If you’re trying to build a steady stream of traffic on your own, you’re in for an uphill climb. You’ll need to spend a lot of time (such as on tasks like search engine optimization), a lot of money (such as on pay per click marketing) – or both.

Fortunately, there’s an easier way to get loads of traffic very quickly – and for free. All you have to do is leverage other people’s traffic and resources. Read on to discover ten ways to get other people to send you their traffic…

1. Be a Guest Blogger

Some bloggers solicit guest articles, in which case you can create a blog post and submit it for consideration. However, even those that don’t advertise accepting guest articles may be open to the idea if you give them a reason why they should.

For example, you can:

• Trade articles with the blogger (so that they get to post an article on your blog too).

• Use the blog owner’s affiliates links in your article, so that they make money when their readers buy a product.

• Offer something else attractive in trade, such as an endorsement in your newsletter.

2. Recruit Them to Your Affiliate Program

One quick and easy way to sell more products using other peoples’ traffic is by asking them to join your affiliate program.

If you’re selling digital products, you should offer at least a 50% commission rate to affiliates, and even higher for “super affiliates” (those who can send you a lot of traffic and sales). You may even offer additional perks, such as bonuses or discounts for their customers.

Tip: You can quickly and easily set up an affiliate program for your digital products using Clickbank.com (which is also a payment processor).

3. Trade Blog Links

Instead of trading content, you can trade blog links with other people in your niche (AKA “blogrolling”).

The first benefit is that it’s visible for a long period of time, as usually these links are permanently placed on the front page of the blog.

Secondly, you can also get a search engine optimization benefit if the blog has a high Google Page Rank (and if you use your keywords as the anchor text for your link).

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When finding a market for your info product, remember that there are 2 parts to the equation: Without meeting these 2 criteria it is not going to be easy to find success.

1. You’ll need an information hungry market AND

2. You’ll need that market to be willing to open their wallets.

You want to make sure that the market that you select has the money to spend on the information that you provide. You would not want to focus your efforts oncreating a product that would be useful to homeless people unless you intended on making it a charitable contribution. That market would simply not have any money to spend on your info product.

Similarly, you wouldn’t want to focus your efforts on creating a product for a market that usually gets their information from free sources. For example, creating an info product for a group that regularly looks for answers in thrift shops probably would not be a good idea. You’ll have to put that much extra effort into selling to them. Why not create a product that is targeted to a specific market that has money and actually spends money in the first place?

So, once you’ve done some brainstorming and you’ve written down all of your ideas, you need to start focusing further on what might be saleable. You won’t always have much knowledge on a subject that might be profitable. In that case, you will have to create a product on something that you know little about.

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My wife and I have been married since 1994. During the years since our wedding, we have stayed in a variety of hotels ranging from a “glorified closet” to a resort suite, everything from a 1-star rating to a 5-star rating. We’re not into astronomy, but we do like to see a lot of stars when it comes to our accommodations! Here’s what Hotels.com says of a “5-Star” rating…

“These luxury hotels offer the pinnacle of service and pampering. Pristine surroundings often include manicured landscaping and famed works of art. Guests may expect multilingual concierge and/or butler services, extensive pool, spa and fitness facilities, and gourmet restaurants with world-renowned chefs. There is typically a high staff- to-guest ratio. Guestrooms feature ample space, designer linens, and special touches such as fresh flowers, champagne and flat-screen televisions. These hotels most often are located in the most desirable cities or resort destinations.”

In other words, 5-star means “the best”. It represents the highest order of a hotel. Or, anything for that matter.

There are 5-star hotels, restaurants, campgrounds, salons, banks and much more.

In fact, you can apply the 1-5 star rating system to just about anything.

Even internet marketing.

What I’d like to do is share some insights into becoming a 5-star internet marketer. And what I’m going to focus on is the strategy that serves as the foundation of all 5-star ratings: ongoing change in pursuing excellence.

• Can you imagine a hotel receiving a 5-star rating today by offering a black and white television?

• Can you imagine a restaurant receiving a 5-star rating without air conditioning?

• Can you imagine a campground receiving a 5-star rating with no “full hookups”?

While this may have generated a 5-star rating 50 years ago, it’s simply not enough for today. There is an “ongoing pursuit of excellence” for those who achieve AND maintain a 5-star rating.

That’s the principle I want you to learn today: 5-star internet marketers make adjustments to their business ahead of the pack.

Back in the 1978 one of my favorite songs (I was only 8!) was “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers. In it, he provides some sage advice that internet marketers would do well to apply in order achieve 5-star status…

“You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run.”

These statements form the four stages of a transitional business mindset…

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