If you are just getting started online, you have visions of how much traffic there is, just floating around in the ether of the internet, just waiting for you to send it to your sales page. If you have been online for awhile, you know that there is a lot of traffic out there, but it is certainly not just waiting for you to send it to your sales page. And if you have been online for a long time, you know that it is not how much traffic you have, but what you do with that traffic that counts.

So, if you are a beginner: Build things right from the beginning. It is not just about sending all kinds of traffic to your web site and sitting back and hoping it will buy something. Instead, send traffic somewhere that allows you to develop a relationship with it. Get to know your traffic. What does it want? Let them get to know you. What do you have to offer them?

How do you do it? First build yourself a squeeze page or landing site or add a web form to your existing web pages that allows your visitors to opt in to your mailing list. Once on your mailing list, get to know them. Introduce yourself. Ask questions. Send useful information. Answer their questions.

So how do you get that traffic in the first place?

1) Write articles and submit them to online article directories. This is one of the best places to find quality, targeted traffic. One of the things I like about writing articles is that it gives me an opportunity to show my visitor, even before they are a visitor, what I am made out of. They can see my style, get a feel for my knowledge, without risking a thing. If they like me in the article, they can opt in to my mailing list and learn more from me. If they do not like my style, they can close the article without any further action.

2) Use pay-per-click campaigns like Adsense or Overture. These campaigns allow you to specifically bid on targeted keyword traffic and have it sent directly to your site. You are paying for this traffic, so it is important that you are able to convert a reasonable percentage of it to subscribers. Start slow, and don't feel like you have to be the highest bidder in the game. It is perfectly OK to be in 6th place while you are developing your program.

3) Ezine advertising. This will be one of the more expensive types of traffic you obtain, especially since you pay once for it rather than as you go with pay-per-click. Start with less expensive ads, and as you test and tweak your ads, and they create more response, then upgrade and use those same ads in more expensive slots.