The Right Kind of Targeted Website Traffic

To succeed online, we need to understand that now the focus needs to be on the right kind of visitors. This is much easier than you might think! In essence, you need people who looking for what you offer. If someone goes online, conducts a search and finds what they looking for on your site, there is a good chance you can make a sale.  If random traffic comes to you, you will be very lucky to make any sales.

For example, if someone is trying to purchase a certain brand of shoes and you sell that brand of shoes as an affiliate, you want the visitor to come across your website.  The reason is obvious - visits equal sales.   The same things goes for if you sell an ebook. If someone types in the search word that your ebook pertains to and they end up on your site, you are receiving a targeted visitor.

Read on to learn how you can start getting targeted traffic on demand to your website and offer so you can start seeing more profits fast!

Take time to figure out what you selling, your target audience, the right keywords and the design of your website.  Read as much as you can about Google optimization strategies, and get ready to make money.  Good luck.  

BRANDING YOUR BUSINESS FOR TARGETED WEBSITE TRAFFIC

In order to gain and keep a steady flow of targeted website traffic, every business should invest time to learn how to brand itself.

Today I created my first banner!  Well, I actually created it for my wife's business, but it is still a first.  Instead of trying to lay out the steps by memory, I provided the text and link to the site where I got my information.

Fashion Jewelry For The Fashion Conscious

How to Make a Banner With Gimp

by Darrin Koltow, Demand Media

Making banners for your blog or website allows you to create a more powerful and dramatic header for your content — and if you work with GIMP, you're able to do so for free. Banners can include text and images to communicate the type of content related on your site. To create banners like this in GIMP, use the program’s layering tools, and selection tools like Foreground Select, to assemble the images and concise text needed to use as a heading description.

Step 1:  Select "New" from the File menu, then type in the Width and Height text boxes the dimensions you want for the banner. An approximate size that works for websites would be 600 pixels for width and 150 pixels for height. Click OK to create the canvas.

Step 2:  Click "File | Open" as Layers, then navigate to an image that you want to use as a background for the banner. For the movie blog example, you might open an image of film spools, or an image of the physical film itself.

Step 3:  Use the Open as Layers command to load an image you’d like to appear in the banner’s foreground, such as a picture of a famous actor, or your own picture.

Step 4:  Click the Tools palette icons shaped like an arrow with four heads. This runs the Move tool. Drag on the canvas to place the foreground image where you want it. For the movie blog example, you might drag a picture of Clint Eastwood or another actor toward the right, until it meets the canvas’ right edge.

Step 5:  Click the Tools palette icon shaped like a person with a cloud behind him to run Foreground Select. The cursor changes to a lasso icon, indicating you’re in selection mode. Drag a rough outline around the object or person you want to cut out, e.g. Clint Eastwood. The cursor changes to a painting icon, indicating you’re now in a painting-like mode.

Step 6:  Drag over the object or person you want to cut out, being careful not to let the cursor stray beyond the object’s outline. Press and hold the "Control" key, then drag over the background from which you’re cutting out the object. Press "Enter" to finalize the selection.

Step 7:  Click "Select | Invert" to select the imagery surrounding the object, then press "Delete" to delete that imagery. The object you've selected appears over the background image you loaded.

Step 8:  Click the Tools palette icon that shows a boldface “A” to run the Text tool, then click the Font button in the Tools Options panel. Click a font you like from the list that appears.

Step 9:  Drag on the canvas where you want the title of your banner to appear. GIMP displays a small window in which you can type the title’s text. Type the text, e.g. “Joe’s Flick Picks,” then click close to finalize the text and complete your banner.

Click here to see view the original instructions.

Pay Per Click

The only real shortcut to targeted traffic is pay per click.

I know the preceding is a bold absolute; however, until proven otherwise, it is the only way I've ever found that actually works.  Now, if you don't know how to do it properly, it will cost you more than you will earn.

Folks, I still believe email marketing is a great way to get traffic to your website, but I think you have to get your leads the old fashion way.  You need to build your own list.  In fact, I just discontinued my membership in an email exchange program, because I realized that I was simply wasting my time.  If you are tempted to enroll in a traffic exchange program, consider the following:  traffic exchanges make money by having you click on other members' ads.  In turn, members click your ads. 

If you are patient enough to build your own lists, research AWeber.   Good luck!

Gaining Web Traffic Through A JV Partner

Attract Targeted Traffic By Landing a JV Partner in Seven Days or Less

There's a misconception in the internet marketing world that joint ventures are difficult and reserved only for the top echelon of marketers. That's not the case at all. Any business, big or small, can benefit from doing JVs as they move to accomplish the goal of gaining targeted traffic. Remember: a great JV is a win/win for both sides, so there's really no reason for smaller businesses not to participate.

Here's how you can land a JV deal in seven days or less.

==> Formulate the Offer and Gather Stats

What's the deal that you'll offer to your partner's list? The better the deal, the more likely it will eventually lead to targeted traffic.  Ideally the offer should be significantly different from the offer on your own website. They should be incentivized to sign up for the offer on your partner's list immediately, rather than waiting and signing up on your site.

Potential offers include one-time discounts, downloadable bonuses or exclusive entry into teleseminars.



Gather stats about your conversion rate. If you're doing a two-tier program, meaning they get paid on back-end sales as well, figure out your average customer value so you can let your JV partner know about how much they can expect to make per visitor they send you.

==> Compile a List of Likely Candidates (Use LinkedIn)

Start with your own network. Do you know anyone who may know someone who owns a large list? Would it be a win/win for you to do a deal together?

Take advantage of LinkedIn's "friend of friends" search feature. If you have 100 contacts on LinkedIn and each of those contacts in turn has 100 contacts, that's a lot of potential partners.

Then add to your list three to ten well-known candidates you'd like to land in your niche.

==> Make the Offer by Phone

Call up the most likely candidates. Make your offer and be sure to state what's unique about your product, how it can help their customers and about how much they can expect to make based on your product's past conversion rates.

Be prepared to make several phone calls before you get a "yes." Not everyone will want to partner with you; but all you need to land is one great partner and you'll be financially set for the month.

==> Crafting the Campaign

Once you get someone to say yes, discuss with them how to maximize conversions. What kind of offers do they respond best to? What kind of media (i.e. video, teleseminars, text-only, etc.) gets the most sales? How can you work together to make the deal a success?

Do everything in your power to make your JV partner happy. A happy partner may do another deal with you a few months down the road and will very likely refer other potential partners.

If you really go at this process 100%, you can easily land a JV deal or two within seven days or less and be well on your way to gaining targeted traffic.

Targeted Traffic Using Google Content Network

Google Content Network - A Fast Yet Overlooked Targeted Traffic Source

One of the most commonly misunderstood sources of traffic among web marketers is the Google Content Network. It's true that working with the content network is different than working with PPC, but when used correctly the content network can deliver streams of targeted traffic to your website, almost overnight.

How do you get started with the content network?

==> Start by Compiling Groups of Keywords

Unlike AdWords that allows you to bid on keywords individually, the content network works by keyword "groups."

Brainstorm a few different groups of related keywords. For example, if you were selling used watches, you might go for a keyword group like:

* Used watches

* Preowned watches

* Watch valuation

* Buy a used watch

* Real used watches

The idea is to find keywords that people are likely to have in their pages and group them together. Unlike search PPC, where you're targeting words that people type in, this time you're targeting keywords that'll cause your ads to show up on the right kinds of websites.

==> Use Placement Targeting for Instant Results

Don't want to have to wait for Google to find websites for you? You can do it yourself instead.

Google's placement targeting tool allows you to look for the website(s) that you think will work best for your offer and target those sites specifically to have your ads display on.

Go to Google's Placement Targeting tools to look through a list of sites. You can browse by keyword or by topic. Be sure to look at what kinds of ads they accept. If you're targeting a highly trafficked website, it may pay to design a graphic banner ad just for their site.

==> Content Network Traffic Behavior

Content network traffic behaves differently than PPC or SEO traffic.

For whatever reason, marketers have typically not been able to sell high-ticket, mid-ticket or often even low-ticket items to content network traffic.

What does work, however, is converting content network traffic into email list subscribers. Once they're a subscriber, it's not that difficult to get them to become a buyer a few weeks down the road.

Why does content network traffic behave differently? Nobody really knows. Some believe it's because the traffic is less targeted, because they're not actively searching for you in the search engines. Others believe there's just less credibility in clicking an AdSense ad.

Whatever the reason, the secret to success to know how your traffic source works and adapt to it.

That's how you set up content network traffic, both through keywords and through placements. Remember that content network traffic works far, far better as a "long-term sell" than a one-time sale. Remember to keep testing different traffic sources, eliminate the sites that aren't converting and keep the rest.

Get Targeted Traffic Using Quick To Rank Keywords

The most important thing in SEO isn't getting backlinks or even your content. Before any of that can even come into the picture, you first need to choose the right keywords to target. By choosing quick-to-rank keywords, you'll start getting traffic and profits right away, instead of having to wait months to see results.

How do you choose keywords that you can rank for quickly?

==> Go for Long Tail Keywords

Generally, you'll want to be targeting keywords that are three words or longer. Target keywords with at least 1,000 searches a month, more if you have a PR 2 or higher website.

Do an exact match search for your keyword. In other words, put your keyword in quotes, i.e. "this is my keyword." This will give you the exact number of competing websites.

Ideally, this number should be less than 50,000.

==> Evaluating the Top Five

Your primary aim is to get in the top five places as quickly as possible. There's so little traffic below the top five that it's not really even worth shooting for.

The weaker the top five, the better your chances of ranking for those keywords quickly.

First of all, evaluate whether or not the top five are deliberately trying to rank for the keyword you're targeting. There's a good chance they just ranked by accident, which will make it much easier to push them off.

Do they have the keyword you're targeting in their title tag? Is the keyword in their meta keyword tags? If so, then you're in for a tougher fight. If not, the going will be much easier.

How many backlinks does your competition have? Use the Yahoo! Site Explorer to find out. (Google hides links and is inaccurate for the purposes of SEO competitive analysis.)

Also gauge your competitor's PageRank by using a PageRank checker. Then take a look at the domain age, as well as the number of pages on your competitor's sites.

The easiest keywords to rank for will have competitors that aren't specifically targeting the keyword, that don't have many backlinks, that have low PageRank and/or low domain age. Hard to rank for keywords will have just the opposite.

==> Try to Find Keywords without the Root

Most keywords that contain the "root" keyword will have a lot more competition than those that don't.

For example, if you're in the diet niche, keywords like "best diet" or "low carb diet" or "six pack abs diet" are going to be highly competitive.

On the other hand, keywords that don't have the word "diet" in them will have much less competition. For example, "get a 28-inch waist" will be much easier to rank for.

If you combine these techniques, you'll have a solid strategy for finding keywords that you can rank for within two to six weeks. Remember that SEO is as much an art as it is a science, and that getting fast rankings is as much a function of putting up many pages targeting different keywords as it is picking good keywords.

The Three Fastest Sources of Traffic for Traffic Boosts

The Three Fastest Sources of Targeted Traffic for Traffic Boosts

Need to generate traffic, fast? In this article, we're going to cover three techniques that work within just hours to just a few weeks. These techniques can help take even a website with no traffic and bring it back to life.

==> Six Hours: Pay Per Click Traffic

Pay Per Click (PPC) traffic is the fastest way to bring a targeted traffic boost to your website. 

You don't need to worry about the whims of the search engines or about waiting for your brand to get established. All you need to do is whip out your credit card and let the traffic flow in.

Of course, it's not that simple. First, you need to come up with lists of keywords for what people are likely to type in. Then, you need to write compelling ads that'll get people to click.

Finally, you need to install tracking software that allows you to detect exactly which keyword(s) are converting.

Once you've done these three steps, activate your campaign and watch the traffic come flooding in.

==> Two Weeks: The "Bum Marketing" Method

While this method won't work within two weeks consistently, it does often enough.

The "bum marketing" method is so named because it's supposedly so simple that even a bum off the street could do it.

The method? Find keywords that have less than 10,000 competing exact-search results. Write an article for that keyword. Post it to an article directory.

With the directory's PageRank, the article should easily outrank the rest of the competition, provided there aren't any super-strong sites in the 10,000 competitors.

Make sure you target keywords with at least 1,000 searches a month. Success with this technique comes from doing many, many articles, not just one or two.

==> One to Four Weeks: Finding a JV Deal

Finding and launching a JV deal takes a little longer, but can be very lucrative. 

A JV deal essentially means someone else agrees to promote your product. They send two to four emails out to their list promoting you.

First, you need to land the deal. The best way to land JV deals is through friends and friends of friends. The second best way is to just call up potential partners.

Once you have an outline of the deal, you're not finished. You've then got to craft the emails, create custom landing pages and create tracking codes to make sure your partner gets paid.

From start to finish, launching a JV deal can take anywhere from one to four weeks.

Each of these methods, if executed well, could bring in a lot of traffic. You could make a full-time living just from using these techniques well. Don't jump from technique to technique; instead pick one, commit to it and see it through.

Create a Viral Report that Spreads Like Wildfire

A free report that goes viral can bring in targeted traffic much faster than SEO and PPC combined. It can bring you free targeted visitors, in addition to generating hundreds of backlinks that'll help you rank in the long run.

How do you create a viral report that others can't help but pass on? Just follow these guidelines.

==> Extremely Controversial or Extremely Useful

There are basically two kinds of reports that get passed around: those that are controversial and shocking, or those that are so useful that others save them and use them as references.

For example, when John Carlton and Rich Schefren published a list of "bucket brigade" phrases - words to start sentences with that catch attention, the report caught fire and was passed around to thousands in the marketing community.

Why? Because it was useful. It was a list that had never been compiled before, an extremely valuable list for copywriters, given away for free.

==> Getting the Initial Distribution

In order for your report to have the chance of taking off, it needs to get initial distribution. In other words, it needs to be downloaded by between 100 to 500 people first, before the power of virality can take effect.

How can you get those initial users?

Lists are a big one. If you have an email list of a few thousand people, or know people with such lists, send them the free report. If you report is really great, other list owners should be glad to pass it on.

Post the free report to internet forums. Pay to post it in a commercial section if necessary. Again, if your report is great, it'll generate many replies which will in turn get you more viewers and even more downloads.

Finally, don't neglect your own network. Even posting it to your Facebook wall, if you have several hundred friends, can help you get the much-needed initial distribution.

==> Tools to Increase Virality

There are a few ways you can increase the viral flow of the report.

The first method is to require an opt-in in order to download the report. While this can really help you capitalize on the traffic generated, it can also turn some people off from downloading the report. Often they just want the report, without the list.

Another method is to embed Facebook and Twitter links inside the report. Make it easy for them to Like, Comment or Tweet your report.

Finally, one often forgotten secret to getting your content passed around is to just ask. Let them know that they have permission to pass the report on and ask them to share it with their friends.

Creating a report that spreads like wildfire does take creativity and market knowledge. It entails creating something original, getting it to a few hundred people and the having the mechanisms to help to spread. Done well, this tactic can launch an obscure business into the limelight.

Boost Your Traffic with Article Marketing in Twenty Minutes a Day

Article marketing doesn't have to be time intensive. It doesn't have to take ages to take effect either. In fact, with proper outsourcing you can use article marketing to drive herds of traffic to your website in less than twenty minutes a day. Here's how.

==> Doing Your Keyword Research

The keyword research and title writing are the most important parts of the process. By and large it's best to do this yourself. This is what takes up half of the twenty minutes.

Aim for low competition keywords to start with. Yes, you can rank for high competition keywords in the long run, but if you're looking for an instant traffic boost, go for the low-hanging fruit.

Pick out those keywords and write attention-catching titles for them. A reader should feel instantly drawn to the title just by reading it. Remember, it's not just about rankings, it's also about getting people to click on your listing once you're ranked.

==> Find a Quality Writer You Trust

Find one or two quality writers that you can trust. Usually you'll have to go through five or six writers before you can find one or two that are truly stellar.

Make sure they have first class English. Make sure their writing is grammatically correct and has personality. Check it against Copyscape for the first few submissions.

Also pay attention to their response time. How long do they take to reply to emails? Is their work turned in early, on time or a little bit late? Their behavior early in the relationship is a good indicator of what it'll be like working with them in the long run.

Find one or two outsourcers you feel confident outsourcing the article submissions to. Logging into various sites and submitting articles by hand is very time-consuming. An outsourcer will be happy to do it for $1 or $2 apiece.

Alternatively, you can learn to use automated submission software. Unfortunately, most of the top article directories like EzineArticles and GoArticles don't accept automated submissions.

==> Create a Consistent Publishing Schedule

Create a consistent schedule for when you want content published. For example, let's say you want to publish two articles a week.

Create a list of topics and titles for your writer for the month. Make sure any questions about the assignment are answered before they start.

Contact your article publisher and let them know when to expect the articles. You can send them all the articles at once and ask for them to be published twice a week, or just send the articles to them to be published as they come to you.

This whole process will take a week or two to set up. But once it's up and going, something miraculous will happen: you'll get all the benefits of article marketing, while putting in very little time yourself. Just sit back and work on other areas of your business while the article traffic starts coming in.

Email Marketing Is Still King

Today, I'm touching on a hard subject--Email Marketing.  I find it difficult because I hate getting unsolicited emails with offers I have no interest in.  Be that as it may, if we are going to make a go at making money via a blog or website, email marketing is a must.  I'm not going to sell this idea to you alone, instead, I've embedded the following video from AWeber. 

Send Your First Email Newsletter Today - AWeber Communications

Can You Have More Sales, Too?
Helping over 120,000+ businesses like yours raise profits and build customer relationships using AWeber's opt-in email marketing software for over 10 years.

Take a Free Test Drive today!

What makes email marketing effective?

• Email marketing is still the most cost-effective way of promotion
• By consistently offering valuable content, you build loyal followers
• More followers drives repeat traffic through referrals and word-of- mouth
• You can track email data easily and watch your response rates as they climb or fall
• Higher engagement means higher conversion rates that boost your bottom line

Selling EBooks From Your Website or Blog

One way to make money from home is to find a product or products to sell from your online site.  EBooks are a good way to start, because you don't need to control inventory, but you offer information your customer wants.

Ebooks

An eBook is short for Electronic Book, it’s created on a computer and sold digitally to customers.  The eBook does not pass through editors and publishers, so you keep all of the profit.  If you can write and are an expert on something, you can write an eBook and sell it online. An eBook has distinct advantages over a regular book in that you can place hyperlinks into an eBook that will direct customers to websites where you may be selling products relating to that particular eBook. In this way you make money once on your eBook sale and then again when your customers pay you a visit on your website.

You can place Affiliate Links in your book. An Affiliate link is where your customer clicks and is taken to a place like Amazon or another website selling products. When they purchase products from these links, you the author, are given a portion of the sale.

If you enjoy writing, you may wish to try your hand at writing a blog. The subject can be anything of interest to you, and you can place ads targeted to your audience on your blog. When items are bought by your readers through those links, you make money. 

If you don't wish to write, you can also find free eBooks online that you can download and sell.  To get and idea of the type books you can get for resale, click on the following image and download ten eBooks for free.

 

or if you are not comfortable downloading products, send an email to me at infoking3@yahoo.com and I'll send you a free copy of the following eBook:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Secretary Business

Work From Home As a Secretary

Contracting your services in a home secretarial business is a potential venture to explore as you consider options for working from home.  If you don't already have them, following are a few items you will need to make a serious go at this opportunity:

1.  Business License - Business licenses are inexpensive and easy to obtain.  You should be able to do an internet search for your respective state's rules.  

2.  Computer - The choice between a MAC and PC are completely up to you, but you will need a word processor such as Microsoft Word on the system you choose.  You can also download a free word processors at the Open Office.

3.  Other software that will be needed:

    a.  Printer - this is a must have.  If you are just starting out and don't have one, invest in an inexpensive model.   I personally prefer printers that do a variety of tasks such as copying, faxing, and scanning.  You can find an inexpensive model at your local store, order on line from a company like Tiger Direct, or find a cheap model on EBay.  I personally recommend, getting a new printer; that way you have a limited warranty associated with it.     

    b.  Software for creating flyers, business cards, brochures, newsletters, reports, banners, signs & posters, stationary etc.  Print Shop is a good option, but there are many more available.  If you don't know where to start, go to a local Staples or Best Buy and ask the sales representative for recommendations.  Caution - a sales rep may be inclined to steer you toward the more expensive versions.

    c.  Separate Telephone Line - If you are on a limited budget, you can use your cell phone to start, but you will eventually need a second line and a professional sounding voicemail. 

    d.  Business Name - use your imagination, but ensure the name you choose implies what you offer.  I recommend asking friends or family for advice before settling on a name. 

You are ready to start your business, but wait just one minute.  Do you have these basic skills:

    - Organizational skills

    - Good English and Grammar

If you are not organized, this could present a challenge to your aspirations.  If you are unsure of your English and grammar proficiency, there are plenty of programs available that can improve your skills quickly.   You can easily find resources online that help improve your typing skills, and best of all they are free.  One such resource for improving your typing skills is found here.  I found this free resource in the one program I have invested in so far.  If you are interested in more free programs click here to view the program.  Note, the program cost is $49, with a 60 day money back guarantee.  Just about everything in the guide can be had for free, but the time you will invest trying to find the resources is time you could be using to start your business.   I say this, because you are either getting starting or researching how to get started.  The guide will help you get started as soon as possible.   If you don't want to or can't afford investing in the guide, you can find the same information by doing Google and Bing searches. 

Here are some services you could provide to potential clients:  

    - Notary Public 

    - Proofreading and Editing 

    - Resume' Writer

    - Desktop Publishing

4.  Your Potential Clients

    - Business  (Focus on smaller companies in the beginning such as beauty salons, ad agencies, banks, insurance agencies, conventions, fraternities, sororities, etc)

    - Academic Agencies (Type essays, resumes, research, etc)

    - Organizations (Professional, Charitable)

    - General Public

5.  Promoting Your Business

    - Word of mouth 

    - Offer free trial 

    - Flyers

    - Brochures

    - Seek jobs from Temp Agencies

    - Blog or Website

This is just the tip of the iceberg, but it should be enough to get you started.  Good luck!!  Let me know how it works out for you.

HOW TO BECOME AN AFFILIATE

HOW TO BECOME AN AFFILIATE

There are numerous companies offering affiliate opportunities.  The key for you will be to identify what products are right for you to sell.  The easiest way to get started is by simply signing up for an account with companies such as Clickbank, Paydotcom, Commission Junction, or LinkShare. The good news is you aren't limited to the companies I just listed.  

Once you become an affiliate, you are responsible for reading and adhering to the policies of the companies you represent.  Companies such as Clickbank and Paydotcom are good starting points for beginners, but they deal mainly in e-products.  If you are not comfortable with the concept of selling e-products than turn your attention elsewhere.  In some cases, simply go to the webpage of a company you wish to sell for to see if they offer and affiliate sign link on their homepage.  

Okay, now you have a product or products to promote, what now?  Promoting the best product in the world means nothing if you can't get traffic to your site.  This is where we come full circle and realize that there are no inexpensive quick fixes to delivering traffic to your webpage.  If you want quality traffic, you need to commit to producing quality content that is of value to your reader.  Once you have the content, follow some of the steps already discussed throughout this blog such as submitting to web directories.

If any of the information I've shared so far proves useful, please share your positive story.  If you feel that I'm missing the mark, share that as well.  I don't claim to be a guru who has unlocked the secret to making thousands of dollars a day via some magical secret, so I am open to discovery. 

USE CAUTION WHEN REPLYING TO TARGETED TRAFFIC OFFERS

Okay everyone, before getting too far ahead on this journey, I want to offer one caution.  Be careful of sites that promise to send targeted traffic to your website or blog.  I'm telling you this out of experience.  Through the years, I've dabbled in a few online companies such as video game sales, novelty items, etc. and in each case, I attempted to purchase packages that promised to send people to my sites and improve the chances of making a sale.

You wouldn't believe me if I told you how much money I've wasted responding to ads such as the following, "Get thousands of people reviewing your website today..."  

The web-traffic companies even offered tracking tools, so I could monitor how much traffic actually came in, but truth be known, I believe most of the traffic was fake (computer coded hits).  I can't prove it, but I do know there are a lot of companies out there making money off of enthusiasm.  They made a good deal off of my enthusiasm!

Now, it is possible to get good targeted traffic from Pay Per Click companies such Google (Google Adsense) or Bing Advertising, but once again, be careful because these techniques can get very expensive, very quickly.  In fact, if you don't manage your budget correctly, you could spend hundreds of dollars in one day and never make a sale.  If you are going to use Pay Per Click Advertising, do your research to ensure you understand how it works.

The reason I'm telling you this, is because some of you will become impatient and want to see results right away.  I know; I did it; I paid for it (literally).  This is why I'm trying to see if it's actually possible to make money online without spending the money you already have.  

So far, affiliate marketing and some of the other opportunities offered in this blog seem like good options.  As far as affiliate marketing goes, just take a look at the coupons and deals I have listed on this blog.  These companies will pay you, if someone clicks on a link you have placed on your site and then makes a purchase.  The deals seem to be outstanding, but I don't really know if you can make a living doing this.  However, I am sure you can make some money.  In fact, just today I was accepted as an affiliate of "Last Minute Travel," so if nothing else, I can save my family and friends money by making these type offers available. The ad below is simply for illustration purposes, but the great thing is all the companies you see on this blog offer numerous ads to choose from.

Okay, just to re-emphasize the original point, be cautious of companies offering thousands of visitors to your website...  In fact, if I actually find one that works, I'll share that information with you in a post (Don't hold your breath).  I think a good test of validity will be found in a company that offers a thousand hits upfront for free (no obligation to purchase more) and if you like the results, you can then opt to purchase more.   Now that I think about it, this might be a good idea for a business (if you can figure out how to offer legitimate traffic).

If the information I'm providing on this blog is helpful, subscribe to the blog and keep an eye out for new deals being added as more and more companies approve me as an affiliate.  

Using Traffic Exchanges To Get Free Traffic

Using Traffic Exchanges To Get Free Traffic Traffic exchanges offer a means for getting traffic to your site for free.  The exchanges receive website input from people all over the world, and in order to receive free traffic, you simply take about 20 to 30 minutes a day to view various websites.  Viewing websites that have joined traffic exchanges is also a great way to see what techniques are being used by other website owners.  Note that in just about all cases, a traffic exchange website will give you the option to upgrade for a fee.  Whether or not you upgrade is totally up to you, but I do recommend you sign up for as many exchanges as possible, in order to increase your website's visibility.  I've listed a few exchanges below.  I've also listed numerous other sites at the bottom of this blog.   Reginald Hairston's Top 10 Traffic Exchanges
1.	StartXchange
2.	VastHits
3.	EasyHits4u
4.	I Love Hits
5.	TopHits4U
6.	Legacyhits
7.	ThumbVu
8.	Tezak Traffic Power
9.	TrafficG
10.	Sweeva

Question:  Have you taken time to explore LinkShare?  As discussed in an earlier post, LinkShare gives you the ability to select from numerous companies for which you can make a commission selling their products.  Example, I signed up with Walmart and 1-800-Flowers, and the best part is that it didn't cost me anything.  If you don't do anything else, I strongly recommend joining LinkShare.

Work From Home in the Affiliate Marketing Business

Affiliate Marketing is a Key Feature To Making Money Online.

For anyone serious about making money online, it is an absolute necessity that you enter into agreements with companies that offer affiliate marketing.  As defined in Wikipedia, "Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate's own marketing efforts. The industry has four core players: the merchant (also known as 'retailer' or 'brand'), the network (that contains offers for the affiliate to choose from and also takes care of the payments), the publisher (also known as 'the affiliate'), and the customer. The market has grown in complexity, resulting in the emergence of a secondary tier of players, including affiliate management agencies, super-affiliates and specialized third party vendors…”

Bottomline – if you want to earn money from home while working online, affiliate marketing is a great place to start.  As the affiliate marketing concept gets more and more traction, companies are partnering with companies such as Commission Junction and LinkShare to offer products to prospective affiliates. Although it is possible to find some major companies that will allow you to sign up directly, the large selection of companies such as GoDaddy or Walmart, make it a smart choice to sign up for a free account.  Once you have an account, you apply to the companies of your choice and wait to see if you have been accepted. 

As mentioned, there are literally hundreds of companies you can sign up to do business with, so take your time to find which companies fit your needs.  If you want to see what other companies offer an affiliate network in addition to Linkshare and Commission Junction, you can do a simple Google search.  Be sure to read the fine print.  If it sound to good to be true, it is!  

Good luck.