A friend recently asked what kind of projects I’d seen that were effective at bumping up traffic. The site he manages had recently started to plateau and he needed ideas. I said that in most cases execution was as important as the type of campaign, but I’d send him a brief list.

Once I started I couldn’t stop. Here are some of the projects  that I (or the companies I’ve worked for) have launched to increase page views, visits, engagement, or other metrics from the bucket called “audience development.”

I’ve managed some of these projects, some I watched from the sidelines. Some projects took a year, some took a day. Some projects succeeded, others did not.

For better or worse, here’s my list. What’s on yours?

Dramatic increases in content volume, hourly publishing schedules, 24-hour breaking news, “real-time content,” celebrity interviews, celeb guest editors, brand-name bloggers, community bloggers, community video bloggers, celeb video, how-to video, link-bait content, long-form content, content tools, free resources, action kits, daily contests, weekly contests, monthly contests, multiple-entry contests, huge grand prize contests, search marketing, search engine optimization, social media “share” marketing, landing page optimization, site speed overhauls, customer-centric redesigns, mobile themes, mobile sites, mobile apps, onsite display advertising, offsite display advertising, ad-network advertising, content-network advertising, link exchanges, taxonomy definitions, taxonomy redefinitions, co-registration newsletter sign-up, auto opt-in email newsletters, auto roll-over email newsletters, short-run newsletters, event-driven newsletters, traffic exchanges, content exchanges, in-kind partnerships, strategic partnerships, acquisitions, industry insider events, celeb-hosted events, television appearances, direct mail, social bookmarking tools,  user polls, user profiles, badges, competitions, overall site gamification, overall site personalization, social media presences, targeted sites and social media presences, consolidated sites and social media presences, unbundled sites and social media presences,  staff participation in forums, sock puppets, blogger outreach, live blogging, event tweeting, brand journalism, offsite content marketing, audience polls, audience focus groups, user personas, toolbars, QR codes, location targeting, and ecommerce of too many types to list.