In the previous post in this series “Understanding the How and Where” we broke down the sources of traffic we are going to target. Now I want to dig a little deeper into that because we need to make sure we really get a clear picture in our mind of what this looks like and a plan for each source.

For example, it is easy to say “Subscribers” but do I really have a solid understanding of what this means and a plan as to how to gain subscribers?

The four sources of traffic that we mentioned in the previous post that we are focusing on to achieve our “traffic goals” are…

• 1 – Subscribers (repeat visitors)
• 2 – Search Engines (Mainly Google)
• 3 – Forums & Social Networks
• 4 – Word of Mouth / Recommendations

Today we are going to start with…

Subscribers (repeat visitors):

Having subscribers is wonderful for repeat traffic, plus you have an asset of readers that you know are targeted to the market of your blog. It is the same as repeat customers, if you ask any profitable company they will tell you that it is much less expensive to sell to a current satisfied customer then it is to a new customer that has never heard of you.

The funny thing about subscribers is the message of “you need a list” is always being preached and yet one of the first things I notice on any new blog or website that I am asked to review is they have either a very weak incentive for people to subscribe or there is nothing at all.

I am a huge believer that if you want to grow your company for the long term, you NEED to create a list of subscribers. This has been a major influence in the growth of my entire business but the challenge that most people have is they think that if they simply put the little rss icon on their site or say “subscribe to my blog” they will build a huge profitable list of subscribers… BUT this simply does not work effectively for the average blog.

Here is how I look at it, there are currently 6 “make money online” blogs that I subscribe to. I have no reason to want to subscribe to any other blogs, especially just for the the sake of doing so because they say so. I might (if i remember) come back and visit other blogs, but unless it gives me a special reason (benefit) for why I should subscribe, well it just is not going to happen. I already have enough information coming my way.

You need to clearly understand that just because a subscription to your blog is free, that is not a compelling enough reason for people to want to make a commitment to your blog by subscribing. You need to create a USP (Unique Selling Position) that sets your offer apart from what everyone else is offering. Give Them a Reason!!!

“But would they not subscribe because of good content like at problogger?”

Yes but lets look at that example:

Problogger.net does not offer an incentive to readers to sign up and has a huge list but it is one of the original make money online industry blogs, it is highly referred to by other high authority sites, it is mentioned in books and loads of other places PLUS it has lots of history of reliable good content.

Now ask your self the question –> Does your new blog fit that mold?

Chances are it does not and the bottom line comes down to this, it has been proven over and over and over again that if you want to dramatically increase your subscriber rate, make an enticing offer with a high perceived value. The high perceived value means that the reward for subscribing outweighs any potential negatives.

OK, so hopefully I have drilled into your heads the power of not only a list but that you need to offer a good enticing offer that encourages readers to subscribe, so now we need to lay out how we plan to do this with http://www.anaudlife.com

• 1. The first thing is to decide on how we are going to manage subscribers. Our preference is using a combination of Feedburner with Aweber as they work extremely well together tracking your email subscribers together with your direct RSS subscribers. The power of this is with Aweber you can also email your list private offerings and send them occaissional free gifts that encourage them to stick around. You are creating an asset that you own and can use over and over again.
• 2 . Our target market is those looking for help dealing with “Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms” and the number one symptom is “PAIN”, so we want to make sure we offer something of value that directly benefits them in this area. For this blog we decided on putting together a free ebook called “Leaving Arthritis Pain Behind”. Make sure if you are going to do this that you put together something of value and create a professional looking ebook cover.
• 3. Another powerful incentive that works very well for us, is contests. This has been very effective at growing our lists but you must do it right. You want to first of all make sure you offer prizes that relate to the interests of your readers. The great thing about contests, is they can not only boost your subscribers but if done right, can get you loads of backlinks and recommendations, which very effectively help with search engine and word of mouth traffic.

Summary: We are going to user Feedburner and Aweber, we are offering a valuable ebook and the last part of our initial traffic plan for “Subscribers” is we are going to create a contest.

In the next couple posts I am going to cover the “contest planning” and I am also going to get into more detail of setting up your opt in system. After that we will move on to the traffic plans for “Search Engines (Mainly Google)”, then “Forums & Social Networks” and then “Word of Mouth / Recommendations”

NOTE: I feel the need to throw this in –> If you are not going to offer an ebook or report or anything like that but just the subscription, you still want to make sure you say more then “Subscribe now” or “sign up for our newsletter”. It is so vitally important that you remember to always ask your self “what are the biggest benefits of doing this for my readers”. I will get into this in more detail in the next few lessons.

So what are your thoughts on this post?

• Part 1 – Planning Your Promotion Strategy
• Part 2 – Understanting the How and Where of Your Promotion Strategy
• Part 3 – Planning the Subscriber Traffic Strategy
• Part 4 – Planning a Contest to Get the Buzz Going
• Part 5 – Planning the Contest Criteria
• Part 6 – Protect Yourself Before You Start a Contest
• Part 7 – Rule of the Contest Prize Delivery

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