't take the bull by the horns and just do it. I have now made 4 videos and have a couple more in the works. It's actually fun!
Good luck and just do it!
Geri Richmond

I stopped doing the keyword research squint after analyzing my server logs and finding out that most of my search traffic was coming from keywords that I wouldn't have imagined optimizing for. Quit doing the research, with no noticeable change in search traffic, but much better relationships with readers.

I do use an SEO plugin, but mostly to manage spider access to onsite duplicate content. I set it up once and mostly forget that it's there.

When I did that it was so long ago when those things may have worked. I still don't think that's what "brought" me the benefits, though. I have ALWAYS worked on community, relationship building, and branding. I'm very vocal and opinionated. It weeds out my non audience and attracts my diehard fans.

So I see what I did with all the other stuff as *almost* a time waster. I say almost because I'm sure it did bring in some people - but what kept them (or repulsed them) was the other stuff.

Me too John. You nailed it.

^^^ THIS ^^^