Quote:
Originally posted by GeorgeTH
You guys are f#&^ing useless! Is this the reason for name of this board???
I'm kind of asking myself the same question because I want to start a couple of new sites - I probably can get up to 5k in traffic from friends' sites (and my own) - but then? To bang my head against the wall? Give me headache just thinking about my site AND the wall... To wait for "natural" growth of the site is kinda too slow to cover the expenses. And anyhow: there'n now a zillion of sites out there with which to compete.
And who has the time to read and read and read (and write) to find some wisdom?
So how about some decent tips 
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You can get up to to 5k? In that case, you have enough to work with to make it grow.
If you have a TGP (which you most likely do, like the rest of the world and their little sister), just make a design that has good productivity, get a good tradescript, and your traffic will continue growing, as long as you keep prod up.
How to get good prod? Experiment, track clicks, see what works best, keep on improving it. Manage your trades will, cut the bad ones, add new ones. Eventually you'll have something that works. (might still want to update the design after that occasionally)
Then, start acquiring occasional sources of traffic. You should be in DMOZ already, which will help get SE traffic. Build small freesites linking to your main site, and make sure those also get in DMOZ. Make galleries with your recip. Basically, make sure your link is everywhere.
That additional traffic should allow for even faster growth, as well as the bookmarkers you'll be getting.
If you have a design with really good prod and are really impatient, buying some traffic might also help. Waste of money for free sites, if you ask me, but some people seem to like it.
Then, the biggest factor comes into play: longevity. The longer your site exists, the more bookmarkers you get and the more links are made to your site (like people who really like it, newbies making their first site without tradescript and just putting up your link thinking they'll be able to send enough traffic, and then abandoning their site, gallery recips, your own freesites).
That way, you'll grow. Just put a lot of work into it and keep it up for an extended amount of time.