#Get Organic Traffic to Website

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Social Media Traffic Streams

Social Media Traffic Streams is your guide to harnessing the power of social media for driving traffic to your website. In today's competitive business landscape, brand recognition and relevance are crucial. This comprehensive resource teaches you how to effectively use social media marketing to build a loyal following of customers and business partners.

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Top 10 Methods to Attract More Traffic to Your Website

Md. Joynal Abdin*

Business Consultant & Digital Marketer

Founder & CEO, Trade & Investment Bangladesh (TIB)

Secretary General, Brazil Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BBCCI)

Co-Founder & CEO of Bangladesh Trade Center

In today's digital age, a website serves as the virtual gateway to a business, organization, or individual. It acts as a powerful medium to showcase products, services, ideas, and content to a global audience. However, merely having a website is not enough to thrive in the competitive online landscape. To succeed and make a meaningful impact, attracting more traffic to your website is paramount. Why you should invest to attract more traffic into your website? It is because -

The Virtual Highway of Opportunities: A website with high traffic is like a bustling city with endless opportunities. Each visitor represents a potential customer, client, or supporter. More traffic equates to more leads, conversions, and revenue-generating opportunities. Whether you are running an e-commerce store, a blog, a service-based business, or a non-profit organization, increasing your website's traffic can lead to tangible and intangible benefits.

Enhanced Visibility and Brand Awareness: Attracting more traffic to your website enhances your online visibility and brand awareness. When people discover and engage with your website, they become familiar with your brand, products, or services. Over time, this fosters trust and credibility, encouraging them to choose your offerings over competitors.

Boosting Search Engine Rankings: Search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo are the primary tools people use to find information, products, or services online. Attracting more traffic signals search engines that your website is relevant and valuable to users. As a result, your website's search engine rankings improve, further increasing its exposure to potential visitors.

Amplifying Content Reach: Compelling content lies at the core of attracting traffic. As more visitors access your content, the likelihood of them sharing it with others increases. This natural word-of-mouth marketing expands your content's reach far beyond your immediate network. A viral piece of content can catapult your website's traffic to new heights and create lasting impacts.

Unleashing the Power of Conversion: Website traffic is not solely about numbers; it's about turning visitors into customers or supporters. Through effective calls-to-action, user-friendly design, and engaging content, you can optimize your website for conversions. More traffic means more potential customers in your sales funnel, leading to increased conversions and revenue growth.

Valuable Market Insights: Every website visitor provides an opportunity to gather valuable data and insights. Analyzing website traffic patterns, user behavior, and preferences can help you refine your marketing strategies, improve user experience, and develop targeted campaigns. These insights enable you to make data-driven decisions that align with your audience's needs and preferences.

Staying Ahead of Competitors: In today's hyper-competitive digital landscape, attracting more traffic is not a luxury; it's a necessity. Your competitors are likely investing in strategies to increase their website traffic, and to stay ahead, you must do the same. Building a strong online presence and attracting a steady stream of visitors is crucial for establishing your authority and outperforming your rivals.

Top 10 Methods to Attract More Traffic to your Website:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimize your website for search engines to improve its visibility in organic search results. Target relevant keywords, create high-quality content, and build authoritative backlinks to attract more visitors.

Content Marketing: Create valuable and engaging content such as blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, and podcasts. Content marketing can attract and retain visitors, as well as encourage them to share your content, driving more traffic to your site.

Social Media Marketing: Leverage popular social media platforms to promote your content and engage with your audience. Share updates regularly, participate in discussions, and use visuals to capture attention.

Email Marketing: Build and nurture an email list to keep your audience informed and engaged. Send newsletters, exclusive offers, and updates to drive traffic to your website.

Guest Blogging: Write guest posts for other websites in your niche or invite guest bloggers to contribute to your site. This cross-promotion can help you reach new audiences and build valuable backlinks.

Influencer Marketing: Collaborate with influencers or industry experts who have a significant following. Their endorsement can introduce your website to a broader audience and drive traffic.

Online Advertising: Invest in paid advertising on platforms like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or other social media channels. Paid ads can provide an immediate boost in traffic and help you target specific audiences.

Video Marketing: Utilize video content on platforms like YouTube to engage users visually and drive traffic back to your website. Video content often performs well and can be shared across various platforms.

Optimize Website Performance: Ensure your website loads quickly, are mobile-friendly, and has an intuitive user interface. A positive user experience encourages visitors to explore more pages and return in the future.

Community Engagement: Participate in online forums, social media groups, and communities relevant to your niche. Offer helpful insights, answer questions, and interact with users to establish yourself as an authority and attract traffic through word-of-mouth.

Remember that a combination of these methods often works best, and it's essential to tailor your approach to your specific target audience and industry. Continuously monitor and analyze the performance of your strategies to make data-driven decisions for ongoing improvement.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing your website and its content to improve its visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). The ultimate goal of SEO is to attract organic (non-paid) traffic from search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. By making your website more search engine-friendly, SEO increases the chances of your website being found by users searching for relevant information, products, or services. SEO involves various techniques and strategies that can be broadly categorized into two main types:

On-Page SEO: This focuses on optimizing the elements within your website itself. Here are some key on-page SEO factors:

Keyword Research: Identify relevant keywords and phrases that your target audience is using to search for content related to your website. Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Moz Keyword Explorer can help with this.

Content Optimization: Create high-quality, relevant, and valuable content that incorporates the chosen keywords naturally. Ensure your content is well-structured, easy to read, and addresses the needs of your audience.

Title Tags and Meta Descriptions: Craft compelling and descriptive title tags and meta descriptions that include your target keywords. These are the snippets that appear in search engine results and influence click-through rates.

URL Structure: Create clean, descriptive, and user-friendly URLs that contain relevant keywords.

Heading Tags (H1, H2, etc.): Use heading tags to structure your content and make it easier for search engines to understand the hierarchy of information on your page.

Image Optimization: Optimize image file names and alt text with relevant keywords to improve their discoverability in image searches.

Off-Page SEO: This focuses on factors outside your website that influence its ranking in search engines. The most critical aspect of off-page SEO is building high-quality backlinks from reputable and relevant websites. Here are some off-page SEO strategies:

Link Building: Acquire backlinks from authoritative websites in your industry or niche. This can be achieved through guest blogging, content promotion, influencer outreach, and more.

Social Media Engagement: Active social media presence and engagement can help increase your website's visibility and attract potential link opportunities.

Online Directories and Citations: Ensure your business is listed accurately and consistently in relevant online directories and local business listings.

Influencer Marketing: Collaborate with influencers or industry experts to gain exposure and attract more traffic to your website.

Social Bookmarking: Share your content on social bookmarking sites to drive traffic and increase visibility.

Online Forums and Communities: Engage in relevant online forums and communities to build relationships, share your expertise, and drive traffic through a well-placed link.

Important Tips for Successful SEO:

Focus on user experience: Create content and design your website with the user in mind, as search engines prioritize sites that provide value to users.

Regularly update and add new content: Fresh and relevant content attracts search engines and encourages visitors to return.

Monitor and analyze website performance: Use tools like Google Analytics to track traffic, user behavior, and key performance indicators to refine your SEO strategies.

Stay updated on SEO best practices and algorithm changes: Search engines continually evolve, so it's crucial to stay informed about the latest trends and updates in SEO.

SEO is an ongoing process, and it requires dedication, patience, and continuous effort to see sustainable results. By implementing both on-page and off-page SEO techniques, you can significantly increase your website's visibility, drive more organic traffic, and achieve long-term success in the digital landscape.

2. Content Marketing

Content Marketing is a strategic marketing approach that involves creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and engage a specific target audience. The primary goal of content marketing is to provide value to the audience, build trust, and ultimately drive profitable customer actions, such as making a purchase, subscribing to a service, or sharing the content with others. It focuses on building long-term relationships with customers by offering helpful, informative, entertaining, or inspiring content.

How to Do Content Marketing:

Define Your Audience: Understand your target audience's needs, preferences, and pain points. Conduct market research and create buyer personas to have a clear picture of whom you are creating content for.

Set Clear Goals: Define specific and measurable goals for your content marketing efforts. Common goals include increasing website traffic, lead generation, brand awareness, customer retention, and conversions.

Content Strategy: Develop a comprehensive content strategy that aligns with your business goals and audience. Decide on the types of content you will create, such as blog posts, videos, infographics, podcasts, ebooks, etc.

Keyword Research: Conduct keyword research to identify relevant and high-traffic keywords that your target audience is searching for. Use these keywords strategically in your content to improve its visibility in search engine results.

Create High-Quality Content: Produce valuable, informative, and well-crafted content that addresses the needs and interests of your audience. Focus on providing solutions, answering questions, and adding value.

Diversify Content Formats: Experiment with various content formats to cater to different audience preferences. Mix written content with visuals, videos, and interactive elements to keep your audience engaged.

Consistency and Frequency: Be consistent in publishing content and maintain a regular posting schedule. This helps build anticipation and trust with your audience.

Promote Your Content: Share your content across different marketing channels, including social media, email newsletters, online communities, and relevant industry forums. Encourage sharing and engagement to expand your content's reach.

Measure Performance: Use analytics tools to track the performance of your content. Monitor metrics such as website traffic, engagement rates, conversion rates, and time spent on page to gauge the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts.

Optimize and Repurpose Content: Continuously analyze your content's performance and make improvements based on insights. Also, consider repurposing successful content into different formats to reach new audiences.

Engage with Your Audience: Respond to comments, messages, and feedback from your audience. Engaging with them fosters a sense of community and loyalty.

Stay Updated and Evolve: Keep an eye on industry trends and changes in your target audience's behavior. Adapt your content marketing strategy accordingly to stay relevant and maintain your competitive edge.

Content marketing is a long-term strategy that requires dedication and patience. By consistently providing valuable content that resonates with your audience, you can build strong relationships, increase brand loyalty, and drive meaningful actions that benefit your business in the long run.

3. Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing is a digital marketing strategy that involves using social media platforms to promote products, services, or content and engage with a target audience. Social media has become a powerful tool for businesses and individuals to connect with their audience, build brand awareness, drive website traffic, and generate leads. It encompasses various activities, such as creating and sharing content, engaging with followers, running ads, and analyzing performance metrics. How to Do Social Media Marketing:

Choose the Right Platforms: Identify the social media platforms that align with your target audience and business goals. Popular platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Create a Social Media Strategy: Define your objectives, target audience, tone of voice, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Develop a content plan that outlines what type of content you'll share and when.

Optimize Your Profiles: Create professional and consistent profiles across all chosen platforms. Use high-quality profile pictures, cover images, and a compelling bio that reflects your brand identity.

Content Creation: Create engaging and shareable content that aligns with your audience's interests and preferences. Content can include images, videos, infographics, blog posts, polls, and more.

Content Calendar: Plan and schedule your content in advance using a content calendar. This ensures a consistent flow of posts and helps you stay organized.

Community Engagement: Interact with your followers and respond to comments, messages, and mentions promptly. Engaging with your audience builds relationships and fosters loyalty.

Incorporate Hashtags: Use relevant and popular hashtags in your posts to increase discoverability and reach a wider audience.

Paid Advertising: Consider running paid social media advertising campaigns to target specific demographics, boost content visibility, and drive website traffic or conversions.

Social Media Influencers: Collaborate with influencers who have a significant following in your niche to extend your brand's reach and credibility.

Measure Performance: Utilize social media analytics tools to track the performance of your content and campaigns. Monitor metrics like reach, engagement, clicks, conversions, and audience demographics.

A/B Testing: Experiment with different types of content, posting times, and ad creatives through A/B testing to identify what resonates best with your audience.

Stay Updated and Adapt: Social media platforms and trends evolve rapidly. Stay informed about platform updates and industry trends, and be ready to adapt your strategy accordingly.

Monitor Your Competition: Keep an eye on your competitors' social media activities to gather insights and identify opportunities for improvement.

Avoid Over-Promotion: Strike a balance between promotional content and value-driven content. Avoid overwhelming your audience with constant sales pitches.

Social media marketing requires a mix of creativity, strategic planning, and consistency. By understanding your audience, tailoring your content, and engaging actively, you can leverage social media to build a loyal community, increase brand visibility, and achieve your marketing objectives.

4. Email Marketing

Email Marketing is a digital marketing strategy that involves using email to communicate with a target audience, promote products or services, share valuable content, and build relationships with customers or potential customers. It is a direct and personalized form of communication that allows businesses and individuals to reach their audience directly in their inbox. How to Do Email Marketing:

Build an Email List: Start by building a permission-based email list of subscribers who have voluntarily opted in to receive emails from you. You can collect email addresses through website sign-up forms, lead magnets, events, and other opt-in opportunities.

Choose an Email Marketing Service: Select a reliable and user-friendly email marketing service provider, such as Mailchimp, ConvertKit, AWeber, or Constant Contact. These platforms offer features like list management, email templates, automation, and analytics.

Segment Your Audience: Divide your email list into segments based on factors like interests, purchase behavior, location, or engagement level. This allows you to send targeted and relevant content to specific groups.

Craft Compelling Content: Create engaging and valuable email content that resonates with your audience. This can include newsletters, product updates, promotions, blog digests, or exclusive content.

Personalization: Personalize your emails by addressing recipients by their names and tailoring content based on their preferences or behavior. Personalization helps build stronger connections with your audience.

Optimize Email Design: Use a clean and visually appealing email design that aligns with your brand. Ensure your emails are mobile-responsive, as a significant portion of users access emails on mobile devices.

Use Catchy Subject Lines: Write attention-grabbing subject lines that entice recipients to open your emails. Avoid using spammy or deceptive subject lines.

Frequency and Timing: Find the right balance for email frequency, so you don't overwhelm your audience with too many emails. Test different sending times to determine when your audience is most responsive.

Automation: Implement email automation to send targeted emails based on triggers, such as a user's sign-up, website activity, or purchase behavior. Automation saves time and ensures timely and relevant communications.

Monitor and Analyze: Use email marketing analytics to track open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. Analyzing these metrics helps you measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and make improvements.

A/B Testing: Experiment with different elements of your emails, such as subject lines, content, CTAs, and visuals, through A/B testing. This allows you to identify what resonates best with your audience.

Compliance with Email Laws: Familiarize yourself with email marketing laws, such as the CAN-SPAM Act (in the United States) or GDPR (in the European Union), to ensure your email marketing is compliant with regulations.

Provide Opt-Out Option: Always include an easy-to-find unsubscribe/opt-out link in your emails to allow recipients to opt-out if they wish.

Email marketing is a powerful tool for engaging with your audience and driving business growth. By delivering valuable content, personalizing your messages, and using data to inform your decisions, you can create effective email campaigns that nurture relationships, encourage conversions, and foster long-term customer loyalty.

5. Guest Blogging

Guest Blogging is a content marketing strategy where you write and publish articles or blog posts on other websites or blogs as a guest author. It allows you to reach a new audience, build brand awareness, establish yourself as an authority in your niche, and earn valuable backlinks to your website, which can improve your website's search engine rankings. How to Do Guest Blogging:

Identify Relevant Blogs: Research and find blogs or websites that are relevant to your industry or niche. Look for websites with an engaged audience and good domain authority.

Read Guest Posting Guidelines: Before reaching out to a blog, carefully read their guest posting guidelines. Each blog may have specific requirements and guidelines for guest submissions.

Familiarize Yourself with the Content: Read several articles on the blog to understand their writing style, tone, and topics covered. This will help you tailor your guest post to match the blog's audience.

Pitch Your Idea: Contact the blog owner or editor with a well-crafted pitch that outlines your proposed guest post idea. Explain how your content will benefit their audience and align with their blog's focus.

Write High-Quality Content: If your pitch is accepted, start writing your guest post. Focus on providing valuable and unique content that offers actionable insights or solves a problem for the readers.

Follow Style Guidelines: Stick to the blog's writing style, tone, and formatting requirements. Use headings, subheadings, bullet points, and images to make your content more engaging and easy to read.

Include an Author Bio: Most guest blogging opportunities allow you to include an author bio at the end of your post. Write a brief bio that introduces yourself and includes a link back to your website or social media profiles.

Edit and Proofread: Before submitting your guest post, thoroughly edit and proofread it for grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. A well-polished post reflects positively on your professionalism.

Submit Your Guest Post: Submit your guest post to the blog according to their specified guidelines. Be patient, as it may take some time for the blog to review and publish your content.

Promote Your Guest Post: Once your guest post is published, promote it on your social media channels, email newsletter, and website to drive traffic back to the blog and establish your credibility.

Engage with the Audience: After your guest post is published, engage with the blog's audience by responding to comments and questions. This helps you build connections with potential readers.

Track Your Results: Monitor the performance of your guest post, such as website traffic, new followers, and backlinks. Assess the impact of your guest blogging efforts on your overall marketing strategy.

Guest blogging can be a powerful tool for expanding your reach and building authority within your industry. By offering valuable content and forming mutually beneficial relationships with other bloggers, you can maximize the benefits of guest blogging for your content marketing strategy.

6. Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing is a type of marketing strategy that involves collaborating with influential individuals (influencers) who have a significant following and impact in a particular niche or industry. The goal of influencer marketing is to leverage the influencer's reach and credibility to promote products, services, or brands to their engaged audience. Influencers can be social media personalities, bloggers, YouTubers, celebrities, experts, or industry thought leaders. How to Do Influencer Marketing:

Define Your Goals and Audience: Determine your marketing objectives and identify the target audience you want to reach through influencer marketing. This will help you choose the right influencers for your campaign.

Research Influencers: Look for influencers who align with your brand and target audience. Consider factors like their niche, engagement rate, audience demographics, content quality, and authenticity.

Engage and Build Relationships: Start engaging with the influencers you want to collaborate with. Follow them on social media, like and comment on their posts, and share their content to show your genuine interest.

Reach Out with a Proposal: Send a well-crafted proposal to the influencers you want to work with. Clearly outline the details of the collaboration, such as the type of content you want them to create, campaign duration, compensation, and any specific guidelines.

Negotiate and Agree on Terms: Be prepared to negotiate terms, such as compensation, content ownership, and performance metrics. Ensure both parties agree on all aspects of the collaboration before proceeding.

Create Authentic Campaigns: Work closely with the influencers to create authentic and engaging content that resonates with their audience and aligns with your brand message.

Track and Measure Performance: Use trackable links or promo codes to monitor the success of the influencer marketing campaign. Measure key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, conversions, sales, and engagement.

Comply with Disclosure Guidelines: Ensure that influencers disclose their partnership with your brand according to the relevant advertising regulations and guidelines.

Engage with the Influencer's Audience: Once the influencer's content goes live, actively engage with their audience by responding to comments and messages. This helps build a positive perception of your brand.

Repurpose and Amplify Content: Repurpose influencer-generated content across your own marketing channels, such as social media, email newsletters, and your website, to maximize its reach and impact.

Maintain Long-Term Relationships: Building long-term relationships with influencers can lead to more successful and authentic campaigns. Continue to engage with them even after the initial collaboration.

Analyze Results and Learn: Analyze the results of your influencer marketing campaigns to understand what worked well and what could be improved. Use these insights to refine future influencer collaborations.

Influencer marketing can be a powerful way to connect with your target audience and build brand credibility. However, it's essential to choose the right influencers and create authentic campaigns that resonate with their audience. By building genuine relationships and measuring the impact of your campaigns, you can make the most of influencer marketing for your brand's growth and success.

7. Online Advertising

Online Advertising refers to the practice of promoting products, services, or brands through various digital channels on the internet. It allows businesses to reach their target audience, increase brand visibility, drive website traffic, and generate leads or sales. Online advertising can take many forms, including display ads, search engine ads, social media ads, video ads, native ads, and more. How to Do Online Advertising:

Define Your Advertising Goals: Clearly outline your advertising objectives. Are you looking to increase website traffic, boost sales, generate leads, or raise brand awareness? Having specific goals will help you choose the right advertising channels and strategies.

Know Your Target Audience: Understand your target audience's demographics, interests, behavior, and online habits. This information will help you target your ads effectively.

Choose Advertising Platforms: Select the appropriate online advertising platforms that align with your goals and target audience. Some popular platforms include Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Twitter Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and YouTube Ads.

Set a Budget: Determine your advertising budget based on your goals and the cost of advertising on your chosen platforms. Start with a budget that allows you to test and optimize your campaigns.

Create Compelling Ad Content: Craft attention-grabbing and relevant ad content that speaks directly to your target audience. Depending on the platform, this may include ad copy, images, videos, or a combination of elements.

Use Eye-Catching Visuals: High-quality and visually appealing visuals are essential for attracting attention and making a positive impression.

Targeting and Segmentation: Leverage the targeting and segmentation options offered by advertising platforms to reach specific audience segments based on demographics, interests, location, and behaviors.

Optimize Landing Pages: Ensure that the landing pages users are directed to after clicking on your ads are relevant, user-friendly, and optimized for conversions.

A/B Testing: Experiment with different ad variations and targeting options through A/B testing to identify what resonates best with your audience.

Monitor and Analyze: Regularly monitor the performance of your ads and analyze key metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and return on ad spend (ROAS). Use this data to optimize your campaigns.

Adjust and Optimize: Based on the performance data, make adjustments to your ad campaigns, such as modifying ad content, targeting, or bidding strategies.

Comply with Advertising Guidelines: Adhere to the advertising guidelines and policies of the platforms you are using to avoid any issues or ad disapprovals.

Consider Remarketing: Implement remarketing campaigns to re-engage with users who have previously interacted with your website but didn't convert. Remarketing can be a powerful way to bring back potential customers.

Online advertising offers a wide range of opportunities for businesses to reach their audience effectively. By understanding your audience, choosing the right platforms, and continually optimizing your campaigns, you can make the most of online advertising to achieve your marketing objectives and grow your business.

8. Video Marketing

Video Marketing is a digital marketing strategy that involves using videos to promote products, services, or brands and engage with a target audience. Video has become a dominant and highly effective medium for capturing attention, delivering messages, and conveying emotions, making it an essential tool for businesses and individuals to connect with their audience. How to Do Video Marketing:

Define Your Goals: Determine your video marketing objectives. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads, boost sales, or educate your audience? Clear goals will guide your video creation and distribution strategy.

Understand Your Audience: Know your target audience's preferences, interests, and pain points. Tailor your video content to resonate with your specific audience.

Choose Video Types: Decide on the types of videos you want to create based on your goals and audience preferences. Common video types include explainer videos, product demos, customer testimonials, behind-the-scenes, how-to videos, and storytelling videos.

Focus on Quality: Invest in good quality equipment, such as a high-resolution camera, good lighting, and clear audio. High-quality videos reflect positively on your brand's professionalism.

Keep it Engaging: Grab viewers' attention within the first few seconds and maintain their interest throughout the video. Use storytelling, humor, visuals, and music to engage your audience.

Optimize Video Length: Consider the platform and audience when determining the ideal video length. Shorter videos (30 seconds to 2 minutes) work well for social media, while longer videos (2-5 minutes) are suitable for in-depth content on your website or YouTube.

Be Authentic and Relatable: Be genuine and authentic in your videos. Show the human side of your brand and build emotional connections with your audience.

Brand Consistency: Maintain consistency in your branding, such as using your logo, colors, and tone of voice in your videos.

Optimize for Mobile: Ensure your videos are optimized for mobile devices, as a significant portion of video content is consumed on smartphones and tablets.

Include Calls-to-Action (CTAs): Clearly include CTAs in your videos, prompting viewers to take the desired action, such as visiting your website, subscribing to your channel, or making a purchase.

Host and Share Videos: Upload your videos to platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, or social media channels. Share your videos on your website, blog, email newsletters, and other marketing channels.

Measure Performance: Use video analytics to track the performance of your videos. Analyze metrics such as views, watch time, engagement, and conversion rates.

Respond and Engage: Engage with viewers by responding to comments and messages on your videos. This fosters a sense of community and builds stronger connections with your audience.

Video marketing allows you to convey complex messages effectively, evoke emotions, and showcase your brand's personality. By understanding your audience, creating compelling videos, and leveraging the power of storytelling, you can use video marketing to enhance your marketing efforts and achieve your business objectives.

9. Optimize Website Performance

Optimizing website performance involves implementing various strategies to improve the speed, responsiveness, and overall user experience of a website. A fast and efficient website not only enhances user satisfaction but also contributes to better search engine rankings and increased conversion rates. Here's how to do it:

Optimize Image Size: Compress and resize images without compromising quality. Large image files can significantly slow down page loading times.

Enable Browser Caching: Utilize browser caching to store certain elements of your website on a user's browser, reducing the need to download them again upon subsequent visits.

Minify CSS, HTML, and JavaScript: Minimize the size of CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files by removing unnecessary spaces, comments, and line breaks.

Use Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN stores your website's files on servers located worldwide, enabling users to access them from the nearest server, reducing latency and improving loading times.

Leverage Browser HTTP/2 Support: Enable HTTP/2, a more efficient protocol that allows browsers to load multiple files simultaneously, speeding up website performance.

Prioritize Above-the-Fold Content: Load critical content above the fold first, so users can see and interact with it while the rest of the page loads in the background.

Implement Lazy Loading: Load images and other media files only when they are about to come into the user's view, rather than loading everything at once.

Optimize Web Hosting: Choose a reliable and fast web hosting provider that can handle your website's traffic and performance needs.

Reduce Server Response Time: Optimize server settings and configurations to minimize the time it takes for the server to respond to user requests.

Enable Gzip Compression: Enable Gzip compression to reduce the size of your website's files sent to users' browsers, improving loading times.

Limit External Scripts: Minimize the number of external scripts and widgets on your website, as they can slow down loading times if they require multiple requests.

Use Asynchronous Loading for JavaScript: Load non-essential JavaScript files asynchronously, allowing other parts of the page to load without waiting for scripts to complete.

Monitor Website Performance: Regularly check your website's performance using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or Pingdom. Identify areas for improvement and implement necessary changes.

Mobile Optimization: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly on smartphones and tablets, as mobile users make up a significant portion of web traffic.

By implementing these website performance optimization techniques, you can create a faster, more efficient, and user-friendly website that enhances the overall user experience, encourages visitors to stay longer, and positively impacts your search engine rankings and online success.

10. Community Engagement

Community engagement is the process of actively connecting and interacting with a community of individuals who share common interests, goals, or affiliations. In the context of businesses and organizations, community engagement involves building and nurturing relationships with customers, users, or followers to foster a sense of belonging, loyalty, and advocacy. How to Do Community Engagement:

Understand Your Community: Gain a deep understanding of your target community's interests, needs, and preferences. Identify common topics, pain points, and aspirations that resonate with them.

Choose the Right Platforms: Determine the social media platforms, forums, or online communities where your target community is most active. Focus your efforts on these channels.

Be Authentic and Transparent: Be genuine and transparent in your interactions. Authenticity is key to building trust and credibility within the community.

Respond Promptly: Monitor conversations and respond to comments, messages, and inquiries promptly. Show your community that you value their input and engagement.

Initiate Conversations: Don't wait for others to start conversations. Initiate discussions on topics that matter to your community and encourage participation.

Encourage User-Generated Content (UGC): Encourage your community to create and share content related to your brand or industry. Share UGC and give credit to contributors.

Run Contests and Giveaways: Organize contests or giveaways that excite and reward community members. This can boost engagement and attract new participants.

Create Exclusive Content: Offer exclusive content, sneak peeks, or early access to new products/services for your community members. This makes them feel valued and special.

Host Virtual Events: Organize webinars, Q&A sessions, AMAs (Ask Me Anything), or live streams to engage with your community in real-time and foster a sense of connection.

Show Appreciation: Acknowledge and appreciate the contributions of active community members. Publicly thank them for their engagement or consider offering incentives or rewards.

Listen and Act on Feedback: Pay attention to feedback and suggestions from your community. Show that you take their input seriously and implement changes based on their feedback when appropriate.

Moderate Discussions: Ensure discussions remain respectful and constructive. Moderation helps maintain a positive and welcoming environment for all community members.

Collaborate with Influencers: Partner with influencers or thought leaders in your community to extend your reach and strengthen your engagement efforts.

Measure and Analyze: Use analytics and engagement metrics to track the impact of your community engagement efforts. Monitor engagement levels, sentiment, and audience growth.

Community engagement is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort, empathy, and active participation. By genuinely connecting with your community, fostering meaningful conversations, and providing value, you can build a loyal and passionate community that supports your brand and helps it thrive.

Finally; attracting more traffic to your website is of paramount importance for achieving online success and fulfilling your business objectives. A well-optimized and traffic-driven website serves as a powerful gateway to expand your reach, increase brand visibility, and maximize your potential for conversions. To achieve this, employing effective methods is crucial in today's competitive digital landscape.

Firstly, understanding your target audience is fundamental to any successful traffic attraction strategy. Knowing their preferences, pain points, and interests allows you to tailor your content and offerings to meet their needs. Keyword research and SEO play a pivotal role in optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results, leading to increased organic traffic.

Content marketing serves as a cornerstone in attracting and engaging visitors. Creating valuable, relevant, and shareable content not only establishes your authority and credibility but also encourages others to link to your website, thus enhancing your SEO efforts. Leveraging social media platforms enables you to connect with a broader audience and drive traffic to your website through compelling posts and engaging campaigns.

Embracing the power of email marketing further contributes to attracting and retaining website visitors. Crafting personalized and valuable email content helps nurture relationships with your audience, leading to repeat visits and increased loyalty. Guest blogging and influencer marketing can significantly expand your website's visibility and audience by tapping into the reach of established influencers and reputable websites.

Optimizing your website's performance is a non-negotiable aspect of driving traffic. A fast-loading and user-friendly site enhances the overall user experience, reducing bounce rates and encouraging visitors to explore further. Utilizing online advertising, including display ads and social media ads, enables targeted promotion to a specific audience, boosting traffic and conversions.

Consistency, tracking, and adaptation are key to achieving sustained success in attracting website traffic. By continuously analyzing performance metrics, adapting to emerging trends, and maintaining a consistent presence, you can stay ahead in the dynamic digital landscape.

In conclusion, attracting more traffic to your website is a multifaceted endeavor that requires a well-rounded approach. By focusing on your audience, optimizing content, leveraging various marketing channels, and continuously adapting your strategies, you can create a thriving online presence and maximize the potential of your website. Embrace the power of attraction, and your website will serve as a vibrant hub, welcoming an ever-growing stream of engaged and loyal visitors.

Top 10 Methods to Attract More Traffic to Your Website: Top 10 Methods to Attract More Traffic to Your Website

*Author’s Short Profile:

Md. Joynal Abdin is a seasoned business mentor, digital marketing expert, and export consultant with over 17 years of professional experience. He has worked extensively with major chambers of commerce, SME development agencies, and international trade bodies, both in Bangladesh and abroad. As the Founder & CEO of Trade & Investment Bangladesh (TIB), he has been instrumental in promoting Bangladeshi products in global markets and helping businesses grow through digital marketing, export support, and business mentorship.

Joynal holds a Bachelor’s (BBA, Hons.) and a Master’s (MBA) degree in Business Administration. His academic foundation, combined with practical experience, has equipped him with a deep understanding of the intricacies of business development, digital marketing, and international trade. He is committed to empowering businesses with the knowledge, tools, and strategies they need to thrive in today’s competitive global marketplace.

Top 10 Methods to Attract More Traffic to Your Website: Top 10 Methods to Attract More Traffic to Your Website

[marketingtools-blog]

Boost Your SEO Rankings with a Faster Website

Are you losing potential customers due to a slow website? Want your site to show up more on Google? Make it fast and fill it with good reads. By crafting posts that shine in search engines, you draw in more eyes. This not only makes your site a hit with visitors but also boosts its spot on search pages. A slick website loaded with top-notch blog content gets noticed by Google, helping folks find…

[sociocosmos]

[businesscreative101]

12 Proven Strategies to Boost Your Website Traffic Overnight

Website traffic is an important aspect of any online business or website. Website traffic refers to the number of visitors that come to your website. The more website traffic you get, the higher your chances of converting those visitors into customers.

Website traffic can come from different sources, including organic search, paid search, social media, email marketing, and referral traffic. As a website owner or online marketer, your goal is to attract as many visitors as possible to your website and keep them engaged for longer periods. In this blog post, we will discuss ways to increase website traffic and maximize your online visibility.

[jediexile]

I live in Western North Carolina. I have no idea if anyone knows what is going on here. I finally have gotten sufficient enough cell service to get online.

We are never going to fully recover. Whole towns are gone. My town was flattened. My street, a few miles south of town, was spared. We had no power or running water for four days. We lost hundreds of dollars of food from our fridge and freezers. We have no internet and no idea when it will be back. I work from home. My partner works two jobs - or worked, because one probably doesn’t exist anymore. My car took minor damage from the storm. Even if we had jobs, we probably couldn’t get to them. We got really lucky.

I so far have not lost anyone. Many of my friends are displaced. Some watched their homes be swept away. Some of them lost their pets. Some of them had to dig their children out of mud.

People - not organizations, not first responders, not the government - are clearing roads, doing welfare checks, forming groups of riders to take supplies up mountains on horses and mules. Private helicopters are landing in the middle of my town to drop supplies. They are doing this all over, all day, an essential lifeline for our cut off communities. The bigger cities are getting a more organized response, especially Asheville, which was essentially cut off from incoming vehicle traffic for a few days. Thank god the airport was spared.

I lost cell service, then internet, then power, from 7:45-8:20am Friday. I had no communication until Saturday. I was able to get a few texts out. I was able to get into town. Children’s toys were in the street. Some of my favorite businesses are gone. I saw a car part way up a house.

Please, send help. I don’t know what organizations to donate to. Any time I get online is spent networking relief efforts and getting the word out about missing persons. Keeping my family updated. Applying for FEMA assistance and mortgage relief. I have heard Blue Ridge Public Radio has a list on their website.

The death toll right now stands in the 50s. It is going to end up in the hundreds.

I am so heartbroken.

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Really hope I don't come off as critical but is there a reason why you post the comic on Tapas (and sorta Tumblr) exclusively? Maybe it's just my experience I feel like Webtoon gets more traffic? Is there a notable difference in environments (I have noticed that Webtoon is a lot more unforgiving towards fan projects) or is it a kinda "if it ain't broke situation. (which would then lead me to ask why you originally started in tapas)"

Sorry if it's a loaded ask, I'm just genuinely curious. Also, I'm surprised by how fast the new season came out! Maybe it's just me but it didn't feel like that long of a wait between seasons. Love it though <3

I'll be honest, I don't remember the SPECIFIC reason.... but I think that, back when I started to post the comic, I tried both Webtoons and Tapas and found the Webtoons uploading UI much more troublesome. Tapas allowed me to upload episodes with relatively little trouble - meaning in full batches. It would auto-organize them into the correct order so long as I had the files numbered properly. It also streamlined the thumbnail process, etc.

Later on, I stuck with Tapas because... they were actually quite kind to me! They offered help if I had bugs or issues, and they had a reward program to encourage consistent posting. I've never personally had anything bad to say about them. And yes, I'd heard that at the time, Webtoons was getting a bit weird with fan made transformative content.

Webtoons may get more traffic but re-uploading over 200 comics onto ANOTHER website felt like a huge undertaking that I just never wanted to bother with. I understand that reasonably... it would have been good to do both... but... I don't really feel the need to? Tapas doesn't require login to read and that's good enough for me.

[couldawouldashoulda50]

From Completely Different Worlds

A/N - Introducing a fic idea I had after the Maple Leaf's annual Easter Seals Skate event. I decided to try and write a something I know a little bit about, having worked as a PSW several years ago. I reached out to @misshoneyimhome about the idea and she graciously agreed to collaborate with me on this fic. Together we have spun ideas and I cannot thank her enough for reading through my long ramblings and giving feedback and encouragement, all the while she's got her own life to tend to. Brief Synopsis - this is a strangers to lovers trope with William Nylander and OC Loren Girard. William and Loren meet at the Easter Seals skate and sparks fly. Loren is cautious and shy as she still suffers from the memories from her ex-boyfriend after years of exploiting her every vulnerability. William of course is the polar opposite and they each feel a strong and instant connection with their first meeting. The two are truly from completely different worlds but a deep admiration grows between them....and this is their journey. Warnings - profanity, seizure disorder Word count - 5.3k

Chapter One - The Easter Seals Skate

“Jesus Christ Loren…you’re gonna end up killing me,” Gary said, his low and gruff voice travelling up to her ears from the back of the van.  Gary’s specific speech pattern always elongated words, like an unintentional drawl, and Loren could only groan and roll her eyes as a response.

“Hey - enough out of you.  It’s either you or me, pal…. I’d like to see you try driving in this traffic.  It’s insane…” Loren retorted, nodding towards the heavily congested westbound 401 highway in Toronto.

“A three-year-old could drive better than you” Gary quipped followed by his slow but voracious laughter.

“Jeeesus Gary - cool it, I gotta listen for the directions or else I’m going to end up getting lost.  Then you can forget about getting to the arena before our session starts,” Loren warned as her brows furrowed, trying to navigate the hydraulic mobility van towards the required exit off the highway.

Gary got the message and didn’t make another peep.

Loren manoeuvred the van from Kipling Avenue through the parking lot entrance of the Ford Performance Centre where the annual Skate for Easter Seals Kids with the Maple Leafs was to take place.

Loren breathed a long sigh of relief when she saw accessible parking spots available near the entrance for the skate participants. She carefully pulled into a spot, ensuring there was enough room for the wheelchair ramp to extend from the passenger side.

Loren sat still for a moment to try and settle her nerves.  Not only did the drive from Aurora to their current location in Toronto feel like she was driving in a Formula One race at certain points, but she was also about to take one of her most treasured people to meet members of the Maple Leafs.  She was beyond excited for him to finally have his dream come true and the anticipation made her heart race and stomach flip all at once.

It was during a long double shift at the group home, where Loren worked as a support worker, when she found the fundraiser for Easter Seals.  The fundraiser would allow participants a chance to skate with members of the Maple Leaf organization, players both active and alums.

Armed with a rush of adrenaline, she sifted through the information packets on the Easter Seals website, and mentally formulated a plan to make this happen for Gary.

With permission, Loren posted excerpts of Gary’s history, including his exceedingly difficult beginnings, where several of Gary’s medical issues went undiagnosed for far too long before coming into the folds of the subsidized organization he now was with.  Loren posted pictures of Gary’s ultimate Maple Leaf fandom; his signature blue bedroom, Maple Leaf throw blanket and matching pillows, banners, pictures, hockey cards and the unlicensed and unnamed Maple Leaf Jersey he bought for himself years ago from a large discount chain store.

With the added help of Loren’s parents, the registration fee was generously covered and overall, Gary’s campaign was extremely successful with raising just over $7,500.00 for Easter Seals.  Eventually, Gary and Loren received the big news that they were selected to attend the skate with the Leafs event.

Because of the work she put in to make this happen, naturally Loren was chosen from the staff to go with Gary to the Leaf’s practice facility.  Aside from being the obvious choice, Loren could skate which made this even more exciting in Gary’s mind.

Gary could not imagine a more perfect day; his favourite worker, speeding him around on the ice and being introduced to as many Leafs players as possible.

As March inched along, Gary had Loren make a giant red ‘X” on each day that had passed off his Maple Leaf calendar which Loren bought him for Christmas.   Although Loren’s financial situation was not terribly flexible, she wanted to ensure Gary had at least a few presents to open, having no family of his own.  Loren’s family has unofficially adopted Gary and always helped Loren with gifts to give Gary for Christmas’ and birthdays.

A few days before the event, Gary was constantly asking Loren questions about the details of the day.  Every day, he asked the same questions:

Does she know how to get there?

Are her skates sharp?

How long is the drive?

What time do we leave?

Will the whole team be there?

What is she wearing?

And every day she answered him, jokingly telling him if he asks her this stuff again, she’ll have to get the duct tape out.

When March 15th finally arrived, Gary had awakened excessively early; he had been bathed, shaved and was dressed in all of his Leaf gear hours before Loren’s arrival.  He wheeled himself back and forth from one room to another all throughout the morning, trying to pass the time before Loren walked through the door.

Loren arrived well before her shift began at 10:30. The very moment she stepped through the door, Gary’s already at her to get ready to leave.

“Thought you’d never get here” Gary said in his typical teasing manner, as Loren removed her boots at the door.

Loren glanced over at Kathy, her co-worker, and shook her head, as she smirked to herself.

Kathy stepped back and crossed her arms, looking at Loren “And look at you there, Miss I’m-gonna-get-me-a-hot-hockey husband today…you with your Matthews jersey on.  Isn’t he single?  If he is, one look at you in his jersey, he may not be for long,” Kathy said with an over-pronounced wink.

“Aren’t you the one looking for a hot husband?  ‘Cause it sure ain’t me…” Loren teased back.  “I wouldn't mind meeting Nylander though - I like his game.  Oh, no, maybe not…I’d get all tongue-tied and not be able to speak - I bet he’s way too like ‘I’m the guy’”, Loren said, mimicking a snob.

“Oh - if only Shanahan was single, I’d climb him in a heartbeat.   Just to be a hot 25-year-old again…” Kathy sighed with a smile, acting overly dramatic.

“Are you talking about me?  I’m 29 and broke…that pretty much sums me up” Loren muttered, followed by a chuckle.  “And you already have a husband, anyway”.

Kathy laughed “Ahhh yes, that old lump on the couch this morning…my husband. He said he hopes you see Jake McCabe - maybe get a picture of him and send it along if you can?  Mmmmm - he’s another one I’d love to have some alone time with”, Kathy said, not quite under her breath.

“Jesus, Kathy…. go and cool off outside” Loren quipped.  “But yeah, for sure, I’ll try…all I know is that there’s two rinks and the players are split between the two, so there’s no guarantee which player will be at which rink”.

“Will you two just stop your yapping - let’s gooooo…” Gary said impatiently as he backed his wheelchair away from the kitchen table and headed toward the front door.

Kathy and Loren stand there watching Gary with their arms crossed.

“Gary, I know you can tell time.  I’m actually early…I’m not even supposed to be here right now” Loren reminded Gary, knowing he is anxious to get on the road.  “Look, I know this is important but hey - I’m the whole reason you’re getting to do this so cut me some slack, ok?  We’ll be on our way soon, I promise,” Loren said gently.

“Gary was up at 6am apparently, so Julie got him bathed at least before her shift ended,” Kathy added.  “Hopefully you’re not going to be too tired to even have any fun there, Gary”.

“Alright, listen Gary, we’ll have to take the 401 there since we can’t use the toll route - sorry buddy.  I just can’t afford the fees to take the 407 even though it would get us there faster.  We need to be there an hour before your session starts, ok?  So, I’ll get that neck pillow for you…so you can snooze on the ride down?  It might do you some good if you do,” Loren said, patting Gary’s shoulder.

Loren busied herself gathering all the supplies and wheelchair accessories that Gary would need for the afternoon.  Loren silently reminded herself repeatedly to get the anti-tip bars for his manual wheelchair that were removed previously for some unknown reason.

It’s not long before Loren has accounted for all of his medical and personal supplies packed in a backpack and hung it on the back of Gary’s chair.

As Loren washed her hands in the washroom, she took a long look in the mirror and recounted the light-hearted exchange with Kathy.

29 and broke Loren thought to herself.

29, broke, and single came the next thought.

Loren paused at the sink; her head dropped as she inhaled deeply.

29 and healthy.

Broke but a homeowner.

Single and free.

These thoughts entered her mind and quickly superseded the negativity.  This is what she chose to remind herself of when she got down on herself.

Not wanting to tempt fate - or maybe it’s just logical given Toronto traffic - Loren decided to leave 45 minutes early just to ensure they were guaranteed extra time.  After all, loading and unloading Gary from the van was nothing like the average person getting in and out of a vehicle.  Ramps had to be lowered, hydraulics had to be in working order, vehicle safety checks, and harnesses had to be fastened to multiple spots on his wheelchair and tightened to ensure his wheelchair would not shift during the ride.

It wasn't long after Loren pulled the van onto the highway to head down to Toronto, she looked in the rearview mirror to see Gary’s head leaning on his neck pillow, fast asleep.

Now that Loren had reached the arena, even though she was a bit frazzled, she shook off her anxiety. She hopped down from the driver’s seat and opened the van's side door. One by one, Loren released Gary’s wheelchair from the multiple harnesses. As she wheeled him onto the hydraulic ramp, a group of kids walking by watched as Loren lowered the ramp using the control panel.

One of the kids passing by called out how cool Gary’s van was which made him laugh, and he followed up with a wave.  Loren was relieved as in her experience, kids on the occasion had not always been kind to Gary, or others she had supported who were disadvantaged.

Loren grabbed her freshly sharpened skates, locked the van and navigated herself and Gary to the entrance, where they would be signed in for their session.

There were throngs of people everywhere, but thanks to the friendliness of the multiple coordinators and volunteers, Loren was directed to the proper stations, and eventually, the pair were cleared to enter the doors for Rink #1.  Not long after, Loren was able to find a suitable spot to change into her skates.

Gary quietly sat in his chair, taking it all in.  Loren watched his expression from time to time wondering if, given his past, how he must be truly feeling to be inside this rink, on the cusp of meeting his beloved team.  The team that was likely the only constant thing he ever had in his life.

Once Loren was ready to go, another volunteer ushered them toward the gate that would be the easiest to head out on the ice with a wheelchair.  By some small miracle, Loren and Gary were amongst the first in line, and eventually, the gate was opened, and they headed out onto the ice.

As if he was meant to do a rookie lap, Loren skated around the perimeter with Gary first, and then toward the middle of the ice as more people began to arrive.

Loren could hear Gary chuckling and a quiet “wooooo” would escape from his mouth every so often.

It was when Gary first spotted Ryan Reaves come out onto the ice that he really let his excitement show.  Ryan was followed by Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe and John Tavares.  There were people milling about everywhere looking to get as close as possible to each of the players making an entrance.

“Holy shit, Gary - do you see them? I cannot believe you’re going to get a chance to meet them!” Loren said, leaning over his shoulder.  “Who do you want to try meet first?”

“Yeah - let’s do Reavo…” Gary said, loud enough for his voice to carry.

As Loren looked to her right, she could see Auston Matthews signing autographs from the bench along the boards.  Gary hollered “Auston Matthews” loud enough for Auston to look over and wave.

Loren found herself even more star-struck than Gary. Her cheeks, which had started as a nice rosé, now felt like they were blazing just from seeing the players she had only ever seen on TV.

Ryan looked over his shoulder as Loren and Gary approached the line to meet him.  Loren certainly stood out to Ryan as she effortlessly and gracefully skated with a wheelchair through the obstacle of people whether they were in wheelchairs, sledges, on foot, or on skates.

Ryan finished up with a small group of kids that had surrounded him and eventually made his way over to greet the pair.

“Hey - how’s it goin?  I’m Ryan,” he said, extending his large first for a bump with Gary’s.

“I’m Gary….and this is the old ball and chain,” Gary said dryly as he pointed over his shoulder.

Ryan’s laughter reverberated off the boards and the glass.

“Really Gary? Jeeeezus,” Loren laughed, extending her hand to the handsome and towering forward.  “I’m Loren, Gary’s support person”.

In mere seconds, Gary had launched into a one-man comedy routine, and teasing Loren became the main act.  Gary had always had an extremely dry sense of humour and Ryan’s boisterous laugh only further encouraged Gary’s comedic attacks on Loren.

It wasn’t long before Ryan had motioned for a few of his teammates to come over and hear his new buddy, Gary, incessantly rib his beautiful support worker, who (thankfully) seemed to be able to laugh along with Gary’s sarcastic repartee.

“Hey - Willy!” Ryan hollered, followed by a very pronounced wave for him to come over.

As Loren glanced to her left, she was not at all prepared for the immediate and intense feeling of raging butterflies in her stomach as William Nylander skated towards the group, smiling wide as he scanned the faces standing there.

“Willy, you gotta meet Gary here,” Ryan motions to Gary, and Gary extends his fist towards William for a quick touch of their fists.

“Hey Gary - nice to meet you, man”, William grinned.  He looked to Loren and introduced himself.

“Hi there, I’m Willy,” he said, flashing his usual debonaire smile.

Loren could feel the sudden pressure of blood rushing to her face.  Her brain was telling her to keep calm, which she came to realise that she was failing miserably at.

“Um, hi - yeah, I know…I’m…uh…” Loren trailed off, visibly flustered as her mind went completely blank.

5-alarm heat had risen into Loren’s neck and face, enough to elicit a layer of perspiration under her collar.

Gary batted Loren’s arm, shaking his head and scoffing at her as she tried to collect herself enough to even utter her name.

“Sorry…. Will - um, yeah…. I’m Loren, Gary’s support person” she managed to finally say, shaking William’s hand.

Fuck Loren…. good work, nice job she chastised herself in her mind.

As though Gary could read Loren’s thoughts, he muttered as he says “Good job” over shoulder to Loren, scoffing once again and chuckles as the rest of the group does the same.

“She can’t even remember her name and she gets paid to look after me”, Gary said as he continued his teasing remarks toward Loren.  “Christ, she almost killed me on the way here with her driving,” he said, a little too matter-of-factly.

The group of players erupted with laughter.

“Gary - ” Loren began to warn.

“You know what she does?  She jabs me with my insulin needle” Gary chuckles.

“Gary - I do not jab - “ Loren’s mouth dropped, and she glanced apologetically around at the group, shaking her head as she started to laugh.

Gary kept going with his chirps. “I don’t know if she’ll even be able to get me home…. she’ll get lost.  Christ, she gets lost in a parking lot”.

That did it.  Loren hung her head in defeat as Gary slapped the arm of his wheelchair laughing loudly.

More laughter from the players filled the air, along with William’s iconic giggle, as Loren smiled and nodded her head saying “Hey Gary - remember our conversation before about the duct tape?  I brought some, just in case…wanna keep testing me?”

Hearing her innocent threat and the overly dramatic eye roll from Gary made William laugh even louder.  Loren may have lost most of the verbal battles versus Gary but with that one come-back, it seemed to have the desired effect.

William found himself instantly drawn to Loren. Her classic beauty was evident, but it was her sweet and funny disposition that fascinated him. He could see she was different from most of the girls who constantly vied for his attention and affection. William admired how she interacted with Gary, noticing her kindness and genuine care. The way she handled his teasing showed how close they really were. At the very least, she seemed to have a good sense of humor.

“Hey Gary, you want me to take you for a skate?” William asked, bending down slightly to keep in Gary’s line of sight.  Turning to Loren, William asked if she would like to join them for a few laps around the ice.

Before Loren could respond, Gary interjected with “Yeah, she’d like that.  She thinks you’re cute…”.

Loren drops her face into her hands from sheer embarrassment, while William laughed and said, “I think she might jab you again with your needle if you don’t stop teasing her there, Gary”.

A low laugh was Gary’s response.

William pushed Gary’s chair towards center ice while Loren skated beside them.  It’s not long before the trio were laughing with some light-hearted banter, thanks to Gary’s mildly sardonic commentary.

After a couple of laps around the rink, Loren realized there were so many others waiting to meet William so she offered to step in and start pushing Gary herself.

“Thank you so much for taking Gary for a little spin - we don’t want to keep you from seeing everyone else that came today, right Gary?”

As Loren leaned over Gary’s shoulder to have a glimpse at his face and make sure he heard her, Loren’s heart sank.   Gary was slightly slumped over to one side of his wheelchair and his mouth showed a very pronounced droop.

Immediately recognizing the change in Gary's behaviour, she turned to William and spoke quietly.  “I’m sorry William, I have to try and get Gary off the ice; I think he’s about to have a seizure”.

Before William had a chance to respond, Loren pushed Gary to the closest exit, by the entrance for the zamboni.

Just as Gary’s chair reached the pavement, his body began to seize.  Gary’s seizures were not new to Loren, and her experience quickly showed as she engaged his wheelchair brakes and stood in her usual position behind Gary, monitoring the time from the start of the seizure.

Ryan, Max and William stepped off the ice toward the spot where Loren was with Gary.  The men stood close by and watched as Loren spoke soothingly in Gary’s ear, softly telling him he’s ok - that he will be ok - and that she’s there with him all the way.

Concerned about their new buddy, William and Ryan stepped forward alongside Gary’s chair trying to provide some additional support.

Loren looked at the men apologetically.  “Thanks so much but it’s best if you guys stand back.  Gary could grab a hold of one of you, your hand - anything - and unknowingly hurt you…his hands are like vice-grips right now, so it’s better to stay clear.  But I really appreciate you both trying to talk to him.”

A couple volunteers at the event had been made aware of Gary’s episode, and helped the Paramedics find Loren.   The organisers swiftly offered a spot in the therapy room for Gary to recover and be examined once his seizure ended.

William watched as Loren and the Paramedics continued to monitor Gary.  He watched Loren calmly watch the clock, provide information to the Paramedics and talk to Gary without missing a beat.  As he skated off to continue signing autographs for the remainder of the session, William’s heart broke a little for Gary, having only spent 10 minutes out of the hour-long event, meeting the players in attendance.

Before long, William watched as Loren disappeared with Gary towards the locker room.  He fought the sudden and profound urge to slip his skates off and run after her.  It was an unexpected sensation for William to want to console a total stranger; yet Loren’s magnetism had already pulled him in, and all he wanted now was to be next to her.

The remainder of the session passed quickly and one by one, the players made their way into the locker room.

Loren remained by Gary’s side as he recovered after the seizure.  He was exhausted and slightly confused and found it difficult to verbally engage with anyone.  Loren had her hand on his back as lay on one of the beds where the players would often receive their various treatments after practice.

Ryan and John Tavares had already made their way into the room and showed obvious worry as they spoke with Loren.

William made his way over to Loren and when she spotted him, she smiled at him warmly.

“How’s he doin’?” William asked, shooting a concerned look toward Gary.

“I think he’ll be ok now - it just takes a lot out of him so we’re letting him rest a bit more before I take him home.”

William paused, unsure if any of his questions would be considered off limits or impolite.

“Can I ask something?  How did you know - like, how could you see that it was going to happen?”

“Sometimes I just manage to catch a change in Gary’s behaviour.  I’m not always right - but given the circumstances, with where we are, meeting you guys, all the people and activity, even the lights…he went from his little comedy routine to not being able to speak or move.  It’s called an aura - a change in behaviour before the seizure takes hold,” Loren explained.

William had a million questions and was eager to ask them all, just to be with Loren as long as he possibly could.  But he second guessed whether he should, knowing that Loren had begun to look weary from the after-effects of Gary’s episode.

“Are you doing ok?” a gentle smile spanned his face.

“Me?  I am - thank you again for trying to help earlier too.  I hope I wasn’t too harsh…I just didn’t want to see you, Gary or anyone else get hurt.” Loren said apologetically.

Before William could respond, two members of the event committee for both MLSE and Easter Seals approached Loren and William and apologised for interrupting.

“Hi, I’m Thom Comrie and this is Natalie Singh - we helped organise the event.” Thom said as he shook Loren’s and William’s hand.  “Gary brought in one of the highest totals for this fundraiser, and we were so sorry to hear he missed most of the skate.  We were hoping to get some more information about Gary before you leave?”

Loren glanced at William and thanked him for coming to check on Gary.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes to check on you before you go,” William said and reluctantly walked towards his stall in the adjoining locker room.

“Willy - Willy-um - Villi-um….how’s it goin’...I haven’t had a chance to talk to you since we’ve been here.” Mitch said as he changed his t-shirt.

“Hey Mitchy - buddy…it’s good, I think…goin good,” William chuckled.

“So what was going on there - you took that guy out for a skate and then next thing I know, he’s gone.  And….who’s the girl with him?” Mitch said under his breath, looking to see if there was anyone else around.

“The guy’s name’s Gary and right after I took him around the ice a couple of times, Loren - the girl…his support girl - you know - saw that something wasn’t right, and he ended up having a seizure.” William explained quietly.

“Shit, really? Awh…that’s too bad…I heard some of the guys saying he was cracking everyone up by chirping…what’s her name again?” Mitch said.

“Looor-eeennn - Jesus Mitch, you have the worst memory sometimes,” William teased.

“Fuck you dude - look who’s talking…saying I have a terrible memory when you’re the one that leaves shit behind everywhere we go,” Mitch laughed. “You’re forever on fucking - what - TikTok using the Find my Phone feature because you lost your fucking phone…again…” Mitch continued ribbing William.

“Ah yeah, ok - whatever buddy,” William smiled as he messed with Mitch’s hair.

Max and Auston walk from the kitchen area to the locker room, arguing about some nonsense.

“So, what’s the verdict fellas - you wanna meet at Mitchy’s restaurant for 8:00?  Give Willy some extra naptime?” Max laughs, giving William a wink and a nudge.

“Yeah, he might need it if one of those waitresses from last time wears him down to take them home.  Actually both girls were making a play for him so yeah…tag team situation for sure”, Auston smiles at his long-time friend and teammate.

William just laughed along with the rest of the boys, but truth be told, he hoped neither were working.  Both waitresses were blatantly fawning all over William the last time he was at Mitch’s newly opened restaurant, so much so that once the bill was settled, he swiftly disappeared through a back exit.

After Auston and Mitch departed, Max stayed behind with William.

“Hey, uh…what happened to Gary?  Fuck he was funny cracking off on his caregiver.  Imagine her looking after you every day - she’s fucking stunning”, Max said, smiling and wide-eyed as he looked at William.

“They’re still here - in the therapy room.  I was just about to go back there to say goodbye,” William nodded his head towards the doorway.  “You coming in?”.

Max motioned for William to lead the way.  As they entered the adjacent room, they watched Loren slowly and carefully transition Gary from the bed to his wheelchair.  Gary’s body was extremely stiff and weak, and Loren ensured she was fully stabilised as she had to bear most of his body weight.

Loren quietly talked to Gary as she fastened him into his chair and reassured him that they would be home soon, and he could rest some more before dinner.

“How ya’ doin’ Gary?” Max said, trying to sound upbeat.

Gary could only muster a quiet “okay”.

Loren smiled at the players and thanked them again for their concern.  She was pleasantly surprised that either of the men thought to drop by before they left.

Despite feeling like she made an ass of herself in front of William during her introduction, she had long filed that moment in the back of her head. In its place, she had felt a certain kind of comfort in his company during the short skate they had together.  He was just easy.  Easy to talk with.  Most certainly easy to look at.

Max kneeled beside Gary’s chair. “I’ve gotta take off.  Gary, buddy…feel better, ok?  It was great meeting you and I hope to see you sometime soon, ok?  Maybe get the old ball and chain to bring you back down to see us again?”  Max turned toward Loren and grinned, giving her a hug.  “So sorry you guys missed out on today. Maybe the organisation will do something for you guys.”.

Loren was totally overwhelmed with appreciation.  “I think they’re working on something – but you all have been incredible; I am just blown away by all of the care and concern you guys showed.”

“Well, I’m glad they’re looking into it. I better be off – Loren, take care…hope to see you again.  Willy - see you later, pal,” Max said as he patted William on his shoulder.

Loren turned to William.  “I cannot tell you enough how much I appreciate everything you did for him today.  It really means the world to Gary; you made his whole decade by taking him out for that skate.”

William smiled and looked toward the ground as he blushed.

“It was no problem, honestly.  You two are pretty funny when Gary gets going with his jokes,” William chuckled.

“Like an old married couple, eh Gare?” Loren said as she placed her hands on Gary’s shoulders.

William paused as he glanced at Loren and then Gary.

“Hey, well…listen, I would love to know that you got home ok…here, I’ll give you my number,” William said, and he stepped forward to show Loren his phone screen.

Loren’s stomach flipped.

His number??  Loren screamed inside her mind.

Once again, she felt she failed miserably at keeping her composure, and her hand shook a little as she typed in the digits into her phone.

Loren could feel the heat rising in her face, but nevertheless she managed to speak.  “For sure, I’ll let you know that we got home ok.  Thanks again, William.  It was so nice meeting you.”

William opened his arms for a hug and as Loren hugged him back, she couldn’t help making mental notes so she could always return to that moment in her memory.  She tried to memorize everything. Where his hands were placed on her body as he briefly held her. His scent which was so dizzying and delicious that it made her feel weak in the knees.  The few seconds Loren spent in William’s arms, triggered something inside of her that she could not quite place.  She spent the entire drive home racking her brain trying to figure it out.  With the Friday afternoon commute fully underway, Loren was grateful for the distraction trying to pinpoint that sensation she felt when William hugged her.

Eventually, Loren’s mind drifted to the other interactions with the players and personnel throughout the afternoon and she felt a mix of being drained and exhilarated at the same time. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that it was definitely an unusual afternoon.

She could hardly wait to pull into her own driveway at her own house, draw a hot bath, change into her comfortable clothes and sit back with a glass of wine. Until then, she allowed her mind to rewind and replay every moment she spent in the Swedish superstar’s presence before she snapped back to reality knowing that she’s never going to see him again.

[solar-sunnyside-up]

Little libraries -

Free little Libraries are a great passive mutual aid project. Originally inspired by DIY projects they are easy to build, are generally low maintenance once established, creative and fun artworks within themselves, and its a great way to introduce a gift economy into your neighborhood!

History-

2009- Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin, built a model of a one room schoolhouse. It was a tribute to his mother; she was a teacher who loved to read. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard. His neighbors and friends loved it, so he built several more and gave them away.

UW-Madison’s Rick Brooks saw Bol’s do-it-yourself project while they were discussing potential mutual aid projects. They were inspired by community gift-sharing networks, “take a book, leave a book” collections in coffee shops and public spaces, and most especially by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

2010 the name Little Free Library was established and the purpose of these Little Free Library book exchanges became clear: to share good books and bring communities together.As Bol and Brooks continued to give away Little Free Libraries with wooden charter signs, engraved with official charter numbers, curiosity and demand for more Libraries grew. The acceleration centered on the enthusiasm of early adopters and stewards, who were crucial advocates. Some small grants and informal partnerships began to have an impact on Little Free Library’s ability to keep up with demand.

2011 brought national media attention, and by the end of the year there were nearly 400 Little Free Libraries in existence. That number would skyrocket to over 4,000 Libraries within a year. 

2012  Little Free Library became a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the states!

Little Free Libraries have continued to grow by leaps and bounds every year. In 2022 we surpassed 150,000 registered Libraries in more than 120 countries worldwide. Even establishing an online map and app to help people locate the libraries!

How do I do this?

The little library website hosts a bunch of plans and blueprints to make a library or get ideas for locations. Even having ready to order kits if you want!

You will need either land or public approval to establish one however, this can be by the city, neighbours, or other public spaces but they are technically put on private land. You wont find anyone ho would object to their installation but I would not recommend just installing one unless your okay with it being taken down.

Pick a location that has a lot of foot traffic and be highly visible to anyone nearby and is accessible as possible.

Register your library! You can get an official charter sign by doing this step!!

Fill it up with books!!

[lexosaurus]

The Phantom Martian: Chapter 1

Huzzah! I am here to provide a fic for Invisobang 2023!

This is a crossover between The Martian and Danny Phantom. You do NOT need to have read or watched The Martian to understand this fic (though, I recommend it because it's amazing!)

xxxx

Summary: When Astronaut Mark Watney went to Mars, he knew there was a chance he'd never come home. Now, though, he's determined to last long enough for NASA to save him because this whole dying for science thing is not as fun as it sounds.

Meanwhile, Danny Fenton is just trying to keep his identity a secret amidst a potential crisis with his powers. Seriously, what's up with that weird current under his skin? Why is he having so much trouble controlling it? And why does it feel so familiar...?

In a fit of determination (and possible stupidity), Danny goes to Mars to save Watney, only to add to both their crises when he arrives and can't get home. Will NASA save them? Will Danny have a home to return to if they do?

Chapter WC: 6,186

Fic Tags: Danny Fenton & Mark Watney, Canon Divergence, Ecton AU

Art by @pompomqt (it's so freaking good AHHHH!) Art by @friendzoned61 (screaming sobbing this is amazing)

xxxx

I am going to be updating a chapter each day of this posting week, and then I'll settle into a normal weekly/biweekly posting schedule.

I go into more detailed thank yous on AO3, but quickly I'd like to extend a hugeeeee thank you to @armed-with-knitting-needles, @bibliophilea, @lexiepiper, and @underforeversgrace for aiding in this fic. Between sitting on discord with me for hours doing math, betaing my infamous spelling habits, and in general providing much needed support in the form of memes, graphs, and good humor, these people are all AMAZING and I am forever in all of your debts 🙏

Since I'm not posting the chapters themselves on Tumblr, I put a preview excerpt under the cut! Enjoy!

xxxx

It had been a day since the news about the disastrous Mars mission was released.

NASA's website where satellite images of the Ares 3 camp were published had gotten so much traffic that the server went down for twelve hours.

Everyone wanted to see it. The wind storm. The camp in ruins. 

The aftermath.

Of course, NASA wasn't pointing their satellites at Ares 3 anymore. There was no reason to now that the surviving five crew members were well on their way back to Earth in the Hermes . 

God, what Danny would give to see the inside of that ship. If it was on Earth, the temptation to fly down to Cape Canaveral and invisibly peek inside would have easily won him over. But unfortunately, the Hermes has never been to Earth. It wasn't powered by regular rocket fuel, it was powered by ion engines — whatever that meant. 

All Danny knew was that the Hermes needed to be assembled in space instead of on Earth. It was shipped up chunk by chunk to the International Space Station where it was put together in orbit.

Which was just rude. 

[spacedustpan]

Bullshit is Spreading and How to Volunteer in NC

I've noticed a lot of youtubers are purposefully NOT mentioning all of the different organizations that are VETTED BY NORTH CAROLINA'S EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT that you can sign up to volunteer with TODAY to help Asheville.

They're plugging the 501c's of their buddies and it's making me seething mad because there's also a bunch of youtubers spreading absolute bullshit about how "The government has completely abandoned Asheville and Unicoi!!!" when that's Absolutely Not the case.

Po**ce as much as they're contemptible are centralizing donations at approved locations with infrastructure to handle volunteers that can distribute them and the reason random ass people can't just use the roads for direct donations is because they're trying to keep it to registered volunteers that have clear and specific orders so that they know where people are and what they're doing.

That makes search easier and it makes things like clearing roads easier. It also makes it easier to keep an eye on volunteers for their own safety.

Literally if people want to volunteer they can go to the 211 website or the North Carolina Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster website to pick somewhere to volunteer.

As long as you've signed up with an organization that's doing work on the ground they'll let you in and let you use the roads that State and Volunteers have access to.

These youtubers are also spreading blatant misinformation with a bent towards trashing the democratic party's response to the disaster and trying to uplift snakes like J.D. Vance.

There's a newer website that the state has made to try to combat misinformation

But of course MAGA brainwash victims in the general neighboring region (the population majority mind you) are believing this bullshit.

Here's the info from the state website:

(It starts with the facts then states the Rumor that they disprove after)

There are many false reports and misinformation being shared on social media about the response to Hurricane Helene. Additional reliable information regarding Helene can be found at www.ncdps.gov/helene.

The public should get information about storm response and impacts from trusted sources like the State Emergency Response Team, National Weather Service, and other federal, state, county and local government sites. Be aware that Artificial Intelligence or AI-generated images are being circulated on social media that do not depict conditions on the ground.  

Do your part to the stop the spread of rumors by doing three easy things:  

• Find trusted sources of information.  

• Share information from trusted sources.  

• Discourage others from sharing information from unverified sources and question where information is coming from. 

Stop the Spread of Misinformation

FACT: False information is being widely shared on social media channels, including AI-generated content and images. Nefarious actors and those with ill intent may be taking advantage of this situation by spreading false information. The public is encouraged to find trusted sources of information; share information from those trusted sources; and to discourage others from sharing information from unverified sources.

FACT: The NC State Emergency Response Team, which includes local, state, federal and military partners, along with power and cell phone agencies, private businesses and volunteer organizations, is working around the clock to save lives and provide humanitarian relief to Western North Carolina residents. This is a coordinated effort aimed at saving lives and to speed recovery for residents, businesses and municipalities in the impacted areas.

RUMOR: The state and federal government are doing nothing to respond to the ongoing disaster in Western North Carolina.  

FACT: Roadways in Western North Carolina are still dangerous and impassible in many places. A recent landslide shows the potential for more serious incidents. In some areas, traffic is being rerouted to maintain availability of roadways for emergency response, coordinated disaster relief efforts and local traffic. 

RUMOR: Checkpoints are being established and donations and volunteers are being turned away from Western North Carolina.  

FACT: 

The state is encouraging financial donations to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund at www.nc.gov/donate, or to a NC Volunteer Organization Active in Disaster.

A list of these organizations can be found at www.ncvoad.org/members.

The state is working with these organizations to stand up logistical operations to coordinate the collection and distribution of countless physical donations from across the state and country. Donations are not being confiscated by state and federal officials.  

RUMOR: The state is discouraging donations in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Physical donations are being confiscated by state and federal officials.  

FACT: Coordinated volunteer disaster relief efforts are needed in Western North Carolina. We strongly encourage neighbors to continue helping neighbors in impacted areas.

Those wishing to volunteer should register at www.nc.gov/volunteer in order to be connected with a NC Volunteer Organization Active in Helene response.

Please do not self-deploy to Western North Carolina unless you are working with an organization already providing services on the ground.  

RUMOR: The state and federal government are discouraging volunteerism in Western North Carolina. 

FACT: The FAA is not restricting access for recovery operations. The FAA is coordinating closely with state and local officials to make sure everyone is operating safely in very crowded and congested airspace. Learn more.

RUMOR: The FAA is restricting access to the airspace for Helene rescue and recovery operations. 

FACT: FEMA is not controlling any airports in western North Carolina. Airport Managers and Airport Sponsors are the legal entities in charge of operating airports, even in Helene response. FEMA staff may be present at airports as they deploy supplies and stage for Helene response. Airports are critical for accessing impacted NC communities for response and recovery efforts for partners including FEMA.

RUMOR: FEMA is operating and controlling airports in western North Carolina.

Also - at this time MONEY is preferred over physical in-person volunteer work.

Please keep in mind infrastructure for electricity and water and sanitation is damaged.

That makes it more difficult to manage volunteers.

It's encouraged that you donate to the the state and to organizations working on the ground so that they can work alongside the military and federal resources to restore infrastructure in the area.

If you're a Modern Country fan then good news: Luke Combs, Eric Church, Billy Strings, and James Taylor are holding a

Helene Relief Concert in Charlotte NC on Oct. 26th!

You can donate money AND see a concert at the same time.

If you don't like country but love someone who does, consider asking if they'd like a ticket as an early Christmas or Birthday present or something.

Edit to add:

For people insisting that ONLY $750 is being offered to Hurricane victims:

The $750 is just for immediate food and gas and personal hygiene supply needs.

Victims have to apply with FEMA in affected locations to have assessment of damages and evaluation of funding with a top end of about $40,000 or so possible for Housing/shelter.

I wouldn't be surprised if people used the money to move to neighboring towns honestly.

Problem is that people affected in various areas and people unaffected in the region are wholesale believing the lie they are being told by people they trust that victims are only being given $750.

And the actual funding will absolutely run out if people don't apply for it.

And when they're being convinced that they've been left behind they're not applying for help.

So the people that actually know better (wealthy people with family or friend connections to people in state govt and thus correct information) will know and get to apply for funding for housing and take advantage of speed while others are reeling with disinformation.

Make sure your loved ones apply for everything they can.

[katmaibearfan]

folks, i'm not doing tumblr polls for a reason. please dont add them to my posts.

edit: i dont wanna take space away from the bear posting, so im making this un-rebloggable and putting my reasons under a read more

This blog IS NOT affiliated with Fat Bear Week, Explore.org, Katmai National Park & Preserve, or The Katmai Conservancy in any way.

putting polls on the fat bear week posts will:

1: confuse people, part one -- some people will think they are voting in the event when they are not.

2: confuse people, part two -- some people will believe i am affiliated with fat bear week & the orgs that run it when i am not.

3: drive website traffic away from Fat Bear Week, Explore.org, Katmai National Park and Preserve, and The Katmai Conservancy. I want to support this event and those organizations, not compete with them.

i will not be adding polls to these posts. i will not reblog polls that get added to these posts. if you add a poll to these posts you'll get one "hey, please stop" message, and if you continue to add polls, i will block you.

[beesmygod]

one webcomics trend I've noticed for a bit is comics where the creator casts a wide net and publishes to as many sites as possible, so like there's a tumblr mirror, a webtoons mirror, a tapas mirror, a twitter mirror, I've even seen one that has a tiktok mirror (god). Some of these even have the decency to actually have their own website

the idea was to cast the widest possible net in order to get the maximum audience possible, as this was the excuse for people using webtoons despite it sucking raw hot dogs but i dont understand how on earth this strategy could ever work lol

full lol i love to hear myself talk damn. fucking. subnormality webcomic behavior

anyway to highlight the uselessness of google analytics, these are my analytics arranged on "looker studio", a google product i guess they forgot about, in order to make sense of the useless shit they're showing me. you can see this enormous traffic spike from a traffic bot farm advertising their services by ruining your metrics. you can no longer filter these urls from your data.

full image

here's my google adsense conspiracy theory from me shedding light on why i think (STRONG EMPHASIS ON "THINK". IM HYPOTHESIZING) with commentary from someone who knows way more about the subject than my armchair observations.

my marketing strategy is to talk bullshit with people with similar interests while letting people know when my comic updates twice a week. if they want to read it, they can. they're not stupid, they don't need to be forced into reading it if they want to. i assume most of my readers are as broke as i am so i don't hound them to give me money they don't have. i'll never run ads again unless its like. for a friend's thing. hand-cultivated by me. im not looking for a wide audience, i'm looking for an audience of people who "get it" and can see an inherent value in what i create. if they have some spare cash, i make my barrier to entry on my patreon extremely low; 1 dollar a month and you can see things early and go through a backlog of author commentary and design stuff and rewards im sooo behind on im so sorry. im so sick i promise, im coming back!!! anyway i just want real human people to have a chance to see things and enjoy things without making it a fucking hassle, you know.

the most organic, actual traffic i got from my site is from a friend's webcomic that links to mine. 11 people read a lot of pages! that's genuinely making my head spin! that's great! i hope they liked it and will check in again. i love the comic they came from so they are clearly ppl of taste lol.

oh uh. and heres my comic lol. for any cantankerous gay old losers out there.