How to Build an Audience with Free Strategies

8 sources for audience development

Attracting interested visitors to your website is the first step in successful audience development.

Yesterday in a session at the Mequoda Summit East 2011, Kim Mateus, Chief Content Officer at Mequoda Group, presented a case study from Knitting Daily.

This case study detailed the winning strategies that Knitting Daily uses to attract, convert, retain, sell & resell.

Today, I’d like to share the eight free methods they use for audience development.

Eight free audience development strategies

Audience development strategy #1: PR – Public relations on the network have taken off in popularity. Not only is it more public, press releases can be distributed to search engines, journalists and news sources. Many of these sites offer free distribution, and a paid option that sends the press release to even more locations.

Audience development strategy #2: SEO – Search engine optimization will help your content get found in search engines. This way, audience members from all over can find your content whenever they are looking for it. Due to this, your content can be attracting and converting visitors while you sleep.

Audience development strategy #3: Link building – Do you know websites that cater to a similar audience? If you are able to build a relationship with them, asking for links could greatly benefit your visibility.

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Audience development strategy #4: In-house ads – Promote for additional products or content throughout your website with in-house ads.

Audience development strategy #5: Affiliate marketing – Allow companies to sell your products that have a similar audience. These companies will take a cut of the profit, but you’ll still generate revenue and gain more visibility.

Audience development strategy #6: TV – Since not all online publishers have the option to use television, online videos are a great alternative because they are media-rich and incorporate a personal feel. Nowadays, video recording equipment like the Kodak Zi8 and similar devices are affordable.

Audience development strategy #7: In-house editorial – Great online editors write and think like marketers and know the topics they cover, but communicate in an informative, indirect promotional manner.

Audience development strategy #8: Social media – Social media is a great way to engage your audience members and establish relationships. Selling products can also be possible through this medium, but you must tread lightly with that process or you’ll likely anger your social media subscribers.

Embracing these audience development strategies will help you build your audience, gain more visibility online and generate more revenue without having to spend a lot of money in the process.

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