Traffic makes us focus on the raw numbers, but those raw numbers are MISLEADING.
Here’s the deal:
Back when Derek ran an entertainment blog, he was generating millions of hits. Heck, in 2007 alone, it attracted around 30 million hits.
(Side note: His entertainment blog was so large that a publicly traded company actually reached out and wanted to acquire it. He said no)
But the one statistic that most people NEVER knew about had nothing to do with “traffic.”
I’ll explain.
You see, even though Derek was getting millions of people to his website, if he updated a NEW blog post and linked someone, he’d send at MOST 1,000 people to their website.
Yep, a site that received millions of hits each month could only direct at most 1,000 people to another person’s site with a new blog post.
As he said himself: pathetic. Why? He had traffic…
…But he didn’t have readers.
What’s the difference?
The white iPhone story…
In September, when the white iPhone came out, Derek's site Social Triggers was flooded with iPhone traffic.
You see, he was able to rank on the first page of google for “White iPhone,” “White iPhone vs Black iPhone,” and various other iPhone related phrases.
While we don’t have exact numbers for you, thousands of people stumbled on his site looking for information about the brand-new white iPhone.
But take a guess how that traffic performed when it came to conversions… or building Derek's email list.
It didn’t. It was DEAD traffic.
Even though it looked good on paper, the reality was a much different story.
Now let’s take this back to Derek's entertainment blog
The traffic he was getting there wasn’t dead traffic, per se.
The traffic he was getting was looking for one thing, and when they got it, they left.
As an example: “britney spears bikini pictures,” this traffic will get you people to your page, but they will come to get the pictures, and leave forever.
Are those drive-by visitors good for ad revenue?
Yep.
But were they truly listening?
Nope.
And that’s why:
You don’t want traffic, you want readers.
Readers who listen to what you say and buy what you sell.
Because when you have those types of readers… that’s how you build a REAL business.
Trust me.
Social Triggers is not even 2 years old, and Derek's intense focus on getting readers (not traffic numbers) has laid the groundwork for my his Social Triggers, Inc to grow like a weed.
(I won’t get into numbers, but let’s just say Derek is doing more than fine. Maybe one day he’ll reveal more, but not today.
The question is “how can I get more readers?”
Here is a Short Video About Getting Readers
Who Listen To What You Say… And Buy What You Sell
I know I’m being a stickler for words here… traffic vs readers… but the distinction is important.
But now you know.
When we are talking about traffic, and many other top experts are talking about traffic, we really mean readers… listeners… or watchers…
That said, I’m proud to share this video of Derek Halpern and Marie Forleo, the founder of a thriving community of more than 100,000 women.
In this video Derek shares 3 specific strategies that can help you get more people to your website…
…and he also does the “Gangnam style” dance.
Watch the video right here:
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