StumbleUpon is a wonderful website that can eat hours of your life away. You can create an account, select from a large range of interests, and it will provide you with what feels like an endless selection of webpages to read off of. This is a great tool for discovering sites. With that being said, it is an even better tool for promoting your blog.
The Stats
The stats will answer our question on why we should use StumbleUpon to increase blog traffic.
- 1 billion stumbles per month
- 15 million users
- 500 thousand sign-ups per month
- 800 million recommendations per month
Check out the StumbleUpon timeline here.
Start Stumbling
Now that you are on board with the idea, or at least considering it, you may be wondering how to get your website involved. First, you need to register for a free account. Just go to StumbleUpon and sign up.
Adding a page:
- Click your profile tab, then scroll down and click the "add a page" link in the bottom left sidebar.
- Enter the URL of the post in the web page address section. Make sure that your content is suitable for StumbleUpon. You can see their content guidelines here.
- Select a category for the post and add some tags. Make sure it is as relevant as possible, this is a user generated website. If you Stumble for "cats" and a marketing blog comes up, I doubt the reader will recommend it. They will most likely report it.
- Click "Add this Page" and you're done! Simple as that!
Read more instructions here.
Connect & Discover
This community relies strictly on readers to upload their own pages and favorite others. You can do so by clicking "I like it!" above the page. It helps if you add a StumbleUpon badge to your blog or website.
Connect
- This is an opportunity to connect with other bloggers and users. You do not want to constantly self promote.
- You will see the best results if you click "I like it" on other blogs similar to yours or if you just upload pages you like. This will encourage people to like your content back. The more likes you have, the more likely it will be that your page shows up when someone stumbles.
Discover
Discovering means you are the first person to like and review someone else's content. If this happens, you will be prompted to do a quick review and add relevant tags. You pretty much need this to happen to start appearing when others stumble you. There is a way to get around it though.
Paid Promotion
This leads us to paid discovery. Here is how it works.
- This an affordable option compared to other paid social network advertising. It is $0.05 for basic, $0.10 for standard and $0.25 for premium. It is similar to pay-per-click, and you can set a daily budget. You can also set how many visitors you want to reach per day.
- You can filter your audience with age, gender, location, and/or device. You can also use an automatic feature to determine your target audience.
- You can schedule when you want your posts to show up.
- You can add funds via PayPal or with a credit card.
This is a great way to give you an extra boost. Also, reaching more people and acquiring likes makes it easier for your post to make it to the main page. This can dramatically increase traffic to your blog.
Read more about paid promotion here.
Tips
A few things apply when trying to use StumbleUpon to promote traffic. Keep in mind that this tool is similar to channel surfing so content is incredibly important.
Remember:
- You need compelling content to encourage others to like or share your page
- Have a title that will grab attention
- Use tags appropriately and do not act like a spammer
- Network and discover other users if you want the favor returned
- Make a great profile and link your blog to it. You can also add your social media sites to your profile too.
You have an opportunity to significantly increase your blog traffic, whether you are going for organic reach or giving paid discovery. Have fun and stumble on!
For more information on blogging or any other promotions, contact a Blue Archer Professional.
Barbara Cline
Online Content and Support Specialist
@BlueArcherPGH
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