Social Bookmarking: Traffic Generator or Time Waster?

Social bookmarking: You’ve heard a lot about it… and maybe you’ve even tried it yourself a time or two. But either way, you’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a waste of time.

And yet you keep hearing the gurus brag about how much traffic they get from these sites. They talk about getting hundreds or even thousands of visitors in a very short amount of time. They warn you that social bookmarking sites and other social media sites are the future – and if you don’t start using these sites now, you’ll be left behind.

Is that true?

To be blunt: Yes.

And that’s why I want you to know how to use social bookmarking sites. These sites are easy to use, you get instant traffic and the traffic is targeted and warm to your messages.

Here’s how to do it:

1) Join the Top Social Bookmarking Sites

Run a search for “social bookmarking” sites in Google, and you’ll uncover plenty of sites. You’ll need to focus on two types of sites: 1) the main sites (listed below) at get the most traffic and 2) those sites that are tightly focused on your niche.

Here are some the best social bookmarking sites (that you should join ASAP):

Del.icio.us
Digg.com
StumbleUpon.com
Reddit.com
Del.irio.us

2) Participate, Network, Contribute, Network

You can’t just join these sites, bookmark your own pages and expect a rush of traffic.

Think of it this way: If a stranger came up to you on the street and said “visit this site,” would you? Maybe. Maybe not. But you certainly wouldn’t feel compelled to do so.

Now what if your friend emails you and says, “check out this site.” Would you? Probably! And that’s because you know this person and trust his judgement.

Likewise, that’s why social bookmarking sites are so powerful. Namely, bookmarked pages have a better chance of being seen by thousands of eager visitors IF some of the well respected members of the community rate them as good sites first.

That means you need to network and become friends with the influential members who are in your niche. And that means you must also become one of these respected members by first voting and commenting thoughtfully on other people’s content.

3) Submit “Buzz Worthy” Content

Once you’ve networked with influential members on these sites and built up your own reputation, it’s time to start submitting some of your own content.

But here’s the catch – you can’t trot out some dusty old content that can be found in a thousand other places online. It needs to be fresh, engaging and “edgy.” In short, it needs to be worth sharing.