Well seeing as we are only playing pretend I will take a stab at this and if you will all please bear with me I would also like to mention why I would not suggest most of the other ideas so far.
I know that after I answer this I might have to do some pretty quick work to see and hopefuly show the results of my actions, I mean after all, why say you would do something and then not even do it?
Articles are a sure fast way to gain traffic exposure. I think we might all agree that sensationalism sells, so I will use my candle site for this example and then see where we go with it.
I would put up an article at the various on-line article databases, an article that informs people of some of the dangers they are exposing themselves and their families to when ever they light a candle in thier home. The article, while short about 300 to 500 words, would then go on to explain the benifits and using my hand poured Soy Wax candles instead. It might lead them to the website to gain more education and perhaps tp a special page set up just for the article readers where they can make sample purchase not available to anyone else. ( Having a copy of Linda's Milking The Cash Cow book makes this easy as it list article databases in it.)
I could actually do two or three articles of different, but related topics, then put one each in a different article database. One article might explain how by switching to using my Soy Wax candles you are not funding the big oil companies but how you are now able to help fund North American farmers that grow Soya Beans. After all the big oil producers are not North American.
Due to a small window of only 72 hours I think the sensationalism or shock value would drive people to the site and hopefully that traffic would turn into buyers, maybe not on the first visit but it would introduce them to something they might not be aware of and how it can benifit them and their families.
Now, in the other posts I saw two mentions of surf sites. Pretty brave given the current situation with the SEC and auto surfs plus by now you should understand this is not real traffic. Not a good choice.
I also saw joining groups, forums, search engines, & surf sites. There is not enough time in the 72 hours for these methods as you would not have the credibilty of the other viewers as of yet, to them you would be a newbie. When someone signs up at Adlands as an example do you feel confident to purcahse from them right away or trust thier words? In regards to the search engine yes you copuld buy ads on the main page but would the cost justify the results?
Safelists was also mentioned, I think that in todays world people do not see safelists as safe at all, so to me antoher waste of time and effort.
Using other peoples mailing lists could work I suppose, but I am not 100% convinved as you would need to spend more time setting it all up and you never have any real guarantee of the lists numbers or quality. I think the time and energy would be better spent attracting your own viewers rather than trying use someone elses. You only have 72 hours.
There was also the mention of a Press Release. This could be a viable opition providing that what you were about release was news worthy. A Press Release has to have a very vaild news story or it isn't a Press Release, it is just an article.
So for me, it is article submissions that might drive the traffic to a page set up just for the article(s). This makes tracking viewers a no brainer when I look at my stats. I would also be able to make an easy comparison of how many of those viewers became buyers as they would be purchasing a product selected just for that traffic. In the case of my candle site it might be a three tin sample pack. |