How I Got 600 Visitors in One Month

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Look Guys & Gals, I'm no blog expert. I wouldn't call myself a marketing guru either. I write what I like and I share it. I'm sure there's a multitude of people that do it better. Afterall I only have 28 Twitter followers.

BUT....

I started my blog one month ago and have received over 600 visits with a weekly total that's increased from 55 to nearly 200 visits per week.

- I don't focus on SEO in my writing.
- I don't force my friends to "like" my blog.
- I didn't purchase 1,000 Twitter BOT followers to make myself look popular.

Instead, I used some good 'ol common sense and a few tools from my technology shed to "get 'er done."  Here are a few tech tips that helped me and will hopefully help you.

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BrandYourself
"Control Your Online Reputation"
http://brandyourself.com/

To fully grasp my online reputation and control what is seen when you search me on Google I turned to BrandYourself.com. After signing up, I linked my blog, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts to my BrandYourself profile. Immediately my LinkedIn profile and Twitter account rose to #1 and #2 in Google results. Also, I am now able to see who searches my name on Google.

Limits of a free SEO optimization account:
- Limited to 3 uploaded links (I suggest LinkedIn, Twitter, website, or blog)
- View the last 3 people who searched you on Google

Upgrade for $10/month (or $80/year) which includes:
- Unlimited link uploads to be optimized on Google
- View all the people who have found you online

As a free service, I think this is a MUST for anyone trying to promote themselves online. For those of you cleaning up your history of frat parties, beer bongs, and Pam Anderson videos there's little hope for you. Try Reputation.com (backed by Kleiner Perkins) and pray.

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Tweriod
"Start Tweeting When Others Listen"
http://www.tweriod.com/

After gaining a small handful of followers on my Twitter account I used Tweriod to find out the optimum time to post tweets. After linking my Twitter account to Tweriod, a report was generated indicating that the optimum time to reach my followers was between 9am - 10am on the weekends. Sweet, I feel smarter already!

This free service is great for everyone but for professionals the fee-based account is exceptional. Pricing is dependent on the number of followers you have and ranges from $4 - $15. If you can't afford that, I guarantee standing at a freeway off-ramp with a sign "Need proceeds for my Tweriod account" will bring you more than enough Washingtons.

Paid insights include:
- Klout influence graph
- Hourly stats
- Analysis of entire follower base
- Monthly analysis of your followers

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TweetDeck or Hootsuite
"Managing the Mayhem"
http://www.tweetdeck.com/
http://hootsuite.com

Now that you've figured out the best time to tweet it's time to set a recurring schedule of tweets. TweetDeck & Hootsuite have free dashboards with multiple functions that help you:

- Monitor your home feed
- Schedule tweets for future delivery
- Monitor your mentions and direct msgs
- View all your retweets

Why would you NOT use this?!! Thanks to them we can all have a life outside of the Twittosphere.

I'm not going to go into detail on the differences between the two. Luckily someone already has: http://www.myrisedesign.net/blog/social-networking/item/486-tweetdeck-vs-hootsuite-which-twitter-client-is-the-best-marketing-tool.html

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Network, Netwerk, Netwurk
If you enjoy 5 people a week reading your blog or visiting your website then stop here. I'm sure you've produced great content that will attract those people from Popondetta, Papua New Guinea where all great leads come from. <pls sense sarcasm>

For the rest of us, it's time to Blow. It. Up.

Linking your blog to multiple social networks is the winner-winner-chicken-dinner key to exposure. Good News? All of them are free! So glad I don't have to go over the obvious ones - G+, Twitter, Facebook - because you already have those. Right? RIIIIGHT? Here are a few you may not know about...

WattPad
"Connecting the World Through Stories"
http://www.wattpad.com

If your writing skillzzz are purely a leisure activity that you enjoy posting for those 5 Papua New Guineans then this is the place for you. Build a profile and post your stories, blogs, or "Why Won't Lindsey Lohan Disappear" op-eds and link up with others who do the same. Your entries will be added to the 3.2 million stories already posted and will be gazed at during the 1 billion minutes its users spend on the site.  And who knows, you may win at The Watty Awards!

Contently
"Next Generation Publishing"
https://contently.com

Serious Bloggers? This one's for you.
If you think you've got what it takes to call yourself a "Freelance Writer" then you might be popular on this site. Create a profile to showcase all your posts, display the number of words you've written, and gain a network by commenting on others' posts. This site has become an avenue for brands like Best Buy and AMEX to find editorial content and pay freelance writers for their contributions. Now all those nights writing in your underwear might pay off!

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Hey, one more thing...It's pretty clear to me that you're talented, amazing, and intuitive. Afterall you led yourself here...to my blog. So while I've got you here I just want to say that you're also one step ahead of the rest for learning about all this crap. Now go put it to good use!