Creative Traffic Builders

Cracking the 7k mark in Technorati rankings in less than 3 months and generating over 425 backlinks on Google have been some of my prouder moments in my relatively short blog career. I wish I could say that I write such amazing content that over 500+ blogs have linked to me, but the honest truth is that the biggest reason my rankings have shot up on Technorati is because of the two successful link trains I launched these past 3 months. The Name in My Domain and Technorati Faves Link Train are still giving me backlinks and new visitors to this day and as a result, I’ve come away learning a few things about building a successful link train. So, if you’ve been thinking about starting a link train of your own, here are my Top 5 Tips to building a Successful Link Train:

Tip #1 - Keep it Simple
The link train is a very simple marketing tool, so don’t try to get too creative and add too many different rules to the train. Keep the rules simple and keep the objective simple. The biggest reason you want to do this is that you want to make it as easy as possible for people to participate and promote the train for you.

Tip #2 - Create a Train with a Theme
When I first started the Name in My Domain link train, the main theme of the train was to find out who else used their name as their domain. To my surprise, a LOT of people used their names as their main domain and they were ready to show off that they did. The Technorati Faves Link Train took off with the theme of exchanging Technorati favorites with as many people as possible. Just like in real life, a party is more fun when there’s a theme to it, so this is your opportunity for you to use your creativity to bring something different to the table. Some examples of how bloggers are using this tip are:

• Kelly Cho - FeedMe Link Train & Bob’s Feed My Feed Train *Same Trains, but different originators - will post my thoughts on this later*
• Shawn Knight - MyBlogLog Link Train

Here are some other train ideas I have if you want try them out. Just include me on the original list if you decide to run with it.

• Digg Link Train - Create a Train of Digg Friends and Grow your Digg Friend Count
• Top 10 Link Train - Create a Train of Posts about Top 10 Lists of Everything and Anything
• Industry Link Trains - A link train that can help you discover other blogs in your niche. For example, for food bloggers - Best Use of Beef Link Train (definitely let me know if you do this one and I’ll refer you to my 36 oz Porterhouse experience)

Tip #3 - Keep Original Train Members List Short
With my first list, I started with about 12 people on the train comprised of blogs I often read. Then when I created my second train, I jumped all the way up to 20+ people on my list comprised of bloggers who I have interacted with. I have to say that I was definitely lucky in that with my second train, all the people that I listed were very enthusiastic about the project and took the time to help get the train rolling from the very beginning. Even with the success of the second train, I would recommend that you use a smaller list of 8-10 bloggers who you KNOW will help get the train rolling from the very beginning. The main reason being is if you add too many people to your list just to make a big list, then who are the members of this list suppose to spread the train to?

Tip #4 - Make sure the Train Benefits Everyone
Like with most people in life, bloggers love to receive more than they give away. The beauty of the link train is that it coincides perfectly with blogger mentality, which probably explains why it’s so popular! For example, look at the Technorati faves train. By copy and pasting one post, then adding everyone on that list to your faves list, a blogger will receive

1. Backlinks
2. New Visitors
3. Increased Faves Total with the possibility of cracking the Technorati Top 100 list.

Tip #5 - Have Fun and Don’t get Too Serious
I know the link train is a very powerful tool and that it can be optimized even more, but to be honest with you, I’ve come across some pretty agro bloggers who overreacted just a tiny bit if I forgot to exchange a favorite or anything of the sort. If you look at it as just a tool to get backlinks, then you’re not going to succeed. If you look at it as an opportunity to find new blogs while getting some link love, then I think you’ll be just fine.

What link train theme ideas have you had? What are new ideas do you have to make the train better? What ideas do you have that are better than the train in general?