Getting Referrals to Your Traffic Programs

Getting referrals to your traffic programs can be a daunting task for many marketers. Why should you even worry about referrals?

Referrals earn you traffic credits from their activity in most programs such as click exchanges. They can earn you commissions if they upgrade. Also many programs periodically pay you for sign-ups (usually $1 or less) even for free members.

Many traffic programs have downline builders, so your referrals get exposed to many other programs that you may be signed up to. Lastly, most click exchanges allow you to e-mail your downline. Using this feature gives you a ready list of prospects for your other programs.

How do I get those referrals?

The best way to gain referrals is to mail to your list. What? You don't have a list? If you're using any type of traffic exchange program, your first priority should be to build a mailing list.

You will need an autoresponder account. I use GetResponse and have never had any problems with mail delivery or spam complaints. They are very affordable at $17.97 per month.

You will also need something to give your prospects for subscribing to your list such as an eBook or video. You can visit many giveaway events and find a suitable product for free. Try and get something with Private Label Rights so you can edit it to your own style and put your own name on it.

You will also need a web host. 000 Webhosts provides a free account with more than enough bandwith and storage for your efforts. No ads or annoying pop-ups to disturb your prospects. They will try to get you to upgrade to a paid account, but for your list building efforts the free one will do just fine.

I don't have a list yet. What can I do now?

You have many options. What do users of traffic exchanges all have in common? Thay all are looking for ways to generate more traffic to their sites!

Most exchanges provide you with splash pages. Use those splash pages to advertise on your other sites and get people to sign-up under you. If they exchange has splash pages that use your picture, use them! It not only helps to brand your image in peoples minds, but splash pages with your picture convert better than those without. People feel better about signing up for something if they can see who they are dealing with.

Use solo ads on text ad exchanges and credit-based safelists. Solo ads with well written letters convert better than splash pages. Use credit based systems so that even if they don't read your message,the people are still clicking your link and visiting your sites.

Join list builders like List Joe and List Auction. These will allow you to mail to prospects once a week as a free member (more often and to more people if you upgrade). They are both credit based and get better response than places like List Bandit (although I do get sign-ups from there too).

Join Top Tier Traffic. If you haven't looked at it, this is the most innovative click exchange to come along. The more active you are, the bigger your downline. You can earn a downline to mail to and earn you credits even if you refer no one! The more active you are the bigger your downline will be. There is a reason why nearly 9000 people signed up in the first 30 days!

Use web 2.0 sites like Youtube and blogs to generate traffic to your sign-up pages. I belong to several social networks and frequently use my blogs there to tell people about new traffic programs. You can also start user groups on sites like Myspace and Facebook to help grow your downlines.

There are numerous ways to build your downlines at traffic programs. When it all comes to a head, the best way is to build a responsive list to mail to when you have something to offer. Don't abuse the list and send tons of offers every week. Keep them happy (throwing an occassional freebie their way helps) and they will be more likely to read your messages and respond to your offers.