Blogging 101

[blind]

Thanks for kind words Boogie, I'll work mostly with this Gonzo stuff (they have enough content in their members areas for some time). I can't still find out how this RSS thing works in WordPress...

[Boogie]

Traffic From Other Blogs

Now that youv'e started your site, put the finishing touches on your script, written some nice interesting entries, and published your RSS feed to the best of your ability, you should even have a trickle of hits coming in.

Now is the time to turn on the juice.

First off, its pretty unfair to ask for traffic trades if your traffic is currently zero. List your blog on your own feeder sites to get at least a little bit of traffic in there.

Alternatively if you dont have any of your own traffic to use, consider purchasing a small feed to get you started. (See one of any number of threads on this topic right here at GG and J)

Now its time to start working on link exchanges.

Sites like GG and Jim make it easy to exchange links with blogs. In fact I started a thread on this topic, pop on over and get started. Post your blog and find others interested in listing yours

Beyond that, contacting a webmaster through their websites most days can be taboo. But in the blogsphere, this is still common. Get your link up to their blog if you're interested, find their contact information and let them know you're interested in a swap. It doesnt hurt to write an entry about their blog.

Some blog scripts (hi word press) allow for "trackbacking". This is a very common thing to do within the blogsphere.

If you like someone's article enough to write about it in your own blog, you can add their trackback url to the proper spot in your script to autoping their script and let them know you're talking about them.

Most scripts that allow trackbacking notify the owner of the blog that a trackback attempt is taking place and they can moderate it if they wish.

If a trackback is approved a automatically created linkback to the site who sent the TB is created along with a small snippet of article. Want to see an example? Check out my article on Give Me Pink

If this is done in moderation, it is a welcome part of the blogging lifestyle. Many blogs do not allow trackbacking after they get to a certain size though due to spam. This is always a consideration when allowing trackbacking on your blogs! A good script with good moderating tools is very important if you want your blog to grow.

Top lists for adult sites are almost dead, but top lists for blogs are just starting to emerge. There are some decent ones that I use.

http://www.top-blogs.com/cgi-bin/rankem.cgi?id=boogie
http://blogs.freeadult100.com/in.php?ref=146

Both are providing a steady stream of traffic.... not just traffic but blogger traffic.

So, between top lists, search engines, blog link trades, and trackbacking, it shouldnt be long before you're blog has begun to grow organically. You should be seeing more url's in your stats each day, you should be seeing a constant traffic growth.

Remember its not uncommon to trade links with 20, 30 , 40 blogs in your niche. Its not uncommon to write about and link to other blogs (which they may do in return for yours).

Dont be afraid to send your traffic to a similar blog. If you're linking to other blogs you serve as a 'hub' of the blogsphere and can earn bookmarkers for that alone!

Now this is how I've built my traffic up. Gaining mass traffic was never exactly my area of expertise. I would love for some of you good folks to chime in with ideas of your own!