If you’ve checked out the ‘hotlist’ that’s displayed on the Home Page of del.icio.us, you’ll have noticed it’s a fantastic resource of links and uniqe content ideas.

Secondly, it helps you keep track of the latest ‘in things’ folks are talking about.

Thirdly and most importantly, it’s a page that attracts a massive amount of traffic very quickly. In fact, it’s increasingly being utilized by many internet marketers who’re profiting from all of the targeted traffic their sites receive.

And now….you can too! Here’s how:

Amazingly, articles with the words ‘how-to’ in their headlines, attract people like magnets and have been proved to pull in a higher response than posts lacking this phrase. It’s that powerful!

And, if you carefully scan del.icio.us’s hotlist, you’ll see that a fair amount of links contain the words ‘how-to’ in them.

So the next time you want to crack into the hotlist, create a how-to post - walk your readers through a formula that teaches them how to achieve something.

For instance, if your niche is internet marketing, you could write out an article detailing the steps you need to take to start an online business. Then, simply insert a how-to headline – ‘How to successfully start a profitable online business.’

That’s it! If your article contains some useful tips and strategies and is written in an interesting and conversational manner, then the chances of your article being bookmarked will be very high.

List titles also dominate del.icio.us’s hotlist page; in fact, they account for approx. 40% of the current links. So you might want to go for this method, instead of a how-to article. It’s totally your call!

More often than not, lists that include a number in them are the ones that become quite popular.

I have no idea what it is about numbers that capture the interest of del.icio.us readers - because they seem to bookmark them more readily. Hence, it’s a good idea to implement this technique when you get around to writing out a list!

For ages, internet marketers have used humor to successfully get their messages across to their target audience. Today, many smart folks are employing this same technique to get to the top of del.icio.us’s coveted hotlist.

For example, there was a link on del.icio.us some time ago, that read:

Now if you happen to spot a funny title like that, you’re bound to check it out, right? Well, that’s exactly what users did, when the link caught their attention.

And sure enough, the link vaulted into del.icio.us’s hotlist in no time at all!

Using humor to capture readers’ interest is definitely going to get you favorable results, so go for it!

Let’s face it: Inspirational and motivational messages always seem to give us that feel-good factor, by the time we’ve finished reading them. Ever wondered the reason for this? Well, if you’re like me, you like to be inspired on an emotional level.

This is exactly why most members on del.icio.us will not hesitate to bookmark links that inspire or motivate them in any way.

So, if you’re looking to generate plenty of targeted hits to your website and give people some inspiration at the same time, this is the way to go!

OK, no matter how hypey they may sound, bold, sensational headlines always succeed in grabbing our attention. Think about it. I mean, why on earth would the tabloids keep indulging in it, if it weren’t profitable for them?

Take a look at this headline:

Tell me, if you spot a link similar to the one above on del.icio.us, would you be

interested in reading more? Sure you would! And what’s more, before you know it, you’ll find yourself excitedly clicking on the link to see what all the fuss is about.

In other words, the writer of that headline succeeded in ‘luring’ you to his/her website to read the rest of the story!

Why don’t you try to come up with a bold title and see how many people bookmark it? If it’s decent enough, you’ll soon see a stampede of traffic to your site in double quick time.

legal. Writing a bunch of nonsense is just not going to cut it.