Social Bookmarking: Traffic Generator or Time Waster?

Social bookmarking: Youve heard a lot about it and maybe youve even tried it yourself a time or two. But either way, youve come to the conclusion that its 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 dont start using these sites now, youll be left behind.

Is that true?

To be blunt: Yes.

And thats 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.

Heres how to do it:

1) Join the Top Social Bookmarking Sites

Run a search for social bookmarking sites in Google, and youll uncover plenty of sites. Youll 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 cant 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 wouldnt feel compelled to do so.

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

Likewise, thats 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 peoples content.

3) Submit Buzz Worthy Content

Once youve networked with influential members on these sites and built up your own reputation, its time to start submitting some of your own content.

But heres the catch you cant 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.

For more information about creating buzz-worthy content and for all the secrets of using social bookmarking to build your lists check out the brand new ebook, [[Social List Building]].