User Comments

1. 

   9/21/07

   CharlesMcKeever

   I like to stumble articles that I have written that are solid pieces of content. I don't normally stumble the short blog posts unless there is some sense of importance that out weights the fact that the content is brief.
   
   When I stumble an article I usually see somewhere between 20 to 60 visitors in the first 30 minutes, depending on the subject of the article. Then the traffic tappers off and becomes more of a steady trickle that continues to come in on a regular basis. When I check my stats I always see StumbleUpon listed as a source, even if it is only one or two hits at a time.
   
   I figure this type of consistent traffic over time will bring me lots of future readers for my efforts today.

   [reply]
2. 

   9/24/07

   m38967

   I don't stumble my own posts at my own blogs, but i do stumble my posts at blogs i blog at. And traffic is pretty decent, i do it on posts i think are cool, not every one. I like the fact that SU makes it nice and easy to stumble, not to mention fun. I hardly ever submit any articles to digg, it is too time consuming, but when im at the digg site, which is several times a week, i digg there directly. Just is quicker. I also submit to Hugg and to Sk-rt, ocassionally.

   [reply]
3. 

   9/25/07

   NINE

   Stumbleupon is a GREAT source of traffic, and a great way to get exposure to a good post but you also have to figure it also probably has the lowest rate of people who are going to be interested in your post as opposed to someone actually doing a search in google and clicking to your content.
   
   Also because stumbleupon is such a huge spike in traffic, with a large bounce rate, you really want to make sure that before you are stumbled you have everything ready and in order so that you have your best foot forward. Put your best post out there, have some interesting links to other articles you have written.
   
   I think of it a lot like an open house, you make sure everything is perfect and open your doors to this flood of traffic and hope that you can entice a large group to stick around and learn more.
   
   One thing I have read is that it is not as effective to stumble yourself. Has anyone else found this to be true? I know that there are some STUMBLE groups here on blogcatalog that are also a big help. You join the group and post a link to your post and the community will help stumble or dig your post to give you an extra boost.

   [reply]
   1. 

      9/25/07

      CharlesMcKeever

      "One thing I have read is that it is not as effective to stumble yourself. Has anyone else found this to be true?"
      
      I have stumbled my own articles on several occasions and each time I have seen a rush of traffic that lasts about thirty minutes max and then tappers off to a trickle that continues to come in long after the initial stumble.
      
      I would be interested to hear someone elses experience with getting outside stumbles to help balance the weighting for their links. It would make sense if StumbleUpon used other people's stumbles to rank the value of content.
      
      .
4. 

   9/26/07

   NINE

   I guess that is the key though isn't it dane? Its obvious that stumbleupon is going to deliver traffic but in most cases I would be that 99% of bloggers aren't doing anything to really target this traffic and get the most from it. It feels like everyone wants to throw a bunch of traffic at their site and see if anything sticks but I think its also important to think about what you can do to be prepared for the inflow of new traffic and consider doing more to convert that traffic into regular visitors.

   [reply]
5. 

   9/28/07

   CharlesMcKeever

   Dane, Have you ever tried to create page or post that was specifically targeted for Stumble visitors? Maybe something that is gear toward getting their attention in two or three seconds? It seems like there is surely a way to pull a stumble user through to an action, even if that action is just to get them to stick around long enough to read your content.

   [reply]
6. 

   9/28/07

   CharlesMcKeever

   Nine, I agree that seeing if the traffic sticks is a common theme. The only way to really know is to measure the results in some actionable way. Do you have any thoughts on that?

   [reply]
7. 

   10/03/07

   jonbeme

   What are these BC and BZ communities? Where are they? I'm new to blogging and any help is, uh, helpful!
   
   Thanks

   [reply]
8. 

   10/11/07

   jonbeme

   Thanks DaneMorgan
   Appreciate it

   [reply]
9. 

   3/17/08

   ivanpw

   @DaneMorgan
   
   Thanks for the tips. I also use stumbled upon, but you are right about using communities like BlogCatalog for a more targeted visitors on my blog.
   
   Ivanpw
   noobpreneur.com

   [reply]
10. 

    3/26/08

    CharlesMcKeever

    Has anyone used any of the stumble traffic sites like suexchange? I've tried it with good results. I don't go overboard with it though. I'm not interested in getting slapped. I only stumble the sites in the exchange if I think they have value. What do you think about it?

    [reply]
11. 

    10/09/09

    coolkakos

    Hi. My blog is very new so i've been fervently studying what is important in traffic attraction and overall blog health. I've been poking around sites like stumbleupon and searching what others think of them. My first "ad campaign" was a simply message sent to all my facebook friends that i was launching a blog. I think social media, like twitter, facebook, and myspace is important in gaining subscribers or loyal readers.
    My next object of study is effective ways to gain traffic "stick" just as you guys have been mentioning. My ideas are livening up the homepage with something interesting enough to keep the reader present. Things such as a related video or even slideshowing some text would could be a goood way to keep the reader around for a bit. And with slideshowing text, you're not only catching the lurker's eye , you are showing off your content in a meaningful way as well.... (i should get working on that!)
    What do you think of these ideas?

    [reply]
12. 

    11/13/09

    ddkays

    I will take any suggestions on my site:
    www.ddkays.wordpress.com
    Thank you!

    [reply]