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I've been working on a site. It started as a side project to teach myself a bunch of things but now that it's live I'd really like to pump some life into it.

Functionality is limited; basically, users can post suggestions on how something could be better. I am currently working on allowing other users to "act" on a suggestion, which might make the whole thing a little more interesting.

Anyway, taking into account I am on a limited budget here, and leaving things like "make a facebook page" or "tweet about it", which I truly don't believe in as marketing approaches, what are my best options for attracting some traffic to the site?

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I would suggesting using a site like Stumbleupon.com. You can allocate a daily budget that will allow you to reach as many users as your budget allows. The users on the site also "stumble" based on the topics they are interested in. This will allow you to reach your target demographic in an efficient and cost effective manner.

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+1 - Stumbleupon is a very good site. Any of the social bookmarking sites would work. – Jetti Dec 23 '10 at 14:27
I've heard of Stumbleupon many times, but have never actually used it. Might be worth a try, thanx! – Sergi Papaseit Dec 23 '10 at 16:11
You are welcome. Other similar websites that work similarly but from my experience and what I have read are: digg, reddit, delicious. You allocate a daily budget similarly to stumbleupon except in my experience it is not anywhere near as demographically segmented. – Robert Dolle Dec 23 '10 at 16:14
I've finally gotten round to checking StumbleUpon advertising and it looks like a truly promising option. You're going home with the right answer =) – Sergi Papaseit Jan 20 '11 at 23:39
It is by far the most cost efficient way to reach your target audience. People go on stumbleupon to basically be advertised to. They also track metrics that can allow you to monitor your campaigns. Good Luck! – Robert Dolle Jan 21 '11 at 16:38
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One possibility is public radio. I noticed two separate stories appeared on public radio both with a lot of local appeal in the content of the story. One was about a coop for backyard grown vegetables. The other was about sharing household items with your community instead of buying more or keeping unused items in storage. It is a very grass-roots feel and generates interest in the crowd that is pre-disposed and already in the same mindset. The veggie coop was featured on a cooking radio program.

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I would not suggest this only because most people listen to the radio in the car and unless people are geniunely impressed by the idea or this site is in the top 5 for google searches, they may not remember the website and not be able to get to the site. That scenario would be just like throwing money down the drain. – Jetti Dec 23 '10 at 14:27
I agree; I don't think radio is the right medium for that kind of site. I don't see twitter or facebook advertising on radio, not even on their humble beginnings. Not that I'm comparing myself to them, mind you. :) – Sergi Papaseit Dec 23 '10 at 16:13
I understand the perception of radio and not to disagree, but consider npr.org / pri; they do a reasonable job of leveraging and expanding out into the online audience. They adopted podcasting quickly and I find streaming their shows (smartphone and work computer) more available than my home stereo or car. Another very prominent station KCRW in Santa Monica I would argue is on the leading front of online media. Also I don't mean doing paying ads necessarily, submit a story. To me what's important is the audience; if this is not your target then it should not be an option. – patterns Dec 23 '10 at 20:01
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One of the simplest ways is to share the information on social networking sites. Another thing is to get people to blog about your site.

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Getting people to blog about it is something that crossed my mind indeed, but this is one of those things that for me is easier said than done. How would I go about achieving that? Simply mailing a "target blogger"? – Sergi Papaseit Dec 23 '10 at 16:42
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I would say submit it to directories as well. http://dmoz.org is one directory I frequent. Social networking can be great as well. Have you thought about making a facebook app that is related to this? That can be a good way to generate "buzz" about your site and get people to use it who may otherwise not (via facebook).

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