1.    Increase traffic by offering more backlinks. A backlink is basically an incoming link from another Web page. It acts as a connector between two different sites. The more backlinks you have, the more traffic you will attract.

Be sure that your website looks professional and is free of errors. Many Internet marketers like to exchange links with each other to create a win-win situation for all. In order to increase the number of backlinks, you’ll want to maintain a professional appearance.

2.    Increase traffic by providing free, original content. Google doesn’t like it when you copy and paste material from another site onto your page. In fact, that’s one way to find your site listing at the bottom of the search engines. Providing free, original content on a frequent basis will help your site rise in the search engines.

3.    Check out free resources to drive traffic to your website. Participate in forums, get a Twitter account, and use YouTube to drive more traffic to your website. You may even want to check out Google Groups. Be scrappy. Find as many free opportunities to showcase your site as you possibly can.

4.    Write articles to increase traffic to your site. In order to get attention, you’ll need to brand yourself as an expert in your field. Submit articles to ezines, Digg, and team up with other marketers or bloggers and publish articles on each others’ site. Always include a link at the bottom of the article to direct people to your website.

5.    Advertise to get more traffic. You may want to invest in Pay-per-Click or other methods to get noticed. Buying ads on niche-related forums is a good way to get targeted traffic to your website. Another good way to advertise your business is to buy magnets. You can have an oversized magnet printed from your local office supply store and put it on the side panel of your vehicle. Be creative in your advertising efforts.

6.    Speak at seminars to attract website visitors. One very effective way to drive more traffic to your website is to become a presenter at a conference or niche-targeted seminar. When you develop your presentation, offer valuable, free content to the audience and be generous in your responses to questions. Be sure to have plenty of materials, books, or products in the back of the room that people can buy or get free.

7.    Take it one step at a time. Be patient when it comes to your advertising efforts. You’ve got to give each strategy time to be successful. Sometimes, a minor change is all you need to make a huge difference in your advertising campaign.

Getting traffic to your website is a matter of getting in the trenches to see what works and what doesn’t. Don’t get tunnel vision and stay stuck in one place. Use multiple channels to advertise your business. Take chances. Stay the course. With a little ingenuity, you’ll discover the best strategy for attracting Web traffic to your site.

One way that affiliate marketers use to attract visitors is to use Google AdWords. It’s an easy way to get impressions in Google, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to get a load of traffic from AdWords.

What you DON’T want to do is quickly set up your AdWords account and hope for the best, nor do you want to attract tire kickers. You need to attract targeted visitors who will become buyers.

Here are three mistakes that people make when setting up their Google AdWords account:

Mistake #1: Unfamiliarity with Setting up a Campaign

Don’t rely on the default settings to set up your ad campaign. Your goal is to attract targeted traffic to your website, and you cannot do so if you’ve got the wrong types of traffic checking out what you have to sell. Be sure to adjust the settings so the right people will see what you have to offer.

Also, don’t run your AdWords campaign on a tight budget. You may not get the number of impressions you need to make a good impression in Google.

Mistake #2: Failing to Use Targeted Keywords

Do a little research to see what keywords are most effective in your target market. Use keywords that generate a lot of traffic but may not be readily used by the masses. In order to compete strategically, you’ve got to discover the gold in low competition, high-traffic keywords.

Don’t make the mistake of using the wrong keywords. Strive to get the desired result by avoiding keywords that may attract a lot of traffic but will not result in a single sale.  Doing so is like tossing money to the wind; it’s cold, hard cash that you’ll never see again.

Mistake #3: Being a Big Spender with Nothing to Show for It

One of the biggest mistakes new marketers make is to spend more on advertising than they earn from profits. Your goal is to generate a high CTR and earn more than you spend. This may take a little trial and error to perfect but be sure to spend a daily amount that you can live with.

Keep in mind that this is a learning process. Too many new Internet marketers get overly zealous and start spending tons of cash before they understand how their advertising dollars are working—or not working—in their favor.

Once you get the hang of it, using Google AdWords for getting traffic to your website is an easy and automated method for creating your online presence. While most people learn through trial and error, you may want to do some networking with other affiliate marketers to see how they use Google AdWords to increase their CTR.

Making a Fortune with MySpace: Ashley Qualls

Some teenagers are taking a single idea and making a mint from it. Take, for instance, Ashley Qualls. When she was 14, she borrowed $8 from her mother to buy a domain name. She started a company that designed MySpace layouts, targeted primarily to girls.

Today, Ashley’s website gets 60 million page views each month. She paid cash for a $250,000 home and has turned down a 1.5 million dollar offer to buy her business. While her business is not classified as an affiliate marketing business, it just goes to show you how one teen with a simple idea can make more money than most adults. She is now 18 and well on her way to continued success.

Meet Nate Brown—a 14-year-old Affiliate Marketer

Nate Brown is a 14-year-old affiliate marketer who has already learned how to automate his affiliate marketing business. He’s been an affiliate marketer for a year now. He even blogs about how he does it and offers tips and tricks to others who want to do the same. I’m sure we’ll hear more about Nate as his affiliate marketing business grows.

Why are Teens Prime Candidates for Affiliate Marketing?

Teens are prime candidates for affiliate marketing because they haven’t yet become jaded about the Internet. In fact, they’re paving the way for the future of the Web. They have the “I can do anything” attitude that gives them the incentive to learn through trial and error.

Teens are experts at viral marketing because they’ve literally grown up in front of a computer. They know exactly how to get the word out about their favorite music, products, and ideas. They’ve already mastered MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and a multitude of other social networking sites.

Teens Need to Make More Money In Today’s Economy

With the federal minimum wage set at $7.25, teens realize that they can’t get much bang for their buck if they work only part time. The high price of gasoline, insurance, and the cost of going to a movie, is prompting teenagers to look for ways to make more money, more efficiently.

Once mastered, an affiliate marketing program can be automated, enabling a teen to have an active social life without being tied down to a set schedule. Just one successful affiliate marketing site, once set into motion, can give a teenage boy or girl enough money to pay for fun activities without interfering in school work.

Many teens see affiliate marketing as an avenue to generate just enough cash to get by, while others are learning everything they can to create wealth. Regardless of the motivation, more and more teens are turning to affiliate marketing as a way to create a positive cash flow and leave bussing tables and waiting on customers to someone else.

We all know that the majority of the people who land on websites are curiosity seekers or tire kickers. However, you don’t have to give into the majority rule. What if you could find a way to catch their attention, keep them on the page, and build your lists all at the same time?

If you’re looking for ways to super-charge your e-mail marketing, try using surveys to get website visitors to opt-in to your list:

Offer surveys that are relevant to your niche.

There’s something about a survey that piques an individual’s curiosity. This is evident in the number of “just for fun” surveys on sites like Facebook and MySpace. Using a survey is like checking the temperature of your target market. You may think your product or service is the next big thing, but consumers may be looking for something different. This is a great way to test the waters.

Develop surveys that will give you important feedback about your target market. Look for consumer needs and buying trends. Use them to develop new products or enhance existing ones. Most of all, have fun with this process. While some surveys may be serious and critical to the development of your business, try your hand at creating a few surveys just for entertainment value.

Offer a free “how-to” guide.

You should reward people for participating in your survey. Offer a “how-to” guide that solves a problem for them. If you start thinking of yourself as a problem solver instead of a marketer, you’ll find more ways to connect to your target market.

Whenever someone lands on your website, the first question that comes to mind is this one: “What’s in it for me?” Make their trek to your site worth their while. A “how-to” guide should solve an immediate problem.

For instance, if you’re selling diet products, your guide should offer some tips for kick-starting their weight-loss plans. If your customer base is focused on making money, offer a few of your tried and true nuggets of gold for building wealth. Give them just enough to want more information from you later.

Every transaction should be a mutually beneficial exchange between you and the prospect.

Keep in mind that listbuilding isn’t about tricking someone into signing up to your list. It’s about offering something valuable in exchange for someone’s name and e-mail address (and, hopefully, future sales transactions). Even before you make a single sale, your focus must be on making your subscribers happy. Satisfied subscribers to your list are more likely to turn into buying customers. Focus on the end result.

There’s no one-size-fits-all listbuilding strategy. Get creative and focus on the needs of your target market. A good rule of thumb is to make every exchange a mutually beneficial one for both you and the subscribers to your list.

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1.    Keep the opt-in form “above the fold.”

For optimal listbuilding success, keep your opt-in form where website visitors can see it without hitting the scroll bar. “Above the fold” simply means the top half of the web page.

For instance, when you fold a newspaper in half, the most compelling stories are printed above the fold. Your objective is to draw attention to the form so that readers won’t overlook it before they click away.

2.    Give them more than one chance to subscribe.

Place opt-in forms on each page of your website. While some visitors will choose to subscribe on the landing page, others will want to browse your site first before committing to your list.

However, by the time they’ve read your blog, checked out your articles, or browsed your products, they may forget to subscribe. Adding the option to subscribe to your list on any page increases the odds of capturing their names and e-mail addresses.

3.    Offer “freebies” to e-mail list subscribers.

People love getting something free. That’s why many Internet marketers offer free reports, e-books, CDs, etc., in exchange for names and e-mail addresses. Be sure that what you offer is directly related to the products or services you offer. For instance, if you’re selling diet products, a report with free diet tips or an e-book offering low-fat recipes may entice visitors to join your list.

4.    Highlight the benefits of subscribing to your list.

Overcome any objections that individuals may have of subscribing to your list by outlining the benefits of joining it. For instance, free weekly sales tips for novice Internet marketers may encourage people to join your list. Perhaps your subscribers will receive a regularly published newsletter to help them earn more money. Let them know how they’ll benefit from opting in to your list.

5.    Be creative with your article marketing!

Add a “Forward to a Friend” function to reports, e-books, and newsletters. This is a great way to build interest in your products or services and to encourage more readers to sign up for your list. You may even want to use the opt-in form to enter subscribers into a contest that offers a prize they cannot resist.

Also, use article marketing to drive more traffic to your website. This will lead them directly to your opt-in form and, hopefully, provide an incentive for more sign-ups.

There you have it: Five listbuilding techniques that really work. The key to listbuilding success is not to work harder but to make your website do the work for you. Experiment and have fun with new ideas. Most importantly, keep it simple. You’ll often find that the best ideas for attracting new subscribers are the simplest ones.

Tread lightly in a new forum at first.

One of the biggest mistakes that new forum members make is to barge in and make dozens of posts in the first few days. While forums generally welcome new members, people who come in and take over the board by posting in every single forum can be an annoying presence.

Dip your toe in to test the waters before you get overly-exuberant in your postings. Let people get to know your personality a little so that no misunderstandings occur.

Read older posts.

You can learn a lot about the members and direction of the forum by reading older posts. This will help you to understand the personalities of other members and the dynamics of the forum. Also, consider that many newbies post the same questions over and over again, so it’s a good idea to read older posts to get answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Ask questions of other affiliate marketers.

If you have some legitimate questions, ask them. It’s good to create a reciprocal relationship between you and other members. You’ll be surprised at the in-depth knowledge you’ll gain from people that you’ll likely never meet in person. Some of the most valuable insights about Internet marketing can be found in online forums.

Contribute valuable content to the forum.

It’s important to be a contributor, not a contaminator. In other words, be very giving to the people in the forum. The more you give to the forum, the more you’ll gain from it. As people appreciate your knowledge and respect your contributions, they’ll be curious about what you have to offer and visit your website.

Don’t be a forum troll.

Forum trolls are people that frequent forums to stir up trouble. If you are offended by a post, take a break. Step back from the situation and think before you submit a post. It’s difficult to undo a forum argument so follow the advice that your grandmother gave to you: If you cannot say something nice, say nothing at all. Never antagonize other members; it does not make good business sense.

Don’t pike your products.

This is a little tricky for some new members to understand. Don’t be a die-hard salesperson and push your products in your posts. Some forums have special sections for people to promote their products. It’s okay to post there. However, when someone has a question, give them an honest and informative answer. Don’t imply that all the answers to their problems can be found in your latest info-product.

Add your links to your signature line. Some forums allow you to add links to your signature line. Take advantage of this opportunity to post your website address.

Using forums to build your affiliate marketing business makes good business sense. This is where the Law of Reciprocity goes into overdrive. Give a lot, and people will pay you in kind by checking out your website and, hopefully, buying your products

Below are 3 surefire ways that you can direct people to your website.

1.    Become a consultant or a success coach.

People are willing to pay a healthy fee to hire consultants to help them in their businesses and their daily lives. Whether you’re working with businesses to streamline their work processes or offering your services as a life coach, consulting is a valuable way to direct people to your squeeze page to sign up for other special offers.

2.    Give away free CDs or DVDs to promote your online business.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to create and print your own CDs or DVDs. In fact, you can begin by doing this from home. Just be sure that when you create them, you’re giving away information that is so valuable that the recipients will want more of what you have to offer.

Never underestimate the value of the “thud” factor. In other words, give them what they want plus more. Use the CDs/DVDs as teasers to upsell other products that they can get only on your website.

3.    Use print media to advertise your online business.

Advertise in newspapers, magazines, and other print media. Write press releases. Also, create brochures and business cards that serve as walking advertisements for your website. If needed, hire a professional copywriter to create these marketing materials so your investment won’t be wasted.

During tough economic times—especially during tough economic times—it’s important that you beef up your marketing campaign by using multiple channels to promote your Internet business.

You should consider a number of offline marketing strategies for getting traffic to your website. Don’t make the mistake that a lot of online marketers make by ignoring all the possibilities available to market your product or service.

If you can make person-to-person contact with customers, give away valuable gifts, and extend your advertising beyond Web searches, you’ll soon discover that getting traffic to your website is not just about search engine optimization; it’s about optimizing all your marketing by taking advantage of the multiple online and offline channels available to do so.

If you want to stand head and shoulders above the crowd, think outside the box when you’re creating marketing campaigns. Don’t get caught up in trying to reinvent the wheel. Instead, put a new spin on an old product.  This is where you’ll want to get creative. Find a marketing hook that will spotlight your product in a different way. Connect it with something that is happening in the news. Stories are great hooks for spotlighting your product as a solution to a current problem so look beyond the obvious benefits for marketing ideas.

Here’s a fun idea: Don’t be afraid to draw attention to some of your own everyday adventures in your marketing campaign. Marketers will do just about anything to keep their customers interested. I’ve seen everything from skydiving to ocean cruises incorporated into marketing messages. People spend a lot of time on their computers, and if you give people insight into your world and entertain them in the process, you can probably find a marketing hook somewhere in your day-to-day life. Reward customers a one-of-a-kind experience when they land on your website.

If you want to build excitement about your product, create a contest. Customers love to get involved in the creative process, so ask them to name your product, develop a tag line, or find a new way to use your product. It’s not only fun, but you’ll get some great ideas for your business. Be sure that the prize is something that is particularly useful for your target market. Give away free products, offer a free membership in your mastermind group, or give away a month of free consultations. Create a win-win for both you and your customers.

Finally, if you want to remain competitive, you’ll need to master the skills of social networking. Listen, the face of Internet marketing is always changing. It’s not always the most polished person in the room who is the most successful sales person. For the Internet marketer, personality often pulls over polish. Take advantage of all the social networking sites to promote your products. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are very successful avenues for building a loyal following of prospects. These sites are very effective for building rapport with your niche market.

The key to long-term success is to have fun with your affiliate marketing business and to think creatively. Working online does not mean that you should keep your distance from customers. Establish yourself as an expert but also show your personality when marketing your business. Think outside the box and have fun by using unique ideas to create long-term profits for your affiliate marketing business.

Many newbie marketers assume that once someone joins their lists, the work is complete. Not so. Listbuilding is an ongoing process and does not end once a prospect provides his name and e-mail to you. Sending autoresponders is one of the most popular ways to build lists and keep prospects interested in your offering.

Here are 5 critical mistakes to avoid as you build your lists:

1.    Don’t buy email lists. Listbuilding is not just a numbers game. Novice marketers often think that the bigger their lists, the more sales they’ll make. Don’t be fooled by the numbers. You want to build qualified lists, not lists that are full of uninterested prospects. Successful Internet marketers will tell you that a smaller list of qualified prospects often outsells a much larger list of random prospects.

2.    Don’t send spam to recipients. First of all, spamming is illegal. Unless you’re willing to turn off potential customers and face harsh legal penalties, you need to steer clear of spam and anything that can be misconstrued as spam. To avoid confusion, send e-mail only to people who have voluntarily joined your list.

3.    Don’t write subject lines that sound as if your English teacher wrote them. If the subject line sounds too formal and business-like, the recipient may decide not to open your e-mail because it sounds too “salesy”. Don’t capitalize all the main words in the subject when lowercase words will work just as well. Keep subject lines personal to grab the recipient’s attention.

4.    Don’t deceive the recipient of your e-mails. Never use a deceptive subject line that implies the e-mail is about one thing only to fool the reader who opens it with something else. Prospects will unsubscribe when they feel tricked by an Internet marketer. Prospects are offended by deception, and marketers who make this mistake often find their lists shrinking in numbers.

5.    Don’t overdo it when it comes to sending e-mails. Less is often more when it comes to sending e-mails to prospects. If you send too many, you risk inundating readers with too many useless e-mails. If you don’t send enough, prospects may forget that they have signed up for your list. When you send an e-mail, provide quality content that is engaging to the reader on an as-needed basis. You can tell a story that ties into your product or offer solutions to your prospects’ problems. Prospects also appreciate how-to tips and tricks.

When listbuilding for your affiliate marketing business, it’s important to know what not to do so you can avoid some of the pitfalls that new marketers fall prey to. By avoiding novice mistakes, you can shorten your learning curve and, hopefully, shorten your path to Internet marketing success.