Paid Traffic: 20 Methods That Create Fast Results Part 1
- ARTICLES |
In a previous post we discussed 22 ways to get free traffic. At the end of the day we all have the same choices when it comes to traffic - we earn it or we buy it.
Smart marketers do both continually by doing things like building their list from the traffic they get from sources like paid advertising.
That's a smart tactic that creates true marketing leverage. It creates leverage because having your own list is perhaps the #1 key to succeeding online. This is why you often hear experienced marketers say they always drive traffic to a squeeze page and not a sales letter.
They want to build their list and then send the visitor to the sales letter, knowing that some people will just leave and they might lose a bit of business. But the prospects they gain are much more interested and likely to buy. This is one sure way to increase conversion.
But let's save that for another article!
Today let's take the big picture look at paid traffic, just like we did with free traffic methods.
When it comes to paid traffic, I believe there are three "themes" just as there are with free traffic. To refresh your memory of the themes, they are ...
Publishing
Broadcasting
Collaboration
If you want to know more about each please visit my post Free Traffic: 22 Methods That Really Work.
The major difference between free and paid traffic is that when earning free traffic you are doing the work but with paid traffic you are buying ads on places where others do the work.
For example: You might notice that forums are on both lists. For free traffic from forums you need to spend time participating.
To get paid traffic from forums you simply buy ads on the forum itself (most offer advertising) and you can skip all the time it takes to post and participate. It's still a good idea to participate but with paid advertising it's not necessary at all.
Now let's look at the big picture of the paid traffic world.
First, here's a little mind map I drew for you about paid traffic. As before, you can ignore this if you are not into graphical thinking or mind maps.
Now on with the show! Rather than grouping them by publishing or broadcasting or collaboration I thought it might be more useful to list them and then share a short insight about each.
Affiliates
Running your own affiliate program can be a dream comes true. It's no guarantee of success however since affiliates can misrepresent your product and cause you headaches. Believe me, I know.
But if you develop a strong army of affiliates and work with them to promote your product for a commission you won't have to worry about traffic again. Jimmy Brown has famously said that his affiliates send him all the traffic he needs, and I believe him.
Email Marketing
Email marketing and ezine advertising are similar but a bit different. The difference is that there are companies with very large lists that will sell you solo ads but they don't publish an actual email newsletter. These companies range from the very large to smaller players, so you need to know who you are buying from and avoid spam complaints. But solo ad sends to these lists can work very well.
Reviews
Many large sites, often blogs, will sell you a review on their site. The costs and effectiveness varies, and these site owners won't fib and say a product is great if it's not in most cases. Getting a paid review amounts to an endorsement in most people's eyes, so the value here can be huge. Find a top blog or site in your niche and see if they offer a paid review.
Forums
Many forums sell advertising space on their forum site. This is highly targeted advertising, especially if the forum you choose will let you buy ads on a sub forum. These ads are usually banners but they can take other forms as well. Some forums will even send email for you to their registered members.
Banners
Not sure why people don't use banners more often but they should. A well-placed banner can bring in huge results, and the costs are quite low. Banners are often sold on a cost-per-thousand impressions basis so it's very important to know where the site gets its traffic. If you target correctly, and if your banner creates intense curiosity, you can do very well for a low fee.
Webinars
There are a few ways to pay and get traffic with webinars. You can host them of course, but that's hard for most people. Some webinar hosts will actually sells ads that show during the webinar. I know of no clearinghouse for this but there should be one. I predict this will become a big trend. Another way to use webinars is to pay someone to host a webinar for you. This is best done as a joint venture but can work well.
Author: J Mark Lipscomb
11 Days To Limitless Traffic:rolleyes:
Smart marketers do both continually by doing things like building their list from the traffic they get from sources like paid advertising.
That's a smart tactic that creates true marketing leverage. It creates leverage because having your own list is perhaps the #1 key to succeeding online. This is why you often hear experienced marketers say they always drive traffic to a squeeze page and not a sales letter.
They want to build their list and then send the visitor to the sales letter, knowing that some people will just leave and they might lose a bit of business. But the prospects they gain are much more interested and likely to buy. This is one sure way to increase conversion.
But let's save that for another article!
Today let's take the big picture look at paid traffic, just like we did with free traffic methods.
When it comes to paid traffic, I believe there are three "themes" just as there are with free traffic. To refresh your memory of the themes, they are ...
Publishing
Broadcasting
Collaboration
If you want to know more about each please visit my post Free Traffic: 22 Methods That Really Work.
The major difference between free and paid traffic is that when earning free traffic you are doing the work but with paid traffic you are buying ads on places where others do the work.
For example: You might notice that forums are on both lists. For free traffic from forums you need to spend time participating.
To get paid traffic from forums you simply buy ads on the forum itself (most offer advertising) and you can skip all the time it takes to post and participate. It's still a good idea to participate but with paid advertising it's not necessary at all.
Now let's look at the big picture of the paid traffic world.
First, here's a little mind map I drew for you about paid traffic. As before, you can ignore this if you are not into graphical thinking or mind maps.
Now on with the show! Rather than grouping them by publishing or broadcasting or collaboration I thought it might be more useful to list them and then share a short insight about each.
Affiliates
Running your own affiliate program can be a dream comes true. It's no guarantee of success however since affiliates can misrepresent your product and cause you headaches. Believe me, I know.
But if you develop a strong army of affiliates and work with them to promote your product for a commission you won't have to worry about traffic again. Jimmy Brown has famously said that his affiliates send him all the traffic he needs, and I believe him.
Email Marketing
Email marketing and ezine advertising are similar but a bit different. The difference is that there are companies with very large lists that will sell you solo ads but they don't publish an actual email newsletter. These companies range from the very large to smaller players, so you need to know who you are buying from and avoid spam complaints. But solo ad sends to these lists can work very well.
Reviews
Many large sites, often blogs, will sell you a review on their site. The costs and effectiveness varies, and these site owners won't fib and say a product is great if it's not in most cases. Getting a paid review amounts to an endorsement in most people's eyes, so the value here can be huge. Find a top blog or site in your niche and see if they offer a paid review.
Forums
Many forums sell advertising space on their forum site. This is highly targeted advertising, especially if the forum you choose will let you buy ads on a sub forum. These ads are usually banners but they can take other forms as well. Some forums will even send email for you to their registered members.
Banners
Not sure why people don't use banners more often but they should. A well-placed banner can bring in huge results, and the costs are quite low. Banners are often sold on a cost-per-thousand impressions basis so it's very important to know where the site gets its traffic. If you target correctly, and if your banner creates intense curiosity, you can do very well for a low fee.
Webinars
There are a few ways to pay and get traffic with webinars. You can host them of course, but that's hard for most people. Some webinar hosts will actually sells ads that show during the webinar. I know of no clearinghouse for this but there should be one. I predict this will become a big trend. Another way to use webinars is to pay someone to host a webinar for you. This is best done as a joint venture but can work well.
Author: J Mark Lipscomb
11 Days To Limitless Traffic:rolleyes: