This is a tactic for [TAG]getting links[/TAG] that I have used for years.
Supporting new sites, especially the types of sites that are hot right now like [TAG]social networking[/TAG] sites, is not a 100% guaranteed return on your time invested, but when they pay off they pay off big!
Spotting potential winners and investing the time in setting up with them before they take off, whatever kind of site they may be as long as they are relevant to mine.
Case in Point: Marktd.com
I found this site early on when it was just getting started. I found it to be promising because it was the only site like Digg.com but specifically for marketers and online businesses.
The uniqueness of it and some other factors that led me to believe the owner was really into this site and dedicated to its success.
I took a chance and started posting “stories” there, banking on it becoming a high traffic site. I also started promoting the site actively on conference calls and training.
If you don’t help the site grow by telling others about it, you are just sitting there sucking whatever you can out of a startup and giving nothing in return. Bad investment protection plan!
This gamble paid off. Now MarkTD has great pagerank and I am seeing more and more traffic from the stories I post there.
Lesson: Do not ignore new sites because they currently have no traffic to offer you. Be careful how much time you spend “investing” in new sites because most still fail or move very slowly.
But do take advantage of new sites that seem to be on the right track because when they explode, the [TAG]free targeted traffic[/TAG] they send you can be enormous. But for people just discovering and using them after they go big, often it is not as easy to get in and get as much out of them.
Another gamble I have taken is Seth Godin’s Squidoo. I put up a lens there and am getting trickles of traffic so far. I expect I have put my “money” in the right place though because Seth is no slouch at drumming up publicity.
The other benefit from adopting sites like this early is you get to post or blog to an account where your main keyword is still available.
Example: My Squidoo lens address is http://www.squidoo.com/websitepromotion. Want that URL? Can’t have it. It’s mine forever.
That is going to be an awesome link when they take off. Or not.
Nothing ventured nothing gained.