I am sure you will agree, promoting a blog is tough.

Referral traffic from social media to websites is at an all time low, but you don't need me to tell you this.

Well, I have discovered a method that makes the process of developing your audience faster than any other way I have used or seen used previously. 

And in this post I am going to break down exactly how you can use this method to grow your traffic, connect with your target audience faster and at the same time grow your tribe.

Ready? Let's do this.

How I Used 'The Quest Technique' To Increase Traffic By 478% In Just 40 days.

In 2018 I set about using the The Quest Technique on a clients website and I was able to take an under performing blog and increase traffic by 478% in just 40 days.

And we achieved this without spending a penny on traffic generation or Facebook Ads.

Not only that, The Quest Technique was able to create a 1000 member strong Facebook group packed full of potential clients, and here are a few of the other benefits we gained.

• Increased new users by 247%
• Brought in a whopping 12,382 page views to the site. 

But I wasn't happy to share this technique until I had tested it again.

So In 2019 I tried again and found that I was able to repeat this same approach with a different blog to gain an 88.55% increase in pageviews and add over 400 new email subscribers in the process.

The best part of this process is that anyone can do it, and if done correctly this process has the power to grow your audience faster than you previously thought.

And, now it is time to revel the 3 step process you can use to gain results like the ones I showed above. 

The 3 Step Process To Use The Quest Technique To Promote Your Blog And Gain More Traffic

So, here is the thing.

You are probably a great writer and have a blog that gives superb content. The problem is that no one can find you.

It is estimated that around 4 million blog posts are published every day, so it is no wonder that you are struggling to find your audience and build your tribe. 

And I also suffered with this problem and so did my clients. 

That was, until I discovered the power of quests.

It turns out that your readers are on a life journey to achieve or reach a goal, but that journey can often be a long and difficult one with many set backs along the way 

For that reason your readers are looking out for guides on their journey, and this is where your blog comes in. 

You are there to help to guide the reader on their journey and your blog posts serve as 'lessons' that teach the reader or guide them towards their end goal.

And this is the important part to remember, you are the guide and they are the hero of their story.

So, you are Yoda and they are Luke Skywalker. 

Now in almost any story the guide will send the hero on a quest that the guide knows will help the hero to gain the resolution they deserve.

It might be to obtain something, to undergo a transformation or a process of change or even, it could be to face their fears head on.

• In Star Wars, Obi Wan Kenobi knew that Luke Skywalker needed to come with him to help Princess Leia, he realised that this would be the catalyst for Luke to become a Jedi.
• In the film Gladiator, the experienced former Gladiator named Proximo played by Oliver Reed, knew that for Maximus to gain the revenge he desired he must go to Rome and win the hearts of the audience in the Coliseum.
•  And in the Wizard of Oz, The Good Witch of the North tells Dorothy that she must seek out the Wizard in the Emerald City so that she can return home.

The point is, the guide gives the hero a quest that takes them closer to their end journey. 

And The Quest Technique does exactly the same, it is a journey that your readers must go on that leaves them feeling empowered and closer to their goals.

So, there are 3 steps to follow when creating a quest for your reader.

Step 1:

Discover A Big Result That Will Move Your Readers Closer To Their Desired Happy Ending

Step 2:

Create A Quest That Transforms Your Reader And Places Them Closer To Their End Goal

Step 3: 

Distribute This Quest To Grow Your Tribe And Traffic

Don't worry we will break down each step for you. 

We all have an ending in mind for our stories, it is (for us) what success looks like.

For some this will be meeting their ideal partner, getting married and having a family, for others it might mean landing the job of their dreams and for many it could be running a business that provides for their family.

But whatever success looks like to your reader, along the way there will be key moments of that help us to reach our versions of success.

For some that might mean getting into incredible shape so they are more attractive to others. It could be creating a business plan that gains you that funding from the bank you need for your start up. 

And you need to give your readers a quest that helps them to move closer to their end goal.

The best way to do this is to ensure your quest follows the SMART mnemonic. 

1. Specific (what is your Quest going to be about and do for the reader)
2. Measurable (You must be able to define the results of the quest)
3. Achievable (It can't bee too tough they won't complete or too easy to bother)
4. Timescale (You must define how long this quest will take)

Any quest that you develop must tick of each of the 4 aspects of SMART for it to be a success.

And to discover what your audience wants and needs the quest to deliver we can head over to YouTube.

One of my favourite methods for uncovering a quest is to type a broad industry keyword for a niche into the YouTube search bar followed by the word 'challenge'.

As we can see, by using the term 'fitness challenge' we have uncovered some great ideas, some of which have incredible traction online.

As we can see there is a 30 Day Fitness Challenge, a Michael B Jordan Challenge and even a marathon challenge.

All of these tell us what goal the viewer wants, such as increased fitness, to look like Michael B Jordan or to be able to run a marathon.

It is key that you uncover a goal that your reader wants to achieve, it could be to have more energy, a better looking body, great abs etc. 

Another useful search string to use on YouTube is the 'HOW TO' query along with your chosen keyword. 

Here we can see that someone has created a quest already for their audience with a 'How To Sing Better In 5 Minutes'.

This is a perfect example of why quests work so well, take a look at the view count, over 5.8 million views. 

Your quest doesn't have to be a challenge but it does have to be challenging.

You need to make this something that will not only get them talking to others about it but also make them feel a sense of achievement afterwards.

And remember it is actually a small step in their journey.

If you haven't find any good results on YouTube head over to Quora and again type in your keyword and start to look for ideas around your readers 'pain points'.

Here we can see a post around stress and if for example you run a health or lifestyle blog your quest could be based around 'dramatically reduce your stress levels in 14 days'.

But remember your quest should be SMART (specific, measurable and achievable in a specific time frame).

Google is another great and free method to find ideas for your Quest. 

Just head over to Google search and type in a broad keyword related to your niche and you will find ideas pop up as 'people also asked or searched'.

And the last place I use to come up with ideas for quests is Ahrefs.

Ahrefs is a professional SEO tool and their Keywords Explorer tool has a superb 'questions' tab and from here you can find ideas.

Just enter your keyword into the search bar and press their 'questions tab' to look for ideas.

How To Create A Quest That Transforms Your Reader

When I first discovered the power of quests I realised that they are actually already all around us. 

A quick research mission allowed me to discover not only quests that acted as lead magnets but quests that empowered entire businesses. 

Simple Green Smoothies is a business that has exploded using quests in the form of challenges.

They sell courses and cookbooks to their audience and have amassed a staggering 389,000 Instagram followers. 

As you can see they have used smoothies to tackle a core problem faced by their audience, which is people who want to lose weight and increase their energy levels. 

But I have also seen big names in marketing such as Russell Brunson also using quests.

Russell uses a One Funnel Away challenge to guide those that sign up to create a funnel for their business in the next 30 days. 

The results for my client came when I worked with Michaela Breeze MBE to produce her 30 Day Ab Challenge. 

That Quest not only grew her some serious traffic to her site with 12,000 page views but also created a Facebook group with over 1000 members in just a few days.

And I personally achieved superb results with my own quest '14 Days to 100,000 Visitors' which lead to an 88% increase in traffic, increased email subscribers but more importantly a significant increase in revenue.

So, how can you do the same?

Deciding on A Quest Title

After you have conducted your research you will need to come up with a title. 

The reason this comes first is that your title will tell you how long the quest needs to be, and this will dictate how much work you need to undertake. 

There are 2 title formulas that I have found useful that you could use for yourself.

The first is this:

Here you simply want to state the goal of the quest and then the timescale it takes to achieve this.

For example:  "7 Day Solid Abs Challenge", "Double Your Income In 10 Days Course", "Learn To Draw Superheroes In Just 5 Days e-book'.  

It doesn't have to be called a challenge, it can be called a course, a workshop, an e-book or whatever you like.

The point is that if they follow your advice, an area of their life will have transformed.

You can also change the formula around so that timescale is first and then comes the goal.

The next formula is similar but is more upfront about the quest itself.

This subtle title change is very specific but brings different results because you are not overtly stating the goal, instead your are focused on the activity they are going to undertake.

For example the 7 Day Green Smoothie Challenge is very specific. 

You know what you are going to do, drink green smoothies for 7 days. 

It could be "30 Day Press Up Challenge", and again you know precisely what you are going to be doing, (press ups for 30 days).

The difference with the 2 formulas is that one implies a degree of mystery (as in you don't know how you will achieve the end result) and one actually tells them what they are going to be doing.

The choice is yours, but once you have the title you can now decide on a delivery method.

How To Build And Deliver Your Quest

One of the key areas most people struggle with is knowing how to deliver your Power Quest.

Over the last few years I have used and seen a few different methods but here are the best approaches in my experience.

1. Single Page Course With Attached Community

When we created the quest for Michaela the aim was to build a community and share future quests and that is exactly what we did.

This is by far the easiest way to deliver a course online because all you really need to do is to create a blog post that has the information on and then create a private Facebook group where the community can engage and support each other.

This screen shot is from one of the ab challenge users.

What is great with this method is that you can build your audience very quickly because they don't have to sign up for anything with an email.

In fact with this quest Michaela shared the course to her social media following and they saw the blog post with the challenge exercise on their and then signed up for the Facebook group.

It was super fast and doesn't require an email address or opt-in.

The community element of the course is important because if people actually stick with the challenge they are more likely to see the results they desire. 

The problem with this method is that you are again at the mercy of Facebook. Members might not see posts which can cause a reduction in engagement and sharing of information.

The down side is that you don't have their email address, so future conversations are at the mercy of Facebook.

2. Email Based Quest

Ash Ambirge ran a superb free quest called 25 Days To $100k Freelancer Challenge. 

And it was so good I purchased her premium course on the same subject, but what was different about the way Ash made her quest was that it was delivered completely via email.

I personally really liked this approach as it was easy, I could read it on my phone and it required very little loading time, so I could easily read the lessons on my phone(if you are hosting it anywhere you will have loading times).

To do this, you will need to sign up for a email marketing system such as Aweber or Mailchimp.

One of the reasons that Ash' quest stood out was that she had used a great template so it felt like a course rather than a standard email.

Most email marketing services have a wide range of templates you can use that are included in your fees.

3. Self Hosted Quest

This is how I built my own quest, by self-hosting it on my website.

I am a huge fan of Thrive Themes and I used their product Thrive Architect to build my course.

Thrive Architect is a WordPress page builder that allows you to create things such as landing pages and even entire websites.

Once you have purchased the plug-in you can load up a page and start getting to work.

The interface on the right hand side makes it super easy to make changes and add sections with a drag and drop system and if you are stuck for ideas they have a wide range of free templates you can adapt.

But if building your own landing pages seems too much work, Thrive have an even faster solution to create a quest for your readers. They call it Thrive Apprentice.

To use Thrive Apprentice you will need their premium plug-in installed onto a WordPress site.  

Once installed you can build your quest with ease by adding lessons, be them video or text.

And once you have picked your lesson structure and built it out you will have a professional looking quest.

4. Discourse (Combined With A Quest Delivery System)

I have saved the best method for last, largely because it also comes with the highest price tag.

Discourse is an online forum software that costs around $100 a month to use. 

This is the tool that Seth Godin has been using on his courses such as The Marketing Seminar. Although the course is delivered via an online teaching platform, the community engage using Discourse. 

The downside of this method is the cost, Seth uses it for his premium courses but a quest doesn't have to be 'free'.

It is perfectly OK (albeit harder) to grow your audience via a premium quest, indeed Russell Brunson's funnel challenge costs $100.

Of course, with all of the methods listed above you can mix and match to find the ideal solution, but remember, for your audience to build connection you need them to take action and engage with your quest.

With my course I used email and also had a Facebook group that students could join, but ultimately you can choose whatever method suits your budget.

What Is The Difference Between A Course And A Quest?

Some of you might be thinking 'isn't a quest just another name for a course?'

The answer is yes and  no.

The difference between the two is that a course delivers information, where as a quest actually produces change.

But normally, what turns any course into a quest is the individuals actions. 

You see, if you are like me, I have purchased a lot of courses that I have never completed.

In fact according to data, the completion rate for online courses can be as low as 15%.

Think about that, a massive 85% of people that sign up for online courses never complete them.

A quest changes this because you are seeking involvement and engagement from day 1.

But much more than this, your quest will have an immediate impact on their lives.

Not just a mental gain but a tangible benefit.

So, for example, my free quest was geared towards people calibrating their business website so that it could gain 100,000 visitors. 

The 7 day Smoothie challenge was all about helping people to lose weight and have more energy.

And it is this transformation that sets The Quest Technique apart from other lead generation methods. 

It is not about simply learning, it is about learning and taking action.

The 7 day smoothie challenge could have simply been titled '7 Amazing Smoothie Recipes' and I am sure that would have still gained subscribers to their email list, however most people would have downloaded the recipes and never even made a single smoothie.

By turning information into a quest, the reader is now part of something bigger than themselves.

And to do this, you must build engagement and action into your quest from the beginning. 

Yes, you can deliver your quest through an e-book, a course, a podcast, a YouTube video or any other method. The delivery isn't really the issue, it is about what the quest does for the reader.

Obi Wan Kenobi could have stayed at home and taught Luke Skywalker to be a Jedi from relative safety, but he knew the fastest route to Luke learning the force would be through rescuing the Princess. 

And for your readers to be closer to their end goals they need to take action, and The Quest Technique forces them to do just that. 

How To Promote Your Quest And Grow Your Tribe

OK, so with your quest built you now need to start to promote it.

Because as you recall The Quest Technique is a great way to promote your blog to others, and once you have promoted your blog using your quest you will have built a community of readers who will share your work, open your emails and read your content.

If you already have an email list that is great, you can send it out to them and it should re engage your list. But most people do not have a big email list so what can you do?

The first method you MUST do is start thinking about promotion before you even finish building your Quest. 

And the best place to do that is through social media or other online communities. 

This requires you to actually spend some time with your target audience and this will do wonders for your business anyway.

To do this you can head over to Facebook or LinkedIn and search for groups.

On Linkedin alone there are over 8000 digital marketing groups.

But if your niche is not business related then Facebook has an abundance of communities.

Take a look at this search for Fishing groups:

Now the trick to gain traction online is to invest your time and energy in your chosen groups. Make sure you post helpful content, answer questions and of course support members. Do this for a number of weeks before you share your Quest.

Other places to share include forums and don't forget your personal feeds on Facebook and LinkedIn, because your friends and connections will help to share your quest online for you....for free.

Now of course you are free to use Ads to promote your quest as well, this works well and it have seen it used to great extent but you will need a budget for this. 

How To Turn Your Existing Lead Magnet Into A Quest

Many businesses and bloggers already have a lead magnet on their websites.

These are usually in the form of a free PDF guide or even a mini course, and if this is the case you can quickly turn your lead magnet into a great quest.

To do this all you need is to make your lead magnet an activity.

So for example:

• 5 Things Every Website Owner Needs To Know To Boost Sales

Could become...

• Increase Your Website Conversions In The Next 5 Days

And another example could be:

• The Beginners Guide To Meditation

A quest version might be....

• 48 Hours To Less Stress And Increased Focus

The thing you need to remember is that your quest needs to be an activity they can undertake to produce change in their lives.

Send your audience on an adventure and they will thank you for it when the results start to happen.

Now It Is Time To Build Your Power Quest

So there you have it. 

A proven method to promote your blog and build a community online.

The Quest Technique does something that other lead magnets are usually missing, it delivers transformation.

Every website uses tactics such as 'free PDF's' to gain your email addresses and yes, they still work.

But most free PDF's or courses simple deliver knowledge and in a similar way to being we 'banner blind' I truly feel that we are now 'free PDF blind'. 

The next era of lead generation and blog promotion will be via quests.

Because what your audience doesn't need is another PDF or e-course that sits on their hard drive or bookmark tab. Your audience needs to take action. 

And if they do and they get the results you promise (or a little closer to them than before they started)  you will be positioned as a leader, as an expert and as their trusted guide

So now it is your turn, are you ready to inspire your readers and promote your blog?

If so, build your quest and please get on touch to let me know how you went on.

Thanks for reading.

Andrew Holland

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