Tired of getting traffic to your website? Frustrated when you see your URL or name pop up on Facebook or Twitter?
Never fear! I can solve this problem for you!
Here’s how to make sure it’s difficult for people to share your website.
After all, if they want to share it they should have to work hard to do that, since we’ve all got extra time on our hands.
1. Don’t Give Them Anything to Share
Make sure that your best content is either hard to find or nowhere to be found on your website. If there’s nothing worth sharing, no one will share. Now you don’t even need to read the other 5 tips! :)
Bonus suggestion: Don’t create things that people want to share — like free ebooks, tip lists, brainstorming ideas, or anything helpful in general. Because we need to stay focused on ourselves and not our readers.
2. Avoid Those Annoying Share Buttons
No share buttons. None. Don’t use any of the plugins like ShareBar, TweetMeme, Sociable, SexyBookmarks, FBLikeButton, ShareThis, or AddtoAny.
3. Don’t Invite Readers to Share Your Content
The power of suggestion can be a great strategy so be sure never to invite your visitors to share your content. And don’t tell them not too, either, since some might be susceptible to reverse psychology.
4. Pretend No One Shares Via Email Anymore
Everyone’s on Facebook and no one uses email anymore — it’s so 2000. So don’t even consider offering options that let users email your content to their friends, like RSS subscribe by email (because it’s easy to forward a great post if you’ve already got it in your email box), or email to a friend buttons in SexyBookmarks.
5. No Reprinting or Licensing Info On Your Site
It would be terrible if someone wanted to take your blog post and reprint it with credit to you on their own site!! So make sure you don’t create a “Free Articles” page or offer a license like Creative Commons attribution on your blog.
6. Never Share Your Own Content on Social Networks
It’s too easy to re-tweet a tweet someone else has posted, hit like on someone’s Facebook status, or click thumbs up on a stumbled page. Don’t put your content out there like that!
Besides, someone might think you’re tooting your own horn. And that could be the end of the world, right?
Now you’re ready!
With these tips you’re well on your way to keep your content in prision on your own website where it will stay, happily alone and unshared. Success!
P.S. If you actually WANT people to share your content just click the links inside each of these backwards tips to find out how to implement the opposite and encourage your readers to share.
Photo Credit: hotblack at morguefile
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Brilliant! I must be doing all the wrong things then. LOL I love your clever take on marketing…or not marketing.
Dani
In this case, I’d say doing the “wrong” things is brilliant, Dani. ;)
You just make me laugh!! I love it! There must be something about that Alaska air that makes you so funny. :)) Michele
Maybe that’s it! Fresh air and snow.
What a fun post! Thanks for the laugh!
Weekend seemed like a good time for fun. :)
Love it! Thanks for the laugh!
Happy to share a laugh. :)
Hi Michelle,
LOL – totally creative. I guess I have more implementing to do tomorrow because these tips are great!
As always thanks!
You’re welcome Diana. And thanks again for mentioning my post on your blog yesterday. :)
Darned, Michelle:
How DARE you give away my (ex-)clients’ business model?
LOL I’ve given away the secrets of success!! (But then I think most of us aren’t quite after that kind of success…)
Super tips Michelle. I gotta say – this post helped me identify 1 more place/way I could have been leaking my messsage out there.
You are magnificent!
Ah, then my mission is accomplished!
Very funny…you must live on an island, too :)
In my dream world I sure do. :)
This post rocks! There are so many of these things I am NOT doing on my site right now. I’m going to get my web dude on it right away and will link to you with mas gracias when I do. Perhaps you’ll share my post! Thanks for this.
Thanks so much, Alexis, and I’d love to share it. I know I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration and support out of your blog over the year or two I’ve been subscribed so I’m thrilled to be able to help you in return.
You’ve definitely tickled MY funny bone, Michelle! What a fabulous idea for a post and a super savvy way to make a point. Laughed my way down the page! And you already know how much I admire someone with a sense of humor (so few people have one, ya know). :)
My sense of humor comes out once in a while. This post was a stretch for me but that’s what tells me I need to hit “Publish” and share it.
I love how you shared this information. Great post!
Thanks Roz. I’m glad ComLuv picked up that post in your siggy. Read it the other day (yesterday maybe? This head cold is messing with my sense of time.) and it’s a fab overview of things to consider.
LOL
Brilliant post.
I’m off to check if I’m guilty of any of those…
If so, they’re thankfully so simple to remedy!
Nice way to say it! God..I can’t stop laughing..the ideas I got when I read the headline!
I was hoping I’d catch a few people off guard with that headline. ;)
Ha! That’s so great.
I think I might make a video that uses your article as an example! I will, of course, provide a link to the article in the description of the video, and I always tell people what site I’m on in the first place :)
This change from the “ivory tower of information” to the transparency model is a challenging one for some businesses to make. There’s a lot of fear! I personally have taken a strong lesson from the Abraham Hicks publishing company who pay no mind to people taking their ideas and making their own businesses on it… they just keep pumping out seminar after seminar after seminar and effectively flood the market.
Keep producing, and the ones who try to steal off of you to make money simply can’t keep up. They’re leeching off of a whole bunch of targets and usually have no solid strategy anyway… just flickering lights to turn our attention from while we do the real work of production! :)
Take care, thanks again for the great post :)
Jill Lampi
Winnipeg Social Media Strategist
Yep, it’s easy to worry too much about some things that are beyond our control — and we can make better plays if we just use it to our advantage (create better stuff, build partnerships, etc).
If you do a video I’d love to see it! :)
Michelle You got me at NOT. I was truly confused until I read halfway through. You are quite clever and I am a bit dense this weekend, lol.
Fantastic! I am going back up and making sure that I am doing all your you nots!
Glad it clicked part way through. LOL This is my “please don’t take this advice” post.
This is awesome, love it!!!
Thanks Tamyka!
Really clever post Michelle; I love the sarcasm. I can’t imagine there is anyone who wouldn’t find this useful. :)
Sometimes sarcasm can be fun. :)
Creative and fun…it made me lighten up a bit but also hit on great reminders of how we get in our own way…kind of like assuming that someone knows what we’re thinking. All these tips are really just about developing strong social media communication skills, just like interpersonal communication techniques…very cool!
Definitely. It’s easy to forget that we’re the only ones in our own brains so sometimes we’ve got to say these things out loud, like, “Please feel free to share this!” :)
You are so smart Michelle. I also loved your post and all the links.
Thanks, Angelica.
This post is quite timely for me as I have a new blog coming soon (actually relaunching an old one) and have been looking for ways to improve the visibility of and upgrade the current one. Thanks for a great article. Nice touch of humor :)
Always a great thing to be concerned about — and you’re ahead of the crowd if you’re thinking about it before you launch!
Another great post, I have a long list of your posts bookmarked and give them to my lovely partner who keeps my blog running smooth, he thinks you’re pretty cool too!
Eleanor
PS think I’ll forward it to him right now :)
Thanks. Glad you’re implementing what works for you. :)
Reverse psychology, eh. Sounds like a winner of an idea. The concept may actually work. After all, what happens when you tell your teenager DON’T DO…? They do exactally what you told them to not do. The same principle holds true with most anyone. No one, I mean no one likes being told what to do. It’s like, “I’ll show you.” Clever thinking. I need to be a rule breaker, like you with my blog.
Thanks for sharing. I loved it!
Thanks Cathy. And yep, sometimes breaking the rules is the way to go.
I love this post – thanks for the humor
You’re welcome. :) And thanks for commenting, Laureen.
Very informative post. I love the way you created the article, fun to read and entertaining. Keep it up Michelle!
lol.. I’ll take these things as not to do.
Its very funny Michelle, very interesting tips :)
Oh, it means, I am very wrong Michelle.Thanks for the laugh :)