Two Short Words (Five Letters!) That Get You More Web Traffic And Leads
Read More: Why does one post get 24 votes, 57 "Shares", and 22 "Tweets" while another post drifts through the site like a ghost on the wind?
It's no secret to me.
I can tell you why this happens in one word:
Value.
Forget about "article marketing", “video marketing”, or “social marketing”.
Focus on helping other people instead.
In fact, stop reading this right now and write that down.
Stop "marketing" to people.
Start helping them.
You will notice a world of difference in your results.
This is why "How To" articles and video are some of the most popular content in the Better Networker community.
It's because "How To" content provides value by helping people solve their problems.
This means that “How To” content will often get more Votes, “Tweets”, “Shares”, Comments, Web Traffic, and Leads, than any other type of content here.
But how do you pick a “How To” topic that will catch on like “wildfire” and give you the type of exposure, web traffic, and leads that our top community members are getting when they upload new content?
The truth is, you don’t “pick” a “How To” topic.
You pick a fight with a BIG UGLY PROBLEM instead.
The value of your “How To” topic depends entirely on the size of the problem it solves.
In the Wild West, the cowboy would press his ear to the ground to listen for the thundering rumble of hooves in the distance.
He could quite literally hear a problem miles away.
If you want your “How To” content to have a massive impact then you are going to have to learn how to put your ear to the ground and listen like that cowboy.
What does a problem sound like?
They’re easy to spot because the big ones sound like cash registers -- “Ka-ching!”
The rest of your success will depend on your writing and marketing skills.
Look, there are TONS of great courses out there if you want to learn how to write copy.
But I’m not here to sell them to you today.
If you're wondering which one's I personally recommend.
But you’re going to be hearing a lot more from me soon.
So keep your ears to the ground.
To your success,
Jason The “Better Networker”
P.S. Slapping the words “How To” on your headlines doesn’t necessarily make it “How To” content. Try these ones on for a change: 7 Ways to; How I; The Secret of; The Art of.
I collect headlines I like and make templates out of them.
It’s a geeky hobby I have.
Have a little fun!
P.P.S. Please comment below and share this article with your friends by clicking the Vote, "Share", And "Tweet" buttons above this article. Thank you. :-)
Views: 1,402 | 
Comments: 19 
About the Author: Jason Better
Member Since: 09/16/2008
Company: BetterNetworker.com
Industry: Internet
Primary Web Site: http://www.JasonBetter.com
Twitter: jasonbetter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betternetworker
Loved it!
Great article,Jason! Loved it!
I noticed that on my own blog that "How To" posts often do better than the ones I personally thought would be a hit ;-)
Thanks for sharing this and have an awesome day!
Ilka
High Fructose Corn Syrup syndrome.
It does not take long to noticed how "addicted" people are to some content. Better yet "lack of confidence" type posts seems to get a lot of reply's.
Someone talks about leadership, or ways to find leads by just communicating with people there usually is a lot of chatter in the comments with those posts. Talking about how great the concept or idea is...
Now when the next post comes out teaching them how they can do such things step by step..Ghost town, run and hide I am to scared, skeptical, fear of not being liked ect..
It's those deeply rooted addictions to fear, like sugar that get peoples attention.
The keyword in this post is not "value" it's "Listen"...Listening leads to value.
Glad to see you more active Jason.
Stop Selling Start Helping
Hey Jason, great to hear from you.
I'm with you, give, give, give and thank you for the stats!
talk soon
Thanks Ilka, Ed, Richard!
I'm willing to bet those two words: "How To" have been magic words since one caveman showed another how to club a mammoth.
Ilka, I noticed that some of your content is hitting the front page here regularly again. Good job!
Richard, you are right on about that.
Nobody listens nearly enough.
I'm as guilty as anybody else of not listening enough!
Ed, I never thought about it that way.
But now that you mention it I almost never suffer from writer's block.
I guess it does work! :-)
Jason Thanks for saying it
Jason
Thanks for saying it like it is .If we stop thinking about how much money we are going to make instead of all the people we can help .We will see the money come in
What a Great Reminder!
Hi Jason.
Thanks a lot for this great post. Sometimes ALL of us just needs to be reminded why we are here and what really works.
What you've described here is truly the way lead by example and create sustainable success... at least that's what I believe.
Watching out for more great stuff, Lasse
In Appreciation
Very elegant clarification, Jason
Thank you!
I'm blown away by the amazing content leaders in our community upload every single day.
I just hope this post inspires a few members who are hiding in the shadows to share their value with the world.
Thank you for the kind words. :-)
Two Short Words (Five Letters!) That Get You More Web Traffic A
This advice is so simple, it's genius.
Value of content on ABN
Good Article Jason. Thanks gentleiron2
VALUE: The "Kingdom" Worth Fighting For
Jason Better,
Thank you for the reminder of WHY we do what we do. I think that VALUE is like the a Kingdom of needs and solutions and where every BN family member can feel at ease that they will receive the solutions that meet their need.
I will strive to do my very best to be one of the "Knights" in the Kingdom of VALUE. I will valiantly share Truth and Wisdom whenever and wherever I can.
Thank you again!
R_Bryan_Anthony
Good Suff
Hey Jason! Great article on how to get your content shared. This is one of the principles I picked up from Magnetic Sponsoring that really changed the way I look at this business. Give without wanting in return. It is truly the foundation of great relationships.
So Right!
You have reminded me Jason, of the saying - "You can have everything you want by helping others get everything they need!"
Sometimes we become so embroiled in our daily fight for survival that we forget this.
Thanks for the reminder.
Maybe..Maybe Not.
There's a missing element to what you are saying Jason and this is the part that will make or break your business...
Every man (or woman) and his dog is out there "offering value" these days - in their own mind at least..
In fact, a whole industry is being built around it as though it were something new and innovative when all it is is good business.
Find a market for your product or service? Not quite..
Find a product or service that meets your markets needs and then let them find out about it in the best way possible - by third party recommendation.
Now, a room full of network marketers can only lead to one thing before too long - a full scale comp-plan pitch! ;-)
So (in the real world) these guys avoid each other for the most part and they build their business through flyers, newspaper ads,warm market, buying leads etc etc and they teach the three foot rule and the full monty and some find success while others find themselves with an expensive hobby.
Online things are different..maybe, maybe not.
So the rules have changed; that's all. Even if we wanted to, we cannot avoid each other - we're all over Facebook and Twitter and the whole world and his wife knows we're that rare breed - the MLM Rockstar in the making.
Then some guy sees an opportunity - he builds a big website and calls it HOME for all us MLM Rockstar Wannabees..come and feel welcome at long last.
So, you build a BIG room where you offer great food, drink and conversation and you invite a group of likeminded people to come and talk to one another - they happen to be in the same business maybe.. you get them out of Facebook and Twitter by telling them this place is full of people who won't ignore you and won't report you to Facebook and Twitter for "chat box" misdemeanours..it's full of networkers and we all "get it" right?
Maybe.. maybe not.
Then after a while the room starts to get pretty busy and fairly noisy as we all compete to show how much value we can offer..they're being told to add value by everyone they know and they know if they can just add enough value at some point their business will grow, right?
"Look at this cool thing you can do on Facebook (in front of 5,000 strangers who have no reason to ever join you in your business because they are already knee deep in debt building a business of their own).. but still its cool and it's real value I'm adding to the community"
"Try this simple video marketing technique.. (to get your videos in front of 200 subscribers to your video channel who are doing the exact same thing as you and having the same lack of success but they'll leave you a comment telling you how awesome your videos are).. it's a cool tip and I know you'll find it full of value"
"Here's a cool wordpress plugin that helps you to generate 50% increased opt-in from your sites monthly visitor (even though you only get around 26 people per month from natural search you should soon start to build a list of 3 people per week)..;-)
Value is fine guys...
I love value...
BUT
Link it to results.
If you know something works and IS working and gets YOU results - share it with the world and your business will grow...
Results are all that count online.
Opinions and ideas and great "How To" videos mean squat unless they increase..
Your bottom line.
... gotta go, I hear there's a room full of prospects somewhere just waiting for me to make 'em rich! ;-)
Insightful Neil
I think that sometimes we forget that value is a moving target. What may be valuable today is not so valuable next week.
You hit the nail on the head. "How To" content is only as valuable as the problem it solves.
If everybody is posting "How To Solve XYZ" then it's time to listen for the thundering hooves.
Because that is no longer a "Big Ugly Problem" for most people.
The bigger the problem the bigger the reward. :-)
Insightful comments everybody.
Much appreciated.
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail Jason...
True. And when the thunder starts to come from all directions then perhaps its time to hide deep beneath the covers for a while and read a good book...
Think and Grow Rich perhaps?
;-)
Regarding Listening and Getting a Clue
I agree that listening is important and leads to being able to provide better value. You are then better attuned to what is going on with people - what their problems & concerns are. Also, I think a good thing to do sometimes is "clear" out the cobwebs of your brain - i.e., get out of your home office for a while. Sometimes I simply go into a local Dr's office & read the recent magazines - good source of material, and listen to the patients' problems, troubles or complaints. This clues me in.
Two Short Words (Five Letters!) That Get You More Web Traffic An
I am impressed and inspired by all of the awesome information on this site!! I am new to networking and want to learn to be a better marketer and in a great writer...be it a blog...etc. I look forward to making some lasting connections.
How to Skin A Dinosaur...
Everybody's looking for something, and nothing says 'solution' more than 'How To ....' and it's variations.
'How to skin a dinosaur' - If my dinosaur needs skinning, that's the first article title I'll click on.
Seems obvious Jason, but so often forgotten or overlooked...
Cheers!