Let’s dive right in.
What Is Influencer Marketing?
Simply put, influencer marketing is the process of identifying, targeting, and connecting with individuals that have influence over your target audience rather than trying to reach that audience all on your own.
L-E-V-E-R-A-G-E.
That’s what influencer marketing is all about.
In other words:
Influencer marketing is smart marketing.Click To TweetOver the last couple of years, I’ve collected some great examples of influencer marketing in action – how folks around me set themselves apart from the crowd.
These are the things that worked for me and on me.
Chances are they’ll work for the influencers whose attention you are trying to grab as well. Or at the very least, you’ll know how to grab my attention…
Get More Traffic with Influencer Marketing: [thrive_2step id=’10095′]get access to a free downloadable PDF[/thrive_2step] with all real-life influencer marketing examples you can follow to grow your audience and traffic.
Influencer Marketing: 10 Ways to Get Influencers’ Attention
1. LINK OUT SHAMELESSLY AND UNCEASINGLY
Referencing another blogger’s content in your blog posts is the simplest, yet one of the most powerful things you can do to get their attention.
I wholeheartedly agree with:
Even though Chef Dennis was referring to social media sharing specifically when he said that, it stands true for any kind of content sharing including blog mentions.
Here are just some examples of how my readers engaged with me by mentioning my content in their blog posts:
I am a complete sucker for blog mentions, I must admit – I always visit blogs that honor me with a shout, ‘mingle’ with the blogger and other commentators, share the posts on social media, and include them in my Weekly Marketing Skinnies.
Side note: always remember to let bloggers know you mentioned them in your post – don’t ever rely on wordpress pingbacks, or worse yet, hope they’ll just happen to somehow find out about your post.
Send them an email or tag them on social media platform of their (not your) choice.
On the other hand, these kinds of mentions always fall a bit short in my book:
I went through that entire post and realized that there was not one link to an outside resource/blog – internal links only. Makes me wonder why? SEO hogging?
Search engines don’t buy products, people do.
And without cultivating relationships with people, including sending a reader or two to other relevant blogs, a blog simply won’t have much long-term momentum.
Additional reading on linking out to other sites:
Why Should You Not Fear Linking Out? – Here’s Why with Mark & Eric – Eric Enge at stonetemple.com
2. MAKE THEIR CONTENT… BETTER
Just when they think their content is perfect just the way it is, you are going to show them how to make it better – with a twist.
NOTE: This strategy requires a certain degree of creativity and discernment of how far you can go without stepping on any feet.
A bold (but effective!) influencer marketing strategy: MAKE THEIR CONTENT... BETTER. Click To TweetGetting to the point: take a great post written by someone you admire and repurpose it.
Easier to give examples then trying to explain what I mean.
I happened to be good with Slideshare presentations.
Took me about a month to master building a good presentation and getting it seen on Slideshare, but it was well worth it.
Additional reading on driving traffic with SlideShare:
Slideshare Traffic Case Study: From 0 to 243,000 Views in 30 Days
Here’s how I used my newly acquired Slideshare presentation skills to repurpose other bloggers’ content, get on their good side, and get a lot of traffic to Traffic Generation Café while at it.
EXAMPLE #1: Slideshare Presentation Based on Neil Patel’s Post
Long story short: read Neil Patel’s The Art of Writing Great Facebook Status Updates post, thought to myself ‘This is post is the perfect groundwork for a killer Slideshare presentation!’, cooked one up, shared it with Neil and the world.
Result: 140,000+ views.
EXAMPLE #2: Slideshare Presentation Based on Eric Ward’s & Rae Hoffman’s Posts
Once again, read two killer posts on a similar topic by two SEO pros:
- Eric Ward (11 Reasons Link Building Is A Futile Waste Of Time — And One Big Reason It Isn’t at SearchEngineLand.com) and
- Rae Hoffman (Google Propaganda, SEO and WHy Marketers Need to Wake Up at SugarRae.com).
These posts came out in the wake of Matt Cutts’ infamous The decay and fall of guest blogging for SEO – you remember that time everyone and their chicken were running around like a chicken with its head cut off screaming ‘SEO is dead!’
Yes, hard to forget…
So the topic was hot, the posts were great, I immediately thought of a great theme for a Slideshare presentation (nothing like catching attention with SEO and lingerie, isn’t it?), botta bing botta boom! and my presentation and the post were hot off the press.
Result: a head nod from both Rae and Eric (I’ll take it!).
EXAMPLE #3: Scott Scowcroft’s The SCOTT Treatments
Another example of taking someone’s content and making it your own/different/better without stepping on any feet: Scott Scowcroft repurposes Hangouts on Air (HOAs) he listens to into small digestible content segments.
As a matter of fact, that’s how he stood out to me on Google+ – he repurposed an HOA I did with Dustin Stout and Ben Fisher hosted by Eric Enge on Kickstarting Your Blog Traffic into a few main takeaways he posted as videos.
Since most of us simply don’t have the time to listen to complete HOAs, boiling down an hour-long show to a few minute-long videos is invaluable.
You can learn more about how Scott goes about repurposing other people’s content in his Daily Scott Treatments.
EXAMPLE #4: Michael Bennett’s Google Drive Decks
Here’s another great example of repurposing other people’s content that could easily land you on influencers’ radar and then some.
Michael Bennett is a photographer from Chicago and the owner of Michlin Metals Inc.
What? How did he become widely known in Google+ circles?
Google Drive Decks – similar to Slideshare presentations, but published through Google Drive platform.
Michael took a lot of overwhelming information on a specific topic or a specific Google+ engager and turned it into an easy-to-follow slide presentation.
Curious to see how well he did? Take a look at this Google+ search and pay attention to all the comments/shares/influencer mentions.
By the way, I noticed Michael stopped doing his Drive Decks a year ago, so this idea is up for grabs.
Additional reading on content repurposing:
Content Marketing Leverage System: How to Multiply Your Reach – at trafficgenerationcafe.com
Boost your Blog IQ by Repurposing Content – Rebekah Radice at pegfitzpatrick.com
3. DO WEEKLY ROUNDUPS
Many people do weekly roundups of sorts.
Personally, I think weekly roundups are a great way to increase traffic, recognition, and social media attention.
Running a distinctive weekly roundup is a completely different story however. Throwing together a few links hoping for fame and glory simply doesn’t work.
Here’s a great example of Google+ link roundups done right: FridayFavourites by Mick Sharpe.
If you go to Mick Sharpe’s Google+ profile, you’ll notice he almost never shares anything but his weekly FridayFavourites posts where he curates the best content he finds on Google+ throughout that week.
Yet, his posts are widely read and shared by many. Why?
I believe the secret sauce is Mick Sharpe’s in-depth approach to roundup recommendations:
- he actually reads the posts he recommends;
- he actually listens to the HOA shows he mentions (what a novel idea!),
- and he tells his readers what to expect when clicking on the suggested links.
Throw in Mick’s good taste for content, occasional jokes, and he’s come up with a winning formula of content curation – just take a look at the amount of comments and shares and the caliber of people who share his content:
Additional reading on content curation/blog roundups:
7 Ways to Drive Traffic from Popular Blogs
How to Get Traffic and Links From Blog Roundups
Blog Content Curation: Your New Blog BFF – Heidi Cohen at heidicohen.com
4. SHOW YOUR PERSONALITY
There was nothing subtle about Vincent Messina the first time I heard of him.
Talk about being bold, authentic, and yes, memorable.
If you have a great personality and sense of humor, it’s a shame to hide them behind your ‘blogging game face’.
After all, your ‘game face’ makes you just another face in the crowd.
Take a risk and stand out.
Forget about your blogging 'game face': take a risk and stand out.Click To TweetAs a result of Vincent’s brazen boldness, I did one of the longest written interviews I’d ever agreed to and we remain very good friends with a benefit – sharpening each other like iron sharpens iron on a daily basis.
Here’s another memorable ‘Vincentism’ for the road:
Get More Traffic with Influencer Marketing: [thrive_2step id=’10095′]get access to a free downloadable PDF[/thrive_2step] with all real-life influencer marketing examples you can follow to grow your audience and traffic.
5. SAY HELLO FOR NO REASON
Kim Roach of BuzzBlogger.com is the master of staying in touch without ever asking for anything; rather offering her help to promote you.
Considering her expansive readership and social media reach, it’s even more impressive that she takes her time to reach out to not only influencers, but up-and-coming bloggers as well.
That’s got to stand out, don’t you think?
6. GIVE THEM A GIFT
Why not? It’s a simple yet very much forgotten gesture of ‘Thanks for all you do – here’s a little something to let you know I appreciate you’.
That’s what Kurt Frankenberg of ShoeString101.com did and it was the coffeest Thank You I’ve ever gotten.
Another example of generous and memorable gift giving: competitive research software SEMrush.
They surprised me and my family with a delicious Christmas gift this year – a custom 4-box chocolate set from John&Kira’s.
I absolutely love SEMrush for business (use it almost daily!), but now I have an even more personal reason to love the thoughtful team behind the tool.
7. PROVE THEIR METHODS WORK
I loved it when Kurt Frankenberg decided to take the advice and expertise I offered in my blog post promotion post and put it to the test on his ShoeString101.com blog.
At that time, I already knew of Kurt (his absolutely sincere no-strings-attached thanks-for-what-you-do Starbucks gift card I mentioned above did the trick), but his How I’m Promoting the “ISH” Outta My Blog… FREE! post sealed the deal.
I’ve been sharing Kurt’s posts ever since, following his blog, guilting him into coming back to blogging after a few-month-long break he recently took, and mentioning him all over Traffic Generation Café.
By the way, take a look at the highlighted area. Don’t you think that’s a great way to stand out in your readers’ minds? You bet!
8. QUOTE THEM
When you quote an influencer in any given niche, you associate yourself with their credibility, as well as compliment their knowledge and expertise.
Personally, I love the bite-sized pieces of wisdom I get from reading other blogs, listening to podcasts or HOA shows, or skimming my social media streams.
When I find a quotable gem, I add it to a simple Text document for later or turn it into a memorable image ready share in a post at Traffic Generation Café or social media.
How to Use Quotes Effectively
1. Add them to your blog posts and link out to the sources.
Here’s an example of one such post where I effectively used quotes from several SEO experts, thus increasing post credibility and sky-rocketing social media shares (since most of those SEO experts ended up sharing the post).
I am sure you also noticed a quote by Chef Dennis Littley I opened this post with – I jotted it down when listening to one of his recent HOAs, “filed it away for later”, and thought it fit perfectly with this post.
CONTENT LEVERAGE HACK:
Create your image quotes just the right size to repurpose them later.
For instance, make them 800X600 to add them to a Slideshare presentation.
To share them on Pinterest, the best size is 735px wide by 1102px high as per Canva Pinterest pin template.
For Google+, stick with 800X1200 (very similar to Pinterest).
2. Repurpose quotes to use them on other platforms.
Following up on the content leverage hack above: when you put an effort in creating an image quote, you might as well maximize the return, right?
That’s why adding those images to Slideshare presentations, YouTube videos, image-sharing sites is a must.
To learn more about leveraging your existing content on different media platforms, take a look at:
To learn more about using Slideshare, don’t miss:
3. Share image quotes on social media instead of sharing your post.
Here’s an idea: sharing various post images with a post link in the description is a great way to share the same post in different ways – MUCH better than sharing the same link/featured image over and over again, wouldn’t you say?
Plus, you can tag the quote author when sharing the post; that way you might even get them to reshare it for you.
4. Write posts with various quotes on a particular subject.
Yet another great way to get on influencers’ radars is to put together a ‘Quote post’, where you curate many quotes on a particular subject.
Examples of such posts:
131+ Free Quote Images For Your Blog and Social Media Shares – Steven J Wilson at highpoweredseo.com
Top blog quotes by 101 amazing bloggers by Kevin Duncan at beabetterblogger.com
9. DON’T JUST LEAVE COMMENTS
Leaving blog comments is great and all, but here’s an even more effective way to stand out in the comment section: start a discussion.
When you start a smart and relevant (prerequisites! otherwise it might backfire) discussion, you accomplish two things:
- create more engagement on that blog by drawing out other readers (what blogger wouldn’t love that!) and
- definitely get noticed by the blog owner.
For example:
Mind you I am not saying to pick a fight.
- Ask a question.
- Suggest a different solution.
- Mention other commentators and bring them into a conversation.
- Be smart.
- Be relevant.
Be perfect.- Be you.
A great way to take this strategy a step further: Take the discussion to social media.
Here’s how:
- find out which social media platform the influencer is the most active on (we want to bring in their followers into the discussion, as well as make sure the blogger him/herself is available to jump in, which they most likely will);
- take your time writing about the post on social media (this post by… is about… , and the point the blogger is making is… , etc.)
- then ease your point into it (and here’s what I think is a better/different way of doing it…);
- at the end, ask your question – what’s your fellow social media followers’ take on it?
It might seem like a risky move to express a contrary opinion on the subject, but trust me, if all this is done with the utmost respect for the blogger and their original content, they’ll only appreciate (and notice!) your effort to create even more engagement around them.
And if they don’t? They are not worth your time…
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10. TELL THEM THEY ARE THE BEST AT WHAT THEY DO
I don’t care how high up the blogging ladder a blogger is (or thinks he/she is), we all look at ’25 Best Blogs in…’ lists with bated breath.
Are we in it? Has someone other than ourselves and our family finally recognized that we are the best at something?
A compliment of being included in a ‘Best of…’ list of sorts is always huge and will almost always be noticed and appreciated.
How can I possibly ignore a write-up like this: 5 Great Bloggers who gave me the Inspiration to start my own Blog by Servando Silva?
Or a comment like this – a completely unexpected response by Carol Manser to a simple G+ post:
Sincerity is the key.
Yet another example of giving sincere compliments while creating engagement around his very well-written blog posts: T E Hanna from BlogPhoto.tv.
He does it by:
1. Tagging someone in a comment:
2. Tagging someone in a post:
3. Thoughtfully responding to another person’s post and tagging someone else in a comment:
All great examples of sincere engagement and well-done compliments, wouldn’t you say?
Certainly worked for me!
Influencer Marketing Caveats
A few things to remember when it comes down to influencer marketing.
1. You’ll feel like you are talking into a vacuum… a lot.
I still feel that way sometimes, even though chances are I have a bigger audience than you do; at the moment anyway.
You keep sharing other people’s content. You keep engaging in thoughtful discussions. You keep giving. But ‘receiving’ never seems to come.
Two things you can do:
- keep at it – your timing is not always other people’s timing.
- change your sharing strategy – try a different engagement method.
2. Consistency Is the Key.
Influencer marketing is a long-term commitment, no other way about it.
Sometimes building a relationship with another blogger simply takes time and consistency, and there’s no better example of that than Harleena Singh, the founder of Aha-Now.com.
Since Harleena discovered Traffic Generation Café, she commented on every single post I ever published.
All her comments were always thoughtful, to the point, and personal, which also makes them very visible in my book.
Not only that, but she always, always, always shares all my posts in social media. She makes herself more visible by sharing good content with her followers while building relationships with other bloggers.
Simple. Sincere. Effective.
And now when Harleena Singh has a request, I always say Yes even when I have to say No to other bloggers, like her recent interview request for instance The Aha!NOW Chat With Ana Hoffman [Interview].
3. Don’t ignore future influencers.
Catching an influencer’s attention should be more of a by-product of your long-term relationship building strategy rather than its primary goal.
Good thing I didn’t ignore Wade Harman and Ryan Hanley when they first started commenting at Traffic Generation Café at the very beginning of their blogging career a couple of years ago – look where they are at now!
Both are regarded as blogging authorities and now I am the one who’s lucky to get any kind of attention from them… kidding… no, not really…
A word of wisdom when sharing anyone’s content (influencer or up-and-comer’s alike): Share great content because it’s great, not because it was written by someone whose attention you are vying for.
And definitely DON’T share mediocre content because it was written by someone whose attention you are vying for.
As Benjamin Franklin said
‘It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.’
4. Relationship building never ends.
A great business relationship is like a great marriage – working on it never ends.
A great business relationship is like a great marriage - working on it never ends.Click To TweetWhen you work long and hard to get someone’s attention and forget all about it once you get what you want, consider all your efforts wasted.
More Influencer Marketing that WORKS
For even more examples of real-life influencer marketing examples, read these follow-up posts:
Influencer Marketing: 11 Memorable Ways To Gain An Influencer’s Attention
How Lovers Get More Traffic with This Simple Influencer Marketing Strategy
OR:
Get More Traffic with Influencer Marketing: [thrive_2step id=’10095′]get access to a free downloadable PDF[/thrive_2step] with all real-life influencer marketing examples you can follow to grow your audience and traffic.
Influencer Marketing Takeaway
Building strong business relationships takes time and almost never goes according to your plan.
All you can do is put your best foot forward… and continue putting it forward day in and out, one step at a time, without really knowing how far your final destination – a nod acknowledging Hey, I know you. You are the one who’s been sharing thoughtful remarks about my content for a while now… – is.
It might be just around the bend.
Or it might never happen.
And if that’s the case, what’s the worst case scenario?
You’ve been sharing great content with your followers, learning from the best, building relationships with other folks around you?
Doesn’t sound that bad once you look at it that way, does it?
Woooo! This an awesome article for influencer marketing.
Really! enjoyed reading the “Don’t ignore the future influencers ” part
Keep sharing more such articles!
Hear, hear, Catherine! ☕️☕️😎
Hi Ana.
There are some really useful insights here. I always post a link back to an author when using their content in a blog post. It’s the right thing to do! As you know from this post, writing can take a very long time, especially if you want to create something infomative and well written. I’m curious to know whether after 2 years what else you would add to this post?
I know, right?… – how can you NOT link out to someone when mentioning them/using their content? And yet people still do it…
And yes, I’ve got quite a few more great examples of getting noticed by others sincerely and naturally. Some day I’ll need to write post #3. 😉
Thanks for coming by, David.
Ana, you really wowed me with post. I can imagine how long it took for you to assemble it, too.
I think I am going to have to raise my blogging rates. 😉
Oh, and I didn’t know Jon Morrow had a wife… (you) The Royal Queen of Awesomeness! Lol
So very kind of you, Lorraine!!!
Ana thank you so much for sharing this incredible post.
Influencer marketing is all about leverage as you mentioned and for the next few days I will be studying (and implementing) your 10 brillianly explained points plus the caveats.
I especially appreciated the “authenticity” aspects as when approaching centers of influence there is a tendency for some folks to hide their personality because of shyness or lack of confidence. It’s absolutelt amazing just how many doors can open for people who believe in themselves and their mission, irrespective of their levels of success and experience.
We live in a remote Thai village and my wife and I each run an online business.
Mine is in the internet marketing arena and my wife’s business is handmade Thai silk. I only mention this because we have a joint mission – to share every cent of profits we create to help educate the children of our remote and very poor Thai village.
To achieve this mission we focus on authenticity of our products and our services plus we always add a surprise factor into all our business relationships. Ana you mentioned these as 2 key factors in influencer marketing and we totally agree with you. Being totally authentic has enabled us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors and as a matter of interest we still add hand written thank you notes to all our customers.
We also regularly pass on potential handmade silk orders to other silk suppliers as we can only handle limited size handmade orders. However, we always follow up with these folks to ensure they have been looked after by our competitors that we have no business relationship with.
This so often has resulted in major dress designers in USA and GB coming back to us with smaller orders because of the influencer marketing we did with them plus they “bought into” our mission with the village children.
Many thanks for sharing this wonderful post – we have shared it widely as many people would be enthralled by your content.
This was my very first visit to your exceptional blog but I have bookmarked it as a definite place to return to regularly.
Best wishes from a remote Thai village entrepreneur
Peter
You are so very welcome, Peter – thanks for coming by and sharing your thoughts on the subject; I absolutely loved reading about your businesses and the way you operate them. I can imagine how that sets you apart; how many other businesses send their clients hand-written notes!
I wish your business all the best and look forward to seeing you around Traffic Generation Café more often.
Hi Ana, such an epic content here and i want to say special thank you for your some awesome tips and valuable efforts.
You are very welcome, Violet.
What an epic peice of a post Ana, I adored it. actually I landed here from @Ryan Biddulph’s latest blog post, you know the guy, the one Blogging From Paradise (Actually I helped develop that theme and book cover, if you didn’t already know)
#1 wholeheartedly agree there. I add my fave blogs to my twitterfeed and use my custom short domain (Yep I remember following the steps on that post about bit.ly that you wrote a while back) as well as the #SharingAwesome tag. I will deffo be sharing this out next.
#2 Not tried that one yet but I will try in the future. I try and leave long comments to peices when I can and I also try and leave something of value. Currently I am buildingh a Social Network specifically for bloggers/content creators for a new domain I have recently purchased in php and mysql. one Idea I am thinking about is giving the 1st 1000 members a free lifetime premium profile with do-follow links back to their content. just an idea I am toying with. Goto finish building the site first though.
#3 Love it, your weekly skinnies are great. Something I must do myself. I was thinking of doing weekly #FanPageFriday blog posts mentioning my favorite new fanpages that I started following. Have not starting following Mick Sharpe now. I still find G+ a bit of a mindfield though and still unsure how ‘To Work’ the site.
#4 Yep Personality Rocks. I recently rehashed up my old about page at the same time of moving my blog from one domain to another. One of the things I wanted to include was a few images of me taking the idea from Ryan’s Blog where he has loads of selfies all over his site. I recently finished reading a guest post about ‘About Pages’ by Lea Woodward on Problogger… http://www.problogger.net/archives/2011/02/07/how-your-about-page-can-make-or-break-your-blog/ … where she mentions that fact that readers will be saying to themselves ‘Whats in it for me?’.
Goto agree there. we should show off our personal qualities aas well as making it about them.
#5 Awesome Idea, I recently was thinking about writing (hand writing) letters to my fave bloggers like Ryan or Yaro to say hellow and thank them for their awesome content. That is one way to stand out. much more effort than just typing a comment or an email to them. the only thing standing in the way is actually getting their address which I suppose they could become suspicious about. I got my address on my blog though.
#6 Starbucks Gift Card, what an awesome idea. I may be using this one on my new #socialnetwork as a competition for the more active users, perhaps a point system maybe or a top content creator of the week. Quite inexpensive as well but would mean a lot to the recipient.
As for the rest you bring up some awesome points like tagging and quoting which I always try and do. I adored your sections on relationship building caveats…. talking into a vacuum really got to me. Yep consistency is what we as bloggers must always strive for.
I remeber starting blogging 5 years back with TheEpicBlog which I let go a couple of years later, loads of content along with 3 eBooks, however that blog lacked clarity and purpose and was all over the place. the same happened with Ryan with his old blog and started this new one recently. My new one now although new has a new direction with clarity and purpose.
Ignoring future influencers. Wow that one is awesome. I hope that one day I can aspire to become a blogging influencer. I suppose it’s all about following and acting on the right advice from top bloggers and copying (without stepping on their shoes) what they do.
Phew that took me a while. Thank you Ana, will be sharing this one out shortly.
– PD
Loved the comment, Phillip. Talk about standing out! 😉
Didn’t know about your connection with Ryan, but great to connect the dots.
Letting go of a dead-end project takes a lot of guts. I know how it feels. I had to do it in the past as well.
Thanks so much for taking your time with this. Really makes a difference to know that my post has made a difference!
All Good Ana,
Put quite a bit of thought into it as you can well imagine. Have designed all three book covers for Ryans books as well now! Been a busy week!
Actually I have been writing my own now and giving away a free version, so been really busy of late! Am glad you liked my comment!
Have a great weekend!
– PD
Saw Ryan’s ebook covers; nicely done!
Busy is good… hopefully, it means that business is good! 😉
Hi Ana,
Aha! You have blog comments set up too.
Well, I left a whopper on Google Plus.
Next time I’ll post here.
Either way, awesome post.
Thanks for the share and enjoy your weekend.
Ryan
Thanks, Ryan.
Saw both comments – congrats on the book and Chris Brogan’s endorsement. Knowing how great you are at engagement, it’s nice to see you see some of it coming back to you. 😉
OMG Ana, thank you so much for this. I am going to take the time and implement each of these.
You are so very welcome, Vanessa; thanks for coming by!
Ana,
This is the first post of yours I’ve read and I have to say, I’m floored. It’s not very often that I read a post, get to the end and feel like I need to read it all over again to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I’ll be subscribing for sure. In the marketing world it feels like so many of the tips you hear are the same thing over and over again, but there are several new ideas you give here that I had never even begun to think of. I can tell this blog is going to be important to me!
I have a somewhat non-related question for you– I see that you use Google Plus Comments– do you think they’re the best? I’m still trying to figure out the best commenting system and would love to hear why you chose this one if you get a minute.
Thanks again for the helpful info. I’ll be back.
BB
Truly honored you read the post from cover to cover – that’s precisely what I hope for when writing any post at Traffic Generation Café.
Comment system: I still think that the native WP comment system is the best way to go. I wouldn’t give it up in favor of any other commenting system out there.
The reason I added G+ comments in addition (not instead of) to WP comments is because I am so active there that most comments on my posts are on G+ anyway, so I thought it would be nice to combine them and display both systems at TGC.
Ana,
Thanks so much for getting back to me! I’m glad to hear that you like the native WP commenting system, that’s what I’m running right now. I might end up adding G+ comments, but it is nice to integrate commentluv and other fun commenting plugins.
I’m still getting into Google Plus, I really do enjoy it but most of my audience seems to be mostly just auto-posting there and not really spending much time. I do see the potential there, though, and I think lots of bloggers are moving that way. It’s no surprise to me that you’re one of the pioneers of that movement!
Have I told you lately how much I love your blog? I’m so glad you responded to my comment because you reminded me I’d forgotten to subscribe! I won’t make that mistake again. =)
Talk to you again soon!
BB
I am sure you’ll be able to find plenty of bloggers who are Moms and are alive and kicking on G+, Brittany!
Or, even better, why not pioneer an active community for your target audience? Meanwhile, I can see your content is relevant to plenty of bloggers, not just Moms, and bloggers are one thing G+ doesn’t lack. lol
And thanks so much for the compliment; I had hard time not smiling ear to ear when reading it. 😉
Holy super post, Ana! To be honest, I haven’t been to your site in quite a while and now see that you are doing some serious ass kicking!
I took 2 years off from blogging and a lot has changed in that time. I am still relying on old school marketing and have yet to begin using many of the tools/tactics you mention here. I’m sure my blog would grow much quicker if I took some of your advice and applied it.
It sounds silly, but a lot of this stuff overwhelms me and I end up doing little. The good news is that I am inspired by what you have created here and my goal is to have a thriving business and highly engaged audience.
P.S. If you could include a link to my blog in every single one of your future posts, that would be great! 🙂
I’ll see what I can do about linking out to you in every one of my future posts, Steve…
And great to have you back! I used to check up on your blog to see if you came back, but gave it up after a while. 2 years is a long time to be missing in action (and I hope it wasn’t Penelope Trunk’s fault, lol; yes, I still remember that one!); welcome back!
I agree about epic (no, I am not shy at all 🙂 ) posts like this one – sometimes too much info is just that: too much. However, it’s always up to us to take action on any piece of info we receive in any given post – whether it’s one or ten action steps, right? Hope you’ll be able to put some of it to good use.
Have you gotten on G+ yet? I think it’s right up your alley.
Look forward to seeing you around!
Yea, it was a long time off, especially I love blogging so much. I’m so jacked t be back writing again and this time, I’m here for good..
I’ve been in touch with Penelope a few times over the years and still have to thank her for the ass whupping she gave me!
I’ve read through some of your posts and they are ALL jammed packed with info. They are a good reminder about all the things that go into a successful online business.
And to be honest. I have spent very little time on Google+. It’s a lame excuse, but I haven’t taken the time to full understand how it works..
I’m sure I’ll see you around.
One thing at a time, Steve, one thing at a time. Look forward to watching you master G+ – when you are ready, but for now, look forward to you getting back to writing.
Stay in touch!
Hi Ana, You really provided excellent content here and I just wanted to thank you for all of your valuable time and effort. Keep up your great work!
Thanks, Barbara!
Hi Ana,
(from yesterday, because it didn’t post and didn’t realize it, good thing I type comments in a notepad)…
I was just getting ready to head over to your site, and your email landed in my Inbox – how timely! Didn’t even have to type, how awesome is that? 🙂
I’ve had as many as 6 tabs open from following other links while reading your stuff (awesome content) been on your site and others’ you recommend for a few hours and have started to brainstorm my own round up type publication. Have thought of it before, need to map it out still, but have definitely decided to put it into motion. Thank you! 🙂
Off topic, while talking to students, I often use your site’s logo and tag line as an example to follow because it is concise, clear and benefit-driven! Awesome work! (as well as entire website), and I imagine your bounce rate is low as a result.
As to the post at hand, Love your style, Ana – value-packed Weekly Marketing Skinny of important happenings and relevant things we need to know that you painstakingly research and deliver to us on a silver platter! Thank you!
So do you use Evernote to “collect” your articles?
Your site is chock full of valuable stuff, Ana, and I’m putting it on speed dial so I can visit every day. Seriously…
I’ve done a bit of document sharing, but am going to increase this. I do love Print Friendly (did a blog post on it) and need to definitely start ramping this up. Thanks for the convenient list of sharing sites. Cool. (of course I’m referring to a different tab/blog post than this one, but it’s related, so oh well… ) lol
Deciding on whether or not to uncheck the box for bots…Call me a fraidy cat. 🙂
Wow, cool things changing at Twitter, will have to see the hashtags and embedded tweets, love the concept!
Yeah, I got an announcement from PayPal saying they’re rebranding Bill Me Later, and I’m not surprised.
Love your site, Ana – just awesome!
Talk soon,
Carol Amato
Look forward to your future roundups, Carol; send me the link when you start publishing them!
And thanks so much for the compliment – really makes a difference to know that what I do does make an impact and set Traffic Generation Café apart.
Personally, I find it easier to start post drafts in WordPress; that’s how I keep track of future post ideas and add resources as I find them. For instance, I had an idea for this particular post a couple of years ago and just kept adding examples and screenshots as I found them until I felt it was enough for a post.
Thanks again for coming by and look forward to seeing you more often around Traffic Generation Café!
Hi Ana, this is a really great article with some awesome tips. I certainly want to put a lot of this into practice and see what sort of impact it has for me. I love the idea of repurposing content I often think of things I could add when reading posts from other bloggers in my niche.
I know what you mean, Kostas – my head is always full of ideas; of course, it’s only working those ideas that in the end matters! 😉
Great Post. I will definitely be back for more. I noticed you don’t have a “Share on LinkedIn” button. Is part of your strategy just to focus on FB, Twitter, and Google Plus?
PS – Yes, “Bill Smith” is my real name. I tried using Jack Daniels as a pseudonym but that didn’t seem to work either.
My audience never seems to use the LinkedIn button, so I choose not to display it. Plus I don’t really have much of a presence there, so it makes sense.
Sorry it took me so long to approve your comment, Bill!
I like Mark Traphagen’s comment about this – not so much a post as an e-book. So much in here to digest. Not so much a snack more a feast!
Bon appetit! 😉
Thanks for coming by, Greg; appreciate it.
It took me four tries to identify where, in the slide deck based on Neil Patel’s work, that you gave him credit. I guess it had everything to do with the font color being too hard on the eyes. Initially I thought you didn’t credit him at all and then I was totally baffled. I’d say that your deck is a great example but also a good reminder to be sure that when we do that the that original content creator’s name is easily visible and up front enough that they get some new followers from it.
Kim
Very true, Kim – when I made the deck, the turquoise stood out very nicely again the blue, but once Slideshare shrinks everything… I need to redo it.
Hi Ana,
Superb post indeed 🙂
This is going to stay in my memory for a long time to come. The way you touch on others and include me in your examples, makes you more memorable and appreciable! And only people like you can do that 🙂
Without a spec of doubt I agree that blogging is all about others. Of course, its about yourself too as how you use your thoughts and ideas to help others. Blogging is about relationship building and being consistent about it.
Yes, cultivating relationships with influencers is helpful. Whether its to attract influencers or build a community, your 10 engaging ways are what one can and should do by default in blogging.
I don’t think anybody else in the blogosphere links out to others as much as you do! You are a real giver I would say. I agree with your tip to not rely on WordPress pingbacks.
To sum it up, you need to be a face in the crowd, easily approachable, large hearted and have an open mind and humble personality to be popular and attract anybody and everybody.
You’ve some great posts ideas here and I would take the whole weekend to absorb all of this matter! 🙂
Thanks again for mentioning me in this great epic post, and how can I ever forget your interview – it keeps inspiring me to date. Have a nice weekend 🙂
I really truly wanted to let you know how much I’ve appreciated you coming back to Traffic Generation Café again and again over the past couple of years, Harleena!
You are the face in the crowd, easily approachable, large hearted and have an open mind and humble personality to be popular and attract anybody and everybody, and I am honored to have had a chance to get to know you.
I’m writing in the comment section for old time sake. You know I’ll always be paying attention to you! Thanks for the kind words and the awesome post. I think a lot of people forget to do the honorable thing when the figure out something from someone. Mention them or give them credit. That was bogus that ________ didn’t give you a link from his blog. Boo on him.
And it’s so lovely to see you in my actual comment section, Wade! lol
And thank you.
My pleasure….oh I have an article I would like you to take a look at! Lol! I get those everyday too!
Funny guy…
Hey Ana,
Thanks a bunch for including my “Top blog quotes by 101 amazing bloggers (and one by me)” as one of your examples! I’m honored. 🙂
I’ll have to go through the post later (when I’m not at the tail end of my work day) to learn more of the (I’m sure) great tips you shared!
Have a great day. Thanks again.
You are so very welcome, Kevin.
Isn’t relationship building marvelous? lol