In the first part of this article I explained that if you want to grow your online customer base then you must build a good stream of incoming traffic to your web site. I also covered Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Advertising, and Article Marketing. Then in Part Two we looked at Free Ebooks, Viral Marketing, Classified Advertising, and Advertising Swaps.

In Part Three we now look at Solo Mailings, Affiliate Programs, and Social Networking sites.

8. Solo Mailings to Other Lists

This technique takes classified advertising to a new level. When you send a solo mailing to the subscribers of a closely related newsletter, you will receive highly targeted traffic.
A solo mailing or solo advertisement is a special mailing to the subscribers containing only your message. Many newsletters will allow you to send a solo mailing to their subscribers and they will usually charge a premium compared with paying for regular classified advertising in their newsletter.

It can be worth every cent. One of the weaknesses of regular classified advertising is in just how few of the subscribers actually read far enough to see your ad let alone click through your ad. For a typical email newsletter only 25-30% of subscribers will open the email. And depending upon the ad position perhaps only 5% of those will read so far as your classified advertisement and take action.
When you send a solo mailing you'll be more likely to have 30% of people opening the email containing your message and therefore a much higher overall response rate.

If you already have good traffic numbers you can probably barter for a solo mailing exchange. If your own subscriber base is much smaller than the one you want to mail to, offer the owner 2 to 3 solo mailings to your list in return for one solo mailing to theirs.

9. Affiliate Programs

Another good way to build your mailing list and traffic is to operate an affiliate program. The idea with an affiliate program is that affiliates sign up to help you in promoting your web site, product or service. Affiliates then send a stream of traffic to your web site. They do this using a customized link that allows you to identify which affiliate referred any visitor.

Whenever a visitor sent by an affiliate purchases something at your site, the affiliate earns a commission. The affiliate benefits. You benefit. And you are 'gearing' up with thousands of affiliates promoting your site and sharing the advertising expenditure. This will save you time and money.

10. Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites are all about community. They are web sites designed typically for members to create and post their own content, often in the form of profile pages, with the purpose of communicating with one another.

Some examples of popular social networking sites include MySpace, Blogger, and Classmates. There are also a bunch of social bookmarking sites such as Digg and Reddit. And don't forget the likes of YouTube.

Social networking sites are seeing remarkable growth and marketers are paying attention. Nielsen reported in 2006 that the top ten social networking sites experienced a 47% growth over the previous 12 months. And a new JupiterResearch report reveals as many as 48 percent of brand marketers will deploy marketing on social networking channels in 2007.

Emily Riley of JupiterResearch was quoted as saying, "30 percent of frequent social networkers trust their peers' opinions when making a major purchase decision, but only 10 percent trust an advertisement."

So how can you build traffic with social networks? You don't necessarily have to purchase advertising on their network. Start by thinking creatively. Perhaps even a little outside the box. Do you have a hilarious or creative video clip you could post to YouTube? Could you write a absolutely hot article and get thousands of users voting for it on Digg or Reddit? Could you build a blog with a huge following of readers?

This wraps up ten remarkably effectively traffic building techniques, from search engines to pay per click advertising, to article marketing, and more. Now take action. Go back over this article and identify those techniques which are most likely to increase your traffic, starting today.