Drive Free Traffic to Your Site or Blog with Stumble Upon

[JohnPlace]

Originally Posted by Peter S C

Good advice John.

I have followed your lead and added the Stumbleupon It plugin to the end of my articles so that it is easier for people to Stumble articles. The Sociable plugin I was previously using included Stumbleupon, but I think it's a good idea to make it obvious that people can help you by Stumbling your page.

Yeah, I honestly believe that adding that small "Stumble It" button at the bottom of each post (in the midst of an SU run) contributed to that post going viral.

I'm still getting thousands of hits per day off that post. Someone posted my article over at Reddit, where it's starting to get some buzz -- but truth be told, so far, traffic from Reddit looks a lot like traffic from Digg -- a complete waste of bandwidth.

People are always trying to make the front page of Digg -- but I would just as soon not. Based on what I've read (and my own experience), you just end up with a ton of server-load and nothing to show for it except a stream of borderline anti-social comments.

I have to say, after checking out several social networking sites, SU has *really* impressed me, both in concept and community. It's the first social networking experience that I actually find to be enjoyable. It's a good thing Digg and Reddit aren't relying upon people like me to make their business model because otherwise, they'd be broke.

I really think it would be a good move for all of us (ie anyone trying to promote a site) to become a real part of the SU community. I have a theory -- that I'm going to be testing out -- that one key to building a ton of traffic quickly (particularly for a PD blog) is to become a contributing, respected member of SU. And this isn't me trying to "game the system" either because I actually do enjoy Stumble Upon.

I was telling my wife last night that SU is about the coolest thing I've found on the net since 1995, when I saw the internet (as we know it now) for the first time.

[believegecko]

I've added the SU button to several pages I've been trying to get to go viral. SU is a great site and I've learned that if the users don't care about it you can't game the system anyway. SU has taught me a lot about user activity that is helping me to build better sites.
John - I'm interested in your ideas to help each other with SU. I've built up a pretty good rep on SU now and believe that if each of us do the same we can really help each other.

[Mark Lapierre]

I've signed up with the highly original and creative username of MarkLapierre, and I'm slowly going through all your sites as time permits (I've only just started so don't expect anything yet )

If you'd like to friend me let me know and I'll return the favour.

I don't expect anyone to stumble any of my pages unless they truly find them worthy. And I'd appreciate any feedback you'd care to give, positive or negative.

[JohnPlace]

I'm going to go stumble-wild on everyone's site here as time permits, but I think the real power of SU will be getting involved in the SU community - Making friends there, letting power users see our stuff, sharing pages (other than our own), that kind of thing.

In case anyone's counting, I've had 29,000 pageviews on my memory article in the last 4 days.

In the totals for today, SU and Reddit are neck and neck with 3,000 views a piece. About 30% of the people who hit that article dig deeper into my site (that's the average -- the percentage is much higher for SU, lower for Reddit, and much lower for a few other sources).

I am very curious to see what my subscriber base looks like tomorrow, and if anyone is interested, I'll keep you posted.

I mean, to someone like Steve (or any of the other big dogs around here), 29,000 hits in 4 days probably doesn't seem like much, but to me it's pretty big.

[soccer7]

hey, i'm also a beginer, just started out yesterday and read abit of the guide to understand how it all works, i'll be going through some of the sites listed here to and give the thumbs up for the good ones.

i'll add you as a friend mark, you can view my site and see wheather it deserves a thumbs up.

Anyone wishing to add me as a friend is welcome too; here's my stumble homepage slidingsky stumble.

Here's my blog Opinion Nation. Btw, can you guys tell me how to put in the line and links at the bottom of every post whenever u post?

[Peter S C]

soccer7/ James: Good to see another Aussie on these forums and getting into blogging. I added you as a friend (my su name is "changeyourlife") and did a review of your article on iGoogle which is something I have been meaning to check out for some time (you have inspired me to try it out). Like you, I enjoy using photoshop so I look forward to reading some articles on that subject.

Re the Stumbleupon effect: yesteday I had 182 unique visits, today I had 1,695! The culprit is my article 24 Daily Habits. Its amazing how it can slowly build and then just explode! In the past day my return visits have doubled and rss subscribers have tripled. It started with 2 reviews from people on this forum so I think this is a pretty good indication that we can all help eachother.

Believegecko/ sagegoat: I listened to those Becky prank calls today. Classic! I gave them a review for you. Some feedback though: your SU picture is incredibly dark - maybe try a lighter photo.

[AndrewJ]

Is anyone making money from this traffic?


Andrew

[Peter S C]

Andrew I don't have adsense, etc on my blog so I can't answer that question from personal experience. I did, however, stumble across this article which is a good guide to SU. It basically says that traffic from SU has a very low Adsense or contextual CTR as people can just as easily stumble the next site within seconds. As per my previous post, though, an article that goes viral would seem to have a big impact of rss subscribers and return visitors which can only be good in the medium to long term.

[JohnPlace]

Originally Posted by Peter S C

Andrew I don't have adsense, etc on my blog so I can't answer that question from personal experience. I did, however, stumble across this article which is a good guide to SU. It basically says that traffic from SU has a very low Adsense or contextual CTR as people can just as easily stumble the next site within seconds. As per my previous post, though, an article that goes viral would seem to have a big impact of rss subscribers and return visitors which can only be good in the medium to long term.

Exactly. I think whether or not you'll see any real benefit from the SU traffic has to do with how viral the post is, and how "sticky" your blog is. Of course, I'm just an amatuer at this whole SU thing (as you guys know) so my guess is as good as anyone else's -- but my feeling is that SU users are in the mindset to "discover" new sites, unlike Digg users, who are in the mindset to "scan an article" (if they read it at all) and talk about it on their forum.

So I think the key is making our sites as sticky as possible, which means giving the user what they want, and making it easy for the user to find what they want. If you've done that, a large percentage of people will click deeper into your site. I've got tips on this if anyone is interested.

Also, I definitely agree that we can help each other (as the viral spore on my site started with a single "thumbs up.") -- but the real key to getting something to go viral is having compelling content, and I have to say, for the life of me I can't tell what's a potential virus and what's not. People do seem to like quick bits of information that aren't posted all over the place -- stuff that's not too hard to read. The two most "viral" posts on my blog were two of the easiest to write.

But the thing is, I suspect it may be my deeper content inspiring people to subscribe (subscription rate has multiplied by 6), as evidenced by all the comments.

[AndrewJ]

"subscription rate has multiplied by 6"

That's great!

Andrew

[soccer7]

yeah i'v inspired someone, now i'm more motivated to write some more post, thanks Peter for your nice comments. I've done quite a bit on Photoshop and was thinking of giving it a rest for a while and head into the personal development stuff. however i will be going back to it from time to time.

btw, how can i check for how much thumbs up i get from any of my articals?

[elixirweb]

Hi,
I am totaly blank on social book marking site ..could anyone help me on that?
Please i need help ..i don`t know how to stumble others sites...

[elixirweb]

Hi .. i have created account on stumbleupon ..StumbleUpon » elixirweb's web site reviews and blog but don`t know how to use it ..

[JohnPlace]

Well guys, looks like my SU viral attack is coming to an end. I ended up with over 60,000 visitors in about a week -- about 600 new subscribers, and several hundred direct hits per day. I got a lot of link love from sites like lifehack and some others with pretty good technorati rankings.

I ended up with 2 viral posts (the memory article, and the procrastination article).

Although 99.9% of the people were appreciative and gracious (if they agreed with me) and reasonable (if they didn't), I've learned that .1% are real jerks, whether they agree with you or not. But I guess I already knew this.

Today, I have fewer than 1,200 visits so far (and only a small percentage is from SU), so I think it's safe to say that the big spike is over. Hopefully I can do a good enough job to keep all the new subscribers I've got.

[JohnPlace]

One more quick word of warning for all my friends in this thread: we probably shouldn't be stumbling our own pages.

When I first started, I figured it would be okay to give my own pages a thumbs up. SU's algorithm is way too smart to be gamed by one Webmaster, so I figured giving it a thumbs up would put the page into circulation so other people could decide it they liked it or not. Which is, in effect, how it works.

But I apparently attracted the attention of a mean and nasty SU user named "isshe" who gave my profile a negative review (laden with profanity) because I thumbed up my own page. This girl is a walking timebomb of insecurity -- in other words, she's not just picking on me; she's picking on everyone.

This mean person seems to have a loyal following, so it's hard to say whether or not that had any impact upon my traffic slow-down.

But I figure it's safer if I just stop "thumbing up" my own pages from this point forward.

[ilovethebeach]

Please stumble upon my page! I REALLY need it!!

I will do the same for everyone here. THanks

My Blog

My Other Blog

Island of Coupons

StumbleUpon » ilovethebeach's web site reviews and blog

[Jayne]

I've been stumbling my whole life - glad it has a purpose now! So my morning has been terribly unproductive for my employer, but I have stumbled all of your sites, and have added those of you who provided a link to your profile as friends. I couldn't figure out how to search for the rest of you.

Here's my profile:
StumbleUpon » PowellJJ2's web site reviews and blog

And some web pages I would love you to stumble. I just set up the site in the last few weeks so I'm completely new to this whole thing. My original intent was just to share info - and then I found I might be able to make a little money at it - so I figured I'd try.

My favorite page is not a money making page, but one I'm proud of. Here's my video:
attractionportal.com » Affirmation Video

And a few more pages that could use a stumble or two:
attractionportal.com » What Secret are You Missing?
attractionportal.com » A True Classic!
attractionportal.com » A Radical Shift
attractionportal.com » The Secret

I would appreciate any stumbles and any other feedback you have for me.

[SeriousKidding.com]

StumbleOn is a pretty unique idea. But, I always have problems with sites that either addict me or cause me to spend all day there, if you know what I mean.

[JohnPlace]

Originally Posted by Jayne

I've been stumbling my whole life - glad it has a purpose now! So my morning has been terribly unproductive for my employer, but I have stumbled all of your sites, and have added those of you who provided a link to your profile as friends. I couldn't figure out how to search for the rest of you.

Here's my profile:
StumbleUpon » PowellJJ2's web site reviews and blog

And some web pages I would love you to stumble. I just set up the site in the last few weeks so I'm completely new to this whole thing. My original intent was just to share info - and then I found I might be able to make a little money at it - so I figured I'd try.

My favorite page is not a money making page, but one I'm proud of. Here's my video:
attractionportal.com » Affirmation Video

And a few more pages that could use a stumble or two:
attractionportal.com » What Secret are You Missing?
attractionportal.com » A True Classic!
attractionportal.com » A Radical Shift
attractionportal.com » The Secret

I would appreciate any stumbles and any other feedback you have for me.

Jayne, I went to take a look at your site, but for some reason it seems to be timing out right now. I'll try back later.

[believegecko]

I was able to stumble Jaynes site. It looks good. I can see it growing and doing well. Hopefully enough of us can stumble it to give her a good boost. I've had some good days thanks to this group. Now my bump is slowing down, but I did pick up some nice inbound links and I have increase in some organic placements that may be, in part, due to my SU activities these last few months.

[jasonivers]

I just got stumbled for the first time a couple days ago (my site is pretty new, and even more recently public), and while it didn't get my thousands, it did get me about 200 new visitors. I don't know how many will return (which is really the key to me... I'm doing it because I want interaction, not just to make money). So, if you like any of my stuff at my blog please feel free to stumble it... and even if you don't stumble it, let me know anything you do or don't like, and please leave comments!

I'm also looking at several of the sites from this thread... haven't really gotten started yet, but you can expect a few stumbles for whichever pages I like.

[jasonivers]

I know I just asked people to stumble my site, but I have a particular post that I would like not just stumbled, but if someone (or several someones) could tell me what they think of this post, I would really appreciate it.

[Chet]

ouch - I had a few pages that had not been stumbled and went ahead and did it myself - hope I don't get the nasty messages. I have been getting a bit of a boost from stumbles, I'll try to hit all you guys sometime tomorrow.

[aaronmp2003]

The idea behind Stumbleupon (and all similar sites, such as Digg, Reddit, etc.) is that you should only be stumbling sites that you actually like or that have some sort of value (in their respective categories) for people who will then see those sites as a result of your vote.

Also, I want to point out that a lot of the people in this thread seem to have the impression that you just stumble a "site," which you can do, but you can and should also stumble individual pages on those sites.

Any bloggers on this thread will attest to the fact that when a good post of theirs goes viral, all of that traffic is going to that one page, not scattered all over the entire website.

So, the idea behind people stumbling other people's sites or individual pages is not to "game" the system, as that will just dilute it for everyone and ultimately make Stumbleupon lose its value. However, getting together a group of people who want to help each other on Stumbleupon in order to vote on quality and useful content is a great idea, and that idea can be extended to Digg and the other sites as well.

I am a member of a small (but growing) group who work from these principles, so if you would like more information on that, just shoot me a message or send me an email. My contact information is all over my website.

[JohnPlace]

Originally Posted by aaronmp2003

So, the idea behind people stumbling other people's sites or individual pages is not to "game" the system, as that will just dilute it for everyone and ultimately make Stumbleupon lose its value.

Exactly.

I get the impression that most of us understand this. If anyone didn't, hopefully they do now.

However, getting together a group of people who want to help each other on Stumbleupon in order to vote on quality and useful content is a great idea, and that idea can be extended to Digg and the other sites as well.

Yep, that's the idea. It seems to work well too.

I am a member of a small (but growing) group who work from these principles, so if you would like more information on that, just shoot me a message or send me an email. My contact information is all over my website.

I'll check into it, Aaron. Thanks for helping!

[JohnPlace]

Originally Posted by Chet

ouch - I had a few pages that had not been stumbled and went ahead and did it myself - hope I don't get the nasty messages. I have been getting a bit of a boost from stumbles, I'll try to hit all you guys sometime tomorrow.

Truth be told, I think I attracted the ire of this particular member because my site was all over the self-improvement category for a couple of days there. I think she got tired of looking at it, since it was obviously not her cup of tea.

[JohnPlace]

Originally Posted by aaronmp2003

Any bloggers on this thread will attest to the fact that when a good post of theirs goes viral, all of that traffic is going to that one page, not scattered all over the entire website.

And speaking of this, watch for patterns. I noticed that 95% of the SU traffic was hitting an article with a 75% bounce rate. Still, 25% of 10,000 users per day was no small potatoes (for me anyway), so I started concentrating on how I was going to funnel that magic 25% deeper into my site.

For a day or two, I just watched the stats. Then I noticed that one of my ancillary articles was getting more stumbles than the others, so I started rearranging links on my "heavy hitter" page to funnel users into other SU friendly articles.

As a result, I had two posts go viral, and a third (and maybe a 4th) are still picking up steam.

[Jonathan Browne]

If you all could stumble the pages in my signature that would be fantastic! Thank you, and much love to all.

[mentalmosaic]

Argh! I want to stumble everyone in here... I just stumbled a couple of sites, but I am stumped:

How do I add comments about each site that I stumble?

I want to say something about all your sites, not just have links. If my description is enticing enough, it will make people more likely to check things out.

If anyone feels like helping this newbie out, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks!
Tui

[mentalmosaic]

Phew! I'm finally getting the hang of this SU thing... so ignore my frustrated whining above.

Thanks for the stumble, Chet! And stumbles back atcha!

Ciao!
Tui