Disclosure: This post is sponsored. I received a copy of Traffic Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Filling Your Websites and Funnels with Your Dream Customers by Russell Brunson to share. All opinions are my own.
When I first began blogging over 7 years ago it was because there were so many blogs I loved
reading, I wanted to create one for myself. It was a way to help keep myself accountable of my daily outfits. I was doing my best to revamp my closet into something that worked. My goals were to have fun. I wanted to connect with other bloggers, and I wanted to get better at putting outfits together. Since then blogging and social media have evolved into something larger than I ever could have believed when I first began. I’ve always viewed blogging as a hobby, but there are many influencers making their living off of it. I really don’t make much money off of my blog and I’m honestly fine with that. I really don’t want the purpose of my blogging to be financial gain. I’d love to reach more followers though. But I have absolutely no idea where to start.
I had the opportunity to read Traffic Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Filling Your Websites and Funnels with Your Dream Customers by Russell Brunson and complete his 30 Day Challenge designed to teach strategies to increase site traffic. Russell is a best-selling author and CEO of the software company Click Funnels launched in 2014 with his partner Todd Dickerson. He has a following of over a million entrepreneurs and has sold thousands of copies of his books. His company Click Funnels has become the fastest growing non-venture backed software company in the world! Although much of the book is centered around increasing traffic to your site to funnel readers or customers into becoming sales, I was more interested in how to create pitches and driving traffic. How could I better serve my readers and gain more? For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been tracking my journey on twitter and facebook. I recently completed reading the book and will continue tracking my work into mid July.
Traffic Secrets is the third in a trilogy of books written to help your business market and strategize to sell your products to a large customer base. Traffic Secrets is written about growing your customer base through many different methods including facebook, instagram, email, blog, and more and then keeping them as a customer in order to make the most sales possible. It is written in such a way that the information is relevant with the current social media in mind, but will work as it morphs and grows and new means come into play.
Section 1: Your Dream Customer
The book is organized into 3 sections with the first being Your Dream Customer. The purpose of this section was to get you thinking about your dream customer for your product. My ‘product’ is my blog and the posts and outfits I share on it. I worked to begin to identify my ‘Dream 100’. This is a list of places where I can find my ideal readers. The exercises had me brainstorm my Dream 100 where I could find my dream readers online including other blogs and websites like pinterest that help draw in readers. Brunson states, “The core strategy to understand is that your dream customers have already been congregated by your Dream 100. If you focus on identifying them and marketing to them, your dream customers will start flowing into your funnels faster than by anything else you could do.” Brunson details ways to get readers or customers by working your way in or through advertising. I learned to think about the value I can provide to readers that others in the blog arena may not be already providing. What problem can I solve that other bloggers are not focusing on? I also learned the true value of an email list. I hadn’t really seen the value of it previously, but this is traffic you can control and share information about your products to at anytime. You can get so many more clicks and traffic via your owned list versus random clicks and SEO. And it is so important to turn the traffic you purchased via advertising into owned traffic because it can pay off in the end. I learned about follow up funnels which can help convert your traffic into customers, especially if you have a product you are selling.
Section 2: Fill Your Funnel
Section 2 goes in depth about filling your funnel. What this means, is to capture the attention of people through various means as a way of growing your list and converting them into traffic you own. Filling your funnel can be done in so many ways; through organic search, social media, and advertising. Honestly I didn’t even realize how many ways there were to advertise! The section is organized into chapters based on current, popular social media sites. However, Brunson stresses that while these are the popular sites, the methods are valid no matter what. I learned that it is extremely important to understand the goal of the platform. Why do they exist? And tailor your messages on that platform based on their goal. It will help you in the long run to gaining traction and followers. A great tip is to find your Dream 100 on that platform and follow them and model your content after theirs. Don’y reinvent the wheel! In other words, try to determine the current trends on the platform and what is popular. Don’t copy anything though! I really appreciated the instagram and facebook traffic secrets especially. I learned so many things! Now I just need the time to implement them!
Section 3: Growth Hacking
The final section in Traffic Secrets is focused on growth hacking. Growth hacking are techniques designed to help you grow your list. It was fascinating for me to read about keywords to focus on like branded terms versus non-branded terms. So for my blog, I want to focus on something like ‘everyday fashion’ but also I do deClaire and Laura Bambrick! Both those specific terms unique to you, but also broader terms that may apply to many other blogs. Don’t miss out on the traffic from either! I learned there are ways to place advertising in other people’s email blasts. I had no idea! And I also learned how important affiliates are in helping spread the word and sell your product, if you have one.
Conclusion
Overall, I found this book to be so eye opening. I have been stumbling through attempts to grow my blog with no real idea how. I’m not a marketer, I’m a mom! Traffic Secrets helped me start a game plan to focus my blog content, gain more followers, and up my social media game! I thought it was full of useful information and well-written with an easy-to-follow layout. I’m not sure if all social media and blogging books are worth it, but I think this one is!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sway for Traffic Secrets by Russell Brunson.