There’s a simple way to get traffic from the popular websites out there:
Leave a comment.
At one point I was looking at my statistics across all of my various projects and got a little excited when I started seeing web traffic from the likes of TechCrunch, 37Signals and Gary Vaynerchuk.
Most of the time when I leave a comment on somebody’s blog, I walk away and forget about it. But then I started noticing how this little act translated into a bit of attention on me and my business. Cool, right?
Here are some more example screens from my Google Analytics dashboard for referring traffic. It’s not a huge thrust of traffic but everybody matters and who knows, they might just join your community.
Don’t Troll, Be Nice & Add Value
Don’t comment for the sake of commenting though. Add value to the discussion and if you can relate it to something you’re doing or something you’ve learned then all the better. Most comment forms provide a field to put in your URL. If the comment you’re leaving relates to a blog post you’ve already written then use that as your link.
Don’t Blow Smoke
Every community has a goody two-shoes and the longer you stay involved the more you see the regular commenters. Sure, be a regular commenter but don’t just be the person who is blowing smoke and excessive praise – add value.
Great little article man. It's nothing I haven't read before, but it's definitely a good quick read for beginners. I'll definitely give you a DIGG!
*REAL* value is the key here. When I surf comments on blogs, I always skim the "mee too" or "OMFG this is so stupid" blurbs.
Contribute to the discussion, don't echo it. People might actually get interested in what you have to say and want to hear more - if you're colourful or have unique perspective. :)
Very good point. It also can work if something is pretty high up on DIGG.
Though I know you mentioned it, I'm also not sure about the value of this traffic. You're picking up people like us, going to Apricado, thinking... 'i like the design.. i feel inspired' but at the same time who are probably more interested in the business concept than the process of giving you money... I left my URL just in case ;)