The Open Source Marketer

There are a number of recently popularized social media methods of getting website traffic, but many of these methods involve activities that are very technology focused and don’t leave much room for real social connections or direct personal feedback. If you’re looking for a more personally connected way of generating website traffic, then consider starting a group meeting on Meetup.com. In this article you will learn what it takes to setup a Meetup group and start generating website traffic almost overnight.
If you think you’ve never heard of Meetup.com, then think back to 2004 when presidential hopeful Howard Dean was in the news for holding huge rallies where scores of people gathered to show their support while online donations where coming in everyday. The success of that campaign was in a big part attributed to bloggers writing about Dean and his platform, but it was also made possible through the use of Meetup.com. Howard Dean’s campaign used Meetup.com to announce rallies and mobilize Dean supporters with great success. In fact, it is hard to say who made who famous on the internet.

So what is Meetup.com exactly? Simply put, Meetup.com is a way for people online to coordinate to meet together in offline settings.

Now, your probably thinking, “Wait a minute, isn’t this article suppose to be about website traffic!” Well, just hang on because it is. You see Meetup.com is effectively an authority website on getting people together and they currently have a Google page rank of 8 out of 10. Combine that with the fact that people go to Meetup.com specifically looking for meetings centered around targeted topics of interest and you have an excellent formula for getting good quality traffic to your website. Even if you don’t actually hold regular meetings, you can get visitor traffic to your website by just having a completed Meetup group listing with a link to your website.

So, let’s take a look at what’s required to get started with Meetup.com and then we’ll talk about getting traffic. Everything I’m about to share with you is information from my own first hand personal experience with starting and running meet up groups on Meetup.com.

The group I currently organize, the Frisco Internet Entrepreneurs, holds regular monthly meetings. Every meeting is an opportunity for like minded people to get together and swap information, business cards, and ideas. It’s also a place where I choose to promote my website, point attendees to additional resources, and build a solid contact list with valuable relationships behind them.

Getting Started
Becoming a member of Meetup.com is an extremely simple process. Anyone can register for free, sign up as a group member, and start attending meetings of existing groups.

Picking Group and User Names
During registration, keep in mind that picking a user name is important. When I first signed up for Meetup.com I used an alias as my user name, but I quickly learned from an internet marketer friend that he had used his real name and it improved his search ranking for his business website. I immediately changed my user name and within two or three days I saw a definite improvement in the search rankings for my name and related websites.

Personal Profiles
Having a Meetup profile page alone can get you some visitor traffic to your website. The first thing I recommend you do after registration is complete the profiles for both yourself and your group, if you choose to organize one.

Keep in mind that as a Meetup group member you are allowed to create a profile for each group that you join. That means you can create a default profile to use across all your group memberships. You might also decide to create a business profile, a carefree profile, or a targeted profile depending on the type of group you join. It really is up to you based on what you are trying to achieve. Just remember that each profile is an opportunity to promote something specific about yourself, like your website. Whenever possible, add a keyword rich link to your website.

Group Profiles
Even though a personal profile cab get you some traffic, a better way to generate website traffic on Meetup is to step up and actually organize meetings. When you form your own group, you get to manage a group profile page which is a much better way to gain visibility. Group profiles have much higher visibility because Meetup visitors search for group meetings by topic. This means your group profile is usually the first thing interested visitors see when they start searching Meetup.com for a topic. When they find your group listed in the category for their topic of interest, then your website link will be there too.

The group profile is also a good place to tell everyone what your group is about, who should attend, where meetings will be held, what meetings will be like, and so on. You want to provide as much relevant details to potential group members as possible while keeping in mind that the group profile is a valuable place for you to use targeted keywords related to your topic of interest and a good place for you to include your website link.

Startup Costs
If you want to have a group profile you will have to become a group organizer. The entry fee for group organizers is $19 per month for the ability to create up to three Meetup groups. I recommend committing to the six month option up front if you are serious, because your monthly rate drops to $12 per month. That comes out to be about .40 cents a day, which is a whole lot cheaper than any advertising Adsense.

What you get for .40 cents a day is access to a focused audience of people who are interested in specific topics. They are also willing to invest their personal time to meet in local settings. For the most part a willingness to spend time offline engaging in functions related to a topic of interest shows that they are active in and therefore potentially more passionate about the topic than the average site visitor. That means there is plenty of motivation for you to step in and help direct that passion by establishing your own group, providing good quality information, and then referring them to your website for more resources. Remember to always focus on adding value to your group members and this practice will work well for you for a long time to come.

Keyword Rich Listings
While completing your group profile, keep in mind that search engines like Google are constantly crawling sites like Meetup.com for relevant content. So, you’ll want to create keyword rich group listings. However, while search engine traffic is important to consider, also keep in mind that the listing is ultimately for people and not the search engines. You want everyone who comes to Meetup.com looking for your topic to read your group profile and join your group or click through to your website. Try to keep a balance when creating your group profile, but when in doubt always default to user friendly.

Holding Classes
Holding classes is a great way of using Meetup.com to get website traffic. It is generally understood that if you want to get something in this world you have to give something first. The same holds true in this case. If you want people to come to your website, then you need to hold classes that teach others about the very thing you are promoting on your website. I’m not talking about delivering a commercial for your website. But, I am talking about giving people real information that they can use and gain value from while providing access to your website as an additional resource.

When you hold a meeting be sure to let people know the purpose of the meeting and let them know that they can get more information on your website. Be sure to post meeting related information on your website and verbally remind everyone that the resources are available on your website as a supplement to the meeting.

If there are documents to be downloaded, then place them on your website as part of an article related to the meeting topic. Also, be sure to put your website address in the resource materials you offer to your group. Encourage everyone to pass the information along to anyone they think would benefit.

Let’s be honest, you want to give everyone a reason to visit your website. And, you want to give them reasons to hang out, and continually return to your website. Don’t try to hide this fact from your group members, just keep providing value and you’ll both win in the end.

If you provide value to the members of your group then they will be naturally interested in you and any other projects you are involved in. Then you will have a perfect opportunity to let them know about your website and what it has to offer. If you make your website an extension of the value you are offering at the meetings, then it will be a natural fit for them to want to visit your website. It can’t be said enough; I recommend you always hold meetings with a focus on providing value to the meeting attendees. Keep the interests of your group members in mind and the rewards for your efforts will be great.

Welcoming New Members
Another good tip for getting your website in front of people is too send a personal welcome message to each new group member. You can send them a welcome message through the Meetup.com contact page. When you welcome your new member be sure to let them know what the group is about, when the group normally meets, and any other relevant information to a new member. In your email signature, be sure to include a link to your website and let them know that you are the group organizer. I usually include my name, title, and website address on all contact messages to members. This is a great way to let people know about your website without coming across as a self promotional commercial.

Message Board Postings
In addition to event listings, profile pages, and member messages, you can also leave messages on the group message board. This is a great way to create content that hangs around for a long time. When you post event details to the group be sure to check the option that lets you post the information to the message board as well. This will let members know what is happening with your group and it will also create a form of archive that new members can use to get information about past events. As always, be sure to include a link to your website in these message board postings as well. This will increase the chances that your link will be seen by people and search engines.

Additional Benefits
Here are a few additional benefits that are not directly related to website traffic, but are worth mentioning. When you attend Meetups you have the opportunity to meet people that you might not otherwise have met. Because Meetups are centered around specific topics, the people who attend the meetings already have something in common and that helps people start conversations and build relationships. These relationships are great for building loyal website followers. If someone gets to know you and is interested in what you do on your website, then you have the potential for adding numbers to your website traffic.

Meetups are also a fantastic way to gain business and personal contacts. Regardless of what type of website you operate, Meetups can put you in contact with people who can help you expand in your topic of interest. I’ve met a number of professionals that I wouldn’t have otherwise had access too. The value of these contacts is immeasurable.

At the last Frisco Internet Entrepreneurs meeting I met a retired advertising executive, a video game designer, a Christian website owner, a lighting professional, a credit repair specialist, a budding screenplay writer, an Internet lawyer, a web developer, a community portal owner, and an eBay seller. Everyone brought a unique set of skills and abilities. I made several contacts that night and walked away with new ideas.

Develop Public Speaking Skills
If you are interested in building your name as a public speaker on your topic of interest then start a Meetup group and lead the group in discussions about key topics within your category on interest. If you do this, I recommend that you have some form of blog that you can direct Meetup participants to. You will get website traffic from people who attend the Meetup as well as from Internet search traffic that is looking for specific information on your chosen topic.

Get Valuable Feedback
Meetup groups are also extremely valuable for the feedback they provide. By holding classes, answering questions, and supporting the group as it grows, you will learn what problems people are trying to solve within your topic of interest.

You will also have an opportunity to try out different solutions with the group and see what returns the most value. This will increase your own knowledge while at the same time providing you with valuable information about what would do well as a product or service that could be offered to people outside the group.

Generate Materials
As you create content for your group meetings you will also be creating content that can be re-purposed for digital products, membership sites, services, or home study course. Again, you leverage the feedback from the group to refine your content to create a truly valuable product that solves real problems to become an irresistible offer to potential customers.

So, as you can see there is a wealth of ways to use Meetup.com to drive traffic to your website, make contacts, and build valuable relationships that will help you grow your website and your online business. Meetup.com is an under utilized resource that will serve you well if you are prepared to spend just a little time getting involved. Who knows, you might even have a little fun along the way.

Charles McKeever
OpenSourceMarketer.com

Special Thanks
A big thanks to Keith, Doug, Don, Neil, Lee, Bill, Mark, Sharon, Mike, Julie, and Melody who attended the August Frisco Internet Entrepreneurs Meetup in Frisco Texas. You guys made the meeting a fantastic success.