DOUBLE YOUR TRAFFIC WITH STUMBLUPON IN 15 MINUTES A DAY

Got 15 mins? I’m going to teach you everything you need to know to start using StumblUpon to drive massive traffic to your blog with the easiest to manage social network on the web.

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There are literally hundreds of different social networks out there, each with their own crazy little hangups. All of them are great (in their own “special“ way…*ahem* I’m looking at you Fb) for driving traffic to your website, and all of them require, let’s face it, a shit ton of work.


Well not ALL of them.

One of the best platforms for driving tons (and I mean MASSIVE MASSIVE) traffic to your site, is also one of the web’s most underrated networks.

StumblUpon is this magic little corner of the internet that has the potential to be totally killing it for your blog, but most people are using it totally wrong. If you’re one of those people who tried it, got zero results then kicked it to the curb, this article is for you.

If you can manage to devote just 15 mins a day to the network, you can apply a super straightforward formula that gets the StumblUpon gods to smile on you, and gift you will loads of happy visitors.

I tried it and in just 2 weeks, doubled my traffic.

THE 1 & ONLY THING YOU NEED TO KNOW

If you take nothing else away from this post, I want you to know this 1 thing.

Slow. Down.

Because of the super easy, almost autopilot setup StumblUpon has got going on, it’s super easy to just open the app, thumbs up a page before it even loads all the way, and tap that big orange button for more content.

This is where most people seriously mess up their accounts and doom themselves to SU purgatory.

For StumblUpon to work for you, you’ve got to let the page load in its entirety, scroll through the content at a readable speed, poke around the site for a minute, and then (and only then), give the content a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Let me reiterate. While you’re going through and applying this formula I’m about to lay out for you…SLOW DOWN.

You might as well make this an enjoyable experience for yourself and start building your account up with content you actually want to read, because you will be reading it.

SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT

Just like any other social network, you need to fill out your profile. Before you get to the
daily routine, you need a good base to work with.

FILL OUT YOUR PROFILE

Load stumblupon.com, log into your account, and click your profile picture at the top right.
Click “settings”, and then fill out your info. Go through each of the tabs and make sure your profile is filled out properly.

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CREATE YOUR LISTS

Once you’ve finished your profile, the next order of business is your collection of lists. Lists are where you will store your favorite pieces of content, and can be followed by other people. Make sure you’re collecting pages that are actually relevant to the list title, and keep in mind your goals here. “To curate content that attracts and benefits your ideal customer”.

Since you will be reading every piece of content that goes into each list, selecting only the best stuff out there should be no problem.

Click the star in the upper left corner, and choose “Create New List”.

Create 10-15 lists for categories related to your business, and your personal interests, in which you will be curating collections of content.

These lists should be titled with keyword rich names, and not overly creative headings. Use titles like “Blogging”, “DIY”, “Gardening”, “Writing Tips”, “PR Updates”, etc.

You get the picture.

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YOUR DAILY ROUTINE

Just like all the other networks, StumblUpon is governed by an algorithm. Fortunately, this one is a bit easier to work with than some of the others. Use the below routine as the foundation for your traffic building strategy with SU, and then break out and experiment with spending more time in each of the areas to see what yields the best results for you.

TIP: Download the app for a more efficient experience.

8 MINS – STUMBL STUMBL STUMBL

Get stumbling. Log on daily and start clicking that big orange button.

Make sure you’re really actually reading the pages you are giving a thumbs up, and adding your favorite articles to your lists. Try to spend at least 1 full minute on pages you like and make sure you’re clicking around to other pages within the displayed blog.

If you like the article, leave a comment, or follow the person who “discovered” it.

Don’t just skim through posts and speed scroll to the bottom. That’s not how this works. Slow down, really read through the content, and if you like it, grant it a thumbs up.


You’re going to spend a full 8 minutes on this anyways. Don’t get fooled into thinking SU is giving you points for the sheer number of pages you stumble. They want you to actually read and engage with the content.

6 MINS – ADD YOUR FAVORITE BLOG POSTS FROM OTHER AUTHORS

Another important piece of this routine is doing your part to discover other pages. Spend at least 6 full minutes a day adding new pages by clicking your profile picture, then selecting “Add A Page”.

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Fill out the description with a few words about the subject of the article and click “Save”. It literally takes 10 seconds or less to add a page, so come prepared with a solid handful of links to paste in.

If you’re having trouble finding links to add, join a Facebook group with a blog post promo thread and help your fellow bloggers out by adding their content.

TIP: I use Evernote to collect links throughout the day to add to SU when I work on it in the evening.

Remember to add these pages to your lists when you really believe they fit.

1 MIN – ADD YOUR LATEST BLOG POST TO DOUBLE YOUR TRAFFIC WITH STUMBLUPON

Finally, here comes the fun part. How exactly is all this driving traffic to your blog? Well, if you’re doing your job and contributing to the StumblUpon community, this is the step that will drive up the metrics for your site.

Go ahead and add your latest blog post in the same way you added posts from other authors.

Make sure you fill out the “Safe For Work” radio button and the description field. Use a tag in the description that matches up with one of the available categories in the “interests” lists.

For every 20-25 pages you add from other authors, you can add 1 page of your own. And that’s it. That really is all you need to do to get SU to show your page over and over again to people who have listed that category in their interests.

What makes a blog post get tons of thumbs ups? Find out here.

BASK IN YOUR TRAFFIC

15 mins a day can actually double your traffic with StumblUpon, and it doesn’t take rocket science to make it work.

Put in the time, complete the routine, give it 2 solid weeks, and watch your referral traffic from corp.stumblupon.com and stumblupon.com skyrocket.

A word of caution though…It’s easy to see great results with this network, but just like any other channel, it’s important to diversify your traffic referral sources. Don’t rely on any one channel to bring visitors to your site.

The algorithm could change at any moment, your account could be flagged as spam, or the network could disappear from the face of the earth entirely. Make sure you’re working to generate traffic from a variety of sources and don’t ever get too dependent on a single one.

Now go out and kick some StumblUpon ass!

Marketing Basics, Social MediaOlivia DerbyTraffic drivingComment